Hey guys, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the long wait and the ones that are bound to happen. I have a lot of stuff on my plate right now and probably will until May. As you know, bold italics is communication and italics are personal thoughts. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, please do so again. Also, I am open to suggestions of where this story could go. I do not own DC Comics or any of their characters. Please excuse any mistakes I may have made. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
Then the doors of the medical wing swung open. Martian Manhunter stepped into the waiting area and looked at Robin grimly.
"Robin, he's stable, but... there is an unknown toxin in his system... Until we know what toxin it is, he will stay in the med wing. Other than that, everything went well." He said assuringly.
Robin looked from Martian Manhunter to the floor. I will find that Talon and make him tell me what toxin it is. He looked back up. On the outside he looked calm, on the inside he was boiling with rage.
"Can you stitch up my arm? I completely forgot about it." Robin said, allowing no emotion to seep into his tone.
"I'll do it." Red Arrow voiced quickly.
Then he motioned for Robin to follow him. The two made their way to the clinic, and Robin sat down. Red Arrow began to inspect the wound, handling it gently.
"Did you get stabbed by the Talon?" Red Arrow questioned.
"No, I stabbed myself with his knife." Robin sassed.
"Robin, you could have the toxin." Red Arrow said seriously.
"Do a test," Robin commanded.
His command wasn't needed. Red Arrow was already getting a blood sample and putting it under the microscope. Red Arrow sighed.
"There's nothing abnormal in your blood. I guess that knife didn't have the toxin on it." Red Arrow stated. Robin sighed in relief, but the confusion was mixing with his rage. Why?
"Can you stitch this up now?" He asked.
Red Arrow nodded and began pulling the sterile needle and string through Robin's skin. I always hated this feeling. After a few minutes of silence, Red Arrow spoke.
"I know you're thinking about going after the Talon." He said, not looking up from the stitching.
"Don't try to stop me." Robin expressed angrily.
Red Arrow looked up at him for a second then back down at his work.
"You know they say about of the Dynamic Duo? Batman's the one to watch out for. I disagree with that. You've got quite the anger and wouldn't hesitate to kill someone if they posed a threat to anyone you care for." Red Arrow paused. The silence grew thick between them. "What are you going to do when you find this Talon?" Red Arrow asked.
"I'm going to get the name of the toxin and the cure if he has it," Robin answered.
"And he doesn't give it to you?" Red Arrow countered.
"He will," Robin growled. His anger fully showing. "If he cherishes his life, he will."
Red Arrow finished stitching Robin's arm. It only took about three, but Roy didn't want to give Robin a reason to leave.
"Robin, going after someone out of anger is never a good idea. I would know. Hell, almost every hero would agree."
"I'm aware of that. I never said I was going without planning first. What do you think I am, a novice?" Robin said angrily.
"You're still a child. I know you have been through enough pain to have lived four lifetimes, but you're thirteen. You can't even legally drive yet." Red Arrow defended.
"But I know how to drive," Robin said. "I know what I'm doing."
Robin pushed himself up and went to the door.
"If Batman wakes up, tell him I'm with Alfred," Robin said and disappeared from Red Arrow's sight.
Red Arrow's words rang in his ears. Still a child. Yeah right. I was forced to grow up when I was eight. He doesn't know anything. Besides, I've been in the fighting business way longer than he has. Robin walked to the zeta tubes. I'll check in with Alfred and tell him what happened before planning my attack. Robin stepped through the golden light and appeared in the Batcave. Robin paused. The cave was fully fixed after last years fight, and looked brand new, but something was off. Robin walked towards the staircase but paused again. Smoke? Robin registered the smell and sprinted up the stairs. In the manor, flames licked and caressed the walls, burning everything it touched. Alfred! Worry filled Robin.
"Alfred!" He yelled. Nothing answered him but the sound of burning and popping.
"Alfred!" He tried again. He heard a faint voice.
"ALFRED!" He screamed as he moved towards the living room.
He heard coughing. Robin carefully made his way to the living room. On the floor, pinned under a large, oak bookcase was Alfred. He was coughing and struggling weakly against the heavy oak. Robin coughed as he rushed to the loyal butler.
"Master...Richard." Alfred wheezed.
Robin ignored him and began trying to lift the bookcase.
"Go...Richard." Alfred gasped out.
"No way!" Robin tried harder, but the damn thing wouldn't budge. Robin planted his feet firmly and pulled up on the edge of the oak.
"Alfred, push!" Robin ordered. The older man didn't obey. A flame started to lick at Robin's ankle, slowly burning away his shoe and pant leg.
"Leave…" Alfred said weakly.
