May 11, 1992
Hall Institute
1:13 PM
Dick Grayson
Any other thirteen year old would have hated doing schoolwork. However, I found it to be the most relaxing thing in the world. For my whole life, I had traveled around the world, performing for the best and the brightest in the world while my family received nothing in return. I didn't blame Mr. Hanson. He really was a nice man. I understood that he needed to make money on us. And I know that he took care of us when we were on the road. It just sucked that my family never had any money.
Oh, how my life had changed. A little over two years, my parents had died in an accident caused by the Joker. They hadn't done anything wrong and I hadn't deserved it either. Nothing anyone could have told me would have prepared me for that day. It was amazing that things could be going so well for me so shortly after their deaths. I didn't go a day, or even half of one, without thinking of them. But every time I think about them, I think about the promise they made Bruce make. All they wanted was what was best for me.
If my life wasn't the best now, I didn't know what was. Being the ward to Bruce Wayne, the wealthiest man in the country not named Luthor, was amazing. He had gotten me into the Jonathan C. Hall Institute, a private school that lay just outside of Bristol, the community where Wayne Manor was located. I loved it. Not only did I love it because I got that hang out with people my own age, I liked it because I got to hang out with girls my own age.
Today, my math teacher, Mr. Edwards, was in a particularly foul mood. He was the only teacher in the whole school that I didn't like. He had been fired from the R&D Department at Wayne Enterprises by Bruce. Apparently, he had been pushing some steroid that would create this generation's super soldier. Bruce thought it was unethical and asked for his resignation. Lucky for him, his degree had been in Secondary Math and he had graduated from the Hall Institute. Unlucky for me, they hired him.
"Grayson!" he shouted at me from his desk. "Come to the board and solve this equation!"
Slowly, I stood up and made my way to the front of the class. I knew why he had targeted me over everyone else. First, I hadn't been paying attention. I had been to busy paying attention to Barbara Gordon, the daughter of the new Police Commissioner. Commissioner Gordon had been the one who had been there for me after my parents' death. Bruce had told me a couple months ago how Commissioner Gordon had also been there for his parent's death, only as Sgt. Gordon. It was the strangest things that tied Bruce and I together.
The second reason he had targeted me was the same reason he always targeted me. He targeted me to prove to himself, and everyone in the class, that he was better than me and as a result, Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, he wouldn't have been allowed to ask me questions that were unreasonable so he was forced to ask questions that were just barely too advanced for a 9th grader. Also unfortunate for him was the fact that I had never been wrong when I went to the board and that wasn't likely to change anytime soon.
9(3x+4)=-5x+132
That was the equation that I saw before me on the board. I had been silently working it in my head on my way up to the board. Once I reached the board, all I did was grab a piece of chalk and write "x=3." Then, I turned and went to my seat to sit down without saying a word.
"EXPLAIN YOURSELF, GRAYSON!"
"Distrubute the 9, that gives you 27x+36=-5x+132. Then, add 5x to each side. That's 32x+36=132. After that, you subtract 36 from each side, giving you 32x=96. Divide each side by 32 and you get x=3." I explained calmly, winking to Barbara.
"Congratulations, Grayson. Class dismissed." he said quietly as he sat in his seat.
Thankfully, we all rose to leave. I threw my things back in my bookbag and walked out. Moments later, Barbara had come up next to me.
"Man he's a jerk." she said as we walked to our next class. Somehow, we had ended up with the same schedule for the second year in a row. All I know that is that I wasn't complaining.
"I know. Oh well. Hey Babs, you should come hang out at the Manor tonight." I asked her.
"Maybe, but first, you have to stop calling me Babs." she said as she punched me in the arm.
"But why? It's such a good name for you, Babs." I taunted her.
This time, I was much more prepared for her strike. Just as her fist started to come forward, I stepped back and grabbed it. With one swift motion, I flipped her around and pulled her into a dance like embrace. Her face was bright red and I lead her around the junior hallway. Finally, a couple minutes later, she had had enough of me and let go. We were just about ready to head to American History when I heard someone approach me from behind.
"Hey, Dick." the voice rumbled.
