CHAPTER 11

EIGHT MONTHS LATER

BATMAN'S JOURNAL

There was so very little that I could do for him. I had green-lighted a dozen projects aimed at repairing damaged brain cells. The media, of course, understood. It was known that Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne's adopted son had fallen while rock climbing, resulting in various injuries which included cortical blindness. I'd had solicitations from a dozen charities for the blind as well as several blind schools, offering their services to help rehabilitate Dick. Of course, they wanted him as their star pupil. The publicity alone would pay Dick's tuition.

When the brochures arrived, Dick overheard Alfred and I discussing them.

"...It seems a very reputable school, sir," Alfred said, turning the pages of the glossy brochure. "Master Dick could make friends and enjoy social activities. Even sports."

"There's no question that the school could benefit him. There are limits to what we can do for him, Alfred. We aren't blind and don't know enough about how blind people live today. I did bring up the possibility of a guide dog with him, you know he likes animals..."

"I recall," Alfred said. "The lad went into hysterics and locked himself into his room. You had to break the door down."

"I was afraid, Alfred. I was terrified that he was going to do something...drastic," I flipped open the brochure and saw happy young faces, clad in dark glasses. "As it was, he was perched on top of his book case when I finally got into the room."

I had had to coax the trembling boy down and promise him multiple times that I loved him just as he was. That blindness hadn't changed his place in my life. I never again mentioned getting him a guide dog.

Unfortunately, Dick was just behind the kitchen door and overheard our conversation. He pushed open the door and counted his footsteps over to the table, pulled out his chair and sat down. He oriented his face towards where he knew I sat.

"Blind school?" he asked. "Isn't that where they teach you piano tuning and how to hold your cup out for donations?"

I winced at the harsh tone in Dick's voice. "Dick, these schools teach the same subjects as any other school. They just gear it towards a group of students that have trouble with their sight." I kept my voice low and even, trying to get through to a very anxious fourteen, almost fifteen year old.

It didn't work. "I'm no use to you, Bruce. I can't go out and help you in the field. I can barely make the computer do what I want it to. I can't even move without barking my shin or running into something!"

It was true. The grace had gone out of my boy's step, leaving instead a fumbling, clumsy adolescent behind. He had completed physical therapy and was able to use both arms and legs. The bruises outside had healed, but the wound inside was festering.

I put the brochure back down onto the table. "All right," I said. "Let's go work out, Dick. You haven't done any self-defense work since before..."

I couldn't bring myself to mention Harvey Dent's name. He was still in jail while the court prepared for trial. I still hadn't decided how to handle Robin's blindness...Maybe ask J'onn or M'gann to substitute? One thing was sure, Robin and Dick Grayson both couldn't be blind.

"What's the point?" Dick said.

"The point is that you're feeling sorry for yourself just now," I said, gripping his shoulder. "You've been working with the computers and that's good. But you also need to exercise your body. Come on downstairs." I said that in a no-nonsense tone that usually got Robin moving. Thank goodness it still worked.

He followed me into my study and we took the freight elevator down (I had forbidden Dick to use the rock-cut stairs). When we got to the batcave, I led him to the workout area.

"Change into your gi and meet me on the mat," I instructed him.

He came over to the mat, feeling it with his toe.

"Now sit down. I want you to listen to my movements and tell me which kata I'm doing." I went through the same kata multiple times, Dick listening intently.

"Um...Heian Godan?" he said doubtfully.

"That's right," I said, suddenly filled with hope. "I want you to sit and listen while I go through my training routine. After a week, we'll spar."

"But, how can I...?" Dick said.

"We'll be sparring in the dark, Dick. I won't have any advantage over you aside from training and age."

For the first time since Harvey Dent tried and failed to kill my son, I saw Dick smile.

ROBIN'S JOURNAL

Batman and I began sparring every day. He'd click off the overhead lights in the cave and we'd begin. At first, my muscles hurt and I had a hard time locating him until I learned to really listen for his movements. The first time I dumped him onto the mat, I laughed out loud, then went after him where he'd fallen. Too late, he was already gone and well on his way to throwing me. But that was okay, I was starting to feel like myself again.

I hadn't lost contact with the team, either. Since we had a zeta tube in the batcave, they'd gotten into the habit of dropping by between missions to see how I was doing. It might have been because they were my friends, but I also think that Alfred and his cookies helped. Batman was a bit nervous about the visits at first, but Alfie set him straight.

"This is a crime lab, not a teenage clubhouse," I heard Batman mutter one day as I was saying my good-byes to the team.

Alfred waited until they had disappeared in the zeta beam, then pulled Batman to one side. I could hear their feet slide on the stone floor. I think Alfred thought that I wouldn't hear, but I hadn't told either of them about how much sharper my hearing had gotten.

"That boy has lost most of his world, sir," Alfred said. "He's extraordinarily lucky that his friends have stuck by him so closely. I daresay that they are all that is keeping him as cheerful as he's been. Let the youngsters come and visit, as often as they like! These visits can only help the Young Master in his recovery. You can't wrap the lad up in cotton-wool to try to protect him from all the world's evils."

"No," Batman's voice was nearly inaudible. "I can't protect him, not nearly well enough..."

"But he's made it through." Alfred's reply was just as soft. "I believe that the term should be 'bloody but unbowed'."

