A/N: Holy speedy review, Carl, thanks! :)
Chapter 2:
Robin felt the familiar bounce of a vehicle driving on a dirt road. Holy here we go again. What was this, his sixth or seventh time being kidnapped? The last thing he remembered was dropping Batman's arm and he was worried about what, if anything, had happened to his partner. He attempted to open his eyes but they were still burning and the lids were so heavy. His whole body was heavy and he couldn't gather enough energy to even think about moving. There was a large bump in the road and Robin was smacked in the face by what felt like an arm. Had Batman been taken, too? Why were his wrists restrained when Batman, who was stronger and more dangerous, was free enough for his arm to fly across Robin's head? He sighed, a sound that didn't quite make it out of his mouth, and drifted back into the darkness of unconsciousness.
Kirik saw Robin's eyes darting around under the lids and hoped he wasn't waking up yet. He grabbed the tire iron by his side, wanting to be prepared just in case. He laughed loudly as a particularly large jolt on the old road launched Batman's right arm across Robin's face, leaving a small but quickly swelling bruise on his left cheek. Kirik took out his camera, laid Batman's arm across the face of the Boy Wonder and – making sure the bruise was in view – snapped a picture. He had three photos now; two showing failure and one showing Batman giving his young sidekick an injury.
"Even your partner is beating you up, Robin!" Kirik chuckled again. This was going so well and he hadn't even started yet! He looked up as the van slowed down and the cabin came into view. Putting the tire iron down, he leaned to his left and grabbed the eight metal u-bolts along with the bag of tools. The Dynamic Duo wasn't going to escape from this trap. He closed his eyes and scrolled through the images in his genius-level brain: every single situation that any villain had used in an attempt to kill the Caped Crusaders. There was nothing like the one he had planned and, obviously, he wasn't going to fail because his was so much more sophisticated than any of the other villains' plots.
"Well, Boy Wonder, here we are. This is the place where you will be broken down into little tiny pieces, never to rise again. I know everything about you, everything about the people you have helped capture and everything about your partner – who is always the one to plan the escape and pulls you along for the ride." Kirik grinned darkly, "Even your so-called nemesis, Joker, couldn't take you down and he has been set on revenge since you became Batman's sidekick."
Robin heard his name and, a few seconds later, the nickname given to him by the citizens of Gotham City. The tone connected to the words was threatening but laced with excitement. He heard the name 'Joker' and shuddered, the movement rolling down his body and involuntarily manifesting itself to the owner of the voice. His arms were suddenly pulled above his head and his body dropped onto the hard dirt. His eyes popped open but immediately closed again; he was so tired and didn't want to wake up. He felt the rocks and weeds as he was dragged across the ground but was already floating away and didn't care about the pain.
Several hours later:
Batman shook his head as he attempted to free his brain from the after-effects of the gas he remembered inhaling. He opened his eyes but everything was hazy so he blinked quickly a few times to clear his vision. The first thing he saw was a wooden floor and his own shadow. Deciding to check for injuries before figuring out the situation, he pulled his head back but kept his eyes down: no tears in his Bat-suit, no soreness or blood, no noticeable cuts or bruises and he still had his utility belt. He was about three feet off the floor, tightly restrained against a wall, and could tell that his body was in the shape of an X with his arms bent at a ninety degree angle. He looked to his right and found two three-inch thick metal bolts – one wrapped around his wrist and the other around his ankle – that disappeared into the wall. He looked left and saw the same thing. He pushed against the bolts but there was no give and he frowned as he realized what was holding him back: u-bolts with the nuts on the other side of the wall. He had seen this kind of trap before but had never been in one. It would be virtually impossible to escape from this without using something from his utility belt, which he couldn't reach.
There was an IV in his left elbow and he followed the tube with his eyes but it went out the open door and he lost it. He looked up and the first thing he saw was Robin, who was in the same situation but without an IV. His head was hanging down; he was probably still unconscious. He was dirty, bruised and had stickers from weeds in random places on his legs. He was shoeless and gloveless but he, too, had his utility belt. There was a streak of dried blood on each arm and Batman noticed a small but very swollen bruise on his left cheek.
"Robin," he whispered as loud as he dared. "Wake up, we need to get out of here!"
Robin didn't move so Batman looked around the room: it was small and bare and the only exit was the door. The walls and floors were made of wood, suggesting to him that they were in a cabin, and the lone piece of furniture was a short table in the center of the room.
"Robin," he said it a little louder this time and glanced at the door as he did so. Still nothing so Batman strained against his bonds to see how much he could move. He was able to arch his back but his limbs were completely immobile. He had to wake Robin up so he listened carefully and heard nothing from outside the door.
"Robin," he demanded in his normal voice, "wake up, now!" Robin started moving his head around so Batman said it again.
Robin heard Batman's voice and lifted his head, causing a spike of pain to shoot across his forehead. Holy headache. He opened his eyes, saw Batman across from him and was slightly shocked at the position his partner was in. Looking to his right and then his left, Robin realized that he was in the same situation. His eyes followed the IV tube out the door, also, and he was concerned about what could be put into Batman's body.
"Holy Bat-trap, Batman!" Robin exclaimed quietly as he pushed against his restraints, testing them for weaknesses.
"Robin," Batman grabbed his attention, "status report."
"Oh, uh, I have a slight headache, bruises on various parts of my body, some stickers on my legs that look like they're from weeds, I think there are some cuts on my wrists and my left cheekbone is a little sore," Robin replied. "I also smell like dirt. What about you?"
"Well," Batman hesitated. There was nothing wrong with him and he felt bad about it.
Robin chuckled, "You're absolutely fine, aren't you? Holy giveaways, Batman, I'm looking right at you. You think I don't see the lack of bruising or blood or general dirtiness of your Bat-suit?"
Batman didn't answer because there was a loud 'bang' that came from just outside the door. A man came striding into the room with a camera that was hung around his neck by the strap.
"Good afternoon," the man said. He walked over to Batman, stopped three feet away and stared into his eyes. Without saying a word he turned, went over to Robin and stopped a foot and a half away. Robin's small body was higher off the ground than Batman's and his head was almost at the same level as the one belonging to his captor.
Robin opened his mouth but Batman caught his eye and shook his head. Kirik grinned as he glanced back at the hero who was, obviously, trying to stop his sidekick from mouthing off. He had heard that the boy was good at getting under a person's skin and he knew Batman wouldn't want his sidekick to start things off on a bad note when they were in such a precarious situation.
"What do you want?" Batman commanded but the villain ignored him. He ran a fingernail down Robin's right cheek, purposefully drawing a little blood, then stepped back and took a quick picture.
Robin, blinded by the bright flash of light, said sarcastically, "I'm not really looking my best right now. If you could just let me down I'll go freshen up and then you can take all the pictures of me that you want."
"Robin," Batman growled and Robin shut his mouth.
"You look fine, Boy Wonder," Kirik said with a laugh and patted his bruised cheek.
Robin didn't flinch; he just stared into the eyes of the kidnapper, who glared at him without backing down. Robin prided himself on being the winner of multiple staring contests at school and didn't even think about blinking. The man stepped back again, still glaring at Robin, and snapped another picture. The light was bright and Robin was forced to blink.
Kirik laughed again. "You lose," he said gleefully. His eyes narrowed and he lowered his voice so that only Robin could hear him, "You'll be doing a lot of losing while you are here." Then he turned around, glanced at Batman one more time and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him.