Chapter 4: Meet The Family!

A/N: Finally, I've gotten over a major writers block and have an update for you guys! I hope you enjoy it, and I'm sorry for the wait! No flames; if you don't like the story, then don't read it. Duh!

^Dick's POV^

"Hello Richard, I've been waiting for you." I looked up to see a dark haired woman.

"Um, should I know you?" I didn't think I'd ever seen her before.

'Robin! Are you okay!?' I heard M'gann shout telepathically.

'Yeah, fine. Kind of busy right now. Where are you?'

The woman spoke again. "No, I don't believe you know me, yet."

"Then who are you?"

'If you look up and to your left, you'll see a mirror. We're behind it.'

'We? So you guys are all here?'

'Yeah, pretty much,' Wally answered.

"I'm Misses Zucco."

The mental conversation stopped. I looked up at here, purely stunned.

"I didn't know Zucco had a wife." I said with a strong glare. The glare justified me being Batman's protégé.

"Well, you don't know that man like you thought, now do you? He knows everything about you though. He knows you because he killed your parents. But all you really know is that he's willing to kill. In all actuality, you don't know who you're up against, Robin."

'She knows your Identity.' Wally thought; he really had a knack for stating the obvious.

'No! Really?! I hadn't noticed!' Wally didn't say anything else.

'Robin, there are four more people coming out of the elevators. They'll be in the room in ten seconds.' M'gann informed me. I took this as a signal to act. Swiftly, I dove forward, pulling hobo to the ground with me. I quickly re-stood and held my ground. The guards lined the door, blocking any escape. Then they begun to advance; forming an arch that would circle it's way around me.

Casually, I glanced up, signaling that it was a good time for the team to interfere. Without hesitation, they broke the large plate of glass and jumped to my side. We slowly backed up into a corner so no one could attack from behind. We faced the doors, Misses Zucco to my right, and waited for an attack.

For only a few long seconds, there was no movement. Then, the two large doors swung open and revealed four figures. My eyes widened it total shock, and I felt like I could faint. I wished I could, just collapse and not have to deal with the ever growing pressure of the moment. But, I wouldn't faint. I wasn't weak enough for that.

Through the doors strode Harley and Joker, waving as if they were on stage. I remember all the times he's tortured me, nearly killed me, and all the things I know he's done to Bruce. And now, he knew my secret identity. This was a nightmare, and it grew more intense by the second.

I stared in horror as the next man that came in was none other than Tony Zucco. My eyes locked on to his ugly mug, and for a long moment, I didn't notice the struggling figure he was retaining.

When my eyes finally left Zucco, I noticed Joule, the girl from the theater, struggling against Zucco's grip. Her hands were bound behind her back, and Zucco had a restraining arm around her waist. His other hand was clamped over her mouth.

I don't know why she's here, but I have a feeling I'm going to find out.

"We're here!" The Joker said loudly; he was as happy as ever. "Now we can really start the party!"

"Hello Huns," Misses Zucco said as she extended her arms to the tree villains. Joker walked by her without recognition, but Harley took her in a tight hug.

"Who ya do'in sista?" Harley asked of Misses Zucco.

'Harley Quinn and Misses Zucco are sisters!?' Artemis asked in surprise. Because she lived in Gotham, she actually knew quite a bit about Harley Quinn, even though she didn't specialize in the city's villains.

'Obviously,' Conner replied angrily.

'Robin… Dick, how are you holding up?' Kaldur asked worriedly.

'We haven't even started fighting yet,' I replied.

'I meant emotionally. It must be a lot to handle, with Joker and Zucco,'

'Actually, I'm kind of looking forward to beating the hell out of Zucco.' I said in mock happiness. Kaldur knew better than to actually believe that none of this was fazing me.

'Robin, we are here. We will not let them take or harm you. I will protect you at all costs, just as I know you are only trying to protect us. We will escape this.'

The other members of the team nodded at me, and M'gann sent a wave of her emotions over me, which was full of love and protection. I smiled at them in return.

"Well now that's just rude!" Joker said and crossed his arms. The team looked towards him. "You guys are no fun! Leaving me out of conversations, blah! Are you spreading rumors about me?" Joker cocked one of his eyebrows in a strange questioning way. Then a large red smile slid over his face. "Eh, no matter. We'll still get what we want. Big Bat is probably already on his way. He should have gotten the message by now."

"What message?" I asked.

"Well, it's just a message. It was for him though, not you bird brat! But, If you most know, I got the idea from lovely little daughter over there." He gestured towards Joule.

Then I remembered… Joule. Why was she here? What did they want with her? What did he mean by little daughter? An idea struck me.

"Joule. A-are you… the Joker's daughter?" Joule rolled her eyes, and the four villains started laughing hysterically. Some of the guards are laughing too, although I don't think they know what there is to be laughing at.

"You're actually pretty close, Dickey," Zucco said, his laughter now dismissed. "I told you a long time ago that family was important to me." Zucco pulled out a knife and let it hover at Joule's throat for a moment, then turned and cut her bindings loose. She struggled and pushed away from him. I expected her to run straight to the team and me, but instead, she hovered between us and them.

"Joule here," Misses Zucco began she hung on her husband's shoulder, "Is our daughter."

I looked to Joule, and she stared back with pleading eyes. 'She thinks I won't help her because she's Zucco's daughter.' I thought.

Instead, I answered, "So? It doesn't matter. She's said it before, she hates you Zucco. And I wonder, have you actually ever met her before Misses?" I turned and cast my gaze on the woman in red.

Misses Zucco stared at me. "Of course, every mother has to witness their child's birth."

I rolled my eyes. "That's not what I meant."

Joule smiled and slowly walked over to us. I expected her to move behind us and stand at the wall for protection, but instead she stood in the front line and took on a fighting stance. I looked at her questioningly for a moment, but dismissed it. Growing up while opposing a family like Zucco's couldn't be easy, so she must know how to fight.

Suddenly, the two doors opened once more and another guard came in. He whispered something into Zucco's ear, and Zucco nodded.

'SB, what did he say?' I asked, knowing that he had heard the whisper clearly.

'Batman's here.'

^With Batman^

Bruce had gotten home around noon high, but he didn't get to stay there long.

Bruce had been watching the news for any disturbances he would have to deal with tonight when he saw an alarming sight.

On a tall sky-scraper, he saw a familiar symbol. It was a Black circle with a yellow rim, and a yellow letter inside. Beneath that, in read spray-paint, was the Joker's signature. The fact that it was a Robin symbol made by Joker scared Bruce half to death. But, what was even scarier was that it was altered. Inside the circle, instead of an R, there was a D.

And Bruce knew exactly what that meant.

'He knows his Identity.'

In a rush, he put on a dark hooded jacket and grabbed his motorcycle keys. He couldn't go out as Batman, so he was forced to look for clues as a disguised Bruce Wayne.

Upon arriving on the scene, Bruce noticed that Joker had left him notes. On the neighboring buildings was yellow writing, each piece of graffiti a clue or reveal.

One of them read his name, "Bruce Wayne."

The next was the Batman symbol. Now Bruce was positive, Joker knew. This was a nightmare.

The last article of yellow graffiti he could find was an address. Alfred ran it through the Bat-computer and informed Bruce that it was an abandoned apartment complex in the east side of town. Within minutes Bruce was slipping into the unused building.

A/N: I know that chapter was short and not as good as I had hoped. I'm still trying to get back the feel of the story. Sorry. Still, I'm finally continuing, and I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can. This story is getting kind of funky, but oh well. Please Review!