Chapter 5

2:10 AM May 2nd 2006, Finnegan's Pawn Shop, Gotham

"Ready?"

"Ready" Robin confirms.

I shoot my grabbling hook towards the roof of a neighboring building and swoop down onto the street below. Robin stays on top of the pawn shop, planning on sneaking in through an open top floor window. My nerves tighten when Robin disappears from view, heading to his entrance.

It is the third night I have brought Dick on patrol with me. The first two nights not much happened, just a few muggings and one jewelry store robbery. But with each of those, Robin and I were able to take down the criminal within a couple minutes. Tonight though, tonight we're breaking up a drug bust. A small one, but none the less it makes me nervous thinking Dick will be in there fighting the dealers with me.

'He is ready' I remind myself. Over the past three years I have trained Dick for this. I've taught him how to fight, how to use the shadows to his advantage, how to use weapons, everything I knew down to how to pick locks. The boy caught on fast to all the training, especially the fighting techniques. Being an acrobat, Dick was already amazingly flexible and had great agility. When I started training the boy, his strength increased very quickly, to the point it almost wasn't natural for a boy of nine.

For the first couple years after taking in Dick, I tried desperately to convince him not to join crime fighting. But he is stubborn. Last year I finally sat Dick down and explained why I didn't want him to become a hero and go on patrol with me. I explained how it is dangerous and I didn't want him to get hurt. Dick was understanding, but he had also prepared an argument expecting my apprehension. He explained his own motives for becoming a hero. Dick told me that he wants to do this not only to honor his parents (like me he added), but he wanted to help people in situations like he was in. People who have done nothing wrong, but have something awful happen to them. Dick then continued to explain how he feels like he was given a second chance at being happy since I took him in. His second chance also gives him the opportunity to stop horrid things from happening to others. He doesn't view crime fighting as beating up criminals, he views it as giving others their second chances. It was then that I knew Dick was cut out for this lifestyle. It still astonishes me how mature and intelligent Dick could be; for heaven's sake he was eight when he told me that.

That's not to say Dick still doesn't have his childish tendencies. He still has his goofy personality and is constantly cracking jokes or pulling pranks. Wally and him have become very close over the years; considering themselves best friends. The two are practically joined at the hip when together. Both Dick and Wally are also close to Roy, but Roy took on more of an older brother role. Oliver and I still laugh about the time we both got calls from Dick's school when Roy showed up and hung one of Dick's bullies from a tree by their uniform. Last year the three also got to know another 'sidekick' as the League likes to call the kids. After seeing how Barry and Oliver benefited from having apprentices, Aquaman decided to get one. A few months ago he introduce Kaldur or 'Aqualad' to the League. Dick, Wally and Roy are defiantly good friends with Kaldur. But the atlantian just doesn't spend enough time on land to become super close to the three. Honestly, I don't think any future sidekick or even hero will be become part of the original three. Dick, Wally and Roy are just going to have a special bond that I don't think could be the same with any newcomers. In fact I don't think any future sidekicks will have the same relationship with the League as the original three. It is quite common for Dick to call the first Leaguers Uncle or Aunt; Roy and Wally call them by their first names, but have similar relationships with them. I know the League also views the three as their 'nephews.' Especially the ones chosen as Roy and Dick's godparents.

I sneak into the pawn shop. As I expected, there are only a few men inside. Three I can see, and one I can hear in the back room. The one from the back walks in with a pile of cash. He hands the money to the leader of the trio (all of which have guns). The leader smiles and kicks a crate over to the buyer.

I see Dick enter the room through a ceiling tile. It crunches a bit, making me cringe, but still goes unnoticed by those below. I see the red of Robin's costume peek out from the opening.

Unlike mine, Dick's costume was designed to be a bit more visible. We decided early on in planning battle strategy that Dick would be used to distract criminals so I can get closer and take them down before they even see me. At first I was very much against this, and still am to a point. But Alfred designed Dick's costume with the same bullet and stab proof material as my own, and I trained Dick extensively on how to dodge attacks. The inspiration of Dick's costume is loosely based on his Flying Grayson one, but is different enough so others don't see the connection. It has red and yellow, but the colors are placed in a way so if Dick needed to hide, he could cover them with his black cape.

Dick looks over at me and nods, ready to begin our plan. Commissioner Gordon is on his way with the police, Robin and I just need to capture the criminals and keep them on the scene. I nod back at Dick, signaling I am also ready.

