Part I: Rebecca Robinson is left to face Gotham's worst Halloween ever. One ex-Robin and one dead-Robin are running loose in Gotham with their own goals and agendas. Rebecca's mind isn't the ideal one to begin with and with a history like she has... Will she be able to survive without loosing her sanity or her life? What will happen when Clown Prince of Crime wants his toys back and even Scarecrow can't stop him? Will Rebecca end up just being a toy to dead man's legacy?
Chapter 4 - Joke is rated M
Romance will be slow burn. (And I do mean slow.)
Contains detailed description of graphic violence, strong language and descriptions of mental illnesses and self-harming.
Broken Toys
Chapter 21 - Help
Dick has to think on his feet. If he stays put Raven will kill him and if his movements become predictable Raven will also kill him. His stamina is human peak condition but he doesn't have a metahuman-gene, like many other heroes do, to keep him going. He is no Superman. This means that eventually Dick's stamina will run out and the moment that happens Raven will kill him. Her arrows prevent Dick getting closer and he could throw wingdings but it is easier said than done when Dick is flipping around like a maniac.
"Getting tired?" Raven smiles. She is comfortably standing in the middle of the room, only turning to aim better when Dick somersaults out of her line of vision.
"No, this is just like a walk in the park for me." Dick quips. He could try to detonate rest of the Lazarus machine in effort to ruin Raven's focus but blowing up something that big will bring down the whole gave, potentially the whole hospital killing everyone inside. He is determined to solve this problem without any casualties.
"So you decided to stay loyal to your-soon-dead-if-not-already grandfather. You two must have had a great relationship since you are so found of him." Dick says sarcastically.
"Close, boy wonder, I've taken my rightful place as his heir." Raven's next arrow nearly lands to Dick's right shoulder. She has started to predict his moves with success so Dick switches his routine.
"Didn't you have aunt or is she just unworthy for your terrorism?" Dick points out.
"Children of oldest child come before aunts. And she is a traitor and a fool." Raven answers shortly.
"Haven't you considered the traitor rout the whole evening?" Dick remarks. "I'm not complaining or anything. You were lot more fun to hang around then."
"False beliefs." Her accent thickens.
"Maybe you are just power-hungry. Ever thought of that?" He has found his opportunity. It has always been one of his tactics to joke around during fights. It was to distract the enemy, make them sloppy, anger them, gather their attention so civilians could escape, whatever served best. Bruce never said a word about it. Maybe he understood the true purpose of it. It was just an act that was to be dropped when it wasn't needed. But sometimes a good act can be useful.
"Silence." Raven shouts, her arrow missing Dick by far. "I know what you are trying to do, Grayson. It's not working."
"Oh nice detective work, Ayda. You must be a genius." Dick praises her sarcastically.
"You don't understand. Your false-sense of morality blinds you.
"Really? This is coming from a person who has been brainwashed to be a killer before they could walk." Plan starts to form in Dick's mind.
"I am a weapon of justice. All I've killed have been criminal scum. They deserved no mercy." Raven spats.
"Ever heard a place called jail? Yeah, sometimes there are people who are just too evil to live. But most of the criminals are that way because they think they have no other options. They do not deserve to be killed. Humans can't act as judge, jury and executioner." Dick hopes that the machine has some power left in it.
"That's thick coming from a guy who dresses in spandex to beat up criminals every night." Raven shots back.
"I don't kill people, Ayda." Dick reminds here.
"Directly." Raven insists. Dick sees no point of continuing the argument. He has found a perfect spot already.
"You know, Ayda." He says when Raven switches quivers. "It's been fun but I don't think I want a second date. It's not you… well actually it is you. You are just not my type." Dick sends an electric shot to one of the open wires of the Lazarus machine. The electricity causes all of the light's to go off with a loud bang. Raven is standing right next to the machine so her ears should be ringing and not being able to hear what Dick is doing. He switches to the detective mode locating the girl easily. He knocks her out just in time when the lights go back on.
"Why does everyone think my suit is made of spandex?" Dick wonders out-loud. He clears all of Raven's weapons and ties her up before picking her and leaving the hospital.
