Robin: Betrayal # 6

Nightwing turned just in time to catch one last glimpse of her before her body vanished.

“Star?! NO!!!!!” He screamed, falling to his knees.

Robin dropped the Emerald on the ground and ran to Nightwing’s side.

“Tim, don’t leave the Emerald unguarded!” Batman yelled urgently.

Robin didn’t hear him.

“Don’t worry, Bats.” Flash assured. “I’ve got it!”

But, before he could reach it, a portal appeared below it and sucked it in. With the Emerald gone, their last hope faded. This was the end.

Everyone gathered around Nightwing and Robin, ready to make their last stand there.

The demonic army closed in, but, surprisingly, they didn’t attack.

“Is this the best you can do?” Raven chuckled. “This is pathetic, even for mortals.”

“Get to the point, Trigon.” Batman said roughly. “You’re boring us.”

“Silence, insolent human!”

“Who’s going to make me, a coward like you?”

“How dare you call me cowardly!?”

“Why not? It’s the truth, isn’t it? Your tactics are cowardly. You’d never face us openly, you’re too afraid.”

“I fear nothing!”

“Prove it.”

“Very well, mortal. We will have a final battle tonight at a place and time of your choosing.”

“Tonight. Gotham. Midnight.”

“I will be there.”

With those words, Trigon and his demons vanished.

“That took balls, Bats.” Flash said. “And how did you know Trigon could hear you through raven… not to mention talk through her.”

“Trigon’s vanity.” Batman said coldly. “He would want to see and hear firsthand the destruction he’s set in motion. He lives for it.”

He knelt in front of Nightwing.

“Dick, I know this must be incredibly painful.” He said quietly. “We’ll give her a memorial when this is all over. But, for now we have to get ready.”

“What’s the point?” Nightwing growled. “The Emerald is gone, we don’t have a chance.”

A silence fell over the group. Dick was right, now that the emerald had been destroyed, there was nothing left to stand in Raven’s way.

“The point is,” Flash said, his annoyance clear in his tone. “We don’t stop fighting until we stop breathing. We’re heroes, dammit! We knew the risks when we signed up.”

“Wally’s right.” Hawkman agreed. “No matter how bad things look, we do what we have to do.”

Nightwing was still on his knees, staring at the ground, clenching his fists.

“Dick… I… I’m sorry.” Robin said slowly. “It… It’s my fault Kory is gone… If I hadn’t hesitated…”

“Shut up, Tim.” Dick said, cutting him short. “Don’t you dare try to take the blame for this! Trigon’s the only one to blame here. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for that bastard.” He stood back up, then, reached a hand out to Tim, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. “Flash, Hawkman, you’re right. We may not be able to win, but we sure as hell won’t go down without a fight.”

Wait, Rama Kushna said, appearing before them. There is still hope. The Emerald may be gone, but there is another way.


“Spit it out, then!” Hawkman said harshly. “There’s no time to waste.”

Leave it to Hawkman to mouth off to a goddess, Robin thought.

There is a power that may be of use to you. It is not as powerful as the Emerald of Twilight, but, with that now gone, you have no other options.

“And just where can we find this power?” Robin asked respectfully.

You have already found it, young one. It lies within you.


A look of surprise shown on Robin’s face. How had he gained this power? He didn’t feel any different, so what could she mean?

“What power do I have?” He asked curiously.

By entering the Testing Ground to attain the emerald, you have inherited a temporary tie to it.

“Just how ‘temporary’ are we talking here?” Wonder Girl asked, stepping in closer.

The tie will end one hour after midnight.


“That’s plenty of time,” Nightwing said decidedly. “If Tim takes us there now, we’ll be able to stop this before it starts.”

I’m afraid that is not possible. For Robin to trace the power back to its source, he must be near the corrupted one. And, he cannot take anyone with him. He must go alone.

I figured as much, Robin thought. Things are never that easy… Damn it, looks like I’m on my own.

“Fine,” Batman said authoritatively. “We’ll take what we can get. Everyone get ready, we leave in an hour. This ends tonight.”

As he walked away a cold chill ran down Robin’s spine.

