I'm back ;)
Firstly than-you all so much for your kind words of encouragement... they meant a lot to me and have me in a very good mood (well that and the 6 Golds GB won in the Olympics today :D) I really love you guys and girls so much :)
Now onward and upward... well technically downward... moving on... Chapter 10... Yay double figures... :)
Okay I keep getting the feeling that I have written 5843 words and nothing really happens, I also feel that the end is quite rushed but I couldn't think of another way of doing it without encroaching on chapter 11, so please forgive me :) and review... nicely :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or any Batman related characters... YET, but I will after I succeed in my plans for Total World Domination BWHAHAHAH *cough* *cough* er I mean after Celticlily, Superminion and I lull you into loving us and giving us your very souls to rule over with ultimate power and authority with cute fluffy bunnies and endangered dolphin charities and stuff... yep. Either that or I could just have you all sware loyalty to me by bribing you with my amazing Momonga shortbread :O
Also I am going to try to update before Saturday but if not I will not be updating until the 17th/18th of August as I am at SOUL SURVIVOR WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"Timmy, Timmy… you'll never guess what…" Dick burst into his room excitedly half-shouting
"I got a hundred per cent in my science test?" Dick stopped for a moment his face falling as he considered what his brother had said
"…Yes" he looked a little confused as to why that was the first thing Tim would have said but then again it was Tim. He looked at his brother "… but that's not what I'm talking about" his voice brightened and he had a full on smile again, if it was possible he sounded even more chirpy.
"What are you talking about?" Jason appeared at the door;
"Yeah" with Damian not too far behind him.
"Timmy's supposed to be guessing" Dick whined
"Dude, you need to stop whining or everyone will think you're related to that crazy version of Supes from another universe" Jason teased
"I do not sound like Superboy Prime"
"I never said you did… I just said you whined a lot…"
"I do not whine a lot…"
"'I do not whine a lot'" Jason mocked in a very good impression of his brother, so good that the two younger siblings started laughing… surreptitiously of course… but still laughing. It took a couple of minutes to subside. They were all in Tim's room now. Jason was leaning against the wall a huge evil smile on his face as Damian and Dick sat with Tim on his bed.
"Well Jason, I never knew you were so handy with impressions…" Damian's face lit up with an idea and evilly cute smile "Who else can you do?"
"I can do a pretty good Luthor…"
"Oh go on Jase, this I've got to see" Dick smiled pleadingly at his younger sibling who just rolled his eyes; he knew he was going to have to do an impression from the moment he mentioned it. He coughed slightly before starting his impression;
"I am the greatest single mind on this planet… no one can beat me, not even you Superman" At first the room was stunned, if they had been blindfolded they could have sworn Luthor was in the room with them. Then, as the shock of the calibre of the impression wore off, they burst into applause.
"Jay, who else can you do?… Alfred?" Tim asked
"Sorry Tim I haven't quite got the English accent down yet"
"How about dad?"
"Not even trying Dick, what if he walked pass the door like right this second…" Jason shuddered at the thought of what Bruce would do if he heard him doing an impression of him, "never risking it."
The others sniggered at his obvious discomfort
"Jason's… scared?" Damian asked astonished yet silently amused
"I am not scared"
"Yes you are Jay…"
"Shut up Dick"
"Chicken… bwa bw bw bw" Dick was flapping his arms around and making what were supposedly chicken noises, although that could be debated.
"What's Jason scared of" the voice came from the door and made all four sons of the bat shrink back with sheepish, and mildly scared, grins
"Umm, maths…" Jason shot Dick the worst scowl he could manage, Dick sent an 'what else should I have said' shrug back "…Jason's scared of maths, we were just um giving Tim his next worksheet… and making him guess the good news…"
Bruce Wayne lifted an eyebrow… not quite sure what his sons were really talking about, he had only heard half the conversation after all… then again he could guess; Jason's Lex Luthor impression had been loud enough.