Bruce stopped grumbling about the teenagers coming in and out of the house. Even Barbara Gordon stopped by, but I was pretty embarrassed when she did. What could she see in a blind kid? Bad enough I was an orphan, but now I was pretty useless. Babs kept trying to make conversation, but I wasn't trying very hard. Finally, she left in a huff.

December first was my fifteenth birthday, but I didn't expect much. I was pretty depressed and I know that Batman and Alfred noticed it. They didn't say anything about a party or celebrating.

That morning I had breakfast with Bruce, like I usually do. The cereal got soggy really fast in my bowl, I'd broken a shoelace and tripped myself on the way to the dining room. It was not going to be a good day.

"Had you planned anything for today, Dick?" Bruce asked pleasantly. I heard him sip his coffee and his newspaper rustled.

"Not much," I said, stirring the mush in my bowl. When Crocky Crunch goes soggy, it takes on the consistency of wallpaper paste. "What is there to do? I can study my braille, I guess..."

Now understand, I couldn't see the glance Bruce and Alfred exchanged but I swear I could hear it.

"We thought that it might be pleasant to invite some of your young friends over today," Alfred said, taking my bowl away and replacing it with a plate of toast. "The indoor pool has been serviced and heated; perhaps a pool party would be enjoyable for you and your friends."

"In December?" I asked, but had to admit I liked the idea. The pool is next to the conservatory where Alfie grows hothouse flowers and vegetables, so it ought to be warm in there. Then I remembered. "I'm blind. How am I gonna swim?"

"You've swum in the dark before," Bruce said evenly. "I don't see that it would make much difference. And I'll be on the deck with a whistle if you need to know what direction the other end of the lane is."

He was right. I've been thrown off docks, shipwrecked, had to swim for my life, all after dark. This shouldn't be any different.

"Okay," I said, finally.

"Good," Bruce said. "They'll be here at one p.m." I heard the rustle as he stood up. "I'll be working in the batcave until then. I'd appreciate it if you don't come downstairs; I don't want to be disturbed."

"Oh, okay," I said absently. Pool party. In December! That should be fun.

You understand that having a birthday in December almost always means it collides with Christmas. You end up getting combo gifts, half birthday/half Christmas. Or you get sweaters, a lot of sweaters. Before my parents died, we wintered in Florida, so it wasn't as bad. I could ride my new bike outside or play catch. But in Gotham they have snow and that tends to limit outside activities to things like skiing or ice skating or staying indoors watching movies. Christmas movies.

I was really looking forward to this pool party thing!

The team arrived on time, coming through the zeta beam already dressed for swimming, but carrying their everyday clothes in duffel bags. Wally shot over to me, I felt the breeze, and gave me a big hug.

"Happy birthday, Rob!" he shouted as the rest of the team surrounded me for more hugs. Funny, I could tell them apart. M'gann and Artemis I could identify by their perfume. Kaldur, by the scent of salt. Conner smelled of soap, Rocket of ozone, while Zatanna smelled of incense. And Wally? He smelled like candy. Totally. Wow.

"Hey, guys! Welcome to the party!" I said. "C'mon up to the pool!"

I think they were a little surprised that I knew the way so well. I'd been practicing and could go most places in the batcave and manor without tripping or barking my shins.

I suppose Bruce was watching me, but he really didn't interfere. Wally and Conner made enough noise in the pool to frighten rhinos, and everybody else called out to me to tell me where they were.

It was the most normal I'd felt since Two-Face. Just being a normal kid for a day was Bruce and Alfred's gift to me and I'll never forget it. But the best gift they had saved for last.

After the pool, Alfred took me to my room and got me some clothes to wear. To my surprise, they were workout clothes.

"Alfie, what's this all about? Shouldn't I be putting on my party clothes?" I asked, feeling the soft jersey of my gymnastics outfit.

"No, young sir," he said. "Master Bruce particularly wanted you to come downstairs to the batcave at this point in the proceedings."

"What? Are Bruce and I going to do a demo of our 'fighting in the dark' skills or something?"

"You shall see, Master Dick," he said. "You shall see."

So, we went downstairs and everybody was there in the batcave waiting for us, the team, Bruce, everyone. When they saw me arrive, everybody started clapping.

"All right, here's your birthday gift, Rob," KF said proudly. "Batman is up in the rigging of your trapeze, and so is M'gann. They're both going to be catchers. Batman has one whistle..." I heard a loud tweet. "And M'gann has the other one." I heard a different tone. "The rest of the team are spotters around the net. Buddy, you're gonna fly tonight!"

He led me over to the ladder and I was climbing it as fast as I could. I used to brag that I could throw a quadruple with my eyes closed and now was my chance. Batman met me at the platform and positioned me facing forward. He put the bar of the trapeze into hands. "M'gann is already out there," he said with a smile in his voice. "We'll call commands out to you. Go ahead and do your quad for us, son."

I can't describe my joy at flying again. I know that the reason M'gann was out there wasn't just because I'd trained her on the traps for that one mission, but also because she's telekinetic. She wouldn't let me fall, no matter what. I knew that all my friends were there, around the net, ready to help me if anything went wrong. It was perfect.

I swung out to build momentum, then did my quad and hit M'gann's catch with a loud slap. She swung me, building up momentum. She shifted her grip, so that I faced back the way I came and suddenly, I could 'see' the center trapeze. I whooped, flipped and grabbed it with both hands. M'gann had let me 'see' through her eyes! I swung back and Batman caught me at the platform, to the whistles and applause from below.

"Happy Birthday, Robin," M'gann said softly in my mind and the world was dark again.