It doesn't take him long to reach GCPD. He uses Raven's bike taking joy out of the possible annoyance that she would feel if she was conscious. The bike is very similar to Dick's own back in Blüdhaven, but without a sidecar.
GCPD is under a lockdown. Once the cameras detect him the doors slide open so Dick can ride in without any issues. Raven starts waking up but Dick is glad he had the brains to gag her too.
"Nightwing? What brings you to Gotham? Oh, that must have been a stupid question. Are you helping Batman?" Aaron Cash asks when Dick walks up to him.
"Something like that." He smirks. "Is your isolation chamber ready?"
"How did you…? Never mind, yes. Batman just brought in Mr. Langstorm but he shouldn't cause any issues. Poison Ivy left with Batman some time ago. Thanks for bringing her in back at Blüdhaven." Cash says as he locks out from the database.
"Sorry, I couldn't keep it that way." Dick remembers the incident. After capturing Ivy he had placed her under the watchful eye of BHPD but Harley had personally arrived to break her out. The two women managed to get an upper hand over Dick just for long enough for them to escape. Not one of his finest performances.
"Don't worry about that. BHPD wasn't prepared to deal with rogues like that." Cash leads Dick to the empty isolation chamber. They walk past the main cell which is already containing Penguin, Two-Face, some firefighter, some old man with a beard, weird Batman-look alike, Firefly, some guy singing opera and one man crying in the corner. Bruce had kept busy.
Cash opens the isolation door for Dick who pushes Raven inside next to a naked, broken man who barely even notices them from his grief. Dick unties her limbs and removes the gag ignoring her curses until the door is slammed shut blocking her voice.
"Is separate cell really necessary?" Cash asks.
"Trust me. This one is slippery. She already escaped from me once. Better keep a keen eye on her."
Cash returns to his station and Dick walks up to the main cell that contains all the other prisoners. Penguin notices him first.
"Well would you look at that. Didn't take you for long to come home crying." He mocks.
"Speak for yourself, Cobblepot. Just remember that Blüdhaven is off limits." Dick doesn't miss a beat.
Dick turns his attention to the rest of the inmates. He remembers Alfred mentioning that Two-Face was robbing some banks but Bruce seems to handled that already. The firefighter is unknown for Dick but he has learned not to question Bruce's methods on his territory. Most of the time he even follows that rule. The bearded old-man breaches on about god so Dick deduces him to be some sort of cult-leader. Firefly is muttering about burning Gotham to the crisp and complaining about the opera-man's singing so Dick leaves them both alone. Upon close Dick recognizes the business man to be Simon Stagg, CEO and founder of the Stagg Enterprises. None of the men seem to care for him so he walks up to the Batman-look alike.
"Alf, you there? Who is the Batman-wannabe?" Dick asks from his BatCom.
"I assume you mean Azrael, Master Grayson." Alfred answers. "Master Bruce captured him earlier in this evening. He was brainwashed by Order of St. Dumas and unfortunately couldn't overcome it. He was led to believe it was his destiny to replace Batman."
"Order of the St. Dumas, huh? Just what Gotham needs, a second secret organization to mess her up." Dick sighs. This alarms Azrael.
"The Order has foreseen it, it's time for the mantle of the Bat to pass for another warrior. A new Batman must be born from the ashes of Gotham." He informs.
"Aha, I see what you meant by brainwashed." Dick says to Alfred.
"The Order has done what's necessary to create god's weapon. Batman can't do what is needed for Gotham so I will." With that Azrael sunk back to his seat ending the conversation.
"Okay… Thanks, Alfred." He finishes his BatCom call.
"Nightwing? Is that you?" A woman's voice asks. It feels like a heavy weight is lifted from Dick's shoulders. He knows that voice anywhere.
"Barbara?" He turns towards the voice and jogs to it's source. There she is, sitting a computer in front of her without any major injuries. Dick bends over to hug her. "I thought you were dead."
"Scarecrow got me. I'm fine now but dad isn't." She lets him go and turns to show the computer screen to Dick.
"What happened?" Dick asks. He is looking at the map of clock tower.
"Long story. The important part is that Scarecrow has dad. Batman is working on it." She bites her lip, clearly nervous, her eyes filling with tears.
