((I'm still writing, updates will continue. I'm working on other things alongside these two stories and chapter updates will alternate, so expect another chapter for An Escapist Date next, then Chapter 20 of this story will follow. As always, thanks, I appreciate the patience and the helpful reviews))
~RavensMind~
For the Excluded
Chapter 19: Batman and Robin
"Our gaze follows Robin's Anger as he stalks the halls of the mind manor while its owner sleeps. His Anger hurls a picture of Batman at a small figure of Joker and they both fly against the wall with a crash. His Cleverness picks up these small effects and tries to calm Anger. Outside the nearby window, we see Joker preparing to kill or maim a captured Beast Boy. In a flash, Joker turns into Batman, then Scarecrow, then Robin himself. Robin's Cleverness waved the sight away and put the destroyed Joker figure into Anger's hand and says, "The Joker is to blame. He wanted all the Titans here, I suggest we find out why, before Joker reveals it to us." Anger nods and walks away with Cleverness. The picture fades as Robin is awoken."
A firm hand on Robin's shoulder shook him awake a mere two hours after he had gone to bed. He twisted next to Raven beneath the covers and met the face of Batman, who towered over him.
"Found something you should see, come on," Batman said quietly.
Robin moved to wake Raven, but Batman shook his head.
"Just you," Batman said, and walked to the door.
With a glance at Raven, Robin got out of bed and followed Batman. They left the room as silent as shadows, Gotham's masked defender in detective mode with the half-naked boy wonder trailing him down the hall, then down the stairs. Tapping the piano keys as they reached the library, they went into the batcave where Robin put on the uniform that Batman had waiting for him with his utility belt before both advanced to the batcomputer.
"Is this about why Gordon called you earlier?" Robin asked.
"Not exactly," Batman replied.
Batman pressed a few buttons and tapped on a smaller display that brought up a few satellite shots of Gotham and the analysis of a small mask. The mask depicted a face that was severely scarred on one half of it.
"A café exploded downtown. They found a mask that implicates Two-Face's crew in the attack. And I found this," Batman said, passing Robin a crudely improvised explosive that had been disarmed, "it was nearby, set to explode around the time Gordon's men would be in the area. Notice anything?"
Carefully turning it over in his hands, Robin saw a tiny symbol on part of the bomb's exterior that he was all too familiar with, and he looked at it closer.
"WayneTech making bombs now?" Robin asked.
"No, someone is using the brand to raise the price. These bombs are similar to ones I've confiscated from Slade in the past," Batman answered.
"They do look like his," Robin agreed.
"I think Slade had more than guns in that shipment and we're going to check it out before it gets to Joker and Scarecrow," Batman said as he walked away from the batcomputer.
Robin set the bomb down and joined Batman, who was heading for the batwing.
"Why couldn't Raven come with?" Robin asked.
"She's untested here and too many would attract attention. We can handle it," Batman replied.
"You don't trust her."
"If I didn't, she wouldn't be in your bedroom."
"She can help."
"She will, later. This needs our attention. You know Joker and Scarecrow as well as I do, better than they do," Batman said.
"Fine," he said grudgingly.
"Slade has an angle too, I need to know what it is."
The two jumped into the batwing and strapped into their seats. Engines shook the cave as the platform beneath the plane turned and faced the mouth of the cave. Batman pressed a few buttons and pushed a small lever forward. Within a minute, they were out of the batcave and soaring over the water, leaving Wayne Manor in the distance.
Night was hardly bleeding into early morning hours; the sun was far from rising. The ship was still miles from docking and wouldn't be unloading until well into the evening. It wasn't hard for the batwing to close the distance in a fraction of that time. Robin glanced out toward Gotham. It seemed like something from another life. Someone else had lost their parents to criminals and joined Batman, gone through rigorous trials and training to help keep watch over the most crime ridden city in the world.
