He's never really liked winter. The suit gets cold, besides it reminds him of home and that's just something better left alone. Robin has been sitting for about an hour or so now and he's starting to get antsy, the snow building up around his crouching form isn't helping anything either. From the rooftop that he's perched upon, he can make out at least four figures in the alley below. His breath is a visible tiny puff of steam as he watches the scene below him unfold. Three of the men have obviously been waiting for a while, judging by the snow piled up on their car and their irritated demeanors and the other, well Robin had chased him there. His name is Joe or Johnny or some generic thug name like that, he's not too bright really and often hires himself out as muscle for bigger fish; as such he's had more than a few run-ins with the silent figure now sitting unnoticed on the ledge overlooking the alley. This time the boy wonder had found him holding up an old couple trying to make their way home. Actually there was a new gun running outfit in Gotham, operating out of Metropolis. This guy had been sloppy and Batman had easily identified him as a seller for the group, Robin had been watching to find out who the higher ups were for weeks. When he tried to mug that old couple Robin had been forced to blow his cover but it was looking like that was going to work out for him. Right now Joe/Johnny was talking with one of the three other men.
He'd started to become less and less composed and his looks were darting between all three of them so it was difficult to tell just who he was working for.
"C'mon, you bastard" the young man on the ledge muttered to himself "show me who's in charge, tell me who to hit."
At that last bit the young man chuckled a little, he knew very well he was going to hit all of them, what he really needed to know was which one to leave conscious.
The snow was settling too thickly around him, he thought, it made the cape feel like it was constricting around his body. He shifted a little and muttered a silent curse at whoever came up with snow as he shook it from his body. The sudden sound of shouting jerked the uncertain Robin's attention back to the alley quickly enough for him to see everyone pull guns but not quite quick enough for him to figure out who was running things.
"Oh well" he sighed "guess I'd better go ask 'em." With that he leapt from the rooftop prepared to fall what was easily three or four stories to the alley below, arms spread wide open Robin couldn't help but grin at the feeling, almost like flight and upon seeing the conflict below growing closer ever more rapidly one thought crept into his mind"this is gonna be fun."
-
Joey was a nice enough guy; he thought so at least, was it his fault that no one would hire him? Not really, and could he help it if the easiest available ways for him to make some cash were illegal? Certainly not. Robin never seemed to see it that way though.
Joey had never seen the Batman, hell he wasn't even sure the freak existed, but he'd had his ass handed to him enough times by that damned kid to know he was fuckin' real enough. Tonight the bird boy had caught Joey "liberating funds" from a couple of old geezers, its not like it was a big deal they're old what do they need to buy? Walker polish and Metamucil? Joey had thought that he made a good point. Again Robin had seen things differently; Joey's jaw still ached where Robin had made his counter point.
After Joey had been hit he had taken off running, he was sure that the bird brain thought that he was just scared and trying desperately to get away. Not this time, oh no, this time he had friends, this time he knew people who would help him. Robin didn't stand a chance.
Joey burst into the alley where he was supposed to meet his new employers, unfortunately upon his arrival in said alley he observed the piled snow on their car and remembered that the meeting was supposed to have taken place several hours earlier. Nevertheless he was certain that they would still help him, they had to, they needed him to get their stuff on the streets.
"Boss," Joey gasped, tired from his run through the snow, "Boss you…you gotta…ta help me."
There were three men in the alley; Joey had only met one before the tall man standing furthest to the left was the one that Joey had come to know only as "Boss" recently. All three of the men wore fine Italian business suits covered by long London Fog overcoats and topped it of with nice sunglasses of a brand Joey couldn't identify. The only real difference in their appearances was their hair. These were important guys and Joey knew it.
The boss opened his mouth, "you're late Joey." Was all that he said, the two men standing beside him said nothing but mirrored the angry stare on the face of the boss.
"I… it was Ro…Robin," Joey stammered nervously. "Y'know that kid they say runs with the Batman."
The boss shifted in his shoes a bit at this, he looked shaken for a moment but swiftly regained his composure. "The Batman?" his tone was less questioning than threatening, "Joey, you dumb piece of shit! You led the Batman here! Straight to us!"
Joey looked confused, "no boss, no" he hurried in a panicked voice, "not the bat, not the bat, just the kid, we can take the kid!" Joey was frightened for his life now, his wide eyes darting wildly at each of the three men before him; each one his potential executioner.
The boss stared at Joey for a few tense moments, visibly attempting to take control of his anger. Suddenly an air of calm seemed to overtake him as he came to a decision about the situation at hand. Slowly and calmly the boss reached into his jacket and took hold of something in the inside pocket. As he drew it he said simply, "Kill him."
At this the two men standing to the boss's side drew their guns from their own coats and took aim on Joey. Seeing this Joey shouted in panic and drew his own pistol from his jeans.
Before any of the men could get a shot off the figure of a colorfully dressed young man dropped to the ground in between them cloaked in a deep black cape.
