Rising Robin

Chapter 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.