Chapter 09: Lighting the Fuse
John has done a lot in his year as Robin but he was pretty sure they all pale in comparison with what he was doing right now-.
"Oof." Robin was sent back, his body armor skidding on the concrete floor, but got back up quickly to put some space between him and Batman-no the man being controlled by Poison Ivy.
There was some solace as while he was being controlled he wasn't exactly making strategic moves due to not being able to think, but he was still dangerous due to the muscle memory in how he moved.
It would only get worse if Poison Ivy came in here and began to control Batman herself but with Batgirl keeping them busy he has a chance to snap the man out of this.
Robin quickly brought himself back to reality when Batman lunged at him with a kick that he had to block but the force behind it sent him stumbling back before he got punched in the stomach followed by a left hook.
He was getting his ass kicked here.
Tasting some iron from that punch to the cheek, Robin winced as he rubbed it in pain before spitting some blood out.
"Batman come on it's me," Robin said trying to snap him out of it before grappling into the shadows thinking that with him being controlled that would be the safest option. "Your partner? Any of this ringing a bell?"
Batgirl managed to get him out of being controlled so he should be able to do it to Batman.
And though Robin would deny it he was hesitating in this because this was his mentor not an enemy. That was why he has to think this through.
Batman just remained calm and walked around the room, not making a move but Robin could tell from how tense he was that he was waiting for Robin to strike.
'Batgirl I hope you're having better luck than I am.' Robin thought slowly making his way through the shadows only to yelp when a Batarang barely missed his head.
That was before it blew up after hitting the ceiling causing for some of the debris to knock Robin out of the rafters, slamming into the walkway that was on the second floor the suit absorbing the impact.
'Okay where the hell did that Batarang come from?! Doesn't Harley still have his belt?'
His head ringing from the blast, Robin was unprepared when Batman landed in front of him, grabbing him by the cloak and slamming him into the wall.
Having enough, Robin used the wall so he could lift his feet up and kick Batman in the chin, making him back up before the Boy Wonder kicked off the wall and delivered a right hook on Batman, knocking him off the walkway.
Peeking over the edge, Robin frowned as Batman was nowhere to be seen-.
He dove out of the way as he heard the sound of his cape above him as Batman landed right where Robin was a minute ago, putting his fists up in preparation.
Robin copied the action, his breath labored from this as the injuries he gained from this fight were really taking their toll.
Batgirl blocked a kick from Harley Quinn as the clown kept doing handstands and springs to fight her.
Just like the Joker, Harley was one of the few people who Batgirl couldn't really read as to her their body language was screaming all over the place.
"Come on Batbrat is that the best you have?" Harley asked keeping Batgirl on her toes while Poison Ivy frowned.
If Batgirl was here then Robin had to be but where-?
She heard the explosion in the next room and smirked.
Ah that's where he was.
"Hey Red you mind lending a hand?" Harley asked with a smile that made Poison Ivy chuckle.
"Here you go." She waved a hand to some of the plants that were placed in there and watched as they mutated into beasts that roared, making Batgirl tense while pulling some freeze discs out only to see the men she took out slowly getting back up.
She was in a bind due to having to hold back because a lot of these people were just civilians that Ivy brainwashed.
Seeing the plant monsters coming right at her, Batgirl threw the freeze discs killing them as Ivy glared darkly now.
"Ooh you made Red mad." Harley taunted reaching the table to grab an over sized hammer that she began to twirl around like it was a baton.
Robin landed on the ground with some bruises on his cheeks and quickly tossed some flash bangs making Batman back up before he did a flip to land on Batman's back putting him in a choke hold.
Although if anyone walked in it looked like he was trying to get a piggyback ride.
"Bruce it's me!" He whispered still trying to break him free before Batman jumped back hitting the wall making Robin cry out. "Damn it how do I-?"
An idea came to him as he sighed.
"If you can hear me, sorry about this."
He kept one arm around his neck before reaching into his belt to pull out one of the shock discs but as he did that, Batman grabbed the arm and slammed Robin into the ground, sending the shock disc away before twisting the arm he was still holding.
Robin cried out in pain as his arm was dislocated from his shoulder before he was picked up and thrown across the room into the wall where he slid down right next to the shock disc.
His vision blurring, Robin looked up to see Batman slowly walking towards him before he grabbed the shock disc and threw it, the gadget landing on the stomach of the Batsuit before it emitted a huge spark that forced Batman to one knee, effectively breaking him from the control.
As that happened, Robin quickly stood up, using the cloak to hide his dislocated arm when Batman slowly shook his head unsure of what just happened before hearing footsteps and quickly got ready only to see Robin who looked like he has been through hell.
"Please tell me that broke you out of Ivy's control." Robin said hiding the pain from his tone.
"Robin." Batman said using the code name just in case they weren't alone and he saw Robin sigh in relief at the fact that his mentor spoke, proving he was free from Ivy's pheromones.
Looking around the room, it didn't take long for Batman to piece together what happened.
"Are you alright?" Batman asked looking at his partner seeing some blood on the floor and due to how he felt fine-if not a bit sore he knew it wasn't his.
"I'm peachy." Robin said and that was when Batman realized how he was hiding his arm.
"Show me your arm." Batman told him with Robin wincing before he let it slide out of the cloak.
"Just dislocated, it can be fixed quickly." Robin said seeing how Batman frowned in anger at himself for letting Ivy control him like that. "Batgirl has been distracting Quinn and Ivy while I came to find you-."
"Stay here," Batman said as Robin has been through enough for the night but he stopped and quickly fixed his arm making Robin cry out. "I'll be right back."
Robin sighed as he sat down wincing with his arm. "Got it boss." He said not wanting to complain.
Between him and Batgirl they can take Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn down easily.
