On Wings of Steel 2: The Birth of Robin
Chapter 10 – Flight

Author's note: I am back again! I feel so bad for taking so long with updates for this story, but I keep falling into a blackhole for that stupid clown movie. But another 50,000 words for that fandom means it's time to revisit the Dynamic Duo. I wasn't happy with a lot of this chapter, so it went through extensive rewrites before I thought it was ready to post. Hopefully, this was worth the wait for you guys!

Anyway, I hope everyone has been taking care of themselves during these crazy times! I work in a grocery store, so I am an essential worker in all of this, and it's been very crazy and busy as you can probably imagine. I am exhausted a lot when I come home, but other than that, I am doing okay. I hope you guys are too! Stay safe!

This chapter is dedicated to my sweet kitty, Beethoven who turns seventeen years old today! He already celebrated by eating, taking a bath, sitting in a box, taking a nap on a pillow, eating again, and taking another nap in said box. He is a cat of simple pleasures.

When we last saw our Dynamic Duo, they were desperately trying to make sense out of the locations that the Joker had hit so far, leaving nothing but a playing card behind. But what's this? Something strange is afoot at police headquarters in the heart of Gotham City…

Commissioner Gordon's secretary, Bonnie finished typing up her report of the previous day's events before pulling the last sheet of paper from the typewriter. She set it down on her desk with the rest of the papers, squaring them into a neat pile. Checking the clock on the wall next, she set about getting Commissioner Gordon's afternoon prescriptions ready for him to take.

Bonnie set her silver tray out on her desk, then shook the commissioner's medications from their bottles. After laying those on the tray, she got a clean glass from the top of her small refrigerator in the corner and set that down on the tray as well. She was filling the glass up with water from a bottle when a knock came on her door.

Bonnie screwed the cap back on the bottle as she called, "Come in."

When the door swung open, it revealed a young blond-haired woman in a pretty red dress. Her hair was pinned up in a bun with a silvery comb that looked a bit like a tiara.

"Can I help you?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes, I hope so," the woman said cheerfully, stepping over to Bonnie's desk. She fiddled with her pocketbook in her hands, which was in the same shade of red as her dress, before she added, "I was just down the street at the bank and I'm so stupid." She pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead in exasperation. "I locked my keys in my car and I didn't know where else to go."

"Oh, no problem!" Bonnie said, setting the bottle of water down on her desk. "It happens all the time! One of our officers will be able to help you. Let me go see who's available."

As Bonnie stepped out of the office, the woman in the red dress peeked around the doorway to make sure the secretary was far enough away. Turning back to the desk, the woman put her pocketbook down and opened it, retrieving a small glass vial from inside. Throwing one last look over her shoulder, she uncorked the bottle, swirling around the clear liquid inside. She leaned forward and tipped the vial over, emptying its contents into the glass of water.

Smiling triumphantly, the woman in the silver tiara replaced the small glass bottle in her pocketbook before disappearing from the office.

Meanwhile, upstairs in Commissioner Gordon's office…

"It sure is good to have Batman back!" Commissioner Gordon said proudly from his seat at his desk, eyeing the bright red Batphone where it stood on the podium across the room. "I just wish we knew what that dastardly Clown Prince of Crime is up to! All these petty pranks of his, dropping off joker playing cards at random stores throughout the city…"

"I'm sure Batman will figure it out," Chief O'Hara said reassuringly from where he was standing next to the desk. "I bet he'll be calling us at any time to tell us he's figured out what the Joker's plan is. Either that or he'll be here soon, and maybe he can find something in this playing card from the last location." Chief O'Hara sighed heavily, fingering the joker card where it sat on the commissioner's desk.

"I'm sure you're right," Commissioner Gordon said. "I only hope-"

However, Commissioner Gordon was cut off just then by a sharp rapping sound at his office door.

Commissioner Gordon cleared his throat before he called out, "Come in."

His office door swung open a moment later to reveal Bonnie. She stepped inside, carrying her small silver tray with the commissioner's afternoon medications over to his desk.

"I've brought you your pills, Commissioner," Bonnie said, setting the tray down in front of him.

"Thank you, Bonnie," the commissioner said. He quickly downed his medicine and chased the pills down with the entire glass of water. He put the glass back down on the tray, the index finger of his free hand absentmindedly running across the surface of the joker player card below it.

Meanwhile, down in the Batcave deep below stately Wayne Manor…

"I think we've been reading it the wrong way," Dick said, pointing to the words on the blackboard in front of him. His voice came out sounding strangled and dry.

