CHAPTER VII
Several hours later, my face hurt from fake-laughing throughout the night and Dick was passed out on the couch from too much at the chocolate fountain. Alfred, meanwhile, was mixing an elaborate cocktail in the bar. But not for me. He had noticeable bags under his eyes, and his usually-pristine and stereotypical mustache was more than a little bit off-kilter. This man was a war vet. He had told me stories about his time in the military without hesitation. He didn't want to talk about the party. Actually, it wasn't so much a party as it was an unintended rave. I had mentioned the drunk guests to Dick, but I wasn't aware that the son of a banker had brought a small stash of LSD. I was alerted to the situation once I saw one guest attempting to beat the wine flutes to smithereens. I asked him what he was doing, and he said the flutes had now transformed into transparent serpents. Yeah. This was one party I was hoping to forget. Usually, I was able to go to bed afterwards without any trouble. But this time, I was even more exasperated, and once again I went through Halo.
I was eventually tired, and seeing that Dick was still asleep, I got a blanket and put it over him. I ruffled his hair as I walked past, saying quietly, "You did good tonight." I walked off to my room. Upon entering, I kicked off my shoes, slung off my tie, and shed my jacket, no longer possessing the will to change or take a shower. As I collapsed into my bed, I turned my head to the right, looking at a framed photo of my parents and me on my nightstand. All three of us were just acting silly, even though my mother was wearing an insanely expensive dress and my father was wearing an insanely expensive tuxedo. My mom had her arms thrown wide, and she was wearing the biggest grin I had ever seen. My dad had me in a fake headlock. I went along with my dad, closing one eye and sticking out my tongue. The photo was only known to me, my mom and dad, and Alfred. No one outside the house ever saw it, not because my parents thought it was embarrassing, but because it was something special enough to keep private. Underneath the photo was a thick photo album. I took it off of the nightstand, opening it up. I sat up and flipped through it.
The first photo was one of my parents holding a baby who was just starting to grow jet-black hair. I knew it was me. The next was just my parents. It was a still of them holding hands and kissing. They were the happiest married couple I've ever known, and they still are. I remember a story my dad told me. He told me, when he and my mom were newlyweds, she didn't want to take a photo because she hadn't put on makeup yet. My dad was eventually too impatient, and though she protested, he said she didn't need the makeup. She looked down sheepishly and asked him if he really meant it. He replied, "What do you think?" At this point in the story, he smiled widely. He finished, saying that after that day, she didn't buy any more makeup. "And she looked even better afterwards," said my dad, raising his eyebrows. I laughed as I remembered an eight-year-old Bruce Wayne giggling and saying, "Dad! Keep that between you and mom!" "Ah, but it's my job to make you uncomfortable," said my dad. We had a good laugh, didn't we, I thought.
I kept going through all the photos, remembering yet again many other pieces of my life as I turned them over. There was a photo taken just after I'd taken a bath because I had been playing in mud. There was one taken on my seventh birthday. My dad was sick, but he took the photo anyway. There was a photo of me in the hospital after breaking my arm at age eight. I, though worn-out and of course injured, was giving the camera a thumbs-up, and my parents were doing the same. I thought of how my parents slept in the hospital one night, and Alfred slept there the next. I wasn't there a minute without someone watching over me. Those days, those moments, they were the reason I knew my parents cared about me more than anything. More than their money, more than their equally powerful friends. I was the one thing in their life they loved the most. I smiled as I thought about those times, and I looked on the cover, which was engraved, "FAMILY FOREVER: THE WAYNES". I ran my fingers over the black leather of the cover. "Goodnight, everybody," I said quietly.
The next day, Dick was the first one up, eating two Pop-tarts and chugging a large mug of coffee. I stretched and said, "Man, I'm surprised you're up so early after last night." "So am I," said Dick, "I was more surprised that I had a blanket thrown over me, of course." "Hey," I said, "I saw a need and filled it." "No, no," said Dick, "Thanks. I remember how my dad used to do that after a long day." I nodded. "So," said Dick, "Where to today?" "Down to Lucius' place, actually." "Really?" said Dick, smiling, "You mean the guy who got you all geared up?" "Yeah," I said, pouring a bowl of cereal, "Him." "What do you need from him?" asked Dick. "Actually," I said, "This particular visit is about what you need." Dick's jaw dropped. He laughed excitedly and shouted, "NO WAY!" Putting my finger to my lips, I said, "Alfred's still asleep." Dick cleared his throat and said, "Right. But still, that's awesome! I mean, I thought you were…" "Sheltering you?" I said, "Holding you back?" "Yeah," said Dick guiltily. "Well," I said, "it's time to put an end to that. So I'm taking you to be fitted." Dick sat up straight and furrowed his brow. "Fitted?" he asked. I nodded, smiling.
