Down below on the bridge, the Batmobile thundered up the ramp and slid smoothly to a stop. The sleek canopy slid back and two caped figures jumped out.
Looking up, Robin saw the faint outlines of several figures lurking in the shadows up on the platforms under the girders. "Right on time," he said, turning his head to his partner. "They're here already."
"I expected as much." Batman looked up and saw the figures. Removing his night vision lenses from a separate compartment in his utility belt, he looked through them and zoomed in on the characters. He widened his eyes at the sight.
"Something's happening up there!" Batman exclaimed, as he returned the lenses to his utility belt. "Come on!"
As one, they dug out their grappling hooks from the compartments in their belts and aimed them up at the girders on the bridge. Pressing the buttons on the side of the grapnels, the long lines of cord attached to the hooks reeled themselves in, lifting the caped heroes into the night sky.
On top of one of the many platforms on the bridge, Murph, one of the Joker's many clown-faced henchmen, was holding Tony Zucco firmly so his captive wouldn't escape. The Joker was standing in front of them, holding the vial of fear toxin he had brutally stolen from the Scarecrow.
"Look alive, Tony," the demented clown snarled. "It's a long drop to the bottom." He giggled gleefully to himself as he unscrewed the lid of the vial and held it out in front of Tony's face. "See this?" he demanded, his satanic grin spreading from ear to ear. "I was going to use it on Bats, but instead, I think I'll have some fun with you."
Tony Zucco was begging for mercy at the sight of the toxin. "Please Joker! I'll do anything you want!... Anything!!" he squeaked. "Just let me live!"
"Too late for that, Tony." He signalled to Murph. "You've had your chance already and you blew it!" Murph grabbed hold of Zucco's head and forced open his mouth.
"Hey Oscar, help me out here, would ya?" he grunted. Another clown-faced hood arrived at his side. "Grab hold of him. Make sure he doesn't get away." Immediately Oscar grabbed hold of Zucco's body in a vice-like grip.
"That should hold him," he grinned to his partner in crime.
The Joker, seeing how firmly his boys were holding his captive, took hold of the opportunity and poured the contents of the vial into Tony's mouth.
"Now be a good boy and take all your medicine as Dr. Joker prescribed." The air shook with laughter as Tony Zucco's eyes grew wider, the toxin slowly working it's way through his bloodstream.
"Let him go boys," the Joker ordered. Murph and Oscar released their hold on Zucco, and he doubled over on the roof, gasping for breath; eyes watering so much that he could barely see straight.
When he was finally able to focus, the Joker was standing in front of him; Tony's back was facing the edge of the platform they were on. It was a long drop to the bottom. All of a sudden, something inside Zucco snapped. He fell trembling to the ground screaming in fear.
"No!!! Keep away from me! Stay away!!" he threw his arms around his head to protect himself.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" The Joker walked towards Zucco, the grin of a maniac plastered on his face. "Time to face the music, Tony..." He raised his gun and aimed right between Tony's eyes.
A dark metallic object hit the Joker's hand, making him lose his grip on the gun where it fell into the river below. The small, metal object hit the ground of the platform with a metallic *clink*. It was in the shape of a bat.
"Stop right there, Joker!" a low voice boomed out from the shadows. The psychotic clown turned around at the voice. Two dark silhouettes stood rigid, the dim light of the moon at their backs, eyes glowing like demons'.
"Well, well, if it isn't Flatman and his boy blunder," the Joker spat out the words. "You're always ruining my fun! You guys should get a hobby or something!" He looked around at his henchmen. "Don't just stand there, you fools! Get them!"
As the clowns advanced on the duo, Tony Zucco took the opportunity and started to crawl away from the action. The Joker turned around at the sound of his captive trying to escape.
"And where do you think you're going, Bucko." The clown stepped in front of the trembling two-bit criminal. "Trying to escape, are you?" He grinned maliciously, reached down, and grabbed the criminal.
Batman kicked Murph in the head, as the clown-faced hood
advanced on him, knife in hand. The criminal flew backward and hit
his head on a metal beam that helped to support the bridge. He was
out like a light.
Robin was having fun. He hadn't had this much fun in a while. Grinning, he let loose an upper-cut that knocked Oscar flat on the ground. Growling, the hood attempted to get up, but not before a bola flew out from the darkness and wrapped itself around him, completely immobilizing him.
"Take a load off, creep," he grinned at the crook, then joined his partner in battling the other henchmen the Joker had brought with him.
"Where's the Joker?" Robin asked anxiously when they had finished with the hired help.
Batman scanned the platform. He pointed. "Over there. Come on!"
With a flurry of capes, Batman and Robin raced to the other end of the platform where the Joker was attempting to throw Tony Zucco off the bridge and into the murky waters below.
"Put him down, Joker!" Batman demanded, as he and Robin thundered to a stop a few feet away from the criminals.
The Joker was laughing hysterically in the dim moon light. Tony, on the other-hand, was squirming futilely in the Joker's grip.
"You want him?" the clown asked sarcastically. He heaved Tony over the platform. "Then go get him! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Tony Zucco, arms flailing, was thrown into the air. Reaching out desperately, he managed to grab hold of the edge of the platform as it flew past. "SOMEONE HELP ME!! PLEASE!!"