I turned around to see Michael Powers, the starting running back on the Hall football team and the school's biggest bully, staring me down.
"Oh hey, lightning." I joked in return.
"Don't fuck around with me. I thought I told you to stay away from Barbara." he said as he leaned in towards me. "She's my girl."
"Well, short circuit, I don't think that's the truth. You see, I figure she's my girl more than anyone else's." I replied arrogantly.
"Grayson, you always gotta try and be funny don't ya?" he asked thickly.
"Nope. This time, I'm telling the truth." I said without a hint of humor. "Right, Babs?"
Barbara laughed before she replied.
"As much as I hate you calling me that, yes, definitely more you than short circuit."
"OK, Grayson. Let's do this!" he said, adopting his favorite fighting stance.
Now, everyone in The Hall Institute knew that Mike Powers liked to fight and could always get away with it. Everyone also knew that he had been trying to get me to fight him for nearly a year to no avail. Suddenly, I had the urge to take him on.
"OK." I replied softly.
Instantly, he launched himself at me. With a quick step, I was out of his way and with another, I was back on him. A quick flurry of punches and kicks left Powers powerless to stop me. After a couple minutes of beating the shit out of him, I got bored and let him stand back up again.
"That's it! I'm gonna kill you!" he said, drawing a knife from his back pocket. Suddenly, I knew that I had to end this as quickly as possible. Just as he lunged the knife towards me, I stepped out of the way and grabbed the arm. In one quick motion, I brought the arm down on top of my rising knee. Just as he let out a huge yell, I could fell as his forearm broke under the pressure from the rising knee. In a flash, he fell to the ground, clutching his arm, howling like a dog.
"GRAYSON!" came the one voice I didn't want to hear. Sure enough, I turned and saw Mr. Edwards sprinting down the hall towards me. Once he stopped and took time to catch his breath, he grabbed me by the arm.
"Principal's Office! NOW!" he said as he dragged me to my certain doom.
5:53 PM
Wayne Manor
Bruce Wayne
"Five days?" I asked Dick as he explained to me what had happened at school today.
"Yeah. They said it would have only been three if I hadn't intentionally broken his arm." Dick said, obviously embarrassed but also failing to hide a small smirk. I knew that he couldn't act like this. Not anymore, not after what I was going to share with him. However, I knew that I wasn't his parent, so I simply changed my orignial plan.
"Come with me, Dick." I said as I turned and headed towards the study. The entrance to the cave had been redone in the last year, going from a staircase to a clock. Dick often complained that the clock didn't work and I usually countered with the fact that he was only in the study to study and he shouldn't be paying attention to the clock. Slowly, I weaved the way back to the clock. Once we were there, I turned to him.
"Can you keep a secret?" I asked softly.
"Why do I need to keep a secret?"
"Because what I'm about to show you only three people on the Earth know. Myself, Andy, and Alfred. I'm asking you to be the fourth. However, once I show you, you have to swear an oath to me. Swear that you will not tell anyone what you see." I said, allowing a small amount of my typical Bat-growl to slip in at the end.
"OK, Bruce. What's the big deal?" he asked like the typical fourteen year old.
I turned to face the clock and put it at 10:47, the time of my parents' death. Sure enough, I heard a click and the clock opened. I turned to look at Dick one more time.
"Dick, speak of this to no one."
"OK..." he replied softly.
Then, I turned and slowly descended the long staircase that lead to the main floor of the Batcave. I had shut the lights off and so Dick was forced to rely on everything but his sight. It took nearly two minutes to walk down the stairs. I intentionally walked slower for some reason. Maybe I wanted him to be excited, maybe I wanted to scare him. All I know is that when I got the bottom, I knew that he would be ready. The time it had taken to walk down the stairs had changed him. Instead of trying to look into the darkness, he had closed his eyes, allowing his other senses to take over and tell him what he couldn't see with his eyes. Already I knew that I had made the right decision.
"Dick, what you are about to see is my life. It is everything to me and to Gotham City. There is no Bruce Wayne without this. I don't know how to tell you how important this is. Are you ready?" I asked him finally.
This time, his answer was a simple nod.
