Chapter 01: The Decision
Gotham City, a city of many things.
People can usually describe it in one word if they think about it. But the city can be described differently depending on who is talking about it.
Everyone has an opinion on what Gotham City was.
Damned.
Cursed.
Fallen.
Hell.
And those are the nice descriptions of this city.
Gotham is 'Villainous'
Gotham is 'Drama taken too far.'
Gotham is 'Unsalvageable.'
Gotham is 'For animals only.'
But to me, unlike what other people think, I have my own way of describing it.
Gotham is 'Home.'
I'm only fifteen and it's been my only home, when you grow up in Gotham nothing really frightens you.
Sure it's horrifying with the crazies and psychopaths that go rampant in the streets at times, but there is always hope in this city.
A hope that takes the shape of a bat.
The Batman, Gotham's Dark Knight-the Savior of the lone and helpless.
For almost two decades this single man has kept the streets of Gotham safe and he is usually followed by two more symbols of hope.
Robin the Boy Wonder and Batgirl, the light to Batman's darkness.
Heh, it's kind of cheesy when you say it like that but it doesn't make it any less true.
Not many people know this but there are four different Robins and two different Batgirls. The first Robin who is now calling himself Nightwing-the defender of Bludhaven, he was the original and I grew up hearing about him and the Titans for a good six years before he went there along with the first Batgirl who disappeared.
They were followed by the second Robin who showed how different he was from the first. While the first one was more of an acrobat, this second Robin was a born fighter that took on criminals with ease, enjoying the fights to an extent. This Robin disappeared though after three years and for two years Batman was a solo act, one that was extra hard on criminals to the extent of nearly crippling them for life.
It got to the point to where even the Police and civilians were wary of the Dark Knight.
Then the light came again in the form of the Third Robin who despite how people assumed it was the second one, I could see that it wasn't due to how this one fought differently, but his appearance brought out the lighter side of Batman that I grew up seeing as he began to act like how he always did and the city was given hope in this new Dynamic Duo for the next two years followed by the second Batgirl.
Then just like the second Robin the third one disappeared, although from how Batman was still the same, I assume it wasn't anything like the second one's disappearance.
And that's it-wait you want to know about the fourth Robin don't you? Well don't look any further because you're speaking to him.
Didn't see that coming did ya? I was the fourth Robin, though not anymore.
I guess I should start from the beginning instead of monologuing this huh?
My name is Jonathan 'John' Strike and this is my story.
Jonathan Strike wasn't your average teenager, anyone could tell you that much.
The dark haired, blue-eyed fifteen year old was pretty well known in Gotham Academy for rude remarks against other students, flippant attitude towards the teachers and always one to enjoy a good fight.
Which was what he was doing now.
"Wow, you missed." John taunted, ducking a sloppy punch a grin on his face before he fought dirty by kicking the attacker in the groin making him bend over where he threw a left hook. "Really Franklin is that all you can do?"
Franklin Hudson, a teen his age with brown hair and green eyes pushed himself up a bit quicker than John was expecting and tackled John to the ground punching him in the face before John spat in Franklin's face, causing the teen to cry out in disgust while he was quickly pushed off.
John was about to curbstomp Franklin when he heard someone shout his name and looked to see one of the teachers coming towards the fight, red in the face from anger.
"Sup teach?" John asked in a lazy drawl to hide his annoyance.
It was no surprise that he was sent to the Principal's Office and was leaning back, a bored look on his face, the principal Henry Adams, an elderly man had a displeased look on his face.
"Jonathan what am I going to do with you?" Adams asked while John rolled his eyes due to the man now looking at his records. "Let's see that was your fourth offence with fighting this month and you still have detentions from the months before."
John looked out the window, not really listening as it was always the same.
He wasn't even the one who started the fight, all he did was finish them.
But none of the teachers saw it that way.
In their eyes he was the instigator of all of them no matter what he said.
"Why don't I call your father in to discuss your tendency for violence?" Adams asked at seeing how John wasn't even paying attention to him.
"Dad isn't in Gotham he's in Metropolis at the moment," John said, his tone a bit dark from the mention of his father. "Something about a business proposal with Lex Luthor."
Benjamin Strike was quite the businessman who was the CEO of Strike Industries, a business that rivaled Wayne Enterprises and Lexcorp for being one of the most influential businesses in in the world despite being a weapons company.
While Benjamin was a great businessman he was a poor choice for a father due to always choosing his work over family, even more so after what happened to his wife.
Adams frowned, getting an idea of what was going on. "You know there are better ways of getting your father's attention than by getting in trouble-."
John glared at the Principal. "I'm not trying to get his attention." He snapped at the elderly man. "So shut the hell up!"
Moments later, John was walking out of the office with a detention slip and a warning that if this behavior keeps up he'll be expelled.
He didn't care though because he didn't like the guy-okay maybe he went a bit too far in calling him an old fart but still.
So he wadded the slips up and tossed them in the trash and put his hands in his pocket while he walked down the hall to grab his backpack from his locker, not even bothering to look at the people he passed as school was getting close to letting out and it was the weekend so he didn't have to worry about school the next day.
But he could clearly hear the whispers.
"Isn't that Strike?"
"He's nothing more than a thug."
"Did you hear about what he did to poor Franklin earlier?"
John just gritted his teeth and opened his locker. "Wow, you're popular." He turned to the voice to see a teenager that was a year older than him with the same hair and eye color giving him a raised look.
He's seen this teen plenty of times during the year at this academy but never really talked to him.
"Right," John commented sarcastically to the newcomer. "What gave it away?"
Surprisingly the teen chuckled at John's sarcasm looking more amused than anything else. "Well the way everyone is looking at you did." He said, eyes looking from John to the other people who looked away.
