Chapter 10 - The Birth of Robin; the Boy Wonder!

A/N: This is the first chapter with Robin in it! So, here it is… The Birth of Robin; the Boy Wonder!

*Dick's POV*

I reawakened that night around six a-clock. My head still hurt, but I didn't care. I got dressed and stumbled down the stairs. Alfred was just setting the table in the dining room.

"Ah, Master Dick, I was just about to wake you." He said as he brought out a plate of meat and vegetables. He set it on the table.

"Where is Bruce?" I asked, sitting down and picking up my fork.

"He left several hours ago, which reminds me; Master Bruce said you had a high fever this morning." He came over with another cup and felt my head. He nodded and handed me the cup of medicine. I gulped it down; it tasted like bubblegum. "Maybe you should stay in bed," Alfred said as he looked the temperature he had just taken. "You still have a fever of a-hundred-and-one degrees."

I nodded, not wanting to argue, and walked to my room. I wondered where Bruce was. I looked out the window and a strange feeling came over me. Without really thinking, I put on a jacket and climbed out the window.

I walked quietly, not at all paying attention to where I was going. I walked in silence, without thought, my feet moving without meaning. Alfred and Bruce would be mad, but I would find my way back.

The sky was dark and dreary. The rain started with a drizzle, then began to poor, but I didn't mind it. I was wet, and it was a cold day because spring hadn't come around. It was one of those days, during the month or two before spring, where everything was wet and cool. Still, I didn't mind the rain. In all actuality, I kind of liked it. I closed my eyes and listened to the rain around me. I liked how it drowned out all the other noises, like being inside a big drum where I could only hear the thunder and taping of raindrops.

I was walking and staring down at the ground when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw a man looking down at me.

"Hey, aren't you Dick Grayson? The kid Bruce Wayne adopted?" He asked.

I told him he was mistaken and tried to walk on. He stopped me again.

"No, I'm sure of it. Say, should you be out here alone? Are you lost?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." I said and pushed passed him. I jogged around a corner and disappeared into an alley.

I walked on blankly, still not paying any attention. I walked out the other side of the alley and stumbled as I accidentally walked straight off the curb and into a collection of runoffs. Someone honked and I jumped back, watching as the car drive by, making the water split and splash beneath it.

I took a different route, yet again altering my course. I don't know how, maybe it was fate, but I stopped at the edge of a vast, open lot. The ground was plain, dark brown dirt and a few weeds. The few blades of grass moved in the wind and rain, and the whole ground was muddy and had collected some puddles here and there. It was a large square that was mostly empty. The only things in the lot were a few wooden poles that carried wires and a large trailer. I walked off the sidewalk ant onto the empty lot.

I came up to the trailer and stopped in front of the door. There was a golden, faded star at the center of the top and a single name underneath it. In faded red, rusty letters read "Graysons". There was a loud crack as thunder split the air, causing a ringing silence as loud as the wind. Lightning flashed and again, the thunder roared, bringing back the sounds of the rain.

I remembered how many times my family and I had walked into that trailer after a performance. I remembered the time I was sick and was cooped up in that trailer for a whole week. After that, I thought I had never wanted to see it again. I even remember the new costumes my mom had been working on. Mami hadn't finished Tati's costume, which was the only reason we hadn't worn them that night.

My mind flashed back to when my mami had told me to try the costume on and make sure it fit.

I walked out of the trailer and to my mother. The fabric was still tight and hadn't loosened yet. I pulled at the sleeve uncomfortably.

"Mami, trebuie să poarte acest lucru? Şi de ce-l au atât de multe culori?" (Mommy, do I have to wear this? And why does it have so many colors?)I asked, letting a little bit of a whining voice seep into my words.

"Oh, Richard," Mami said as she knelled down to my eye level, "When I see you up there, I think of a little Robin, the way you flutter around in the air."

Mr. Haley had walked up behind us and he laughed. I made an angry pout face.

"Well, Robin, I think it looks daring." Mr. Haley said placing a hand on my shoulder. My mother giggled and I couldn't help but smile.

My mother lifted her hand and touched the yellow golden 'R' that was surrounded by a black circle. My suit had a bright red top and dark green tights. It had golden lacing, short sleeves, and a golden laced collar.

I smiled at my mami and turned to go back inside before anyone else saw me.

I had tears on my cheek and was now standing in the trailer, the suit in my hands. I walked over to my old bed and sat down.

I listened to the even tapping of rain on the thin metal roof of the trailer. The rhythmic notes soothed me, as soft and as constant as a hummingbird's heartbeat.

I had almost fallen asleep when I heard an evil cackling and the splashing of puddles. Someone was out there, walking around behind the other side of the trailer. I looked out the window and was surprised to see Tony Zucco standing out behind the trailer. I ducked down, suddenly afraid. What was I going to do?

I stopped and thought for a moment. Zucco killed my parents. He should pay, and I know the police can handle him, or that somehow he will find justice. But I can't help but think it should be me. I should catch him. I needed to avenge my parents; I needed to make them proud.

I looked at the costume in my hands as another flash lit the room and the rain poured harder. I ran to my old drawers and opened the drawer that held all of my previous costumes. I pulled out a mask from when I was six and a cape from a year ago.

Once I was dressed, I quietly slid out the door. In front of the trailer was a pile of old, rotten wood planks and a long, hollow metal bar. I picked up the bar and silently made my way to the top of the trailer, the rain booming in my ears. The beating of my heart sped and intensified to match the quick, pelting rain.

