CHAPTER 24

Author's note: My thanks to Glimare who pointed out that travel time from Rheelasia to Gotham is 14 hours or so, meaning that I need to fill in about 16 hours of action for Robin and Rufus before Batman and the team arrive . To rectify the mistake, I have adjusted timing accordingly. Consequently, the story is longer :) And many thanks to the members of the Bludhaven List who have awarded this story a Damn Fine Award for Best Villain of 2012! And me, Newcomer of the Year and Writer of the Year for 2012!

TEN HOURS BEFORE

After Robin left, Rufus felt bereft. His only friend had just left him. He understood and agreed with the reason, he supposed, but he'd been alone in this blasted country for so long that it still hurt. He picked up his crutch. Just the same, he wanted nothing more than to get the hell out and now he was free to do just that.

He moved the panel and stood up, then crutched his way to the stairs. He got down the one level and was moving swiftly for the next staircase when he ran into a Rheelasian patrol.

"Hey! That looks like the kid!" shouted a soldier holding a photograph of Dick Grayson. "Get him!" He lifted his radio to his lips and made a call.

Rufus tried to run but just couldn't move fast enough with the crutch. He was quickly surrounded. Propping himself against the wall, he used the crutch to defend himself. He thrust the tip of the crutch into the beer gut of one soldier, then hit another over the head, swinging it back to catch another in the neck. He grinned with pleasure watching the men go down. All that work with Mr. Tan had been worth something after all. The first guy had caught his breath and was getting up, so Rufus focused on him when a red and yellow blur joined the fray.

"Robin?" Rufus gasped as the other boy threw a roundhouse punch at the one who'd just gotten up.

"Yeah," panted Robin, grinning back. "I found a heli..."He threw a kick at one and a punch at another soldier, he and Rufus now fighting back to back."...copter...we can fly right out of here! As soon as we...take" *Wham!* "the"...*Kick!* "Watch out!" *Elbow to the face* "Garbage out..."

Laughing, both boys soon stood in the middle of a circle of five unconscious guards. "It's on the roof," Robin said. "Come on!" They both stilled at the sound of movement at the end of the hallway, far from the main stairs. A wall panel opened and a shadow came from a dark hole in the wall.

The Generalissimo was supported by two soldiers and four more flanked him. All were armed, but the Generalissimo's was aimed at the "R" on Robin's chest. "They told me they'd caught you, but it looks like we bagged two Robins," Lee spat out, then dabbed at his lips with a handkerchief. "I should have known you had inside help, boy." He waved to the soldiers flanking him. Robin made as if to defend himself when he noticed that Rufus was held with a gun to his head.

"What shall we do with them?" asked the one holding the gun to Rufus' head.

"Take the lame one to the robin quarters and lock him in. I'll decide what to do with him when I have leisure. The other one..." Lee stared at Robin, eyes sparkling with rage. "My summerhouse," Lee said. "He clearly needs to be trained to accept his circumstances. You belong to me, boy, just like my horses, my hounds and my art collection. I am not a violent man and I will not compel your good behavior. You must learn to accept that you live at my will. Every bite of food you take, every swallow of water you have are given at your obedience to me. Food, blankets, water are all privileges to be earned. Fight me, and you will starve and freeze, boy."

Robin's eyes blazed back at this man. He was as psycho as the Joker. No, worse, this guy had an entire country. "Batman will..."

"Batman will do nothing," Lee said. "He has been hamstrung by his concern about you." Lee laughed. "And his eternal worry that someone will discover his secret identity. Never imagine that you are more important to him than his so-called mission." His eyes sharpened. "Search him first."

A quick search found the lock picks tucked into Robin's utility belt. Lee took them with something akin to glee in his eyes. "So that's how that door kept unlocking itself. No more of that, or the punishment will be harsher, even if it scars that lovely skin of yours." He waved at the guards. "Remain on guard and expect tricks from this one. I'll come to visit when he's had enough time to rethink his position."