Batman looked back and forth between Dick and the blackboard, his expression one of confusion. "What?" Batman asked. "What do you see?"

"Read it vertically," Dick said, still pointing at the board, "and take the first letter of every store name." He stepped up to the blackboard and picked up the piece of chalk, using it to underline the first letters of the first two words of each store.

Lucky Jade Jewelry
Yesterday's Imaginings Used Bookstore
Everything's Magical Magic Shop

"Look – Jade, Imaginings, Magical. J-I-M," Dick said, letting his finger trail over the letters as he read them. He turned his head and glanced up into Batman's face. "Isn't Jim Commissioner Gordon's first name?"

"Good heavens," Batman said, a tone of understanding finally seeming to take over his voice. He stepped closer to the blackboard, pointing at the other letters in the clue. "Lucky, Yesterday, Everything's," Batman said, his voice cracking on the last syllable. "L-Y-E," Batman said, giving Dick a wary look. "Is that what you got out of it?"

Dick nodded once, swallowing hard. "Yeah."

"The Joker is going to poison Commissioner Gordon with lye!" Batman swept past Dick, hurrying over to the Batmobile. However, when he was halfway there, he stopped dead in his tracks, staring down at the floor of the Batcave. A moment later, he turned back to Dick.

Even with Batman's mask on, Dick could see his guardian's eyes narrowed in concentration. Could imagine the way his eyebrows were knitted together in thought just then. Batman's gloved hands were clenching into fists, like he was caught in between a rock and hard place.

"Dick…"

"Go!" Dick said, gesturing towards the Batmobile. "Commissioner Gordon's waiting to be saved. Just like I was."

"Just like I was," Batman said, still not moving from his spot. "I never would have even figured this out if not for you." He paused, swallowing audibly and then shaking his head. "It wouldn't be right to go alone."

Dick's heart began pounding like a jackhammer in his chest. He stepped forward on shaky knees, trying his best to control his enthusiasm. After all, it wouldn't do for Batman's sidekick to be acting like the exuberant child he could sometimes be. "Batman," Dick asked cautiously, his breath catching in his throat, "are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Batman looked up at the ceiling momentarily, placing his hands on his hips like he was debating his choices very carefully. "I really need my head examined," he said, "and this is something I would have liked to give further thought to, but…we hardly have the luxury of time right now." Batman bit at his lower lip before stepping over to Dick and placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. "You remember what I told you about all of this?"

Dick nodded hurriedly, because he had known this was coming. He hardly thought his very first excursion with Batman was going to happen without a reminder of everything they had discussed thus far. "Yes," Dick replied.

"If something should happen and I tell you to run and save yourself, I expect nothing less than your full cooperation," Batman reminded him, eyes firmly locked with Dick's.

Dick nodded once and again said, "Yes." He was a bit shocked to find his voice quivering on the word. He stood up straighter and squared his shoulders, not taking his eyes from his guardian's. When he spoke again, he tried his very best to keep his voice from shaking. "My word, Batman."

Batman nodded in return and then a moment later, he said, "Then get dressed. We have a police commissioner to save."

That certainly wasn't one order from Batman that Dick was going to disobey. He pulled out of Batman's grip, his legs shaking as he went over to the cabinet on the far side of the Batcave where he knew Alfred had stored his recently cobbled-together uniform. When Alfred had picked up the discarded remains of his outfit from the Batcave floor, Dick didn't think he'd ever even want to wear them again. Now, he gathered up the various articles of his costume in his arms before tearing back across the Batcave towards the little changing screen in the corner.

Dick really would have preferred to change in the bathroom like he had the first time, but Batman was right – they hardly the luxury of time right now. There were much more imperative things going on than Dick wishing for a bit more privacy, and his heart was thumping uncomfortably in his chest, because he was beginning to feel like they had wasted enough time already.

Batman, meanwhile, had already gotten into the Batmobile and started its engine, waiting patiently for Dick to join him. As much as Dick felt like he was wasting valuable time, however, Batman never told him to hurry. Dick was already well aware of the urgency they were under, and being made to rush never made things better. That was something Dick's own father had instilled in his at a very age – haste makes waste.

When Dick was finally changed, hurried over to the Batmobile and vaulted over the door before settling himself into the passenger's seat. There wasn't time to worry about things like doors! For a moment, Dick was almost afraid that Batman was going to scold him for doing something so dangerous, but he didn't.

