A/N: Thanks, Blas, Owan and JokerFan2011, for the reviews and concern. Everything is back to normal now. :)
If you are squeamish there is a short paragraph about three quarters of the way through the chapter that you might want to skip.
Chapter 7:
Robin was quiet throughout the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. Batman wasn't sure how to handle the situation; this was something they had never experienced and he didn't know what to say. He watched as Robin stared at the ceiling, then the door, then the bolts on his right side and repeated the cycle over and over. Not once did his gaze land on Batman, the pictures on the poster or the pile of ashes on the floor. Once in a while he would slide his left ankle around in the restraint and the blood would start dripping again.
A few hours after he had burned what Robin felt was a major part of his identity, Kirik quietly opened the door and stood there for a moment. Robin was on the metal bolts portion of his never-ending triangle; he had just finished staring at the door. When his head came around again and he saw the villain invading his space he glared instead of stared and his expression went from troubled to furious.
"Are you hungry?" Kirik inquired.
Robin relaxed his face and shrugged indifferently, refusing to give the man the satisfaction of a positive answer.
"Thirsty?" the villain asked.
Robin shrugged again and Kirik was a little frustrated. The sidekick should be asking for food and water by now – it had been almost three days.
Batman was watching his partner carefully. He could see the slight shaking of Robin's body but his partner was controlling it so well that the villain didn't even notice it.
Robin grinned unexpectedly and both Batman and Kirik raised their eyebrows in surprise. Robin rolled his eyes and shook his head; Batman was worried about where this was going to go.
"I'm sure you're expecting me to start begging for things but that's not going to happen," Robin's throat was dry and he was croaking out the words, "because how I feel is not important. You will be the one pleading for mercy soon because Batman is at full strength and right now he is thinking about how he is going to beat you to a pulp and then throw you in Arkham. No matter what happens to me, he will come after you and everyone knows that you don't want to be on Batman's bad side."
Kirik growled; the kid was annoying and really good at getting under a person's skin, just like he had heard when he was researching the sidekick's abilities. He stalked toward Robin with his hands clenched into fists; the punishment would be physical this time. Robin's grin vanished and he smirked instead. Batman's eyes widened and he shook his head as fast as he could, trying to get Robin's attention. If Batman was correct in his thinking, his partner was about to lose their main chance of escape because he wanted to taunt the villain.
Kirik was almost to Robin, his hand drawn back and aimed at the Boy Wonder's face. It didn't make it there, however, because Robin suddenly slid his bloody left ankle out of the metal bolt and smashed his foot into his captor's face, breaking the man's nose. The villain stumbled back with his hand over his face, attempting to stop the blood. His third step was right in front of the IV tube and he tripped over it, falling backward and hitting his head on the log wall as he tumbled to the ground. Blood was now streaming from the back of his head and he saw double while his vision blurred. Kirik had known about Robin's athletic abilities and was furious that he had allowed the sidekick to take him by surprise. He slowly stood up and dizzily walked toward, and then out, the door.
"Robin, why did you do that?!" Batman exclaimed.
"Because now he will be focused on tightening my left leg so that I won't be able to attack him again. That will leave my right foot free, after I slide it out of the bolt, to open my utility belt on my left hip and pull out the mini Bat-blaster that I…" he trailed off when he remembered Batman's anger upon finding out that Robin had one in his belt.
"Did you stop to think that maybe now he will tighten both legs?" Batman growled. His partner could be impulsive sometimes and now was not the time to act that way.
Robin dropped his eyes to the ground. "Uh, no, I didn't. Holy stupidity, Batman, I'm sorry," he mumbled. He tried to twist his left leg around to his left hip but, even though he was one of the most flexible human beings Batman had ever seen, it was impossible for his knee to turn inside out to get there. Robin sighed; he was really stupid sometimes. He should have done the right ankle to begin with; his left foot was still free and, if he had used his right instead, they would already be out of this mess.
Kirik strode into the room – bandages across his nose and wrapped around his head – followed by Jason, who carried a black bag in his right hand.
"Grab his leg and slam it back against the wall, to the left of that bolt," Kirik growled to the muscular man who dropped the bag on the ground, walked up to Robin and followed the villain's instructions perfectly. Robin flinched when his leg hit the wall and he tried to kick away but the man was strong and easily held it in place. Kirik opened the bag and brought out another u-bolt, pleased that he had been prepared for a situation like this. He had expected Batman to try something but realized that the sidekick's legs, although muscular, were much smaller than those of the older hero. He quickly drilled two holes in the wall then placed the bolt over Robin's calf.
"Tighten the nuts, Jack," the villain yelled to the man on the other side of the wall and the bolt slowly began to secure Robin's leg to the wall. Kirik didn't tell his henchman to stop until he heard a slight 'crack' and listened as Robin tried to hold back a grunt of pain. He stood, put his right hand on Robin's chin and squeezed it tightly as he snarled, "If you ever try anything like that again, you will get something much more painful than a minor fracture of the leg. Do we understand each other?" his voice was low and menacing.
Robin couldn't move his head or open his mouth to respond so he raised his eyebrows at the man and rolled his eyes. Kirik roughly shoved Robin's head to the right as he released his chin and, satisfied with the sound of bone against wood, turned around and left the room, leaving his henchman to clean up. Jason packed the tools in the black bag, picked it up, pulled the bolt to test the security then followed his boss out the door.
