"No buts, Sparrow. You STAY HERE." Batman ordered. Sparrow stared at him long and hard, arms crossed.
"How come Robin gets to go?"
"Because Robin is older than you and he's dealt with Two-Face before." Batman said simply.
"How will I get experience dealing with him when you never LET me out to face him?" Sparrow demanded.
"Sparrow- you have your orders. Change out of costume and head up to your room. Alfred will bring you dinner." Batman said. She pouted.
"Scarlet, now." Batman said, narrowing his eyes beneath the cowl. She whirled, cape snapping behind her as she headed behind the folding screen to change. Alfred was upstairs, preparing dinner for when they were supposed to get back. It undoubtedly early in the morning... Meaning she wouldn't be missed.
She peered out from behind the screen as soon as the sound of the Batmobile faded in the distance. Now was the perfect time...
She headed towards the zeta tubes, punching in the coordinates... A moment later she was stepping out of the phone booth in the alley of Gotham.
She stepped out, brushing herself off. She COULD take down Two-Face, even if Batman thought she was too young.
She headed towards the main territory she knew Two-Face liked- she'd take him down tonight.
"Robin!" Batman yelled his charge's name. He could hear grunts of pain as his son was bludgeoned down by something heavy, could hear the moaning of pain, but a dozen men held him at bay...
"Robin!"
Robin cried out in reply, a pain-filled moan. He could still hear his son's cries as he was struck, he fought with the fury of a demon, but by the time the men were unconscious, Two-Face was gone- and so was Robin.
He restrained the thugs, calling commissioner Gordon and informing them of their whereabouts as he tried desperately to track the trail of blood. He was going to get his son.
Sparrow stood on top of the Pearson Shipyard and Co. building, staring down at the harbor. Of all the stories Batman had told her about past encounters with the man, he'd always chosen this part of town...
She looked down to see someone dragging something, something wet, by the looks of the droplets of water it was leaving every few feet, In the glittering moonlight and peered down at the figure. It was probably just a sack of fish, but the fishermen were all off duty... And the sack wasn't leaving behind water. It was blood.
The man who was dragging it wore a peculiar suit, half black, half white...
It was him. And she realized with growing dread that whatever was in that sack WASN'T fish.
She stared, slightly shocked, a small gasp escaping her lips. He'd turned his head slightly, she could see his face in the moonlight...
It was horrible. Burned, charred, raw red flesh and exposed muscle showing a cruel smile. He was like a monster, a horrible, murdering monster, and he looked scarier than the Joker.
He was almost down the harbor, now. She didn't have a grappling gun, she'd have to climb down... She sighed, frustrated with herself, for freezing up. Still, she could still catch him, but she was afraid to do it head-on, now, now that she'd seen his face.
She jumped onto the next rooftop, the shining moon her beacon, sprinting, running to the next, and the next, parallel to Two-Face's path.
When she pulled up even to him, she stumbled. He looked up, and she hit the deck, flattening herself out on the roof. He didn't see her, and he moved on, still dragging the sack behind him...
He pulled up beside the loading docks, which were, for once, closed. He dumped out the contents of the sack onto the ground as she scrambled down a fire escape and waited in the shadows, hearing a moan...
"Robin..." she breathed, horrified.
Just then some men emerged from the opposite end of the crates. The crates were arranged in an L-shaped fashion, Two-face and the men he was meeting, were near the end of the bottom of the L, but if she snuck around the outside, she could get to Robin, near the top, maybe rally him or drag him to safety...
"Robin- I'm coming." she whispered into her comm. Robin made no move to reply, and she felt her blood run cold. She darted into an alley, running past two buildings, emerging just past the men, under the crook of the L-shaped crates.
She trooped along quietly, in a crouch, slowly running towards her brother...
"Sparrow to Batman, I found Robin. He's hurt bad, by the loading docks..."
Batman, who'd been struggling to pick up his son's comm signal, stared, shocked.
"Sparrow..."
"He's hurt BAD. You need to come NOW." she said, on the edges of panic. She could see Robin's blood smeared underneath him on the docks, it glittered in the moonlight, the pale moon casting an almost unnatural light on his ashen skin.
"I'll be there asap. Do what you can. Is Two-face nearby?" Batman's voice crackled across the comm. Sparrow's head snapped up- Two-Face had heard something, was coming towards her. She dove behind some crates, tearing off her comm and throwing it into the harbor- she was so scared she wasn't thinking straight, and she was afraid the noise it made would alert Two-Face to her presence...
He was feet from her, and she winced when her comm made a small splashing noise as it hit the water.
Two-Face strode to the edge of the dock, peering into the dark, almost black waters, now, as though perplexed. He was literally five feet from her now, if he turned and saw her he would just as easily pull one of his two pistols and shoot her...
Lucky was with her, though. The awful, scared side of his face was towards her, and he was so focused on the water he didn't notice her. Still, he'd succeeded in scared her half to death...
He still stared at the water.
"What is, it, boss?" one of the muggs called across the dock.
"Nothing. Just a damn fish." he said, and strode back towards the group. Sparrow let out a breath. He looked like a monster to her, a monster-man, he used guns, and he'd done all that to Robin...
"Yeah. Figured we'd drown him, it's not like he can swim, I made sure of that..."