"Have you heard of Robin? I tried to contact him but Batman keeps telling me he needs to focus." Barbara looks hopefully to Dick.
"I saw him earlier this evening. Haven't heard from him since. I'm sure he is fine. He can take care of himself." Dick gives her a reassuring pat to her shoulder. "I gotta get back out there. Stay safe, Babs."
"Wait!" Barbara yelps. Dick, who is just about to leave, turns to face her again. Barbara's voice is shaky. "It's… It's Jason. He is alive."
Picking yourself up was harder than it sounded, and it sounded pretty difficult. I was staying on schedule. Meeting Dr. Cassidy, going to the gym and self-defense classes, free-running around the city… I even started working in Pauli's diner. I had never slipped from my self-built program but still I felt like something was missing. I never skipped taking my meds which seemed to work just fine but my subconscious still tried to send me a message. Despite my efforts to bury the unpleasant feeling under a busy schedule it kept bugging me never leaving me alone.
After a late-night shift in the diner I walked home listening to music. I stayed on busy main-streets avoiding side allies. Gotham had been mostly crime free but it was still Gotham.
I walked past a newspaper that informed it has nearly been a year since Arkham City was closed down. The headline made me shudder. One year since the Joker broke my mind, one year since he died. I couldn't decide whether or not it felt like it had happened only yesterday or a lifetime ago.
I checked my phone. One text message from Dick. I would read it later. I put my hands deep to my pockets and looked down when I walked. It was one of the rare nights in Gotham when the sky wasn't full of dark clouds. The city lights prevented me from seeing stars but I wouldn't have known any star signs anyway.
I usually avoided memories that are connected to Arkham City incident but ignoring my better judgement, when I arrived home I googled the event. I clicked the Wikipedia article that shows up first on the search results. I know the general narrative already. After Quincy Sharp was elected as a major he announced Arkham City project which included changing Old Gotham into a mega-prison for all the criminals in Gotham locking them inside without rules or a way out.
Later it was found out that not all of those who were locked to the abandoned part of the city, were criminals. Some of them were political prisoners captured by the TYGER guards, puppets of the true leader behind Arkham City. Hugo Strange was the true mastermind pulling the strings, according to Wikipedia. I had heard rumors of another group but the official stand was that Strange was responsible of the whole fiasco.
I remembered being thrown into that hell by Strange for stealing some information that I didn't even fully understand back when I had my summer job in the Asylum. How ironic that in a year I ended up as patient in there. Or what was left of it. Officially the Asylum was closed down and all the prisoners slash patients were moved to Arkham City but after the incident, which is also known as Batman arriving and beating the shit out of everyone, a mini-program was initiated by the Wayne Foundation that I became part of. The goal of the program was help those who were wrongly imprisoned to the city. I, being a minor at time of my capture and not allowed a proper trial, qualified to the program. I suspect that what I went through there made me appeal more sympathetic helping my case. I know someone brushed away all of my crimes despite what the criminal record said since I resewed no real punishment from the law.
Dr. Cassidy had informed me during our latest session that apparently the Joker had personally requested me to be delivered to him if I ended up in the city. That made my stomach twist uncomfortably. What in me had captured his attention, I didn't know. Most likely I wouldn't ever get the answer to that unnerving question. Maybe that was good.
My thoughts turned to known inmates of Arkham City. Harley Quinn popped up from the article. I clicked the link and ended up on her Wikipedia page. The picture that was used depicted her mourning attire that she wore during her attempted revenge on Batman. I was found shortly after that so I didn't witness her last attempt on avenging her "puddin's" passing.
I remembered the last time I saw her. It seemed like it happened to someone else in a different life. What did she say to me back then? She felt sorry for me. Told me that the Joker helped her to find herself. She even gave me some friendly advice before knocking me unconscious, sparing my life.
Harley was one of his victims too. Her life was forever ruined by him. She was broken too. I knew that people called her his toy. No-one should be reduced to that position. I took pity on her.
I looked at the clock. It was five in the morning. Too early to go anywhere.
I scrolled down on the article. "Harleen Quinzel is currently held at the Blackgate prison." I read out loud. A very stupid idea appeared to my head. Blackgate was far from where my apartment was but if I took the buss that left in ten minutes I would make it there around seven when the visiting hours opened.