Bruce is right, this will be the end, one way or another… But, this time, I won’t hesitate… I won’t let everyone down… not again…

Three minutes to midnight in Gotham City, the sky was black as pitch. The moon and stars hidden by clouds.

Looks like it’s going to rain, Robin thought, looking up to the sky. I only wish we had more backup… I know it wouldn’t do any good but… still…

When Flash had mentioned calling in the Justice League, Batman dismissed it immediately, stating that it wouldn’t do any good, no matter how many they brought with them, Trigon would only double his forces. Numbers wouldn’t win this fight, the weight rested on Robin. The rest of the group would try and hold their own here while he did whatever it was he had to to stop Trigon.

Rain began to drizzle lightly.

This was the business district of Gotham, no innocent bystanders would be here this time of night, leaving everyone free to cut loose without having to worry about civilians.

One minute to midnight and, still, not a word was spoken. Everyone had already said what they needed to say. Now, they only waited for the inevitable.

Hawkman approached Robin and held out his hand.

“Give me your staff.” He said solemnly.

Robin hesitated at first, then pulled out his bo and placed in Hawkman’s outstretched hand.

Hawkman pulled out his axe, carving a strange symbol into the middle of Robin’s bo.

“Here.” He said, handing the staff back to Robin.

Robin stared at the symbol for a moment, puzzled.

“What is this?” He asked, continuing to stare at it intently.

“That symbol negates chaos magic, which Trigon thrives on. As long as you hold onto that, nothing formed from chaos magic can harm you.” He turned and walked away without another word.

Thanks, Carter, Robin thought with a smile.

“It’s time.” Batman said aloud, causing Robin’s heart to skip a beat. “Get ready.”

Robin braced himself. This was it, what he’d been waiting for and dreading for hours. It was time to finish it.

Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself; this was no time to panic, only to act.

‘Raven’ should be here any second.

No sooner had the thought entered his mind than a dark portal appeared on the edge of the roof.

As Raven stepped out, he felt a weird feeling in his chest.

This must be what Rama Kushna was talking about… have to control it…

Concentrating as hard as he could, he tried to tap into the power within him. He closed his eyes, picturing a portal in his mind that would carry him to where he needed to go. He opened his eyes and it was in front of him.

Well, here goes nothing, He thought, stepping through the newly opened portal.

Raven floated silently, just off the ground. The streets were wide, with plenty of room for everyone to move freely.

A few more seconds passed as the rain grew heavier, then, without so much as a threat, Raven made the first move.

Hideous creatures of various shapes and sizes appeared out of nowhere, some crawling up from the ground, others seemed to fall from the sky. It took Batman no time to realize what was happening. These were the same portals that were used in Nanda Parbat, only, at night, there was no way to see them, which made things that much more dangerous; an enemy could be on them in an instant before they knew it.

He started to warn everyone to be careful, but stopped himself. There was no need, they already knew. There was no use for words, only action.

He waited patiently, already planning hundreds of scenarios in his head, bracing himself for what lay just a few moments ahead.

Hundreds of creatures now lurked in the streets, surrounding the group, some of them snarling and bearing their teeth, trying to intimidate their prey. Some of them, however, stood back quietly, lurking in the shadows.

These are different, Batman thought, noting the various demons surrounding them. Not all of these things are mindless animals… Those in the back…They seem to be planning something…

One of the creatures lunged at the Flash. Wally moved reflexively, missing his attacker by a mile. His assailant landed flat on its face at Hawkman’s feet. Without hesitation, Hawkman lifted his leg, then, with great force, stomped the creatures skull, sending bits of blood and brain scattering across the ground.

No one said a word. This wasn’t the time to be squeamish. This was war, ugly and horrendous, but sometimes, like now, necessary.

Raven slowly began raising her arm in their direction. Everyone waited with anticipation. Everything hinged on this next instant. The instant Raven’s arm extended fully toward them, pandemonium took over. Demon’s lashing out wildly, thirsty for blood, claws eager to disembowel their victims.

Hawkman was the first to charge in, swinging his axe wildly, yet precisely, cleaving heads and various other limbs from the demonic forms.

