For those of you wondering what exactly the Batsuit looks like, I'd say it's got a similar look to an Injustice 2 suit. You can't put links in these docs, but the suit I'm talking about is called AK Battle Armor 5U89R (Alt), which is the 4th suit in the Injutice wiki's gallery. It has the same color scheme, but with less bulky metal armor (except on the chest) and more of a kevlar weave cloth look, the grays of the body are much darker, and the cape and cowl are black. The cowl also does not include a chinstrap. Hope that helps.
As for Robin, it's just Jason Todd's Young Justice costume, but with green sleeves, mask, and boots, and fully red pants.
Tell me if you have problems understanding, and of course, give advice and criticism! Without further ado- the longest chapter yet!
Chapter Twelve: The Dynamic Duo
The Batcave, Six Fifteen PM, January 1990
"No," sighed Batman, "I can't I won't."
"But you said-" began Dick,
"I said that you could go as soon as your costume is done," he stated.
"And? I am! C'mon, Al, defend me! I've got all this kevlar-weave stuff on the whole thing, practical gloves, acrobat boots with climbing grip- that was hard to get right you know! See, I've got it all!"
Batman walked over to Dick- Robin, a name he could get used to- and took off his utility belt, thrusting it in front of his face. "Second to the mask, this is the most important part of your costume. Is that ready?"
Dick took off his belt, holding in front of his own face with hands on either end. It was, essentially, the same as Batman's, however about half of it was cut off and sewn together again, making it able to fit around his small waist. "Yes, it is! This pouch has batarangs- not really my style, but we'll fix that later- and this one has stun pellets and this one has sticky bombs and this one has flashbangs and this is where the grapnel goes and this one has a spare line and this one has lockpicks and this one has a scope and this one has smoke pellets!" said Dick, listing the belt's compartments from right to left without a single pause.
"Not bad," stated batman "But can you use it?"
"Can I? Of course I can! I practiced throwing stars at the circus, and my whole act involved lines and grappling hooks, and the sticky, smoke, flashbangs and stun pellets are all essentially the same thing, and my grandma taught me to pick locks when I was five!"
"No," glared Batman, "Can you use it? The belt, Dick."
"Robin." Dick put his belt on.
"Dick, throw a batarang and a stun pellet at me."
Dick obliged. He looked down, opening one of the stiff belt compartments, pulling out a batarang, careful to make sure not to knock any others out of the pouch. He tossed it in the air, caught it, flicked it open, and threw it at Batman. It flew in a curve until being caught a foot away from Batman's neck.
"Try again. With a stun pellet."
Dick did this again, but, with the smaller stun pellets, he accidentally took two, he reached over with his left hand to grab the spare one, spun over on one foot, and threw one pellet at Batman, who caught it, and tossed it on the floor before it detonated harmlessly on the cold floor.
"I know all I need to," declared Batman, turning around.
"Wait what? I listened to you- I only threw one pellet, not two! I'm disciplined! And you would've caught that no matter what- a thug wouldn't have!"
Batman stopped and turned his head around, "Its not that. You took far too long fidgeting with your belt. You need practice. I'd give it a week or so. You'd fare fine against a lone thug, but those- those vultures," Batman practically spat out the word, "Always travel in packs. And you aren't ready." He turned again to keep walking.
"C'mon! I'm physically capable! You and Al admitted it! And I'm not a bad detective, I-"
"You remembered a man with a burnt face named Garfield at the circus with Zucco. That tells me nothing about the Lynns investigation, and you making a mountain of that molehill tells me even more that you are. Not. Ready," he walked down the stairs.
Dick stood in silence, taking off his mask. He then looked up, "Bruce- Batman! What was the lead?"
Batman was down below the cave's main level, on the car's turnstile when an answer came, "I've discovered that Tony Zucco is buying up the entirety of newly reopened storage facilities, some of which were previously destroyed by our unknown arsonist. The entire mob has been pulling out of this kind of thing, but Zucco is putting himself out there. It's bold," Bruce said, before turning to look up at Dick, knowing what the boy was thinking, "Too bold."