Quickly I changed my clothes, found my bag and left my apartment to enter the cold Gotham morning.
The Knight has stayed silent since leaving the military base. During the time I was out he had trashed the place but also for some reason saved me. Being carried around by him is embarrassing to say the least but I am still too weak to walk by myself without serious case of vertigo and possible passing out which would end up being even more embarrassing.
He has gotten rid of the helmet showing me a young man's face. His eyes are piercing blue and he has short black hair. Without the anger twisting his features he is surprisingly good looking. I don't know what I expected, maybe a monster from fairytales.
His most notable feature is the burned J letter under his left eye. I try not to stare but my eyes seem always return back to it. Not because I find it disgusting or scary, my own wounds had thought me enough of that, but because I find the scar intriguing. Having your face branded in such a unique way can only mean one thing, the Joker. I resist the urge to touch my own face wounds. The cuts are still aching but my senses have numbed out the edge of the pain. To my surprise I have to repress desire to touch the Knight's scar. I sense that neither one of us enjoy intimate human contact. Him having to carry me around is weird enough already. I do not need to add stranger-touching-your-face to the list.
The Knight stole us car so the trip would go faster. He is a good driver, not to my surprise. After all it's not my first time being driven around by Arkham Knight. Thinking back, I truly don't know what I was doing. I know that people react differently in face of danger. Maybe Punch Line has fucked up my mind so badly that my response is doing one careless decision after another. It is a miracle that I didn't get killed.
Criminals have arrived back to the streets from their hiding places. We are not the only ones driving around with stolen car. Thankfully, no-one tries to stop us. I have no doubt that the Knight would be able to easily protect himself but me? Not so much. I do not want to know how keenly he is trying to keep me alive.
Without the mask he isn't as scary as before. Must be the dehumanizing factor. However with the mask gone, I can see every bit of emotion on his face. Different forms of anger are definitely the dominating ones but behind them, I sense there is more. He didn't destroy the military base for no reason. Most likely it was because of Batman. I haven't heard from him but the way Scarecrow is speaking, he isn't dead yet.
The car stops and the Knight steps outside. I open my door and slowly step up. I learned my lesson earlier. No sudden movements. I wait for the Knight to pick me up like a child. He does this without looking at me. I bit my lip nervously. The silence feels overwhelming but I do not want to be the first to talk.
Finally, the silence gets too much for me to handle. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see." He says still not looking at me. I do not want to stare so I turn my gaze to my bloody hands. I dig dried blood from under my nails trying to desperately think of something else.
My thought process is cut off by the Knight kicking a door open. As far as I can see we have arrived to a normal small apartment where the Knight puts me down to sit on a sofa. I close my eyes trying not to throw up. When my head stops feeling like it's going to fall off I open my eyes again.
The wall opposite the door has somehow changed completely while I kept my eyes closed. It has gone from normal apartment wall to a showcase for different kind of militaristic equipment. I can't name most of the gear but all of them look not to be messed with. The Knight has found a new helmet. This time it's a bare red one and it covers his face completely. At the moment he is choosing his weapons.
"Umm." I start, unsure how to continue. He stops for a moment but then returns to his work.
"What are you going to do when we arrive to Panessa Studios?" I ask.
"You will show me a way in and I will kill every single one of those Joker-fuckers." The Knight tells me.
"I meant after that."
He turns to look at me or so I assume. It's hard to tell with the mask. "None of your business."
I open my mouth but close it again. He seems to have finished with his guns. He has picked something that looks like a sniper rifle, along with the other gun that he is already carrying. I stay silent when he lifts me up again and returns to the car. Neither of us talk during the short ride to the studios.
"Do you think you are strong enough to hang from me? I can't carry you with both hands while using the grappling hook." He asks. Even though the question is worded politely somehow I feel like I should be offended.
"Yeah. I think so." I answer shortly keeping my face and voice neutral.
