Ok, a short-ish chapter, but I didn't want to get into Selina, so... whatever.

NOTICE: I'm a-goin' on vacation next week, so there will be now new chapter next week. Don't expect a chap until... lets go with at least Wednesday after next. Sorry!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything recognizable.

The communicator lay on the table, thoroughly dissected. Wires, gears, and hardware were strewn around it on the table. Other than a single piece of metal with a Superman sticker attached, it was identical to every other communicator that Bruce had ever made. Which meant that it held zero clues to Dick's whereabouts. Bruce's hopes were shattering once more. He had been certain, that if Dick had left it he would have put some sort of message into it for him. That apparently wasn't the case after all.

Tim was in the Batcave infirmary, being fussed over by Alfred. The boy wasn't it the best shape, and until he had recovered somewhat he wouldn't be able to tell them anything. That didn't mean that Bruce wasn't doing anything, though. That warehouse had had cameras, and hopefully they had been working when Dick was there. There was a small, small chance, but it was something.

Bruce sat at the Batcomputer and brought up the info for that warehouse. There wasn't really anything special about it, which made Bruce wonder how Slade and Dick had known to look there. Some villain network, he assumed. Slade would be well connected. But that wasn't the important thing right now.

A few minutes of typing brought up what was. Sure enough, most of the security cameras had been disabled, some by Joker, some by- well, he was assuming it was Slade- and then there was one camera that had apparently been hacked by Dick; this camera, however, had not been shut off. Dick had hacking it to turn it back on. He wasn't completely gone yet.

"Bruce?"

Bruce turned and frowned at Tim. "You should be resting."

Tim shrugged. Finding Dick was more important than him resting. Plus, he wanted to find out what had really happened at that warehouse. "Did you find anything?"

Bruce hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should lie so Tim could get some rest, but ultimately nodded. "One of the security cameras was left on. I was about to watch."

Tim accepted the unspoken invitation and settled down next to him to watch. Unfortunately, the angle wasn't the best so they couldn't see where Slade and Dick had been hiding out before entering the room proper. However, they could see- and hear, because there was a microphone- everything that had happened after Dick entered the main room.

Bruce watched silently, inwardly wincing when Dick used the gun to stop Joker. He was glad that Joker had been stopped, of course, but the gun bothered him. Dick would never had used a gun before this. It was just another way he had changed.

Speaking of change, the new uniform was another unwelcome change. Bruce knew that a uniform meant that this was serious. The fact that Dick's new uniform barely resembled Slade's was also worrying. It meant that Slade was essentially establishing Dick as a virtually independent parter, not an enslaved apprentice. It showed a level of trust and confidence Bruce was uncomfortable with.

Despite all of this, it was unbelievable good to see his son again, even if it wasn't in the flesh. He hadn't quite believed that Dick really was ok and healthy. Now, he could see that Dick was alright with his own eyes rather than having to rely on Jason or Slade.

Speaking of Jason, he could probably shed some light on the new uniform. He reached out and picked up the communicator. He glanced over at Tim who was looking at the screen, watching what had happened with a pale face and made a decision.

"Tim. Rest. Now." The boy had seen what happened, and Bruce could fill him in on everything else later, but right now, Tim was supposed to be in recovery, not watching security footage. Tim looked like he was about to protest but nodded and left once Bruce glared at him. He really was tired.

Bruce sighed and called Jason.

"What?" Jason snapped. "I thought I told you that I wasn't going to help."

"I've got some security footage of Dick and Slade saving Robin from the Joker." Bruce said without preamble. "Dick used a gun and had a different uniform. What do you know?"

Jason was silent for a good while.

"Slade's been trying to get Dick to use a gun for a long, long time." He said finally. "I mean, he's taught Dick how to use one- Dick's a better marksman than I am now. But he's refused to use one in the field. He actually shot Joker?"

"Yes."

"Ok. Either Dick's given in or he made another deal. Slade wouldn't have just let Dick go off and rescue Robin. Probably, what happened was that Dick agreed to use a gun to stop Joker, and maybe told Slade about being the first Robin, in exchange for being able to go and rescue the Replacement. Dick told me that he would use the gun thing as a bargaining chip if he absolutely had to. Happy? Can I go now?"

"One more thing. The uniform."

"No idea. He never mentioned a uniform to me. Probably new." Jason was getting impatient. He wasn't a data bank, dang it. Why couldn't they leave him alone?

"Would he have chosen an new name?" Bruce wondered. It was an idle thought, but Jason's silence made Bruce pause. "Jason?"

"…Renegade." Jason said finally. "He told me that if he had to, he would choose Renegade. Am I done now?"

Shocked, Bruce let him hang up. Dick had actually thought about a villain name? And he'd told Jason about it, which made him think that Dick had put some serious thought into it. Which was bad.

This day was just getting worse and worse.

As he was thinking that, Alfred came down the stairs. "Master Bruce, Miss Kyle is here. I believe she wants to talk to you about Master Richard."

Bruce resisted the urge to groan and bash his head on the keyboard in front of him. Selina would not be happy about all of this, and about how Bruce had kept her out of everything. He let out a sigh and stood up. They would talk upstairs; hopefully that would prevent any violence. Maybe.

So, next chappy is Selina telling Bruce about stuff. Sorry, this chapter was a bit boring. But, Bruce needs to find this stuff out, so it was necessary.

Remember, no chapter next week!

REVIEW!