Wonder Girl was next, pulling out her lasso and wrapping it around one of the creature’s necks. She swung him around in a wide arc, slamming him into any unlucky enough to stand in her path. By the time she had gone another ten feet, all that was left of her makeshift flail was a limp, disfigured corps with powder for bones. She jerked the lasso back, reigning it in, and loosening it, allowing the body to fall to the ground. She put the lasso away and charged in deeper into the rapidly growing mob.

Flash Relied on his speed, Creating several small cyclones at speeds high enough to rend limbs… Which is exactly what they did.

Nightwing and Batman stood back for a moment, watching everyone else in action. Nightwing pulled his escrima sticks from his back.

“Well, are we just going to let them fight to save the world while we sit back on our asses?” Nightwing said, shooting Batman a smile.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Batman said, producing two batarangs from nowhere, gripping them like daggers in his fists.

He returned a slight grin to Nightwing. So small, in fact, Nightwing just barely caught it.

They charged forward together, ready to give their lives without hesitation to buy Robin more time.

Only minutes had passed in the battle in Gotham. Minutes, that seemed like hours. Hawkman was still in the thick of the battle, cleaving limbs from bodies and bashing skulls with his free fist.

Wonder Girl had joined him, taking down any he missed.

Batman had put Flash on containment, which, in this case, was no easy task. He ran around the perimeter, keeping the monsters as contained as possible, trying to stop them from spreading out any further, but at the speed they were now pouring in, he found it harder and harder to do his job.

Nightwing and Batman working their way in, taking down each demon they faced quickly with precise blows. It wasn’t all that hard, these demons weren’t the most intelligent beings, or so they thought…

As Nightwing took a wide swing with his escrima stick, aiming for the creature’s head, it ducked, unlike the others, and, before Nightwing could react, it pierced his side with its sword.
A sharp cry of pain alerted Batman; he turned to see the demon twisting the sword in Nightwing’s side, a look of unbridled joy on its hideous face. With almost inhuman speed, he rushed to his partner’s side, meeting the demon’s head with a powerful flying kick. He could hear the creature’s neck snap as the kick connected.

This isn’t good, He thought as he hit the ground. Some of these things are getting smarter. If this keeps up we won’t last much longer.

Nightwing collapsed on the ground, gripping the hilt of the sword. Batman knelt beside him, immediately pulling a small laser from his belt and cutting the blade itself in half.

“Cassie!” He yelled over the roar of battle. “I need you here, now!” He commanded.

As soon as the words reached her ears, she rushed to his side, flying over the battle to reach him. She landed gracefully on the ground just next to him.

“Is he going to be ok?” She asked, noting Nightwing on the ground.

“I’ll be fine.” Nightwing spoke up, moving to get up off the ground.

Batman roughly pushed him back flat on the ground.

“Don’t move or you’ll make it worse.” He commanded, then turning to Wonder Girl, he continued. “The blade is ridged, and it was twisted after entering. I can’t just pull it out; I’m going to have to make a small incision to get it out, then cauterize it with the laser, but I can’t do that with these things closing in on us. You’ll have to hold them off while I’m working.”

Instinctively, he pulled out a batarang then, clenching it tightly in his fist, he thrust it forcefully over his shoulder, stabbing an approaching demon in the face. It howled in pain as it fell to the ground.

“Can you handle that, Cassie?” He asked as if nothing had happened.

“Yeah, I’ve got your back.” She said.

Already, a group of them were closing in from the right. She charged into them, snapping the neck of the first one and taking his sword and using it to finish off the rest of them.

Batman was already at work, taking care not to cut too deep with the edge of the batarang.

“Are you doing alright, Dick.” He asked, pausing for a moment.

“You know me.” Nightwing replied with a grimace. “Battlefield operations always put a smile on my face.”

Batman continued his work.

As he was about to remove the blade, a larger demon, about twelve feet in stature, slowly stalked up behind him, a devious grin painted on its face. He couldn’t turn away, this was the most crucial part of the procedure, and if he stopped halfway, the blade could recede and cause more damage.

It didn’t matter though; he knew he wouldn’t have to do a thing. Wonder Girl was already rushing to meet the creature, her lasso at the ready. She knew this one was too big to simply pound into submission. More ruthless means were necessary this time.