He leaves the car and I follow close behind. He stops, turns around and waits for me to make my move. Uncertainly I step closer and wrap my hands around his neck. It's difficult to do since he is about a foot taller than me but that's not the thing I'm worried about. My grip feels weak and I already feel like puking. I squeeze my eyes shut. I am so focused to praying that I don't fall or vomit that I barely notice his hand holding me against him or the sudden feeling of the ground disappearing under my feet. Before I notice we have arrived to the roof. Much faster than climbing the old fashioned way. Surprisingly I don't even feel sick which I'm grateful for.
"How do I get in?" The Knight asks. I take note of how his new mask doesn't change his voice. Seems like he doesn't need to cover his identity as dearly like before.
"Before we go in… Robin was there too earlier and I haven't heard from him sense. He might sill be in there." I say hesitantly.
The Knight mumbles a word that sounds like "replacement" under his breath but I can't be sure. I decide to walk by myself to the entrance. My feet feel like they just might give up under me but somehow I am able to survive without falling face down to the floor until I reach the door. I lean to the wall next to the voice box to take couple deep breaths with my eyes closed. Then I lift the communicator next to my face. It takes me a little while but I am determined to not ask any help. Finally I manage to call Nightwing. I check that my background doesn't give out any clues where I am. The Knight stays silent, his arms crossed across his chest. I turn my focus back to the communicator.
Nightwing appears on the screen. He looks little rough around the edges but otherwise he seems to be fine. I can't put my finger on it but something about him seems different.
"Nightwing?" I ask uncertainly. Maybe I should have planned this better.
"Rebecca Robinson?" He asks. "Where are you?"
"Voice pattern analyzed. Identification confirmed. Welcome, Nightwing." The voice box, or what I assume is the Batcomputer announces lifting the metal protection door.
"What was that?" Nightwing asks.
I panic and smash the communicator off.
"You gotta be kidding me." The Knight says. "That was your plan to get in?"
"Well it worked, didn't it?" I snap. I practically crash against the door letting myself in and somehow surviving to the elevator. I collapse to the ground, breathing heavily. My vision is spinning so I close my eyes and put my head between my knees. I've heard that it helps if you feel like vomiting or if you are dizzy. I can't remember which one was it but both would be good and needed at the moment.
"Umm, you okay there?" The Knight asks. His voice sounds like mountains away but I feel the elevator moving under me so he has to be standing close to me.
"Mhmm." Is the best I manage to get out.
The elevator stops and I brace myself for the worst. I can do this.
The door slides open to the familiar big room. The Knight lifts his dual handguns ready to shoot and I let him go first before taking another deep breath and going after him.
My mouth drops when I arrive to the main room. I see two bodies dead on the floor and two more corpses inside the cells. Harley Quinn is standing, waiting for someone inside the third cell and Scarecrow's symbol is painted on the previously empty cell. Robin's Bo Staff lays snapped in front of it. The Knight is examining the corpses when I hobble closer.
"They are all dead." I gasp. "But, how?"
The Knight goes to the Batcomputer and taps something. He doesn't seem to be in a hurry to tell me what the fuck is going on so I move on to Harley hoping that she can give me some answers.
"Harley, what happened?" I ask speaking to the speaker so she can hear my voice.
"Hey, I know who you are. You are that girl, Becky, who visited me earlier." She answers in her usual high pitched voice.
"What happened here, Harley? Can you please tell me?" I try again. I decide to sit in front of the cell door making me feel a little less dizzy.
"I know you too, Arkham Knight huh? Did you take down the Bat-brain yet?" Harley refuses to stay focused on me and turns her attention to the Knight.
"Shut it, clown." He answers.
"You've been a nasty little boy, Mistah J would be so proud." Harley insists.
"Shut up!" The Knight hits the class making both me and Harley jump.
"Jeez, anger issues much? Classic symptoms of BPD." Harley says keeping her calm.
The Knight decides to drop the conversation and moves on to investigate the rest of the building leaving me alone with the corpses and locked-up Harley.
"Harley, please. Can you tell me what happened?" I try with a soft voice. She used to have a soft spot for me. I hope that hasn't changed.
"Becky, they killed my dear J again. All of them. They are all gone." Harley starts to weep. I really can't find sympathy for her given that she is mourning for the same person who killed hundreds, abused and broke us both.
When she sniffles for the last time I try again. "I meant the Scarecrow painting. Where is Robin?"