With that, I spoke to the computer.
"Lights."
Instantly, all of the lights that I had installed in the cave turned on, illuminating the cave. He could now see the new "Bat-mobile," a modified Chevy Corvette. I had taken military-grade plating and painted it black and covered the car. It now looked like a small sports tank. I had created it because I wanted Dick to be able to ride with me when we went out on patrols from now on. He could also see the uniform bay, where three identical versions of my suit where located, ready to be put on for a night in Gotham. But, most of all, he was able to see the newest addition to the cave. His training suit. It was red, made out a similar material to mine but with more give in it to allow him to use his amazing acrobatic skills while still in uniform. The sleeves were black and so was the retractable bo staff that came with it.
"What is this, Bruce?" Dick said in amazement.
"This is my life. And yours, if you want it. I left Gotham City for a long time when I was younger to train with the best in the world to become who I am today. I came back and became Batman in order to stop the kind of people that killed my parents and yours. However, I've slowly realized over the years that this isn't something I can do alone. I need help, Dick, and that's where you come. This offer is on the table for one week. For the next six months, you will go to school and you will maintain a 3.5 GPA. Then, you will come home and you will have two hours to do your homework and eat. Then, you will come down here and train with me from 6PM until 9PM. Finally, you will be required to stay here and man the computer from 9PM until 12AM. On weekends, you will be given until noon. Then, we will train from Noon until 4PM. You will get an extended break from 4PM-8PM. Then, from 8PM until 2AM, you will man the computer. The only reason that this will be broken is if you have a school commitment. That doesn't include going and hanging out with friends. Once you are given your role alongside me, your time will open back up and you will be able to do whatever you like until 8PM when you are expected to be back here for suit-up and debriefing. I'll give you a week to think about it."
Instantly, Dick replied. "I'm in."
"Are you sure, Dick? This is a huge commitment."
Dick laughed.
"I know, Bruce. Now, I'm sure there are rules. Things we can't do."
"There's one."
"What?"
"We never, ever kill."
"Huh? You want me to go hunt criminals and just arrest them? Send them home to their parents?" Dick asked.
"Yes. We are not criminals, Dick. We will never become criminals. If you can't agree to that, then you are not welcome in this cave." I said harshly. I knew it was rough, but he needed to understand.
"But, what about the Joker? He killed my parents. Doesn't he deserve to die?" Dick asked in frustration.
"Yes, he does." I replied honestly.
"THEN WHY DON"T WE KILL HIM?" Dick screamed.
I took a step closer to him.
"Because then we become him."
Dick was finally struck silent.
"When the man who killed my parents was released from prison, all I wanted to do was kill him. Then, someone killed him in front of me. And I realized that it didn't help at all. Only when I faced the death of my parents did anything help. When I realized they were gone and there was nothing I could have done to stop it, I grew the strength to fight those who would do the same but without becoming them. I'm asking you to do the same."
Dick paced back and forth for nearly thirty seconds before turning to me again.
"What's my name?" he asked.
"What?" I replied in confusion.
"Well, you're Batman, but I'm sure as hell not going to be Batboy. So, what's my name?" he asked, clarifying his question.
"We don't really need to worry about that right now, Dick." I replied in frustration.
"Sure we do. I need to know."
"Why?"
"Because I know that if I have a name, I will want to work harder." Dick said.
"OK, fine. What do you want to be called?" I asked, trying to work with my new protege.
"Nighthawk." he replied instantly.
"What about a different bird? Something more acrobatic?"
"Robins are pretty quick, aren't they? My mom always called me that." he replied.
"Robin?" I suggested.
For five or six seconds, Dick had no reply. Then, he spoke up boldly.
"For my mother and father, Robin."
"OK, Robin, are you ready to begin?" I asked him.
"I am."
September 23
8:43 PM
Dick Grayson
He had never worked me this hard before. Since six o'clock, I had already done six miles on the track, four hundred pushups, and three hundred sit-ups. But, it was the sparring that was pushing me to the brink. In the few months that I had been working with Bruce, he hadn't let up on me once. Even when I was sick or sore from the previous night, he hadn't let me out of a training session. He had given me one night off in that entire time and that was because I had a big project to work on for school. It was intense. However, once I got done with my workout, Bruce did something he had never done before: he sparred with me. Usually, I would train by hitting dummies or working slowly with him through reactions. But for the first time, I was going to fight Batman.
