Author's Note: Alright, guys, this is it! Last chapter. In the words of the Joker, "And here we... go."
Chapter 17: Off to the Races
Spot shipped out da next day. I ain't seen or heard from him since. Not dat I particularly want to. It was his choice ta leave, an' I didn't do nuttin' ta stop him. But I still think it was da wrong move, him just up an' leavin' right afta… Well, afta what happened. Guess I shoulda expected it. I mean, afta all, he had himself a reputation back in Brooklyn fer bein' cold-hearted. So why should t'ings be any diff'rent in Gotham?
Summer here seems hotter'n back in New York somehow. Even though dis is really only my second. I dunno, dere's just somethin' oppressive 'bout da air here, like it's pressin' down aroun' yer ears. 'Specially in da Narrows. Yeah, I know whatcha thinkin'. Wit' Spot an' Blink both gone, I's left ta my own devices. But I swear, I been clean da last few weeks since Spot left. Doin' a little scoutin' fer Bruce every once in a while, just passin' through, ya know?
Me'n Cowboy… Now dat's anudder story. I guess I still ain't entirely over da whole lyin' t'ing. But I can look past it just enough ta live wit'. Death's a sure way'a puttin' t'ings in perspective. Sure got me thinkin'. All da same, though, forgivin's one t'ing. Forgettin's somethin' else. We's workin' on it, though.
Actually, ta tell ya da truth, afta everythin' dat's happened, I's realized I never really got what I came out here for in da first place. S'why I's still here. Even though, in da summer, it's hot as hell. Fella gets used to it. Nah, I's still lookin' fer da answer ta dat burnin' question. Jack Kelly, Bruce Wayne… Who is he, really? I gotta feelin' dat sittin' 'round da mansion by myself all'a time ain't gonna get me dose answers.
Much's Spot tried ta convince me it weren't my fault, I just can't help feelin' guilty 'bout what happened. Now, Spot I don't mind bein' mad at fer any amount'a time. But I kinda feel like I owe Cowboy. An' dis is one debt I got every intention'a payin' back. So dat's why I told him da other day dat, if he'd let me, I'd like ta try an' take Blink's place.
I can't really say I's not surprised when he agreed. Not dat I was hopin' he wouldn't or anythin'. But da fact dat I know dis whole t'ing's been real hard on him certainly made me wonder if he'd let me. Spot was right 'bout one t'ing. Dis is da reason he tried ta hide it all from us in da first place. An' part'a me was wantin' ta just forget da whole t'ing an' go right back ta New York, so's he wouldn't have no one else ta worry 'bout no more.
But I made it dis far. An' I stuck it out pretty well. Sure, I's just a bit worse fer wear, I mean, dat brush wit' Demon was a bit… intense. But I's still da only one's lasted dis long. An' I remember dat feelin' I got when he first ast me ta come wit' him. Dat feelin' like he was part'a somethin' bigger'n all'a us. Dat need ta know what it was. Ta be in on it. Dis here's my chance, an' probly da only one I's ever gonna get.
A'course, he gave me a list'a conditions ta go 'long wit' his consent. First off, he ain't gonna let me go out wit' him 'til my breathin' gets back ta some kinda normal. He's been runnin' me t'rough some trainin', an' it's gettin' better. But we's goin' ta see Tommy Elliot next week, see if maybe dere's some way'a gettin' me back on track sooner. Lemme tell ya, I ain't never had ta work toward somethin' like dis in my life. It's gotta be, by far, da most tirin' experience'a my life. But somethin' tellin' me it'll be worth it in da end.
Anudder t'ing he wants me ta work on is losin' my accent. Off da job, anyways. Says it's too distinctive or somethin', makes it easy ta pin my identity. One'a da hardest t'ings I ever had ta do. But I guess, if Spot an' Blink could manage it, den so can I.
His last two conditions though, I think, were da ones dat really made me stop an' consider what it was I's gettin' myself into. It wasn't his original "don't put yourself into unnecessary danger" thing. I mean, honestly, I think dat one kinda goes wit'out sayin' at dis point. Nah, dis time he actually ast me ta quit gamblin'. Me. Of all people. An' I straight up told him, I said, "Cowboy, dis ain't no light request, ya un'erstand." I mean, dat's like… I dunno, tellin' a fish not ta swim or somethin'. He says it's fer my own good. An' I guess I can kinda see where it may've caused some trouble in da past…
Okay, okay, I know it's a justified request. An' b'fore ya ask, a'course I agreed to it. I ain't no total bonehead. But da one t'ing he ast me dat I think I's gonna have da most trouble wit' is ta quit smokin'. I done… Well, pretty good so far since Murder Alley. I ain't sayin' just how good. 'Cuz, I mean, like, dat's kinda my business an' all. But it ain't been easy, what I have done. An' I gotta feelin' it ain't about ta get any easier. But we'll see.
