Chpt. XL: The Line
The pain Dick had endured from the moment he watched his family die, to the overwhelming loss of those he loved, & the deafening guilt of the monster he had become all took part in shaping him into the man he was tonight. Everything he had suffered through, from his departure from God in the Orphanage to his journey into the shadows of the Underground, & his rise back into the world, made him stronger. Love came back to him, friendships blossomed, & a purpose was suddenly clear to him. Dick was meant to do this. He was meant to save Gotham City from Nolan Drake.
Dick Grayson was only a few feet behind the bastard.
Dick's leg throbbed. It was the same leg he had injured in his first encounter with Nolan that ended in a fiery escape. He realized that Dick was having terrible luck with that limb. Dick shrugged the pain off. He continued to follow Drake, who was also limping away.
Dick felt his fists clench. He had been following Drake for a few blocks, now. In silence. It was silly & pointless to keep playing this cat & mouse game. Dick had to end this. Now.
Dick leaped onto Nolan's back, pushing him onto the ground face first. His head collided with the concrete, but not before his nose cracked against the solid ground. Blood spilled from under Nolan's face, but his back still heaved heavy breaths. Dick struggled to flip his body around, & eventually fell on top of Nolan's chest as his weak leg gave up.
Nolan let out a few bloody coughs, spraying across Dick's face. Dick wiped his eyes, only to feel his sturdy face mask crumble in his hand. One half of it was gone.
Nolan let out a laugh. "What are you going to do, kid?" he croaked.
Dick felt his face grow numb. His eye twitched. "Shut up," Dick whispered.
Nolan smiled, revealing his bloody mouth. "Are you going to kill me, boy?"
Dick raised his fist & thrust it down against Nolan's face. "This is for abandoning Tim, & killing all of those children at the Academy!"
Another punch.
"This is for those you tortured in the Gotham City Underground & enslaved!"
Blood sprayed.
"Roderick Farmer, & his family!"
Drake's nose cracked again, even more.
"And for crushing Jason Todd's hopes for a better world!"
Dick threw one last punch into Nolan before lifting his head up by his collar. He brought it close to Dick's face. He wanted to see Nolan's spirit weaken with every blow to his head.
Dick threw another punch into Nolan's face, bruising his fist. "This is for what you did to Cullen Row!"
Dick swung his arm back, sending a ferocious punch into Nolan's jaw. "This for kidnapping Barbara Gordon!"
Nolan's head began to dangle over Dick's grip. He was losing consciousness.
Dick reached over his back for his staff. He broke off one half of it, wielding it in his hand for a moment. It felt like the nightstick that he had first used to fight against Nolan. It felt fitting.
Nolan began to stir again. Dick stood up, over Nolan's crippled body, & raised his arms up high. "This is for Cheyenne Freemont."
Dick brought the stick down against Nolan's face, splattering blood across Dick's face. Dick felt his arm hang low as he felt his own energy being drained from himself. He placed the nightstick on his back & turned to walk away. As he stepped away, he felt his feet suddenly weighed a hundred pounds. He couldn't let himself get far. He...didn't want to get far.
Dick turned back to Nolan's body. Groans came from the slaughtered man. He was alive, but down for good. But...he was alive.
Dick knew he should turn away right now. He should walk away while he still had the chance. He should leave Nolan Drake here to die, & then it would all be over, right? It would solve everything, right?
But Dick wanted to be the one to kill Nolan Drake.
Before Dick could even take a moment to consider his options, he found himself walking back over to Nolan Drake's body. Nolan had began reaching for something under his back. He removed a gun from his waistband & weakly held it up at Dick. Dick yanked the gun from Nolan's bloody hand, & held the weapon in his own hand. He raised his arm out, pointing the gun at Nolan.
Nolan Drake smiled, revealing a blood-filled mouth. "Look at you. What a big boy."
"You thought you were saving this city. You thought you were riding this city of its scum. You're the scum, Nolan. Terrorizing this city, killing innocent people. You're the one who's ruining this city. You're what's wrong with us!" Dick felt his chest grow heavy & his body tingle with numbness. He felt his hands sweat underneath his gloves.
Nolan stared at the barrel of the gun, then back up at Dick. "Then what are you waiting for, hero? Pull the trigger."
"Stop," called a low voice from behind Dick. Startled, Dick spun around, pointing the gun at the Batman. The ominous silhouette of the giant Bat frightened Dick for a moment. But...he remembered he was just a man.