The trio is about to leave, when Dick says "Hey where you going?"

The three gangsters whip around and point their guns at the part of the ceiling where the voice came from. Robin gets out of the way before the bullets begin. I quickly take down the leader from behind before he even fires one shot. The two goons notice their fallen leader and try to aim at me.

I snatch a gun from one of them and hit the other with it. The gunless one jumps at me, trying to take possession of the weapon again. We fist fight for a while, until his partner gets up from the ground where he fell, and charges at me.

Robin is suddenly behind the man I am fighting. He grabs the man and holds him back so I can give him a swift punch to the face, knocking him unconscious. This happened so fast that the goon charging at me didn't have time to react. As he charging, I grab his arm and back of the neck allowing room for Dick to give a corkscrew kick to the man's face. The man screams in pain and falls to the ground. Besides them being unconscious, I know none of the gangsters are not seriously injured. As if on cue, police sirens begin to approach, indicating it is time for Robin and me to leave.

"Where is the shop owner?" I ask.

Robin nods to behind the counter, "Having a nice nap."

I smirk before leading Robin out of the shop. We exit through a window and use grabbling hooks to get on the roof of a neighboring music store. Gordon will meet us in a few minutes behind the pawn shop, we just have to wait.

"Good job back there" I compliment.

"Thanks" Robin beams.

"Next time though be more careful with the ceiling tile."

"Okay, I will" Dick says. One trait I greatly appreciate of the boys, is his willingness to accept corrections.

Robin and I stay on the roof for about ten minutes before we see a white light come from the pawn shops back alley. We glide down in time to see Gordon put his flashlight away.

"Thank you Batman, we have…" the Commissioner fumbles when he sees Robin. "Who is this?"

"Hello Commissioner, you can call me Robin." The boy holds out his hand.

Gordon shakes Robins hand and says, "I heard there was another hero working with Batman the last couple nights. But I didn't expect someone so young. How old are you?"

"Nine" Robin answers. "I'm short for my age."

"Nine!" the commissioner exclaims. "Batman can I talk to you?" I nod and walk a few feet away with the man. "Are you crazy!" he whispers.

"According to the papers it's up for debate."

"You brought a kid out on patrol with you!"

"Yes" I answer bluntly. "He is quite capable, I have trained him myself."

"I don't care if the entire Justice League trained him!" Gordon snaps. "You can't put a child so young in danger like this."

"I understand where you are coming from. But it is my and Robin's decision."

"I swear to god, if that kid gets hurt while he is out with you. I will personally bring you down to the station myself."

"Don't worry Commissioner" Robin says walking over. "I can handle myself. I took down one of the guys in there all by myself and helped Bats with another."

"That doesn't make me feel better" Gordon says rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Anyway, did you get everything you needed for the bust?" I ask.

"Yes. It should be a pretty quick investigation. We are also hoping one of the goons will tell us who their boss is."

"Do you have any idea?" Robin asks.

"Not exactly" Gordon explains. "We know some guy named Stormwell is in charge of the mob's branch here. But apparently he has a boss who runs many branches in the U.S. and has partners throughout Europe."

"Dang!" Robin exclaims.

"Dang is right" Gordon sighs.

"Robin, go start up the batmobile" I order handing him the keys.

"Really!" the boy says excitedly, dashing down the alley towards where we parked the vehicle.

"That doesn't mean you can drive it" I assert.

I hear the boy moan in disappointment before disappearing around the corner.

"Nice kid you have there" Gordon comments.

"I know. Now, how long has Stromwell been dealing here. I have only heard of him recently."

"Same. We think he has been around for a few years. There was a boss before him, Tony Zucco, but as you know he got sent to Blackgate back in 03. We think Stromwell took over after him."

"I thought Zucco was just passing through when he came to Gotham."

"That's what one of his goons told us. It looks whoever is their boss wanted some men to stay in Gotham."

4:45 PM November 30th 2009 Blackgate Penitentiary

I glare at the reporters waiting outside the prison. They have all gathered to get a picture of Dick entering the building. Stupid prison workers, not keeping their mouths shut.

"You don't have to do this you know" I tell Dick who is sitting next to me in the car. "You can back out any time, nobody will hold it against you."

"I want to talk to him Bruce" Dick affirms.