Batgirl kept her composure as the hypnotized people were tied up with bolas while she was dodging the hammer that Harley was able to swing without slowing down.
This woman was definitely stronger than people gave her credit for and she also had to worry about stray roots that would pop out of the ground to try and snag her.
Ivy raised a hand about ready to finish this as the ground behind Batgirl began to crack only to hear something land behind her and she turned before Batman punched her across the face-the surprise attack sending her back a bit.
Harley turned to see that. "Hey B-Man get away from her-."
That was all the distraction Batgirl needed when she grabbed the hammer to disarm Quinn before kicking her feet out from underneath her to finish this with a punch.
Ivy quickly got up to see Harley was down before Batman landed in front of her while Batgirl unhooked the Utility Belt from Harley and threw it at the man who caught it without looking. "So the Boy Wonder managed to snap you out of it."
"It's over Isley." Batman told her placing the belt around his waist.
"Over? Why it's only begun." Ivy focused as a huge root erupted between her, Batgirl and Batman, the root showing itself to be a man-eating Venus Flytrap that shot down to snap Batman up as he quickly jumped back.
Its roots shot out to slam Batman off of his feet making him duck underneath him and Batgirl both throwing Batarangs at the roots before he saw Ivy run off-.
Into the room where he told Robin to stay.
And he couldn't exactly chase after her with the giant plant roaring at him.
Pressing a button on his belt, Batman looked at Batgirl. "Move!"
With that he grappled to higher ground, Batgirl listening right as the Batwing crashed through the roof firing at the giant plant, killing it.
"Alright the hell is going on out there?" Robin muttered hearing roars and feeling the ground shake only for Ivy to walk into the room.
'Note to self when Batman tells me to stay put, hide in the shadows.' Robin through pushing himself up despite how sore his body was before a root wrapped around him.
"You're becoming quite the pest." Ivy told him sensing that her plant was just killed and knew she didn't have much time.
Robin just smirked at her. "I have that effect on people." He said his head starting to feel fuzzy.
'Damn it not again.' Robin thought as he closed his eyes. 'Come on don't fall for it-don't f-fall.'
Ivy smirked as Robin was now under her control-quicker this time as he was exhausted before she let him go right as Batman and Batgirl burst into the room.
"Robin be a good dear and take care of them." She said despite knowing he would be a distraction at best.
Giving a slow nod, Robin ran at the two taking some birdarangs out to throw, covering Ivy as she ran from the room.
"Get him out of her control." Batman ordered moving after Ivy, using his Gauntlet to block a birdarang.
Batgirl threw her own batarang to counter the second one and slammed a palm strike in Robin's chest-a light one to knock him off balance before kicking his feet out from underneath him as he hit his head clearing it.
"W-What?" Robin muttered but Batgirl didn't take any chances and knocked him out.
As that happened, Batman frowned managed to cut Ivy off, placing a gas mask over his face when he threw a few smoke pellets filled with herbicide-a small dosage to avoid it being lethal to Ivy but enough to weaken her and kill the plant creatures she made to defend her.
"You'll pay for that." Ivy managed to cough out as Batman moved in an jabbed a pressure point in her neck, knocking her out.
"Did you have to punch me?" Robin muttered rubbing his jaw as the Police were escorting Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy into the Armored Truck, an inhibitor collar on Ivy, Batman was in the distance talking with Gordon.
"Didn't want to risk it," Batgirl explained in an apologetic tone. "You ok?"
"Give me a day or two to sleep it off and I'll be good," Robin said knowing he will be sore in the morning and it was only four in the afternoon right now. "Being mind controlled sucks."
He saw Batgirl's posture shift and knew she was a bit amused.
After a moment, Batman approached them again. "We're heading back to Oracle's to get you both checked out." He said showing no room for argument in his tone as they did just go up against two dangerous criminals, he also wanted to make sure that all of the pheromones were out of John's systems.
"Uh can we stop by the mall first to pick up our civvies?" Robin asked a bit sheepishly.
Later that evening, John looked annoyed as he sat in the Clock Tower after getting some blood drawn, his costume off while he had his Rob outfit on.
"Didn't realize you were scared of needles." Barbara commented running the blood sample through the data base.
"I'm not scared of needles," John denied a bit weakly. "I'm just uncomfortable in having something go in my skin."
Barbara just gave him an amused look, making him look away.
"S-Shut up."
"Nice comeback," Barbara teased, the computer beeping a few seconds later. "Alright you're in the clear but you're immune system is weakened because of this so you'll have to be careful for the next few days."
John gave a nod to that and this time Barbara saw something was wrong.
"You okay?" Barbara asked giving John a look. "You're not acting like your normal self."
"I'm just annoyed at how easily I was controlled." John said and Barbara would've bought it if she didn't know how to spot a lie.
Barbara just quirked a brow and crossed her arms, making John uncomfortable before he sighed.
"It's stupid."
"John we all moonlight as Vigilantes, trust me it can't be stupid." Barbara said in good humor with John giving a small snort.
"Yeah, it's just I thought I was doing good with my fighting skills." John confessed despite how he might've sounded arrogant by doing that. "I know it's only been a year but after everything from Scarecrow to the Society, I kept myself ahead but tonight when Bruce was being controlled-."
"You saw how far you had to go?" Barbara finished when he trailed off, knowing what he meant and she was right when John gave her a surprised look. "I went through the same ordeal when I was Batgirl, did I ever tell you of how I got that role?"
John shook his head in confusion.
"Before I knew Batman was Bruce I tried to force him to take me on to be his protege," Barbara said remembering her teen years fondly. "Although he gave me the cold shoulder when I made my first appearance."
"I can imagine." John said a bit dryly.
Bruce was a bit cold at times these days, John could only imagine just how the man was before he accepted any help in the past.