With a quick blow to the jaw to disorient him, she quickly flew behind him and placed the rope around his neck, gripping it tightly in her fists on either side of his head. She violently jerked back, placing her knee between his shoulders as a brace. The demon bucked wildly, trying desperately to shake off his attacker, gagging and sputtering, fearing for its miserable life.

With another violent jerk, she heard a snap the body went limp. She loosened her grip and let the corps fall to the ground. Her hands were shaking. Had she really just done that? Yes. It was just as Diana had once told her. War was a horrible, ugly thing, but when faced with it, running wasn’t an option.

She resumed her duty, ensuring that Batman was unhindered.

It wasn’t much longer before Batman was finished. Nightwing flinched as the laser cauterized the wound, sealing it shut, at least temporarily. Nightwing got to his feet the instant Batman pulled away, ready to fight again.

Giving Batman a quick nod, he turned and ran off into the thick of the battle. Wonder Girl, seeing that Nightwing was up, followed after him to make sure he’d be alright.

Batman stood alone at the back, demons rushing in closer now that no one was there to hold them back. As soon as the first reached him, he went to work. He produced a handful of batarangs and threw them out in front of him. They met their targets aggressively, tearing into flesh and sticking in place. Screams tore from their lungs, some of them even dropping to the ground, unable to go on. Their comrades trampled them without a second thought, nothing mattered to them but the death of their enemy.

Batman realized their numbers were growing, slowly but surely, still, he wasn’t about to give up. All they had to do was buy enough time for Robin to do his job. Survival: that was all that mattered.

Hawkman was still in the very middle of the fight, lashing out at any demons unlucky enough to face him. One of them managed to jump on his back, trying desperately to strangle him with thin, boney arms. With a grip of iron, he caught the creature by its right arm, then, with a rough jerk, tore the arm from its host. Hawkman didn’t hear a scream, although he was sure one had come. He was too busy moving forward, using both his axe and the severed arm as weapons.

Batman felt a cold chill run down his spine. He turned around quickly to see four red, glowing eyes staring him down beneath a dark hood.

No words were spoken, he knew they wouldn’t do any good, Raven couldn’t hear them anymore.

Instead, he braced himself, knowing there was nothing he could do against her physically.

He didn’t have to wait long before she struck. She snapped her finger and instantly, his body was wracked with pain. He fell to the ground. It seemed like every pain receptor in his body was on fire. He saw a light, he tried to steer away from it, but it quickly consumed him.

Batman awoke in a dark, round room, in the middle of the floor. He got up to look around. Was this death? No, it couldn’t be. He still felt blood coursing through his veins; surely in death you wouldn’t feel that. Besides, he never believed in an afterlife. All logic told him it didn’t exist; death was the end, nothing more to it.

I must be alive, He thought. But where am I? What is this place?

He looked around the dimly-lit room with sharp, searching eyes. On the edge of the room he could just make out a small torch illuminating something etched on a nearby wall. He walked towards the light.

The etchings were fairly well done. Much more sophisticated than anything the Egyptians or Aztecs had ever done. Where had these come from?

The markings told some sort of story, of that much he was certain. Looking towards the bottom of the wall, he saw a story of an eagle. The eagle, consumed by some sort of flame, destroyed everyone close to it. The reason seemed to be because of some missing figure from the equation. Someone, or something that could stop it from happening.

Wait. How am I able to read these? He thought. They’re written in no language I’ve ever heard of and yet… it seems familiar somehow.

Looking a little higher on the wall he could see the story of a small bird, driven by death and despair, fighting an evil demon.

That one caught his attention. He looked a little lower, in the middle of the wall. He saw a bridge between two worlds and, a little lower, a creature of both light and darkness…

He knew then what is was he was reading. And, reading the wall in its entirety, he understood. Despair crept over him. He’d seen the beginning and the end of this story and there was only one thing that could stop it… and that piece would be missing. He couldn’t let this happen! He couldn’t…

He heard something behind him. He spun around quickly, ready for anything. A bright light now appeared in the center of the room. He knew what it was; his ticket out of here. Calmly, he walked towards it, bearing well in mind what he’d just learned. The light consumed him as he stepped into it.

Robin stood unsteadily on the sand, propping himself up with his bo.