Dick walked back as Batman drove away, the headlights slowly dimming as they went deeper and deeper into the cave, the sound of the motor soon being overtaken by the sounds of running water. Dick stomped back around the crescent, turning his back on the turnstile- the place he made his oath. Alfred looked concerned.
"Master Richard," he exclaimed, reaching his arm out for Dick's, "this isn't an insult to you, you must understand that Master Bruce is simply concerned for your safety! If you allow yourself to train a bit longer, and be prepared for anything, you stand much better chances of surviving! Then one day you will see how silly this all was!"
"Whatever, Al," uttered Dick as he walked to the back, cape flowing as he walked into the back of the cave.
Alfred stood by the doorway, erect and regal as ever, despite his distress. "You know, Dick," he said, using the boy's nickname with deliberation, "I worry for Bruce every day," he paused for a response, but none came. "I do. He could die out there. Every night. Not because of his foes, of course- it's been two years since he began this, and it's clear that he's more than capable. No, I fear for his soul," he said without a hint of dramatization, "He's hateful, is what he is, he hates everyone, I fear. You, however, Dick- you can save him. I believe it. But you cannot do it unprepared or... or you could end up worse than him, and he sees that too. Please, understand, Dick."
"I understand, Alfred," came Dick as Alfred turn around, "but Zucco is mine." An engine revved, and out came Dick on a long, low, black motorcycle with eye-shaped headlights.
"Master- Dick, No!" yelled Alfred, but it was too late. Dick put on a motorcycle helmet, and, after quickly adjusting the seat for his height, flew off. He went past the workbench, past the computer, down the stairs to the turnstile, and zoomed off in the path of Batman.
"Thanks for the bat-cycle!"
"Oh dear.."
Batman's comms flicked on. "Master Bruce, I- Master Richard has.. commandeered a bat-cycle of yours."
Batman said nothing, not even mentioning the 'Bat-' nickname Dick had given everything, something that annoyed him. Alfred, however, could tell he was glaring.
"What." said Batman, long and drawn out, but sharp and harsh.
"He's about a mile behind you, but I'm not sure he's prepared to stop."
"I'm already at the highway, Alfred. I can't turn now," his words were simple, but his tone venomous, "Patch him in. He better have a helmet."
"Yes sir. Of course." Keys could be heard clacking.
"Richard John Grayson."
Dick flinched. Bruce had never used his full name. "R-robin, sir. After Robin hood, you-"
"I couldn't care less. What do you think you're doing?"
Dick could tell Alfred had no interest in piping in. He'd have to do this on his own. Good, if he needed backup right now, Bruce'd never let him go out. "I'm going to stop Zucco. We haven't seen him in three weeks! When will there be another chance? I'm going to stop him, no matter what!"
"No, Dick," growled Batman, "You're not. I told you to stay in the cave. You're only hurting your chances by doing this."
"What I'm hurting is my parent's memory! I have to stop Zucco asap!"
"ASAP?" Batman growled, "no, what you need is to help me take down the mob. And you can't do that unprepared! Or do you want your parents memory to end with a flash in the pan and one man missing some teeth? Do you?"
Dick said nothing, but the bike slowed down. Dick really did feel unready. He was uncomfortable on this large bike, less than a head shorter than he.
"Dick,", said Batman, "do you want to see Zucco at his lowest? Lower than your parents could have ever been? Without his empire, without his loyal servants, without power? And see the fear in his eyes as it all crashes before him?"
"Yes," replied Dick vengefully, "I do."
"Then you're not ready," roared Batman, "And I need you to GET BACK TO THE CAVE."
The cycle stopped fully, before even getting to the highway. Dick's feet dangled above the creek's water. "Yes sir.." he uttered, turning around to return to the cave.
Batman turned off comms, huffing.
Cape Carmine, the Cauldron, Old Gotham, Seven Oh-One PM
Falcone Shipping yards once made up a fair piece of Cape Carmine, but, after years of whittling down the Roman's empire, large swaths of it had been burnt down, and even larger swaths had been sold of.
Now, here, hundreds of feet form the water, Batman was watching over the triangular tops of rows of storage units, eyeing the concrete paths between them.
"..And you choose to meet here?" came a voice. Batman recognized it. Zucco.