So, lemme see. Been 'bout a year now. Maybe a little more. Made a few friends. An' yeah, as a matter'a fact, I do count dem boys from Murder Alley's my friends. Some'a dem boys was a'right. Like Twitch. Snake, I ain't so sure 'bout at dis point, but dat ain't here or dere. Twitch was a good kid, though. Little messed up in da head sometimes, but decent enough. He'd tell it to a guy straight, he would. Can't say da same fer most'a dem kids down dere. But some'a dem… Whole diff'rent story when you's actually seen it, 'stead'a just goin' off'a what folks tell ya. An' dat ain't somethin' dat Spot or Cowboy's likely ta un'erstand anytime soon.
I been watchin'. Like I said, I been doin' some light scoutin' over dat way. It's lookin' like Rhino's tryin' ta get his boys back together. Kinda hard ta do, wit' most of 'em behind bars. He's havin' ta pull a lotta new recruits in. An' dat's likely ta spell trouble eventually. He ain't been able ta track me down yet. I still dunno if he knew I was da one dat got his boys sent off ta da slammer. I's hopin' not. 'Cuz if he ever finds out I crossed him… Well, let's say it'll be like da whole incident wit' Demon all over again. Not dat it was really my fault, but in dis kinda situation, a guy can't be too careful.
I's in da process'a settin' me up a system. Ya know, some inside info so's I can keep an eye on Rhino. Bruce don't know 'bout it yet. But I gotta feelin' he'll find out eventually. An' I can't help thinkin' he ain't gonna be happy 'bout it, either. But ya know, he gots his way'a doin' t'ings, an' I got mine. An' when it comes down to it, only thing dat matters is dat da job gets done.
A/N: First of all, I want to thank everyone for their reviews: Puppet, Blinksgoil92, and especially Paige and Eavis for your continued support and feedback. Next, I want to thank all my ghost readers (those of you reading without reviewing). The fact that this story has so many hits still makes me very happy. This has been an absolutely amazing experience, and I'm so glad I was able to finally finish this. And it didn't take me two years, either!
Now for a little parting trivia. According to Microsoft Word, this story is precisely 32k words long (about 69 pages, with the last paragraph on page 70). Obviously, I am extremely long-winded because the site has it at roughly 40k words. This is my longest story, and didn't take me nearly as long to finish as my only other complete chapter-fic, Despair's Edge. Because of Race's accent, there were so many "spelling and grammar mistakes" that the Word spellcheck actually overloaded. When I wrote the prologue, I had only seen Newsies twice. Race was instantly the most easily remembered character, with Spot and Blink taking close second. This was the sole reason they ended up in this story. At the time, I had intended to have more of the newsies accompany Bruce back to Gotham, and then I got the brilliant idea: What if one of them discovers his secret and ends up becoming Robin? Of course, I still had Race in mind for this. And then, as it developed in my head, I realized that I could easily do the entire Robin mythos using the three I had already chosen. And this was all before the first chapter was written. I never intended for Race to sit out on the whole Robin thing. That just kinda happened when I was writing the chapter where Blink winds up in the hospital. I also intended for the arguments to be much more physically involved, but somehow Race kept coming off as more whiny than I intended, so... Yeah, it never quite happened. I realize that they do a lot of arguing here. Not quite sure what that's about, honestly. Um... The prologue for the sequel, Ghosts, was actually written when I was less than halfway through my outline. The first chapter of Take a Dive, the companion piece, was written shortly after that, and will be posted soon. Um... Some of the stuff he says at the end actually won't come into play until House of Cards, the companion piece to Ghosts, but I may actually write that one alongside Ghosts rather than waiting for it to finish. I haven't decided yet. I'm very excited for it, though. Anyhow, thank you so much again for reading, and I hope to hear from you again soon. Remember to keep your eyes peeled for Take a Dive, and keep on Carryin' the Banner!
~Rags