"Yeah he even threatened to tell my Dad to get me to quit, but I was pretty stubborn." Barbara looked to the side where her old Batgirl suit was in a case and John saw a hint of longing as she looked at it.
John found himself wondering just why Barbara remained like this as Bruce should've been in a wheelchair after meeting Bane the first time and yet he prevailed because of the treatment he received.
So shouldn't Barbara theoretically be able to obtain the same treatment.
But he didn't voice it as he smiled. "Thanks Barbara." He said to the woman who over the year became like an older sister to him.
"It's no trouble, oh and Bruce wanted to talk with you after you're done." Barbara said surprising John who was worried that it might be about the fact that he and Cass went up against Ivy and Quinn who were extremely dangerous.
"Right." John said giving a nod, leaving the room where he saw Cass back to practicing her Kata's while Batman was using the main computer to access something that looked like it involved Black Mask, but he looked at Cass. "Seriously?"
Cassandra just smirked, knowing what he meant. "This normal for me." She said with John giving her that. "But thank you."
"Hey it was fun." John said happy that despite what happened he got her to have fun in a way that didn't involve masks or being a vigilante. "So don't worry about it Ninja Girl."
Cassandra turned and gave him a dry look for that nickname while John just grinned.
"Next time I'll beat you at that game though." John promised and Cassandra smirked in response to that challenge.
While she returned to her activity, John walked up to Batman.
"How are you feeling?" Batman asked not even turning around.
"A little sore but nothing some rest won't cure, you?" John asked as Batman didn't look at him, instead cupping his chin as he analyzed what he was scanning.
"I'm well," Batman said not really answering the question. "You were with Jason when Bane was hospitalized weren't you?"
John tensing a bit was all the confirmation that Batman needed while noting that Batman asked that quietly showing that he wanted this conversation private. "For the record I had no idea Bane would be there."
"And yet you knew Dent and Sionis would be."
"... Yes." John answered truthfully.
He was surprised when Batman didn't look too angry as he gave a nod, not knowing that Batman traced a phone call from Jason to John's phone showing that Jason seemed to trust John to an extent and was relieved about that.
"So… Am I in trouble?" John asked hesitantly not sure what to expect.
"No, you're not." Batman said as John looked relieved. "But no patrol for the next few days until your injury heals, we'll be working on your training for a bit more."
John gave a nod expecting that as he went to leave.
"John," John paused and looked back as Batman allowed a small smile. "Good job on your schoolwork."
On hearing that John's eyes widened and he looked a bit flushed. "T-Thanks." He said a bit happier, although he was surprised that Batman made a comment about that.
John was extremely nervous a few days later, trying to get his hair to look neat as he was dressed in something casual but nice enough.
Today was Valentine's Day and he wanted it to go perfect as it was the first one where he actually had a Girlfriend.
His Dad always took a business trip out of Gotham on Valentine's Day, no doubt thinking of his Mother at the time, something that John took full advantage of as he was currently cooking Dinner.
Cooking was a skill he picked up over the years, even before his Dad put in all effort in the company and he asked Alfred for advice on certain recipes to make it all better, the man wishing him luck when he heard why he asked.
Right now it was just a Roast along with Potatoes and Carrots that were diced.
Wasn't too elaborate but John thought that it would be good.
"Okay I still have time." John muttered checking the roast.
Stephanie shouldn't be coming by for another hour or two, so he could still work on stuff to get ready.
He wanted this to be perfect.
John then pulled a silver locket out of his pocket, the gift he bought during the day at the mall.
Hopefully Steph would like this.
"Okay is there anything else left out?" John muttered his eyes roaming the apartment seeing next to nothing about stuff being left out-.
The doorbell rang much to John's confusion as he checked the time again.
"If that's Steph she is early," He muttered walking to the door to answer it only to see Dick. "Don't you usually sneak in?"
"Figured I could try the normal way." Dick said flashing a grin. "How's it going here?"
"Good, Dad's on another business trip so I figured spending Valentine's Day here wouldn't be that bad of a start." John said rubbing the back of his head. "So what's up?"
Dick suddenly looked nervous. "Hey do you mind if I come in?" He asked surprising John who quirked a brow and opened the door wider.
"Alright now you're worrying me," John noted closing the door. "Since when are you nervous-?"
He stopped when Dick pulled a small box out of his pocket surprising John who quickly put together what Dick had planned.
But he couldn't resist the joke. "Sorry but I'm not your type."
Dick gave an amused snort. "Very funny Little Wing," He said some of his nervousness gone. "I've been thinking about it ever since Kory came back, but I need a second opinion."
John briefly wondered why Dick came to him before thinking about the other choices being either the Titans who were a little biased in this, Bruce, Barbara, Jason and Tim and could see why Dick wanted to ask either him or Alfred.
"I'd say you're an idiot for second guessing yourself here," John said with a smirk at him. "If she makes you happy then go for it."
"I'm second guessing because I don't want to screw this up." Dick said with John giving a shrug.
"Can't really help you with that, but do you really think Starfire will say no?" John asked not really used to calling her 'Kori' like how Dick was apparently.
Dick's silence making John blink.
"Wait you do?!"
"She's the Princess of Tamaran, me proposing could cause a political storm." Dick explained his reasons for why he was truly hesitant, not saying anything about that marriage fiasco that nearly happened when he was still Robin.
"Damn," John said not thinking about that before shaking his head. "It's Starfire's choice though in the end so just suck it up and ask her, otherwise you'll be worrying about this for a long time."
"Way to be blunt." Dick said with a smirk while John laughed.
"No use beating around the bush here." John said his eyes flickering from Dick to where the Roast was still cooking, not wanting to burn it.
Dick saw that and gave a nod. "Thanks, I'll ask her during dinner tonight."
