Finally Chapter 8 has arrived. So I know it took me longer to post this one. I was a slacker. But after seeing how many views this story was getting from you people I thought I should probably write it. Thanks you guys and please enjoy my longest chapter yet!
Oh yah, shout outs! I posted a Blooper last chapter and challenged people to guess what I was referencing in it. The special winners are...*insert drum roll here* ASHA CARCELLA and ANIMIME! Free imaginary muffins for the both of you. Eat them well.
Disclaimer: Though it is my birthday soon and the rights to Young Justice are on my wish list, I do now own them right now. Just hope someone wraps them up, puts a bow on top, and gives them to me :)
He regained consciousness to a ringing in his ears, darkness in his eyes, and what felt like a whole building on his back. That's probably because there was a building on his back, at least part of one anyway. As the memories returned to him, so did the pain, only this time it brought friends. His whole body hurt from head to toe. He was pretty sure he had broken his fair share of bones as well, but that's not what he was worried about right now. Where was his mentor? Where was Batman?
Robin used what strength he had left to shift part of the rubble off of him so he could look around the wreckage. The whole building had been completely totaled. Most of the roof had fallen in and three of the four walls were only part way there. Also, now for the first time, Robin knew what time of day it was. Above his head sparkled an array of stars surrounding a bright, half full moon.
He began to shift the rubble near him where he remembered Batman to be, but with no luck. The blast must have blown them away. Batman could be anywhere in the wrecked mess of a room. Robin dragged himself best he could atop the rubble to find his mentor. Finally after what seemed like hours of painful and painstaking searching, he saw a black fabric sticking up from the mess, a fabric that belonged to the cape of the Dark Knight himself.
Without a moment's hesitation, Robin started digging. He didn't care if his hands got cut up in the process, or that his body hurt like it had been in a meat grinder. All he wanted to do was find his father.
After one finally board was removed, he was able to look onto his father's face. The cowl of the Bat must have been blown away in the explosion, for lying before him was the face of his father, Bruce Wayne. A face that was now dead to the world. No air came out his mouth and his chest that usually moving up and down with his beating heart moved no more.
Slowly removing the mask from his own face, the bird once again became Dick Grayson. Hot tears poured out of Dick's now exposed blue eyes onto the once happily growling face of his father. Sure they weren't connected by blood, but Dick knew they were connected by much more than that. They were the Batman and Robin, the Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. They were meant to be together and never be apart.
A child's scream of pure anguish pierced the starry night sky. A scream that would never be able to reach the ears of the one he loved the most.
Batman's eyes slowly opened to reveal the rocking floor of a boat as his ears became aware of the sound of water and his nose detected the strong, pungent smell of fish. His foggy mind painstakingly tried to piece together where he was, how he got there, and for what reason was he there. Then it all came to him. He had come to save Robin. Robin was in trouble. Robin had been taken. His mind flashed back to the recent events of the last couple days.
Flashback line!
"Slow down Master Bruce. What exactly did you say has happened?" Alfred asked as he sped up to follow an enraged Batman around the bat cave, a Batman who had just recently come back from patrol without his partner.
All Batman could do was grunt out, "Joker. Robin taken. Must find Scarecrow," before he starting hacking away non-stop on his computer.
"Master Bruce I command you to stop your futile ramblings this instant and inform me of what has happened to Master Richard!" Alfred said sternly in a raised voice that seemed like a shout though it was hardly above normal volume.
At this Bruce halted almost instantly. Alfred was the only person who could ever order around and strike fear into the great Batman. Slowly, Bruce turned around in his chair, removed his cowl, looked Alfred straight in the eyes and said in a voice barely audible, "Joker took him. He took Robin. He stole my son."
There was a long silence before Bruce continued. "We were on patrol as usual. I had seen no sign or hair of Joker for months. We had just been dealing with small crimes: stolen purses, jewelry robbers, nothing major. I let my guard down. All of a sudden Joker was there and I got caught up in fighting him. Then Joker released some kind of gas and while I was covering my mouth, I couldn't see a thing through the smoke. The last thing I heard was Joker's voice saying, 'Thank Scarecrow for me will yah Batsy,' before the fog lifted and Robin was…gone." Bruce's voice cracked at that last word.
Alfred looked down at the broken man with saddened eyes. Normal Batman was never so emotional. Batman was the rock that protected the city of Gotham. He didn't have time nor need for emotions. But this wasn't Batman sitting in front of him. This was Bruce, a man who had just lost the most precious thing in the world to him, his son.
It didn't take Bruce long to collect himself and put his cowl back on, switching back into the rock that was the Batman. He didn't have time for tears right now. Tears wouldn't save his son.
