Chapter 5:
Present time:
Alfred had been watching the beeping dot move through Gotham, away from the store and around the city. It had been almost three hours and the butler had been pacing around the Batcave for the entire time. He didn't understand the pattern and it made him anxious.
First they were at the store where Robin had planted the Bat-tracking device. Then they had gone south, then southeast, back up north and slightly west and finally straight east. The red dot was stationary at last and Alfred assumed that they had returned to Catwoman's lair.
However, Alfred couldn't be positive about that and he became frustrated. He knew he had to stay and watch the beeping mark but every instinct demanded that he go find Robin. An idea flew through his mind and he almost growled at what he deemed to be incompetence. Robin's wrist phone, of course!
"Batcave to Robin, come in Robin, Batcave to Robin."
There was no answer, not even any static. Maybe the Boy Wonder had turned it off during the ruckus and forgotten to turn it back on. Perhaps it had fallen off when he had planted the Bat-tracker. Maybe he was unable to answer because he was unconscious or…
Alfred cut that thought off before it could finish gliding across his mind. Robin was strong, he was alive. Even if he had been extremely injured by the hands of his older partner, the teenager was called the Boy Wonder for several reasons. He was alive, Alfred was sure of it. Mostly sure, anyway.
It's been too long. But if I go look for him, I'll be risking revealing their identities. It will be worth it if I find them. But there will no longer be a Batman or a Robin and they will be targeted, as well as anyone else who could be deemed a weakness.
The argument in his head raged on and Alfred finally gave in to his instincts. Batman's little red dot was still motionless so the butler decided to go for a walk in the neighborhood surrounding the jewelry store. Perhaps he would find a clue regarding the events of the night. Then he realized that it was still dark and he couldn't just go wandering about in the dark. If he was younger he would have followed his charges' movements, swinging from rooftop to rooftop. But he wasn't, so he would have to wait. Fortunately, the sun would be coming up soon.
Suddenly Batman's dot began moving again, back toward the store, and Alfred felt a little bit of hope rise in his chest. Robin could still be at the jewelry store, waiting for Batman to return. If they were lucky, the Caped Crusader was back in his right mind and on his way to rescue the Boy Wonder.
Batman raced frantically through the streets of Gotham. He had to get back to Robin! It wouldn't be long before Catwoman would notice his absence. What if she already had?
Hang on, I'm coming.
Three of Catwoman's goons arrived in the alleyway that housed Robin's dumpster five minutes before Batman. He was on foot; they had the advantage of a car. Opening the lid, they discovered that Robin was awake and trying to move.
"Oh no you don't, little bird. I'm gonna get me fifty thousand dollars," one of the men said as he reached toward Robin. Instantly he was shoved away.
"That money is mine," growled a second voice.
A third, more cultured voice said, "How about this. One of us takes the blundering bird, he's too hurt to put up a fight, and the other two take the Bat. Then we can each take a third of one hundred thousand, which is better than fighting and not being prepared for Batman."
There was some grumbling but eventually an agreement was reached.
"Here he comes," the first voice whispered. "Got your Tasers?"
Affirming his inquiry, the other two men pulled the weapons out and prepared for Batman to burst upon the scene. The first man then climbed in the dumpster, grabbed Robin by the cape and tried to haul him out. The boy was light but the position was awkward. The man, however, knew he needed to get the kid out quickly, before Batman could attack him from behind.
Several seconds later he was out of the dumpster, the upper right arm of the Boy Wonder being crushed in the criminal's hand. The man heard the familiar footsteps of the Caped Crusader and adrenaline rushed in. Grunting loudly, he threw Robin over the lip of the metal box, not even trying to catch him as he hit the cement.
Batman turned the corner into the alley and saw one man yanking at something in a dumpster. He recognized it – the one in which he had thrown Robin. The Caped Crusader began running again but froze when he saw a small body sail out of the dumpster. That single moment was enough for the other two men, who were hidden in the shadows on either side, to take him down with their Tasers.
"One hundred thousand dollars, here we come," one of the men cried gleefully. Dragging the two unconscious bodies out of the alley, they tossed Robin in the trunk and, a little more carefully, put Batman in the back seat.
Robin squinted as the lid of the dumpster opened. Maybe someone was throwing out their trash and would see him. He attempted to move around to get the person's attention but immediately regretted it when a hand grabbed his cape and pulled. The figure growled and grabbed his upper arm instead then roughly yanked him up and swung him out into the fresh air.