"Where are you taking her?" John asked curiously.
"There's this restaurant in Jump that I think she'll like," Dick said with a grin. "I figured that it would be good to do this in Jump considering that was where we met and formed the Titans."
"Good luck and be sure to invite me to the wedding." John said before Dick could leave.
"Thanks and good luck with you as well."
Once he left, John smiled and turned back to the roast, adding some water to ensure he doesn't burn it or dry it out.
Two hours later, John heard the doorbell rang right as he was placing the roast on the table and quickly threw the oven mitts back in the kitchen. "Coming!" he called out making sure the locket was hidden in his pocket as he was dressed nicely in a suit.
Reaching the door, he saw Stephanie who was in a black dress as she gave him a smile. "You look nice." Stephanie commented with John giving a nod.
"Same to you." He returned letting her in where she looked surprised to see candles lighting up the room along with the meal on the table along with the balcony door having two chairs where one could see the stars from there. "What do you think? Is it too much?"
"John you didn't have to go through all of this trouble." Stephanie said looking at him because she thought they were just going to go out to eat at a restaurant.
"It was no trouble at all." John responded, closing the door before they walked to the table where he pulled out a chair for her. "Uh you don't mind roast do you?"
He didn't think about finding out what she liked in his panic of setting something up.
"I don't mind it." Stephanie said easing his worries. "It smells delicious."
John flushed a bit as he sat on the other side of the table. "Thanks, I take pride in my cooking." He said as before becoming Robin it was one of the few things he was good at.
The two of them got into some small talk, some of it banter as they were eating, both had their phones out just in case they were called in as Robin and Spoiler.
Although it seemed as if nothing was going on in Gotham for once-either that or Batman didn't really require any help at this moment.
After clearing their plates of food, the two were sitting outside on the balcony, looking up at the stars while a radio was softly playing music near them.
"You went all out with this." Stephanie commented, John taking the time to scratch his cheek a bit sheepishly.
"Too much?" He asked as he read books, looked online and asked for advice in an attempt to make this as perfect as he could.
"Just spending the day like this is enough." Stephanie told him.
She meant it to because with their lives as Vigilantes it was things like this that truly mattered and she didn't want him thinking that he messed up in some way on the date because she truly enjoyed herself.
John took that in before another song started and he smiled, standing up while holding his hand out. "May I have this dance?" He asked trying that line out as she looked a little amused.
"Never took you for a dancer." Stephanie said as John never mentioned anything like that, but accepting the hand nonetheless.
"Etiquette lessons that Dad had me take when I was younger." John commented with a shrug, the two getting into a small rhythm. "Training helped it out a lot more, although I think I still have two left feet."
"I'll be the judge of that." Stephanie commented and for the rest of the song they remained quiet, just being there looking each other in the eyes.
When the song ended however the two didn't notice, being lost in their own little world before they both closed the distance and kissed.
Moments later they were back to sitting after a few more songs, their hands clasped together, John however had his other hand in his pocket where the locket was and took a deep breath.
"So I got you something as well." John said catching Stephanie's attention before he pulled the locket out making her eyes widen. "I saw it and thought you would like it."
"It's beautiful." Stephanie said accepting it before grabbing her bag to pull something out. "I got you something to John."
In her hands was a silver watch.
"I had Barbara's help in upgrading it," Stephanie said surprising John who felt like an idiot for not doing that with the locket. "It's nothing really special but there's a defensive measure in it-a small sleeping dart."
John blinked and pressed the button to have the face plate come up like a cross hair.
"... I really should've added something to the locket." John muttered liking the gift but feeling a bit guilty.
"Hey it's alright, I love it." Stephanie told him with a smile, placing the locket around her neck while John put the watch on.
John smiled, making a mental note to do something like that next time.
For now they were just going to enjoy the rest of the night.
The next few days after Valentine's Day passed by like any normal days with John getting more into the role of being Robin and working harder on improving his fighting skills.
Getting his butt kicked by a mind controlled Batman really made him want to better himself even more and right now both he and Batman were patrolling the streets of Gotham.
It was actually a slow night considering, but that made Batman uneasy as he was expecting for something big to happen.
Robin didn't blame him either considering how the last few days both Dent and Sionis men were getting even bolder along with Cobblepot making moves.
If things continued like this it would be a full out gang war soon enough.
"Anything?" Robin asked with them landing on the top of the Ace Chemical Building, overlooking the district they were in.
Batman's grunt was all the answer Robin needed making him sigh before he sat on the edge, feeling a bit bored.
Batgirl and Spoiler were both on patrol in another district and he heard that Red Hood was in Bludhaven as there was a bit of a complication with him and Nightwing earlier that day-he hasn't really asked about what though.
Robin was about ready to take the Shock Box out to see what the others were doing before he saw Batman turn and look at something.
Seeing how his attention was caught, Robin followed his gaze to see a woman running across the rooftops.
This person was wearing a skintight black catsuit that had a cowl along with red-tinted goggles covering her eyes and a whip holstered to her side.
'Is that Catwoman?' Robin couldn't help but think as that was yet another acquaintance of Batman he has yet to meet as she has been out of Gotham for a good year, only hearing about some of her thieving exploits in Central City, New York and Coast City.
Batman didn't give any orders as he jumped and glided towards her so Robin followed.
They barely landed when Catwoman turned and smiled at Batman. "Batman my favorite stalker." She said in what Robin could tell was a bit of a flirtatious tone making him blink as he looked between Batman and Catwoman.
'Huh, so the rumors are true?' He thought not expecting that.
"What did you steal?" Batman got right to the point with Catwoman looking amused.
"No foreplay?" Catwoman asked with a smirk.
Robin coughed uncomfortably. "Uh if you guys are going to flirt do I really need to be here?"
