"Uh...Star? Not to burst your bubble or anything, but how are we supposed to find the Bat Cave? Every criminal in this city has been searching for it since Batman first showed his face. No one knows where it is."
"Robin knows," I said simply. Beast Boy looked at Raven as if for permission.
"Well unless you can just reach inside his mind and pull out the coordinates that doesn't do us any good."
"Friends, the Batman and Batgirl do not wish for us to be here. When they rescue Robin do you think they will bring him back here to be cared for? Have they given any indication that they desire our presence at all? No. They will rescue him and take him to the Batcave and leave us to do the fretting and worrying because we are not members of the great Bat-family." My speech ran away from me and when I did the coming up for air the others were giving me strange looks.
"Don't get me wrong Star, I totally want to break into the Bat Cave with you, but Cyborg's right. We'll never find it and Batman'll kill us if he finds us in it."
"We may not know where the Bat Cave is, but we do know Robin. Even he admits that he shares many of his mentor's tendencies, and who designed the entrances to the Tower? Robin. Who selected the safe houses, Robin. Why would he not replicate the same strategy for us that worked before while he was younger? Do we not all follow similar patterns that have proven effective in the past?" I spoke over my shoulder, looking out the window at the dark night. Gotham's skyscrapers were lit up and beautiful, but it did no disguise the danger that lurked in the shadows. I could feel the evil in the air, sensed the danger that festered just below the surface. It was like being on the Gordanian's home world. Cyborg came to stand beside me.
"We get what you're trying to say, baby girl, but the Bat Cave is the world's best kept secret. Our big, yellow T on an island in the middle of the harbor isn't exactly designed to fade into the background."
"Starfire's right," Raven spoke up. "Batman doesn't want us here, but Robin is wounded and I'm the only one with healing powers. I doubt he'll thank me for this, but...I know who he is." The words hung in the air without meaning. Who he is? He is Robin. Who else could he be? Beast Boy was the first to recover. He gave an exaggerated shake of his head and narrowed his eyes at her.
"How?"
"Telepath, remember? I've been insude his mind before. I swore I would keep what I learned a secret, but I think Starfire's right."
"So who is he?" Beast Boy demanded eagerly. Raven narrowed her eyes.
"I swore I would not tell. But it's easy enough to figure out. Think of his fighting style, where does he draw most of the inspiration for his moves from?"
"I don't know," said Beast Boy, shrugging. Cyborg smacked the back of his head.
"He's an acrobat. He's always trying to show off how many back handsprings or whatever they're called that he can do."
"Right, and who is a famous acrobat who retired around the same time Robin first appeared that just so happens to be Robin's age?" She spoke slowly as if speaking to infants. I had no guesses. My knowledge of humans was limited and I knew very little beyond the scope of Jump City. Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other, waiting for the other to make the first guess. Raven rolled her eyes.
"The only acrobats I can think of were the...what were they called? The Flaming Grays? The Flying Grandsons?"
"Dude, you mean the Flying Graysons? I managed to catch a live broadcast of one of their shows once while my parents and I were in Africa. They were the best."
"Yea, it's a shame about their accident..."
Raven waited with an eyebrow raised in a please-tell-me-you-are-not-really-this-stupid expression. For once I was not the one made to feel ignorant for being the last one to understand what everyone else already knew. Beast Boy threw back his head and laughed
"You're trying to tell me you think Robin is really Dick Grayson in disguise? Please, Raven! When was the last time you picked up a magazine? Grayson's too busy dating supermodels and counting his money to be Robin. I know they call him the Boy Wonder but when would he find the time? He was just in the papers last week in some scandal with a couple of Brazilian bikini models. And where was Robin...?" He waved his hand as though the answer was obvious, but in truth it was not. None of us knew what Robin had been doing.
"I don't know, where was Robin last week?" I did not like what she was insinuating. Even I had seen the tabloid covers that Beast Boy spoke of and the thought of Robin doing the things this Dick Grayson was accused of made my heart hurt. Robin was not the sort of man to use women so freely or so carelessly. Clearly I was no alone in y doubts.
"I thought BB was the one who came up with crazy theories. You really think that Robin, aka Mr. Don't Stop 'Til the Job Gets Done, took a break from fighting the Joker and Harley Quinn to fly to Brazil for a hot date with a couple of bikini models?" When Cyborg repeated it, it truly did sound foolish.
"Do you think his gadgets just come out of thin air? It takes money to afford all that technology. Dick Grayson is the heir to the Wayne Empire. Wayne Industries has an entire division devoted to applied sciences and advanced weapons technology. It's a multibillion dollar corporation that funnels it's money straight into Bruce Wayne's pocket."
"And next you're going to tell me that Bruce Wayne is Batman," Cyborg laughed. Raven sent him a look of such unbridled meaning that even he had to wipe the smile from his face.