^Batman's POV^

And here I was. It didn't take long to find Zucco; he wasn't very smart. Still, I couldn't be one to talk since I was the one tide to a telephone pole in an empty lot. And, oh ya, I was soaking wet. I certainly did a good job at getting myself into trouble this time.

Zucco opened his jacket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at me with an evil smile. There was a flash of lightning that struck not even a hundred feet away, and it temporarily blinded me. There was a loud booming, and I thought it was all over. Imagine my surprise when I open my eyes only to find that the loud booming that made my ears ring had not been from the gun, but from the thunder combined with a metal pole striking Zucco's head.

Zucco dropped the gun and it sunk into the mud. I stared, wide eyed and in horror at what I saw before me. There, standing behind Zucco, was Dick, dressed in one of his old costumes. In his small hands was a metal pole.

Zucco stood and turned, then stumbled a little when he saw the small boy standing behind him. Of course, Dick wasn't strong enough to knock him out; especially with him being sick and out in the cold rain.

Zucco drew a knife and moved toward Dick. I tried to loosen my hands, but the ropes wouldn't budge. Dick swung the pole but Zucco's free hand caught it and pushed it back, making Dick stumble and fall backwards. In another moment, Zucco crashed into him, making Dick fall completely onto the ground. Dick grabbed each of Zucco's wrists, but Zucco's hand with the knife continued towards Dick's throat. Dick let go of Zucco's wrist and punched him in the face, startling him. Zucco dropped the knife.

With a quick twist, Dick turned onto his stomach in the mud and grabbed hold of the knife. Twisting into a strange, half sitting position, he raised his hand and let the knife fly. My eyes widened in surprise as the knife came straight towards me. It landed in the wood with a thunk and stuck like paste.

I looked up to see Zucco on Dick's back as Dick struggled to get away. Zucco wrapped his arm around Dick's neck, holding him in a head lock. Dick struggled and coughed as the arm around his neck and the rain suffocated him. Zucco stood, painfully dragging Dick to his feet. He dragged Dick to the trailer where a crowbar was propped against the side. My eyes widened and I looked to the knife. I twisted and got the ropes close enough to the knife to cut them.

Zucco had a hand on Dick's neck and was holding him halfway up the side of the trailer. Again, the boy struggled, kicking as his feet couldn't touch the ground. Zucco's other hand lifted the crowbar just as the ropes slipped off my wrists.

I leapt into the air and came down hard, right on top of Tony Zucco. Zucco fell unconscious and Dick hit the ground. I cuffed Zucco and ran to his side.

He was coughing and breathing heavily, but otherwise, he was all right. I checked him over again, just to be sure. He was obviously still sick, and he needed to get dry and warm. I gently pulled him along and signaled the Bat-mobile.

We sat in the car silently, neither one of us knowing what to say. As I drove into the tunnel under the burned manor, I had one question.

"Where did you learn how to throw knifes?" I looked down at the boy who also looked at me.

"An old friend of mine from the circus taught me a few years back." He replied.

My eyes widened. "So, you threw a knife at me… based on something you learned when you were like five?!"

Dick looked at me out of the corner of his eye and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back a little.

"So does this mean I can be your sidekick?" I looked at him. He had taken of his mask so his big blue eyes shown.

"No." I said in all seriousness. On the inside, I was still smiling a little though. It was dangerous, but with some training, well… the idea didn't seem half bad.

The boy looked at me and pouted. "Pwaese?"

I am Batman, the Dark Knight, the Masked Crusader, and to some people, Bat out of Hell. I fight crime in the worst city any member of the Justice league would dare to set a foot in. Even Superman would follow my orders if I was serious, and I was always serious. There wasn't a person on Earth who wouldn't be frightened by me.

Yet, sitting here, with an eight year old boy who is incredibly cute and has the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen; even my heart melted.

We arrived at the cave and jumped out of the car. The boy immediately came to stand in front of me.

"No," I said again, but it lacked conviction. The boy knew he was winning.

Making his eyes impossibly big, pouting, and tilting his head down, he asked again. "Pleeeeaaaaase?"

I looked down at him and found that his big blue eyes were beating my death-glare. I sighed and slouched a little in defeat; he was just too cute.

"Oh, all right." I said quietly. As soon as the words left my mouth I heard a happy squeal. Dick jumped in excitement and, surprisingly, hugged me. I looked down at him, startled, but hugged him back. I smiled a little.

"So, what are we going to call you?"

Dick stepped back and looked down in deep thought. His eyes fell upon the 'R' on his chest.

"My name's Robin." He looked up at me and smiled.

"Robin? Like the bird?" I asked. "Well okay then, Robin. It's late and you need to get to bed." Dick nodded and headed towards the elevator. He really was tired.

"Hey, Robin, you're not going to find a bed up there." He stopped and looked at me.

"Oh, ya!" He turned and trotted past me. I smiled and shook my head as I followed him.

I had a feeling that this was going to take a lot of work, time, and patience. This kid was going to test my limits, I could just tell.

Still, in the end, I think it'll be worth it.

A/N: Well, there you have it! The Birth of Robin; the Boy Wonder! The next chapter will be the beginning of the end. This is where I thought of making a sequel, but decided to make it part of this story. Hope you guys liked this! Please Read and Review!