"I don't really care what they think." John sighed and closed his locker, his backpack now on his shoulder.
"Probably a good thing, the name's Tim."
John raised a brow, now recognizing the teen as Timothy 'Tim' Drake, the son of Jack Drake former CEO of Drake Industries before the company went Bankrupt.
On that realization, John quickly looked away as Strike Industries was one of the reasons for the company going bankrupt because his Dad bought shares from that company.
"John."
"I heard," Tim was actually grinning much to John's surprise. "So Franklin huh?"
"What's it to you?" John asked a bit harshly not wanting that to be brought up while walking away, Tim now following him.
"Just wanted to talk to you about that," Tim gave a shrug. "Franklin has a cousin that's a member of Penguin's gang so you might want to watch your back."
John blinked, not expecting that before snorting. "Franklin would be nothing more than a petty coward if he did that." He said sounding like he was dismissing it but he was a bit worried.
Schoolyard fights were one thing, but someone in a Gang attacking him?
That's something he didn't want to happen.
"Take it from me, some people are petty enough to do that." Tim muttered while John gave a wave and went to leave before a teacher would force him to stay for detention.
Tim watched him leave before his eyes widened at seeing some people who looked casual across the street broke off from what they were doing and began to follow him discretely.
This was sooner than even he expected.
About to follow them, Tim cursed when he remembered that he promised his Dad he wouldn't be Robin anymore in order to avoid the man from outing who Batman and Nightwing were.
He couldn't even use his phone to contact them as his Dad would know from paying the phone bill-.
"The Payphones!" Tim felt a burst of inspiration and ran towards the office as fast as he could, using some pocket change to make the call.
Knowing he didn't have much time he opted to call someone he knew would pick up.
"Barbara Gordon speaking-."
"Barb it's Tim."
It got silent on the other end. "What is it?" She knew about the deal that Tim made with his father and felt that if Tim was calling, it must be something important as she made sure the connection was secure.
"Is Bruce near the school?" Tim asked making sure no one was listening.
Now switching to her role as Oracle, Barbara began to type on the other line. "He's just passing over it looking for Nygma after making one of his men talk, why?"
"There's a kid that goes to this school, John Strike, he's being followed by Oz's men," Tim said quickly, not saying Penguin's name due to being in school still. "It's nothing to do with Oz, John got in a fight with another student whose cousin happened to be in the Gang."
Barbara got the gist of it. "Got it."
Tim gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks Barb." He said relieved that despite not being Robin anymore he managed to help someone. "I better go before Dad see's me on the payphone."
If he could see Barbara's face he would've seen an angered frown as she hated the deal that Tim made with his father, knowing that Bruce, Dick, Stephanie and Cass felt the same way with Tim practically being a member of their dysfunctional family.
John felt nervous for the first time in awhile.
He could tell he was being followed the last few minutes, especially when he saw the same few people still there after six blocks, one of them on a phone two blocks ago.
Maybe he should've stayed for detention?
Taking a quick peek over his shoulder, John saw the same eight guys and quickly ran causing the eight of them to run after him confirming his suspicions.
'Okay you can lose them.' John thought trying not to panic or trip while running around some people. 'You know Gotham like the back of your hand.'
Being born with a Photographic Memory really helps with memorizing the city.
Neither John or the Gang Members noticed a dark shape on the rooftop following them, already being on the lookout after a warning from Oracle.
John ran around another block before seeing a few more people with the same look to them as the other eight making John realize what the phone call was about.
Seeing that they were going to cut him off, John quickly turned down the alley only to feel his blood freeze, seeing that despite his Photographic Memory, he reached a dead end in his panic.
So he summed his situation up in one word.
"Shit."
John turned to see he was blocked in by fourteen guy's, a lot of them were cracking their knuckles.
"So you're the dumbass who was beating on my cuz." The big guy said with a smirk.
"You're Franklin's cousin?" John asked a bit faintly considering the guy looked like he was taking steroids-small one's not venom ones. "I'm not looking for trouble-."
"Should've thought about that before you injured my cousin." The guy started to walk towards John who had his back pressed up against the wall. "I might not see him all that much but family is family."
"Hey he started it, I was just defending myself." John couldn't help but snap wishing he could sew his mouth shut before he tried to run past the big guy but he was expecting that and grabbed John by his shoulder, pushing him towards his friends where two of them grabbed John by his arms.
"Oh so not only are you a little shit, but you're also a liar." The guy taunted knowing fully well that John was being truthful while reaching into his coat to pull out some brass knuckles. "I guess I should teach you some manners."
John struggled a bit despite knowing it was useless.
"Come on Dylan just hit him." One of the other's snapped a bit impatiently. "I promised my girl I would meet her for dinner."
"Now we can't have you be late." Dylan said with a chuckle pulling his fist back to begin.
John closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable pain-but it didn't come.
Instead he heard a cry of pain come from Dylan and the two guys let John go in shock.
Feeling confused, John opened his eyes and felt his mouth drop in astonishment as Dylan was facedown on the ground and a figure was standing up after using Dylan as a landing pad.
Most of the figure's body was covered by a dark, gothic cape that was attached to the cowl with pointed ears, white lenses narrowed at the thugs, the only part of his face that could be seen was the chin that was set in a dark frown.
One of the thugs snapped out of his shock and ran towards the man, intending to take him out, but the man quickly reached out, opening his cape to show grey body armor with a black bat symbol on his chest and a yellow utility belt, wearing black gauntlets and combat boots, grabbing the guy by the arm, using his other hand to easily snap the bone in the arm with it twisted in a different angle, followed by a punch to knock the thug out.
John quickly got out of the way as the twelve remaining thugs all rushed the Batman who quickly countered their every move with well-placed kicks and punches, the teen having to duck as one of them was sent flying into the wall before seeing behind him that Dylan got up, shaking his head while pulling a gun out of his coat.