Two-Face's words drifted over to her on a sea breeze, and she stared, heart starting to hammering in her chest. If he threw Robin into the Harbor, they was no way she'd be able to pull him out, he was bigger than she was, and the water was freezing this time of year...
She crept quietly towards her brother, shaking him lightly.
"Robin. Robin, please, you have to get up." she whispered, trying not to panic. What of Batman didn't get here in time, what if Robin died, what if...
"Hey! It's the other brat!" one of the thugs yelled.
What if THAT happened?
She stood, bolting away from Robin as bullets started to rain down around her, vaulting onto one crate, jumping onto the major stack of them, diving into a gap just small enough for her between two crates.
Slowly, the bullets stopped raining down. Two-Face spoke. "She's a witness. She's still here somewhere, FIND HER- after all, TWO murders are better than one."
She shuddered. She could hear footsteps all around her, pulled the black part of her cape over top of her, praying it would hide her.
They were moving crates now, shuffling them, and the gap above her was suddenly half its normal size. There was no way she could slip out. Still, she had bigger problems.
"Forget searching- dump those barrels of oil into the water and onto the docks. We'll just torch the place- it'll be easier- and there won't be any bodies. Can't dive in and swim through fire."
She heard the sound of liquid hitting the planks of the dock, swallowing. Where was Batman? What if... No. She wouldn't think like that. And then there was the WOOSH as the flames ignited, laughter fading into the night...
"Sparrow! Sparrow, respond! Sparrow!" Batman slammed his fist down on the dashboard, frustrated. He'd heard someone yell in the background, if Two-Face had BOTH his children...
He remembered the last time Robin had been captured by Two-Face. The man was BRUTAL. If he laid a hand on either of his children...
"This is squad car 249 reporting- large fire on Gotham loading docks. Severe, appears some kind of accelerant was used on the flames..." the report crackled across the radio and he felt his heart sink.
Two-Face wouldn't... But he was a good killer, cold, calculated,and he often burned the bodies...
Two minutes. He'd be there in two minutes. He just prayed his children wouldn't be beyond saving.
"Robin!"
She could imagine Robin, lying prone on the docks, being caught in the inferno, unable to escape... Still, the gap above her was too small to crawl through. Unless...
"Please tell me I played football for a reason." she prayed as she braced herself on the ground, throwing herself at the crate above her... Her shoulder met the underside of the wood, the crate moved a good inch, and she took another breath. It'd hurt, but the crate had moved, she could do it. She threw herself at the crate again, and again, and finally it moved enough. She braced her arms on each crate across from her, jumping up and climbing , back against the wall, before dragging herself on top of the crates to find herself facing a blazing inferno that was slowly consuming the docks.
The surface of the water was on fire, as well, there was no way to dive and swim under it with Robin hurt like he was.
"Robin!" she screamed hoarsely. The smoke was making everything hazy, but she could've sworn she saw his shape, where the rising flames were creeping towards him...
She sprinted over, falling to her knees beside him.
"Robin! Robin, please!" she yelled, frantic, now. Smoke was clouding her senses.
"Sparrow... not gonna... go..." he choked out.
"No." she said simply, refusing to leave him, searching his utility belt desperately. She found his grappling gun- Batman considered her too young to have one, and she supposed he was right. But if she could shoot it into the warehouse over there, it might propel them above the flames...
She found the trigger of it and aimed, feeling it recoil as it shot out and glass shatter. She'd shot through the window. She hit the retract button, frustrated, taking aim again, the point sinking into the concrete side of the building. She pulled the line, testing it. It seemed firm, but then again, she couldn't see her own hand in front of her face.
"Robin!" she yelled hoarsely. She pulled her brother to his feet, he sagged, leaning, arm around her shoulder, almost draped over her.
She pulled the retract button, the line started re-winding, and she felt the flames warm the bottom of her feet as they glided over it...
As soon as they were clear from the fire, she let go, hitting the blessed,y cool, unfirey docks on the other side. They'd done it.
Sirens screamed in the distance, red and blue flashes showed on her face as police cars and firetrucks showed up, and...
"Give him to me." Batman ordered. Sparrow realized, horrified, she'd been too busy watching the Gotham fire department at work that she'd completely forgotten about Robin.
"Robin? Can you hear me?" Batman demanded, tapping his partner's cheek. Robin moaned.
"How bad is it?" Batman asked, praying it wasn't that serious.
Sparrow really wanted to be beside her brother, but her curiosity and seven-year-old mind couldn't help it. She was staring at the fire trucks.
"Ribs..." Robin moaned. Batman nodded. "We'll be back at the cave soon, I promise." he moved quickly but gently, setting the boy in the back of the Batmobile.
"Batman- what happened here?" Commissioner Gordon asked, approaching. He looked over, shocked, to see Sparrow watching the fire trucks with the enchantment of a child. Her costume was ripped in several places, her cheek was scratched, and she was covered in soot and ash...
"Two-Face." Batman said simply. "We'll talk later- Robin's hurt."
The commissioner's face was instantly concerned. "Is it serious?"
"Serious enough. Sparrow- come on." Batman ordered.
Batman grabbed her arm, dragging her towards the Batmobile. She realized this and hurried to keep paced with him.
"We WILL talk about this later."