krikanalo: Thank you! I hope this is a little taste of the Batman/Slade action you were hoping for. There will most likely be more of that to come. Until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter! And your reviews are so appreciated!
Batman was always keenly aware when something was wrong with Robin, just as much as Bruce was acutely aware of when something was wrong with Dick. Batman had been researching Slade for the past two days when he got the sensation in his stomach that something was wrong. It was too late to act on the sensation, however, because he had finally arrived at Slade's lair.
The cogs were always turning. The noise was very soothing to Slade.
tick, tick, tick...
It was in perfect time. He liked to listen to the ticking as he watched the footage from the mental hospital on replay. He enjoyed watching the boy fall apart- almost as much as he liked teaching him. The ticking was a sense of foreboding to him.
How many minutes more until Robin would come begging for the voices to stop?
He liked to make a game of it. There were 10,080 minutes in a week. He expected Robin in about a week and a half. Half of 10,080 was 5,040. So, In about 15,120 minutes Robin would arrive at his lair. As he calculated the numbers in his head, Batman swooped down from the rafters and landed in the shadows, never making a sound. The floor was dirt and gravel, but not a rock shifted as Batman came up behind Slade and immediately got him into a chokehold.
Slade was unsurprised, having expected the Bat for a long time.
"Hello, Batman. I've been expecting you."
Dick, meanwhile, was still in the hospital. The psychiatrists had been exhausting him to try and find a new coping method besides cutting. He tried snapping a rubberband around his wrist, but he managed to make himself bleed. He tried exercising, but he overworked himself to the point of dehydration and needing a doctor. He'd exhausted every healthy habit he could imagine, so he settled for the unhealthy but familiar habit of sucking his thumb. He'd done it quite often as a child, and had only stopped after Bruce threatened to bench Robin if he didn't quit. Now, it gave him something to focus on other than the voice. Today, however, he couldn't find any relief, no matter how hard he tried. The voice was screaming. He tried to block it out, but was unsuccessful. Slowly, the insanity creeped back.
When Batman had gotten that familiar sensation, Dick had attempted to claw his eyes out.
Naturally, the staff had stopped him, and restrained him as he wept. They had called Alfred when Bruce hadn't answered, and the faithful englishman had come to the boy's side. When they were certain Dick wouldn't harm himself again, he was unrestrained. Alfred watched the boy curl onto his side, stick his thumb into his mouth and try not to cry with a heavy heart. He pulled out his cellphone, and sent a signal to Batman, which appeared on his communicator in the form of a little black flash.
Said bat, however, was far too busy interrogatinng Slade to notice. Bruce slammed Slade into the ground. In the deadliest voice he had ever used, he simply said,
"Tell me what you've done."
Slade smirked. "I don't know what you mean, Batman."
Bruce pushed him further into the ground with such force that without the safety of his mask, Slade's nose would have shattered. "What have you done to Robin?"
"Grounded him. Permanently." Said Slade as he attempted to flip over the bat. The attempt was futile, as the Bat's hold seemed to be unbreakable.
"What about the voices?" he asked darkly.
"You're the world's greatest detective. You'll figure it out soon enough. The only question is weather you'll be too late before you do."
With a final shove, Batman disappeared into the shadows, Just as Bruce Wayne got the call about his son trying to claw his eyes out.