Answering to Batman was never easy, but he couldn't say that he didn't get a rush from it most of the time. For a while, that had been worth it, they were putting most of Gotham's criminals away and he knew he had a place alongside Batman. It worked for a long time, they were the best, but he knew what most didn't, what his friends wouldn't understand. There was too much of Batman in his partner and not enough Bruce Wayne. Alfred had been there for him when he needed to vent, there was almost no talking Bruce. He got tired of playing second fiddle, always being the sidekick, having Batman always just over his shoulder.
Working alone had been great, but even he wouldn't have been able to take on all of Jump City's criminals by himself. At the time, he hadn't wanted a team, or to work with anyone else. In hindsight, he would have needed the team. They were easier to deal with than Batman, for the most part, they could hang out, turn off the 'constant vigilance' and get him to do the same. He wasn't about to lose one of them, for anything. Even if they went their separate ways one day, which was probably inevitable as they got older, he'd hunt down anyone that hurt them. They all would.
"Almost there. Get ready," Batman said.
"Water landing?" Robin asked.
"No. Ejection. Aim for the stern," Batman replied.
Robin felt the batwing slow and undid his straps. Batman did the same and tapped a screen in front of him. The canopy slid open to the cool night air and the batwing hovered in midair, high over the crawling carrier ship below. Hitting another button, Batman ejected the two of them from their seats. They arced upward before dipping down and shot for the ship. Robin gritted his teeth as the air rushed against him and past him as he fell through it. He kept Batman in sight and followed his lead as they passed the clouds and neared the boat. They spread their capes and glided down as the ship's profile was in full view. Batman was the first to land in a controlled roll onto a container on the back of the ship, Robin had to grapple onto a light pole to stop himself from crashing into the back and pulled himself onto the container.
With a nod upward to Robin, Batman pulled out his own grappling gun and aimed for the highest point on the ship on the radar dish, swiftly making for the top. Robin followed, grateful that there was no remark for his landing. At the top, they surveyed the ship below. Several thugs were walking in the maze of shipping containers. Batman tapped his gauntlet and put the batwing into a patrol mode out of sight.
"Don't fight if you don't have to but see what you can find. I'll be below deck," Batman instructed.
"Yeah, got it, no surprise party," Robin said.
Batman passed him a tiny earpiece.
"Leave it in, if you need help, say so," Batman said.
"It's not like I forgot everything, Bruce," Robin said, putting the earpiece in his ear.
"Good. Meet me here when you found something," Batman said.
Leaving the radar dish, Batman glided down to one of the containers and slipped down into the shadows near a small staircase, leading below deck. Robin looked out over the containers and watched as the thugs walked around, looking for his own opening. He glided down as the group headed for the bow. He checked the container nearest him to see if it had a lock. It did not. He lifted the latch and quietly pulled the container doors open. He slipped inside and left a tiny crack in the door.
A tiny flashlight he pulled from his utility belt shined on the contents before him. Boxes were stacked from the floor to the roof of the container. He pulled one off the top of the stack and set it on the ground, opening it and checking within. Ammo clips and grenades were carefully arranged next to a pair of assault rifles. Standard for soldiers, not thugs, Robin considered. Slade only took the best, it was new for Scarecrow to though. He wondered what other strategies that may have been borrowed from Slade. Beast Boy's capture would qualify. He hoped that there was no plan to make Beast Boy an unwilling apprentice, or there would be threats for the rest of the team as well.
Robin closed the box and checked another, this one was basically the same, no assault rifles though, just a sniper rifle. Hardly an improvement. He picked up a clip and ejected one of the rounds. Ordinary bullet. Nothing remarkable. He put it in his utility belt anyway, just to be sure. They wouldn't miss it. He saw a larger crate amongst the boxes. Climbing over a few boxes and moving a couple, he stood before it and opened it.
Part of something rested inside the crate. Something much larger than what could fit in one of these containers. He shined his flashlight over it more closely, trying to decide what it was. He stood it up in the box and was reminded of a missile. Could it be part of one? If it was, where was the rest of it? Probably in pieces all over the ship in other containers. How many pieces though? And where was the warhead? Mushroom clouds and craters flashed in his mind, but it didn't fit. Scarecrow wouldn't bother blowing up the city, even Joker wouldn't. He took photos of it and left the container, marking it by making a small mark on the side with a small piece of caution tape he had found around the edges of the container.
