THE FINAL CHAPTER HAS ARRIVED! Hah, who's ready to rescue Batman!? Nice long chapter now to wrap it all up. I didn't end up getting the chance to upload this before I moved house so this has now become the very first chapter to be written from my new home in England! Sorry for the wait though :(
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed this story, it's been my pleasure entertaining you and I hope you enjoy this last bit! Don't forget to vote on the poll for the story you want next!
Replies to reviews:
starwarsfan15: Thanks for the support; I hope you enjoy this chapter now!
ArkieR: I know right!? England woo! What sort of part of England do you live in? I moved to the south! Have you heard about those horrible storms and the flood warnings? Please be aware and be safe wherever you are. Thanks a lot I'm so glad you like the story and I'll update ASAP!
BlueJayRobin: Thanks a lot, and this is the last chapter so I hope you like! (Loving the name by the way.)
Actually, as it goes, any readers in the UK can you please make sure that you know whether there is a flood warning where you are! Unfortunately there have already been a lot of evacuations and things aren't looking good in some areas. So please, be safe and be careful.
To the story!
"Before we go flying in blindly, we should have a rough sort of plan," Superman said with an anxious glance in Robin's direction. The thirteen year old was clearly furious and without some guidance he worried that Robin would be a danger to himself and his team. Superman understood Robin's anger, but he knew there was something extra that was eating away at him. Not knowing Robin's past, he couldn't possibly have known the involvement he had with Tony Zucco in his younger years. Superboy meanwhile directed his anger at the man he had been cloned from, Superman was throwing all of his concern at Robin. Why wouldn't the Kryptonian just at the very least acknowledge the clone's existence? Why wouldn't he say something? Superman ignored the death stare being sent his way by someone he didn't want to believe was still there and continued, "We don't have time for anything fancy so let's just do this quick and get Batman out of there."
Robin agreed easily and with only his mentor in his mind, he tried his hardest to focus so that the planning process would be as short and sweet as it possibly could be. Robin thought over the information that he had been presented with quickly and then pitched a few ideas to the Team and League members, "There are a lot of opponents to think about, so it would be best if we stayed together and watched each other's backs. Stealth is definitely out of the window, they'll know we're coming and they'll be ready. There are three storeys to the building, so after things have died down it would be a good idea to split into groups of three and search each floor methodically."
Flash nodded with a smile, seeing easily why Batman should be so proud and protective of his protégé. Robin truly was something special. This was a team-work task though, the best strategist they had was captured and so he wasn't there to advise them. Flash contributed only what he knew, "When we split up, we should evenly distribute the skill sets, strengths and weaknesses so that if we get into a difficult situation we have a higher chance of fixing it." Robin snapped his fingers before pointing at Flash, telling the speedster in red that he had almost forgotten about 'that part'. Green Arrow took the new silence as his opportunity to contribute something useful.
"If Batman is hurt, then there should be at least one person on each Team with decent medical knowledge. Who actually knows a little bit more than the basic first aid here?" Green Arrow asked. He raised his own hand in the air which prompted a few others to do the same. The ones with their hands raised were himself, Robin, Connor, Artemis and Kaldur. Five – indivisible by three but that didn't matter. Green Arrow put his hands on his hips in thought momentarily before nodding sharply, "Okay, well I'm comfortable enough with my knowledge to be the only one on my team with higher medical expertise, so you others can pair up."
"I think we should have Flash, Wally and myself on separate teams too," M'Gann piped up in an audible, but squeaking voice. Connor looked at her admiringly, she had always been afraid of voicing her own opinions – especially when there were League members around – but it seemed that to help someone in need, she had conquered her inhibitions. He was proud. M'Gann continued when the others looked at her questioningly, "It's just that, well, if Batman really needs medical attention as soon as possible, then he should have access to people who can get him to a hospital as quickly as possible." M'Gann suggested whilst tapping her index fingers together and keeping her eyes fixed on the floor.
"Good thinking, M'Gann." Green Arrow praised. The Martian glowed happily in return. Robin even shot her a smile, even during everything that was happening that would leave M'Gann trembling in a corner in her room, Robin had smiled. Not only that, but he had directed his smile at her. M'Gann stood a little bit taller, nourished by that tiny bit of positive attention that she had received. Robin then dropped his smile almost as quickly as he had picked it up and he began to think about Team divisions, what would be the best way? After some consideration and careful adjustments, Robin felt that he had come up with a good combination.