He regretted that with how Batman looked at him as soon as the words left his mouth.
Catwoman however gave a chuckle. "Quite the bold prodigy you have there Batman," She said walking around the vigilante, tracing a finger on his body armor while doing so. "Even he sees the sparks."
'Okay now I'm starting to feel like a third wheel.' Robin couldn't help but think when Batman spoke, showing that what she was doing didn't seem to bother him.
"What did you steal?" Batman asked again showing he wasn't in the mood.
Catwoman rolled her eyes behind her goggles. "Is it so hard to believe that I actually didn't steal anything?" She asked rhetorically.
"Well you are a well-known thief," Robin inputted his arms crossed. "What other reason would you have?"
Then he went quiet, thinking about the flirting that Catwoman did with Batman.
"On second thought I think I'd rather not know."
"You're a pretty cheeky kid," Catwoman said with a smirk on her face, sounding amused before a more serious look came across her face. "But I need to speak with Bruce alone."
Batman's face set into a frown, not an annoyed one as he knew that this had to be serious.
So he gave Robin a look, making him sigh. "Alright I'll see you back at the Cave-er do you want me to tell Alfred that you might be gone for the night?"
Batman's glare was enough for him to wish he kept quiet despite how Catwoman looked amused and he left.
Once Batman was sure that Robin was out of range, he looked back at Catwoman who adopted a more serious look. "What is it Selina?"
Taking the time to take her goggles off, Selina's green eyes pierced through his cowl. "I need your help to construct a file for our daughter."
For the first time in years, Batman was taken aback with what he was pretty sure was a dumbfounded expression showing.
"What?" He asked not expecting this.
John tapped the sides of his desk in school a week later with a frown on his face as he looked over the homework he did the other night while waiting for class to start.
This last week… It's been weird.
Ever since he left Bruce and Catwoman-Selina Kyle if he remembers from the file correctly-alone on that rooftop, Bruce locked himself in the Batcave not leaving it at all leaving the slack of the city up to him, Cassandra, Stephanie, Barbara and Dick.
John knew that the others were just as worried as he was and not even Alfred would mention anything and the teen hero knew that Alfred had an idea of what was going on but was keeping mum about it, only saying that Bruce was busy with another priority.
'Still this is Batman for crying out loud what on Earth could make him lock himself in the cave?'
"Hey John, everything alright?" John turned to Felix who looked at him with a quirked brow. "You're pretty quiet today."
"I'm good, just thinking on something my Dad said." John lied while Felix shook his head.
"Don't let him get to you." Felix commented having the unfortunate pleasure of meeting Benjamin one time when he was visiting his Mom at work and let's just say the man didn't make a good impression.
John chuckled a bit, looking away.
As good as his Vigilante life was going, his Civilian life was just as good as he had a friend outside of it that he got along with pretty well.
"So you want to play Basketball this Saturday?" Felix asked making John chuckle.
"You're on." John said knowing that despite being in a wheelchair, Felix was pretty good at the sport because of the motorized wheelchair that he used-after messing with it for a bit.
"Hey did you hear there's a new student in the school?" Both John and Felix looked up at hearing that.
"Really? A guy or a girl?" The friend of the student who spoke up asked.
"Man it was this smoking hot girl, I saw her at the front gates earlier."
"Whoa really? Give me the dets."
"Another new student?" John muttered in surprise.
"Sweet, no more being the new guy." Felix looked happy while reaching into his bag for a pair of wireless headphones to listen to some music.
John shook his head in amusement. "Whatever you say Felix." He said looking back at his homework.
While the idea of a new student seemed interesting, John didn't think it mattered to him as this 'new student' seemed to have a different class.
Little did he know however this new student was a lot more than she would appear to be like.
During Lunch, John sat by himself once more-usually Felix would've sat by him but he was picked up by his Mom because of a doctor's appointment so he wasn't too bothered by it.
At least now he could try and figure out why Bruce wasn't being his usual self-.
John blinked when someone sat across from him and looked up to see a girl his age that he swore looked familiar if it wasn't for the fact that he hasn't met her before in his life.
This girl had shoulder-length raven black hair and blue eyes that seemed to be judging him a bit as he blinked in confusion.
She wore the standard female school uniform-.
John stopped and looked a bit closer.
The way she was looking at him was reminding him of how Bruce looked at him before he became Robin.
To be honest it was a little weird.
"Uh can I help you?" John asked not sure what was going on.
The girl smirked a bit. "What? A girl can't come sit at a table?"
"No a girl can, I'm just wondering why you're looking at me as if I kicked your dog." John said a bit of a frown on his face.
Instead of answering, the girl ate a bite of her lunch. "Jonathan Strike right?"
John tensed a bit. "Depends on who's asking." He said now seeing this was the new student that began that day.
"Helena Kyle."
No sooner did the name Kyle leave her mouth did John look at her a bit incredulously.
The moment that Catwoman returned to Gotham a week later someone with the last name Kyle starts attending Gotham?
And now that he looked a little closer she looked a bit like how Selina Kyle did compared to the pictures in Catwoman's file.
"Keep staring like that Bird Boy and people will talk."
John was about to make a retort before he stopped, realization dawning on him.
She just called him 'Bird Boy'.
John leaned back a frown now on his face not denying or confirming that. "Any relation to a Selina Kyle?" He asked sharply with a smirk being the only answer. "How did you know?"
"About your nightlife?" Helena looked him in the eye. "It wasn't exactly easy as there's barely anything that links you and Bruce together."
'Yet another person who knows that Bruce is Batman.' John couldn't help but think.
For one of the world's greatest secret a lot of people sure know it.
Her next words however surprised him. "I want to fight you."
"... Come again?"
"I want to fight you," Helena repeated without any hesitation before smirking. "Unless you're afraid of losing."