"HAHAHAHAHA... huh?" The Joker stopped laughing as Batman rushed up to him and punched him in the side of the head. "Why you..." His threat was lost in the pounding of the waves against the bridge supports, as a storm started rolling in.
Thunder cracked, lightning illuminating the area as the moon was hidden behind the swirling mass of storm clouds. Above the din of the storm, Tony Zucco's whining could be heard.
"Someone help me! I'm too young to die!"
Batman was busy wrestling with the Joker. The lightning cracked behind his back. "Robin!" he shouted above the storm. "You must.... ARGH!" The Dark Knight clutched his head in his hands, as the Joker stood over him with a wrench that a workman carelessly tossed away into the corner. The clown was getting ready to swing the wrench again, only to be stopped by the Batman's punch to his nose. He dropped the wrench, but managed to produce a small switch-blade from his sleeve.
Noticing how occupied his partner was, Robin ran to the platform's edge and looked down. Tony Zucco was staring up at him, fear conquering over him. All the rage that was built up inside Dick resurfaced. His face became a mask of hatred, his eyes burning deathly white. The murderer of his parents was at his mercy; his fists clenched in anticipation.
The rain started pouring down. The wind picked up speed. Robin's cape flew all around him, as he stared down at the white fingers clinging on to the platform for dear life. One stomp on those hands, a kick to that despised face....
"Murderer..." he whispered. Tony Zucco looked up in fright. Lightning crackled all around them, but Robin was oblivious to the sight.
"You don't deserve to live..." he seethed. He raised his booted foot, as Zucco gasped for breath.
Suddenly he snapped out of his bloodthirsty craze for revenge. He remembered what Bruce had said a while ago, about not letting his feelings get the best of him. He looked down at Zucco's pathetic expression.
"No," he said quietly. "No. Then I'd be no better than you. I'm not a murderer." Reaching down, he grasped Tony's wrists and pulled him up onto the platform, away from the edge. The rain continued to pour, Zucco huddled on the ground shivering with fright.
"Good work, Robin." Batman walked up behind him, the Joker secured beside him with Batcuffs. "I've radioed for the police. They're on their way."
Robin just looked out over the water, the rain and thunder stopping, the clouds moving away silently. "Yeah," he said finally.
At Wayne Manor the next day, Bruce Wayne was relaxing in the den watching the news on the wide screen TV. Summer Gleeson was in the middle of talking about the apprehension of Tony Zucco and the Joker from the night before.
"... and while the Joker was brought back to Arkham Asylum in the hopes that he will finally get rehabilitated, Tony Zucco was once again moved to Gotham State Penitentiary where he will live out his sentence..." *click* Bruce pressed the "channel up" button on the remote to change the channel to another news station, where another newscaster was covering the same story. "... with a life sentence, the criminal, Tony Zucco, will not be seeing the light of day for a long time. And in other news, a huge comet is said to be streaking towards the earth. Fact or fiction? Join us tonight as we get up close and personal with the guys from NASA..." *click* The channel changed again. *click* And again.
Alfred walked into the room, carrying with him a cup of herbal tea on a tray he had made for Bruce. He looked on with disgust as Bruce continued to change the channels.
"Seriously, Master Bruce! You are just as bad as young Master Grayson!" he commented, as he set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the leather sofa. "And you wonder why batteries are constantly on the shopping list every week!"
Bruce looked up with a twinkle in his eyes. "Guilty as charged," he said laughing. He looked around. "By the way, where is Dick?" he inquired to his old friend.
The British butler straightened his tie. "As I recall, sir," he stated, "the young Master told me that he had some errands to run in town."
Bruce looked at Alfred. "Oh. Okay," he said. "Thanks, Alfred."
Dick Grayson walked along the path to the empty fairgrounds, where nine years ago Haley's Circus had set up. His family had been the main attraction. It had been their last performance.
The wind had picked up, ruffling his black hair. He didn't mind. He just maintained a firm grip on the small box he'd been carrying since he left Wayne Manor that morning.
His eyes searched the fairgrounds, confetti and paper was strewn everywhere. Looking at the far side of the grounds, he saw what he was looking for. Two small faded chalk marks. The outlines of his parents' bodies were marked on the ground for police purposes, and the rain and recent sideshows in the fairgrounds had washed away all but the faintest of chalk lines.
Dick knelt down on the ground and looked up to the sky. The sun was poking through the clouds, a small ray of light filtering on the fairgrounds. He bowed his head and lifted up the lid of the small box he had carried with him. Inside lay two blood-red roses, handpicked from Alfred's garden from the back of the mansion. He gently took them out of the box, and laid them side by side on the faint, chalk outline.
He looked up again, and saw that the sun had found it's way through the blanket of clouds. A look of understanding flashed in his eyes. He smiled.
With a final look down at the roses, he stood up, and walked down the path back to Wayne Manor. He finally felt at peace with himself.
Note: I apologize for the shortness of this
chapter. I expected it to be longer but I still like how it turned
out. Hope you did too. :-)
--Huntress