"No! I'm not leaving you to die, Alfred! Push!" Robin yelled, tears stinging his eyes from the smoke, and the pain shooting up his leg. What if we can't get this off him? What if I don't save him? Robin gritted his teeth and pushed harder. The skin on his ankle burning. The pain only fueled him.
"Alfred, please!" Robin begged.
Alfred obeyed and pushed as hard as he could. It didn't do much, but Robin tried harder, adrenaline rushing through his system as he forced his whole body to free Alfred and to forget his burned ankle. The bookcase lifted just enough for Alfred to crawl out. Robin dropped the bookcase and moved over to Alfred, coughing. Smoke was choking him and burning his eyes. Robin took off his cape and gave it to Alfred.
"Alfred, use this to cover your mouth and nose," Robin said through coughs.
He took off his glove and held it to his own face. Together, the two made their way through the burning home and down to the Batcave. In the cave, Alfred collapsed and coughed harshly. Robin grabbed onto Alfred's arm and pulled him up. Robin supported all of Alfred's weight and guided him to the zeta tube. They stepped in and were engulfed by the bright light. Once in Mount Justice, the two fell and coughed. Alfred coughed more than Robin, so when the others came to help them, Robin directed their attention to the older butler.
"Those bastards!" Robin yelled between coughs. "How dare they! When I find them I'm going to-" Robin shouted in rage. The shout was broken by harsh coughs.
"Robin, what happened?" Black Canary said gently, trying not to fuel the boy's anger.
"The Court set the manor on fire. Alfred was stuck under a bookcase and I couldn't get it off him, but we got it off him and came here, and I think I have a second-degree burn on my ankle." Robin said, his coughing calming for a second.
Black Canary rubbed his back and gave him an oxygen mask. Robin suddenly felt very tired as the adrenaline left his system. His breathing returned to normal, and he laid down on his back. He continued breathing evenly and slowly fell asleep. Canary looking over him with concern.
"I…will get...them for this." He trailed as he fell into the world of sleep.
Robin slowly woke up and opened his eyes. He stared at the white ceiling with faint patterns. Medical wing...I must've breathed in too much smoke. Robin's anger swelled at the memory of the fire and events before. I will take the Court down. I'll kill them all! They think they can hurt my family and get away with it! I'll show them something to be afraid of. Robin reached his hand up and took off the oxygen mask he realized he was wearing. A different hand placed it back over his nose and mouth.
"I see you're awake and kicking." Black Canary's gentle voice came from beside him.
"Yeah, well what did you expect?" Robin asked, his question slightly muffled.
"Nothing less, you two always get up despite almost dying." Black Canary sighed. "It's kind of annoying."
"But impressive." Robin pointed out.
"If impressing us meta-humans is the only reason then you're doing for all the wrong reasons. You two should know we don't underestimate you. In fact, we are very cautious around you two. Everyone knows you could easily take us out." Black Canary said.
Robin laughed. "We don't come back for impressing you, we always come back so we can keep you from doing stupid things. I expect that at least half a city is destroyed by now."
"It's kind of freaky how you know that, but you're right. Without Batman, it seems like every fight and mission isn't going as smoothly as planned." Black Canary admitted.
"He is a genius." Robin reasoned.
"Yeah, and I swear you and him aren't human sometimes." Black Canary admitted again.
They continued the chatter. Robin didn't tell her that he didn't think of himself as a human, but a monster. She would be disappointed and try to convince me otherwise. They continued to talk until Canary suggested they see the team.
"They would like to know you're okay." She tried.
"I know which is why I want to see Alfred." Robin defended. Why isn't she letting me see Alfred?
"Richard," She said getting serious. "Alfred hasn't woken up yet."
"So? I can stay with him until he does." Robin argued.
Canary sighed. "We don't know when that will be. He inhaled a lot more smoke than you did and you've been out for two and a half hours."
Robin looked at his hands.
"Fine, but I get to change into my uniform. I hate medical gowns." He said and began to get up.
Black Canary nodded and sighed in relief. She then went and picked up Robin's charred and smoke smelling uniform. She handed to him, and he said thank you. Robin quickly changed into his uniform and made sure his mask was in place then went out with Canary to the common room in the mountain. Robin was greeted by the sight of his worried team. Artemis and Wally were pacing. Megan and Connor were sitting on the couch, Megan leaning on him. Aqualad was reading, but he wasn't processing the words or getting engrossed in the words as he usually did. Robin was a little surprised to see Roy and Zatanna. Roy was pacing as well. Zatanna was staring into space from her seat in the room. Black Canary nodded at Robin and left the room. Robin sighed, cleared his throat, and gained their attention. The first one to speak was Roy.
