"And then I said, 'By Golly, with all those screams you're making, is it really that hard to give little ol' me a smile?' But alas, the stubborn little thing wouldn't budge, giving me those 'big eye trick' that all those kids can do nowadays. And you know what I did next? Do ya? Well?" he paused, looking eagerly at his audience. Finally finding the silence as a cue to go on, he continued.

" Lemmie just say this-little Tommy lived the rest of his little life," his tongue flicked as it made a carving motion around his lips, "with a smile...all thanks to me, of course," saying so, he gave a mini bow, and to the laughter of YJ Joker and hoots of Harley, plopped back into his seat.

Ra's Al Ghul said nothing as he silently observed the scene before him, taking in the way YJ Joker looked on with a gleam with his eye as he listened to what the 'senior' him did, mind racing with endless new ideas of destruction, no doubt.

Watched as Harvey howled when the Joker recounted his tales, only to quieten down mid-laugh as he shot her a death glare, only to continue again when he got into another bloody tale of all his past victims.

Saw as Warp silently gulp down his drink, trying (and failing) to ignore the Joker as he gestures around to illustrate the story, which was nothing if not suitable for a dinnertime tale.

His face turns slightly green when the Joker talks about dissection and meat and blood just as he scarfs down his medium rare steak, and as he warns about a poison which is tasteless, colorless and how he has a stash of it hidden in his pocket and would you like to see it first-hand? It works best in red wine, you know?

Sees how the younger, inexperienced him look around the room with disinterested eyes, like he doesn't know that only with these eccentric, insane, mad people he could achieve what he wanted.

And as he raises his glass to announce their cooperation, he sees the maniac gleam in eyes which have hidden agendas, not even bothering to hide the look of insanity that, however briefly, takes over their face.

Sees the look of cleverly-hid disgust as they survey the room and it's occupants, only retreating when they locked into his own eyes, because they know who they are dealing with, and that they are looking forward to...work...with you.

Sees the slight discomfort, the shifting of gazes, because right now there was no backing out once the deal was made, and that yes, he was working with this group of dangerous, dangerous people, even if they don't look it, which makes them all the more dangerous, and that's not a comforting thought at all.

"To the destruction of Gotham!" (and the breaking of Batman)

"Cheers!"

(Because the most important things were always the unspoken).

#

Punch. Punch, punch. Punch punch punch.

There is something wet and sticky and as he finally registers that it's not his sweat and it's his blood and his knuckles are bleeding, but he finds he couldn't care less.

punch, punch.

Couldn't leave the city like that, they said.

punch, punch. punch.

Words kept sprouting out, censored out in places in which they thought he couldn't handle. But they seemed to forget that he was his son too, and that if it came to the time that he would have to take on the cape he had the right to know.

Punch, punch.

Something warm and unfamiliar forms and it clouds his vision.

Punch, punch. Punch punch.

Tell me, please, please tell me, he pleads, because if one day he's gone I have the right to know how I can bear wearing his cape, putting on his cowl, and carry the burden of Gotham on my shoulders.

Punch, punch, punch.

How can I stand living with the knowledge that I'm not him, and I'll never be like him, and yet I'm dressing up parading around in his suit and his tech and pretending I'm him?

Punch. punch, punch punch.

Gotham isn't Gotham without Batman. It was common knowledge that he was nothing like Batman. How could he dress up and go around town without him at his side, silent eyes and steady hands as they watched, him, guided him, and forged what he is today?

Always watchful and looking out for him as the fought in sync, perfectly in tune with each other's thoughts, knowing their next move with just a shift of the hand or change of direction.

What would he do without him, his guardian, his savior, his father?

How could he live with himself, pretending to be as good as him, because he was the goddamned Batman, who never made mistakes and miscalculations, who always kept his cool, who was just so hard to live up to.

How could rash, inexperienced Robin live up to that?

Punch, punch, punch. Punch, punch.

He had the right to know, even if it wasn't his time yet, even if it wasn't even in his dimension.

Punch, punch, punch.

He had the right to know, so if someone could please, please, tell him...

Punch. Punch.

Because he was his son too.

Punch. Crack.

The wall cracked as he thumped his fist against it, the bloody knuckles leaving imprints on the wall.

Sulking, he put on his gloves which he had opted to take off before he started practicing, to increase his strength in fighting without any equipment.

After putting on his gloves he reached for the next thing in he had decided to put down-his belt.

He knew he shouldn't, and that Bruce would kill him if he knew. But he was training combat without weapons or any other gadgets, so the belt would've been out of place.

But now, he knew he had made a fatal, fatal mistake-he had lost his belt.