Two months ago, Robin had saved a woman from being kidnapped. Usually, the people we save stay pretty quiet about it. Since we are usually able to capture their attackers, the victims seem to just want to move on with their lives. But this woman wanted to talk to her almost kidnapper. At first it confused Robin, until Gordon explained that some victims of attack want to confront their assailants to either ask questions or give them a piece of their mind.

Dick had apparently thought over the idea for a while, because three weeks ago he told me that he would like to talk to Tony Zucco, his parent's killer. I had tried to convince Dick out of it. But the boy was persistent, telling me he has had questions for years that he wanted answered.

I knew that if I didn't agree to take Dick to the prison, he would have found a way to go by himself. At least this way, I can be there for the interview. Dick had insisted though that I stay behind the one way mirror in the interrogation room with the guards.

"Are you sure?" I ask him again.

"Positive" Dick confirms.

The car driver opens up the door on my side. I get out, followed by Dick. Cameras flash the second the boy appears from out of the car. I put an arm around Dick, protecting him somewhat from the reporters, and quickly escort him into the prison.

"Mr. Wayne, Mr. Grayson follow me" a guard says.

We follow him through some hallways, luckily not past any cells. This day already has me on edge, I don't want to have to listen to the convicts taunt us all the way to the interrogation room. Dick doesn't seem to be fazed by his surroundings; he is too focused on confronting his parent's murderer.

Eventually we reach an office. A well-built man walks out of it and greets us, "Hello. I am Burt Bently; I run Blackgate."

I shake the man's hand and introduce myself, "Bruce Wayne." Richard does the same but says "Richard Grayson-Wayne."

Mr. Bently tells us "Zucco is already in the interrogation room. I'll warn you though Richard, he doesn't seem to be in a completely stable state of mind."

"Is it safe for him to be in there then?" I ask concerned.

"Yes, we have him handcuffed to the table. He won't be able to touch the boy."

"I can handle it Mr. Bently" Dick states.

"Follow me then" the large man says, walking down the hall. Eventually we reach a room labeled 'Interrogation 2.' "Richard will enter through here, a guard is already in there. Mr. Wayne, you and I will go through that door" he points to one a few feet away. "There is another guard in there that will be able to enter the interrogation room through a connecting door if need be."

I nod to the man before turning my attention to Richard. I kneel down to his eye-level and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I ask seriously.

"Yes" Dick says confidently.

"Okay, remember I will be right behind the glass okay. We can leave whenever you want."

"I know Bruce."

I get up from my kneeling position and follow Mr. Bently into the conjoining room. I see through the glass that Zucco does indeed have his wrists chained to the table. Zucco's hair is slightly a mess and his eyes have a wild glint to them. He doesn't look completely crazy, just slightly.

Dick enters the room and sits across the table from Zucco. The prisoner smirks and says,

"Heard you were coming. You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you, still a pipsqueak though."

"Why did you do it?" Dick asks, getting right to the point.

"My employer had a mission and I wanted the reward for completing it. Your parents and that idiot circus owner got in the way."

"Why was your boss so interested in getting money from the circus?"

"He was interested in a lot more than money kid" Zucco answers, still smirking.

"Like what?" Dick raises his voice. "What could be so valuable that you would kill my parents for it?

Zucco laughs, "Kid you have no idea do you? You have no clue."

"Answer me" Dick asserts.

Mr. Bently says to me "Brave kid you have there."

I am about to respond when Zucco begins talking, "Why do you care so much? You have that billionaire looking after you now, don't you?"

"Bruce took me in yes. But that doesn't me I don't care about what happened to my parents."

Zucco lets out another laugh, "You sure like to replace them don't you. Your blood goes in the ground and you move onto someone else. Soon enough you will tire of Wayne and replace him too, won't ya?"

I see Dick's fists tighten under the table, mine are doing the same. "I didn't replace them!" Dick snaps at Zucco.

"Sure you didn't" the disgusting man winks.

I look over at Bently and say, "This needs to stop. I want him out of there."

"Wait, this kid is handling himself pretty well" the man says, stopping me.

"You took my parents away from me" Dick declares. "You did. I had to watch them die, then somehow continue on. I didn't replace my parents, I just found another one who cares about me just like they did. Don't try to make me feel guilty about being with Bruce, it won't work. My parents would want me to be happy living with him."

"You don't know what your parents want."

"You're crazy!" Dick exclaims.

Zucco lets out another laugh, "Crazy but right."

"No you're not. My parents loved me and would want me to be happy. You know nothing about them."

"Kid, I know a lot. Just wait, you're time with Wayne will eventually come to an end and you'll move on. You have done it before."