"Right…" he elongated the word for his desired effect "I'm just going to go and make sure Lex Luthor doesn't break into the Batcave and leave you to your maths…" as he smiled and walked off he knew they would now be sharing concerned looks about just how much of their conversation he had actually heard.
"Lucky guess…."
"Well Jase you were pretty loud with your Luthor impression, he could have, actually he would have heard it… and he is Batman after all." They had stayed pretty quiet for a couple of minutes; to make sure he was really gone, and not just hiding out of sight. That was one of his favourite pastimes, especially when it was included in a sentence with 'from the commissioner' and 'after, or before talking about another escaped Arkham inmate'. Once they were totally and utterly 100% sure he was gone they shot Jason a 'you were being too loud with your impressions' look… his face was funny. Jason melted at Tim's reply;
"Yeah Tim I probably was" no one could disagree with Tim unless they wanted to be beaten down with sound logic and science and when applicable a lot of faith… it was one of Tim's more annoying qualities, but one that made his cuteness factory increase exponentially; and Tim always seemed to revel in the power it gave him. "Now back to business, one more guess at what Dick is so dying to share; then you tell him Dick" Jason thought it was a workable compromise and everybody else agreed (for one of the first times ever)… it still made Tim think though, it probably wasn't about school work, or anything like that, he was allowed out of bed and doing stuff, his stiches were out and he was healing, he wasn't in any trouble (as far as he knew), probably not about Red Robin either… he knew that he was still non active until Bruce deemed him fit and ready for duty… but he was doing light training;
"Mr Gobnen decided to retire" he replied hopefully. He knew it wasn't true… Mr Gobnen looked barely thirty… but that could be some very good make-up and stuff… his elder brothers laughed
"You really don't like him Timmy, do you?"
"No he's evil and makes me do really really boring things in lessons and never gives me any extension work when he's supposed to and shouts at people when they've done nothing wrong and…" he trailed off when he saw the disbelieving faces his brothers wore "What?"
"Are you really complaining about not receiving more work?" Damian piped up; he had been going to school for just under two months and he already hated the thought of homework… and his was just colouring in things.
"Um… yes" he smiled sheepishly at them
"I will never understand you" coming from Damian that meant a lot. He was usually very frank with what he said; when he said something, he meant it. He was smart… but hated work of any sort… apparently beating people up was just more satisfying than learning. Really Damian could be brilliant; he just had his mind on other things.
"So Dick, Timmy held up his end of the bargain… what are you so excited about?" Jason returned them back on subject… finally.
"Well you guys won't find it exciting but Timmy will" there was silence, it was annoying
"Aaaaaaaaaand…" Jason egged on bringing Dick out of staring into space
"Oh… um well, Tim can go back to school on Monday"
"Really?" Tim was trying to hide his excitement but failing dismally
"Yeah… the hospital called about ten minutes ago and said you were fit enough after your last check up so you can go in on Monday…"
"YES" Tim exclaimed making a fist and punching the air in elation
"… Just in time for 'Supervillain Awareness Day'"
"…"
"WHAT?" the three younger brothers exclaimed simultaneously after a moment of looking incredulously at Dick
"Yup" Dick said smiling "Babs told me; her dad and the department are planning a special day to focus on what to do and what not to do if another Supervillain graces our fine school"
"You're joking…" Jason said immediately
"Nope"
"Oh well that's going to be a fun day" a bout of giggles broke out
"Sarcasm is unbecoming of you Master Jason" Alfred had brought up four hot chocolates and a plate of steaming freshly made triple chocolate chip cookies. Mouths opened and drooled at the sight of the butler and his goodies. He smiled down at them… sometimes they were the easiest kids to look after, give them some cookies and hot chocolates and they will be angels… sometimes. "I do hope they aren't being too bothersome Master Tim" it wasn't a question… more of a reminder to the others that Tim had been shot and still needs to rest. The nod their heads profusely making Alfred smile. "Good, now once you have had your drinks and devoured what you wish of the cookies Master Bruce would like to see you three" he nodded to Dick Jason and Damian "Down in the cave, Tim needs his rest" he added the last bit in a stern voice looking directly at Tim, knowing he would want to help in the cave for the night's patrol; but he was under strict orders for him to go to bed and go to sleep.