John glared at her as she smiled coyly. "You're on." He said before he could stop himself.
Bruce sat in the cave overlooking the test results once more on the DNA between him, Selina and this Helena.
Once he heard the full story he understood why Selina came to him because while this Helena might be 'his' biological daughter she wasn't 'his'.
No she was from an alternate reality.
… One where he and Selina got married.
One where he never adopted Dick or anyone else, where the mantle of Robin was hers.
He sat back from the screen and looked down, trying to figure out a way to send her home-if it was still there that is.
Along with this Helena there was another Kara Zor-El that appeared in Metropolis in a Boom Tube injured, looking for Darkseid, Superman ended up talking with her alongside the Kara of their world and the Man of Steel gave him the heads up as it turns out Helena came with that Kara before they were separated because someone messed with the Boom Tube right when it closed resulting in them ending up in this world.
Selina ended up finding Helena in her Robin gear as she was heavily injured because of that Boom Tube incident and the girl made the mistake of calling her Mom before passing out from blood loss which resulted in the situation Bruce found himself in as her Robin suit was hanging nearby.
Of course when Batman met with Helena to talk with her-after running the paternity test multiple times to be sure that no mistake was made-he learned that wasn't one of his best calls as it turned out his alternate self recently died in her world and she witnessed it.
That was why they had her file on this Earth written down as Kyle rather than Wayne as he felt that she needed time without going through the storm the media would draw up if a 'Helena Wayne' appeared out of nowhere here.
Eventually, Bruce closed the file and sighed.
He hated it when alternate realities got involved because they always made things so complicated.
This was his daughter and yet it wasn't.
He didn't know whether to feel fear for what this meant-something he hated-or pride in the fact that she's a strong young woman.
But it also made him feel regret because now he thought of the future that was once possible for him and Selina and see it in her.
A future that couldn't happen because of the choices they both made in the past.
Soft footsteps broke Bruce out of his thoughts. "Is Selina here?" He asked Alfred without turning around as the Cat Burglar has been visiting a bit more often this last week while he's been making the files to help Helena live a life here if they couldn't find a way to send her home.
"No Master Bruce, you've missed Dinner last night and Breakfast this morning, I forbid you from missing Lunch," Alfred said placing a meal down. "Miss Kyle isn't here currently and the young Miss is beginning her first day at Gotham Academy."
Bruce gave a nod at hearing that, not realizing he's been up all night once more.
Time just seemed to fly when he was down here.
"Master Richard is here though and is currently sleeping in his old bedroom, he insists on talking with you soon," Alfred said looking at Bruce. "He's worried about you, they're all worried about you."
"I know but I need time." Bruce muttered not knowing how to really talk about something like this.
All of his years as Batman never prepared him for a situation like this.
But there was another reason.
On learning she was the only Robin in her world, Bruce was worried about how she would react to meeting the current Robin or the previous ones.
He still remembered how Dick took to Jason becoming Robin at first and how Jason was downright hostile to Tim taking the mantle.
John met up with Helena in a discreet location for them to have their small 'spar' on a rooftop after school, John dressed up as Rob just in case someone saw him while Helena had her hair tied in a ponytail, wearing sunglasses.
"Okay this is ridiculous." John commented on the fact that the two of them were wearing sunglasses.
Helena didn't say anything and got in a stance-one that showed John that she was no stranger to fighting.
In fact that stance was strangely familiar.
So he slipped into one of his own, although Helena stopped at seeing that.
"That's a beginner stance," Helena stated surprising John as he did that on purpose to see if she would catch it. "Are you taking this seriously?"
"I am, I'm just testing something out." John said giving a chuckle as he grinned. "So who taught you that stance?"
"My father." Helena stated before she rushed him.
John barely blocked the punch before catching the kick with Helena moving with fluid motion making him back up.
Okay she was good, on the level of Dick and Jason good.
With that in mind, John did a handspring to kick her back but she threw up her forearm to block it, not deterred by that, John kept on his hands to spin around to use his other foot to kick that she had to lean back to dodge before he got into a brawler stance to throw punch after punch.
They kept this little dance up for a bit before Helena got the first blow in, managing to elbow his chest and delivered a palm strike to his chin, sending him on his back to where he used the momentum to roll to his feet.
He noticed a small glint in Helena's face at that as she continued to press her advantage but John feinted to knee her only to use his palm to get her back, catching her off guard.
"You're good." Helena said when they broke apart to catch their breath.
"Had a good teacher." John replied to which Helena smirked to as if she knew something he didn't.
"Same here."
With that said they continued to spar, John having to improvise quite a bit as she definitely had a lot more experience before he managed to kick her feet out from underneath her and pinned her.
"I win-." John began only for something to slam into him with no warning as a pained yelp erupted from him when he flew into the wall with enough force to crack it and felt as if he was hit by a truck.
Landing on his side in pain, John only saw a girl with blonde hair and glowing red eyes glaring at him wearing a black t-shirt, a blue hoodie and blue jeans.
Before he passed out he distinctly heard Helena call out. "Kara stop!"
Kara Zor-El who now went by Karen Starr, looked at Helena in surprise as the guy she just tackled off of her friend fell unconscious, her red eyes turning back to normal blue as the urge to use Heat Vision faded.
"Helena you alright?" Karen asked using her X-Ray vision to scan for any fractures on her best friend.
She came to Gotham to visit her friend when she saw her fighting this creep and originally stayed out of sight because she thought Helena could handle it easily before this guy surprised them a few seconds later by actually knocking Helena off her feet.
When he moved to pin her was when Karen shot in, consequences of a pissed off Batman be damned because she knew enough about Gotham to not interfere when it's her friend in trouble.
"I'm fine I'm more worried about this Earth's Robin that you just shot into!" Helena snapped making Karen realize the mistake she made.