Footsteps. One of the patrolling thugs was on his way back. Robin darted around the container and hoisted himself onto it, lying flat and still as the thug wandered past his hiding place. As soon as the footsteps faded, Robin lifted his head and checked to see if he could safely move. When it was clear, he grappled to the top of a container stack and waited for a few other thugs to pass and searched three more containers, having to hide from another patrol. It seemed odd that there was this much activity to watch a few containers, maybe they expected more trouble after what happened with Penguin in Jump, or maybe they expected Batman to check things out. He hadn't found anything else aside from more guns in the other containers and hoped that Batman had found something.
Robin was looking through another container when Batman called him back to the radar dish. He extricated himself cautiously and grappled up to the top of the ship. He sat for some time, looking out over the water before Batman rejoined him.
"Find anything?" Batman asked.
"Yeah, there's part of-," Robin started.
"We can go over it in the Batwing. Gordon needs our help," Batman interrupted.
"Right," Robin said.
The two glided unseen from the top of the ship, away from its stern, and slowly descended toward the dark water. The batwing met them, diving silently out of the sky and flying low. It slowed beneath them and they dropped into their seats. They slipped silently back into the sky, not raising a single alarm on the vessel. At most, a few of Scarecrow's crew saw a wisp of cloud in the night.
"What did you find?" Batman asked.
"Part of something big in a crate. Like a missile, but it could be a large pipe or tube, I got some photos for the batcomputer," Robin replied.
"Missile sounds more likely," Batman said.
"Why's that?" Robin asked.
"Scarecrow had a warhead below deck, but its improvised, and loaded with his fear-gas," Batman replied.
"We can't let them put it together, he's crazy enough to use it," Robin said.
"He is, but it doesn't follow," Batman said, "there's nothing in it for Joker."
"Isn't it enough that people will lose their minds and start trouble? He's the last to need a reason," Robin said.
"He has one. He didn't kidnap Beast Boy for his own entertainment. He's not helping Scarecrow out of some mutual respect. Money doesn't cut it either, he could rob any bank he wanted if it was that simple," Batman explained.
"Any bank? You slipping?" Robin joked.
"Never said he'd get away with it. Can't be everywhere though," Batman said.
"So, what's Gordon need us for?" Robin asked.
"Robbery. Two-Face's crew," Batman said.
"We gonna ignore the coincidence?" Robin asked.
"No," Batman replied.
Robin smiled to himself as the Batwing tore through the night sky and Gotham came into view. The bat signal was illuminated through the clouds. They soared over skyscrapers and ejected for the second time that night high over a street that was littered with cars and a scattering of streetlights. Red and blue blinking lights alerted his eyes from one end of the street and the gunfire rang in his ears in chorus with sirens and shouts from below.
A few squad cars of cops squared off against a tiny army of thugs near large trucks. A garbage truck was lined up with the bank's doors. Two-Face was nowhere in sight. Batman flung a batarang into one of the thug's guns and it went skittering over the ground. His boots crushed the face of a bulky man firing a heavy machine gun and he dove with the man in between trucks. Robin pummeled the thug that turned to shoot at Batman with his bo staff and dashed out of sight. The cops began to advance as the other thugs whirled in confusion, firing at shadows.
Another thug crossed to the back of a truck and one of Robin's fists connected with his gut, while the other disarmed the thug. They fought hand to hand as Batman put two others on the ground with his full weight, dropping on them from the top of an SUV. Police moved up, marking where the thugs had fallen, understanding little more than they had the Bat as backup. The doors to the bank burst open, a handful of robbers sprang out with handguns and bags of money, catching the cops in the open. Retreating, the cops fired at the new threat, bullets whizzing into the bank doors and one of the thugs. Two cops fell when the robbers returned fire.