He again started typing furiously on his computer. "I have to find out what Joker meant by thanking Scarecrow. What does the Scarecrow have to do with this? Last I checked, we had safely captured and put him in Arkham just last week."
"Then perhaps a visit is in order sir," Alfred replied, holding out the keys to the batmobile. Batman let out a quick, barely audible smile before his face moved back into its normal growling position. He took the keys from the butler, jumped into the car, and sped off.
As soon as Batman reached Arkham Asylum, the guards let him right in to see Scarecrow. He is the Batman after all and everyone knows you never say no to the Batman.
When they got to the scarecrow's cell, they saw the King of Fear himself huddled in the corner of the cell, his knees held close to his chest as he shook back and forth, mumbling inaudible words to a cold stone wall. The guard had to rap on the cell door several times with his nightstick just to catch the crazed man's attention. But as soon as the Scarecrow turned around and saw the great Batman standing before his cell door, he shrieked a note at an octave rare for men to reach and tried to hide even deeper into the corner of his cell. Turns out the big bad King of Fear was a real scared princess without his mask, especially around his worst fear, Batman himself.
"Scarecrow, when was the last time you saw the Joker?" Bruce growled in the direction of the sniveling ball.
"I-I don't know…" Scarecrow mumbled out.
"Don't lie to me. Tell me what you known about the Joker's plans. I know you've seen him recently and this will be a lot easier for the both of us if you tell me now rather than later," Batman threatened, cracking his gloved knuckles menacingly.
"Ok, ok, he c-came to me a couple weeks ago, wanted to see the n-new technology I'd been working on," scarecrow sputtered out, fear evident in his eyes.
"What Technology?"
"A d-dream machine Allows one to go into p-person's dreams. Mess around with their n-nightmares." Scarecrow said, smiling to himself slightly.
Batman knew he had to wrap this up quick to save Robin. If the machine really did what he said it did, then Robin was in for a world of trouble. "One last question, did Joker say anything about where he was going to be?"
"H-he mentioned s-something about a b-boat off of Gotham Harbor w-while on the phone with some a-associate. But that all I know, I s-swear. Just leave me ALONE!" By now, Scarecrow was shaking uncontrollably. He slowly crept back into his corner and began mumbling to himself again.
Batman knew he had gotten all he could have out of him, but more information than he could have hoped. Now, it was time for action.
"Hey so you want me to walk you out?" the guard said, but when he turned, Batman was already gone.
Batman drove to Gotham Harbor as fast as the Batmobile could go, tripling every speed limit the whole time. When he reached Gotham Harbor, he pulled out his bat-noculars and began searching the waters for a ship. Soon enough, he saw a suspicious looking storage vessel a little ways out to the east of the Harbor. Pressing a button on the batmobile, the car automatically transformed into a speed boat and began cruising across the water toward the ship.
"I told Robin that button would come in handy one day," Batman thought to himself as he sped closer to his target and closer to saving his son. When he reached the ship, he popped open the hood of the boat and using his grappling hook, silently flew his way onboard.
Twenty unconscious henchman later and Batman finally came upon who he had been searching for. At the front of the ship were two chairs. In one of the chairs sat his son, unconscious and tied up. In the other chair sat his arch rival, asleep with his usual smile on his face.
Batman quickly ran to his son and unbound his restraint, but when he tried to wake him up it was pointless. The kid was out like a light. Then Batman saw it. There was a thin tube connecting both his partner's arm and the Joker's arm to a weird silver contraption that sat between them. Batman knew this must be the dream machine Scarecrow was talking about.
Not knowing how it worked, Batman didn't dare try to remove the tube from Robin's arm in case it made his current inanimate state permanent. He didn't like it, but he knew there was only one way to save him, inside the dream itself. Picking another tube out of the machine and putting it into his own arm, Batman took once last look at his son before closing his eyes and drifting toward the unknown.
The Bat's mind flashed through everything he had been through in the blink of an eye, as he finally came fully to his senses. He was on this ship to save Robin. Robin needed his help. But when he looked to his side, Robin wasn't there anymore, just an empty chair.
"Looking for this Batsy?" Joker cackled from behind him.
Batman spun around to see Joker dangling a still unconscious Robin off the side of the ship. The tube was still attacked to his arm and in Joker's other hand was Scarecrow's Dream Machine.
"I wonder what happens if Roby-pu here takes a little tumble off the boat with this big heavy contraption," Joker cackled playfully, holding both Robin and the machine over the side. "You better not make any sudden moves at me Batsy, or my hands might just slip."
Well that only took me all day to write. Feels pretty good getting it done. I think there should be just like a couple more chapters left, but who knows. I also might do a sequel at some point after this is done, but again, who knows.
Now look at your mouse now look at the review button now back to your mouse now back to your review button. No neither of those things are me, but then can be used to review me. I'm not on a horse.