A/N: Thanks, people, for reviewing the last chapter. I'm glad that people like it so far. One of you guys hoped that Robin would not get sick and it made me laugh evilly. You have no idea how hard I'm going to push this wannabe leader. Sometimes writers love to be so evil. Well, here is your chapter. Please R&R! Thanks!

Disclaimer: You have to ride the short bus if you think I own some of these characters.

Chapter 4 Fight By the Docks

"I hate this!" Lilly said as she collapsed onto her bed with a sigh. Sweat covered her whole forehead, and her breathing was short along with all the others that dragged themselves into the same room that they were sharing.

"What is his problem?" Amelia asked them. They had just finished another combat practice and they had failed lesson one five times by now. Robin had exploded on them for their stubborn stupidity and made them do a crazy workout that left them feeling like rubber.

"Simple," Lilly muttered, "He's a freaking Nazi."

"Maybe we would pass the first test if you weren't such an idiot on the playing field," Alex hissed at her. The hard workout had gotten to him and he was snapping at everyone now.

"What about you, freak?" Lilly asked him while standing up to get in his face. "You're the one blowing fire around aimlessly! What makes you so better than me or the rest of us?"

"You just get in the way!" Alex yelled at her with his powers going out of control for a few seconds. Everyone backed away as his hands burst into flames from his sudden anger release.

"And what about you, miss prissy?" Lilly asked Amelia. She was through with Alex because she knew he could set her on fire again, and Robin would blow his top. Amelia frowned at her and stuck her nose in the air. "You're so up on your cloud that you can't even take the time to attack him anymore."

"There is no point to attacking him if he doesn't give us a chance," Amelia said with her voice all snotty.

"Maybe if you did something there could be a chance!" Lilly yelled back at her. She then turned over to Josh and he turned invisible in fright. "You know what, I won't even start with you, baby!"

"Maybe if we worked together we could get this done," Alex said from where he was cooling off on his bed. They all looked over to him with frowns. "Don't you guys get it?" he asked them. "Robin wants us to work as a team, and we won't get that penny if we work separately."

"I don't want that penny anymore," Amelia muttered. "I just want to beat our mean leader."

"You and me both!" Lilly said. Josh came visible and gave a nod. It then dawned on the four that they all had the same goal now. They didn't want the penny, but all of them wanted to beat their teacher. They all smiled slightly, and this was the start of the team.

"You know the drill," Robin said while standing in the middle of the warehouse. He looked at his penny for a few seconds then let out a sigh. Would this day be the same as the others? These kids weren't getting it even though it was smacking them in the face, and it was making Robin so very frustrated. When would they learn?

"Surprise is the best element in battle," Alex whispered to Lilly. "Start out with what you usually do, but at the last second switch to our plan." Lilly nodded while throwing herself at Robin. She came in with a roundhouse kick that Robin easily stopped by grabbing her foot.

"You're going to have to try a lot harder than that," Robin told her.

"As you wish, pretty boy," Lilly said with her voice having an evil tone to it. A wicked smile spread over her lips as she stuck her palms out at the teen. "Alex, now!"

To Lilly's surprise, Robin smiled slightly before turning his head around to see what was coming before it hit him. Alex shot a big fireball at the teen, and with Lilly's light powers she amplified it. Robin gave a short yell while pushing Lilly one way and throwing himself the other way of the fireball coming at him.

"Great," Robin said sarcastically while picking himself up. Smaller fireballs came flying in his direction, and he had to run to avoid getting hit with one. Amelia suddenly sent Robin to the ground by jumping off the boxes he was running next to and landed on his shoulders. Robin landed on his stomach with a loud 'uuff'.

"Give me the penny!" Amelia ordered Robin while sitting on his back and clawing at his hand wrapped around the penny. Robin winced while glaring up at her. He quickly grabbed her hand that was trying to get his penny and flipped her off him. The teen got up and smiled down at her.

"Please don't tell me that's it," Robin told her. He couldn't keep the happiness out of his voice. They were finally getting it! "Unless you're just born a quitter."

"I'm not that easily thrown off," Amelia muttered. She got up quickly and came at him with various different attacks that Robin easily blocked, but the girl was sharp and her form was good. "Now, Josh!" suddenly Amelia yelled, and this caught Robin off guard. He looked behind him and only saw Josh standing off to the side doing nothing but looking at them intently.

"Huh?" Robin asked himself while looking back to Amelia with confusion. She was gone! Suddenly Robin felt a punch to his shoulder. Then an invisible knee was shoved into his stomach and knocked all the air out of him. He winced while bending over in surprise. Josh could make others invisible!

"Lilly, again!" Alex yelled to the girl while running up to Robin. Lilly nodded, and they both executed the same attack from before. Robin's eyes went wide while looking over to them. He forgot his pain and jumped into the air and landed on the boxes next to him. He then jumped one more time before the boxes exploded under his feet from the fireball, and he grabbed onto the many hooks hanging around the place.