Trigon was back on his feet now, no longer bothering to cover his wounded eyes. The damage had already been done and there was no way to reverse it. He would make the little runt pay for this embarrassment.

Their breaths were both ragged and their bodies worn, and they knew it. They had so little left, but neither of them was willing to give up.

Robin made the first move this time, charging Trigon. That was his mistake; Trigon reached out and punched Robin in the ribs, knocking him flat on his back.

This is it. I’ve got nothing left…The bastard beat me.

Trigon slowly stalked towards Robin.

“Well well.” He chuckled. “Looks like I’ve beaten you.”

I’m through. Connor...Kory….Raven…I’m sorry…

He felt something cold against his neck.

Wait. Deadman’s gift. What did he say about the lights? They’re all connected by the ring. Wait… The lights… they represent all of us… even though the lights are on separate parts of the ring…they’re all connected…I get it now!

He cracked a smile.

He felt a hand wrap around his throat as Trigon’s face came into full view, just inches away from his.

“Well, what do you have to say now?” Trigon asked, tightening his grip. “What, no threats now? Have you lost your confidence, worm?!”

“th…..li…..” Robin choked.

“What? I can’t hear you?” Trigon taunted.

“The….li…”

“What?!” Trigon laughed.

Suddenly he felt a hard blow to his groin. Robin had made one last desperate attempt, shoving his knee upward as hard as he could between Trigon’s legs.

Trigon let go, stumbling back.

“I said, ‘the lights’,” Robin said, getting up of the ground. “You should’ve killed me when you had the chance Trigon. You won’t get another.”

He lunged at Trigon, beating him mercilessly with his bo. There was no method to his strikes, only blow after continuous blow. Technique went out the window long before; this was about payback.

Trigon tried to blow the strikes, but they came so fast and hard that he couldn’t hope to block them all. Finally after what seemed like an eternity of pain and violence, the beating stopped.

“I’ve been waiting for this.” Robin said, standing over Trigon victoriously. “It’s time to end this.”

Robin raised the staff high above his head, about to make the killing blow, but, when the time came, he couldn’t do it. Looking at Trigon now, so helpless and broken… it wouldn’t be right to take his life like this.

He cursed, shoving his staff in the sand upright.

Then, turning his back, he spoke to his enemy.

“Y’know, I thought this would be sweet, but it’s not. For a while I’d become almost as bad as you and that sickens me. I was driven by my own selfish desire for revenge.” He said, clenching a fist. “I kept telling myself it was for Connor, Kory and Raven… but the truth it, it was for me. I won’t let it overcome me like this. I won’t kill a helpless individual, no matter who it is.”

He heard a chuckle followed by the crackle of fire.

He jerked around, instinctively. Trigon was up on his feet, apparently he’d gotten a second-wind. Robin’s bo was now surrounded by a wall of fire.

“I’ve been waited for you to separate yourself from that damned staff.” Trigon chuckled. “I couldn’t affect it directly, but, the area around it is a different story. And without that absorbing my energy with every blow, I’ll start to regenerate what energy I’ve lost. You’ve lost, foolish bird. Now you’re mine!”

“No, you’re wrong, as usual.” Robin said confidently. “I gave you a chance at salvation and you rejected it. That was your last chance.”

Robin knew what he had to do, although it was going to be difficult… and painful. Even his heat-resistant gloves wouldn’t protect him from mystical flames, but he had to do what he had to do.

He reached into the wall of flame, grabbing his staff. The staff burned his hands even after he’d gotten it out.

He charged Trigon, staff held at the ready, the pain almost too much to take. He leapt into the air, holding his staff out in front of him, aiming the carved symbol at Trigon’s chest. It connected, burning the image into Trigon’s flesh.

“No!” Trigon screamed. “What have you done!”

“I’ve finished this!” Robin said, hitting the ground.

“I’ll get you for this!”

Trigon’s skin started to crack, light breaking through the openings.

“No, I don’t think you will.” Robin replied, taking a deep breath.

He fell down on one knee.

Trigon continued to scream as he form was torn apart. Finally, in one bright flash, he was gone. The ground began shaking underneath Robin’s feet.

Now that Trigon’s isn’t here to sustain it, this place is falling apart. Guess that’s my cue.