He dropped down, cape and cowl soon become a horned puddle of black. Zucco and four men walked up. He was yelling on a phone. He sunk further away when he saw a metal door fly up, and a man in a long black winter coat exit the storage unit. He held a phone in one hand and a tophat in the other.
Tophat, thought Batman, could be the man behind the attacks at the party. Or it could be an associate. Why would he be meeting with Zucco though? I doesn't make sense..
Batman dropped a circular 'evesdropper' on the roof of the storage unit, then sunk back even further, patching their words through his cowl.
"Tetch, why'd you agree to meet here? My most recent acquisition? Really?" came Zucco.
"Searching 'Lewis', Batman. Also running sonar scans, " rung a voice in Batman's ear. Dick. He was at the computer. Batman chose not to reply. Dick hopefully understood.
"Why, Mr. Zucco, I hope you understand, our dealings here are for the purpose of preventing any attacks on your transport vehicles. I know we weren't followed. Were you?"
Zucco sighed, "No, Lewis, we weren't. Now, let's see what you have, eh?"
"Of course, Tony," Lewis paused, indicating, at least to a detective like Batman, that he rarely used Zucco's first name, "I hope that your dealings are more successful this time around."
"Ah, trust me, they will be, uh, Charles," replied Zucco, indicating that he didn't like Tetch using his first name, "will it be better than Lynns' though? I-"
"Lynns!" repeated Dick, "Oh, and now I'm searching for Charles Lewis."
"Shh, shh, Tony," nobody stopped him- Lewis held the cards in this meeting. And who the hell was he? "I assure you, Mr. Lynns' betrayal will never affect you, I promise. And how often do I deliver on my promises?"
"Always.." muttered Zucco, "just gimme the shipment. Is it in there-?"
"Of course," laughed Lewis.
"It.. is? Ya know, we could just, take it."
Lewis laughed even more, "Why yes, I know, but trust, I think, is the way to go!"
Zucco scoffed, "How do you do that? Come up with a rhyme in half a second? 'Nyways, thanks for trusting us."
"Well, I did suggest you buying up these lots to make both our lives easier. Besides, who else would I trust? The Falcones? The Thornes?"
Zucco's men all laughed, "Well," said their leader, "That's why we're the best of the lot! Now bring it out, we'll play fair. And pay fair."
"Good," Lewis snapped his fingers, "Pike, bring it out, and Tony- I hope we need no more negotiation on the price."
"No- of course not, we have the cash agreed on hand- not a cent more or less."
The small group all went quiet as wheels squeaked along with weight upon them. Whatever this was, it was heavy.
"I hope you have a truck that can fit all of this," said Lewis.
"Yeah, we do, but first, let us inspect the shipment- don't want you conning us."
"Of course, Tony, we have nothing to hide."
"Good," said Zucco, "I really do like you, Charlie. Zucco and Lewis hasn't got the best ring to it, but I say we make a great team. A real dynamic duo."
Dick scoffed, reminding Batman.
"Dick," whispered Batman, his fingers on his ear, "use the sonar to see what's in the crates."
"Already tried. Can't tell. Wires and canisters and stuff. Maybe pyrotechnics? Oh and Batman- if you can, get a look at, eh, 'Mr. Pike'."
"Why?" whispered Batman, climbing atop the storage unit, taking out his periscope to see the gang members, "This isn't safe"
"Can you see his face?"
"No. He's in a mask. I'm zooming in- he seems to have.. burns, around his left eye."
"Okayy- sonar is picking up he has a large welt on the side of his head. Much like our pal 'Garfield' at the surface." He breathed heavily.
Batman hopped back down. So Garfield Lynns- or their suspect using that name- was here, as "Mr. Pike".
He thought as he walked, running quietly down the row of storage units to where the truck was, ready to fight as the men in the row in front of him moved about, carrying their contraband.
Batman got to the Zucco's truck- a pickup with a trailer. There was an armed man guarding it, but he was walking around. When Batman was out of his line of sight, he looked down to where the deal was, a few hundred feet away. Zucco and his men were returning. Calmly, Batman tossed a tracer under the truck, and went over to the other side of the storage units. The guard walked around. Batman was unnoticed.
He draped himself in his cape, and sticking to the shadow, and walked back down.
