The first time Robin met the Joker… well, it didn't end well. The Commissioner was up in arms about what had happened, ranting about how no child should have to go through these things. It was bad enough that Batman actually considered it.
Robin had nightmares about it. Every night, he would wake up half way to morning screaming, in a cold sweat. Bruce always rushed down the hall and hovered outside the door, unsure of what to do. It was still the early days then. They hadn't quite figured out what their relationship was, to either of them.
But after three weeks of it, Bruce couldn't take it any more. That night, when Dick started wailing after he had woken up, he knocked on the door. Dick tried to quiet his sobs. "Y-yeah? Who i-is it?"
Bruce cringed at the sound of Dick's voice catching. "It's Bruce. May I come in?"
Dick didn't answer, so after a moment he opened the door and walked inside. Bruce kneeled next to the bed and hesitated for a moment. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Dick pulled his knees up to his chest. "I'm s-sorry I w-woke you up, Bruce."
"It's alright, chum, I was up anyway."
They were both quiet for a moment, except for Dick's sniveling. Bruce debated on whether or not he should say something when he spoke up again.
"I shouldn't let it get to me. I know I'm not supposed to be afraid of them, but sometimes I just…"
Bruce's eyes widened. Was that what he thought? He slowly stood up and sat next to Dick on his bed. "Dick, fear is nothing to be ashamed of."
Dick shrugged and put his head in his arms. He was probably just saying that to make him feel better. Bruce was never scared of anything.
When he saw Dick didn't believe him, Bruce sighed quietly. "You know, I used to have nightmares too. I still do, actually."
That caught his attention. Dick looked over at his questioningly. "W-what were yours about?"
Bruce shifted on the bed. "Oh, lots of things. My… my parents. People taking me away from Alfred. Bats."
Dick let out a short bark of laughter in surprise. "Right, like you were ever afraid of Bats."
"No, really! When I was a kid, I fell down the old well by the green house. Broke my arm on the way down. All the racket I made woke up the bats hiding in the caves connected to the old thing, and they flew out and swarmed around me. I was completely terrified."
"So why would you dress up like a Bat then?"
Bruce smiled at this. "When I first started out, I decided to use my fear. If I was going to be afraid of them, then I sure as hell was going to make everyone else afraid of them, too."
Dick looked thoughtful. "So… you used fear as a weapon, right? Instead of a man, you were like a Bat-Demon or something?"
He laughed. "Kind've, yeah. I should show you some of the articles from when I was first starting out. Most of them are pretty ridiculous."
Dick grinned. "So fear is like your superpower? Instead of letting it get to you, you use it to beat the bad guys."
Bruce ruffled his hair, making Dick swat at his hands. "Goodnight, chum. See you in the morning."
It was almost a month after that before Batman let Robin patrol with him again. He made absolutely sure that every one of the Arkham regulars was locked up before he let him onto the streets. There was never going to be a repeat of last time.
As they shot across the rooftops, Batman noticed Robin seemed a little more excited and nervous than usual, but he just wrote it off as it being his first time out after so long. He didn't catch the mischievous smile on his protégée's face.
About an hour into patrol, they head about a robbery five blocks over. Thankfully the robbers had gone for the bank at night, so there weren't any hostages. That meant they could go right in without having to account for civilians.
Their usual strategy was to send Robin in as a distraction while Batman snuck up behind them. Robin sometimes made it into a game to see whether or not he could knock out all the guys before Bats even got there.
When they reached the bank, it was business as usual. Robin snuck in through the vents this time, while Batman went around back and waited for their backs to be turned. Usually the gunfire was his signal, so he listened in to what was going on in the next room.
This time was different, however. Before Batman could even make out Robin's shape through his infrared vision (like Batman would ever really let Robin out of his sight), an eerie cackle ran through the room. He almost jumped the gun and ran right in, convinced that the Joker was somehow out of Arkham again when Robin dropped out of the ceiling and into the center of the group, who were now looking around wildly, scared out of their wits at the unnerving sound he had made.
These men didn't know how to use their fear, fortunately, so there was almost nothing for Batman to do when he made it into the room. As they finished tying up the robbers, Batman sent Robin a questioning glance.
The little bird grinned. "I figured it was time they shared my dread." Then he cackled again, making the criminals jump and Batman smile. He had a feeling the nightmares wouldn't be as much of a problem anymore.