I sighed as I continued to wait for someone to step into the interrogation room that I was in. I came willingly, but Batman had to break Peter's last two arrows and possibly his arm to take him into custody. My eyes darted to the door the second it opened. I could hardly make him out because of the blinding light at first, but Batman stepped in with my pen pad and handed it to me before he sat down.
"All of the things you had on the device was pretty impressive, but it's all wiped from the system now." He said.
"It may be wiped from the system, sir, but I have a photographic memory- it's all still up here," I said, tapping the side of my head. "It was just easier for me to look at it on the pen pad then to take a couple of seconds and pull it from my head."
"Who exactly are you, son?" Batman asked. I blinked at him for a couple of seconds.
"Dex Peterson." I replied with a sigh. " So how much time do you think I'll have to serve in the juvenile detention center?"
"None, if you agree to one thing."
I knitted my eyebrows when he picked up a small buzzing sound. Batman grunted and pressed his ear.
"What am I agreeing to?" I asked cautiously.
"Well, first tell me about Dex." He said, leaning into the table to look more intimidating. In reality he really didn't need to- he was already intimidating enough.
"What do you want to know?" I bit my lip nervously.
"Everything."
"Well, I'm Dexter Thomas Peterson, but I never use my middle name and I prefer Dex. My mom is a stereotypical drunk and I have no idea who my dad is. I-"
"Get to the part where you learned the codes and you were able to steal mine." Batman interrupted rudely. I glared at him. I wanted to tell him I knew that he was Bruce Wayne- his voice patterns were obviously the same. It was a little harder to make out because he made his voice sound gritty while he was in his Batman persona, but not impossible to pick up.
"When my mom was passed out I would hide her alcohol and when she would finally sober up she was a completely different person. She was incredibly smart, even dangerously smart at times. She taught me how to do hacking and read codes and all of that stuff the second she found out my mind was an archive where I could access files whenever I wanted. I was only eight, and she had me hacking into the banks for practice and using SQL injections at stores so she could steal more liquor because the alarms wouldn't go off when she reached the doors."
Batman stared at me for a moment without saying anything. It didn't even look like he was breathing.
"Do you remember my sidekick, Robin?"
"He was my idol for the longest time. Or the persona was, anyways. I knew that there was more than one. I'm also sorry to hear what happened with the explosion. Why do you ask?"
"I ask because when you were tapping into the cameras I tried tapping into them to reacquire the actual feed and break the loop that you had set it in, but you knocked me back out of the system and set up fire walls that even I had trouble reading. No one who had the Robin identity could do that. Not even Nightwing, who was the original Robin, and he had been doing it for quite longer than you."
"Your point?" I pressed.
"My point is that I don't have anyone under my wing anymore and I would like you to take that place." He finally said. I looked at him for a minute in silence.
"I... I don't know, Batman. Robin is the young, crime fighting boy wonder, who can do flips and cartwheels and stuff. I'm only Dex Peterson, and I don't even know how to do one cartwheel."
" A couple weeks of my intense training and you'll be as good as the original Robin, if not better. Do you remember the team of young side kicks that was associated with the justice league?"
"Yeah, that also died in that explosion, what about them?"
"I think it's about time that a new team is assembled. One different from the last. I can't just let you and your friend go. I've never seen a bowman as skilled as your friend with the exception of Green Arrow. You two have a gift, and I can't just let you get away."
"And if we say no?" I fished.
"Then I'll make sure the Gotham Juvenile Detention Center has special rooms for you two so there's no chance you can escape."
I sighed and stared at Batman for a minute.
"Well, first off, we need to find me an awesome superhero name." I smiled slyly. Batman cracked a small grin in return.
"I have an idea. Come with me and we'll start training immediately. I'll contact Green Arrow to begin to train your friend and the small amount of stuff he needs to be trained on."
"Wait, I'll be able to see Peter, right?"
"At school, but whenever you have free time you're going to be with me. It'll be that way for the next couple of weeks but it will be worth it. You're not to tell anyone or discuss this with anyone. I will arrange transportation to get you here after school and on the weekends. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Good. You're free to go home."
"Mom," I called as I closed my apartment door behind me. "Mom!"
"I'm in my room," A sweet voice called back. Good, she was sober. For now. I quickly ran to my room and changed out of my black clothes I had worn to get into the Hall of Justice and changed into a white T-shirt and black shorts. I stepped into my mothers room and she smiled at me. Not a bottle of alcohol was in sight.
"Hey, mom, Peter and I will be working on a project for the next couple of weeks, okay? I'll need to stay at his house after school and on the weekends so it can get done in time."
My mother quickly looked up at me.
"Dexter, you know I hate it when you lie to me." She said sternly. I tried to swallow but I couldn't because a lump was forming in my throat. "If you're trying to spend time with a girl, just say so."
I sighed in relief. My mom was clueless.
"After school everyday I want to spend time with a girl, but on the weekends I really need to work with Peter." I lied.
My mom nodded.
"Well, I'm not even going to ask why you were out this late on a school night, but whatever. Go to bed."
"Good night," I smiled. I ran off seconds later. I was going to be a superhero.