I'm sorry guys. I've been running out of stamina and I really wanted to make sure this scene was as powerful as it needed to be. It would be longer, but I feel it needs to stand alone. Next chapter should be longer. (Pfft, as if you haven't been saying that for the past four or five chapters.)

Bruce was intimidated; Batman was large, scary, and very threatening. The man had clearly developed muscles Bruce never needed—nor wanted—to develop. That did not stop Bruce, however, from calling him out.

"What made you think training a child to become a superhero was a good idea?" Bruce fumed, pacing back and forth to avoid looking at Batman. "Dick was hurt tonight, more than he's been hurt before while staying here. I want to know the exact thoughts that ran through your head when you allowed him, just a boy, to go out and fight psychopaths. Tell me, Batman, why you're endangering your son!"

Batman didn't say anything for a moment, and Bruce was about to open his mouth again when a deep, yet soft voice answered him.

"You wouldn't understand." Batman took off his cowl. Bruce would be facing himself tonight, not the Batman. "Mom and Dad are alive. You haven't experienced what it's like to have everything ripped away from you in a single night."

"I've had my share of loss." Bruce bit back. "Instead and Mom and Dad it was him. It was Dick who died that night. I buried him, wondering why on earth a kid would sacrifice his life for mine. What purpose was there that I lived that night?"

"I asked myself the same question as I buried our parents. There was no little boy who saved me from darkness then."

"Well there is now." Bruce stopped pacing and took a good look at his counterpart, at the haunted eyes. "That boy is special, precious in every sense. He doesn't deserve to have his life cut short because you deem him worthy as cannon fodder."

"Don't you dare insinuate I care nothing for him!" Batman snarled. "He's my partner, equal in every way but age and experience. I do not let him put himself if danger recklessly."

"Yeah? Well it sure seems that way. He's even trained my children to do what you trained Dick to do—go out and stop the bad guys. They are still children, Bruce!" It felt strange to shout his own name, but he was going to set this man straight. "He needs to be in school, hanging out with friends, learning how to solve problems without violence."

"You obviously haven't really seen Dick. He goes to school everyday. If he does not maintain a suitable GPA he does not go out on patrol. He misbehaves and he's off of patrol for a month. Being Robin is a privilege and one he does not take lightly. He understands the risks, knows exactly what he's getting into. He does not lash out, and he is one of the smartest mediators I've known. Violence is for those who would aim to kill him, and he knows that."

Batman took a moment to glare at Bruce. Who was he to judge? He knew nothing.

"Dick has friends; they are far more trusting and loyal than any friends you could have dreamed up for him. They followed him into another dimension to bring him back home. They have never known his real name, yet trust him with their lives. They work beside him and keep him safe where I cannot. They understand his hardships and cherish his insight."

Bruce grit his teeth. "Why even allow him to go out?"

"Because I saw a little boy who lost his parents, just like I did. I saw a boy hungry for justice that would never come unless he brought it into his own hands. I saw a boy who I could protect and teach; help him to grow into the man he wanted to be. He was the one who convinced me to allow him to learn."

Batman had a good point. Bruce remembered when Dick was stubborn, determined to go out on patrol whether he had Bruce's support or not. Batman had won this argument, but he wasn't going to win the next. There was still another very big issue.

"What am I supposed to do about my own sons?" Bruce rubbed his forehead and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Unlike you, I can't let them go get themselves killed."

"Then you must become Batman."

"You can't be serious."

"Your sons have been taught by the best. They are going to go behind your back anyways."

"Yes, I'm sure." Bruce sighed.

Batman strode forward, grasping Bruce's shoulders. "Just a moment ago you were telling me Dick sacrificed his life for you. If that's true, tell me honestly you've never wanted revenge. Tell me you're okay with that man still free and out on the streets."

Bruce looked away. Once, when he was a boy he dreamed of becoming Robin; honoring his memory by taking out every scum in Gotham. He was a grown man now with children to take care of.

"Now tell me you're okay with knowing that same man is out there, threatening the lives of your sons. Tell me you're okay with them going out and getting shot due to a hot temper, a mistake, a distraction."

"I will never be okay with something like that." Bruce's low voice was thick with anger and pain.

"Then you must become Batman. I am Dick's protector. I watch him, keep him close, and protect him from all of those psychopathic creeps out there right now." Batman put a hand on Bruce's chest. "It's your turn to take up the cowl and cape. It's your turn to strike fear into those that once frightened you. It's time you put away every criminal, every man or woman who thinks they can get away with breaking the law in your city and potentially threaten the lives of you and your loved ones."

Bruce felt the power in those words.

"How?"

"I'll teach you."

"I'll hold you to that."

I got a request to ship some people, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline, as there really are no pairings in this fic. I mean, you could squint and see some Tim/Kon if you wanted, or even some Dick/Damian or M'gann/Conner or Jason/Babs or Dick/Babs, but I haven't really established a pairing. The most I could do is hint towards it, but in the case of Wally and Dick, it's going to be hard because I really see them as brothers. I could see the pairing working out, but in this fic, the brotherhood between Dick, Wally, and Roy pretty much stands out.

Sorry again that I can't do it, but if you want to rewrite a scene where Dick and Wally snog or whatever, feel free! I'd be happy to see it. Unfortunately, I don't have it planned for the ending.