Robin couldn't help but stare as Flash slammed a thug against the side of the alley and pressed his forearm against the man's windpipe. Over an hour had passed since they had found out that Wally was being held by the Joker and they had immediately hit the streets of Gotham searching for clues as to the madman's current hideout.

Dick had seen the elder speedster fight before, but the man was generally calm in battle, much like Wally, preferring to distract the baddies with jokes and take down the enemy with as little violence as possible.

He had a reputation for being courteous and amiable, which didn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of street gangs. Especially Gotham street gangs that were accustomed to dealing with Batman and Robin, both of whom had a much more frightening reputation.

However, the Scarlet Speedster was angry, alarmingly angry and, for the first time, Robin was aware of just how dangerous the man could be. Batman had pointed the group out to Barry as a possible source of information and the next minute all but one of them was unconscious and bloody, strewn about the alley.

The Flash already had their leader pinned to the wall by the time he and Batman had stepped out of the Batmobile. Robin looked up at Bruce who was watching silently, and he followed his mentor as he moved closer, wanting to hear what the criminal was saying.

"Where's Joker?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Barry repeated the question, grinding out the words as he leaned into the man's neck, "Don't make me keep asking you. Where is he?"

The man gave a weak laugh, trying to appear brave, "You aren't like the Bat Flash. You can't scare me that easy."

The speedster growled low in his throat and pressed down hard on the man's neck, cutting off his air supply entirely, "I do not have the patience for your crap. You will tell me what I want to know or I swear to you I will make you wish it was Batman that caught you."

The punk jerked his head desperately, his hands grasping uselessly at the speedster's shoulders, but Flash waited another long moment before easing up on the man's neck, easily keeping him pinned to the wall, "Spit it out before I change my mind."

His captive's eyes flickered fearfully from the speedster's face to Robin, then Batman who stood against the opposite wall, his arms crossed, apparently unconcerned by what was happening across from him.

"Okay, okay, I saw some of his guys hanging around the old brewery that shut down six months ago." his voice was raspy and he was gasping for air, "I didn't see the man himself, but he should be somewhere around there."

Barry turned his head so he could glance at Batman out of the corner of his eye, "Do you know the place he's talking about?"

The Dark Knight nodded, "I do."

Flash turned back to the thug in his grasp, the man flinched away from the speedster's gaze, but Barry said nothing as he punched him in the gut. A harsh grunt left the man and he went limp, then Flash stepped back, letting the man slump to the ground in a heap.

"What the hell is it with this city and abandoned buildings? It's like the city runs a free hideout service for these people." Dick could see that the Scarlet Speedster was vibrating where he stood and he almost flinched when the man turned to face them once more, his eyes narrowed, "Lets move, lead the way Bats."

Batman nodded, "It's not far."

Dick watched in awe as Barry followed his mentor back toward the Batmobile, and he was suddenly reminded of a something Bruce had told him not long after he had become friends with Wally.

I like him Bruce, Wally's a fun guy. Seems like kind of a pushover though.

It's a mistake to underestimate him Dick. Neither of them should be taken lightly.

Dick could remember asking his mentor what he had meant; Batman hadn't been willing to elaborate. He hadn't really understood those words until this moment; he saw Batman pause for an instant, the subtle change catching his attention, and he ran to catch up. The Boy Wonder vaulted into the Batmobile and the vehicle tore out of the alley, with the Scarlet Speedster right beside it.

Robin found himself watching the man as he ran, though his thoughts had turned to his best friend; looking back he couldn't think of a time when he had seen Wally truly angry.

Granted, the Fastest Boy Alive had a quick temper, but the teen was quick about everything. Quick to anger, even quicker to forgive.

Even his fights with Artemis had begun to take on a more playful tone, at least on Wally's end, after the first week or so and he couldn't help but wonder just what the other boy was capable of when pushed beyond the limits of his patience.

His train of thought was broken by Batman speaking to him, "I warned you to never underestimate a speedster. They are more dangerous than most people realize."

Robin turned his eyes on his mentor, "I always knew that they were tough, but," he paused searching for the right words, "they're just so laid back, so friendly, I guess I didn't realize how strong they could be."

The corner of Bruce's mouth twitched upward and he could tell the man was amused, "You misunderstood Robin. They act that way precisely because they are powerful." he glanced over at his ward, "Imagine a being that dangerous with a bad attitude to match."

Robin grimaced, "I see what you mean."

"You should also remember that the two of them protect their cities on a day to day basis, with little to no interference from the league. They are very capable guardians, in spite of their friendly demeanor they are not to be trifled with."

Dick was silent as he contemplated Batman's words, he was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that they had reached their destination until he felt the Batmobile roll to a stop.