"I'm thinking that Superman, Kaldur and Artemis should go together, that way we have speed, flight and medical skills grouped. Then Flash, M'Gann and Green Arrow for pretty much the same reasons and then last me, Superboy and KF. I'm the closest we have left to flight, and I have the medical skill. Then there's Superboy for strength and KF for speed." Robin concluded, pointing to each person as he voiced their names. Nobody had any argument with their teams; Robin had even managed to separate the people who might distract each other. But he wasn't quite done yet, there was one more thing to say, "Batman is the priority right now, we need to get him out and safe. Only then do we decide how to find and capture Zucco, okay? He's dangerous, if you see him and Batman is out and safe then by all means engage, but do not engage alone."
"Well then," said Superman with a glint to his eyes, "Suit up. We've got work to do." It was such a cheesy line, but when Superman had said it, he had said it like he was just going out to buy some food or something. He said those words like they meant almost nothing to him and that made the line less cheesy, in fact it gave the Young Justice team an insight into the Kryptonian's mind. The tone of voice that he had used suggested to the Team that he was a little bit bored of crime and longed for it all to stop, for it to end and give way to peace. But everyone knew that wouldn't happen, and with that finalising thought, they all followed Robin who said that he had back up suits in storage somewhere for situations such as this. Or to put it another way: in case of emergency.
It was barely a few minutes before the Young Justice team were dressed in their hero garb and were ready to depart. The Bio-ship once again proved useful as there was nothing else that would manage to carry all nine of them. The aircraft to the cave's left would carry four people, but even if they did decided to take it, Robin was the only one other than Batman who could pilot it. So, sitting in their own seats and having the seatbelts buckles themselves around each body, M'Gann asked the ship to take her to the co-ordinates that she then entered in and soon they were speeding off to where Robin hoped Batman would still be alive. The journey seemed too long and was uncomfortable for the worried young acrobat, but still, he knew that complaining would not make the Bio-ship fly any faster and so he kept his mouth shut. But his unease was still obvious amongst everyone else in the ship.
"Is Robin going to be alright? This mission is heavily personal after all." Kaldur asked in a whisper whilst leaning towards Wally who sat in the nearest chair to his right. The two of them, and Connor who had overheard, spared a troubled glance in Robin's direction. The boy's hands were clenched tightly into fists and it was obvious that he had a lot going on in his head, but honestly Wally believed that if Batman – the closest thing that Robin had to family anymore – was in danger, then Robin would easily be able to rise to the challenge and carry out whatever task necessary to see him safe again. Robin was just that sort of person, the kind who had their priorities in such a strict and perfect order that it was hard to deter them from their personal mission. In other words, Robin was stubborn.
"He'll be fine Aqualad," Kid Flash insisted back. He locked eyes with the Atlantean and saw the worry in them, not just for Robin but for the rest of the Team as well – including the senior heroes who were accompanying them. Kid Flash rolled his eyes dramatically and gave a world weary sigh as he chuckled nervously, "Look, Rob might be personally involved in this mission and he might have had a really bad few days, but he's not the kind of person who is going to let his feelings get in the way and ruin a mission that will save Batman!" Wally's voice had gotten progressively louder and louder as his annoyance showed in his words. Robin bristled a few seats away and that was when Wally realised that he could hear everything being said. He knew that his team were beginning to question his capability.
"Are you sure about that though, Kid Idiot?" Artemis demanded in a quiet, hissing voice. It was true; she had been worried about Robin's involvement in this mission as well. But instead of arguing with her as she had been expecting him too, Wally simply raised a finger to his lips and jerked his head towards Robin. When Artemis shifted her gaze to Robin, she saw his grave face and knew that it had been heard, the damage had been done. Robin knew what his Team were thinking now and there was nothing that the Team could do to take it back. Well, not without invading the privacy of his own mind they couldn't.
Was that what they thought? Did Robin's team not trust him to push his feelings aside and get on with it? The thirteen year old had thought that his teammates understood. But clearly they hadn't gotten the whole picture, Robin had been pushing his feelings aside and carrying out missions effectively for years, what made this mission any different? The only difference was that Batman's life was on the line, and that was it. Kaldur doubted him, Artemis doubted him, he was sure that the others felt the same. The only one he knew didn't doubt him was Wally, and that thought was enough to give him comfort. Rather than taking offense, Robin decided that he would show his team that he could handle the pressure. He would show the team that he was worthy of their trust, he would show Batman that he was wrong to keep Robin from helping him. He would prove himself.
