CHAPTER 5

Author's Note: Some original dialogue was taken from Robin: Year One by

Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty

BATMAN'S JOURNAL

I was so focused on Dent, that I failed to track their movements or back them up. It was just as well. I was busily pounding Dent's worthless face into a pulp when I felt a strong hand on my arm.

"Stop, Batman. You must stop or you will kill him."

Breathing hard, my mouth open in a grimace, I held my fist an inch from Harvey's face. The team leader, Kaldur, stood next to me with his hand wrapped around my forearm.

"Let me go," I rasped. "He killed Robin; he deserves to die."

"That remains to be seen," Kaldur said gently. "Robin is being treated at the Hall of Justice even as we speak. You are a hero, sir. Don't lower yourself to this man's level."

For the first time, I looked away from Dent. I was surrounded by wide-eyed teenagers who watched me with frightened glances. Stunned, I looked down at my bloody hands and dropped the villain. The various henchmen had been subdued and were tied up around the warehouse. I heard sirens in the distance; Gordon's men were on the way.

"Robin?" I asked Kaldur, not sure that I'd heard him right.

"Kid Flash radioed in. Robin is being treated by Dr. Midnite at the Hall of Justice. He has just gone into surgery. M'gann is returning with the bio-ship to take you there." Kaldur had everything under control. A good leader, as I'd surmised.

Behind him, I spotted the first GCPD officers, with Gordon trailing behind. "We need to give statements to Gordon's people first," I said and picked up the now-bloodied and dented bat. I squelched my aching need to get to my son's bedside. Robin was as safe as he could be and getting care from professionals. The mission comes first, always.

REPORT OF: Wally West

CODE NAME: KID FLASH

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M'gann and I got back after the Gotham Police Department arrived and everybody was giving statements. I could see Batman talking quietly to Commissioner Gordon, while the rest of the team were talking to the uniformed cops. M'gann took one look at Batman and made a beeline over to him. Not knowing what else to do, I followed.

I've never seen Batman so...[Okay, Batman, you told me to be honest in my observations and recollection, so here it is. I am not going to soften it or try to say things that won't make you mad. If you don't like what I think, stop asking me to write these reports!]

I've never seen Batman so icy, so emotionless. When he talked to Gordon, he kept referring to Rob and 'the second victim'. I guess the judge was the 'first victim'. He spelled it all out in cop-talk, just like I've heard Uncle Barry testify a dozen times in court. You'd think that Robin was just some kid who wandered into the scene and got hit by accident and NOT this guy's adopted kid! C'mon, I know the truth. I know who Dick is and I know who Batman is...Okay, sorry, delete that...I know who ROBIN is and what his relationship is to Batman and this wasn't it.

M'gann and I waited for a break in the conversation to tell Batman that Robin had been taken for treatment to Dr. Midnite at the Hall of Justice and was still alive when we last saw him.

"Yeah, Superman met us halfway there," I said to Batman. "He climbed in through the airlock and took Robin the rest of the way faster than we could."

I could see Batman jerk a little at the mention of Superman. D...Robin says Batman is a little jealous of Superman's relationship with Rob. Could be. All I can say is that I saw more concern in Superman's eyes than I was seeing then.

The cops were getting ready to haul Two-Face away. For a wonder, the guy was conscious. As they walked that bas***d past Batman, the guy smirked right at him and I saw both Bats' fists curl up real tight, so maybe I was wrong about him not feeling anything.

Artemis, Superboy and Rocket, ensure that Dent makes it to the police department safely, Kaldur's calm voice said through the telepathic link.

Why? Artemis said. He just beat the s**t out of Robin! Why not let Batman kill him? I know I'd like to!

I heard a chorus of "Yeah's" from my teammates. I've never heard any of them so angry before and I have to admit, I was willing to kill the guy myself.

Because Batman has honor and a code. He would lose more than Robin if we allow him to kill this man, no matter how justified it was. We do this for Batman. And Robin, Kaldur said firmly.

We all sighed as he went on. M'gann, Zatanna, Kid Flash and I will escort Batman to the Hall if he wishes. Otherwise, we will go and see how our friend is doing. Sphere will remain here to transport the rest of you to meet us once Dent has been secured.

I know when I've been given orders, so I waited until all the statements had been taken. After they were done with me, I spent the time watching the CSI's photographing and sampling the puddles of blood in crime scene and trying not to throw up onto it.