Robin swung himself at Josh with a smile. Josh screamed loudly while turning invisible and ducking. Robin let go of his hook and landed behind Josh on both feet. He grabbed some rope lying around the warehouse, and he easily tied up the scared kid.

"Let him go!" Lilly yelled while coming at Robin. The teen caught her wrist and then grabbed her foot that had attempted to kick him. He untied her shoelace and tied her hand to her shoe and then let her go with a smile. "Idiot!" Lilly yelled at him while hopping around and then finally losing her balance and falling to the floor with a soft thud.

"Not so fast!" Robin said while grabbing Alex from behind as he was trying to set Josh free with his fire powers. Alex tried his best to get away, but once again he was handcuffed and tied up with a cord that was fireproof.

"No!" Alex yelled loudly while struggling in his binds. He hated to lose like this. They had finally worked as a team, and Robin was still beating them! He couldn't hold back his anger and frustration and flames quickly engulfed his hands as he let these emotions go.

"Let them go, you big meanie!" Amelia screamed at Robin while coming at him again. Robin ducked from her kick and backed up with surprise on his face. These kids were getting vicious! It could get scary if you didn't know what to do.

"Calm down, Amelia," Robin said to her while blocking some more of her attacks. "Attacking out of pure anger is not a good thing. You lose your sense of things."

"No!" Amelia yelled at him. She had trained hard from others to become a superhero, and now she was failing miserably because of her teacher. She wouldn't give up anymore. If Robin wanted her to suck it up and keep going that was exactly what she was going to do.

"I said calm down!" Robin shouted at her. He grabbed her ankle and flung her down to the floor to stop her. She landed on her back with a small wince and looked up at her leader with fire burning in her eyes that Robin didn't think she could have.

There was a pause. Silence filled the warehouse, and the air was hot and sticky from all the fighting. Robin looked out over to his team staring at him with narrowed eyes. He smiled grimly when realizing that their hatred for him had bonded them together. This only saddened his heart.

Robin sighed while bending down to Amelia's face. He smiled faintly at her and was returned with a scowl. "There is one thing you haven't tried yet," he said quietly to her. He opened up his hand to reveal the penny.

Amelia stared up into his eyes with confusion. Everyone was quiet as they stared at their leader with the same perplexity as Amelia. The girl hesitated before holding her palm out and asking, "Could I have the penny please?"

"Yes," Robin said with a smile coming to his face. He gave the penny to the girl with a nod. He stood up straight and said to the whole team, "You pass. Training starts tomorrow, but I think you guys deserve something. How 'bout some ice cream?"

After a few seconds of complete silence, as each kid tried to figure out if Robin was kidding with them or not, they all then smiled a little and nodded. Kids could never say no to ice cream, and Robin knew this. He had a lot of ground to make up and he had to redo his image to these kids, but right now he and the kids needed a time to relax.

The October air was cold and brisk. Winter was coming up fast and the coldness was arriving early to Gotham City this year. The wind was light, but freezing as ice if you didn't have a coat on. At night the darkness brought more coldness to the city.

Batman and Robin looked down at the docks that night, watching the five thieves loading up their boats quietly. They had gotten past security at the bank, but Batman and Robin had found out their tricks and followed them to the docks to take them down.

Robin gave a big yawn when he thought Batman was not looking, and his breath was shown in one puffy, white cloud. Batman glanced down at him and shook his head. Sleep was something Robin had little of nowadays, and Batman was starting to worry about him. Of course, pride was the only thing keeping the man from ordering Robin to get more sleep.

"You take the two on the right," Batman said quietly to his sidekick. Robin nodded while shaking off his sleepy feeling always haunting him at these times. Once he went into action, adrenaline would take over his body and keep him going for the whole night.

With nods, the two swooped down to the wooden docks and landed side-by-side. Robin expressed a small, cocky smile when he saw all the men drop what they were doing to look behind them to see the two superheroes.

"You might be smart enough to take on a safe," Robin said to them. "But are you guys smart enough to take down the Batman and Robin?"

Batman didn't give the three men he was after to even breathe before he was down their backs. The three were pretty good fighters and were strong, so he was having some small trouble taking them all down. Robin, on the other hand, was playing more of the defensive because he wasn't as strong as the two men he was taking down.

The teen's small body weaved in and out of the men's legs while jumping in the air a few times to dodge attacks. He delivered a few simple kicks and punches here and there to keep the men fighting. His plan was to wear them out before making his big move.

Robin made a small mistake at one time, and a hand seized his arm. With a sharp yell, Robin was suddenly airborne from the man throwing him. The teen landed with a big splash into the cold waters of the pier. Robin yelled at himself in his head for being so stupid as he made his way to the surface.

With a small gasp, Robin broke the surface of the water. His teeth chattered as the coldness of the murky water took a hold onto his small body. The water was freezing, and all he wanted to do was get out of there. At this time he realized that maybe this position was for the better as he watched the fight unfold on the docks. Five strong guys against Batman. Robin decided that Bats needed a bit of help.

