Pieces of the Puzzle

Alexnandru Van Gordon

Alex: HAZZAH! I fixed my account and the alerts. You guys should be getting them now, but if you don't just tell me in your review and I will see to it immediately.

Victor: And I am officially CANADIAN! Does that mean I have to be super polite now and say 'eh' at the end of each sentence?

Alex: Sheesh—do you believe everything you hear? Do I say 'eh' after every sentence and am I soooo polite?

Victor: Well… I call you preacher boy for a reason and…you do have a habit of saying 'eh' every now and again.

Alex: (Muttering to self.) Stupid rumors…

Victor: Okay—I'm sorry about the double-posting, people. I vow it shall never happen again!

Alex: Better, or I'll sic someone on you.

Victor: Fine. (To readers:) I read the reviews and we have four choices so far. They are Slade, HW, Starfire or…Larry? Who the heck chose Larry?

Alex: Read the last two chapters. HW did when she held the gun to my head.

Victor: Damn. Too bad I missed that…

Alex: And one last thing—Infamous One, you read my mind. I started laughing so hard when I read what you thought. It's somewhat unfair because now you know what's going to happen. Curse you and your confounded thinking! (Just joking. I'm glad I have smart readers.)

DISCLAIMER: I think we know the answer to that already.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Wayne Manor

No matter how many times he insisted he was alright, Starfire never listened to a word he said. She kept shaking her head as he argued that he needed to find the JL.

"You must rest first." Was her only reply. All else was the silent treatment.

After a long while, he finally agreed to take a trip to the Wayne Manor to clean up and get ready. This she agreed to and they took off into the sky, finding them at the manor faster than he could blink. She must have had an adrenaline rush or something…

The first person he saw upon entering was Alfred. The man didn't look a day older than how he saw the man last. Straight backed, proper manner, slight grin—it was good to see him again. Robin's last trip to Gotham hadn't been the best and he barely had the chance to say hello.

"Welcome back, Master Dick." Alfred said, standing in the doorway as the two landed. "And who may this young lady be?"

Starfire blushed and Robin smiled. "This is Starfire."

"Well, Miss Starfire, welcome to Wayne Manor." He bowed and stepped aside, straightening when Robin passed him and gave the boy a small pat on the back. "You never were as introvert as Master Bruce."

Robin blushed but said nothing in reply. Bruce never did get married and Robin only hoped he didn't get to be as…serious as him in the future. Sometimes even Robin had to admit that Bruce should lighten up.

Starfire stood staring up at the grand stairway and gaped. "This place reminds me of my home on my planet."

"Hey…yeah…" Robin rubbed the back of his head. He was glad she felt at home.

"Master Bruce was here a short while ago." Alfred said as he closed the door. "He came along with that young thief—X, I believe you call him. They left just earlier to search for you."

Robin spun around on his heel and frowned in confusion. "Batman is here? I thought…"

His mind wandered back to that teleporting villain…He couldn't remember his name, but he was sure he had transported him to the center of the earth. Maybe he took him back here, but that made no sense for a villain…

"Do you know where they are exactly?"

Alfred shrugged. "Red-X was downtown arresting Overload and Batman…is still missing. I tried to call him but all I get is static."

That was juts great. He only hoped that he didn't have a run-in with Slade. That would lead to nothing else but disaster.

"I've got to find him—"

Starfire grabbed his arm gently and smiled at him, silencing with that simple look. "Rest first, Robin. You can not hope to help your father unless you are clam and relaxed. He taught you, did he not?"

"…Yes."

"Than I am sure he can survive on his own. You have been in worse cases, so I believe he can handle trouble on his own as well."

"I guess you're right, Star…" She was and so he didn't try to argue. She came with him upstairs.

But still…if Batman was missing that was never a good thing. Weren't heroes disappearing everywhere—even the best? The JL was being cut down in size and the world really needed them right now. Perhaps Batman was in trouble…perhaps he should leave now…

Starfire linked arms with him and he relaxed. He was just going to get cleaned up, have something to eat, and head out with her to find him. He felt rather relaxed around her, and, now that he was relaxed, he found that he was also rather hungry. When was the last time he ate…

Al-

There was a second knock at the door, not something usual when you lived far out in Wayne Manor. Robin was here…maybe it was another member of the JL, or perhaps even Batman. But wouldn't he use the other entrance?

"Coming!" He called and grabbed the doorknobs. He opened the door a crack, just enough to see the person, and frowned in confusion. "Can I help you?" He asked the old man.

Old…yes. But he didn't look as though time affected him that much.

"I'm looking for a Richard Grayson?" The man said, smiling to Alfred. "I believe he is the adopted son of Bruce Wayne…am I correct?"

"He's at boarding school." Alfred said and bowed slightly. "Now good-day, sir. I have much business to attend to."

"I don't think you understand what I mean." The man said, placing a hand on the door to keep it open when Alfred tried to close it. "I'm here for him."

Alfred frowned, annoyed at this man's persistence. "And I told you he wasn't here."

"Oh? And where is he then?"

"England." He muttered, thinking of anywhere in the world, and tried to close the door again. Still the man insisted on stopping him.