I knew of Bruce Wayne. On rare occasions he traveled to Jump City. He was a wealthy philanthropist who funded many charitable foundations in our city and others. Robin often complained about having to make appearances at certain functions where Mr. Wayne was going to be present because he had given an enormous grant to the city to help fund the completion of our tower. Twice I had an occasion to meet the man. He was taller than me with blue eyes and dark hair. He had been handsome by the human standards I had come to know, but his hands had lingered a little too long on the small of my back when we had posed for a picture and Robin had been quick to pull me away, muttering about the 'playboys' and their games. It was difficult to match the flirtatious man I had met on those occasions with the imposing figure that had just left. But perhaps that was the point.
"i suspect Raven is right," I said as Beast Boy and Cyborg continued to look doubtful. "It does appear to be the most logical thing."
"It still doesn't help us break into the Bat Cave or get any closer to getting Robin out of Joker's hands."
"I gave my word that I would not interfere with Robin's rescue," I said with a little flinch. Studiously I had avoided looking in the direction of the cameras that were still pulled up on the screen. Batgirl had been kind enough to leave us a means to observe the events as they unfolded even as she denied us the right to assist. Cyborg glanced over at them and I saw his face blanch. Terror curdled in my stomach and against my better judgment I turned.
Joker had a crowbar and was swinging it wildly at the prone figure lying on the floor. if Batman and Batgirl were not already there they would be too late before the damage was irreparable even for Raven.
One of Joker's men ran up and tapped him on the shoulder. He froze, the crowbar raised high above his head as he listened to whatever the man said into his ear. He twisted behind him to look and on a different screen I saw that there were several large barrels being assembled by more of his men. Joker's lips stretched in a wide smile. I was able to read the 'thank you,' that he gave to his man before he brought the crowbar down on his head, presumably for interrupting him. Then he dropped his weapon, smoothed out his blood-splattered suit, and casually walked over to where Robin lay facedown on the ground.
Robin's Point of View
Argh...Keep breathing...Ungh...don't give...up...hnngh! I'd lost count of the bones he'd broken. File the pain away. You couldn't escape it but you could push through it. Bruce could anyway. If I held out long enough someone would find me.
Crack! Another rib... Can't breathe now... This isn't looking good. The drugs are still in my system. I can't get up...can't fight. I'm going to die without lifting a finger to stop it. Thwack! That was my kneecap. Careful Dick, he likes it when you scream. See, he's aiming for the other one now...
There was a pause, a glorious pause. Why was I still conscious? I lay facedown on cold cement feeling blood trickle out from too many wounds to mention. One of Joker's men was speaking in that low excited whisper they all had. They were afraid of him. Can't say that I blame them. He scares the hell out of me too. Fortunately, I don't think I'll live long enough to have nightmares this time...
"The Bat's headed this way. The girl's with him. The timer's all set, Boss. What'cha want us to do?"
"Ah, thank you, Mickey." There was a metallic twang as Joker brought his crowbar down on Mickey's head so hard that he dropped like a stone. See...he's unconscious. Get it together, Grayson he's coming back. Long fingers curled in the ripped fabric of my black cape and lifted my head and shoulders from the ground. Dried blood peeled back from my face as it left the floor. Agony ricochetted through me as he gave me an experimental shake.
"I can't say how happy I am to see you again, little bird. But it seems our fun's just about at an end. Batsy's just around the corner now and I want to be there when he sees his little friend explode into a million pieces." He grabbed my jaw and wrenched my head around so that it was pointed in the direction of ten barrels arranged like bowling pins rigged to explode. "Aw don't look so down, Robin. Think of it like fireworks at you're big homecoming party. Nothing ike going out with a bang, eh?" He released me and I flopped back down in the pool of my own blood. The floor vibrated as his men hurried to the exits. Harley's stilettos clicked across the floor.
"It's been real, bird-man, but we gotta fly. Gotsta get good seats to watch the grand finale." She squatted down and ran her fingers through my hair in an oddly maternal gesture, as though she was tucking a child into bed. It sent shivers down my spine.
"Don't worry, boy," Joker said from the dark shadows of the doorway. "Batsy and I will be joining you real soon." the door slammed behind him. I was left with the ticking of the timer on the bomb. I couldn't move. I couldn't even drag myself to the door in the hopes they had left it unlocked. I was just going to lie there drinking in my own blood with each breath until the bomb went off. I closed my eyes. The pain was easier to ignore now. It was a dull, angry cocoon, but my mind was drifting and what did it really matter now anyway? I expected my life to flash before my eyes, but my mind was oddly blank. Ten more seconds... I should have listened to Starfire when she warned me I was walking into a trap... Nine more seconds... I should have stayed with my team instead of trying to take him on by myself. Eight seconds... Why do I always do that? Why do I always think I can handle it? When have I ever been able to handle it...? Six seconds... I should have kissed Starfire. Five seconds. I mean we did once, but that doesn't count. Four seconds. I never told her how beautiful I think she is. Three seconds. I never let her see the real me... Two seconds. If Bruce were here he'd kill me. One second...
The explosion rocked the building. I felt the heat sweeping toward me and through my closed eyelids I saw the blinding fireball take me.