Silent as a shadow he slid through the hallways of Arkham. His feet didn't make the slightest sound when he passed the cells where the worst of the criminally insane people of Gotham were held. No, he corrected himself, so far he was only in the third basement floor. The worst started from the fifth down. Despite the old dark building in victorian style the security system in Arkham was the best money could buy and it should have been as good as impossible for him to enter the building without anybody noticing, but fortunately for him the best money could buy was Wayne Tec and so it was easy for him to get around the security system with Bruces mastercode.

Finally after a long damp stairway his way ended in front of a huge steel gate, on which signs with dire warnings hung, but for which he had not a glance to spare.

Too often had he seen this door closing, only to have it opened again by the monsters behind it in order to bring death and destruction to Gotham.

He typed the code in, which disabled the hand- and retinascanner and with a deep, thunderous rumble, which echoed through the bare hallways to let everybody know that the gate to hell, as the people in Arkham called the door, has opened, the door swung wide open.

Now, at the latest, the alarms in the control room and the cave were bound to go off.

Before he went through the door he threw a little detonating device against the control panel. That would buy him approximately ten minutes before he could override the controls.

With a long reverberant sound the door closed behind him.

A long hallway with cells on both sides stretched out before him, but what he searched for was located at the far end.

Determined he walked down to his destination, but a voice made him pause.

"Oh I know this expression. This look, so determined, so pure. You finally realized it, didn't you? There is nothing more liberating than this, but who are you going to? Who will be transcended through your hands? Who?"

"Szass.", he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Yes little bird. But what will you use? What will be the instrument of purification?"

A scar covered face appeared at the little grate of the door and wide insane eyes fell onto his hand, which gripped a long slender knife.

"Oh how wonderful. Have I been an inspiration to you, little bird? Has my art opened your eyes?"

"You know nothing.", he spat and continued on his way.

"Don't forget the mark! Carve it into your flesh so that it will always remind you."

"I already have enough of that.", he whispered and felt the scars on his skin burn with shame.

Then he stood in front of the last door. On the screen beside it, he could overlook the whole room. Its inmate was chained upright to the wall, dressed in a heavy strait jacket.

He tipped in the code, the door opened and bright, cold neon lights flickered on.

"Can't a man even sleep in peace in this institution?", the voice of the inmate complained.

The man lifted his head and looked at his visitor.

"Oh it's you. How are you? Did you come to thank me?", the Joker asked and stood up as straight as the chains allowed him to.

The horrifiying grin, which reached from ear to ear appeared on his face, and Robin saw with satisfaction that one of them was missing.

"So silent today, little bird? At our last meeting you were much more talkative. Especially when my men had their way with you.", the grin became even broader, "you moaned like a little slut."

With a few fast steps Robin crossed the cell and punched the Joker as hard as he could into the stomach.

"Shut up!"

"No...need to be so grateful.", the Joker pressed through gritted teeth, "I knew you would like to have a decent f...", he managed to say, when Robins gloved fist hit him in the jaw and the force of the hit smashed his head against the brick wall behind him.

But instead to moan in pain, the Joker just laughed. The laugh became shriller and louder with every hit.

Then Dick rammed the knife into his opponents shoulder.

The laughter ceased abruptly and gave way to a painful hiss.

He pulled the knife out and red blood spattered onto the bright yellow R on his breast, then he laid the knife against the Jokers throat.

"You have laughed for the last time Joker. Today you pay for what you've done to me."

"Oh so that's it", his counterpart cackled, "but what will your daddy say to that? Won't he be angry if you kill his most dearest playmate?"

Robin lifted the knife.

"Don't do it.", sounded a voice from the door.

Apparently it hadn't taken him ten minutes to override the door.

"Why shouldn't I do it?" Robin asked without turning around, "you know what he did to the people of your town. What he did to me."

"I know."

Now Dick turned around. In the doorframe stood Batman, but this time he hadn't anything intimating on him, he just looked unutterably sad.

"You know? You know?!", Dick shouted, "then obviously you don't care or how can you explain it, that he can do it over and over again?!"

"I don't kill. That distinguishes me from them. And if you do it, if you give in to your craving for revenge, then you won't be better than him."

"Not better than him?! Yes that is so easy for you. You weren't there when he...when they..."

His voice faltered and tears welled up behind his mask.

"Robin let me help you.", Batman said gently and took one step to his foster son.

"Stay back.", Robin shouted and laid the knife again against the Jokers throat.

Batman froze.

"Oh Bats you really screwed up there.", the Joker mumbled through bloody lips, "you should have seen him, moaning like a little who..."

The rest of the sentence was cut off by Robin kicking him between the legs, but without making the mistake to take his eyes of his mentor.

"I will kill him so that he can never hurt anybody again."

"And you think, that you will feel better after that? You think it will end there?", asked the dark knight, "what do you really want Robin? What do you want to accomplish by killing him?"

"I...I want, that he can never hurt anybody like he hurt me."

"If you want that, you have to kill every rapist and every torturer in this town. You think it will end with him? No, the hole in your soul will only grow and sometime we will stand at the exact same spot and then I will close this door behind me and you will be all alone. Do you want that?"

"You threaten me?"

"No I just state facts. I ask you again. Do you want that? Being alone in the darkness of this cell, only hunted by your pain, or do you want to come with me and live?"

He offered his son his gloved hand.

Robin looked at the beaten, but still grinning face of the Joker.

"Do it.", he whispered, "take your revenge. Show me you aren't a little slut. Come on, show me."

"Do it. Rise above the flesh!", the shrill voice of Victor Szass screamed.

The knife in his hand shivered and pressed itself deep enough into the Jokers throat to draw blood. Batman just stood there, his hand still stretched out.

"Be strong Robin. Be stronger than them.", he said barely audible.

The knife hit the ground. Robin took Batmans hand and his father pulled him to his breast.

"I'm proud of you my son."