The teenager was grateful for that but the feeling abruptly disappeared when he hit the cement, hard. He saw, through half-open eyes, the worried face of Batman and two goons coming up behind the man. Robin tried to shout, to warn his partner, but it was too late and two Tasers threw Batman's body to the ground. A final thought flitted through his mind as he closed his eyes:
At least he's back.
Alfred was already at the jewelry store when the first rays of the sun began dancing on the broken glass scattered around the shattered window. The police were already there and sealing off the area. The butler quickly got out of the car and joined the small group of spectators on the sidewalk across the street.
The sunbeams were jumping around on a trail of dark spots, also, and Alfred instantly recognized the color of dried blood. Moving past the crowd of onlookers, he began following the trail, hoping to find other clues. It led him around the corner into an alley, where a muscular officer was crouching by a large dumpster. The large, dark circle beside the man, along with some other dark strips scattered around the area, gave the butler nearly undeniable proof. Someone had been extremely bloody during the fight, which had apparently gone from the store to the dumpster at the opposite end of the alley.
"Sorry, this area is closed to the public. Move along, old man."
The deep voice of the policeman startled Alfred out of his thoughts. Nodding politely, although completely exasperated and slightly offended in his mind, the butler moved on. At least he had some evidence, even though it wouldn't help him find the lair of the villainess.
Catwoman was ecstatic when her men came in lugging the unconscious bodies of the Dynamic Duo. Robin was hanging over the shoulder of the man who had pulled him out of the dumpster. He was completely limp and the villainess heard wheezing instead of normal breathing. The two other men were holding Batman by the upper arms, dragging his heavy body across the floor. He, too, was completely limp but other than that seemed fine.
"Keep the blood off the carpet," she shouted when she saw a rivulet of red gliding down Robin's left arm. Frowning when she saw how the Caped Crusader was being towed across the room, she yelled, "Be careful with Batman! I want him unharmed; don't treat him so roughly!"
Her henchmen grumbled but bent down and slid Batman's arms across their shoulders. Now the man was upright except for his head, which was hanging down and motionless.
"Let's get you back under control," she crooned softly.
She grabbed one of the pills from her little box and poured some water from a pitcher into a small cup. Then, very gently, she lifted his head and slipped the pill into his mouth. A little stream of water slid in after it and the drug traveled down his throat.
"Take Batman to his bedroom and deposit the bratty bird in the den," she commanded. "And don't forget to tie the boy up," she added quickly while rolling her eyes.
You never know what the intelligence level is when it comes to henchmen.
Batman began to wake up as the men took him down the hall toward his room. He was dizzy and nauseous and confused. But he knew that Robin was supposed to be with him. Where was his partner?
The two henchmen, noticing that he was awake and assuming that he was already under the influence of the drug, helped the hero stand up. That had been a dangerous assumption on their part. Catwoman, not wanting to hear the annoying puppy love anymore, had given the Caped Crusader a smaller dose. Consequently, it had not yet taken effect.
The hero quickly incapacitated the men then leaned against the wall until the dizziness receded. His thoughts were slightly muddled and he was sure that Catwoman had already given him another dose of whatever drug she had. But Batman knew he couldn't give in to it; he needed to find Robin. His young partner, the teenager he had thrown in a dumpster and left for dead!
He would never forgive himself, even if he got out of this in one piece. What happened to him didn't matter, as long as he could get Robin to safety. That was his priority and he needed to do it quickly. Batman could already feel his mind slowly slipping away.
Robin woke up in pain. Sharp, non-stop pain everywhere. At least he wasn't in the dumpster anymore, although he did still smell old banana peels wrapped around rotten eggs.
That's what I get for letting myself be tossed into a dumpster.
He looked around and saw one measly goon standing on the other side of the room. The Boy Wonder knew he could easily take down that guy, who looked like he was about to fall asleep. Robin glanced around the room, searching for clues, and realized that it had to be a house. He and Alfred had been correct, but why hadn't they found it?
That was a moot point because he was here now. Hopefully Batman was, also, and hadn't been drugged yet. If he could get Batman out of here before the man received a dose of that love potion, maybe he would be able to save them both. But Robin didn't care what happened to him, as long as he could get Batman to safety.
The teenager attempted to move and realized he was tied to a chair. Of course Catwoman wouldn't leave him free to roam around. The rope was wrapped around his chest and his arms were secured behind him. His legs weren't fastened to anything, though, so maybe he could use that to his advantage.
