Rising Robin

Chapter XVII: Arsenal

Dick & Roy made their way up more flights of stairs than Dick could count. His legs began to weaken. He was growing so tired he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. He struggled to grip onto the side rail of the stairs.

"Oh, come on, Grayson," Roy would call over his shoulder. "You can take a few more steps."

Dick gasped. "Why are we headed to the roof?"

"Because Drake's men were going to eventually find out where we were. If we stayed in the room, we would've been dead. If we went out through the lobby, we'd be dead too."

Dick heaved. He struggled to breathe. He took deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling as if he had just learned. His heartbeat felt normal again. "So you don't think Drake will find us on the roof?"

The two stopped at a grey door with a metal handle. Above read "EXIT" in bright red. Roy turned back to Dick with a grin. Just then, the two heard rapid footsteps echoing through the stairwell. Roy's grin grew larger. "I hope they'll find us," he said, "because this will be so cool."

Roy shoved through the exit door with Dick trailing behind. A burst of cool air blew passed Dick. He watched as Roy swiftly made his way to the edge of the building, taking long & fast steps while aiming his bow forward with an arrow already in place.

Dick removed the gun from the back of his waistband and pointed it towards the stairwell door. Dick waited for the men to come out, but nobody did. Dick kept his arms up, but relaxed. He turned and glanced at the city skyline. This part of the city looked beautiful. It was a lot higher than the window Dick looked through earlier in the night. Dick felt as though he were above the clouds. He felt high & mighty, truly royal. He felt as though he really was at the top of Mount Olympus.

"Come on, Dick!" Roy called. He stood with one foot on the edge of the building. He held the bow out over the edge, with the drawstring pulled far back. Roy shot the arrow out towards another skyscraper. A rope was attached to the arrow, & shot all the way down into the abyss that was Gotham City. The rope finally stopped & tightened. Roy detached the rope from the bow & tied it to the railing of the edge of the roof.

Dick watched Roy as he did this, then turned back to the doorway. The first attacker appeared through the doorway. He was a young boy who looked close to Dick's age. He held a gun of his own. He fumbled to aim it at Dick properly. Before he could wrap his finger around the trigger, Dick shot the boy twice in his arm. The boy howled in agony & dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes & clutched his arm.

Dick turned, stuffed the gun back in his waistband, and raced towards Roy, who was just about ready to leap off the building. "Wait, Roy!" Dick called as Roy stepped closer towards the edge.

Roy had hooked his bow onto the rope beneath fit feet. "Hold on!"

Just as Roy swung off the building, Dick leaped & wrapped his arms around Roy's broad shoulders. The two zipped down the line Roy had made. Cool air rushed passed Dick's face. He felt his hair blow back uncontrollably. Dick smiled as the sensation of flying brought back heartwarming memories. He felt his eyes begin to water. He told himself they were only because the air was so strong against his eyes. That was it.

His flight seemed to last forever until Dick heard shouting from the top of Olympus. Bullets whizzed passed Dick & Roy. Dick wrapped his legs completely around Roy to avoid having his swinging legs shot at.

The second skyscraper approached the two faster as seconds & bullets flew by. "Alright," Roy started, "I'm going to need you to tuck & roll once we get over the roof!"

Suddenly, the two felt themselves drop dozens of feet at an abrupt rate. Roy quickly gripped onto the rope with his two hands, his bow slipping up his wrists. Dick held on tighter as the two came into collision with reflections of themselves.