"You're wrong" Dick determines. "I love living with Bruce, and I don't plan on leaving."

"Plans always change" Zucco smirks, the crazy glint in his eye.

Dick stares at Zucco for a few minutes, studying the man. "You know, I came here to get answers out of you. I wanted to know why you would do something so horrible. Why my parents. Then I was going to tell you how I felt the night you killed them. I was going to tell you about what a horrible person you are for killing two innocent lives."

"So why aren't you?" Zucco asks slyly.

"Because I don't need to" Dick answers. "You know all of that already. But you don't feel any regret, any guilt, any emotion towards what you did." Dick stands up, "You're just crazy, and it is a waste of my time to try to understand you."

Dick walks out of the interrogation room, his head held high.

5:09 AM July 5th 2010, Batcave

"You will not be going on patrol until I say it is okay. No television, no cell phone, you may use the computer and internet for school, but that is it. I don't want to see you anywhere near it otherwise" I scold Robin.

"Geez Bats, I get it" Robin takes off his mask to reveal his sky blue eyes.

"I don't think you do" I snap.

"You made yourself perfectly clear at Cadmus" Dick argues.

I sigh, "We will discuss this more later. For now just go to bed."

"Fine. Just so you know, Selina and I are getting lunch tomorrow."

Selina and I have had an on and off again relationship over the past few years. We will stay together for months, maybe a year, then take a few months break. But no matter what, Selina has made it a point to keep a relationship with Dick. Something I actually appreciate, liking that Dick has a motherly figure in his life. Their bond isn't as close as Dick and mine, but I know for a fact that Dick has called Selina mom on a few occasions. Selina has told me she feels the same way. When need be, even if we are fighting, Selina will back me up on discipline and other parental aspects.

Right now Selina and I are currently not together. "We will talk about your punishment more when you get back."

Dick nods. We both begin taking off our armor in silence. It isn't often that I have to scold Dick this much, but when I do it is always awkward. It isn't that we are mad at each other, Dick knows when he does something wrong and usually doesn't fight his punishment. I also make sure I only scold him when Dick does something very wrong; I don't linger on small things.

"Do you think Clark will talk to Superboy soon?" Dick asks, breaking the silence.

I sigh, "I don't know Dick. I hope so but…it's a lot to take in."

"He's a good guy. I mean…he helped us escape Cadmus." Wally, Kaldur and Dick became pretty protective of Superman's clone in a short amount of time.

"I know."

"He's just confused. The poor guy's been locked up inside a pod his entire life, believing he was an object instead of a person."

"We will try to work with the boy on that. For now the League is just trying to make sure he isn't a threat" I explain.

"He's not! It's not his fault Cadmus made him. Superboy is trying to be good, doesn't that count for anything?"

"We know that. But there are other factors."

"Like what?" Dick argues.

"You said he attacked you, Wally and Kaldur when you first freed him" I reason.

"That doesn't count!" Dick exclaims. "Superboy thought he was an object, of course he did everything the Gnomes told him to. But when we explained how he could make his own life outside of Cadmus, he ran away from it. He chose not to follow his creators; that should count for something."

"It does" I state, silencing the boy. "Don't think that the League doesn't see that Superboy wishes to be good and yes that counts a lot for us. It counts a lot for me. Just look at Selina, do you think I believe people can't change?"

"No."

"I'm sure Superboy is a good kid and we will try to help him with any issues he has." I explain. "I hope Clark wises up soon and speaks to the clone, but it is a difficult situation for him Dick. Someone stole his DNA to create a child without his permission. As much as it isn't Superboy's fault for being created, it isn't Clark's either."

"Clark just needs to give Superboy a chance."

I sigh, "I'm sure he will come around Dick. He just needs to get over the shock. Hopefully then he will come to his senses."

August 5th 8:36 PM 2010, Batcave

"So it wasn't Roy who saved Wally" Dick realizes, finishing up the file I just had him read. "It was this Artemis Crock."

"Yes" I confirm while practicing throwing batarangs at a target. Dick is sitting in a chair behind me.

"And the League wants to put her in Young Justice" Dick continues.

"That's right. Oliver volunteered to train her since her strength seems to be archery and Roy has decided to go solo."

"Are you sure we can trust her, considering her parentage."

"We definatly consider her a potential threat. But she helped your team by her own free will, that shows us that she doesn't want to be like Sportsmaster. You didn't seem to have this attitude when we took in Superboy" I point out.