Robin knocked out the thug he had been fighting and went around the truck, meeting Batman, who had slammed a gunman into the wall of an office building. He swung his bo staff and caught the gunman in the face as Batman hit him in chest. The gunman fell, and the duo turned to the bank. Another group of robbers followed the first that had surprised the cops, firing at the cops, then turning to try and locate Batman and Robin.
It had been a whisper in his mind as he fought, an awareness that he hadn't felt amidst the shouts and gunshots, now it rushed to steal his focus. A small voice that was all at once angry and concerned.
"Are you alright?" Raven's voice asked in his head.
"I'm fine. We're busy with these robbers," Robin answered.
"I hadn't noticed," she said dryly, "want some help?"
"Not my call," he replied.
He felt her assent, but also her frustration. There was nothing for it, he wasn't in charge of this mission, his old mentor was. He knew that she had awakened and hadn't found him, so she had sought his mind. He wondered if his emotions during his fighting had roused her.
"Go back to sleep, we'll be fine," he thought to her.
She snorted, and he knew that she would be waiting up for him, regardless of what he said or did.
The exchange with Raven happened in the blink of an eye and he turned to Batman as they hid and waited for the gunmen to approach one of the trucks. He nodded to an alley just past one of the trucks and pressed a few buttons on a tiny remote. The batwing flew overhead and released a small pulse of energy. Streetlights and lights in the windows of buildings went out up and down the street. Robin darted into the alley as the thugs whirled about in almost blind confusion. Batman had climbed on a truck and grappled onto the roof of a small building.
New sirens sounded from behind the row of squad cars. Backup had arrived. Headlights and police lights lit up the street. Guns turned, the robbers looked for their new targets, but saw only the lights that exposed them to the cops in the open street. They opened fire anyway. Bullets whizzed over the reinforcements, striking cement and steel rather than flesh and bone.
"On me," Batman's voice rang out through his earpiece, "take them from the sides, together."
On Batman's glide into the thug nearest him, Robin leapt from the shadows and drove his bo staff into an oafish robber's jaw. Together, they were flashes of black, grey, red, and green behind the robbers and the police reinforcements lowered their weapons to watch. Sacks of money had fallen to the pavement, followed swiftly by the unconscious bodies of beaten criminals. Heavy blows echoed in the street and the wheezing cries of the surprised robbers made a few rookie cops wince. In the lights of the squad cars, Batman and Robin stood alone over the fallen robbers. Several officers cheered and clapped. Batman nodded to Robin in that moment and they grappled up and out of sight as the streetlights and lights in the surrounding windows came back.
They had returned to the batwing and were flying toward the Gotham P.D. building where Gordon was waiting for them. Rather than ejecting, they landed the batwing on the helipad. Batman got out and Robin followed him over to where the commissioner stood near the bat signal. Thick-framed glasses rested on the shrewd, mustached face of the aging cop, with graying hair, but he was still in his prime. His eyebrows lifted at the sight of Robin. He was used to meeting one on one, and Robin had been mentioned, but they hadn't met formally. Gordon extended a hand as Robin approached with Batman, they shook and regarded each other.
"Robin. Gotham owes you quite a bit. Shame I'm only meeting you now, but I understand. You've been gone a while, I hear," Gordon said.
"Gotham isn't the only place that needs help," Robin said simply.
"Ain't that the truth," Gordon observed sadly, "we do what we can here."
He let go of Robin's hand and looked to Batman.
"So, there's a kidnapping, a bomb goes off, and a bank gets robbed, all within days of each other. Joker is behind one, Two-Face is behind the second, and who's responsible for the third?"
"Two-Face again. He wasn't there, but his men caused enough trouble," Batman said.
"At least they didn't get away. Anything else I should know?" Gordon asked.
"Scarecrow is planning something. A ship is on its way to Gotham with enough weapons to supply an army and enough fear gas to spread through the city," Batman replied.
"I thought we just dealt with one of Scarecrow's damn schemes. How does he have another already?" Gordon asked.