The trip was a quick one, so this 'summer house' wasn't that far outside the city. Robin, sitting in the center back seat of the truck, stared around the soldiers who sat on either side of him. Summer house? It was a castle and about as big as one. They drove through a gate into a courtyard. He heard the crash of the gates closing behind him as the soldiers dragged him down a steep flight of stone steps. He knew that Rheelasia was an ancient country but he'd had no idea that anything like this was still around. His nose scented the twin odors of mildew and stone. Finally, he was taken to a room and pushed inside. The door was solid wood with a grille on top. A barred window up high let in a little sunshine. He could see that there was no furniture and the stone floor was swept clean. There was no toilet, no water, not even a bench to sit on. He had a vague, irrational feeling of homesickness for the isolation building back at the Hamilton School.

"Hey! You aren't going to just leave me here, are you?" Robin shouted. "I'm thirsty and I haven't eaten since yesterday! How about some water?"

The guard outside the door shouted back in passable English, "None for you until the Beloved Leader says so!" Then he fell silent and all Robin's shouting and pounding on the door was fruitless.

REAL TIME

Batman growled and tossed the bloody Lee onto the bed. Lee sat up, face covered in blood but managed a smile. "Just ask yourself what happened to your little bird while you were gone, Batman..." Lee said spitefully.

Batman was about to lunge at Lee again when Superman grabbed him. "You don't even know if he's telling the truth," he said. "See that ice pack? Well, he's got one hell of a bruise underneath it, if you catch my drift. Robin probably kneed him in the groin and ran."

Batman stared at Lee and put a close rein on his emotions, locking them down tight. Clark was right. Emotions...were messy things and impeded clear thought. "You're right," he said finally, eyeing the much-battered dictator. "Let's go find Robin," he said and stalked out the door.

Singh Manh Lee, his face a ruin, dripping blood from a dozen places, nevertheless started laughing when the heroes turned to leave. Batman shot one angry glance at him over his shoulder. Men who had just been beaten up by the Bat weren't supposed to laugh, they were supposed to cower in terror. Superman put a hand on Batman's shoulder, encouraging him through the door.

Lee continued to chuckle after they left. He didn't care that Batman had beaten him up again. He was still winning and Bruce Wayne hadn't figured that out yet. Let them search. The boy was safely tucked away. He moved stiffly to a panel in the wall and pressed a carved rosette.

Wally accompanied his uncle, the Flash and Green Arrow to 'take care of the guards'. What that really meant was wearing a small gas mask and throw the sleepy gas bombs on each floor of the palace, then watching the presidential guards crumple to the floor. So far there had been no sign of Dick Grayson.

"Come on," GA motioned down the fire stairs. "Let's try the basement. We've dosed the other floors." He took point and the two flashes followed down. At the bottom, then turned right down the single hallway and found the door to a large room. Once inside, Green Arrow turned the light on and all three stopped to stare, jaws dropping.

"Holy crap!" Wally breathed. "You told me this nut was obsessed with Robin but..."

"He's bent. That's for sure," Green Arrow said with eyes narrowed.

Flash was silent, taking in the photo gallery quietly. They'd all been told about Lee's 'shrine to Robin' but none of them had taken it seriously. But now, seeing it in person was another thing.

"He even taped him in action," Green Arrow said, pointing at the screen with the continuing loop of Robin. He turned around, looking at the collection of photos on the wall. "To get these, the General must have had somebody shadowing Robin for months. No wonder Batman is so freaked out about this," GA said grimly. "C'mon, let's keep looking for Robin."

The two followed him out the other door and Wally had to admit privately that, like Batman, he also was 'freaked out' by the whole thing.