"Well his situation was different."

"Not entirely" I argue. "They both were born into the life of crime. Both trained by known villains who they wish to break away from. The League has given Superboy a chance, it is only right for us to give Artemis."

"I guess your right" Dick agrees. He pauses before adding, "The file says her father's training was torturous at times. Who would do that to their own kid?"

I sigh, "I have stopped trying to understand people like that a long time ago."

"He trained her to basically be one of his assassins."

"Yes" I say throwing my last batarang. I walk over to the target and begin pulling the weapons out of it.

"He was using her" Dick says, starting to get upset.

"So she fought back. Her mother was released from prison and the two decided to turn their lives around, at least from what we can tell. Artemis has been patrolling Gotham for about a month, fighting crime. That is why she was there when your team was fighting Amazo."

Dick nods understandingly, "When are you and Oliver going to talk to her?"

"Tomorrow night" I answer, loosening the last batarang.

"Will Oliver then bring Artemis and her mom to Star City then?"

"That is up to them. We still don't know if she will want to join the team."

"I think she will" Dick decides, placing the file on a table. He gets up from his chair and joins me in throwing batarangs.

We spend some time practicing our aiming. It is mostly quiet, except for the few corrections I give the boy on his technique. Dick throws the last one and stares at the target for a while.

"Would you still care about me if my past was different?" he asks, still looking at the target.

"Excuse me?"

"What if I wasn't from the circus?" Dick asks seriously. "What if my parents weren't acrobats and instead were criminals or something and you did for some reason take me in? Would you still care about me the same way as you do now, or would I be considered a potential threat like Superboy and Artemis?"

"Dick, where is this coming from?" I ask concerned.

"Would you care?" Dick asks again, still not looking at me.

"Of course I would." I walk over to the boy and turn his head to look at me. I put my hands on his shoulders, demanding all his attention and say "Dick, I didn't take you in because you are from the circus. I wouldn't care if you were from a different planet, you are my son. I would love you no matter where you come from. Understand?"

The boy nods his head slowly. I ask him

"What brought this on?"

Dick tenses for a moment, then says "I don't know. Clark still isn't talking to Superboy and I guess that's just starting to get to me. And now having Artemis on the team, I guess it's the first time I've ever thought about how where we come from makes us who we are."

"It doesn't always" I tell him. "I've always thought a person is defined by their actions and intent. The League is the perfect example. We all come from different backgrounds, but fight for the same thing."

Dick nods, "I wish Clark would talk to Superboy."

"It is starting to wear on both of them" I agree. "I tried talking to Clark, but he still can't wrap his mind around having a clone."

"It's not Superboy's fault he's a clone" Dick asserts, almost saying it to himself. "It's just how he was created."

"Everyone knows that."

"Clark doesn't seem to."

"He knows, like I've said before kryptonians have thick skulls."

Dick smiles at the joke, "So is Oliver looking forward to having a new apprentice?"

"I don't think he is quite over Roy leaving" I answer. "But he seems pleased to be able to teach someone again."

"That's good. Oliver's a nice guy when he wants to be."

"Roy was good for him. All of the protégés have been good for their mentors."

"How about you?" Dick asks.

I smile, "Especially me."

7:15 AM November 6th 2010, Wayne Manor

I take another sip of my morning coffee. Then frown at the newspaper I am reading when I come across another article about Dick's new 'girlfriend.' A picture of some blonde girl is sitting under the article's title, along with a headshot of Dick. Ever since Dick had confronted Zucco, the press has gone crazy over the boy.

At first the press just found the story interesting, praising Richard on is bravery to stand up to the man. After being pestered incessantly by reporters for an interview, Dick decided to have Clark do an article about him and his life so far. The article talked about his living in the circus, the night of the accident, being adopted by 'Gotham's top playboy,' life as a Wayne, and finally his decision to talk to Zucco. We thought that after the article came out, the public would be satisfied and the press would eventually leave Dick alone. But news stations and talk shows around the country were still asking if Dick and I would appear on their shows. So we did an interview with ABC, thinking that would be the end of all the attention.

But we were wrong. After watching Dick joke around and try to charm the interviewer on TV, the public seemed to fall in love with his goofy personality. The media wouldn't stop talking about how 'cute,' 'precious,' and 'hilarious' Dick's interview was. It became a daily occurrence for the manor to receive dozens of phone calls a day from the media, asking for an appearance form Richard in their show or article.