The Bio-ship landed gracefully on the concrete outside a large office building. Surprisingly enough, it didn't look as though it were abandoned. There were lights on in all the offices bar the very top floor and people – seemingly ordinary civilians – visibly walked around with stacks of paper in their arms, or sat at a desk typing away at their desktop computers. As the heroes exited the Bio-ship and read the title of the company printed in big bold letters across the enormous building at the very top just below the roof. When researching, the senior heroes had just thought that the title was just a cover up, but apparently not. This was an actual, functioning company, with their own delivery trucks waiting to be dispatched and everything. To be specific, 'Gotham Printing and Graphic Design Ltd' was a functioning company.
But it was a functioning company building that somewhere inside held Batman. So, remembering the plan even though things weren't as expected, the group rearranged themselves into their smaller groups and then headed together straight for the front doors. As soon as they entered the building, several faces whipped up in confusion to see their strange visitors and there were a few moments of pure emptiness as the heroes considered turning around and leaving because they had the wrong place. But then they attacked, en masse. Every employer, employee, intern or the like, everyone, ran straight at the heroes and began to attack them. Some drew guns from their pockets, others grabbed crowbars that were lying in hiding places amongst potted plants and photocopiers. Now the heroes, both senior and junior, understood how Batman had been captured. The whole company building must have been employed by Zucco, and Zucco had been hiding in plain sight.
The whole ensemble had been frozen in a collective shock for a moment or two until a gunshot was heard and Kid Flash had to literally dodge a bullet. It was only then that everyone was snapped out of their stupor and came to the conclusion that these civilians weren't civilians and were all actually working for Tony Zucco. In the chaos, keeping track of the small groups of three was impossible, everyone was far too busy trying to defend themselves, let alone strike back.
Green Arrow shifted to Artemis' position and then covered her back as she covered his. The two of them fought in perfect sync, as Artemis drew an arrow from her quiver, Green Arrow would mirror that action by kicking or punching away any enemies immediately nearby her. Then, likewise, Artemis would cover her mentor when he drew his arrows. They had defeated three employees already; they were lying unconscious on the ground at the duo's feet and yet more and more kept on coming. It was clear then that there were also more people upstairs that were now rushing down to help with the invasion downstairs. An idea hatched in Artemis' head at that point after that realisation, if they were all heading downstairs to help; then there were significantly less people upstairs which meant that it would be easier for someone to search up there. However, Artemis couldn't yet suggest such an idea as another five men with crowbars approached her and Green Arrow with the intent of attacking.
After seeing everyone else burst into action, Kid Flash had taken off at a rapid speed to snatch as many weapons from their users as he could. Then, following his footsteps closely, Flash echoed behind his nephew and proceeded to send a hard, fast punch at whoever was left without a weapon. That was going well, until an unseen crowbar was slammed into Kid Flash's right shin and sent him tumbling to the ground violently. Flash soon took care of the assailant and then sprinted to see if Kid Flash was alright. Wally looked dizzy, but otherwise unharmed. Although Flash was quite certain a large nasty bruise would make itself known later. Flash stuck a hand out which Wally grabbed gratefully and hauled his nephew to his feet. The speedster in yellow wavered, but then steadied himself and didn't even stop to look at his uncle before speeding off once again in a determined manner. That's my boy, Flash thought, swelling with pride.
After seeing Kid Flash tumble head over heels, crashing into desks and other hard looking objects, M'Gann had paused what she was doing and cried out Wally's name in her mind in fear. But then as she saw Flash run to him, she knew that he was in good hands and so she turned and met Superman's gaze once more before resuming what she had been doing. Superman shot at crowbars, guns and knives alike with his heat vision, causing the people holding them to cry out in pain and drop the burning objects. This then prompted M'Gann to pick them up with her telekinesis and then safely deposit them out of reach in a little nook that sat close to the highly risen ceiling. This meant that those on the ground would have an easier time fighting their opponents. Kaldur was doing a good job electrocuting his opponents with his water whips. That is until M'Gann spotted someone swing a large hammer over their head with the intention of crushing Aqualad's skull with it. M'Gann gave a squeak of terror and subconsciously lifted Aqualad from the ground and into the safe air. The result being that the hammer slammed down on another assailant's head instead.
