Disclaimer: If I owned this, it'd be on the big screen and cannon. Unfortunately I don't. DC does

*snickers* yeah, sorry to all those who wanted to just read Batfluff! batman's next appearance won't be until after chapter 20, which I haven't gotten to but judging by my writing, it'll be after that. Still need a scenario guys! What can take the league out of the mountain for eight hours? Ideas please! Without that, i can't do the next set of batfluff scenes! *Sigh*

Anywho, this story is more on Dick's importance than family ties. let's just see how he interacts with other leaguers and how he can manage his own.

Without Me

Ch. 11 – I am a Hero

"Wow kid!" Hal commented, grinning. "You sure pack a punch!"

Robin grinned in response, parrying a blow from the space cop. "You should see the gym back home. Alfie stopped repairing the dents in the wall after I turned eleven. I think there's a closet filled with spare punching bags for when we break them."

"I can believe it." Hal had to block a kick then turned quickly to keep the kid in his sights. He flipped over the aviator and landed a kick off his shoulder, throwing him back into the air for a back-flip. The man turned just in time to see him land in a low crouch and spring forward at him. He dodged the kid barely, pushing the kid to the side in his defense.

"Always fight with those flips of yours?" Hal couldn't count how many times the boy managed to get behind him or leap just out of reach. The turns and flips the kid did were phenomenal. Watching Robin's routines earlier took his breath away, making him wish he took up acrobatics instead of going to flight school when he grew up. This kid seemed to fly through the air, just like a bird.

"All the time." Robin rolled with last attack, proof his defensive training was a higher priority than offensive. Again the kid launched at him, landing a couple quick punches through his guard. Hal managed to read the kid's next few moves, blocking and diverting each of them as they came. Still, this kid was fast and determined. He was landing blows.

"Starting to read your moves kid."

"Only took you an hour." Robin giggled impishly. The two had been sparing for over an hour, and it didn't look like Robin was slowing down.

"Hey, how long do you and your old man practice anyway?"

"Getting tired?" The mischievous grin on his face drove the tired man to push forward. He was not going to let this kid beat him.

"Not hardly!"

Robin quickly blocked the man's punch before answering his question. "Batman and I go at it for two to three hours on the weekends. We try for an hour on weekdays, but you've heard how Gotham is. There are weeks we're just in the field"

The boy wrapped his leg around Hal's knee, forcing him to the ground. Hal had to use all his ingenuity to get out of the kid's next trick: a pivot off his hands as he swung his other leg into Hal's shoulder. It almost looked like break dancing. Hal dove to the side, narrowly missing the kick and rolling away. "Sounds hard."

"Worth it though. Ever tried taking down a dozen mobsters without getting shot? Not easy." This time Robin rose to a fighting stance, ready to take whatever Hal would throw at him. His smirk invited the space cop to try anything and everything to take him down.

"Why do you live with it?" Hal decided he wasn't going to attack. Instead he stood to his full height and crossed his arms. "I mean, you could be anything you wanted right? Why this life?"

Robin seemed to be rolling his eyes. He must have heard this question a lot. "Seriously? You're asking me that? Sheesh… some things never change."

Taking the hint the fight was over, Robin went over to the side and grabbed a water bottle and towel, shaking his head. Hal watched him for a minute, hoping the kid would answer his question. Once this train of thought was taken care of, he'd ask the kid how he managed to keep his glasses on all throughout the fight. He only took them off when he was on the parallel bars and rings. Hal stayed where he was, giving the kid a you're-not-getting-out-of-this look to ensure he got his answer.

Robin looked over his glasses and sighed. "I'm doing this because I can't standby and watch things happen. I saw my parents fall to their deaths when I was eight. When Bruce took me in and I found out he was Batman, I found a chance to get them justice. With his help, I took down Zucco and made sure he never made another orphan.

"Then I saw Bruce come home every night exhausted and beaten from fighting in Gotham. I saw reports on the news and read rumors online about him, and learned many people were scared of him." Robin took a drink from his bottle, catching his breath in a way.

"That was kinda the point of his costume," Hal pointed out.