As Green Arrow led the team from the room, Wally looked back over his shoulder. He knew that Robin had a higher profile than Kid Flash did, but the idea of somebody obsessing that much on one of the kid side-kicks wasn't anything he'd ever considered. He'd always thought that Batman was way too overprotective of Robin but now he wondered. Batman saw much darker things in Gotham than Uncle Barry usually dealt with. Maybe there was a reason for that protectiveness. He remembered the last time Robin had been left off a case and how much he'd complained about it.

"It's not like I'm an incompetent partner," Robin had groused on the phone with Wally. "And that's just it. I'm a partner, not a side-kick! I've been doing this for five years! So why do I have to sit this one out, Wally?"

"I don't know, Rob," Wally had said, munching a handful of popcorn. "Maybe you screwed up last time and this is your punishment. I mean, we both know that the Bat is pretty perfectionistic."

"I didn't screw anything up," Robin grumbled. "And even Alfred is siding with him this time. I'm supposed to stay home, sharpen batarangs, clean the lab and then do my homework."

"Well, you said he was planning on going after Killer Croc. You should be glad you're not sewer-crawling tonight, dude," Wally shifted over to his pile of chocolate bars. "Awful stinky and you know how hard it is to get the smell out."

"That's not the point and you know it," Robin stuffed a piece of cookie into his own mouth. "Bethides...gedding durdy and thmelly ith part of the yob..."

Wally heard him take a swig of milk and burp a little.

"Anyway, I want to be out there. What if something happened to him because I wasn't there to watch his back?"

"Sounds like he's trying to watch yours this time, bro," Wally replied. "Maybe you better let him."

Wally had overheard Batman explaining this case, that Robin had forced Batman to let him go. He shook his head and resolved to listen the next time Uncle Barry wanted him off a case.

The little party had stopped at a cross-hallway lined with doors. Green Arrow gestured for the Flashes to check to the right while he checked the rooms to the left. Wally silently indicated to Flash that he'd start in the middle and work right. Uncle Barry nodded and went down the row.

Wally tried the door and it was locked. He grinned. He'd just mastered a new trick. He made his body vibrate and presto! Wally was through the door. It was a plain room with a twin bed and a boy asleep in it. Dark hair, lithe figure. "Dick?" Wally said without thinking. The boy rolled over, turning big blue eyes on him and propped himself up on his elbows.

"Who the hell are you?" Rufus Garret demanded. "And how did you get in here?"

Wally had to do a double-take before he realized that it wasn't Dick Grayson in the bed. "I'm Kid Flash. Who are you?"

"Kid Flash?" Rufus said with delight. "You're one of Dick's...I mean, Robin's friends! Hey, you've gotta help him. He's in big trouble." He levered himself up to a sitting position, groping for the crutch that leaned against the bed.

The door to the room burst open and both Green Arrow and the Flash came in. "I heard voices. Did you find him?" Flash asked, doing his own double-take.

"I'm Rufus Garret," the boy said. "You're looking for Dick Grayson, aren't you? I can help you find him. He's not in the palace anymore."

Batman and Superman searched the palace diligently, but found no sign of Robin. They tried questioning the servants, but all they got were wide-eyed looks and a babble of Rheelasian. Eventually, they simply tossed their gas pellets and stepped over the sleeping bodies.

By the third floor, Batman was getting impatient. "Superman, can you use your x-ray vision and try to see where he is?"

Superman glanced at his friend and took in the worry on his face. "I'll try." He focused his vision over his head and swept a long view across the ceiling. He blinked and tried again. Then he moved over a few steps and looked again, his expression stonier by the second. Finally, he sighed and put a hand on Batman's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but it's not working. This building is at least a hundred years old and the paint is lead-based. The piping is also made of lead. The combination is breaking up my vision so that I can't see anything clearly."

Batman sighed, then straightened again. "Okay, we'll keep doing this the old fashioned way."

"Wait, do you hear that?" Superman asked.

Batman listened carefully then heard the whap-whap sound of a helicopter starting up. "Lee! He's getting away. I don't know how he got to the helipad upstairs!" He broke into a run, followed by Superman. They reached the top floor and ran up the final stairs to the roof. The helicopter was hovering overhead and they heard Lee's voice on loud-speaker.