She hit the guy pretty hard thinking he was a criminal that was trying to force himself on her friend.
"Wait what were you doing fighting this world's Robin?" Karen asked not expecting that.
"I challenged him to a spar," Helena explained to Karen who quickly checked John to see that she only bruised him and didn't break any bones thankfully. "If I knew you were coming I would've warned you that I was doing this."
"I wanted to surprise you." Karen said to Helena while looking a little apologetic.
Helena sighed as she reached into her bag where she kept some supplies she managed to sneak out of her Utility Belt before the Batman of this Earth confiscated her costume much to her displeasure and pulled out a bottle of smelling salts.
Uncapping it as she placed it under John's nose he woke up coughing in pain. "Ugh someone get a number on that semi that hit me?" John asked in a bit of a pained joking tone before seeing Karen and tensing, ready to unzip his jacket to where his Utility Belt was.
"Uh sorry about that, I didn't realize this was a spar." Karen said looking sheepish.
John just stared, thinking to how she looked to be floating and appeared out of nowhere.
That and the fact that Helena called her 'Kara'.
The only person he could think of that fit her description was Supergirl but this looked a little young to be Supergirl who from the files Bruce had was in her late twenties.
No this one looked to be close to his age.
Still that didn't mean she wasn't a Kryptonian.
"Uh hey you alright?" Karen waved a hand looking a little nervous. "I didn't give you a concussion did I?"
"No, just trying to figure out what the hell happened." John muttered pushing himself up, having to use the wall for support for a second as his head swam dizzily due to how fast he stood up.
Taking a deep breath to orientate himself, John decided to hell with it. "You were called Kara before I passed out," He said making Helena look surprised as she thought he was already unconscious when she stopped her friend. "Yet you look a lot younger than the Supergirl I've heard of."
Unless someone tried to clone her again and he was looking at the result of a second Galatea.
Helena and Karen shared a look before the former sighed. "Come on." She said thinking that an explanation was in order here.
Moments later the three of them were eating at a Cafe with John drinking a lemonade waiting for one of them to start.
"You asked if I was related to Selina Kyle earlier, I'm her daughter." Helena revealed with John nodding before she decided to just drop the bomb. "My birth name is Helena Wayne."
"Pfft!" John spat the lemonade out on the table in shock, coughing from that revelation. "What?!"
Thankfully it was a shocked whisper to avoid people looking towards them.
"Was that why Bruce has been acting weird all week?" John asked with wide eyes. "You're his daughter?!"
"Well yes and no, I'm from another Earth." Helena explained to him. "Both Karen and I are."
"That… Explains my next question." John said looking between the two now seeing that his guess to Karen being a Kryptonian was right, this also explained how she figured out he was Robin being the biological daughter of the Batman.
Wow this was his first time meeting someone from an alternate reality.
"So why did you challenge me to a spar?" John asked curiously fingering his shades.
At this question, Helena looked down at her drink, slowly stirring it with her straw.
John blinked and went to ask what she was doing when Kara shook her head slightly right before Helena looked up.
"Because I was Robin on my Earth before we ended up here." Helena said surprising John. "Dad never adopted anyone."
That made John realize what she meant. "So the Robin legacy was yours in your world?" He asked in surprise as despite being Robin he did face the issue of just using the name while it truly belonged to Dick.
This also meant that on being stuck here she couldn't exactly be Robin as he was currently using that role and didn't plan on giving it up anytime soon.
"Damn no wonder you were pissed at me earlier." John commented with Helena looking surprised before laughing.
"No I wasn't pissed, just a little annoyed," Helena told him. "You're pretty good, a little rough around the edges though."
"Heh thanks." John said the incident with Batman being controlled flashing through his mind making him grimace a bit. "I still have a lot to learn though."
Shaking his head he looked at them.
"So what's your Earth like?" He asked curiously as the thought of another Earth sounded interesting.
Irey explained a little about it as the Flash family has the most experience with inter-dimensional travel due to being able to vibrate their bodies at the right frequency to open a gateway to another world, although the girl said she hasn't been able to do that yet because she was still learning to control her speed.
He saw Kara perk up from his question as the Kryptonian began to explain a lot about her Earth like the criminals being cryogenically frozen to avoid them escaping or how Thomas Wayne was actually alive in that world.
In return he explained a few things about this world to trade notes on what was different.
Later that day, John was by himself just walking through the Diamond District of Gotham, still dressed up as his Rob persona.
After the talk with Helena and Kara-or Karen as she insisted he called her due to how there's another Kara on this Earth which made it a bit more confusing, Karen took off with Helena wanting to hang out for some 'girl-time' or something like that in Metropolis.
Probably for the best as Batman would be pretty angry if they remained in Gotham, but John couldn't help but wonder just what was Bruce like on that Earth?
One where his father was alive and where he never lost Jason?
He must be a bit more light-hearted on that Earth.
"John!" John blinked and looked over to see Tim Drake walking towards him with a friendly grin.
"Tim? Haven't seen you in awhile how's it going?" John greeted with a smile at his predecessor giving him a handshake.
"Pretty good, my school's on break so I'm back in Gotham for a bit." Tim explained with a chuckle. "How's Gotham Academy going?"
"Well things got a bit more interesting with a new student." John said not sure if he should say anything about this or not but shook his head. "Is your Dad still watching you?"
"Nah, I think he finally trusts me again as I haven't dressed up in uniform for a year," Tim said his voice taking a bit of a bitter tone but he hid it with a smile. "Speaking of which I've heard you've been making a name for yourself lately."
John gave a chuckle and Tim could see just how different John was since he last saw him.
Instead of the angry teen he once knew, this John was a bit more carefree and friendly. It seemed that inheriting this role has been good for John.