"Maybe I should put this is different words." The man smiled yet again. "I'm here for Robin."

Alfred froze. How did he know about that? Was Robin working with him?...No…but…

This made no sense.

"May I ask to as why you are here for him?"

The man pushed the door all the way opened, forcing Alfred back at the same time. He almost lost his balance, but kept his feet, quite upset at the man. Who the hell did he think he was?

"Slade is on his way here for him." The man finally explained and Alfred's eyes grew wide. "I'm just here to help him…pack."

"Over my dead body, you will." Alfred spat as the man entered the house. Then, before the man could fathom the idea that Alfred could fight, good old Pennyworth delivered a tight fist to the man's nose. He stumbled back and grabbed it with his hands, bleeding quite a bit from the hit.

"Why you old bat!" The man exclaimed. "Damn, you hit hard…" And he looked at his hands, the center of his face a bloody mess. Alfred had to admit that he took pain pretty well.

Alfred had only taken care of the Dark Knight his entire life. He had to pick up a thing or two now and again.

Standing next to the small table by the door, he picked up the vase and chucked it at the man. Still in staring at his hands, the man didn't exactly notice the vase until it was too late. He was, however, able to turn his face away as it came smashing into the side of his face, wobbling to keep his balance. Alfred was surprised he wasn't knocked out.

"Tough old bird, aren't you?" Alfred muttered. "You would have been better off not coming here.

"True…" The man choked, touching the side of his head gingerly where he was slashed with the broken glass. "But pride would prevent me from losing to you." And he reached into his coat for something. It was a little black sphere no larger than a marble…

He soon learned it was a smoke bomb when the man chucked it at his face. His left cheek smarted, but he was more worried about the smoke when it rose around him in a billowing cloud and choked his lungs. His eyes stung and so he closed them, a bad mistake, he later learned, when the man struck him hard on the head from behind. He blacked out in an instant, only staying conscious long enough to see the floor as he came crashing down upon it.

W-

Stupid man…But did he ever hit hard…

Wintergreen touched his nose again, a sharp pain shooting up the bridge. He was still bleeding, but a bloody nose was easy to handle. At least the old guy didn't try a shove hit to push the cartilage up into the brain. That would have been lethal.

Now…where to find that kid...

He looked around as the smoke settled. It was a large place—but he swore he saw the girl and boy headed in this direction of Wayne Manor. They had to be around somewhere…

In too much pain to think, he started off in one direction on the main floor. This would take a while…

R-

Dressed in a new suit, he stepped outside the washroom attached to his room with a towel over his shoulder. He almost didn't catch the apple Starfire tossed to him as she sat on his bed, munching away on…a wax version. He did a double-take, looking at his real red apple and her glossy green wax fake.

"Ummm…you know that isn't real…right?"

She shrugged and swallowed. "You miss the best of your resources, Robin. How can something as delicious as this not be real?"

He cringed as she took another bite and bit into his own. It was sweet…he missed the taste. He actually missed food altogether. He hadn't realized how hungry he was…

"Shall we leave?" He asked and headed toward the door. "I think I'll just say goodbye to Alfred before we go."

"He is a wonderful person." Starfire chirped, jumping up to follow him out the room and down the many halls. "His manners are much better than many of the people I have met besides you and our friends. I would like to bid him goodbye as well."

It was nice to see that Starfire was in a good mood. He was feeling pretty good himself. He just needed to get down into the basement to grab another belt before they—

The moment they reached the grand stairway they saw Alfred's sprawled form on the ground by the door. Glass was shattered on the ground next to him, but he himself was not bleeding.

The small smoke bomb case on the ground gave it all the way.

"Alfred?" He whispered, kneeling down beside the unconscious Butler. He was breathing and he didn't look as though he had any serious injuries…but still.

Robin clenched and unclenched his fists, standing as Starfire picked up Alfred. "Take him upstairs to one of the rooms and keep your eyes opened. I'm going to check the main floor and grab a new belt."

"But, Robin—"

"Not now, Star." He gave her a weak smile. "Please go. I don't want either of you getting hurt."

She opened her mouth to protest, but argued with herself inside her head. Then, with a small look of defeat, she levitated with Alfred in her arms. As long as she was out of harm's way, he could think clearly and find whoever was here. Not Slade…he would have killed Alfred.

Muttering a curse, he started creeping around as silent as he most possibly could, looking everywhere he could think of in search of the intruder. To his surprise, he found no one. Either they were upstairs or they left when they didn't find what they wanted.

Starfire was upstairs. She could handle the intruder for a minute or two.

Biting his lower lip, he ran for the door leading to the Batcave in the basement. He had just about everything down there. Then, hitting the light switch upon entering the absolute darkness, he closed the door and locked it before venturing down the crooked stairs to the cave. Everything was as it should be and so he jus strolled over to one of the display cases and knelt in front of his. There was a hidden shelf underneath it where he kept his old spare belts.

Where were his belts?