"But I can help" he was obviously going to protest Alfred knew this… but orders were orders and it was better for Tim to be resting.
"I'm afraid not Master Tim, Master Bruce had specifically said that you need to go to bed… apparently you have been overexerting yourself in our subterranean gym." He braced himself mentally for what was coming next: Tim's irresistible puppy dog eyes. "No is no, Master Tim… and I will be checking up on you to make sure you are going to sleep." He heard a soft groan as he lay down the hot chocolates and cookies he ruffled the boy's hair "I'm sure you'll be back out there in no time" Tim smiled a weak smile back at the butler as he left and the room slowly filled with the sound of eating and drinking… his Brother's wishing him a goodnight… and then the tired blackness that was sleep.
Usually they don't know when Tim's awake in the morning; today they did. He was practically buzzing… that and he had whooped loudly when he woke up. Dick walked into the dining room to find everyone up before him, even Jason.
"I'm guessing Tim woke everyone up" they all nodded except Tim; who blushed a deep red… even his ears turned a shade darker
"I said I was sorry" Dick smiled at his mumble over his cereal and instantly felt bad about complaining
"Don't worry little bro… I don't mind you being excited about school… I'm worried that you're excited about school… but I don't mind… much" he smiled, Tim smiled back.
"Sitting at home is just so boring, I mean there are only a certain amount of times you can read 'An expert's Guide to Space Science and Rocket Engineering' before you know it of by heart."
"I'm guessing that means you're helping to design the next fleet of Javalins…"
"Yup, they're gonna be awesome. They're gonna be bigger and faster, and have better food storage systems for long deep space missions and we just finished designing the new hyperdrive so we can space jump easier and…" As Tim continued Dick was nudged by Jason
"Did you have to ask?" he whispered menacingly "he is going to be going on about that for the rest of the day now"
"Sorry, I felt bad"
"You always feel bad" Dick stuck his tongue out at this in a defiant 'I am not' fashion. Jason chuckled his reply.
Breakfast was finished to the sound of the new javelin's specifications and modifications; they really should have known better since Tim was bouncing around the day before after being told he could go back to school on Monday.
"C'mon boys time to go"
"But dad we still have like fifteen minutes"
"Not if we want to get a parking space Dick"
"Why would we want a parking space?"
"You'll see" This was going to torture Dick who, though not naturally the sort of person to want to go out of his way to find things out (like Tim), really hated someone proposing something that was unfinished… he really hated it. It was part of what had made him a great Robin, and now makes him a great Nightwing. He smiled down at his adopted son and slowly walked to the door with the whine "But dad… why?" ringing in his ears.
The school car park was like Piccadilly Circus; Dick saw the Gordon's car already there, plus a couple of squad cars and unmarked cars he knew to belong to Plainclothesmen. Then it dawned on him
"You're here for Supervillain Awareness Day, aren't you?" Bruce smiled at his eldest
"Yes..."
"No; you're kidding... Right?"
"No I'm not, the Mayor asked me to come in to talk about Batman Incorporated... And Batman in general."
"Aww man this is not going to go well"
"Dick, it's not going to be that bad-"
"Yes it is; Babs and I will never hear the end of this" Dick started, then decided to pile the guilt onto his adoptive father "the teasing will be merciless" Bruce rolled his eyes, to be honest he had thought that Dick was talking about people figuring out that he was Batman, but he smiled and lightly chuckled at his eldest and his fears of being teased mercilessly, it wasn't like here was here to purposely humiliate him... But then again it must be pretty humiliating to have your parent show up and give a short but sweet talk to your entire school; he wouldn't know. However, he did know that it would be best to change the subject as quickly as possible;
"but I am also here to keep an eye on Tim, it is his first day back after all" he smiled meaningfully at Tim, he had the tendency to over exert himself... A lot. Tim rolled his eyes mumbling something along the lines of "I'm fine" The car snorted with laughter, that was a total Bat thing to say.