"To scare criminals, I know." The boy looked back to him. "But what about the times he's not dealing with criminals, but ordinary people? Or kids? They were all terrified of him. I just kept seeing different scenarios where he'd need someone less scary to help him out, someone local.

"So, when I was nine I ran off in an old leotard and cape and fought crime." Robin smirked at Hal's shocked face. "Yeah, Bruce was tickled at the idea too. Must admit, not my brightest idea. The leotard that is. Took some doing, but after proving he couldn't stop me from going out after him, he finally made me his partner. Being stubborn and 'gifted' has its advantages.

"I've seen a lot of things these past five years," the boy reminisced. "Lots of things. I've been kidnapped more than any other kid on the planet, drugged more times than I can count, been shot, beaten, electrocuted, tied up, drowned, the list is endless. Most kids would probably turn tail and run. But I can't.

"Because if I did," the pain and worry on his face set Hal back, "who knows what'll happen next. I couldn't make sure Bruce would come home the next night if I'm not out there with him. I've seen already what me not being Robin's done to the League here. And all those missions my team's done, can you imagine what other small things I've already done back home has affected? For all I know, I might have saved the next president of the United States, or stopped a thug from becoming a mob lord because I took him down now. With all those possibilities, I can't just stand by when the world needs someone to stand up and fight. I have to fight."

Hal stared at the kid for a minute, marveling at him. This kid could be a Green Lantern some day. Or maybe an ordinary cop. He stood and fought despite the things he's seen, just to make sure someone else was taken care of. This person was a hero, through and through. Any one of them would be proud to have him as a son.

"That's why I fight. Not for myself, but for others. My case was solved a long time ago." Robin wiped the sweat off his neck, breathing deeply to change his outlook. "So I train all the time with my Bruce. The more I learn, the more I'll survive out there and the more people I can help. Sure it's brutal, but if you want to survive the streets of Gotham, you better be the best."

Hal shook his head, amused and amazed. This kid was a miracle. "Got it. I got it. Sheesh, I never thought I'd find someone at your age so ready to give up their life for this business."

Robin smirked. "I know many more than just me back home. I'd introduce you to them, but I don't think it's really possible. You want to go another round?"

The boy cocked his head, challenging him. Hal rolled his eyes and shook his. "I rather have lunch."

"But you didn't use your ring!" Robin actually sounded upset about that. "You were holding back on me the entire time."

"No I wasn't!" In truth, Hal hardly held back at all. He couldn't underestimate this kid for a second. That was how good this boy was.

"Then why didn't you use your ring?" This time Robin crossed his arms demanding answers.

"How can I use my ring on a powerless, unarmed teenager?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "To teach me to expect the unexpected. I learned how to fight Superman for Pete's sake. Still working on it frankly. Never know if I'll have to take down his clone or get some alien parasite off of him or if someone like him shows up in Gotham to kill the next king of Mars or something. Just good to be prepared."

Hal gave him an are-you-kidding-me glare before rolling his eyes. "Kid, you're impossible. I'm not throwing everything at you on the vague chance you'll go out tomorrow and fight Sinestro."

Robin looked away, pouting slightly as he shrugged. "Let me take a shower and I'll meet you in the kitchen for that lunch."

The pilot grinned. "Frozen pizza sound good?"

"Sure." Robin turned and headed to the showers behind the gym and locker rooms. "Just make sure you cook it all the way this time."

As the kid vanished, Hal wondered how often his counterpart and him hung out.

"How's he been today?" Superman asked the space cop around ten that night. He looked through the wall to where the boy was studying chemistry. A half eaten sandwich sat on the table next to the stack of books, and today he wore a Flash shirt.

Hal grinned. "That kid's stronger than he looks. You should feel his punch some time. And those kicks, whoa! I swear, if I didn't know a Batman had trained him, I'd say some assassin did. You should see the way he moves on those parallel bars too. It looks like he's flying through the air sometimes. Each of his moves blend together and—"

"Okay, we get it," Black Canary interjected, stopping him from rambling even more. "He's a really good fighter. If he weren't our ally, we'd be in trouble."