Robin and Superboy had unknowingly paired up with one another. Superboy was charging straight at his attacker's, using his near-invincible body as a shield and using his brute force to knock out a human in one punch. Robin in the mean time used Superboy's strong shoulders and back as a sort of spring board and vantage point. He would leap off of Superboy's back and kick several people expertly in the time it took for him to travel from his teammate's shoulders to the ground. Superboy was secretly amused that Robin was using him as though he was a tree or something similar, but he would never admit it. He would probably not even remember thinking so after all of the conflict was over. However, Connor and Robin were distracted in their fight when they heard Artemis' voice above the sound of fighting and their opponent's shouting like banshees.
"Robin! Superboy!" Artemis called. The archer soon saw that she had both boys' attentions and she signalled to M'Gann to set up a telepathic mind-link. Once connected, it became far easier for the team to interact with each other and for the other team member's to understand who was doing what to help win the battle. But more importantly was Artemis' voice, "They're all emptying the upstairs areas to come down here and fight, now's your chance! Go and search for Batman and we'll stay and keep them busy!" Artemis commanded. Even in her thoughts she sounded quite breathless, Robin didn't feel right leaving them all alone.
"But Artemis, you all sound tired as it is. You're going to need all of the help that you can get!" Robin argued whilst punctuating his point by punching a man in the face and letting him fall limp at his feet. Flash, Superman and Green Arrow would have intervened in the argument, but they were still trying to get used to the feeling of the mind-link. They had been linked together telepathically by Martian Manhunter before, but when it was done by a different Martian it felt different. It felt uncomfortable actually and they needed to take a bit of time to get used to the foreign minds occupying their heads before they could settle any arguments.
"Robin, go. Batman could be in more trouble than we are and I'm sure we can handle a few minutes without you. Just go!" Artemis shouted, trying to sound more forceful this time. Robin and Superboy dropped the men that they were holding, looked at each other and nodded once before running to the stairwell that the two of them had fought their way past earlier. As Superboy started up the stairs, Robin paused and looked back at his friends. The sight was horrendous, Robin recalled seeing images of rioting around Gotham, and the people who were attacking his friends now had the same aggression and disorderly conduct as the rioters had. Still, Artemis was right, they could manage and Batman was still in danger somewhere. So turning his back on the scene, Robin followed Superboy up the stairs and then looked at the near empty floor spread out in front of him.
How was Robin supposed to find Batman in this huge building? It was open plan, so there were no rooms, just desks, so really it should have been easy to see Batman. But it was always possible that there was a hidden room, or it could have been that Batman was on the floor above. The only floor that hadn't had any lights turned on. The few people that had remained upstairs charged for Robin and Superboy, and in response the two of them sank into completely different stances. Superboy immediately puffing up to look more dangerous, and Robin holding an arm diagonally across his body in the defensive position drummed into him by Batman. As the men grew closer and closer, two pairs of sharp eyes calculated their most likely moves and adjusted themselves accordingly. The henchmen had never stood a chance, Robin and Superboy made quick work of them.
Robin had been just about to raise his question of how to find Batman aloud, but just when he opened his mouth Superboy lifted a finger to his lips and cocked his head to the side. Robin remained silent and quickly deduced that Superboy was listening to something. Suddenly, the older teenager's eyes narrowed perceptively and he nodded to Robin to follow him, quietly. Of course, Robin was a master of stealth and so, quietly was not a problem for him. In fact, Robin felt far more comfortable in the darkness and the silence when he was in a bad mood, and the mood that he was in at that moment was definitely a bad one.
"It's hard to separate the noise downstairs from the noise upstairs," Superboy whispered. He suddenly straightened as he heard another noise and slammed Robin against a wall before peeking around the corner. Some more henchmen had descended another set of stairs over the other side of the room, they took a long look around the second floor with scrutinising eyes before being satisfied that there was nothing out of order there – happily missing the other henchmen that Superboy had dropped behind a desk – and proceeding to move downstairs to where the intruders were. Superboy breathed out a sigh of relief and then let go of Robin before continuing, "But I can hear something. I think it's Batman. But there's another voice too."