Eyes widening, John didn't even think as he tackled the Dylan causing the gun to go off and miss Batman who turned in surprise not knowing that Dylan got up before he had to block another hit.
John quickly focused on Dylan who was glaring at him while Batman was fighting his boys before deciding if he was going to jail he might as well finish this and went to punch John who quickly ducked in fear of his life.
Dylan in his impatient annoyance seemed to forget about the brick wall behind John and felt a snap in his hand when it made contact.
Giving a cry of pain, Dylan placed his other hand in his coat to grab something.
By this point, John felt a rush of confidence followed by seeing that Batman was almost done with the last few guys. "Not so tough by yourself are you?" He taunted causing Dylan to lose it and the next thing John knew he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.
Coughing in surprise, John looked down to see that Dylan had a pocket knife in his other hand and the knife itself was embedded in his stomach with some blood pooling on his shirt.
That was the scene that Batman turned to after finishing the last two leaving him to quickly react and throw a sharp metal object in the shape of a bat right at Dylan's shoulder causing for him to let go of the knife, making John stumble when Batman quickly hit Dylan with a haymaker.
Now that Dylan was down for good, Batman quickly got to John who was losing consciousness, the last thing he saw before blacking out was Batman tearing off a piece of Dylan's jacket.
Batman bit back a curse at what happened.
There was no way around it, he got sloppy in this fight and didn't make sure the first guy was down in his haste to finish this and get back on Riddler's trail.
He was close to finding Nygma when Oracle called with a message from Tim much to his surprise, warning him about this so he kept an eye out.
'Why didn't you run?' Batman thought looking at the unconscious boy after he removed the knife and applied pressure with the torn piece of clothing, tying it there.
It was unusual for anyone to help him fight just like that as most of the people he saved usually try to keep out of the way.
His Detective Vision, a forensic miracle worker he used when investigating crimes, showed him that despite being stabbed it missed the major organs, but this boy would need stitches soon or he would bleed out.
'The Hospital is too far away.' Batman thought before coming to a decision and pressed a finger to his cowl. "Alfred."
"Yes Master Bruce?" A well-mannered British voice answered back.
"Prep the Medical Equipment, I'm bringing a guest." Batman warned his old friend. "He's going to need stitches for a stab wound in his stomach."
"Ah, then I shall assume the identity of Agent-A." Alfred Pennyworth answered back in amusement at the codename that Nightwing gave to him during his time as Robin.
Batman didn't give that response an answer and quickly picked the teen up, taking care not to aggravate the injury and walked past the unconscious thugs, pressing a button on his belt, while switching the coms to someone else. "Oracle, notify Gordon about the unconscious men in my location and tell them what happened." He then paused before continuing. "Leave the boy's name out of it."
"Batman?" Oracle sounded surprised before giving a nod. "Alright, Batgirl is close to the area do you want her to make sure they don't wake up before the Police arrive?"
"Yes." Batman answered right as the sound of screeching could be heard when a black armored tank-like car swerved around the corner, coming to a stop in front of Batman, opening to show two seats.
Batman carefully placed John in the passenger side and secured him before getting into the driver's side and taking off, going as quick as he could while avoiding traffic, with years of experience at this point.
Eventually the Batmobile drove on the outskirts of the city, large twisted trees all around with him driving a certain direction, taking care to make sure he wasn't being followed while giving a small glance at John to check his vitals, seeing that even though they dropped a bit he was still alive.
Then Batman came across a cliff and accelerated towards it, pressing a button on the dash of the Batmobile, causing for it to open up, showing a tunnel inside of it. Right as the Batmobile drove through the tunnel, it closed back behind him now looking like an ordinary cliff.
Driving quickly through the lit up tunnel, it opened up to show a huge cave with the Batmobile swerving to a stop on a large metal platform, the Batmobile opening up to have Batman get out in time to meet an elderly man in a black butler outfit, a gray mustache on his face while a domino mask covered his eyes.
"Master Bruce, I take it this young sir is the guest?" Alfred asked seeing the unconscious young man. "The Medical Table is prepared, if you would be so kind."
Batman gave a nod and carefully got John out of the car, carrying him towards where Alfred had everything set up.
"Call me when he wakes up." Batman said before turning to walk towards the main part of the cave where a massive computer was stationed with eight smaller screens all around it.
"As you wish, Master Bruce." Alfred said getting straight to work by uncovering the wound to show the bloody mess causing the man to mutter under his breath. "You always did make quite a mess Master Bruce."
Taking a washcloth to wipe the blood off, Alfred made sure that the wound wouldn't get infected before taking a needle and some thread to sew the skin back together.
John grunted unconsciously when the needle made contact with his skin, but Alfred continued to work.
While that was going on Batman was at the computer, looking through the Riddler's recent escapades with robbing a few banks wirelessly.
There was no doubt that he lost Riddler's trail at this point.
All that was left was the riddle.
'You do not want to have it,
But when you do have it,
You don't want to lose it.
What am I?'
It wasn't as difficult as Nygma's usual riddles showing that he was too overconfident and normally Batman wouldn't have too much trouble solving it, but his mind was flashing back to when John got stabbed.
It's been two weeks since Jack Drake found out who he was and Tim had to quit being Robin. With Dick being in Bludhaven an hour away most of the time and Cass patrolling other parts either by herself or with Spoiler, he's been by himself in locating the Gotham Rogues as people have taken to calling them.
Normally that wouldn't be a problem considering how Batman usually does work alone, in fact he sometimes prefered it. But John tackling that guy who nearly shot him threw Batman off and for a second it was like Tim was back to being Robin.