REPORT OF: Artemis Crock

CODE NAME: Artemis

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Testing...testing...one, two three...I'm glad I can just dictate this and the computer will write it for me. You must've really hated Wally's keyboarding. So, here goes.

The team escorted the police who had Harvey Dent in custody, arriving at the Gotham City Police Headquarters in fifteen minutes, twelve seconds. Rocket and Superboy volunteered to watch the outside of the building to prevent escapes while I followed the police inside.

Dent was determined to have superficial injuries and treated by a nurse, then taken to an interrogation room for questioning. The questioning was handled by Commissioner Gordon himself. I joined two detectives outside the two-way mirror/window to watch.

Commissioner Gordon entered the room, holding the bat that...that..this is really hard, y'know? Rob's such a good friend, even if I don't know who he really is as a civilian. Um...anyway, Gordon had the bat all wrapped in a plastic bag and it looked really gross. It was dented all over, looked like it had been chewed or something. And it was covered with blood.

So, Dent sat down and they chained him to the floor and Dent looked...well, relaxed. I swear, even his slacks still had their creases. Dent leaned back in the chair and just smiled at the bat, then at Gordon. Before Gordon could ask him anything, Dent just said "Let me make this real easy for you, Gordon. The boy is dead."

"Who?" Gordon asked.

"Robin. The Bat's little pal is off flying with the angels now," Dent said and leered. He looked like one of those villains on the late late show, and we were looking at the good side of his face!

Gordon kind of crumpled up while Dent stood up as far as his chains would let him and started shouting. "The kid is taking a dirt nap! Just like Watkins! So, you could call it a double homicide!" He started laughing out loud until a cop came up from behind him and made him sit down again.

Dent, still grinning, said "I'll only be confessing to my lawyer from here on out."

Gordon didn't say anything, he just left the room and slammed the door with a bang, the bat still in his right hand. One of the cops followed him and asked, "You okay, sir?"

Gordon was really upset. He said, "No, no I'm not. I once counted that maniac as a friend! But right now I'd like nothing better than to send him straight to the gas chamber."

I waited until Dent was taken to solitary and locked down. Then I located the rest of the team and Sphere took us to the Hall of Justice.

ROBIN'S JOURNAL-

Have you ever been stuck in a dream and wanted to wake up so bad, but you couldn't? I was kind of aware, the way you are in dreams. First, I recall being in somebody's arms, I thought it was Batman at first but I felt wind whooshing past my ears, so it must have been Superman. But then the wind stopped and I floated away again. First I couldn't breathe and it hurt to inhale, then it was easier but my throat hurt and I heard a hissing sound next to me, but then I went away again.

Then I remember it hurt and I couldn't get away from it. It hurt everywhere. My arms, my legs...I couldn't move anything, something was holding me down. Dent? I felt panic and heard a sort of beeping noise, then a rustling sound and something cold drifted into my arm and I floated away again.

I was stuck in the same dream and I couldn't get out. I was on the floor of that warehouse and I could see Dent, drifting in and out of focus. First he was normal sized, then he'd get really tall and incredibly warped and he was pounding me with his fists, then the bat, then his fists again. I could feel hands on me, moving me, doing things that made me hurt more. When I struggled, the hands held me down, then something like straps or something, rope? Maybe. Anyway, I was pinned, like a turtle on its back. I could feel hands, lots of hands but it was so dark and noisy and then I'd float away again.

I don't know if it was day or night, it was all now. Only Dent came and went and did things to me that made me ache afterwards. I tried to fight him off, but I couldn't. And my head...my head was muzzy and spiky and throbbed all the way down the back of my neck and it never stopped.

Then, I was in a small space with really cold air that smelled of alcohol. It made loud banging sounds, like I was in a metal drum and somebody was trying to get in. I could feel the drum shifting around, about two inches from my nose, and then the banging would start again and I'd shiver because it was so cold in there; cold air was moving past me even though I seemed to have a blanket around me. More voices, but I couldn't understand what they were saying.

Once I thought I heard Bruce's voice. It was really soft and his voice was cracking, but that couldn't be Bruce. He never cries or breaks down. And once I could have sworn I head M'gann singing something in Martian, a folk song I think it was. She'd sung it for us when we all went camping and she knew I liked it, but why would she be in Dent's warehouse singing to me while he killed me?

I had to be dead and in Hell. Nothing in life was ever like this.