"Don't forget your seatbelt," Batman said instead.

Dick dutifully fastened his seatbelt before Batman pulled out of the Batcave. A moment later, they were making their way through the winding streets away from Wayne Manor, the wind ruffling Dick's hair as they went. This, Robin thought, this was what it properly felt like to sit alongside Batman in the Batmobile. To feel like he was there because he was supposed to be, and not because he was a stupid kid that had somehow entangled himself in Batman's secret crimefighting life. This was…thrilling, even though that was something that Dick would never admit to Bruce.

Robin kept glancing over at Batman, at the expression on his guardian's face, very pensive and a bit closed-off as he kept his eyes directed on the street ahead of them. He didn't say anything for a while, as if he was mulling over this recent turn of events in his mind, trying to reconcile it with himself. Then Batman finally said, "I want you to call Commissioner Gordon. He needs to be warned of this situation."

Robin quickly looked at Batman again. "Me?" Robin asked, blinking. His heart had leapt up into his throat and lodged itself there like a brick that he was desperately trying to swallow away.

"Indeed," Batman said around a small smile. "It wouldn't be safe for me to do so while driving, and besides, if this is going to happen, you'll have to start taking on some of these responsibilities as well." He quickly glanced at Robin, and he didn't miss the pride in Batman's eyes.

Robin looked between the bright red Batphone and Batman, his expression questioning. "I…" He had only used the Batphone once before and that had been to call Alfred. He'd never been asked to phone the actual police commissioner before, nor had he expected for this responsibility to thrust on him so soon. Those little niggling doubts suddenly seemed to explode to life inside his stomach, and he could feel his hands shaking as he reached for the receiver. Was he really ready for this?

A moment later, he paused again, his gloved hand hanging in the air, like the Batphone was a snake that he was afraid would attack him. Like it would bite him if tried. He glanced back at Batman uncertainly and asked, "What do I say? Who should I say is calling? They're going to be expecting you."

"Just tell them the truth," Batman said. "Tell whoever answers that you're my brand new partner, and I've authorized you to use the Batphone."

Robin took a deep breath, so many thoughts racing through his mind at that moment. There were so many things he wanted to tell Bruce right now, but he knew that time was of the essence. There would be plenty of time to talk about the situation later, after the commissioner had been saved.

Finally, Robin reached for the Batphone once again, his hand shaking the entire time he was holding it. He brought the receiver up to his ear, and almost immediately, it had begun to ring. But then it continued to ring. And ring. And ring.

After about a dozen rings, Robin shook his head. "No one's answering, Batman," he said regretfully.

Batman let out of a heavy sigh and said, "I suspected as much. If the Joker already has this dastardly plot underway – they may be entirely too busy to answer the Batphone. They may have already even rushed Commissioner Gordon to the hospital if they realize he's been poisoned."

When it was clear that no one was picking up the other end of the line at all, Batman nodded. "All right, hang up the phone," Batman said.

Robin did as he was told and despite the urgency of the situation, he was glad. He knew that was a pretty stupid thing to be happy about given the circumstances, and something terrible could be happening to the commissioner as a result, but Dick really didn't know if he was ready for things like this. For things like talking to a real-life police commissioner.

"Unfortunately," Batman said as he continued to steer the Batmobile, "this probably means that we're going to be too late to stop this."

"But I'm sure they're getting him help," Dick said. He tried his very best to sound positive, but he was all too aware of the fact that he hadn't exactly succeeded. One glance at Batman told Dick that he wasn't alone.

The drive to police headquarters felt like it had quite possibly been the longest one of Dick's life. In reality, it had been less than a half an hour, but it felt like it had lasted the better part of the day. Had it really only been thirty minutes ago that they had figured out this dastardly plot at all? Sitting on top of the desk in the Batcave and staring at those words on the blackboard now seemed like it had happened a lifetime ago.

When Batman finally parked the car in front of the police headquarters, Dick immediately jumped out, vaulting over the door just as he had done in the Batcave. He glanced at Batman then, again waiting to be scolded for not being more careful, but only the regular hustle and bustle of the city met his ears.

Dick hesitated, letting Batman take the lead before hurrying up the front stairs of the building behind him. He followed Batman into the front lobby and rushed over to the elevator. Batman, however, brushed past him and headed for the stairwell off to the side.

"No time to wait for the elevator," Batman said, throwing the door open.