Taking his eyes off the riddle that Nygma left, Batman brought up the footage taken by the cowl of John fighting.
He was quick on his feet and obviously been in plenty of fights before, his technique was extremely clumsy however, more of a brawler than anything else before getting cocky which lead to him being stabbed.
While watching the fight, Batman then brought up his file, using a sample of his blood that remained on his gauntlet to find it.
'Jonathan Strike, son of Benjamin Strike.' Batman frowned at reading that as he had a few meetings with Benjamin due to him wanting to have some shares in Wayne Enterprises. 'Grades barely average, little to no social life, quite the record of offences.'
It only showed offences for physical assault and Batman remembered before intervening how that man 'Dylan' said something about John beating up his cousin only for the teen to counter that he was defending himself.
Batman continued until he came across the medical records that showed that the teen had a Photographic Memory, something good to know as even the tiniest of detail could lead to him finding out who Batman was behind the cowl.
'Hang on.' Batman looked back to his grades finding it odd at how someone with a Photographic Memory did so poorly before pushing that to the back of his mind and continued pausing as he heard soft footsteps walking toward him.
"How is he?" Batman didn't even turn as Alfred was behind him.
"The young sir is still out," Alfred explained to Batman not looking surprised to see the young man's file on the screen. "I took the liberty of hooking an IV up to him to ensure he remains hydrated and placed painkillers next to the table for when he wakes up."
"Thanks Alfred." Batman said cupping his chin in thought. "I'll be sure to take him back to his home when he wakes up."
It was to risky to allow for John to remain in the cave.
"If I may, how did the young sir end up like this?" Alfred asked curiously, leading to Batman to tell him everything from Oracle delivering the message to when the fight happened. "The young sir should count himself lucky that young Master Timothy alerted Miss Gordon to his plight."
Batman remained silent re-watching the fight, rewinding it to see how he could've done things differently.
"Just as you should count yourself lucky that he intervened before you were shot." Alfred said seeing that making Batman frown.
"It wouldn't have killed me Alfred, my suit would've prevented me from being seriously injured."
"That may be so Master Bruce, but the young sir didn't know that," Alfred pointed out. "Now as your hunt for the dreaded Riddler resumes I assume you'd like a fresh pot of coffee to help you through the night?"
Batman gave a subtle nod of thanks to Alfred, knowing that Nygma was one of the few people who could stay ahead of him for awhile just behind the Joker.
John coughed, gritting his teeth in pain as his stomach flared up before he opened his eyes, about to place his right hand over his eyes due to the light only to hiss in pain when he felt something in his arm.
Looking despite not being used to the light in his eyes, John saw an IV with a bag of water nearby and wondered if he was in the hospital-.
That train of thought went out the window the moment he saw the ceiling with stalactites on the top and bats nestled near them.
Definitely not the Hospital then-.
Wincing as he pulled the IV out, John swung his legs to get up before his stomach flared again and he quickly placed a hand where it was finding two things.
One, he was shirtless which was something he didn't notice at first due to how groggy his mind was.
Two, he had stitches on his stomach.
"Right, I was stabbed." John muttered thinking back at it before his eyes widened at a sudden thought.
He was in a cave and the last thing he remembered seeing was Batman-.
No. Freaking. Way.
John looked around as much as he could and he could see Batman from here working on a huge computer before seeing a Giant Penny and a mechanical Dinosaur on the other side of the cave.
There were even cases where he saw different suits.
"The Batcave." John whispered due to the fact that the fabled 'Batcave' was considered to be a myth to the residents of Gotham, no one thought the place was real.
"You're awake." A monotone voice spoke up causing for John to jump, regretting that action when his stomach flared up again.
Thankfully the action didn't pull any of the stitches.
Batman watched as John grabbed his stomach with a pained look before gesturing to the table where two pills and a glass of water were. "Those are painkillers to counteract the pain."
John felt a bit awkward as Batman said that and quickly grabbed them.
It was hard not to feel that way to a man who was not only one of Gotham's most infamous residents but also was able to fight off twelve people at once, possibly more.
Drinking the water to wash down the pills, John looked at the Dark Knight. "Uh thank you." He said kicking himself for sounding like an awkward teenager rather than his usual confident self.
"Ah the young sir is awake?" Alfred's voice spoke up surprising John as he saw the butler, with a cup of coffee on a tray followed by something draped over his arm.
"... Hi?" John sounded very unsure as he was surprised at the idea that the Batman seemed to have a Butler, even one wearing a mask.
So he opted to look around, the image of the Batcave burned into his mind, wanting to take everything in.
"What were you thinking?" Batman's voice cut into John's thoughts and he turned back to see the man had a glare through his white lenses.
John blinked, not understanding the question. "Wha?" He asked not sure what the Vigilante was referring to.
"You should've got out of there instead of tackling that man." Batman elaborated, his lenses narrowed. "That man could've easily killed you as your injury showed."
Just like that all forms of gratefulness to the Dark Knight for saving his life was gone. "What was I supposed to let him do, shoot you?" John asked, annoyance coloring his tone. "Well excuse me for not wanting that to happen!"
Batman's frown deepened, but under the mask he hid a look of surprise being reminded of Jason at the moment.
Seeing the frown, John winced and looked away thinking he put his foot in his mouth yet again. "I-... It wouldn't be right if I just left you to fight after you saved me," He muttered under his breath, but both Batman and Alfred could hear him clearly. "Sorry."
Batman didn't say anything else when a loud beep from his computer attracted his attention, so he gave a nod to Alfred before walking away, the elderly man giving him the cup of coffee as he passed.
Watching Batman walk away, John saw Alfred walk up to him and handed him the item that was draped over his arm.
It was his School Shirt.
"All sewn and cleaned young sir, do you require aid to put it on?" Alfred asked referring to his injury.