None of this really caused any issues for our night jobs. Since the batcave has an entrance away from the manor, it was easy for Dick and me to go on patrol while avoid any reporters who may have stuck around late that night. We also have a zeta tube, so we can travel to the Watchtower, Hall of Justice or Happy Harbor when we want to. We haven't had to reduce the amount of crime fighting we do, or the amount of time we spend with our teams. In fact, we have been pretty busy lately. A new villain, Urien, has been causing some trouble around Gotham. Nothing major, but he puts up a pretty good fight.

Initially Dick enjoyed his new fame, joking with the reporters that would follow him to school or bombard him at events. Every once in a while he would appear on some talk show like Ellen or one time he did a cameo on SNL. He enjoyed talking about his life to the public, and except for leaving out any superhero information, he was pretty honest. The public enjoyed hearing about his life in the circus and at the manor. They found Dick and my relationship especially interesting, so that was often the topic of conversation whenever he was asked questions by the press. Selina and I are also dating again, so when she started getting followed by paparazzi asking about her relationship with Dick, we came up with a solution. She moved into the manor.

Then one day Dick seemed to have had enough, and stopped interacting with the media all together. He would ignore the reporters, try hard not to get photographed, and declined all interviews. The media was shocked by the minor celebrity's sudden uninterested.

That is when the 'scandals' started coming out. Stories began popping up about Dick's 'many relationships,' or 'party problems.' Girls from all over the U.S. would tell the press about how they were Richard's new flame. One even claimed to be pregnant by him. Or some upper class brat would tell a reporter about how he and Dick went to wild parties together all the time.

Dick handled the rumors well. Having experience in problems such as this, I was able to help the boy determine the best route to dissolve the untrue rumors. Some of the stories, such as the parties or pregnant girl, Dick would simply give one statement saying the rumor wasn't true. Without any proof or attention from Dick, the rumor would eventually be disproven or simply be forgotten.

It has been over nine months since Dick started ignoring the press. For the most part, things have settled down. Every once in a while another story will pop up such as the one in the paper today. Dick and I will just ignore the lie and it will go away soon.

"Hey there handsome, what you reading?" a feminine voice whispers into my ear.

I turn and smile, "Good morning Selina. How did you sleep?"

"Fine" she answers before giving me a kiss. "Looks like Dick's new girlfriend is pretty cute."

"Yeah" I laugh. "Apparently she lives in California, but they call each other every night and are determined to last long distance."

"How romantic" Selina chuckles. "Where is baby bird anyway?"

"Hasn't come downstairs yet. You know he is almost fourteen, not really a baby anymore."

Selina smirks, "He'll always be."

Alfred walks into the room, carrying another coffee. He hands the mug over to Selina

"Good morning Miss Kyle, your usual."

"Thank you Alfred."

"Young master Dick is not down yet" Alfred observes. "He is usually down here eating breakfast by now."

"We were just discussing his whereabouts" I say.

"He better be down soon, the boy has to leave for school in fifteen minutes if he plans on being on time."

I nod, "I'll go check on him; make sure he didn't sleep in or anything."

As I get up from my chair, Selina asks "Can you hand me the paper?"

I do as she asks and mutter, "I can't believe this gossip made it into the paper." Selina chuckles and begins to read the article.

Heading upstairs, I have a weird feeling. Something is out of place, but I can't figure out what. As I get closer to the bedrooms, the feeling grows. I quicken my pace.

I reach Dick's bedroom door and pause. The gut-wrenching feeling is overpowering at this point. I knock on the door, but there is no answer. Knocking again, I say

"Dick open the door" no answer. "It's almost time for school, time to get up."

Still no response. I begin to panic, "Dick if you don't open the door, I'm coming in" no answer.

Quickly opening the bedroom door, I am met with an empty room. Everything looks the same, but feels different.

"Dick?" I call out. "Richard."

A note is lying on the bed. My heart races as I walk over and pick it up, knowing what it says before reading. The feeling I had when I walked up the stairs told me.

Dear Bruce,

Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm sorry but I can't tell you why I'm leaving. Just know it is for your own safety, so don't come looking for me. I hope to see you again someday, I wish that more than anything, but for now I have to go. I meant it when I told Zucco I didn't want to leave, but this is the way it has to be. Thank you for taking me in, training me, letting me be Robin, making me part of your family. Thank you for everything, I mean it.

Love, Dick