A/N: Thanks for the reviews and comments Psyche Castle, Blas, JokerFan2011 and Carl!
Chapter 9:
Kirik paced around the front room of the old cabin. This had never happened to him before. Every single one of his other jobs had been done after two days. Well, there was that guy who lasted two and a half but he didn't really count that one because it took so long for the man's heart to finally stop beating; he was mostly dead on the morning of the third day.
Kirik shook his head to clear his thoughts – the other ones no longer mattered. He was not going to let a kid outlast him. But…now what? Physical violence wasn't his style; he didn't even enjoy hitting the sidekick so there was really no point to it. He had done well when he toyed with the boy's emotions but he didn't have any other ideas of how to do that. Taking the 'R' had been a big blow; he didn't think Robin had fully recovered from that yet. It was obvious that the boy was proud of being a sidekick to a real hero so what else could he do to tear his pride to pieces? The utility belt – that was part of the kid's costume – and so was…Kirik grinned. Those two things would be perfect.
Robin wasn't moving. Batman knew that his partner had nothing left and doubted that he would wake up in time to try to get the mini Bat-blaster before the villain came back. He might not even have enough strength to get his leg up to his utility belt. Batman tried rubbing his wrists and ankles against the metal but his gloves and boots hindered his ability to move them more than a millimeter. How could he be here for three or four days and not have at least one escape plan?!
Robin was awake but too tired to open his eyes. He felt his right leg hanging freely under his body and knew he was supposed to do something important with it. If he didn't feel so sluggish he would probably be able to remember. What could he do to help himself wake up? His stomach growled at him but for some reason he had a bad memory about eating so he dismissed that feeling. What if he – his thought was interrupted by a blast of freezing cold water that covered his entire body. His head shot up and his eyes flew open.
Kirik marched into the room with the more muscular of the two henchmen, who was carrying a large bucket. Batman knew what was about to happen but before he could even open his mouth the water had been tossed out of the bucket and all over Robin.
Robin gasped and sputtered as the water drenched him and began dripping onto the floor. He started shivering and, through hazy vision, saw the villain in front of him and one of the goons walking out the door. The man was talking to him but he couldn't turn any of the sounds into words. He heard a questioning tone but didn't have an answer because he didn't understand the question. There was a loud roaring in his ears and he couldn't hear anything anymore. He was confused and the man kept turning away from him and then back to him. What was he supposed to do?
"Hello, again, kid. I don't know who you are because you don't have any identifying marks so…who are you?"
"You are going to pay for this!" Batman roared at the villain.
Kirik ignored him and asked again, "Who are you? You don't know, either?" He was pleased that the sidekick wasn't talking back anymore.
"I'm going to…" Batman roared again but was interrupted.
"You're going to what, Batman?" the man turned around to stare at him, annoyed at the constant yelling and shouting. "Help him, save him? You can't even move!"
He turned back to Robin, "I need to know who you are; maybe there is something in this belt." He ripped the utility belt away from Robin's waist and tossed it across the room.
Robin felt something being torn off and looked down. He recognized his utility belt and attempted to lunge at the man, who proceeded to laugh at Robin's inability to do anything.
"I'll ask you one more time: who are you?" Kirik was still laughing at the boy's obvious distress – he had been correct in his approach.
Robin could finally understand the man and received a rush of adrenaline. The villain had not only taken his symbol but now, also, his belt!
"I am Robin and I will always be Robin! Go get that belt and bring it back!" he demanded, his voice scratchy and almost inaudible, and the man started to laugh so hard that he had tears in his eyes.
"You, kid, are in no position to make demands," Kirik grinned when he had calmed down. "Robin has three recognizable things that allow people to know that he is Robin and you, boy, only have one; which you are about to lose. Therefore, you aren't Robin – that sidekick is dead and can never return."
Batman was frantic – there was one thing that nobody could ever discover and this man was about to reveal it. Robin would not die; somehow Batman would make sure that his identity was kept secure. Even if he had to kill the guy….
The villain stepped closer to Robin and raised his left hand, going for the mask across the young hero's blue eyes. Robin's brain switched into panic mode when he figured out what was about to happen. His free right leg flew up and hit the man under the chin, spinning him around into the back of Robin's already bent right knee. The impact caused Robin's leg to slap across the villain's neck and he flexed the strong muscles, squeezing as hard as he could. The man was flailing around but was finally able to latch on to Robin's leg and attempt to pull it away.