"Oh no thanks," John looked surprised before giving a sheepish grin. "Thank you-uh."
"For the time being you can call me Agent-A." Alfred easily saw the problem while John carefully pulled the shirt on.
"Agent-A?" John looked surprised before giving a nod considering Batman's true identity was one of the most well-kept secrets in Gotham, so it would make sense for this guy to not give out his real name either. "Nice to meet you."
Alfred gave a polite nod while John stood up, the painkillers beginning to take effect and looked around the area a bit more in awe.
"How did he fit a Giant Penny or the Dinosaur in here without anyone noticing?" John muttered seeing it again.
Alfred had an amused smile. "Very carefully, Master Batman has many ways."
John let out a small chuckle, now seeing the Batmobile. "So… What now?"
"That is for Master Batman to decide," Alfred told him seeing how the teenager was barely reigning in the same sort of excitement that Masters Richard, Jason and Timothy showed at seeing the Cave for the first time. "Once he finishes looking into his case no doubt he will take you back home."
"R-right." John said knowing that was more likely, after all it was probably weird that the Vigilante brought him here at all.
So chances were this would be the last and only time he would see this place.
"I guess I can't mention anything about this either." John said a weak attempt at a joke as no one would believe him even if he did want to talk about it.
Thankfully, Alfred saw that he was kidding and gave a kind smile. "That would be for the best," He said to him. "Do you want something to drink young sir?"
That surprised John before he shook his head. "Oh no thanks, I'm good Agent-A… Sir." He said trying to be polite.
"Very well." Alfred said and this time John heard the small amusement in his tone.
But he walked around the cave, making extra sure to not go to far as he didn't want Batman angry at him for wandering into a place he shouldn't be and saw the different suits.
It wasn't just Batman's suits, he even saw some different Robin and Batgirl suits before he saw a lone Robin suit off to the side by itself in a glass case.
That surprised John and he approached it, recognizing the suit from the news that he saw years ago.
This was the suit that the second Robin wore before he disappeared, why was it here like-.
… A Memorial.
John suddenly got an idea of what happened to the second Robin and backed away to avoid looking disrespectful, but he turned only for Batman to be right behind him causing him to let out an unmanly shriek of terror.
"Okay now I know you enjoy doing that," John snapped placing a hand over his chest where his heart was pounding from the scare. "Jeez."
Batman just kept his frown. "It's time for you to go." He said as the teen was patched up and is already showing signs of wandering the cave.
He didn't wait for an answer as he turned to walk towards the Batmobile, missing the look of small disappointment that John quickly hid.
That Agent guy did say this would happen.
So John walked towards the Batmobile, taking a small glance at the computer to see the riddle and he found himself saying before he could stop himself. "So why are you looking at a riddle for a lawsuit?"
That stopped Batman who turned towards him, his eyes narrowed. "What?" He asked sounding both annoyed and surprised while John froze.
'Oh great I just poked the bear.' John thought as he probably wasn't supposed to look at the computer.
But he continued while pointing at the riddle. "I've seen that riddle before while I was on the computer a few weeks ago," He said remembering the riddle clearly. "It came up as a Youtube Ad that I couldn't skip."
Batman didn't say anything to that last part while he looked at the riddle now seeing the answer clearly.
This narrowed down the places where Nygma was staying at quite a bit-.
"The Abandoned Courthouse." Batman murmured to John's confusion before remembering the teen and gestured to the car. "Get in."
Knowing that he probably pushed his luck far enough, John listened but not before giving a wave to Alfred who was nearby to be polite.
Batman got in a second later and handed John a blindfold. "Put it on."
John gave Batman a dry look but on receiving what he was beginning to call the Batglare he listened.
It got awkward for John as he could hear the car humming and knew that they were going extremely fast. "I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me." He randomly said and winced underneath the blindfold. "Not that you would but still."
He didn't know if Batman even looked his way or acknowledged what he said.
A few minutes later he spoke again. "So is there any chance I can get your autograph?"
"No." Batman's tone told John that he was really pushing his luck now.
"Oh okay… Good talk." John went silent for good this time.
Eventually the car slowed to a stop. "We're here." Batman said allowing for John to take the blindfold off to show that they were across from a large apartment complex where some of Gotham's rich live, the Batmobile hidden in an alley.
"Right, hey thanks again for everything." John said looking away from Batman. "I wouldn't be here if you didn't intervene."
"Be sure to stay out of trouble." Batman warned him.
"Got it, I'll just stay home for the weekend." John said giving a nod and getting out, making sure no one was around.
With that he walked across the street, Batman making sure he went in before he waited a few minutes to drive out, that way if anyone saw the Batmobile they wouldn't think that John just got out of there,
It was time to bring Nygma in.
John took a deep breath when the elevator opened to the top floor and walked towards room 1206, using his key to get in, pausing at seeing the light was on-.
"So you finally came home," A voice spoke up showing a man that had a shaved head and a black goatee, piercing brown eyes looking at him. "Where have you been young man?"
"I thought you were in Metropolis." John said without thinking at seeing his father Benjamin Strike sitting at a table, a laptop on it.
"I came home early due to Lex having… Complications in his company." Benjamin said not saying what really happened. "Now where were you?"
John winced, not having a lie ready because he sure as hell wasn't saying he was in the Batcave. "Just walking around the city."
"No doubt out partying." Benjamin said in a tone of disappointment that John got so used to hearing. "And what's this I hear about detentions for assaulting your classmates?"
"Hey they started it-." John tried to defend himself only for Benjamin to scoff.
"Excuses, you shouldn't even let them bother you but I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Benjamin said making John's shoulders droop. "Speaking of school I received your report card in the mail."
Now John's shoulders were shaking a bit.