At the report of there being another voice, Robin knew who Superboy thought it was. Tony Zucco. His eyes darkened when he thought of what Zucco could be doing to his mentor, his hero. Robin clenched his fists in an attempt to keep some of the anger that he was flooding with from showing on his face. But apparently it wasn't working as well as he was hoping it would. Superboy bent over so that their faces were levels and looked behind Robin's mask and into his eyes sternly. Superboy softened his voice the best that he could, he needed Robin to hear him, he needed to get through to the younger hero, "Robin, if that is Zucco, please just don't lose yourself. It's – It's not worth it. Trust me, I would know." Superboy could only hope that Robin had listened to him, but the younger hero seemed dumb-struck at the fact that Superboy had actually just given him advice.
"If you know, Supes, then you know that I can't promise anything," Robin stated. It was true, Superboy knew exactly what Robin meant, but he could still hope. Robin then pointed at the darkness of the stairway ahead and started up the stairs, "Come on! Batman needs us!" Superboy stared after him for a moment, marvelling at the control he seemed to possess, and then followed him up and into the darkness. Thankfully, Superboy could see quite affectively in the dark and Robin had spent most of his time in the dark so the two of them were perfect for this sort of atmosphere. However, as it turned out the top floor of the building was not totally in the dark. There was one failing light-bulb flickering in the middle of the ceiling.
Robin froze and had to swallow his tears at the sight that was before him. Superboy moved to Robin's side and his eyes widened in shock. Batman was directly below the flickering light in the centre of the top floor; he was in a crumpled heap on the floor and was taking in deep shaky breaths, Robin had seen Batman in this state before, but it never became any easier. Robin's thoughts flashed to the huge mob of people on the ground floor and couldn't help but picture one man going up against all of them and Zucco himself. Even the team that had assembled for the rescue mission was still fighting them all downstairs, so no wonder Batman had fallen. Robin scanned the floor carefully for the 'other voice', but whoever it was they must have scarpered. So Robin shook his head in an effort to clear his thoughts, "Superboy, cover me!" Robin shouted over his shoulder as he ran frantically towards his mentor. Superboy lurched forward speedily, scrutinising his surroundings as he ran in case of danger – or worse, Zucco.
Robin felt his dread grow as he raced to Batman; he slid to a stop next to the dark knight and then pulled his shoulder so that he was laying flat on his back. The Bat let out a pained grunt, but when his masked eyes met Robin's he felt hopeful despite himself. The last person he wanted to put in danger was Robin, his Robin. But as he took in his ward's worried expression he couldn't help himself but feel relieved, and safe. Even after everything that had happened between the two of them, Robin had still come to his rescue. There was a pain in Batman's chest the young teen rolled him over, evidence of the maniacal beating that he had endured however long ago that was. Robin quickly looked Batman over, he had definitely broken a few bones, and there was no way he was walking out of here, he needed to be carried by the look of his leg. Further examination suggested a few broken ribs and he was bleeding from somewhere, possibly his head, but it was still too dark to tell, even with the dreary light directly above the two of them.
Remembering that he could connect with M'Gann's thoughts and ask her to set up another mind-link, the thirteen year old focused hard on making M'Gann hear him. The panic that Robin was feeling in his bones was suppressed as he recalled Batman's teachings on what he should do in this situation, stay calm and get the injured to help as soon as possible. Soon enough, Robin heard M'Gann's voice in his head, "Robin, shall I set up a mind-link?" She asked immediately. Robin confirmed his request, eyes still fixed unwaveringly on Bruce's chest as it shakily and unevenly rose and fell weakly. He needed help and fast, so basically, he needed Flash. M'Gann's voice appeared again, "Okay Robin, go ahead."
"Superboy and I have found Batman. It – It looks bad, I haven't been able to examine him properly yet but we need to get him out of here and get him medical help. This could be life and death." Robin rushed through his words fretfully, he had began to sound even more panicked towards the end of his speech because Batman's eyes suddenly left his face and his head slumped to the floor as he fell unconscious. Superboy had turned around from the part of the room he was at that moment patrolling and stared at Batman worriedly. Forgetting his job, Superboy strolled over to the Bat and patted Robin's shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting way. Robin seemed to appreciate the support.