We hopped in my Maserati and drove off. Five minutes after leaving, Dick said, "Can I ask for something custom over there?" I shrugged and said, "Maybe. I did." Dick grinned and said, "Alright then. I'm happy." We didn't have any conversation throughout the rest of the drive, mostly because Dick was so excited. I was pretty excited too, though I was a little apprehensive. After all, I didn't want him in the field with me until now. So I was still nervous. I changed my grip on the wheel several times. I was severely fidgety. Though I wasn't anything compared to Dick. He was tapping his feet on the floorboards rapidly, and he such a manic expression on his face that any woman passing might've mistaken him for a spontaneous stalker. I tapped him on the shoulder and turned the rearview mirror towards him. He immediately calmed down and assumed a platonic expression. The rest of his energy was directed towards his fingers, though, so he was tapping them on his thighs to the tunes of random songs. He and I were both ready to get to our destination.
A few minutes later, we pulled up to Lucius' place. Before I had even fully stopped, Dick had jumped out of the car and run towards the entrance. I sighed, stopping and getting out. Dick was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his eyes glinting with excitement. I walked up next to him and said, "You ready?" "I have to be, don't I?" said Dick. "I suppose," I said, opening the door. We walked in, and I announced, "Hey, Lucius! We're here!" We heard Lucius' voice carry across the cavernous room, saying, "Took you long enough. I was starting to think you'd bailed." "Not us, Mr. Fox," said Dick. He turned around and around, eventually stopping and saying, "This is a nice place you have here." "Wayne Enterprises gave their employees quite generous salaries back in the day," said Lucius, "And thank you. Might we go downstairs?" "Wait, the lab's downstairs?" said Dick. "Indeed," said Lucius, "And it's bigger." "Can't wait," said Dick. "I'm sure," I said. Lucius led the way to the stairs, and we descended to a door with a scanner to its right. "Now, the other times you've visited me," said Lucius, "I was already in here, and I turned this off. But now you get to see how the magic happens." Dick turned to me and grinned.
Lucius put his hand on the pad, and it proceeded to accept him. The door unlocked, and Lucius opened it. Dick and I were both soundly unimpressed. "Not the kind of magic I was expecting," said Dick. Lucius said, "Well, the scanner is so specific, even if you were to lift my handprint from a glass or something, it wouldn't let you in." He assumed a facial expression that obviously expected us to be amazed. Dick and I shrugged our shoulders. "Still not what I was looking for," said Dick. Lucius sighed, saying, "Alright. I guess I should have known it would be lost on you." Dick and I were slightly indignant as consequence of this remark, but it was mostly because it was true. Dick said, "Okay. So what's the plan?" "Well," said Lucius, "we find out what size of suit would fit you, what weapon you're most adept with, and…I suppose you get to choose the colors." "Cool," said Dick, "Let's do it!" Lucius laughed and gestured for us to follow him into a different part of the room. Dick and I walked just behind him, and I was wondering what we'd find.
We stopped in front of a pedestal, and Lucius said to Dick, "Go ahead and stand on it." Dick walked up to it, looking around and saying, "That's weird. Where's all the tape measures and stuff?" Lucius chuckled and said, "We don't need to bother with any of those things. We've moved on around here." Dick got up on the pedestal. He lifted his arms and let them fall back down to his sides, saying, "So, if none of that's going to happen, what's the method?" Lucius approached a large console two feet behind the pedestal. "You'll see," said Lucius, "And I think it'll be the magic you wanted. Lift your arms." Dick did so, and Lucius tapped a few keys on the console. The pedestal became washed in a blue light, and it scanned Dick up and down. After a few seconds, it ended and Lucius said, "Okay, we're done." "I like that," said Dick, jumping off the pedestal. Lucius then went up to a screen which displayed a 3D model of Dick. "Alright," said Lucius, "I'll work on the suit for a few days, and you should have it in about a week." "Perfect," I said.
Lucius held up his pointer finger and said, "Almost. We still need some kind of name, and a logo." Dick immediately spoke up, "The name is Robin. It's what my family's acrobat costumes looked like, and it's my middle name." I was surprised, and I said, "Wait, your full name is Richard Robin Grayson?" "Hey," said Dick, "That's not something I've heard since I stole from the cookie jar." I was still a little taken aback, but I decided to put that away for the time. "So how are we making the logo?" asked Dick. Lucius showed him a pen on one side of the screen, and with a few taps on it, a spectrum of colors appeared. Dick immediately understood, tapping the color yellow with the pen and drawing a yellow circle. He thought for a second, and he then drew a yellow R whose "legs" extended past the circle. "And I was thinking that we could put it…" said Dick, walking over to the 3D model, "over here on the right shoulder." Lucius nodded, saying, "Alright. And now," he continued, pulling out a large suitcase, "for the weapon." He smiled.
Dick immediately picked out a steel staff in the case. "Is this what you'll want to use?" asked Lucius. "Oh, yeah," said Dick, smiling, "Thanks, Mr. Fox." "It's my pleasure," said Lucius, "Oh, and press the button in the middle." Dick pressed it, and the staff collapsed into itself. "Cool," said Dick, laughing. "So, are you satisfied?" I asked Dick. "I could certainly get used to this," said Dick. "Well, it's been a pleasure working with you, Robin," said Lucius. "You too," said Dick. "I'll have that suit ready soon," said Lucius. I waved goodbye as we left, and suddenly, I didn't feel nervous at all.