Robin bit his lower lip as he pushed the thought of feeling cold away. He swam up to the dock and went under it. He could clearly hear all the creaking and thumping from the footsteps above it. These wooden docks were old, and one hard misplaced kick or punch could bring some of it down.

The wheels in the teen's head were whirling at light speed by now. He listened for a few more minutes to recognize whose footsteps belong to whom. He got the idea where one of the guys on the dock was, and that was when he put his plan into action. The boy pushed himself to face down to the bottom of the water and pushed off the bottom of the deck with his feet.

Snap! Crack!

A yell escaped one of the guy's mouth as he came splashing down into the water as the plank he was on suddenly snapped right under his feet. Robin swam up to the surface again and saw that his plan was a success and smiled. He then frowned when he realized that the guy who fell into the freezing water wasn't very happy with him.

"You little brat!" the man seethed through clenched teeth. He dove after Robin, and the boy had no time to react. A small cry of alarm managed to escape the teen's mouth before the man landed on him, and the two sunk to the bottom of the bay. Robin was close to panicking as two big hands wrapped around his throat and started to squeeze with no mercy.

Robin was almost out of air in seconds. His back lightly touched the muddy bottom of the bay. He brought up his knee and slammed it into the man's chest and forced the guy off him. His lungs pleaded for the sweet taste of air by now. Robin kicked his way to the surface and gasped for air. Maybe knocking that guy off the dock wasn't such a good idea.

A loud gasp of surprise came from Robin as he was suddenly pulled back down under water. Robin went into overdrive now. Determination was set in his eyes as he was forced into action. He grabbed his grappling hook out of his belt and used its cord to tie around the hand holding on his ankle. He then swam down and grabbed the guy's other hand. He quickly tied both of his hands together and then aimed his gadget at where he thought a building would be. He hoped that he was right about his aim, but it was now or never.

Robin pulled the trigger and was pushed down into the water more as the man took off in the opposite direction. The teen then pressed another button on his grappling hook and took off after the man. He shot out of the water and landed on the ground next to the docks. His aim had been perfect and this made the teen smile again.

"Having trouble, Robin?" Batman asked the teen while putting a hand on his sidekick's shoulder. Robin jumped and this surprised Batman a little. Usually the kid never got scared that way.

"I…I'm okay," Robin said while shivering in the wind. He was disappointed that he had only taken down one guy even though the plan was to take down two of them.

"Are you sure?" Batman asked him while looking his son over. The boy was shivering uncontrollably and he was soaked from head to toe. His short, spiky hair was now hanging in his face, and he looked miserable like this.

"I'm good," Robin said with a small nod. "I might just need a blanket."

Batman paused before answering. It was clear that Robin was not okay. He was shaken up a little from this battle, and he was defiantly going to get a cold from staying in that cold water for so long. Bruce was extremely proud of his son for trying to pull through and using his head in battle so well, but he felt like punishing Richard for staying in the water for so long and being so stubborn.

"A leader always needs to push through tough times," Batman finally said with a nod. "Let's go."

"Okay," Robin said with a small nod. He clutched his shoulders and shivered constantly to stay warm a little. He gritted his teeth through the bitter cold and the voice in the back of head telling him to just quit. His body was yelling at him to go home and sleep for once. Sooner than later this small teen was going to collapse from this much pressure.

"Morning, Master Dick!" Alfred greeted Richard the next morning cheerfully. He opened up the binds to his window and let in the sun light. Richard sat up in bed with his hair sticking up in different places. His nose was red, and he was all pale and sweaty.

"Oh my!" Alfred cried while taking a good look at the boy. "You look dreadfully sick, Master Dick!"

Richard stared ahead with a dazed expression on his face. He sneezed loudly and then looked over to the butler with a wince. Alfred gave him a tissue box, and Richard used it at once. His body felt so weak and defeated. His head spun from just sneezing, and he felt like he couldn't breathe right.

"I'll be fine, Alfred," Dick said with a small sniff. "Just give me some medicine and I'll be good in a few minutes." He got out of bed and had to hold onto his head that spun out of control and protested against that sudden move.

"This is nonsense!" Alfred said while catching the boy before he fell. "You're staying home today."

Richard gave a frustrated grunt as millions of thoughts bombarded his mind. "But I have my grades to keep up!" he said to Alfred. "I have a team to train and patrol tonight! I don't have time to get freaking sick! I can't stay in bed all day while I fail in school and as a leader."

"I'm sorry, Master Dick," Alfred said calmly. He looked down at the boy with pity in his eyes. "But I have to say that I strongly protest against what you plan to do."

Richard sneezed again and gave a small moan. Today would be hell, but this teen was beginning to realize that he would go through even that to prove Batman wrong and get this team of his. "I have responsibilities, Alfred," Dick said while getting out of bed. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

A/N: Fine is the last thing on my mind. I told you guys that I would be pushing this teen beyond his limits. This is only the beginning. I hoped you liked this chapter. Please give a review! Thanks!