"Understood, Flash and I are on our way. We'll take him to the Watchtower and take further action from there," Superman said quickly. Robin gave a sigh of relief; Superman and Flash were both fast and would get him help quickly and also by now Wonder Woman and Aquaman would be at the Watchtower – returned from their respective previous engagements, as Robin understood – and the two of them had a good medical knowledge. Superman continued further, "There are still quite a lot of people to fight on the base level, so you and Superboy will need to replace Flash and I. We have alerted the authorities and they are expected to arrive in fifteen minutes to half an hour."
Robin simply nodded despite the fact that no one could see him apart from Superboy. He waited at Batman's side until Flash and Superman arrived. The two senior heroes looked distressed at the site of their friend and strategist, but rather than stopping to take everything in, Superman simply stooped to pick up the unconscious Bat and then proceeded to jump out of the nearest window with him. Flash stared after them with wide eyes before pointing at the window and shouting after Superman melodramatically, "I wouldn't jump out of a third storey window after you if you paid me! I'll catch up I'm so going the long way." With that, Flash was gone in a red blur as he headed downstairs and probably straight past the fight and out of the front doors.
The moment Robin saw that Batman, Superman and Flash were clear of the building he made his way back downstairs to help his team and Green Arrow to get rid of the rest of the henchmen. Superboy immediately followed him without question; the two of them quickly descended both floors and fell back into combat, using each other for cover once more. As soon as they were noticed, several opponents approached them with knives and crowbars and the like, Robin worked on trying to disarm them whilst Superboy engaged with brute strength as usual. The two of them made a good pair, but Robin was not at his best – he was filled with fury at what Zucco had done to his would-be father and was concerned for Bruce's life. He wasn't focused.
That is, Robin wasn't focused until he spotted a familiar face amongst the crowd of fighters. Then he lost all coherent thought completely and his fists dropped to his sides, his eyes were wide as he stared at the man just a few feet away from him. The man who killed his family, the man who almost killed Bruce: Zucco was here, armed with a crowbar that was coated in blood that probably belonged to Bruce. Zucco seemed to sense that someone was watching him intently and turned around slowly, his eyes finally meeting Robin's. The acrobat's rage grew in his stomach as Zucco's lips pulled away from his teeth into a cross between a vicious sneer and a mocking grin – Robin swore he saw red for a moment as he fought the urge to kill that man just for smiling.
Robin seemed to forget that there was anyone else in the room at all at that moment, and time seemed to slow down as Connor turned to him and demanded to know what he was doing. But then, everything just spilled right over and Robin lurched forward into a sprint to meet the waiting Zucco in combat. Connor saw who Robin was running towards, only recognising Zucco from the powerful memories of his face being shot through his head on the mind-link, and shouted for Robin to wait. Connor once again was shot in the back by another person and reluctantly tore his gaze from Robin and instead refocused on his own battles.
Robin clashed with Zucco violently and smacked a strong right hook into Zucco's jaw and delivered a round-house kick to his ribs before Zucco grabbed his left upper arm and used his momentum to throw him through a window to his left. Robin covered his face instinctively as he crashed through the glass and rolled across the concrete outside the building. The acrobat felt a series of sharp pains as glass stuck itself into his arms and back, but instead of lingering on the pain Robin jumped to his feet and quickly dodged to his left as Zucco threw a stray piece of glass at his face. The rest of the Team were still busy with the still appearing from other parts of the building opponents that they were faced with inside. So that meant it was just Tony Zucco and not Robin, but Richard Grayson. Was it wrong that he liked it that way? Zucco regarded him coolly as he climbed out of the window after his next victim.
"Well circus boy it's been a while. You've grown." Zucco said with a sinister laugh that made Robin shudder visibly. He remembered that laugh. He'd had nightmares about that laugh. When did Tony Zucco figure out his secret identity? Batman had hinted that he had figured it out the previous day, but Robin had assumed he meant that Zucco was searching for Richard Grayson, not Robin. Zucco and Robin began to circle, both in anticipation of a sudden attack to gain the upper hand. Zucco laughed even harder at the look on Robin's face, "Don't look so surprised Grayson! It wasn't hard to figure out who you were; and you got me thrown away in prison, I owe you pain for that."