The group waved their goodbye at the school gates; apparently it wasn't 'cool' to hang around your parents when with friends. So he set off in the direction of the main hall where he met Jim Gordon and what seemed to be most of the Gotham City Police Department.
"Are you preparing for a school assembly or a mass breakout from Arkham?" Jim turned around at his voice; he had been talking to some uniforms,
"Bruce, I'm… so glad you could make it. How's Tim?" The Commissioner's voice betrayed the lie, although he didn't mind Batman, or Batman Inc. the rest of the GCPD weren't so convinced… they hated having someone around who, in many people's opinions, 'did their job's better'. Unfortunately for Bruce, Batman was a ghost in the night so; when he announced Batman Inc. those officers who hated what was going on finally had an actual man to crucify; and gave Bruce Wayne the cold shoulder as much as they could… today was no different. Hushed whisperers broke out, they knew he was here by invite of the Mayor… but just because they knew that didn't mean they had to like it.
"On the mend, actually he's back in school today" The Police Commissioner's face fell
"Oh, we were hoping he would still be at home recovering… I didn't want to embarrass him today… Don't get me wrong" his hands raised in a 'no offence' manner "what he did was brave, and saved his brother's life… but it was utterly stupid and we don't want a repeat; ever."
"Yes he has already suffered this talk from me, I'm sure it won't hurt… if it does I'll get him some Ice Cream on the way home"
"Ah the age where ice cream solves everything…" Gordon smiled and looked like he was reminiscing somewhere in the back of his mind
"Yes, I'm just glad Dick and Jason haven't grown up yet, I don't know what I'm going to do when ice cream or cookies don't solve everything." this receive a hearty laugh from the police commissioner,
"I don't think you're going to have to worry about that, those boys will never grow up."
"I'm counting on it" they clasped hands as a final greeting, before they got down to business
"I'm actually really glad you're here Bruce," he had lowered his voice and taken them off to the side of the room where no prying ears would hear them "I feel like the mayor has thrown me to the wolves. Arkham crazies and gang wars I can deal with but teenagers... I find it hard enough with my own daughter."
"No problem, just doing my bit, and I'm sure it won't be that bad…" famous last words.
Gotham High, due to its elitist tendencies wasn't a large school. In fact, with the tables removed, the whole school could fit in the canteen... given it was a large canteen. Unfortunately that was what Jim Gordon feared, a lot. It wasn't what he feared the most; if he got sprayed with the Scarecrow's fear gas he would not suddenly find himself in a room surrounded by over excited hyperactive kids and annoyed pubescent teenagers, no, he had lived in Gotham his whole life and seen too much for that; but at this moment it rated pretty highly on his list.
Expectant faced looked up at him. Most of the room's eyes were focused solely on him and it made him nervous, but he couldn't help but smile at the kids in the front few rows who were in awe at the room they now found themselves in. He knew it was school policy that first and second graders usually didn't venture into the main school building unless they had elder siblings who would take care of them due to their size and 'vulnerability'; at least the school was trying to stamp out bullying, even though most bullying happened within classes and years, not usually between them, but then again other schools didn't even try.
As he surveyed the room it struck him just how odd it was that he could pick out the people he knew and loved so easily… when he said 'people' he meant Barbara. She was almost in the exact centre of the room sitting next to Richard Grayson-Wayne, and she was blushing presumably from having her father standing at the front of the room about to take an assembly. They were having a conversation although they were very good at hiding it, and it was apparent that his presence in the room was not the only thing making his daughter blush… perhaps he has to have a little fatherly talk with Mr Grayson-Wayne.
He was cut off from his protective instincts by the Principal clearing his throat.
"Settle down everyone" there were still some boys at the back chatting loudly and not paying any attention to him "Settle down" he tried again and still nothing. His eyes narrowed "Sam, John, Roger detention lunchtime tomorrow; my office, do you want to make it an afterschool?" they shook their heads "good so settle down and shut up." They were obviously seniors or else the principal wouldn't have spoken so bluntly towards them, still a small smile came to his lips that the principal at this school even remotely thought of saying the words "shut up" to his pupils, let alone actually saying them. He blinked and subtly shook his head for a few moments anchoring him back in the room, the boys were silent and every eye in the room was looking at Principal Ashtkins for what was actually going on.