"You're awake!" He rushed over and scanned Robin. "Nothing serious? No broken bones? Concussion?"
"No. Nothing serious, just a burn on my ankle." Robin replied.
After Roy came the whole team. They asked similar questions and stressed over him. Robin noticed Artemis' reluctance to join them in their interrogation and worrying. She stood just outside the group. Not enough to stand out, but enough to not be engaged.
"What the hell happened?! Batman gets stabbed, you and Agent A come in here with burns and are coughing! And then you say "I will get them for this" right before you black out! So, tell us who exactly are you getting revenge on?!" Roy stressed, even though he already knew the answer to his question.
"The Court of Owls. They want to hurt the people I care about. I will hurt them back." Robin said coldly.
It was that moment that everyone realized that Robin was much more dangerous than Batman and without the older bat, Robin would be motivated by anger.
"I'm going back to Gotham and see what damage has been done," Robin said as he walked towards the zeta tube. Artemis grabbed his wrist.
"Let one of us come with you." She said.
Robin was quiet for a moment and roughly pulled his wrist from her hand.
"No meta-humans or aliens are allowed in Gotham." Robin voiced.
It was an indirect invitation to Roy and Artemis. They were the only humans. Although, Roy was the only one in costume, and Robin was on his way out. Artemis would have to hurry if she was to accompany them. Artemis sprinted off as Roy nodded. Robin sighed and resumed his walk to the zeta tubes with Red Arrow trailing. The two walked to the tubes, and Robin began setting it to Gotham. As he finished and the tube fired up, Artemis came rushing in. Robin snickered as she panted. The three walked into the light.
In Gotham, Robin fired a grapple, zipped up to the top of an office building, and began running across the rooftops, flipping from one to the other. The archers followed and kept up with the acrobat even if they were very tired by the time they got to a point where they could see the manor.
"Out of shape are we?" Robin smirked at the panting archers.
"We don't...run this much...in Starling." Red Arrow excused.
"I'm not used to running across these rooftops. There's an alley every few feet." Artemis excused.
Robin smiled and turned his attention to the manor. Smoke was still billowing from the dying home. The flames were being fought by firemen and water. It didn't look like they were winning and the fire would continue for a while. Robin hadn't watched the news in the past few hours. but knew that the Wayne Manor fire was the top story at the moment. Robin sighed.
"What are we going to do?" Red Arrow asked.
"Go to Wayne Enterprises and patrol from there," Robin instructed.
The three heroes began their rooftop journey to the tall building, stopped some thugs on the way there. The three got up to the roof of the building and stood vigilant for a while before moving to the next building. Red Arrow and Artemis were looking for common thugs and villains. They didn't know Robin couldn't care less about them and was searching for any sign of the Talon or The Court. He was so focused that he didn't notice that Artemis and Red Arrow had turned their attention to a lurking shadow. Both had their bows drawn and loaded.
"Don't shoot...I'm already...injured." A voice forced out.
Robin spun around. He took in the half-shadowed figure of the woman. She had cuts everywhere and was bleeding heavily. She looked as though she was about to fall, swaying.
"Catwoman!" Robin exclaimed as he rushed forward and caught the woman.
He gently set her down and examined her. She had three stab wounds in her abdomen and the various cuts and heavy bruises across her body.
"Artemis, Red Arrow get her to the mountain for medical." He ordered.
"What? Why? She's a vil-" Artemis started to protest.
"Now!" Robin yelled.
The two archers jumped and did as he said. The woman was held up by the two, and they began to leave.
"What are you going to do?" Red Arrow questioned.
"...Go." Robin avoided the question.
Robin heard the disappointed sigh but ignored it. Roy can think whatever he wants. Robin resumed his patrol and scanned the city.
"Well, look at you. The famed successor of the Bat and Owl. There are powerful people interested in you. William Cobb is first and foremost. Do you know him?" A voice from the shadows inquired.
Robin didn't turn, he knew who it was. It was the Talon.
"Afraid I don't." Robin hissed. The name does sound familiar though.
"It's rude to not look at someone when they're talking to you." The Talon said. "Anyway, you are very special, Richard. You are one of the few children to escape our recruitment, and you were very promising. You were supposed to be ours. It was an agreement between many parties." He taunted.
"Why are you telling me this?" Robin asked as he turned.
"Because you'll be with us from now on." A different voice came from behind him.
Robin looked around and noticed Talons surrounding him. How the hell am I going to get out of this?! Robin felt panic starting to take over, building into a massive wave.
"You belong to the Court." the Talon directly in front of him said.
At those words, the Talons attacked.