The event was enough to stun the men for a few moments. One of the previously silent men who had been standing with the boss shouted in surprise, "It's him! It's Robin!" and began shooting wildly. Shots rang out loudly as the figure of the caped young man darted swiftly from one side of the alley to the other, narrowly avoiding the searing sting of hot lead with each skillful movement.
With the skill that could seemingly come only from a man who had spent his entire life training for this moment the cloaked youth dispatched the first attacker; screams of pain echoed through the alley drowning out the dull crack of his arm breaking. Before the first gun sank into the snow covered alley floor the second gunman did, knocked unconscious by a thick-soled leather boot to the nose. As suddenly as the assault had begun it seemed to end; Joey stood stock still, eyes darting around the alley in a panic, trying desperately to locate his caped assailant. The only sound was that of Joey's breathing intermingling with that of the boss's, both heavy with fear. After a few tense moments the boss visibly began to regain his composure, straightening his suit and jacket he gave the alley a final once over, as if to assure himself that Robin was in fact gone. Seeing no sign of him the boss glanced carefully at Joey, the idiot was still shaking, with fear or cold, it didn't matter which.
"Just a waste of skin" the boss thought to himself as he again raised his gun to kill the imbecile who had caused such an undue amount of stress tonight. A wry grin formed unconsciously on his face as he softly said to his victim, "Sorry Joey, but you're just more trouble than you're worth." At the moment he began to squeeze the trigger a hand clad in a thick black glove grabbed his wrist while its twin struck the underside of his outstretched arm at the elbow. The boss howled in pain as he drew back his arm, which now bent in the reverse of its natural direction.
The commotion caused Joey to whip around quickly, without thinking he fired, and sent two slugs flying straight into his boss's chest. "Oh shit!" Joey's words nearly mirrored the thoughts of his fatally wounded employer as he lay bleeding on the ground, his seeping blood turning the surrounding snow a horrible pink-red. "H-help… m-m-me Joey!" came the bosses pleading cough but Joey couldn't think, all his panicking brain could come up with was to run but in turning he found himself face to face with a pair of very angry looking masked eyes. Joey yelped in surprise before slowly realizing something "y-you're not Ro…" before he could finish the masked man cut him off, "Your boss is going to die," the masked young man stated in a grave sounding voice, "What do you think will happen to you if HIS bosses find out it was you who killed him?"
"You killed 'im!" Joey shouted "You did!" the masked figure smiled as he said simply "Robin doesn't use guns."
"You ain't Robin!" Joey's shrill scream pierced the Gotham night air "You ain't no Robin I ever seen!" At this the self-proclaimed Robin became visibly upset; his tone became angrier as he struggled to keep control of his temper. "Your best bet now," he attempted, "is to go to the police and name names, see if you can get a deal, some…protection maybe." The dark Robin's voice was less threatening, taking on an air of forced compassion. Joey was thrown for a moment but only a moment before he regained his senses, he had just seen this freak take out three guys without a hint of compassion, he had to be up to something. "Fuck you freak!" Joey yelled as he raised his gun to the young man's masked face, unfortunately for Joey his clip was empty, he had used up most of the bullets firing wildly in the alley and the last two in his boss.
For a moment the young man claiming to be Robin hesitated in obvious shock, his eyes seemingly transfixed by something off in the distance but quickly he regained his senses. With a speed obviously fueled by anger he knocked the pistol from Joey's hand, sending it clattering into the alley wall and in one fluid movement dashed his head against the same wall knocking him unconscious. The young man stood silently for a moment before checking Joey's pulse and, upon finding that he was alive, pulling a grapple gun from within the folds of his cape and taking off into the blindingly snow filled sky.
-
Upon a rooftop overlooking the alley Robin looked at the unconscious body of the man he had chased to the meeting in disbelief, he had stopped his fall with his own grapple gun when he saw someone else drop into the middle of the ill fated meeting. The stranger had dispatched each thug quickly, efficiently and brutally then simply leapt into the night sky. It wasn't as if he'd never seen anything like it, he was Robin after all, it was where he'd seen it that sent shivers up his spine. Suddenly he remembered the gunshot victim on the ground below. He ran back to the edge of the building that faced the alley and jumped down touching a small radio earpiece on his way down. "Oracle?" he asked to the night air, "You there?" A voice crackled back from the other end
"Yes Tim, I'm here," the voice reassured him before inquiring "that thug give you any leads on the gunrunners?" Tim landed softly in the thick snow below and ran over to the unmoving body of the thug who'd been shot. "Not exactly, someone broke up the party before I could, do you have my tracer on-line?" the thug looked pretty messed up, his left arm was broken badly at the elbow and he had taken two shots directly in the chest. "I do now," Oracle replied, "why?" Tim crouched to take the man's pulse though he was fairly certain that there wasn't any point to it. "I need you to lock onto this location and send an ambulance, I've got three unconscious and…" Tim hesitated for a moment "and one dead." There was silence on the other end of the earpiece for a moment before Oracle spoke again, "it's on the way. Who…?" Oracle didn't finish the question but Tim understood what she was asking, he was asking himself the same thing. "I don't know who it was" Tim said solemnly and perhaps just a bit afraid, "but…" again he hesitated "he looked almost…like me."