"Thank-you, now everyone I would like to introduce Police Commissioner Gordon" whispers passed through the couple of rows in the middle of the hall and Barbara turned bright red. The principal waited a few seconds for the loudest whispers to subside before starting again, his voices telling the others it was time to be quiet "who is here by request of the Mayor to address what to do if another Arkham escapee finds their way into the school" the principal gestured for him to move forward and begin. The hall burst into an uneasy and uncertain polite applause. Barbara had told him that they did this for every guest that came into the school so although it made him jump at the spontaneity of it he did not let it visibly phase him in front of so many kids. He coughed
"Um, thank-you. As you know the Mayor asked some representatives" eyes darted to the police officers and detectives behind him "of the Gotham City Police Department to come and talk to you this morning about the incident with the Joker." There was a collective intake of breath as he said the name, and a couple of the younger ones shrank back in fear, the shooting still etched in their minds. He glanced around and surprisingly found Timothy Drake-Wayne staring at nothing but the wall directly in front of him, his face like a brick wall; emotionless and unforgiving. This in itself gave him pause, he had met the kid at a few galas and charity events and he seemed like such a bubbly care free child, this change was painful, and it hurt him that he was about to hurt the kid even more "as much as commend the actions taken by Timothy Drake-Wayne for saving his little brother" all eyes turned to the poor child who noticed immediately and scrunched himself up into a ball, he glanced towards Bruce Wayne who mouthed "Ice cream" who nodded for him to carry on and try to make this moment as short and painless as possible; "we also condemn them. Whatever happens, if another person comes into the school threatening you, whether he, or she, is a costume crazy, as the press put it, or just a random thug meaning to do harm, we do not want you to approach them, and whenever possible run in the opposite direction. If you do become cornered in a classroom, do not make yourselves stand out and comply with their demands as much as possible whilst waiting for the police. Thanks to Wayne Enterprises the school has been fitted with new security systems, each serving a different purpose; such as CCTV cameras being added to every possible access point to the grounds and many corridors these are being monitored 24 hours of the day, just in case someone suspicious does try to get into the school; also each of your classrooms have been fitted with a silent 'panic button' so that if those CCTV cameras do miss someone your teachers can notify the department as soon as possible. If one of these buttons is pressed the Department will make sure that they respond as quickly as possible to ensure your safety, so only your teachers will know where they are so they are not misused." He had darkened his voice to make sure that people got the message. "Your teachers will also have access to certain things like a button to lockdown the doors in case of an attack; and gadgets that will hopefully save lives in an emergency" he was being deliberately obscure, he knew exactly what security measures the school was getting, he had been at the planning meeting, he just didn't want to say anything just in case the school had been infiltrated again, someone definitely has it in for these kids… then again this could just be another normal day at Gotham High, they don't ever seem to be deprived of fireworks here. He looked around the room again; they all looked positively petrified. It was a necessary evil. He was using the scare them into doing what he wants approach… it works well enough for Batman, although he really should reassure them; "I'm not saying this to make you afraid, but for you to understand that we are doing everything we can to make sure you are safe" He motioned to Detective Bullock to join him. "Now that the formal bit is over we have put together a few presentations about what the Police Department do, and what the newly formed Batman Incorporated do." This received some excited whispers; things about Batman always do in Gotham. "This is Detective Harvey Bullock, he is going to tell you a bit about what he does every day." From the moment Bullock said "Hi kids" he wondered if he should have gotten Montoya to do the talk.