Dick only had a moment to dwell on the fact that there was absolutely no sign of chaos on their way in. Nothing seemed amiss and no one was in a panic about anything. This was slightly reassuring, because maybe it meant that they were in time to stop anything horrible from happening. At the same time though, Dick knew that the fact that no one had answered the commissioner's phone was a telling sign, and that thought hung heavy in the back of his mind as he and Batman took the stairs two at a time.

When they finally got to Commissioner Gordon's office, Robin didn't think he had been at all prepared for the scene that they were met with. Commissioner Gordon was slumped over in his desk chair, struggling to breath. He was only making slow wheezing sounds, noises that no human should ever have to make. Chief O'Hara was standing next to him, one hand slowly going up and down the commissioner's back while Bonnie was on his other side, gripping the commissioner's forearm tightly.

When Batman and Robin entered, Chief O'Hara straightened up slightly, still keeping one hand on the Commissioner's back. "Batman!" Chief O'Hara exclaimed. "Thank goodness-!" He broke off then, his eyes going to Batman's new partner. "Er…who're you?" Chief O'Hara asked Robin.

Robin opened his mouth to respond, but Batman quickly shouted over him, "No time for that now! The commissioner has been poisoned with lye!" Batman ran over to kneel in front the commissioner.

"But how do you know that?" Chief O'Hara asked. "He just started wheezing like this…and we're not sure what happened. I thought he was having an asthma attack."

"The commissioner has no history of asthma!" Batman cried. "We need to get him to the hospital and quickly! Chief O'Hara, call for an ambulance at once!"

"We've already done that!" Chief O'Hara cried like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We're waiting for them to get here!"

"Oh, thank heavens," Batman said. "How long ago was that? When will they get here?"

Chief O'Hara spared a glance at the clock on the wall before he said, "Nearly twenty minutes ago. They should be here soon."

"Has the commissioner had anything out of the ordinary to eat or drink today?" Batman asked then, still trying to get to the bottom of how all of this had happened. "Have there been any suspicious figures in police headquarters today?"

Dick wasn't even entirely sure how Batman had the presence of mind to think about such things when the commissioner was dying. In the end, however, Dick supposed that that was part of what made Batman so important – that he was able to pull himself together and focus on the details of a situation even when things were spinning wildly out of control.

And that was the way Robin felt now – caught up in a situation that was out of control. How had he even gotten here? How had he ever thought that he would be ready for anything like this? Robin thought he now knew where all of Batman's hesitancy had come from, and Robin felt horrible and embarrassed all at once. How on earth had he gotten mad at Bruce for simply wanting to protect him from things like this? For wanting Dick to have a normal life, because Dick now knew that that was something he could never go back to. Not now, not ever.

"No," replied Chief O'Hara. "He had his lunch about an hour ago, which his wife packed for him like always. He was fine after that, until…"

"And then I brought him his regular medications with a glass of water," Bonnie spoke up for the first time. She gestured to the small tray that sat on the desk with a now empty glass on top of it.

Batman immediately picked up the glass, holding it up to the light and eyeing it closely. "Did anyone tamper with this at all between the time you prepared it and when the commissioner drank it?"

"No," Bonnie said, her eyes wide as she shook her head. "I-I got it ready for him, and then…" She trailed off, her eyes possibly going wider in realization. "Oh."

"What is it, Bonnie?" Batman asked urgently. "What happened?"

"A woman came to my office right after I had prepared it," Bonnie replied. Robin could see her hand tightening around the commissioner's arm as the reality of the situation seemed to hit her. "She said she locked her keys in her car. I left his medications on my desk, and I went to find an officer to assist her. But when we got back to my office, she was gone! I-I didn't think anything of it. Until now." Bonnie's eyes went to the commissioner then back up to Batman again. She looked frightened, apologetic. "She could have done something while I was gone, but…I thought she just needed help. But then she disappeared."

"What did this woman look like?" Batman asked. "Have you ever seen her before?"

"No," Bonnie answered. "I have no idea who she was and she didn't give a name. Er, she had blond hair with a silver comb in it and…and she was wearing a red dress." She shook her head miserably as she added, "I'm sorry, but that's all I remember. Like I said, I didn't think anything of it. Until now." Her eyes went back to the commissioner and they were pleading, as if asking for the commissioner's forgiveness for being so careless.

"You couldn't have known," Batman told her, his voice calm and reassuring as he set the glass back down on the tray. "But in the future, I highly suggest never leaving the commissioner's medications or even food or drinks unattended. You can never be too careful with some of the dastardly figures that inhabit this city!"

