Title: Flying to Redemption
Genre: Crime, Romance, Supernatural, Family, Friendship, Hurt/ Comfort, Angst
Pairing: Bruce Wayne X Dick Grayson (OC Semi Self-Insert)
Summary: It was only as he stared at his new guardian dressed as a giant bat that he realised that he had not simply been reborn. No, it was much worst.
Warning: Slash (Yaoi, Boy X Boy…), Reincarnation, Semi Self-Insert, OC as Dick Grayson (Sort of), Age Difference, OOC! Dick Grayson, Bat Family will not include Cass and Steph, Follows its own timeline (This is mostly its own dimension, different from any seen in the comics but also holds similarities).
Chapter Seven – Dick's Childhood: The Golden Age of the Dynamic Duo Part 7
When he had joined the Justice League, Oliver had expected many things such as finally getting to do what he had dedicated his life for on a greater scale and backup from the big heroes in case he needed it. He had not expected meeting a child like Robin, one who actually helped the League, though not physically, so effortlessly.
Oliver had been hesitant at first when his new ward had insisted that he wanted to join in in the crime fighting back when he had first taken the teenager in. He was too young to throw his life away like that but Oliver had also known that if not by his side, Roy would have found a way out there on his own and without any training and so, he had accepted mentoring his ward in the crime fighting business. He had heard of there being another child vigilante, Batman's partner at that, but he had not paid it much mind. He had not cared much at the time but when facing it was something else altogether.
It was a few weeks after officially joining the Justice League that Oliver got to 'meet' Gotham's Robin. Well, he did not actually meet the child face to face, more like he was linked up to all members of the League on this particular mission.
Like many of the missions the Justice League gathered for, their world was in danger – honestly, it had become so common that at this rate he would wonder if the world was truly ending if months went by without a major threat appearing. A group of aliens were trying to destroy the world but the League had managed to stop them before they could. Unfortunately, they had also prepared a failsafe just in case which had activated the moment their main force had been driven back.
According to Green Lantern the aliens were intergalactic scavengers that harvested planets' inner cores for energy. They placed bombs that would release a lethal gas around the planets to destroy the inhabitants if their main force failed in taking over the worlds. They would then be free to go through the harvesting without being interrupted. It was only when the League managed to drive away the main force that they found that the bombs had already been placed and activated. They had only so much time until the poisonous gas would be released in the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, after Batman managed to deactivate the first of the three bombs, he realised that it would take too long for him to deactivate all of them. Not only did it take him too long to deactivate the first one but the other two were also at two opposite ends of the world. It would not be such a problem if someone other than him knew how to do it since they were not exactly lacking in numbers but only Green Lantern would have even a small chance of succeeding. Unluckily for them, GL was already in space with Superman and WonderWoman, keeping the aliens out of Earth and pushing them as far back as they could. It would take too long for him to free himself and get back, long enough for the bombs to explode.
That was when – while Oliver started to really believe they were finally going to lose for once – Batman brought in his secret weapon: his not-so-secret little bird. To say Oliver was sceptical at first when the Dark Knight explained his plan was an understatement. While the Dark Knight went to deactivate the second bomb, Flash and Green Arrow, the only other two available, would leave for the third one. They would have to fight their way through the squad left behind to protect the bomb, before placing a small device – that Bats gave them before leaving which looked like a small round chip – anywhere on it. From this, Robin – wherever he was – would work on deactivating the third bomb. With the Dynamic Duo divided, they should cover the lack of time. Well, so long Batman's little Robin was able enough to get it done. Which… was apparently possible; Barry did not look worried in the least but mostly… relieved.
As soon as Batman left them, Oliver climbed Barry's back and the Flash ran them other to the third bomb which just so happened to be in the North Pole of all places. They were just crossing over to the North Pole when their comm link crackled and a childish voice greeted them.
"A squad of five coming up to your right."
Flash skidded to a halt, snow flying everywhere, and he crouched down for Oliver to get off right as said squad appeared over a nearby hill, their humanoid body looking particularly disconcerting with how even more skeletal they seemed in the light northern light. Their long, spidery fingers held large guns, much larger than their bodies which hinted at the disarming strength they held in their deceivingly frail bodies. Oliver immediately grabbed his bow and nocked an arrow.
"How far are we from the bomb, Robin?" Flash asked as he dodged between aliens, occasionally knocking them on their feet and disarming the firing guns.
"Fifty more miles." The sound of typing keys could be heard through the comm link. "There are two other squads ahead. Batman says it's the same on his side. We think they came over for backup after he disarmed the first bomb."
"Oh, great. And there're only two of us. Awesome," Oliver commented wryly as he narrowly dodged a blast from a nearby alien.
"You don't have to worry about that," the same deceptively childish voice replied, tone surprisingly even and calm for a young child helping in on such an important mission. Maybe Batman was actually right in believing the kid was capable of having his input in League business if he could remain this composed during such a crisis. "You guys should just worry about your own objective. I'll be taking care of the rest."
"Alright, kid. We're counting on you," Flash said before Oliver could show his scepticism. After all what could the little Robin do from Gotham to help them other than direct them and deactivate the bomb later?
When they were done with the aliens, Robin pipped up again, "The next squad is thirty miles ahead and double the size of this own. The last is of five again, closer to the bomb."
"Got it," Flash replied and the two League members continued on their way. Robin was right in that the next squad was bigger and it would pose much trouble for the two lonesome heroes. However, no sooner had Oliver dismounted, and Flash and he jumped into battle than they heard an unexpected whirring sound coming from the sky right before bat-bolas shot through the air and ensnared the aliens, hogtying them tightly before they could even fight it. Looking up when the enemies were all down, Oliver found three bat-shaped drones hovering not far from their location. He whistled, impressed.