"Oh that." Harley waves her hand absently. "Scarecrow broke in with good-old Jimbo. He didn't look that good. Bat-brain went crazy before that and locked Bird-brain into that cell serving the little Robin to Scarecrow on a silver platter. B-man was so pissed when he questioned me. Didn't get the joke."
"The joke?" I question.
"My puddin was the first one to come up with the idea to kill Robin." She says casually.
I am taken back by that. Yes, I could remember when it was rumored that Robin died in the line of duty. I guess the rumors were true then. "Scarecrow has Robin?"
"And the only way for B-man to get him back is to surrender himself or something. You should have seen the look on his face when he realized what happened. Really funny, gotta say." Harley laughs cheerfully.
I rub my temples. As if the night couldn't get any worse.
"What's wrong, Becky? What are you doing here anyways?" Harley curiously asks. "You look like someone did a real number on you."
I absently touch my scars. "Had a really busy night."
"You and me both." She starts to sob. "Why do you care about this anyways?"
"Because, Harley, I don't want to die." The answer surprises me. What I said is true. I don't want to die anymore. Yes, I had started getting better before this evening but this is different. Ironically, after everything I've been through during this night, I felt better than I had felt in months, maybe even years. "Harley. I think I just figured something out that has been bugging me forever."
"Good for you, kiddo. Have you finally followed my advice?" I am surprised that Harley remembers our short meeting back at the asylum. It was an eventful night for her after all.
I smile. "I think so."
"Good girl, Becky." Harley loses her interest and returns to hum some song that I don't know. I turn around and see that the Knight has returned.
"Did you find anything?" I ask carefully, unsure of his mood.
"Nothing of importance."
"Scarecrow took Robin." I point out.
"I noticed."
"And?"
"And what?" He snaps.
"What are you gonna do? Batman is gonna turn himself in and we both know that will not help anyone. Innocents will die." I gulp. "Batman will die too."
"Good." He says shortly.
"If you want to lie at least get better at it." I decide to push my luck. Most likely a huge mistake but I have to try.
"I am not lying. They both deserve to die." He answers. The mask covers his face but his voice sounds trembling.
I throw all my common sense out of the window. "Because Batman didn't save you?"
That gets a proper reaction. He towers over to me, lifts me up by my throat and slams my body against a wall. Harley screams surprised.
"Don't pretend to understand. And you are wrong." He drops me and I collapse to the floor both hands around my neck, gasping for air.
"It's because he didn't kill the Joker, isn't it?" I say once I manage to steady my breathing. "Because you still hear him inside your head, laughing at your pain, telling you how alone you are?"
He freezes. I figure I had to guessed something right so I continue. "Obviously you were closed with Batman. All that talk about knowing him, all that anger to kill him…
"You are the other one." It hits me like a brick to the head. "The one that the Joker talked about. Snapped bones, burned skin, broken mind… It is you. You were his play-thing before me, weren't you?"
The Knight doesn't answer so I take it as a yes.
"Don't you see? This is exactly what he wanted. He wanted to break you, to isolate you, to turn you against those who were closest to you." I shudder violently trying to focus on the current moment instead of the violent imagines inside my head. "You are the dead-Robin."
Still no answer. I stand up and walk as close to the Knight as I dare. For all I know he could still snap again and strangle me.
"This may be hard to believe but I know at least a little bit what it is like to be twisted by him. Don't do like he wants, please. This is your chance to prove that you are not just one of the Joker's broken toys." Tears fill my eyes. I wipe them away quickly. I have to convince him. If he ignores his old mentor, he will be forever lost.
"Like I am." My voice is quieter than a whisper and it breaks in the end. Silent tears run down my cheeks. I desperately want to touch his arm, anything really. But there is nothing I can bring myself to do.
After what feels like forever the Knight finally turns to face me. "Fine."
At first I don't believe my ears. When the answer finally sinks in he has moved to the Batcomputer. I read that he is tracking some vehicle. After he is finished he paints a red bat symbol to the floor. Then he paints an identical symbol to his chest.
"Come, I know Scarecrow is taking him." His voice is steady and determined. Like a soldier ready for action.
A/N: Only one chapter left for part I. If you have time please leave a review.