On the whole it wasn't as painful as he had been expecting, Montoya had to step in a couple of times; that was a good thing, the last thing he wanted to do was for Bullock to go off on some tangent and go into too much detail about a case and scare the kids silly… Gotham at heart was a dark and gory place, even the simplest hold up seemed to go south and end in bloodshed. Many people had said there was no hope in Gotham, many had given up trying to change the place and had simple learned to live with it, many had turned to crime themselves as though it was a legitimate profession. Not only did this make their jobs harder as a police force but it also gave rise to the numerous organised crime families Gotham hosted and, contrary to popular belief, it attracted the costumed Supervillains everyone knew. It was true; Batman came after the first costumed crazies. The GCPD had been tracking numerous villains before Batman showed up, with no success but also no press. He caught them and dropped them off at the nearest precinct, attracting the papers, making names for the idiots who decided to dress up and start hurting people; in truth that was what they were most annoyed at Batman for. Yes he was doing good in Gotham and weirdly enough the city felt safer and brighter with him around, even though he worked from the shadows, but did he have to make the people he caught so public.
He breathed a sigh of relief as Bullock finished his talk without mentioning anything remotely scary… I had actually been quite a mundane simple presentation… Montoya had obviously helped… but it was over and now people were allowed to ask him questions. A boy near the front's hand shot up
"Have you ever met Batman?" his voice was eager, like they all were about Gotham's Dark Knight
"Yeah kid I have" Harvey didn't care to elaborate; he didn't like Batman all that much. He didn't hate him but they weren't likely to be found on the same pub quiz team.
"What's he like?" the kid was persistent, Gordon gave him that
"Well he is bat like…" not really knowing what more to say Harvey paused "… and also ninja like, he does this disappearing act every time the Commish turns on that dar- um… stupid night light of his" the room broke out into hushed whispers about the bat signal, the caped crusader and strangely enough his young partners. Another hand shot up, this time further to the back of the room
"Have you ever met a Supervillain?" the room descended into complete silence and everyone looked as though they were collectively holding their breath
"Yes…" a gasp, as though they thought the police never dealt with the Supervillains, as though they thought that that was Batman's job alone
"What did you do?" a girl in the middle of the room asked in awe but before the detective had a chance to answer one of the noisy boys from earlier at the back chimed in
"Well obviously he made a Bat shadow and watched laughing as the freak wet himself and ran away screaming back to Arkham where he belongs" Gordon was shocked at the words coming out of the boy's mouth, malicious and full of contempt, he thought it best to move on but didn't quite know how to respond to that, fortunately Principal Ashtkins did
"Rodger you just made it an afterschool, see me afterwards… please continue Commissioner Gordon."
"Thank-you Principal Ashtkins, um I think we have heard all we need to about the daily life of a police detective… thank-you Detective Bullock" a ripple of applause floated round the room "Now they Mayor has asked that Mr Wayne here come and tell you a bit about what Wayne Enterprises are doing with its new branch… Batman Incorporated" As Bruce Wayne stepped forward he was me with the most enthusiastic applause so far… kids these days were so hooked on superheroes it was actually unnerving. The only ones who weren't applauding eagerly were Wayne's kids and he supposed, like Barbara, they had an excuse.
"Hey everyone, Commissioner Gordon has completely destroyed the first part of my presentation, the part where I introduce myself, so I guess I'll just have to get on with the fun stuff." He was as flamboyant as ever, to many it was truly laughable that a person like that could be the head of such a successful corporation like Wayne Enterprises, or have the brain functions to lead such an initiative like Batman Inc; but he knew that it was just for show, that Wayne actually had two brain cells to rub together, he also smiled at the irony of his presentation. "The fun stuff being taking you though some of the gizmos and gadgets that the Batman Inc department of Wayne Enterprises has been working on. Up first we have this…" he held up a piece of cloth, part of a cape… or costume; "…this is a titanium Kevlar composite with infused D30, it is basically indestructible, lightweight and movable, it bends and flexes with the wearer but can stop bullets at point blank range… it has been so successful and durable that the army's new uniforms are going to have a layer of it in them for extra protection." The man at the front of the room smiled "Timmy, can you come and help me with this next thing" and Gordon smiled too, he knew Tim was exceedingly bright… helping his dad show off a gadget would be better than a lifetime's supply of ice cream. The boy got up and walked down to the front of the room and smiled at the gadget they were showing off. It was a remote controlled car, Tim picked up the controller and started to drive it around the floor of the hall; "This is a prototype of the 'Batmobile' you may see flying around Gotham. Yes it really does fly" that was a response to the faces of disbelief that passed across the room like a wave "the schematics for the engine are on the board were designed by Wayne Enterprises scientists… but this part," he picked the remote control car up and flipped it 180 degrees opened the latch at the bottom and showed the glowing blue insides to the school "which is called the hover inducers, were designed entirely by Tim here" he blushed as the school let a few gasps and confused whispers leave their lips; his father put down the car on the floor again "Take it away Tim." The boy flipped a switch and the car was airborne.
