In the city of Gotham, it is never a good thing when the streets are quiet. It is a sign of bad things to come. Silence before the storm, if you will. And the longer the silence prevails, the bigger the storm will be.

When this storm finally arrives at Gotham, it is usually with a force, that the Gotham City Police Department is rendered useless against. Partly due to a sizable portion of the police force being bribed, blackmailed or threatened, to look the other way, and the remaining police force having their hands politically tied, because of the corruption going on at a place above their pay-grade.

With conditions such as these, it was only a matter of time, before someone outside law enforcement, took it upon themselves to help the helpless, when those who had sworn to protect and serve, were unable or unwilling to protect and serve. In Gotham City, most of these crime fighters were brought up under the guiding hands of Batman, the caped crusader, who went by Bruce Wayne, when he was not wearing his cowl.

Those who received Batman's tutelage were usually approached by him and given the offer. Either because they had the potential to do good or a level of anger, that could do a lot of harm, if not tethered in time.

An exception to Batman's usual recruitment method is Tim Drake, also known as Red Robin, previously just Robin.

It has only been a few months, since Tim passed the mantle of Robin onto the next boy wonder. This time it was Bruce's biological son, Damian. As with the two that came before Tim, being Robin was not the goal; it was the initial steps in the process of becoming a crime-fighter. At some point, they were meant to create a name for themselves.

This wasn't something Bruce started on his own. He and the first Robin, Dick Grayson, had a minor feud that made both realize that Dick had to go his own way. Grayson was less adverse to danger, than Bruce would've liked. A rule that permitted one to become Robin, was that you follow Batman's orders. As such it was obvious that they would clash at times.

The second Robin, Jason Todd, died in the line of duty, after Batman attempted to give a longer leash which resulted in Robin going after Joker, Batman's arch-nemesis, on his own and ended up biting off more than he could chew. Batman realized all too late what was happening and didn't make it in time. Unfortunately, he just made it in time to witness a bullet going through Jason's head. Joker spent months in the Arkham Asylum ICU with several broken bones, his front teeth missing, and a punctured lung, which to this day is the closest Bruce came to breaking his no-kill rule.

Tim had his first encounter with Batman, when Grayson was still Robin. He was walking home from school late at night, having stayed after class to finish an assignment with his study group.

Batman and Robin came soaring through the streets in the Batmobile, in pursuit of an old clunker. The clunker was driven by a thug named Robert Fripp, who was a known member of Two-Face's gang. Two-Face, sometimes known as Harvey Dent, was as much a villain as Batman was a hero. He would do anything to make money. Rob a bank, assassinate just about anyone, or smuggle contraband. If he could make money from it, he would do it.

The calm before Two-Face's storm wasn't all that calm, as he would need funds to carry out his mission, and instead of using money from previous jobs, he would send out his gang to steal anything worth a dime. If they got caught, Two-Face would simply send new guys. In the corrupt city of Gotham, you could always find lost souls out to make a buck. Fripp was one such soul, who had been lured in by the promise of a share in Two-Face's next big thing. Fripp had tried to rob a jewelry store, but tripped the alarm. Normally, this would only contact the police, who sent a single unit, but due to Fripp's gang-affiliation, he had also attracted Batman.

Outrunning the Batmobile is no easy task, and one that proved too much for Fripp. After catching up to Fripp, the Batmobile gave his car a nudge from the left, that sent Fripp spinning and ended up crashing into an ice cream store.

The Batmobile pulled up right behind the crashed clunker, to prevent a sudden attempt of escaping. The entire roof and front windshield slid forwards on the Batmobile, with Batman jumping out of his seat, having gained momentum by holding onto the roof's edge.

Tim was just a few yards from the scene and did his best to conceal himself behind a telephone box at the nearest corner.

Fripp tried to make a run for it, but his attempt was quickly halted, as Batman kicked the front door shut, after Fripp opened it, with Fripp's left hand getting caught between the door and car-pillar. Batman looked back at the Batmobile

"Robin, check the trunk. Afterwards, search the duffel bag I see on the rear seats."