"You owe me pain?" Robin snapped aggressively back. Then he let out a signature cackle that seemed to make Zucco slightly uncomfortable. Robin glared at the crime lord, "I've suffered like you wouldn't believe and it's all down to you. You completely broke everything that I am!" Robin shouted at him. Zucco didn't even seem to have listened but instead raised his crowbar and ran at Robin; although the dark knight's protégé saw the raised crowbar as more of an opening than a threat. He grabbed the raised arm and kneed Zucco in the stomach before he brought the suddenly weakened arm down to his level and hit the wrist hard so that the crime lord would drop his weapon. It was affective, Zucco dropped the crowbar and it fell next to Robin's feet with a loud clang. Robin kicked the reddened metal away with his foot and kneed Zucco in the stomach again.
Once the crowbar was out of reach, Zucco seemed to feel more vulnerable and increased the ferocity of his attacks. He flipped his body around so that he could twist Robin's arm painfully up his back and then wrap his other free arm around Robin's neck and cut off the boy's airway. Robin panicked at the lack of air before his thoughts could clear and used his free arm to desperately grab at the strong arm cutting off his air, he felt his head growing heavy before he realised that he needed to get out of his assailant's grip before he was killed just like his parents. Robin still had that free arm, so instead of futilely using it to struggle against the impenetrable grip around his neck, Robin elbowed Zucco as hard as he could manage in the gut. Zucco's grip around Robin's neck barely loosened, but his grip on the teen's other arm did loosen considerably. So Robin pulled his arm down sharply and got both arms free, then he turned his body so that he was facing Zucco and brought his feet up onto Zucco's legs so that he could push off hard and escape the older man's grip.
Zucco stumbled backwards, still holding his assaulted stomach in pain. Robin fell to the ground wheezing for breath and coughing harshly. That was way too close. Robin climbed to his feet shakily and wavered slightly as his oxygen deprived brain felt heavy, his neck feeling bruised and restricted. The both of them looked at each other hatefully for a moment or two before running back to meet each other again. This time, Zucco approached with both fists raised, but at the last moment surprised Robin and kicked him so hard that Batman's protégé fell back to the ground on his back knocking the wind from his lungs. Zucco sat on him and hit him hard in the head with a huge fist. He was heavy and Robin couldn't shift him. So instead he brought his arms up to guard his head whilst Zucco continued to punch for him.
Robin's arms began to tingle under their assault and he still received several nasty blows to the head, but then Robin's fogged thoughts cleared and he remembered how to deal with this situation. The acrobat grabbed one of Zucco's arms, put the other on Zucco's neck and then pushed his hips up whilst pulling on Zucco's arm and like a charm Zucco rolled away from him. Instead of catching his breath though, Robin followed straight after him and brought up his fists before bringing them down on his head. Zucco was dazed after the first hit and groaned wearily, to avoid Robin's second hit he rolled over. Robin followed him and hit him savagely in the head again and was glad to see that after that he only attempted to pick up his head before falling unconscious.
As soon as Zucco was taken care of, Robin looked through the window he had fallen through a few moments ago and saw just a few henchmen left. The others were working together to take care of the last of them and he could hear the sirens of policemen in the background. It was only when Robin realised that it was over, he had taken care of Zucco and gotten help for Batman, that he could really feel a sense of resolution. He had sense of calm washing over him. Robin rolled back onto the floor and began to really feel his injuries, his neck was definitely bruised and his head was clearly bleeding rather badly. On top of that the arm that had been twisted up his back was either broken or fractured and he had rolled through a whole bunch of glass. But at least he had captured Zucco. He felt like his Mum and Dad, even Batman, could feel at peace knowing that he would be thrown back behind bars soon: and that brought Robin peace.
Robin closed his eyes, feeling weaker and weaker as time passed but remaining awake just in case Zucco woke before the police arrived. It was just as Robin was reminding himself that he must stay awake that he heard Artemis' voice proclaim that she had found him. He was soon surrounded by his team and Green Arrow, each of them looking down at him in concern. Robin's head rolled to the side and he saw Zucco being hauled up by a policeman and a policewoman. He smiled to himself genuinely for the first time in at least a month; it really was over, then.
"Robin? What happened?" Kaldur demanded. On closer inspection he noticed the injuries all over the youngest member of his team. The others had gotten out fine, a little bruised here and there and maybe a few cuts, but Robin had clearly suffered worse. The man he was fighting was either a near match for him, or he was clearly messing with his head too much. To be fair to the kid, he was fighting the man who had ruined his life only five short years ago. When he got no answer from Robin, Kaldur asked, "Are you alright, my friend?"