His heart leapt to his throat and there was a moment of panic when his brain began supplying vivid images on the many ways Batman would kill him...until he felt something whooshing towards him and in in a reflex he raised his hand and caught the offending item.

A...Bird-a-rang? He was confused now.

"Heya kiddo, looking for this?"

Turning, ha saw none other than Oracle, in all her red, wheel-chaired glory, and in her hands was nothing other than his belt.

#

Working with the League in this dimension was more troublesome than she thought.

They had been openly suspicious of her, warily eyeing her every move. Even Bart had his doubts.

But then again, when ever had a visitor from another dimension came hopping to your headquarters demanding you give them every single unusual frequency you had detected in the past 4 hours of so?

And it was as if you couldn't hack into their network on your own, and that you had decided it would probably be best to present yourself to them and ask for their permission instead of pulling a Bats and just go ahead.

Really, she huffed, the nerve of those people. She could've sworn the League in her own dimension wasn't this annoying.

Or maybe it was the fact that they didn't listen to her directions and take her orders like their life depended on it (and most of the time it did) anymore that bugged her.

She ran the thought through her head for several seconds of serious contemplation.

Nah, it was just them.

She had stayed longer than the expected fifteen minutes, and ended up staying there for two whole days instead, staying the guest room ( who knew? ) in the League's headquarters in space.

And after confirming that no, she wasn't lying and that yes, she haven't brain-washed Batman into thinking she was telling the truth.

They had finally decided to trust her and gave her all the information she needed. Finally.

One would think that a group with mind-readers and high tech devices would've figured that out earlier than this.

On second thought, maybe it was best Martian Manhunter didn't read her mind...She briefly prayed that he didn't hear the part about Clark getting his cape stuck on a lamp pole that one time, and of Bart not looking where he was going and slipped all the way on a puddle to China (How, she couldn't even imagine, but it was a Hell hilarious).

But then again...she knew a lot of dirt about the old (this dimension) and new (her dimension, she supposed) League members, so...yeah, it was probably best they didn't read her mind.

Anyway, as she had finally arrived back in the Mount Justice, she had been greeted with an empty living room, the rest of the Team out to school or simply out, and the only ones left were her Bat-fam, and even they were locked up in their rooms, doing God-knows whatever.

And she was left to her own devices again.

After wandering around and generally exploring the hide-out of the Team formed by Dick in this dimension, she heard a pounding coming from upstairs, and curious, she decided to check it out.

Seeing Robin in this condition left her speechless, and it was simply heartbreaking to watch the young version of Dick let himself out like that. So, seeing his discarded gloves and belt, she decided to do something.

#

"O-Oracle?" he stammered, and her pride swelled by the fact that he remembered her name.

She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

"Yes?"

"Could you um, give that back, please?" he was trying to hide his hands, bloody by the harsh training he had just gave himself, she noted. How precious.

"Give what back?"

He was starting to get impatient.

"My belt."

"Oh, you mean this?" she asked, holding the yellow belt out and dangling it beside her.

"Yes," he gritted out. What was with that woman?

"If you want it, you gotta come and get it," she said, smirking as she held it out tauntingly.

Robin eyed her. His fists were raw and his entire being felt so tired he could just sag and fall. and now there comes this woman, taking the last piece of equipment he needed before he could just leave and mope and get this over with.

But seeing her raise an eyebrow, the belt in her hands gleaming like a medal as she challenged him, he suddenly felt charged all over again. He wasn't going to let this woman look down on him. He had to prove that he was just as good as the other Robins from the other dimension.

One look at them and he could see they were no fake, one-hundred percent trained by Batman alright.

With that in mind, he lunged, and grasped nothing but air.

"Wha-"

"Never turn your back on an opponent," she chided, as she turned up behind him, belt still dangling in her hand.

Gritting his teeth, he opted to make a fake right then grab the belt when she was looking out to the right, but she had seen through his plans and evaded his moves with plenty of space to spare.

"You're fakes are obviously, well, fake. Try not to be so apparent when you make your next move."

Growling with irritation, he lunged again, and gritted his teeth in frustration as she had somehow evaded them with ease.

"You've gotta be faster if you wanna get this back," she said breezily and watched with amusement as he picked himself up and tried another tactic.

This went on for quite some time before she decided to end it with a quick jab to the ribs and with the side of her hand acting like the blade of a knife she held it next to his neck.

"Game over," she announced, and watched as he growled in frustration, beads of sweat dripping down his face. He seemed annoyed at his own failure to win against this one crippled lady.

Oh the things he didn't know.