"Pretty much." Hal leaned over into the doorway to check on the kid again. They spent most of the day either talking about random adventures they had or in silence. Hal wasn't that good at school work and the kid insisted on studying over watching TV. He must have deliberately skipped out on it to stop him from thinking of the outside world. "But he's a hero at heart. I bet even without his DaddyBats taking him in, he'd become a cop or something. He just got lucky being found by one of the big three."

"Who's watching him tomorrow?" Dinah asked quickly.

"J'onn." Superman continued to look through the walls to the boy. Robin took off his sunglasses for a moment and rubbed his eyes. Wearing them all the time must be a headache for the kid, but he persisted at it. He picked up his sandwich and took another bite before putting it back and going back to the textbook, taking more notes. "Zatara's coming over too."

"Couldn't find any answers for the kid today either?" Hal asked quietly.

The man of steel shook his head sadly. Batman wasn't coming to the cave that night, but he sent a progress report to Clark, telling him science wasn't going to help this time. Zatara was called in.

He hadn't heard from Flash all day either, but they could only guess he was looking in on whatever Robin had told him about his nephew. A possible family crisis? That could only mean the boy had more personal information to confirm suspicions the man already had.

The kid had nothing really new to give Green Lantern it turned out. He only told him the short version of how he became Robin and why he continued being a kid hero. Robin was right in some sense, they could all see it, but a kid shouldn't be the one to help the dark knight. If he were an adult, they could support his actions. But a kid? Watching the boy working on complex chemistry equations was just one of the normal things he should be doing.

What was the Justice League in his world thinking? Robin shouldn't be Robin, but just another teenage boy. But if hearing his story and listening to him earlier told them anything, this kid couldn't be stopped. He'd be a hero either way, with or without the League's help.

"He's gotta be pretty disappointed with us," Hal muttered. "Two days and no answers on how to get him home. Now our Bats is avoiding him."

"Joker's out in Gotham again," Superman explained, jerking his attention to GL. "You know that takes priority in his mind. He's not avoiding him. You should have seen Bruce last night. He was like a dad for a moment. I bet in Robin's world, he's a great father to him."

"What kind of dad trains his kid to beat up thugs left and right?" Hal pointed out.

"The kind who live in Gotham." They looked at Dinah and remembered she lived there for quite some time. She knew what she was talking about. "Rough city that one."

The men exchanged glances and shrugged. What did they know? All they saw was a young teenage boy.

It took another hour or so for the kid to get tired enough to go to bed without any delays. An earlier dinner helped, plus he had worked up quite a sweat with Hal earlier in the day. Superman was certain the boy would pass out before making it to his room.

The man of steel stayed over the past two nights, making sure the boy was alright before leaving for work the next morning. And like the other two, Robin started having a nightmare. He didn't scream or make any loud noises this time, but he tossed and turned until he woke up and calmed himself down. Superman guessed if Batman had appeared for a moment or two, the boy wouldn't have woken up.

It didn't take terribly long, and once calmed down, Robin settled back into his bed, tucking himself in. Superman watched it all through the walls, and noted how depressed the boy woke up to be. He must have wanted Batman there to tell him everything was going to be alright. Such a child.

A child really shouldn't be a hero.

A/N: So in short, the League is kinda divided on whether Dick should be robin or not. This'll become an issue later. Hal and Dinah are somewhat okay with it, Batman too because he knows the kid's background. Flash i think is in the middle because he talked to the kid a lot. The others are either undecided or like Superman here, but Supe's not thinking of Robin just being Batman's partner (they've all had time in Rob's world to see the changes before meeting Robin after all), he's thinking of a kid going out and fighting crime in general. It's gonna take some persuasion.

Oh, for some comic facts: Dinah in one version of her background did live in Gotham. Dunno where she is in this world. Dick all grown up does become a cop in Bludhaven too. i also read a world's finest volume where doctor destiny spliced League members with teen titans, and Dick and Hal were slammed together. I remember batman commenting that his relationships with the two were very different, but the two were a lot alike. So I think they'd get along well here.

I'm pretty sure Dick's gonna have nightmares every night until he goes home unless Batman pops up at least once. We've pretty much seen a few of Dick's fears here too, mostly losing Bruce or being unable to do everything he can. i guess I'm getting pretty deep into his psychology here. =/ not a shrink but I do analyze characters for fun.