Kirik was caught off guard when, instead of ripping the mask off of Robin's face, he was choking in the crook of the sidekick's right leg. He felt the strength and grabbed onto the taut muscles but his vision was blurring and, when he tried to call out to his henchmen, he could only whisper.
Batman watched in disbelief as his partner began to squeeze the air out of their captor. "Knockout only, Robin," he shouted; Batman wanted the man in Arkham, not dead.
Robin heard the shout and attempted to nod. He knew Batman probably hadn't seen the movement, though, so his partner would just have to trust that Robin would do the right thing.
Kirik saw double, his arms went slack and that was followed by his body going limp. He fell into darkness and didn't feel himself hit the wood floor when Robin released his neck.
Robin dropped his leg and his head. He was exhausted and now he didn't even have his utility belt and couldn't grab the mini Bat-blaster. He slowly lifted his head and, with sadness in his eyes, whispered, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Batman shouted at him in confusion and, mostly, frustration. Robin had let the man go, he hadn't killed him, so why did he feel the need to apologize…again?!
Robin's neck was weak and he had dropped his head again. "I can't get it out; it was our only chance and now I can't reach it," he murmured dejectedly.
Batman tried to think of something positive to say but couldn't come up with anything because his partner was right: it was quite possibly their only chance and neither he nor Robin could get to it.
Jack came running into the room and halted in shock: his employer was knocked out on the floor, right underneath the kid he had been working to break! He looked over his right shoulder when Batman growled but then looked back at the boy, whose head was hanging down and body was completely limp.
"Stay away from him!" Batman thundered.
Jack was startled at the loud noise but, like he had earlier, wanted to help. If he could somehow release the Dynamic Duo before his boss woke up then maybe they would protect him until the guy was locked up. Maybe they would also put in a good word for him and his brother. Maybe…? But they were bolted to the wall, the nuts on the other side had been soldered to a pipe and the entire thing was covered with cement that went down the wall and into a concrete block. His boss had been well prepared and Jack had no ideas – not even his strong brother could tear apart a cement block and wall! They needed tools, which they didn't have because the man had planned on leaving the heroes here after breaking the kid! He began to pace, wracking his brain and coming up with nothing.
"What are you doing?" Batman asked, his voice still loud but not as threatening. This was the man who had given Robin food and, even though he didn't trust the guy, Batman felt that maybe he would be willing to help.
"I…I don't, um, have any ideas of how ta release ya and I want ta because my boss will probably wake up soon and I don't want ta be in the path of his rage and I was hoping that maybe you could, uh, would protect me if I let ya out but I don't know how ta undo something covered in cement without tools…" Jack paused to take a breath.
"It's…in…the…" but Robin couldn't say anything else and he slipped into darkness.
Batman looked at the man thoughtfully. Should he allow this henchman to touch Robin's utility belt? What if the man was deceiving him? But, what other choice did he have?
"I am going to allow you to do something that nobody has ever been allowed to do but if you double-cross me you will pay a heavy price; you and your partner," Batman's tone was intimidating and Jack had no doubt about what would happen if he disobeyed the hero's instructions. Batman turned Robin's belt around in his head so he would know exactly where the mini Bat-blaster was being kept.
"Come over here and pick up Robin's utility belt. In the third pocket to the left of the buckle you will find what looks like a small bomb. Take it out, put it under my legs and press the button on the top. Then get out of the room; it has not been tested very well yet."
Jack was shaking as he carefully walked over toward where Robin's belt lay; about four feet to the right of Batman. He found the mini Bat-blaster and followed Batman's instructions perfectly. He raced out of the room after pushing the button and was around the corner when there was a quiet rumble of what sounded like thunder and then a loud bang. Batman hadn't told him to come back in so he stayed where he was, trembling with fear.
Batman waited for what seemed like hours and finally heard the rumbling that preceded the explosion. He closed his eyes and hoped this would work the way he envisioned it instead of blasting him to pieces. There was a loud 'bang' and Batman felt the bolts release from his ankles. He opened his eyes; his ankles were bloody but that was better than being dead. Placing his feet against the wall for leverage and driving his legs forward, he pushed his wrists against the metal as hard as he could and felt the bolts give a little. He flexed his arms, arched his back, pushed with his legs and suddenly he was falling toward the floor. He landed head-first and was knocked out.