Bonnie only nodded, and Robin thought he could see the faintest flicker of tears in her eyes. This finally made Robin move. He had been hovering by the entrance to the office this entire time, feeling slightly out of place. This wasn't his territory after all, and he wasn't entirely sure what to do. He felt like he was intruding in the commissioner's office, and this wasn't helped by the fact that Chief O'Hara kept throwing him curious looks while he kept running his hand up and down the commissioner's back.

But his wasn't the time for standing around! Batman had brought Robin along, because like it or not, he was involved in his now, and there was no turning back. Batman also had to see some sort of value in him, otherwise he wouldn't be here. Robin had to remind himself that he had saved Batman singlehandedly from the Joker not so very long ago, so there had to be something he could do to help now, even though he wasn't entirely sure what that was just yet.

Robin quickly jumped down the steps into the office, rushing over to Batman and the commissioner. "Isn't there something you can give him, Batman?" Robin asked desperately. "You have all those Batpills in your utility belt. Isn't there something that can help him now?"

"I'm afraid not, Robin," Batman said sadly. "The only thing that would come close is the Universal Bat Antidote Pill, but those are for simple poisons and gases. Nothing that would even come close to combatting a serious poisoning from lye! I wouldn't even want to introduce it to his system right now for fear of what it could do. We have no idea what's going on inside him, and any sort of medications I try to give him could only complicate matters. I'm afraid there's nothing left to do until the ambulance arrives."

At this, Chief O'Hara quickly said, "And they instructed me not to give him anything and just to keep him comfortable until they arrive."

"There must be something else we can do!" Robin cried, his gloved hands gripping the edge of the desk out of desperation. He stared long and hard at the silver tray with the glass sitting on top of it and he was strangely reminded of various substances laid out before him in science lab just last week. They had been experimenting with litmus paper and testing the acidity of various liquids, trying to guess if they would be an acid or a base.

And then out of nowhere, something miraculous occurred to Robin. "Wait a minute!" he cried, trying to make his own voice sound firm and commanding. "Milk, Batman! He needs milk!"

Batman looked back and forth between Robin and Chief O'Hara before he asked, "But the person you spoke with said not to give him anything, correct?"

"That's what they told me!" Chief O'Hara said. "In case they need to give him anything when they arrive, it's best that we not complicate matters by giving him things before we know what exactly is going on with him."

"Lye!" Batman said. "It was lye, Chief O'Hara!"

"But how-" Chief O'Hara began, but Robin didn't let him finish.

"We learned about it in school!" Robin exclaimed impatiently. "Milk can neutralize some substances and help dilute the poison that he has ingested. It won't cure him by any means, but it can buy him some time – slow the digestion of the poison already in his system. Batman, please," Robin pleaded when Batman didn't show any sign of acting on Robin's word. "I know what to do. He needs to have milk."

Batman shared a clueless expression with Chief O'Hara, because neither one of them clearly had any idea whether Robin was correct or not. Either way, the commissioner's breath was coming even harder now, and he had begun to cough as well, small strings of saliva hanging down from his lips. They certainly weren't helping the commissioner's situation by "keeping him comfortable" (whatever that meant, because there was no way he was going to be comfortable in his current state when he was simply struggling to breathe), so what else did they have to lose?

"All right," Batman said, nodding. "We'll try it your way, because I don't know what else to do. There's a snack bar on the first floor," he told Robin, reaching into his utility belt and nodding towards the door. He withdrew a dime and held it out for Robin. "Go back down the stairs the way we came and go straight past the elevator. Go down the hall and make a right after the bathrooms. There will be a sign for the snack bar. There's a milk machine down there. Go and get him a bottle."

"Roger," Robin said, letting Batman place the dime into his palm before turning on his heel and charging from the office.

Robin's legs were shaking almost uncontrollably and little pinpricks of sweat had broken out on his skin as he hurried down the stairs. He was having a hard time even believing the most recent turn his life had taken. How had he even gotten here, dressed up in a ridiculous outfit and rushing around police headquarters, because someone's life depended on it, much less the police commissioner's?

Wiping the back of his glove across his sweaty forehead, Robin ran past the elevator and took a right around the corner just as Batman had instructed him. He almost collided with a police officer just then who gave him the oddest look. Robin muttered a quick apology to him and figured that this was something he was going to have to get used to – people staring at him like he had just escaped from a circus, which wasn't very far from the truth.