"So you want to hang out-?" John began to ask only for an explosion in the building near them to interrupt causing for both Robins to quickly take cover in surprise before they saw the building that was destroyed.
"Isn't that one of Black Mask's buildings?" Tim asked in surprise with John giving a nod before seeing a man quickly driving off dressed like one of Two-Face's men.
Quickly memorizing the license plate, John gained a look of dread.
The Gang War finally began.
"Robin I need you to report to the Clock Tower, now!" Batman's voice came through the com link.
"On my way." John said without any hesitation before looking at Tim. "You going to be alright?"
"Hey I'm a former Robin I'll be fine." Tim replied with a grin despite the conflicted look on his face.
He chose a hell of a time to return to Gotham.
But as John took off, Tim couldn't help but be worried about how this could go down.
… Could he stay on the sidelines while this was happening?
Inside of the Iceberg Lounge, the Penguin watched the News about the bombing of a building said to belong to the notorious Black Mask with a look of satisfaction on his face while holding a glass full of wine that he sipped.
Life was good.
The door opened after a quick knock to show a man dressed as a part of Two-Face's crew entering followed by one dressed like he belonged in Black Mask's crew, both of them having soot on their clothes.
"I see that the bomb for Mask was set off, did you get Dent?" Penguin asked his men the guy in the mask giving a nod, taking it off.
"They didn't suspect a thing boss." He said with Penguin giving a chuckle.
He's been watching the tension between the two gangs for quite awhile and finally decided to use it to his advantage. All they needed was a little push.
And when they kill each other he'll swoop in and take over this city.
"You did get rid of the vehicle's right?" Penguin asked the two men giving a nod. "Good, head downstairs to get cleaned up and for your money, also get some decent clothes on."
As they left, Penguin chuckled.
The best part about this, the damn Bat and his lackeys will be too busy trying to save people who will die in this Gang War and if he's lucky this might be the thing to finish those pesky vigilantes off.
But for now he'll have his men lay low and conserve their resources while Mask and Dent waste theirs.
Penguin paused seeing his office get a bit dark and slowly reached for his Umbrella before it was gone. "What the-?"
Penguin then found his chair turned around to be staring at the costume that at first made him think this was the flash before realizing just who it was with the suit being yellow instead of red and the man having red eyes.
Right behind him was Shade who looked a little amused by what was going on.
"Hello Cobblepot," The Reverse Flash greeted with a dark smile. "I have an associate that would like to speak with you."
To Be Continued…
Phew, man this one took awhile and I want to apologize for not getting this out earlier like I planned to, but I hope you enjoyed what happened with everything from the Valentine's Day date in the beginning-my first time doing something like that-to the surprise of Helena Wayne appearing-she won't be Huntress in this fic as Helena Bertinelli is still alive-hope that threw some people through a loop.
Anyways like I said in the last chapter of my Yu-Gi-Oh Gx/Creepypasta story I'm getting ready for a move that will be happening soon-this one will be the last one and that's why I haven't been able to type as much as I used to-so again sorry for that and thank you everyone for being patient.
Now this story itself is reaching its end soon-the max number of chapters I plan to have in this particular volume is 15-16 chapters and John will only be Robin for one or two more chapters before he begins the transition to Red-X and that is when Shriev will make his move.
So let's answer the reviews and get this out of the way.
Dark King Marcel: Thanks and sorry for the wait.
Kival737101: He'll stay in Gotham but he'll also be mobile to where he'll have adventures in other cities.
Bael92: Thanks that was pretty tough to type as I didn't want to mess up Bane's character, yeah more like a beat down to the disciple from the master though.
Nightmaster000: Thanks and yeah while typing it I realized that John has been using explosives quite a lot. Yeah Felix will be John's 'Oracle' much later and John is forming his own team, the main members were already shown when the Society kidnapped them-their name will be revealed much, much later. Yeah Benjamin is quite the jerk, but there's a reason for it-in the next Volume of the Red-X story I'll be showing a bit more about the past to show just why Benjamin acts the way he does.
Slash17: Why thank you and I'm happy you enjoyed the classic Batman characters and hopefully you liked the fight between John and Bruce-if you can call it that-and no I haven't seen the Lego Batman movie but I plan to eventually.
Knight: Yup that's quite the character and his character will be expanded on in the next Volume.
Crimson Ninja: Sorry for the long wait.
Iwymoisiraslom: Yes he'll be getting training outside of the Batfamily and I have plans for a lot of them.
Coldblue: It's cool, sorry for the late post to this story. Yeah John's character has come a long way from the first chapter in this story, back then he could barely handle one guy with a broken hand. Now he can handle the likes of superhumans. The bonds he's been making with the other heroes and members of the Batfamily are one of the best things to type and while the date was the hardest part I hope I managed to get it right. Haha yeah the Justice League vs Teen Titans moment with the dance machine, I figured that would've worked well as a bonding moment between John and Cassandra. Yeah John got the shit beaten out of him by Bruce because as good as he is he has only been doing this for a year compared to Bruce. Yeah Cassandra is an awesome character and I like that I've been expanding on hers just as much as everyone else's.
Now for your Questions. 1) A little because John has been doing pretty well so far without one but the temptation to do so is there. 2) Not yet but he will soon. 3) Eventually he will get a wheelchair like that but for now it's just a normal motorized one. 4) I did think about that but like you said the whole test for drugs while playing Baseball would make that hard to do.
Matt: Now that will be a hell of a thing to type and funny to boot, but not for awhile.
Guest4: Sorry for the wait.
HGWells: Hey there, sorry for the wait, a lot has been happening.
Qed: Well it's not really much of a fight but sorry for the wait.
Alright, I'll try to get this next one out sooner than last time so this is Spidey Signing Out!