"If I didn't know your mother so well I would assume you were someone else's child from your lack of decent grades." Benjamin told him sharply.
John felt his eyes sting and quickly looked away, refusing to look weak in front of his father, but it didn't matter as Benjamin clearly saw that.
"Your tutor will be arriving early tomorrow morning so I suggest you get some sleep." Benjamin said his tone clearly saying this talk was over.
"Yes father." John said quietly.
Benjamin waited until John left the room before scoffing under his breath. "His mother was way too soft on him," He said before resuming the video call. "Continue." The blonde haired man on the line looked awkward from overhearing the whole conversation.
"Right, the calculations for the weapon are coming along nicely sir." The Scientist said eager to get back on track. "It's all speculation but it should take up to two years for us to complete."
"Two years? That's unacceptable Shriev," Benjamin said to the scientist his tone holding no respect for the man. "We are almost the world's leading experts in weaponry right behind Lexcorp. I want you to speed it up."
"Sir we don't know what will happen if we do that-." Walter Shriev protested but Benjamin cut him off.
"But you know what will happen if you continue that sentence," Benjamin reprimanded sharply causing Shriev to quiet down. "Six Months, that's how long you have."
"Yes Mr. Strike." Shriev said hiding his discomfort while Benjamin cut the connection and leaned back, looking out the window of his apartment with a satisfied smirk.
The next morning, John exited his room to see his father watching the news a look of annoyance on his face at seeing the Batman on the news again his opinion on the masked vigilante was very clear.
"And by the end of the night Edward Nygma, AKA The Riddler was apprehended by the Batman at the Abandoned Gotham Courthouse." The News Lady Vicki Vale said surprising John as he clearly remembered Batman mentioning the Courthouse when he asked about the riddle-.
'I indirectly helped catch the Riddler.' John had a grin on his face at the thought.
"In other news Billionaire Bruce Wayne has made a donation to the GCPD in an attempt to help clean up the city," Vale said making Benjamin scoff, but John didn't listen as his eyes widened.
Standing beside Bruce Wayne was a very familiar butler, a black hat over his head.
The same facial structure, same mustache and John quickly imagined the Domino Mask over his face before his jaw dropped.
Agent-A?!
Then he quickly looked at Bruce Wayne easily seeing the resemblance from how tall the man seemed as well as the lower jaw and quickly placed his hand over his eyes to where he only saw the jaw.
It was a match.
'Bruce freaking Wayne is the Batman?!' John thought in shock and that was when Benjamin finally noticed John.
"And what are you gawking at Jonathan?" Benjamin asked in annoyance snapping John out of his thoughts.
"Oh uh nothing." John said looking away.
"Tch Wayne is just looking to get underneath someone else's skirt no doubt," Benjamin muttered, showing contempt for the Wayne Family making John look away. "His parents must be rolling in their graves."
John just looked away.
It was still unbelievable at what happened.
The doorbell rang causing Benjamin to sigh.
"That must be your tutor."
Back in the Batcave, Batman was on the computer, this time his cowl was off to show the face of Bruce Wayne, his dark hair groomed while his sharp blue eyes looked over some files that pertained Jervis Tetch who was still on the loose before he brought John's file back on the screen.
He couldn't help but think that this teen made it easier for him to find Nygma the other night while berating himself for not thinking of that simple answer sooner. True he had other things on his mind at the time but that was further proof that he was getting sloppy.
"Looking into young Strike again sir?" Alfred asked walking up to Bruce, a tray of food in his hands to ensure that he ate as Bruce had a tendency to forget meals while working.
"There's a chance that Dylan Hudson could contact others to finish what he started," Bruce said to him with narrowed eyes. "He'll need to be watched, I'll contact Robin to-."
Bruce stopped now closing his eyes at the slip-up.
"I mean I'll contact Oracle to keep an eye on him." Bruce continued despite Alfred's understanding look.
"Master Bruce it's fine to admit that you miss Master Tim being around," Alfred's words made Bruce stop. "We all do."
Bruce just looked away.
The next few weeks passed by as a blur to John who kept his cool a bit more in school due to his injury still healing along with Franklin being subdued due to the arrest of his cousin and he was currently drawing in his notebook a very detailed sketch of the Batcave, remembering how it looked quite clearly while enjoying the sunlight in the school courtyard.
He still couldn't get what happened out of his head.
Not only did he meet the Batman, he saw the Batcave and even figured out who the Batman was.
Bruce Wayne.
Now it all made sense with how the man seemed to be ready at all times whenever he was needed and all of the tech he uses along with the motive considering what happened to his parents.
But it also helped him learned that the first Robin was Dick Grayson who was in Bludhaven as a cop with Nightwing there and the second Robin being Jason Todd who was said to have died in a bombing years ago.
It didn't answer who the two Batgirls were or who the third Robin was but John wasn't looking into them as he knew way too much.
If anyone figured out what he knew he would get in a lot of trouble and that's without saying what Batman would do if he knew that John figured it out.
"What are you drawing?" Tim's voice surprised John as he didn't hear the older teen sneak up on him and turned to see Tim looking over his shoulder.
"Oh uh nothing." John lied lamely not seeing Tim's widened eyes at the perfect replica of the Batcave on the paper. "Just wanting to make a comic someday."
Tim clearly knew he was lying but he played along. "You have quite the talent for it." He said now a bit worried.
"Heh yeah I have an eye for drawing details." John rubbed the back of his head, not wanting to give anything about Batman out as keeping the secret was the best option.
"So would it be a superhero comic?" Tim asked casually with John giving a nod to continue the lie. "Alright on the subject of heroes what do you think of the Batman?"
That caught John off guard. "W-What?"