"Please don't tell me you decided to rearrange everything…" He muttered as he stood. This was just great! Now what was he supposed to—

He turned around just as the old man delivered a swift kick to his face. Nit having much space to begin with, he backed up into the display case and almost shattered the glass. There was a spider-web imitation on the glass when he dodged aside as another kick came his way. This one did shatter the glass and the man had to waste time pulling his foot free gently. In the meantime, Robin wound up his fist and punched the guy good in his already busted nose. It was apparent he had been the one to run into Alfred.

"Who are you?" Robin asked, ready to attack again. But he gave the man a moments grace as he held a hand over his bleeding nose.

"What's with you people and face shots?" The man snapped in a muffled voice. "And you may call me Wintergreen, young man. I'm here on behalf of my good friend Slade."

One eye widened as robin looked the guy over. Was this the guy that headed the team collecting Slade's body parts? Strange…Robin thought Slade didn't believe in friends. He must have met the old man before he went insane…Unless they were both insane…

"I seriously don't have the time for this, sir." Robin replied with just as much attitude. "And you'd better stop while you're ahead or I just might break what's left of your nose."

"Bloody children." Was all the man said before he threw a punch at Robin.

Robin had to admit, despite his age, Wintergreen moved fairly fast. Not to mention his skill was pretty good.

Left, right, duck—kick! Robin sent him stumbling back a couple of steps. He wanted to give it his all…but he felt pretty bad beating up an old man. He kept thinking of poor Alfred.

The man shook his head, a hand returning to his bloody nose.

"Uh…you want to sit down?" Robin asked, rubbing the back of his head. And then said quietly to himself. "I can't believe I'm going easy on a bad guy, even if he is old. Poor Mambo never had a chance…"

"What is with you anyway?" The man asked, tilting his head back to slow the blood flow. "Is fighting all you ever do? I thought you were supposed to live while you were young—and risk your life when you were either old or dying. Come on, kid. I think you're walking backwards."

Robin frowned, but somehow held back his temper. "What is with adults and always putting down kids? I get enough of it from my father and even more of it out of Slade. Don't you oldies have anything better to do with your spare time then pick on us?"

Wintergreen laughed. "We're right in what we say. We oldies have experience, kid, and that's something you'll get with age. Give it time. You'll be picking on kids when you're older too."

"Which reminds me…" Robin grinned. "Unless you're going to fight, I'm placing you under arrest. You should have never come alone."

"Who said I did?" The man said, moving his head to look up the stairs. Robin turned around to see what he was looking at…

He honestly didn't know whether to be furious or scared. Slade was standing there at the top of the stairs, his one eye narrow as he slowly started downward toward them. He stopped on the second last step before speaking.

"Miss me?"

Robin frowned and gritted his teeth, refusing to say anything Then Slade stood on the floor and started toward him. The sound of his voice suggested he was smiling.

"Guess not…"

A-

Yah! Another chapter done. Sorry if this one was boring, but I had to set a couple of things up first. And Batman? Oh…wait and see. Then there's Grayson—he'll be showing up with Cyborg and someone else soon, so don't go thinking I forgot about anyone.

P.S. KelseyAlicia—sure, I'll explain anything you need help with. Just tell me what chapter you got stuck at and I'll send you a letter as soon as I most possibly can.

If anyone else here is confused about something, please feel free to say so and I'll gladly explain. You can either tell me in your review, or ask me personally through my e-mail which you can find on my profile page.

Kacey: I see you've been busy, Robin… (Standing behind Alex with arms crossed.)

Alex: EEK! I thought you were dead!

Kacey: I was on vacation visiting relatives—and now I'm here to kidnap you. And what exactly is this…You're Alexnandru Van Gordon? Ha! I would have never guessed!

Alex: O.o?...I thought you didn't read fanfiction…

Kacey: I found the site one day and started reading what people had written. Which reminds me…(Grabs the back of Alex's chair and pulls it away from the computer.)

Alex: Ah! I have to finish submitting this.

Kacey: Fine, hurry—I want to get back to work on our story. Not some geeky fanfiction story which people with no life write.

Alex: Take that back!

Victor: What's going on down here? (Sees Kacey.) Ahhhh! It's the witch! I thought evil beings couldn't enter your house unless someone invited them inside?

Kacey: O.o? Your aunt invited me in, idiot. And I need to steal your cousin until he edits the next chapter I wrote.

Victor: You can do that at school. I don't want to ever see you here again!

Kacey: Why you—

(Fighting in background as Alex hops back to the computer.)

Alex: This is the first and last time you will ever hear from my boss, so to speak. I'm writing a story of my own with her, but boy is she picky. She would hang me if she ever found out how lazy I write these stories on fanfiction. I write here because I feel more relaxed…Now that I think about it, how did she ever find out where I live? (To Kacey.) Hey—promise you won't interrupt my story again. I can tolerate Victor only because he's my cousin.

Kacey: (Grumbling.) Fine—goodbye people. It was nice meeting you even if it was for this one time—and please try to stop him from continuing his story. It's driving me nuts!

Victor: (Grins.) He's making a fourth book to this one.

Kacey: He is?

Alex: I am?

Victor: You are—don't try and get out of it, or I'll call up Slade.

Alex: (Gulps.) I guess I could whip up something…

(Currently refereeing a war),

Alexnandru Van Gordon