Robin began thinking of all the mistakes he had made. Leaving his post and allowing Catwoman to capture Batman, wasting time on a long-shot search, not paying attention to the obvious indication of a bomb in the museum and allowing Alfred to convince him to go to sleep when he should have been searching for his missing partner.
Speaking of his partner, the Boy Wonder knew that Batman would have done so much better than he had. The Caped Crusader probably would have found some evidence right away. He might have even rescued Robin before Catwoman had a chance to rob the museum!
Not once did Robin think about the good things he had accomplished, the biggest being the successful planting of the Bat-tracking device on Batman while taking a beating. His thoughts were centered on his current predicament: he was sitting here, tied to a chair, because he wasn't strong enough or good enough or resourceful enough to save his partner.
"Robin, little birdie, blunder boy, I see you are awake," Catwoman declared with a large grin as she pranced into the room. "I am enjoying the sight of your injuries. From the way you're wheezing, I'm pretty sure you have a broken rib or two. You probably have a concussion, too, since my men and Batman were throwing you around so much.
Is your left arm broken? Oooh, that must hurt since it's restrained behind you. Your face is a little pale, from the pain or the loss of blood? Anyway, I could continue but I won't. It must be weighing on you heavily; your own partner attacked you and…well, look at you. Baby bird didn't want to fight big Daddy Bat. You would have lost anyway, you know."
As Catwoman listed his injuries, the teenager felt them flare up. Yes, his left arm did hurt…a lot. It also hurt to breathe and Robin felt slightly dizzy and a little nauseous. The villainess was right: a concussion and the loss of blood were taking a toll on his body.
Catwoman giggled then sighed dramatically, "I was so hoping that you would have seen the riddle wrapped around the ring but, oh well. My idiotic goons must have lost it while they were snatching you out of a dumpster so I don't get the pleasure of seeing your face as you read it. How does it feel to know that your partner tossed you away like trash?"
Ignoring the question, Robin replied, "Why don't you just tell me, then, if you are so intent on observing my reaction? Since you are soooo good at riddles," he taunted sarcastically while rolling his eyes, "you must have dreamt up something amazing! Where did you go to learn how to create them, the Riddler's School for Incompetent Beginners? You must have failed that class. Just because you start with the phrase 'When is a…' doesn't mean it's a riddle".
He was on a roll, although he knew he should probably stop, especially if she had control of Batman's emotions again. But he couldn't refrain from one last jab.
"The Riddler will be very disappointed in you. At least I have to use my brain to solve his puzzles," the teen muttered as he slumped over in the chair, pain radiating throughout his body.
Forgetting about the ring, she narrowed her eyes.
"Who are you to insult me like that?" she screamed. The single henchman, who was now wide awake, stepped towards him, preparing to shut him up if necessary.
"You can't even save a bat!" the villainess continued furiously. "Remember what happened the last time you tried to reason with him? You got a beating that, if I had allowed it to continue, would have led to your death!"
Suddenly, the open entrance to the room was covered by a shadow and then Batman strode in. Robin immediately sat up again and allowed himself to feel a tiny spark of hope.
Please be yourself.
The small flame quickly died out when he saw the expression on Batman's face. The man was frowning, although there was a hint of confusion in his dark-blue eyes.
Robin's wheezing had turned into gasping. His little speech had taken a lot out of him. But Batman needed him so the Boy Wonder began struggling to get out of the rope wrapped tightly around his torso and arms.
Batman frowned as he looked from Catwoman to Robin and back to Catwoman. Clouds were dotting his mind but he was able to remember that the boy was important to him.
"Batman, take care of him," the villainess sharply snarled. "He has viciously insulted me again!"
The Caped Crusader stared at the young kid, who was struggling in vain to escape his bonds and beginning to lose consciousness. Why was he just standing there? Why couldn't he help the boy? Every muscle screamed to be released, to fight its way across the room, to save the young…his partner? But then the clouds in his mind grew larger and darker.
Glancing at Catwoman, and smiling at her lovingly, he said, "No problem."
Robin moaned as Batman advanced. No way was he going to be able to save his partner now. 'Take care of him' definitely meant 'kill him'. Fighting to stay awake, and desperately trying to find the man he knew was inside the angry figure striding toward him, the boy yelled "Batman! I'm Robin, your partner, your…" Robin shut his mouth before the word 'ward' could pop out. Quickly recovering from the near-mistake, he finished, "…your friend!"