"I feel – I feel at peace, Kaldur." Robin responded. Kaldur had meant physically, but Robin had given a far more satisfactory answer. If fighting Zucco had made Robin feel at peace with his past, then clearly it was something that he had just had to do. He understood why Robin had been so very angry at Batman the previous day, clearly Robin didn't simply want to help, he had needed to. Green Arrow smiled to himself, the kid was just like his mentor in ideals and beliefs on morality.
"Let's get him to the Watchtower; hopefully Wonder Woman or Aquaman won't be too distracted with Batman to help Robin too." Green Arrow said. That was the last thing that Robin really knew or was aware of happening, either he was completely exhausted and hadn't eaten and drank enough over the past few days or it was the wound on his head: maybe it was all of this combined, but Robin too fell unconscious like his mentor had only an hour or so ago. But he knew he was safe, he knew Batman was safe and he knew Tony Zucco was back behind bars in a cell where he'd never see the day again, where he belonged: so he felt like he could allow himself to sleep at long last.
When he next woke, Robin was in a bed with clean white sheets in a room that had rocky walls and would be cold if not for the blankets piled on top of him. He was in the medical bay back at Happy Harbour. He groaned against the bright lights and the swelling pain in his head, he could smell flowers so he knew M'Gann had been there. He turned his head to the side in an effort to feel the damage to his neck when he remembered the sensation of having the life strangled out of him, but he was surprised when he saw Batman's cowl staring back at him. Wonder Woman and Aquaman must've put his mask back on after treating him, Robin mused to himself. He then reached up and felt that his own mask was also still on, and also his arm was now in a cast. Fantastic.
"How are you?" Batman asked awkwardly. Robin raised his good arm and made a so-so sign at his mentor and then asked the same question of his mentor who returned the gesture. Robin couldn't help but let out a little smile, he could only be glad that Batman was alive and on the mend. Anything he had been frustrated about before was completely disregarded now. Batman then averted his gaze from Robin and took a deep breath, "Listen, I'm sorry about what I did." Batman started. Robin tried to hide the shock on his face, but was hard-pressed to conceal it. Batman rarely shared feelings because Robin knew that he found it uncomfortable, but it seemed Batman kind of wanted a heart to heart.
"You don't have to apologise." Robin replied quickly, feeling his face redden as he remembered how badly he had treated Bruce even though he was just trying to protect him.
"No, I do," Batman interrupted him. Robin silenced himself and decided that this was something that Bruce clearly just needed to get off of his chest. So he just sat back and listened to what he had to say, "I should have told you as soon as I knew about the escape. I knew exactly how you'd feel if I kept it from you but I concealed the truth from you anyway. Then I made you feel betrayed when I told you that I'd take him on myself – failing miserably in the process – and that made you have to take him on yourself. It's my fault that you are here in a hospital bed; I should have allowed you to help me. I shouldn't have lied. I shouldn't have ignored your feelings, I have been terrible to you and I'm so sorry."
Robin felt Batman's eyes land on him again; Robin remembered how angry he had felt. How depressed. But it seemed like a distant memory now, Robin had put all of that behind him and he fully intended on moving on swiftly instead of lingering on those few days – or those few weeks rather. Besides, all of those bad events had eventually lead up to Robin getting to fight Zucco, save his father-figure, and feel a really genuine sense of resolution at last after all of these years. So on reflection, Robin wouldn't have changed any of the events that had happened recently, because they had all lead up to this outcome.
"Don't be sorry. For the first time in five years I can say 'I'll manage' and I can actually mean it. My parents, they would – they would be happy that I've found peace. So, finally, I can be happy too."
And there you have it. I have finished.
I thought to finish the story I would do a super long chapter. I hope the fight scenes were alright, I've never really written a proper fight-scene before... :)
I really hope you have enjoyed the story and please leave a review of the whole story or just this chapter and let me know what you thought of it. I'll be a good feeling to click that finished button!
Anyways, once again don't forget to vote on the poll for the next story I should write, it's on my profile page and waiting!
Once again to all of those in the UK, please check for flood warnings and be careful out there! My thoughts go to the families who have been forced out of their homes, or have relatives who have died. I really am sorry.
Thank you for reading my story and I hope you join me for my next one, by the looks of the poll so far it's a tie between the story where you send me prompts, or the story where Lex Luthor makes evil versions of the Young Justice team. Exciting stuff.
Thanks again,
Varishi x