"Don't try to stop me. I still have your boy and if you interfere any further, you'll never see him again!" The helicopter moved away from the building.

Superman made as if to fly after but Batman grabbed him by the arm. "No. It's too dangerous. He's got Robin somewhere and he'll hurt him if we follow too obviously."

Superman sank back on his heels. "What good is super-strength and the ability to fly if you can't save your best friend's son?" he muttered.

Batman watched the helicopter fly away, arms folded over his chest. "Oh, we're not done with Lee yet. Not by a long shot," he said in a low, dangerous voice.

Batman's communicator pinged. "Yes?" he barked.

"We've got a lead. Meet us in the basement," Green Arrow said.

Both Batman and Superman ran down the stairs to meet the rest of the team in the doorway of the bedroom. The boy was now standing, propped up by a crutch. His face was dirty and his eyes had circles under them, but Batman recognized Rufus Garrett.

"You sold us out," Batman's angry words were barely audible.

Rufus looked visibly frightened, but stood straight and met Batman's furious gaze. "Yeah, I did. Then I changed my mind and tried to tell you, but it was too late..." His voice ran down before he drew another breath and started again. "Dick is my friend and I helped him after you got captured. He got away from the Generalissimo and I helped hide him."

"Why isn't he free, then? Where is he?" Batman demanded, edging closer to the boy.

Rufus stood his ground. "He found a helicopter on the roof and was coming back to get me. I was fighting with the guards and Robin helped me." He looked up at Batman, blue eyes tearing up. "We were winning! Then Generalissimo Lee showed up with more soldiers." He scrubbed at an eye and looked imploringly at Batman. "I know where he is, though. I can help you find him."

Batman was momentarily rattled by those blue eyes and they boy's uncanny resemblance to Dick. Unconsciously, he gentled his voice and manner. "Where is he? Can you show us where?"

"Yeah," Rufus said. "At Lee's Summerhouse. He says he likes to go there to relax." The last was said with scorn. "It's a couple miles outside the city."

Robin huddled in his cell. Rather than sit on the frigid stone floor, he leaned against the wall with both knees bent and feet flat on the floor. That way, there was always some fabric, such as it was, between his body and the chill. The sunlight had moved away from the tiny window, leaving him in shadow. He was freezing cold, grateful that he still had gauntlets protecting his hands, he missed that stupid silk cape. He'd spent the last two hours doing calisthenics and every exercise he could think of to keep warm. It had worked for a while but he was hungry and thirsty...so very thirsty. Can't think about that, he reminded himself. Batman was really big on mind techniques; he'd taught him once how to overcome hunger and cold, if he could only remember it...It was hard to concentrate. Robin stood upright and started to pace, trying to bring some feeling to his numbing toes. Batman could do this, easy. He had to stop worrying and keep fighting...He looked up at the walls of the cell yet again, trying to find a way out. The window was just an arrow slit. Even a skinny kid like Robin couldn't get through. The door? He ran for it and aimed a kick dead center and bounced back. Again. Still solid.

The room was getting dark. He hadn't had anything to eat since the day before and didn't remember the last time he'd drunk anything. He couldn't give in, not to a monster like Lee. He wasn't going to sell himself out for a meal. He just had to survive until Batman could get here. He remembered Bruce telling him about monks who could slow their bodily functions to put themselves in a kind of coma. They didn't feel cold or need food while in the trance. And Bruce had explained just how to do it, too. He'd practiced the beginning stages but never induced the full trance. Well, no time like the present...

Shuddering at the cold, he sat down in the lotus position. He spared a brief worry about what the Generalissimo would do with his untenanted body while he was out, but decided it wasn't worth worrying about. He was going to survive this and spit in his eye. He closed his eyes, and, remembering Bruce's instructions began to control his breathing...