"It's not just his, it's tied to Joker too, and Penguin," Robin added.
"Geez…what else do we know?" Gordon asked wearily.
Batman explained all that had been learned between his research, Robin's work, and the efforts of Robin's teammates. Gordon added a few things, but it wasn't enough for a clear picture, it just confirmed what they already knew. They talked through options for the incoming ship. Gordon wanted to take it the moment they reached the shore. Batman didn't think it would be that easy and reminded Gordon that there were still unknowns, and that Beast Boy was still missing with Joker.
Robin listened and interjected when appropriate as Batman told Gordon about the help he had from Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Flash, that they would follow the shipment from where the boat docked to where they thought Joker may be keeping Beast Boy.
"And you want me to keep my men back? If it's as bad as we think it is, that's not a good idea," Gordon said.
"With the sort of help we've got, you won't need them," Batman said, "Robin's team has handled worse, and so have we. I don't think it stops with Scarecrow, too much has gone into this."
"If you're sure. We'll keep looking into what we know here, I'll let you know if we find out anything else," Gordon said.
"Thanks, Jim, I'll send you what else I've got," Batman said as he turned back to the batwing.
"Have they been seen? Joker or Beast Boy?" Robin blurted.
"Like I've told Batman, I've had some unconfirmed sightings of Joker…but nothing more than-," Gordon said.
"Where?" Robin asked.
"A diner in downtown, a joke shop near the suburbs, an alley behind a theatre, outside the amusement mile, the harbor…He's been all over the city, it's not a lot to go on," Gordon said.
"Right," Robin said with a nod, paused, and started to turn away, "Thanks."
"We'll find them, I know we will," Gordon said, "and thank you for helping Gotham. Don't know how we'd manage without you both."
"You don't have to thank us," Robin said.
Batman offered Robin a small smile as they both crossed back to the batwing and were once again soaring over the city. The sun hadn't shown itself but was bound to in the next few hours. Returned to the batcave, they went over the photos Robin had taken on the ship and consulted a few details with the batcomputer's database. It wasn't much to go on, but they had a better idea of what they were dealing with before they left that night. Batman sat down before the screens and suggested, or ordered, that Robin might go to bed. Robin nodded to that, too aware that resisting was pointless. He stripped down to his underwear before he left the batcave and returned to the manor.
Walking through the manor in the night was the time where he could put everything to rest and settle back into an identity that he had seldom known anymore. Titans Tower hadn't been a hidden sanctuary, after all, but a visible fortress. There was freedom here, of a kind anyway. He went up the stairs, wondering what his team would think if he insisted they have more to themselves than they had already.
He carefully opened his door and met Raven's eyes as she slowly sat up in bed. He shut the door less carefully behind him and crossed to the bed, climbing in beside her and waited for her to speak.
"Doesn't he trust us to help? Cyborg and Starfire are sitting on their hands just like I am. We didn't come to wait for a chance," Raven said.
"He does things his own way, we agreed to follow his orders," Robin said.
"Explanations help," Raven observed.
"I know, but he doesn't believe it would make a difference," he said.
"I have a sense of him from you, but there's still things I don't understand," she said.
"Yeah, I don't either, it's why Alfred explained things to me when Bruce wouldn't," he said.
"As long as it doesn't cost us anything," she said, "I can deal with it."
"Okay. Can we sleep? Need to get some rest," he said.
"One more thing," she said.
"What?"
"What's with the Superman shrine?"
She pointed to the open door of his walk-in-closet, which showed off his normal wardrobe along with the collection of Superman shirts and hats and socks near the open door. His cheeks flushed, and he was quiet, fidgeting under the covers.
"Well?" she asked, with a tiny grin on her face.
"I like him, ok?" he said testily.
"Did you get his autograph?" she teased.
"Maybe. I'll show you later if you keep it to yourself," he offered.
"Big favor. Might need something in return."
"And what's that?"
"Just you, in an interesting position when we get back to the tower."
"Deal."
They kissed and drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, unknowing of the next day's trials.