Robin immediately spotted the large red sign at the end of the corridor which read "SNACK BAR". Robin barreled through the doorway and was relieved to find the room entirely empty. It was well after lunchtime by this point, so everyone was apparently back to work, still not any wiser as to what was happening upstairs.

Robin almost felt like he should be alerting others about the current situation, but he decided against it. That was not what Batman told him to do, only instructing him to get milk and nothing else. Besides, it wouldn't really serve any purpose to let others know what was going on, other than inciting a panic, and they could really do without that at the moment.

When Robin was hurrying back to the commissioner's office with bottle of milk in hand, he could hear that Gordon's labored breathing had grown much worse in the span of time he'd been gone. Not only was he still gasping and coughing, there was a strangled groaning noise that was now coming from the man. This sparked a surge of panic through Robin, because he suddenly wasn't sure how in the world they were going to get the commissioner to drink anything given the fact that he could barely breathe.

Were they already too late?

But almost as soon as Robin stepped back into the office, Batman said, "Chief O'Hara, lean the commissioner back in his chair. Tilt his head back and open his mouth."

This proved to be easier said than done, because the commissioner was well into panic mode by then. There was definitely no such thing as "keeping him comfortable" right now, because he had begun to thrash around in his seat, his arms flailing out and almost hitting the chief and Bonnie in their movements. One of his legs had kicked out when the chief tried to lean him back, his foot thumping against the side of the desk in what sounded quite painful.

"Please try and relax, Commissioner!" Batman instructed him, taking the bottle of milk from Robin and unscrewing the lid. "We're going to give you some milk which we hope will neutralize the poison! It's going to be okay!"

Chief O'Hara was struggling to keep the commissioner still against the back of his chair, Bonnie joining in and attempting to hold the man's shoulder steady as well. Again, Robin felt like he should be doing something, so he hurried around to the back of the commissioner's chair. He gripped the back of it tightly and leaned in back ever so slightly, so that it might be a little bit easier for the commissioner to relax into it.

Batman carefully brought the bottle of milk to the commissioner's lips, tilting it back gently and letting a little bit dribble into his mouth. The commissioner made a strange gurgling sound then, which made Robin flinch, wondering if he had made a horrible decision after all. But then he could hear Gordon swallowing before gasping for air once more.

Batman tipped the bottle back again, more of the milk draining into the commissioner's mouth. His eyes were wide as he swallowed again, and he was staring up at the ceiling like he had absolutely no clue what was even happening. It was a bit strange, seeing a man that normally commanded so much attention merely flailing around in his chair like he had no idea where he even was.

It made Robin's heart hurt, and he wondered if this was the sort of thing Batman went through on a daily basis – desperately trying to save people's lives despite the fact that he was scared to death. But was Batman really as afraid as Dick was, because Dick thought he seemed as cool as a cucumber.

Perhaps Batman's calm exterior was something that had come after years and years of being in this line of work. Of confronting the fact that he may not be able to save everyone as hard as he tried.

Just as Batman was pouring a bit more milk into the commissioner's mouth, Robin heard, at long last, the wail of sirens in the distance.

Will the commissioner be all right?
Was Robin right in given him milk?
Will the ambulance arrive in time?
Will Batman and Robin be able to catch the Joker in the end?

For the answers to these and other underLYEing questions,
Tune in next time…
Same fansite…
Same fan channel!

Keep your batwings crossed for the commissioner until then!

Author's note: I keep going back to the fact that Robin always jumps over the Batmobile doors and the fact that Batman never says anything about it. I'm sort of still always waiting for Batman to scold Dick for this, because it seems dangerous, but no. It's just something stupid that always sort of bothered me, so I had to have Dick wonder about it too. Even though he keeps doing it, despite the fact that he knows it's probably a bad idea, so I just chalk it up to him being too preoccupied by crime fighting to have to worry about doors. :P

One thing I was really worried about in this chapter was making the police seem too stupid, even though I know that's par for the course here. But that was the main reason for the rewrites; I changed the way things played out to make them seem…less stupid. Because believe me, they were embarrassingly stupid in the first draft.

I also really, really wanted to name this chapter Lye, but ultimately decided against it for fear of giving too much away too soon. Also, what the hell kind of school does Dick go to that they're learning about what to do for things like lye poisoning? And yes, I did look it up, and apparently giving someone milk after they've been poisoned by lye is a thing. Or so says the internet, so who knows how reliable it is, but it sounds plausible. But this is Batman, so it's excusable if it's a little out of the realm of possibilities, right? And it does make me a bit nervous that I've searched for these things, but such is a life of a writer.