"You got it, Batman"

In a similar fashion to Batman, Robin jumped out of the Batmobile, though Tim found it odd somebody could do that. Batman was able to, since he gained momentum from the top sliding forth. But going from a seated position, to leaping upwards and sideways simply by one hand on the side of the car would require a good amount of control and at least some dabbling with acrobatics.

As Robin got close to the clunker's trunk, the contrast between their outfits stood out.

Batman in a dark gray suit with some darker gray panels on the chest for further protection with a black bat insignia in the center, an almost black, but with a blue hue, cape and cowl.

Robin, on the other hand, was notably more colorful. A red torso-piece, with a yellow R on a black background. Short green sleeves with matching green gloves and similarly green briefs.

Robin's outfit further reinforced Tim's thought of Robin being of the acrobatic type. Whereas Batman's outfit was built to protect him from sustaining injuries from gunshots, knife-attacks, and blunt force, Robin's was seemingly more focused on avoiding damage altogether. His joints were visible, meaning he wouldn't have to worry about limited movement.

While very few had had the chance of observing Batman in combat, stories had put him up against dozens of thugs and still come out as the victor with nobody landing a hit on him, so it was clear that he had fighting experience. And for him to approve of Robin's outfit, that didn't offer much protection, Tim could only conclude that whoever was behind the mask, was an incredible acrobatic. But, Robin didn't look that old, which meant that he would have to have grown up in acrobatic circles. Like a circus or something.

Other than his fighting capability, stories circulated of Batman being a tough interrogator. His persona was all about instilling fear into the criminals, but he wasn't shy of resorting to physical violence, to get the criminals to talk. By the looks of it, Tim was about to witness whether this was true, as Batman shifted his attention from Robin to Fripp, who was still whimpering about his broken fingers. However, rather than just opening the door, Batman ripped it off of its hinges, hurled it across the street and bent a lamppost. This brief view of Batman's strength seemed more than enough to put Fripp into a state that would make him spill the beans.

Batman grabbed Fripp's jacket and pulled him out of the car and slammed him against the clunker with enough force to make the clunker wobble for a bit. Fripp wasn't wearing a seatbelt, but given the fate of the front door, it likely wouldn't have made a difference in his safety.

"Hey Batman, ease up. I'm trying to count the cash in the duffel"

Batman didn't respond directly, but kept his focus on Fripp

"So, care to explain what you're going to do with that cash?"

"Batman, there's jewelery in here too. At least fifty grand"

"Where were you going with this?"

"I-I-I-It-It was for-I was"

"TALK! While you still have one good hand"

"TWO-FACE! Ok, I-I-I was delivering it for Two-Face"

"What's he planning?"

"I don't know, he didn't say"

Batman grabbed Fripp's right hand and pinched it against the car's roofline

"My patience is wearing thin"

"I swear! He didn't say. Said I didn't need to know. Said the less I knew before the gig, the better, in case I ran into you"

"Where's the drop-off for that bag?"

"Just south of here. On the corner of Arkham Street and Andrews Boulevard. But I don't know if Two-Face will be there."

"Robin, return to your seat, we're moving out"

Without word, Robin took the duffel bag and headed towards the Batmobile. But rather than reversing his way of entrance, Robin jumped to the Batmobile's bonnet, threw the bag into the driver's seat, looked ahead and did a backwards somersault which landed him right in his seat.

A move that Tim found impressive as it could have gone wrong in numerous ways. He had drafted a profile for Robin in his head, while observing the dynamic duo in action, and while he didn't have any names, he figured it couldn't be a long list of people to fit the criteria he had witnessed that evening.

While Robin was showing off, Batman had sucker punched Fripp and went to collect the missing car door. Upon returning to Fripp, who still was on the ground gasping for air, Batman pulled out a set of handcuffs and chained Fripp to the door.

Moments before Batman got into the Batmobile, he locked eyes with Tim. Batman knew Tim was there, the whole time. Tim felt a shiver down his spine and got up, just as Batman jumped in his car.

"Penny-1, get in conta-" was the last thing Tim heard before the roof shut in and the Batmobile took off, leaving a big cloud of smoke behind.