"Batman- Batman! Your evesdropper was dissabled! Working on it now!" said Dick, panicking.
Batman pressed against the wall, "Don't worry. I've been in dangerous situations before."
"I know, I know. Reviewing the scans," Batman kept walking as he heard Dick typing, "Holy surveillance, Batman-"
"Just tell me."
"I know- the schematics have the places of every security camera in the docs. They're basic CCTV black and white, 3 frames per second- but, reviewing the scans, there's about a dozen more in your area- tiny, 15 fps, thermal cameras to. And they're all wired to one place we can't pick up. Barely noticeable. But, if you ask me, they know you're there!"
A few dozen feet in front of him opened another storage unit. A man, cockily holding a pistol, stepped out. "Oh, you're exactly right- now, don't put up a fight! Hey, Tetch," beckoned the thug before being knocked out with ease.
He backed up around the car, careful not to indicate he had tampered with it, sneaking away as Lewis- who must have been Tetch- walked up.
"Robin, search for Tetch. Clear everything you have for Lewis."
"Wha- well, Okay. That's easier- same dimensions? Because Lewis is pretty short, and there's a guy here who matches the leader you're with and is named Tetch."
"What is it, Dick?" he whispered, keeping his voice as quiet as his footsteps.
"Well, in a newspaper, an Alice Elizabeth Tetch and Alice Elizabeth Tetch Jr. were killed as collateral damage in a mob shootout. Marriage and birth records show that the husband and father of the Alices was a neuroscientist working for GothCorp named Jervis Tetch."
"So why is he helping the mob-"
"I bet money he's playing them. Playing the long con for revenge."
"Exactly what I was thinking, Dick. And then there's the names..."
"Alice. Just like Alice in Wonderland. And the shooters at the ball wore hats, just like Tetch's, and spoke of Wonderland."
"Could be a coincidence."
"But Tetch was a neuroscientist, studying suggestion. The guys could have been mind controlled."
"And what if I said that was far-fetched?"
"Oh- this is a test. I see. Well, I'd say that it's awfully suspicious that all of the hats hat a bomb mechanism that burnt them away before they could be taken in police custody."
"Exactly."
Dick didn't expect any more compliments.
"And.." Bruce sighed. "I'm sorry for being hard on you earlier. You're a fine detective."
"I-, I-,,, thank you, Bru- Batman." He took a deep breath, his voice raising to it's optimistic tone, "Uh, are you letting them get away?"
"Yes. Problem?"
"I mean, it's Zucco..." the boy paused, swallowing his emotions, "But it's always better to let them get away and leave behind evidence than catch a man with no evidence."
"Good," said the Bat, ready to confront Tetch's men, now alone. "Jervis. Do you really think you can get away with this?" growled Batman, jumping into the now cleared-out storage unit row, smoke pellet secretly in hand.
"Do I? No, I don't. But this Jabberwock does!" He exclaimed. Batman was already sick of the wonderland references.
"It's Firefly, Jervs!" yelled a raspy voice through a clear filter, and out came a man in a modified fireman's suit and a flamethrower.
"Lynns." roared Batman, "You're supposed to be dead!"
"I know, Batman, long dead! But don't worry- I'm sure you'll be fine replacing me!" He fired the flamethrower, spitting an arc of flame at the Bat, who easily rolled away.
"Tetch! I know about you! What happened to your family! How you snapped! There's a better way to-" he rolled out of the way from another spurt of flame.
"I don't think you understand, little Bat! I don't think you do at all! But no matter- the Firefly will take care of you!" He ran off, running with a group of his own thugs.
Batman was crouching on the ground, cape draped around him, ready to move anywhere, but instead, Lynns simply adjusted some knobs on his flamethrower.
"I was always called a firebug, but when I got the job offer in Gotham- home to the Bat- and well, knowing that fireflies can poison bats, well-" he slapped the flamethrower back into his hand, firing it with a much broader fan of flame, barely missing Batman as he grappled to the to of the storage unit, dropping a smoke pellet, "I couldn't resist!"
The flames evaporated away the dense smoke, causing Batman to cough, but he rolled away successfully. He stood up, looking over. It seemed Firefly had disappeared. But then, the floor began to bend under his feet- Lynns was melting the storage unit! Dammit!