He practically leapt out of the car as a sudden longing to see Wally's face gripped him, he ran around the car to the place where Batman was standing beside Flash, needing to hear his friend's voice, to know that he was alright.

Dick was so preoccupied by his unaccustomed desperation that he almost missed what the men were saying.

"I can just run in and grab him. It's been too long Batman, he's hurt and he needs to eat. We can't wait."

Bruce had a firm hold on his friend's arm, "I understand, but you'd be putting him in more danger. Joker will be expecting someone to try and rescue the boy, it's what he wants. There are likely traps all over the building and just rushing in could get him killed."

Dick saw Bruce's grip tighten as the speedster began to vibrate, "He needs me Bats! I promised him that I'd look out for him!"

Batman sighed, "I know The Joker. Trust me Flash, I want to save Kid Flash too, but rushing in will only put him at risk. Please," he locked eyes with the other hero, "let us take the lead on this one."

For a moment Robin thought the speedster was going to argue and he found himself moving closer and putting a hand on the man's wrist, "We'll get him back."

Barry blinked down at him and he tried to smile, "Batman is right, we need to be careful, but I promise we'll get him back."

He stared up into the man's eyes and for a moment he wondered if he'd overstepped his boundaries, but Flash's face seemed to soften and he put his hand on his shoulder, "You're right Robin, I'm sorry. I know you're worried too." he returned the weak smile, "I'm counting on you two."

Dick nodded, then pulled his hand back and turned to face Batman, "The roof?"

Bruce nodded, "We need to get an idea of the layout."

"Right," he pulled out his grappling hook and took aim, Batman did the same and in spite of the situation he had to bite back a laugh when Barry grabbed onto his mentor's utility belt, catching a ride to the roof in much the same way that Wally often did with him.

The thought made him miss his friend even more, but he pushed the feeling aside and pressed the retract button.

Once they were on the roof they scattered, checking all sides of the building for potential enemies and looking into skylights trying to get a handle on the situation inside the building.

Robin turned when he heard Batman call to Flash, and they both rushed to the Dark Knight's side, "Did you find something?"

Batman motioned for them to look down, "Joker is here. That means that Kid Flash is probably here somewhere as well. I doubt he would leave such a valuable hostage in the hands of his henchmen."

Barry was leaning over the skylight, one hand on Bruce's shoulder to steady himself, "I don't see Kid anywhere."

Dick nodded, "Probably has him locked up somewhere."

Flash straightened up as Batman stood, "We have to get in there."

Bruce nodded, "We can go in through the roof access door, most of them seem to be clustered toward the front of the factory with only a few scattered patrols. They aren't organized we should be able to infiltrate with minimal resistance."

Robin dashed over to the roof access crouching down to pick the lock, "Let's do this." he paused, then leaned down on the roof, scanning along the bottom of the door, then working his way up the side of the door jam.

He turned back to Batman with a frown, "I think this has a gas bomb attached to it."

Batman moved to join his protégé and Robin pointed to a place on the door jam, only a foot above the bottom of the door, "See, that's a pressure plate. I don't see any sort of detonator, but that's attached to something."

"Can you disarm it?"

Dick grinned, "Of course."

Flash watched with interest as the young hero disarmed the trap in less than a minute, then pushed open the door and beamed at his mentor, "How was my time?"

Batman's lips twitched upward, "46 seconds, well done."

Robin smiled, "Cool, let's get going."

He turned to enter the building, but Batman stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, "I'll go first."

Dick nodded, knowing that his adoptive parent was trying to protect him, Batman nodded to the boy, then turned to their companion, "Take up the read Flash, try not to touch anything."

Barry nodded and Batman strode into the hideout, with Robin at his heels. Barry followed, his mouth set in a hard line and not bothering to close the door behind them,.

AN: I really~~ wanted to write a scene of Barry being viciously protective of Wally ^_^ I loved the idea, because I was reading this old Brave and the Bold comic where Hal Jordan (GL) comes to visit Barry and gets to meet Wally for the first time. Long story short, KF gets his speed stolen by a baddie, but he still wants to help. So Hal gives him a copy of his ring, basically, he makes a GL uniform and a ring out of power from his ring and lets KF borrow off him. They have several skirmishes with the bad guys and halfway through the story Barry gets after Hal for not being careful enough with Wally. He basically tells Hal he's a loser, and actually threatens to beat up GL if there is so much as a "single scratch" on the Kid. (Soooo cute!) Anyway, because of their fight, they get captured, but KF manages to get his speed back on his own AND rescue GL and his Uncle (yeah, Go Wally!) It was a good story, and it made me love Barry being protective.