Chapter 79: Return
Batman stood in the devastated corridor, Tim's lifeless body cradled in his arms, the frozen clone of the Architect sealed within its stasis field.
A soft sound caught his attention—the subtle movement of clothes against concrete that his trained ears recognized immediately. Someone trying to move without being detected.
"Firefly," Batman turned his head turned toward the body sprawled on the floor. "Stop pretending to be unconscious."
"Well, well. The great detective notices everything, doesn't he?" Garfield Lynns sat up with a chuckle, brushing imaginary dust from his dress. "I've been awake since that monster started his light show."
Batman carefully laid Tim's body on a clean section of floor. When he straightened and turned toward Firefly, his white eye lenses held no trace of mercy.
"How long?"
"Long enough to see everything." Firefly spread his arms and grinned. "Got to say, Bats, I didn't realize you loved me more than little birdie there.Touching, really."
"Look, even I cant even stop my tears now". Firefly pretended to wipe away fake tears. "How can I ever thank you batman? I thought I was a goner."
Firefly then let out a chuckle and said, "How about I help with the funeral?"
"My fire's perfect for the job. Clean & Effecient."
"Come on batman, you know it!!! I am quite experienced."
The words were clearly to cut deep, to exploit the guilt that was already tearing Batman apart from the inside.
Batman let out a deep breath & let go of his clenched fist.
"You have two choices, Lynns," Batman said, producing a pair of reinforced restraints from his utility belt. "You can shut up & let me cuff you peacefully, or I can punch you till you faint first and then cuff you. Given my current state of mind, I'd recommend the first option."
Firefly's grin faltered slightly. There was something different in Batman's voice—a coldness that hadn't been there before.
Batman took a step forward, and Firefly instinctively moved back.
"The time for speeches is over," Batman said simply. "Hands."
Something in his tone—or perhaps in the way he moved—convinced Firefly that compliance was the only safe option. He extended his hands, wrists together.
The restraints clicked into place tightly. They were designed to hold metahumans, reinforced with Wayne Tech's most advanced materials. Firefly wasn't going anywhere.
"This way," Batman ordered, gesturing toward the hole in the roof.
They moved through the prison in silence, Batman carrying the stasis field generator containing the Architect's clone while Firefly walked ahead of him, hands bound.
The emergency stairwell led them up through five floors past abandoned guard stations and empty cells.
They emerged onto the prison's rooftop into the crisp night air. The Batwing sat on the reinforced concrete with its stealth systems rendering it nearly invisible against the star-filled sky. But Batman wasn't alone on the roof.
Wonder Woman stood near the building's edge, her golden armor gleaming in the moonlight. She turned as they approached, relief evident in her expression.
"Batman, thank the gods you're—" Her words died as she saw what he was carrying, her face transforming from relief to horror in the space of a heartbeat. "No. Please tell me that's not..."
"Robin is dead," Batman said, his voice as flat and emotionless. "The Architect killed him."
Diana's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock and grief. She'd worked alongside Tim Drake on several Justice League missions, had watched him grow from an eager teenager into a capable hero. The sight of his lifeless form hit her hard.
"Batman..." she whispered. "I'm so sorry. I should have arrived soo.."
"The Architect escaped," Batman continued, as if she hadn't spoken. "This is a clone." He gestured to the stasis field generator. "I need you to take custody of Firefly & keep him safe until the authorities arrive."
Wonder Woman looked between Batman and the restrained arsonist.
There was asomething different about him now, an absence of the compassion core that had always tempered his vigilante activities.
"Of course," she said softly. "I'll make sure he stays safe."
But Batman barely seemed to hear wonderwoman's reply. He was focused on transferring the stasis field generator to the Batwing's cargo hold, his mind still processing the fact that Tim is dead and urge to find architect's weakness for revenge.
"Batman," Diana said gently, approaching him as he secured the frozen clone. "Don't hold it inside. You are allowed to grieve instead of burying it under duty and vengeance."
For a moment, Batman's shoulders sagged almost imperceptibly.
"I've buried two Robins now, Diana. Jason, and now Tim. How many more times am I supposed to grieve? How many more children have to die because I'm not strong enough to do what needs to be done?"
"That's not..." Diana began, but Batman was already moving toward the Batwing's cockpit.
"Make sure Firefly stays safe and give him to the authorities," he said without turning around. "And Diana? Thank you."
Batman carefully placed Tim's body in the Batwing's passenger compartment, securing him gentlely like a sleeping child.
"Batman," Diana called out as he prepared to seal the cockpit. "Promise me you won't do anything you'll regret. Tim wouldn't want his death to change who you are."
Batman paused, his hand on the cockpit controls.
Then he activated the canopy seal.
"Tim is dead because of who I am," his voice came through the Batwing's external speakers. "Maybe it's time for a change."
The aircraft's engines engaged with a whisper-quiet sound, advanced propulsion systems lifting it smoothly into the night sky.
Diana watched until the Batwing's stealth systems rendered it completely invisible, leaving her alone on the rooftop with a mass murderer and the terrible knowledge that Gotham's greatest protector might be walking toward a darkness he couldn't return from.
"Well, that was touching," Firefly said sarcastically. "Think he'll actually grow a spine and start killing people now? Because honestly, I'm getting tired of this catch-and-release program."
Wonder Woman's grip tightened on his shoulders. "I am the same."
Firefly found himself unable to voice anything more that had been forming on his tongue. He settled for glaring at the Amazon princess, recognizing that unlike Batman, she might not have such rigid prohibitions about using lethal force.
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DC : Architect of Vengeance
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