"Well, that could have been worse" Dick said leaving the hall just before lunch so they could get the tables set up again.
"True" Barbara replied. They stopped to the side of the corridor and waited for the others to come out.
"Ugh" he stretched out "I'm so glad we have an early lunch, and only one lesson later… I don't think I could deal with my normal Monday, I'm too tired and not in the mood."
"I know exactly what you mean" Barbara smiled at him, he smiled back
"Hey Barbara…"
"Yes Dick"
"I was wondering"
"Yes…"
"If you would like to come to my hose tomorrow night so we can study for that end of unit test in maths?"
"Yeah Dick I'd like that a lot; I just have to check it's okay with my dad"
"Of course, text me when you know" he smiled, she smiled back
"Urgh get a room" were the next words they heard as Jason rudely interrupted their moment. Tim and Damian followed shortly afterwards
"Lucius just phoned, something's gone wrong in one of the tech labs so he has to go back into work, and will probably be there until late, so Alfred is going to be picking us up at normal time and go back for dad later"
"Okay Tim" Dick responded, for some reason he felt like today was going to be a long day.
"Alfred, we'll be fine. You're going to be away for forty-five minutes, an hour max, we'll behave ourselves." Dick was trying to get them out of going to Wayne Enterprises to pick up their dad, by using the I am responsible argument and promising to keep Jason in line and chandelier swinging to a minimum, preferably none at all. The butler relented; strolled to the car and drove off to find Bruce and bring him home. The group closed the door behind him and grinned wildly… what could they do I forty-five minutes.
They didn't start to worry until forty-five minutes became an hour and a half, and still no answer from either their dad, Alfred or Betty at the front desk of his office, so he had obviously left… but should be back by now.
When they had been gone for three hours Dick picked up the phone and called the only person he thought could help- Commissioner Gordon.
"Hey Barbara, id it possible to speak to your dad?" he was passes over.
"Dick?"
"Hey Commish…"
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know if I'm over reacting now or what but Alfred picked up dad over three hours ago, and they still haven't returned, and it's only a forty –five minute journey."
"Don't worry Dick I'll send out a patrol squad over immediately, and apparently we are coming too" … that was obviously Barbara's powers of persuasion and apparently being police commissioner has its perks.
They started thinking that the squad cars had been either very close or very fast because no more than five minutes later they heard a knock on the door, which in itself was weird as people usually rang the doorbell.
Dick opened it expecting to see police officers but was instead confronted by a beaten and bloody Alfred who was struggling to stay standing, he was swaying… it looked as though he had a broken arm he might have a few broken ribs, he had a black eye and probable concussion. Before they could get him into the house he fell, Dick and Jason tried to catch him as best they could, to prevent him doing any further damage to himself. He looked up at them, about to slip into unconsciousness and managed to whisper
"They've taken Master Bruce" before succumbing to exhaustion. Dick wasted no time in running to the phone.
He he... BIG announcement... you WILL find out who Evil Minion Guy is next chapter :)... I know I know you're all dying to know who he is now... but patience is a vertue you know ;)
I can also promise lots of lovely Nightwing/Red Hood/Red Robin/Robin butt kicking action :)... oh and also Dick cries... because we all love it when Dick cries... :)
Eeeek, thank-you for reading, please review...
Supernova95 :D