"Well he's considered to be a 'superhero' despite being a vigilante." Tim said smoothly as if it was just a random topic he brought up, his eyes searching John. "So what do you think of him?"
John was clearly uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation but he took a deep breath and answered. "Well I haven't met him," He said not seeing Tim look amused at the very blatant lie. "But from what I've heard he's the reason this city is still standing after everything that happened from the arrival of criminals like Joker, Scarecrow and Killer Croc."
"So you support him?" Tim asked earning a nod from John.
"Of course, if he wasn't around a lot of people wouldn't be here today." John said looking away. "I grew up hearing all about him and his allies."
At this point Tim gave a nod and stood up. "Alright thanks." He said walking off now confusing John as he thought that was a bit weird.
Unknown to him, Tim was feeling conflicted.
In truth Tim saw a little of himself in John when the guy wasn't angry or annoyed and he's clearly been to the Batcave which meant he talked to Bruce. The fact that he remembered every little detail showed a good memory and he supported Batman.
Tim still stood by the belief that Batman needs a Robin to keep him in check from going over the edge, but was it right for him to push this issue? Bruce was deadset against Tim being Robin after what happened to Jason, hell he never tried to be Robin in the beginning, he was trying to get Dick back to being Robin but that didn't end well.
Not only would he be putting John's life in danger by giving the okay-if Bruce accepted the idea that is-but it was also him letting go of the role that he made for himself. Tim hoped that someday he would be able to regain the role of Robin as he really enjoyed being it, but he had to be realistic here.
But first he had to find out a bit more about John, to ensure if he wanted to do this and if John was right to be considered for that mantle.
That night while his Dad was asleep, Tim was on his computer, looking into some hacked files of John Strike, glancing over some of the stuff that Bruce would most likely know before seeing that John's Mother, Jacqueline Strike, was deceased.
So he looked more into that and eventually found the file of the case, learning that there was an attempted robbery at Strike Industries, the witness statement was taken from-.
Tim's eyes widened.
It was from a six year old John as he witnessed her death.
"Damn." Tim muttered feeling some sympathy for the teen, Batman wasn't there as during that time he and Richard who was Robin at the moment were dealing with Poison Ivy on the other side of Gotham and the criminal Herman Schultz was currently in BlackGate to this day.
Copying the article and the files to an opened E-Mail that he had encrypted, Tim typed in a message and hit send before shutting the computer off.
Now the decision was Bruce's.
Late that night, Bruce was just pulling the cowl off in the Batcave after a mess at City Hall involving the Ratcatcher who was shipped off to Arkham Asylum. It's been a busy night for the Vigilante and he was pretty sure it wasn't over yet before he saw the Computer lit up to show that he had a message.
Expecting it to be from either Nightwing, Oracle or even the League, Bruce was surprised to see it was from Tim and even more surprised when he saw the case file showing John Strike's mother being murdered that happened in front of the teen causing his eyes to harden.
What was Tim playing at?
With that showing he read the message.
'I've been talking to John for a while and today I noticed he had a very detailed drawing of the Batcave.' The message began concerning Bruce. 'He lied about what it was obviously although it got me thinking. Remember when I first approached you about being Robin, how I said you needed one? I still believe that.'
Bruce now got a pretty good idea where Tim was going with this.
'I looked into John despite the 'popular' opinion of him in school, he's a good person. Someone who can help you in the field if you accept this idea, or you could find someone else rather than him. Just please consider the idea of getting a new Robin. Stay safe out there - T.'
Bruce reread the message a few more times before taking it off the screen.
Was Tim insane?!
He really wanted Bruce to have someone else take the Mantle after everything?
Bruce went to focus on the ongoing Hatter Case, but he didn't hit a single key, the message just repeating itself in his head and he pulled it back up to show the tear-stricken face of John as a kid.
So much like how he was, like how Dick was.
'He has potential.' Bruce thought despite himself, thinking back to how John quickly solved the riddle with a glance due to seeing it before and from what Tim said he had a sketch of the cave that he recognized.
But Bruce looked back over at Jason's memorial the event of John standing in front of it playing in his head.
'Do I have a right to bring another person into my war?' Bruce thought leaning back.
"Penny for your thoughts Master Bruce?" Alfred's voice broke into Bruce's thoughts causing him to turn to see his old friend standing nearby with a raised brow.
Alfred always seemed to be there whenever Bruce needed advice on something.
"Tim sent me a message concerning John." Bruce said surprising the butler.
"Ah did Master Timothy find something wrong with young Strike?" Alfred asked a bit concerned as Bruce has been looking into the teen for awhile.
Bruce went quiet before speaking up. "Tim told me to consider John to take over the Robin Mantle."
"I see," Alfred said, his tone not betraying any sort of emotion. "And do you plan on letting Young Strike do this?"
"I-," Bruce stopped and gritted his teeth, hating himself for being so indecisive it made him feel weak. "I shouldn't, I already brought enough people into my war. I shouldn't have done so after Jason but with Tim coming I made exceptions for Stephanie and Cassandra, I need to stop."
"If I may be so bold sir, perhaps Master Timothy has the right idea," Alfred put in his opinion, leaving Bruce to give him a look asking for clarification. "You let Master Timothy assume the mantle because you knew he was right at the time. You were being far too reckless with criminals and refused help nearly getting yourself killed countless times."
Bruce frowned. "That hasn't happened since though."
"And for that I am most glad sir, but you aren't as young as you used to be," Alfred reminded him. "Just think about it sir."
Alfred turned to leave it at that, as nothing more needed to be said on the matter. "Alfred," The Englishman stopped at Bruce's voice. "Thanks."
"It was my pleasure Master Bruce." Alfred said knowing that whatever Bruce would decide he would support him with no hesitation.