He ran off the unit on the other side, taking a deep but unworried breath. Just then, the door to that storage unit blew open. A flamethrower was in Batman's face, poking from the smoke. He rolled out of the way, keeping his face and eyes safe, but still enveloping him in flame. The cape was flameproof, but the suit was less so. Batman ran down the row of units, but the flame was too bright to allow him to throw a batarang at Lynns.
As he backed away, looking for an opening, another small eplosion came from a unit, blowing off the door. He dodged it, but then came another. And another. And another. Lynn's cackles matched the burning around him.
"Batman- he's blowing the cameras Tetch added!"
"I can tell! Now be quiet, I need to find an opening- a safe one!" Batman had no intention of accidentally blowing up Lynns.
"I know you don't want to kill him, but listen to me- get away!"
"No! I have to get close to him! Anything else will blow his tank, scorching him!"
"Batman, listen! When he sets off a bomb, the radio waves cancel out the jammer he has for the Evesdropper! He has your Evesdropper!"
Batman rolled out of the way, back against a storage unit, before grappling to the one on the opposite side a second before it blew up, patching back in, "So you can overload it?"
"Yes, but I need a long enough break. You have to get far away, and fast! Faster than you can run- so hurry out so you can get to the car, and then maybe-"
"No need, Dick," said Batman, looking up at the crane far above them. He shot his grapnel up at it, flying up as another camera blew up, lighting fire to the storage unit.
"Hohooo, you think you can get away like that," whispered Firefly joyfully. He took out a small rectangular controller, pushing a button colored in with a red marker. Batman heard the arsonist's words- he had taken a chance, and, if Dick followed through, it would pay off.
The remote's signal took half a second longer than the others to send to the small bomb Lynns had placed on top of the crane, hundreds of feet up. The less than instantaneous radio waves were seen on the tall computer screen right in front of Dick. The evesdropper's icon turned on, registering fully, instead of just a blip. He smiled, going to its settings, and turned all of them all the way up. A popup came- warning of electrical overload. Dick smiled, overriding it. From the cowl communicator, Dick heard the explosion of the crane.
Once he was halfway up, Batman loosed his grapnel, pulled it back to his belt, and began to glide. He felt the explosion of the crane behind him, metal parts falling around as he fell towards the roaring flamethrower.
Come on, he thought.
Just then, the flame stopped and Batman heard a painful screen.
Batman landed lightly on the ground, his foot steps contrasting the crane's hook falling loudly atop a storage unit. He walked over to Lynns, who was breathing heavily. He was on the ground, and reached over to grab his flamethrower, but was stopped by the steel toes of Batman's boot. He yelled, pulling out a pistol, but was soon disarmed. Batman grabbed his collar, and, wordlessly, knocked him out with one punch.
He patched into the communicator, "Lynns is out. Cold," he said, undoing the straps to the unconscious man's fuel tank and flamethower. Under them were two breast pockets, outlined in fireman's yellow. In the right one was a sparking, fuming evesdropper.
"Was- was that a joke, Batman?"
He didn't reply, besides a simple, "Good work, Dick."
Batcave, Midnight
Dick, much to Alfred's chagrin, was still awake.
Much to both of their surprises, Bruce came home before Two AM- or even One AM. He didn't say anything, but his tracer gave it away. Dick watched with anticipation to the dimly lit stone and metal road hewn from the rock, waiting for the car's headlights to show up. They soon did, and Batman got out of the car just as wordlessly as he had came.
"Bruce- what, what are you doing," asked Dick, getting up from the Batcomputer.
He took off his cowl. "Dick, when I said Good Work, I mean it. You followed orders despite emotion at the beginning of the night, and didn't hold it against me later on, something pretty much any other kid your age probably would. And your maturity tonight saved my life. So-" he reached out his hand, "would you like to go on patrol with me on Friday night?"
Dicks eyes widened. "Do- do you mean it!"
"Yes, I do, Robin."
Dick beamed and shook his hand vigourously, "Batman and Robin!"
"Yes," smiled Bruce, his eyes, for the first time in years, shining. "Batman and Robin. A real Dynamic Duo."