The room was pitch black, but was nothing the Boy Wonder wasn't used to. Although the rope was a bit uncomfortable as it burned the skin off of his wrists and ankles. He could feel the blood trickling down his cheek, and he could taste it in his mouth. But Robin had been in worse situations.

It was impossible not to cringe as the hysteric laughter grew louder near the door. Struggling to get his hands free from the rope, Robin desperately clawed at the walls behind him, trying to find something sharp. His attempt was forced to a stop when the door to the tiny room creaked open, blinding Robin with light.

After Robin blinked his eyes free of tears, Robin could see the room clearly now. It was about the size of a walk-in closet, and barely high enough for a tall man to stand up straight. The walls were made of cement and there were no windows for light.

Then Robin saw the man standing in the doorway.

He was smiling down at Robin, and the boy replied with a grin of his own. "You're rather cocky, bird boy." The deep voice echoed throughout the room. Robin didn't respond, he didn't know how his voice would sound while it was filled with blood. "I guess not." The Joker's laughter split through the air, sending chills down Robin's back.

A cough spasm suddenly hit the boy, and he spit blood onto the floor next to him. More laughter echoed around the room. "I would kill for Batsy to see you now." Robin glared at the pale man, trying to show none of the fear he actually had inside. He leaned against the back wall, trying to stop the blackness that was over taking him. "Too bad Bats is dead." More laughter.

"Why should I believe you?" Robin finally spoke, but to his horror his voice was weak and cracked.

"Because you have nothing else to base your beliefs on, bird boy. Right now, I'm all you got."

Fire burned inside of Robin as he forced his weight onto the wall of the tiny room. Leaning on his back, he quickly lifted his legs into the air and brought his tied hands around them, so his arms were no longer restrained behind his back. The Joker quickly grabbed a metal object that was lying in the hallway. As the exhausted Boy Wonder tried to regain his breath, the Joker smiled and hit the boy's face with the metal. Falling back down in shock, Robin yelled in pain.

"Hahahahahaha, I thought you were better than that. But I guess that's what happens when your whole world falls apart, and everyone you know dies at the hand of your enemy. But you should get used to it," Joker smirked and stared down at Robin, "I'm all you have left."

"Even if the whole world did burn down, you would still be my enemy. I would still hate you, you would still be a murderer."

"Sonny, if the whole world burned down and you and I were still alive, that would be because you helped me burn it down. Now that the Batman is dead, Gotham needs a new hero. But I'm obviously no hero," Joker laughed, "I'm a dictator. You know, people who take over cities, countries, even the world."

"You would have to have brains to be a dictator." Robin managed to say as he desperately tried to stop his head from bleeding.

"Boy, you say that again and I'll knock your brains out." Robin looked away and bit his tongue. "Well, I guess I couldn't kill my new protégé, that would go against the code, wouldn't it?"

"You're what?"

"You heard me. We're going to take over the world together. Me, my protégé, and my insanely powerful army. It will be fun, don't worry."

Robin didn't listen after that. He knew Joker had somehow become more insane than before. Batman wasn't dead, his father wasn't dead. And in no way would he work for that psycho. He would die first. And death was pretty close at the moment.

The Joker continued to blab on about working together and Robin blinked tears away from his eyes. Breathing in deeply, his body began to build back some of its strength. Forming a plan in his head, he started cutting at the rope that tied his ankles together with the hidden knife in his glove. The Joker didn't even notice, he never stopped talking.

The last piece of the rope finally split in two, and Robin had to force himself not to smile. He wouldn't get his hopes up, not yet. As the Joker turned his back on him, Robin jumped up into the air and slammed his wrists onto the Joker's head. Instantly, the man fell onto the ground, seemingly unconscious. Running through the open door, Robin was finally able to smile. He was almost free, he only needed to radio Batman, radio someone, to help him escape.