When Alfred was out of sight, Bruce looked back to the file and sat back in thought.
John was entering his apartment later that week as his father left Gotham yet again, this time heading out to Keystone City to look over the Strike Industries facilities there, once more leaving the teen by himself but sometimes John just preferred it that way.
At least with Benjamin gone he wouldn't be demeaned over every little thing, but it still didn't stop John from wishing he could get his father's approval-.
John turned on the light giving a yelp when he saw Batman in the room.
Placing his hand over his heart, John glared. "Seriously, stop doing that!" He snapped at the Vigilante. "I swear you took at least ten years off of my life by this point."
Batman didn't say anything to that and John looked a little confused, especially at the small package underneath the man's arms.
"Is something wrong?" John asked now worried. "You're kind of creeping me out now."
Batman shook his head. "I'm here to offer you a choice." He said to him, placing the package on the table before walking towards the opened window to look over the city.
Surprised by the sentence and how the vigilante was acting, John approached the table where the package was and assumed that Batman wanted him to open it, so imagine his surprise when he saw a Robin uniform in there causing his mouth to drop open.
"I-uh-what?" John asked not sure what to say.
Batman didn't look at him when he answered. "What I'm offering you isn't easy. It is filled with challenges as well as consequences that you may pay in the future," He said wanting to make sure John knew the risks before giving the answer as there was no backing down now that he gave him the choice. "You're very life would be in danger if you accept this."
John swallowed and looked at the uniform. "Why?" He asked wondering what possessed this man to even think about having him as Robin of all people.
"You remind me of them." Batman said as this teen had Jason's attitude along with Dick's knack for cracking jokes and Tim said that John's memory showed he could make a good detective if trained that way. "Good and bad."
Taking a deep breath, John had to sit down from what he was hearing when Batman continued.
"Know this if you choose this I will expect your dedication and nothing less are we clear?" Batman asked his tone leaving no room for argument. "If you do not meet my expectations you're out. If you fail to follow my instructions you're out. If you go farther than what I deem necessary you're out. Do you understand?"
Now John was feeling very overwhelmed. "C-Can I think about this?" He asked hesitantly.
Batman allowed for the frown to soften as this was a big decision to make. "You have one day," He told him causing for John to look at the costume. "There's com link inside of the box for you to give me your answer."
John looked back up but Batman was already gone, causing for him to run and shut the windows, making sure it was locked and the blinds were down.
He then locked the door and took the package to his room and pulled the uniform out fully.
It was missing the belt, which wa obvious as there was no way Batman would hand him any of the gadgets until he deemed he was ready, if he accepted.
But the uniform was pretty different from how the third Robin looked as while the tunic was red with the R emblem on the upper left chest area, the cape was black with yellow showing on the inside, a hood was even on the cape itself and dark pants along with the green gloves with the famed domino mask that Robin wears.
John knew he was just given a chance of a lifetime but he was also questioning it.
Why did Batman ask for him to take this role? How did he even get into this situation in the first place?
But the most important question was this.
Did he have what it took to be worthy of the name Robin?
John didn't get any sleep at all as his mind was plagued with what happened, repeating it over and over in his head along with reasking the question.
Was he worthy of the name?
Hearing the alarm going off, John tapped it and knew that he had two hours before he had to be at school and he saw the uniform that was placed back in the box before he moved towards it.
A few moments later he stood dressed in the uniform, his closet mirror in front of him while he placed the gloves on finding surprisingly that the uniform fit perfectly, before he grabbed the mask and slowly placed it on.
Even though he knew it would stick, John was surprised when it did and looked in the mirror with the hood pulled up to shadow his face and he had to admit he looked very intimidating.
"Do I want this?" John asked himself.
After a minute or so of thinking some more, he came to a decision and reached into the box to grab the com link and place it in his ear.
He barely pressed it when Batman's voice came through. "Do you have your answer?"
John took a deep breath. "I'll do it."
"After school today you are to head to the alley where I dropped you off and wait for me to pick you up, if you aren't there I won't wait," Batman warned him. "We will return to the Cave every day for four hours of training before I drop you off at home. During the weekends you will inform your father that you will be staying at a friends house and leave a number I will give you for if he wants more information. You will continue your training there until I decide differently and you will also spend your time studying and keeping up with your schoolwork."
"Yes sir." John said unable to believe this was really happening.
"On the subject of school you will remain out of trouble to avoid having detentions interfere with your training do you understand?" Batman asked with John hesitating on this one as trouble usually found him.
But he gave a nod. "I understand."
No going back.
To Be Continued…
This story was a challenge presented by Dark King Marcel and I have to say it was a blast to write this chapter, especially since I went more into the characterizations of Batman/Bruce Wayne, Alfred and Tim Drake then I have in my former Batman stories which I took off for personal reasons, truthfully I didn't think I would be able to make this chapter as long as I did but I had help in making it.
Now the name John Strike I'll admit is inspired by Young Justice: Red X, by Hexalys which was an amazing story in itself, but John here is his own character for now-you'll see him don the Red-X identity in the future and yes Red-X will be a hero in this fic not a thief.
So I hope this chapter was good enough to show John's character as well as everyone around him and next chapter you will see his training to become Robin and him meeting the other members of the Bat-Family.
Most of the content will be inspired by the Arkham Games in the future with notable changes and I will be taking some content from the animated movies and comics and some cartoons. For example while the Titans will be the comic ones, I plan to have them portrayed as older versions of the show considering that was how I see them as. The story will really take off when Jonathan becomes Red-X later on.
Oh and sorry for the lame riddle as I said before I suck at riddles, I'll try to make more appropriate ones to compensate at a later date.
Okay now I'll be working on the Interludes to my Pokemon story next before coming back to this one
So tell me what you think. This is Spidey Signing Out!