"Well, that was some workout, wasn't it?" she started, but was cut short by his protestions.

"No fair! I was tired after training!" he wheezed, hands on his knees, leaning as he caught his breath.

"Life ain't fair, kiddo. I mean look at me," she waved at her legs, "We just evened out the odds somewhat. But of course, you never underestimate the person in the wheelchair," she narrowed her eyes, "Never."

He wheezed out something inaudiable as his retort.

"And besides," she continued, " besides fighting without gadgets, you also have to learn to fight when you're low on stamina and energy, like you were just now."

"More often than never you heroes find yourself tired to the core after fighting, and that is when most of you a vulnerable. Never leave a chance for the enemy to take advantage of you in a situation like that."

She eyed him seriously, and was suddenly taken aback at how small he looked, and was struck by that fact that he was only thirteen.

"Good game, it was, training with you," she said, and she tossed the belt back to him, "Haven't had this much action in days..."

"Good?" he burst out, "How was this a good game? I kept losing to you!"

"Well, you have to make mistakes to learn kiddo. Just because you have more experience doesn't mean you don't have to stop and learn."

Saying this, she patted him on the arm, and turned to leave.

"...I'm still not good enough, aren't I?"

She stopped.

"I'll never be as good as him, no matter how hard I try, or train! I'll never be able to be like him!"

Taking a deep breath, she turned back to face him. His mask did nothing to hide the angst he felt, and she sat in silence for a while, reveling in those very same words she had heard her dimension's golden boy say thousands of times.

"Robin, listen," she started gently, "Batman is Batman, and there's no one out there in any dimension that is like him. No one can ever say 'I am Bruce Wayne' and be act, think and be exactly like him. I'll be honest and tell you no one can ever be Batman like him."

"Gee, thanks for the encouragement," he mumbled, and shoulders sagging, he turned, preparing to leave.

"No, no wait! I wasn't finished!" she cried, and grabbed his arm, tugging so he would face her, "Now stand still and listen, because I'm probably the only one who will tell you this, so you better appreciate it." taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Barbara continued talking.

"But, you see, the fact that there is no one like him is what makes it beautiful. You are you," she poked him on his chest, "and there is no one who is going to be exactly like you, no matter how many decades and centuries pass, because that is the beauty of it all. Every one is made to be different, with different flaws and habits and little quirks of the personality."

" Now imagine, if for instance, you are exactly like Bruce. You have the same attitude to everything, you are also stubborn like him, and like the same brand of coffee and read the daily news from the back to the front every morning at exactly the same time everyday. Now, that would be scary won't it?"

He nodded mutely, face screwing at the thought of drinking the bitter black coffee his mentor liked.

"So, what I'm saying is, you don't have to worry about being like him because you are you, and it doesn't matter if your voice isn't gravelly enough or your landing isn't sure enough, it just makes you all the more yourself."

" So you may not be able to intimidate people or piece together the clues as fast as him, so what? I'll tell you for a fact that Batman isn't as agile was you are or dodge as fast as you can, even in his top condition. So cheer up, and stop moping around! You can be your own self!"

"Batman is nothing but a man in a cowl and cape, it doesn't characterize you as Bruce Wayne, the Batman. You aren't replacing him! You can be Dick Grayson, the Batman for all you want! And tell you what, that Batman," her voice softened as she made a point, "is one of the greatest men I have ever met, and is just as good as the Batman you know now."

Silent, Robin nodded, new understanding flickering through his mind.

"So...what you mean is...I can be me, in the cowl, and that doesn't matter, because I am me, and that doesn't mean I'm not worthy to put the suit on!"

Satisfied, Barbara nodded, and gave a small, encouraging smile, which was met full force by a million-watt, Dick Grayson specialty beam.

He launched himself at her, and catching her by surprise( she had been expecting another attack) he gave her a bear hug instead.

"Thanks, Oracle," he said, gratefully, "You really eased my mind."

Chuckling, she patted his head and as he left, she yelled at him to take care of those injuries on his knuckles.

"I will!" he yelled back, "after I go to Wally's room!"

And with an eerie cackle, the boy wonder disappeared from her sights.

She briefly wondered whether she should be concerned that he was probably going to prank his best friend, with (probably) alarming results.

Sighing, she decided against it-it was a bother, and she had been looking forward to a nice, warm shower...and coffee of course, always coffee.

#

Ah ha! There! Here is the next chapter!

I'm so sorry that I haven't been active and left you all hanging. I can't believe that there are people who would still read this! Life has been pretty demanding, and in my escape I have been pretty tangled up in the anime fandom (again), so I'm really, really sorry!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

BINthere