"Bruce, I have to," Dick whispered in a shaky voice.
The Batman approached Dick, close enough for Bruce to speak in his normal voice. "You can't. Killing him won't solve anything."
"Letting him live will just be giving him another chance to kill again!"
"And killing him will leave you no better than he is!" Bruce spat. "All of the men who have killed, just like him, all of them will be proven right if we sink down to their level."
Dick shook his head & turned back to Nolan, & pointed the gun at his head. "It's one life for the dozens that he stole."
After a brief moment, Bruce spoke. "It won't back Cheyenne," he said softly.
Dick felt his face twitch. He turned back to Bruce. "Sometimes, we need to kill the right person," Dick said, feeling a sudden sense of deja vu.
Bruce shook his head. "This isn't justice. This is vengeance. Don't become Nolan Drake."
"Yeah, don't become me!" Nolan Drake suddenly spat from the ground.
Dick spun back around, crawling straight onto Nolan's body once more, crushing his broken ribs. "I swear to god, I will blow your fucking brains out!"
Nolan let out a maniacal laugh, one that genuinely sent chills down Dick's spine. "Kill me. Become like me. Become as cruel as this city has been to you & me. Let it consume you. Once you let the darkness inside, it never comes out."
Dick let the words sink in. "Once you let the darkness inside, it never comes out." Would Dick be able to have the stronger willpower to let Nolan Drake live?
"I finally figured it out," Nolan said softly. Dick glanced back down at Nolan. "It makes sense now. Your way around a nightstick...your voice...the way you whined about those worthless pieces of shit I killed over the last few months...but what gave it away was the way you move. The way you flipped & flew through the air. I've only seen those moves in one person."
Dick's heart skipped a beat. "I was wondering if I'd see you again, Robin. It is Robin, isn't it? I mean...according to that sweet old lady that you've kept a secret from us down in the Underground, you loved robins. You played with them when you were younger, didn't you? Cheyenne knew too, am I right? At least, that's what the old lady said."
Dick roared a loud scream & fired the gun over & over again, letting the boom of the barrel echo through the alleyway. He fired the gun until the gun was empty, & then threw it at Nolan Drake's body.
"Dick!" Bruce called as Dick stormed off, stepping over Nolan's frightened body. Dick shot the bullets near his head. He didn't care if he had actually missed or not. By the sound of Nolan's shuddering, he missed.
Dick rushed through the streets & found himself walking across the street of City Hall. All of the hostiles had been taken down & apprehended. The GCPD was tending to the scene, administrating civilians. Conner, Roy, & Kori were working alongside the police, helping. The others must have fled the scene before many people noticed them. Dick was about to ignore everything when he felt a soft touch on his shoulder.
Dick spun around to find Barbara, standing in front of him, wrapped in a blanket.
"Hey," she said with a weak smile.
Dick's eyes widened at the sudden concern for Barbara. "Oh my gosh, I am SO sorry for not checking up on you earlier! Are you alright? Did you get hurt? Did you make it out okay?"
Barbara's weak smile stretched to a bigger & more heartfelt smile. She let out a soft laugh. "I'm okay, thanks."
Dick nodded. "Okay, good. Because, I mean, I was worried. I wanted to make sure you got to Detective Gordon & that he took care of you."
Barbara nodded. "Well, yeah, I did, thanks to you." Her smile made Dick forget about all that had gone wrong for the night. "You know, something about you...reminds me of someone I know."
Dick raised an eyebrow, pretending to be clueless. "What?"
Barbara shrugged. "I'm not sure. It doesn't matter. I was gonna say that you remind me of my boyfriend, but I was wrong. He's definitely shorter than you."
Dick tried hard to conceal his sudden annoyance, but apparently he didn't conceal it well. Barbara's smirk rose. "Well," she started. "Hope I see you around, Boy Wonder." Barbara leaned in to kiss Dick, & in that instant, his chest's coldness was lit up with light. Barbara pulled away, but stayed close enough to look Dick in his masked eyes. "Don't worry, my boyfriend doesn't need to know."
Dick watched Barbara walk away & felt a rush of emotions. He was happy to see Barbara was okay, but...was confused about whether she had figured out that he was Robin. And if she hadn't...then did she just cheat on him with Robin...or...with himself?
It didn't matter. The moment passed. He needed to go find someone.