"That's you, Robin?" Oliver asked.
"I did say I would take care of it," the little voice replied through their comm.
"Nice," Flash commented with a large grin. They continued on to the bomb, the next alien squad being taken care in easily enough between Robin's drones and the two League members.
"Stand guard; I'll take care of the rest," Robin ordered when the chip was placed. Oliver raised an eyebrow at the authoritative tone coming from the child but otherwise did not comment. Now was not exactly the time to let his ego and pride distract the boy from his own part of the mission. Yes, it stung a little getting orders from a child but then again said child had been a great help in saving their world.
The sound of rapid typing was the only thing that could be heard from the comm for a long time, too long if anyone was to ask Oliver, but if Batman and the rest of the League had faith in this child's capabilities in deactivating an alien bomb containing a lethal gas with the purpose of annihilating, then who was he to doubt? A long few minutes later, the typing finally stopped and the chip flashed a couple of times before going off completely. Oliver waited with baited breath. Shuffling could be heard on the other side of the comm, the rustling of clothes and then a sigh.
"Done," Robin informed. Oliver sighed in relief and behind him Barry relaxed. "I'll inform Batman. Can you guard the bomb while I get it to the Watchtower?"
"That is our next job," Oliver commented wryly as metal arms slithered from the drones, attaching themselves to the bomb.
"Well done, Robin," Flash praised.
"Thanks!" the high-pitched voice chirped cheerfully and then they were on their way back to the Watchtower, the drones flying the bomb between the Flash and Green Arrow. Now, time for clean-up. Great.
A few weeks later
It was a few weeks after the fateful Justice League mission during which Green Arrow had first worked with Batman's Robin that he finally got to meet the little boy. And to say he was little would be an understatement; the kid was tiny and worryingly young. He could not really distinguish the child's features enough in the dark to deduce his exact age but from his small stature, the little face rounded with baby fat, the child could not be older than ten and even that was pushing it. Before the mission which Robin had assisted them with, Oliver would have been unmovably against having such a young child fighting crime – heck, he still had his reservations about Roy accompanying him every other night on his nightly patrol – but now he was conflicted. How ethical was it to allow such a young little thing in such a life? But at the same time, he did not think any child would have been able to do what Robin had done on the last League mission.
Thus, it was with conflicting feelings that Oliver regarded the tiny child beside the looming figure of Gotham's Batman. Beside him, Roy's own disbelief at Robin's appearance was so obvious Oliver could almost feel it. His ward and partner had been regaled with the story of the mission Robin had played such a major role in their victory. Obviously the teen had been impressed but even though they both knew Robin was younger than Roy, the red-head neither had expected for the young vigilante to be so… unassuming.
The child vigilante was tiny and seemed even tinier with his cape draped around him. Black hair flopped over domino mask-covered eyes and chubby cheeks seemed rosy in the moon's light. Robin looked more like an adorable little porcelain doll than the child vigilante running around with the infamous Dark Knight of Gotham. Either way, there he was, innocuous looking but most likely just as deadly as his reputation preceded him.
After a quick introduction and an equal quick debriefing, the two youngest were given their roles to play in this new mission. The mission was to break up a child trafficking and prostitution ring that had moved from Star City and to Gotham. They needed concrete proof to hand in to the right authorities or, just like when they had been operating in Star, they would be able to weasel their way out of this mess. As such, while the two League members would go to take care of the grunts and head of this operation, Robin was going to sneak to the locked and protected room where all the needed documents were supposed to be, Speedy as his back up.
With the adults distracting the criminals, it was easy for the two boys to slip to the back of the warehouse without being seen. Reaching the room they were supposed to break into, Robin quickly and efficiently picked the lock and disarmed the alarm system, Speedy hovering over his shoulder to keep a lookout while at the same time silently observing the younger vigilante at work. Slowly but surely, the red-head started to understand why the younger boy had impressed most of the Justice League so; Robin was very competent and professional for a child. Well, no wonder since he was Batman's partner.
Inside the room, Robin immediately tackled the computer on the desk and hacked into the files, copying everything into a small bat-shaped flash drive. It was not long before they were ready to leave and reunite with their mentors. However, as they were leaving the room, they were accosted by a group of armed men who immediately went on the offensive after seeing them. Without wasting a moment, Robin flipped over one man to smash his feet into another's face, Speedy not far behind. It was an easy thing to take care of the thugs, the men being just small fries compared to what either had not deal on a nightly basis, however, it was still entertaining the way other had to adapt their fighting still so as not to get in each other's way. Yet, it was not long before they were done and able to join their mentors again.
The rest of the mission ended quickly and without any trouble, the two adults having already taken care of the rest of the criminals before the children had joined them. Everything else was pretty straightforward; they tied up the criminals, left the flash drive for the police to find and left the warehouse to regroup on a nearby rooftop. Since the archers were already in the city they decided to continue patrol together, Batman being surprisingly the one to suggest it. Privately, Batman – Bruce – admitted that it had been a good idea when he saw the tiny little smile on his ward's face as Speedy and him ganged up on a couple of would-be rapists a couple of hours later.
Yes, maybe Alfred had been right after all – like always. The boy, as happy and content as he might be with Bruce, still needed friends his own age. Speedy – Roy Harper – was not exactly his first choice of friends for his little bird but if he had someone to choose then it would definitely be the boy. The young new vigilante seemed to at least care for Robin as much as he did for Dick Grayson.
AN: I am so sorry for the long wait, guys! I had most of the chapter done by February but well, life sometimes gets a little busy. I finally found some free time so I decided to complete and update at least this chapter today.
I hope you guys like it. Like I said previously, a couple more chapters before we get to the next Arc. So, at least this is almost done.
Leave behind a review and tell me your thoughts.
Leight