"Robin," Batman said loudly, hoping his young partner was still awake. "Status report, now!" Batman wanted to distract Robin from the pain but had to know the extent of his injuries first.
Robin was awake and turned his head so he was looking at Batman. Blood was trickling down past his right ear and he moved his jaw from side to side before answering.
"Okay, um, slightly fractured leg, much larger headache than the one I had before, jaw is really sore and my left foot is numb. I still smell like dirt but now there is sweat and blood mixed in; basically, I stink. How is my hair? Is it a 'cool' messy or an 'I've been captured and look stupid' messy?"
Batman stared at his partner in amazement – how could he think about his hair at a time like this? He shook his head, "Sorry, Robin, but I think it's an 'I've been captured' messy and it has a streak of red on the right side."
It was too painful to grin so Robin left that out when he whispered, "He didn't tighten the right one!" And he began to work, rubbing his right ankle against the metal restraint.
Batman was grateful for that small oversight on the part of the villain but knew that Robin was quickly running out of energy. He needed fuel and there was nothing Batman could do to help with that. He heard a noise outside the door and said quietly, "Robin, stop!"
Robin heard his partner so he stopped and looked at the door. They were surprised to see the tall, skinny, red-haired henchman walk in with a sandwich. The aroma was intoxicating to Robin; the last time he had eaten was the night before they were captured – three full days ago – but he wasn't going to beg for food.
The man glanced back toward the door before walking quickly over to Robin and holding the food in front of him. Robin stared at the meat inside and his stomach growled at him. Holy…dilemma….
"This isn't something I think anybody should have ta go through so I brought ya a little snack," Jack whispered as he glanced back at the door again. "I came on the job fer the money, not ta see a kid waste away, ya know what I mean?"
Robin nodded but his eyes didn't stray from the sandwich. Then he pulled his head back and looked over at Batman, questioning his decision. Batman had been studying the man's body language and carefully listening to the tone of his voice; he seemed sincere so Batman nodded and Robin opened his mouth. The man allowed him to take a large bite and he began chewing so rapidly that Batman was afraid he was going to choke.
"Robin, slow down, take it easy," he said quietly.
"I don't really know if he has time fer that," Jack answered as he looked over at Batman. "The boss stepped out but I don't know where or fer how long."
The tall redhead fed Robin the rest of the sandwich and he was just swallowing the last bite when they heard a door opening. The henchman's eyes opened wide and he raced out of the room without looking back. Batman heard shouting as he watched Robin quickly lick the evidence off the corners of his mouth. There were some loud thumps and then the villain stomped furiously into the room.
"So, has anything unusual happened while I've been gone?" Kirik asked as he glared at Robin from across the room. Robin stared back, refusing to get the henchman in trouble.
Without another word Kirik walked across the room and slammed his fist into the sidekick's stomach, moving quickly to his left to avoid the mess as Robin threw up everything that had just been given to him. Kirik punched him one more time and Robin gagged as his whole body started shaking and he dropped his head.
"Get away from him, leave him alone!" Batman thundered as he struggled to get free. He became furious when he saw his partner's small body trembling violently.
"You will eat when I say you can eat which, now, will not happen. EVER!" Kirik roared. He put his watch under Robin's face and pushed the button that allowed the liquids to flow into Batman's body. "Jealous?" he sneered then glared at Batman before stalking out the door.
"Robin, look at me. Robin!" Batman demanded. His partner's entire body was still shaking and Batman was worried that Robin wasn't responding.
"Robin," he shouted, "let me hear something, let me know you're awake!"
Robin was staring at the mess on the floor and saw the remains of his identity mingling with the fluids. He heard Batman's voice but his throat was raw and he was too tired to try to say anything.
"Robin, talk to me!" Batman yelled again so Robin closed his eyes, licked his lips, and spit out everything that was left in his mouth.
"I'm good," he whispered, hoping it was loud enough for Batman to hear.
Batman saw the movement and heard the quiet words.
"Look at me," Batman commanded, although his voice was gentle and shaking a little.
Robin slowly lifted his head, his face pale and his eyes dark with pain.
"Sorry," he whispered again, "that you had to see that. I'll be stronger, I promise."
Batman was shocked. Robin was apologizing for the actions of that man?!
"You are strong, Robin, you don't have anything to prove to me. None of this was your fault; you have nothing to apologize for and…"
Robin quietly interrupted him, "No, sorry I used...wrong leg and, uh, gave in." He wasn't looking at Batman anymore and he was trying to move his right ankle around but the movement was nearly imperceptible.
Batman was shocked again, "Robin! You didn't give in to that man! The henchman fed you because, for some reason, he wanted to help. That is not giving in!"
But Robin was staring at the mess in front of him again. "Not now, Batman, please. Just…be quiet," he whispered, his tone pleading.
Batman glanced at the floor when he saw the devastated look on Robin's face and quickly discovered the source of his partner's distress: there was no longer a distinct pile of ashes. The evidence of the symbol that Robin was so proud of had disappeared. So Batman closed his mouth and gave his partner some time to think, even though he knew it was probably a mistake.