I had thought that I was doing pretty well and that I would be able to handle nearly everything. I was wrong. Once we were ready to go, Bruce launched himself at me. The speed he moved at was amazing for someone as large as him. He was able to knock me to the ground in less than ten seconds. I wasn't even close to being ready for him. And so that's where I found myself on this fine fall evening, on the floor of a dark, damp cave as my caretaker beat me into oblivion.
"Again." Bruce's voice rang out over the vast cave.
Instantly, I popped to my feet but this time, instead of waiting for him to turn around and begin again, I launched myself at him in a somewhat suicidal move. He turned around just in time to dodge my fist. As I landed, I turned and was able to block his counter for the first time. I dodged and fired off punches in rapid succession, amazing even myself at the speed at which I was moving. We had been going for nearly a minute when suddenly, one of my feet made it through. It landed right in his stomach, obviously catching him off guard. With this advantage, I threw a huge right uppercut right to his chin. I put just enough force into it to knock him back onto the mat. As he hit, I could tell that he was mad, not necessarily at me but at himself for letting me get to him.
"Good." he said as he popped back up, a small bruise forming on his square jaw. "Now, I think you're ready for me."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, I haven't been "holding back" per se, but I haven't been giving it my all either. I think we that you proved that you are ready to step up your training. I think after another month or two of training at that level, you'll be ready to hit the streets."
"Really?" I shot out, unable to contain my excitement.
"It won't be simple, Robin. The test that I will require of you to make sure you are ready will be grueling. You'll need every bit of the training I give you to succeed."
"I'll be ready." I replied confidently.
"Good. Now, that's enough for tonight. I want you to go and start up on the computer. Bring up all the files on ADA Harvey Dent. He seems to be the front runner for DA during next year's election and I want as much information as I can possibly get on him before he takes office. Also, Freeze is rumored to be back in Gotham. Cross reference any hideouts that he's used with police reports and see if any suspicious activity has occurred around there." Bruce said as he walked to the uniform bay to suit up.
"Will do, Bruce. Also, remember how Commissioner Gordon asked for a way to contact you?"
"Yes." Bruce's voice echoed.
"Well, what if he put a spotlight on top of GCPD Headquarters and anytime he needed to talk to you, he could activate it."
"How would that let me know he needed me?" Bruce replied.
"You could put a Bat on it."
"Ah. Makes sense and how would I see it from here?" he asked again.
"You wouldn't. We would put something in it that would let us know here anytime it was turned on."
Bruce walked out of the uniform bay with everything but the cowl on.
"That's a good idea, Robin. I'll look into it."
"Thanks."
November 11
9:00 PM
Batman
"Here are the rules, Robin. I will release you into the city once we're done here. During my patrols, I will make every attempt possible to discover your location and capture you. You need to make sure that does not happen. Use every bit of your training to help you. If, by 5 AM, I have not caught you, you will begin making patrols as Robin. If not, you must wait two weeks and then you can try again."
"Sounds good, Bats." Robin replied.
"Knock it off, Robin. I don't want any of your crap tonight." I replied.
"OK."
"Now, get out. You have one hour. Then, I'm coming for you." I said as he got out of the new Batmobile. I waited as I saw him take off down the dark alley. I waited until I couldn't see him any longer and then drove off. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was proud of him. I was sure that despite my best efforts tonight, he would be able to succeed in hiding from me for the evening. Something about him just screamed successful.
I was still lost in thought when a beeping noise erupted from the Batmobile's console. The Bat Signal had been lit. Instantly, I changed course and raced back towards GCPD. After five minutes later, I was scaling the side of Police HQ, ready to frighten Jim Gordon as usual. Once I reached the top, I noticed that Gordon was alone as was the custom for him. He turned to shut the light off when I spoke up.
"Why don't you leave it on, Jim?" I asked silently.
"Why not?" he replied, hardly jumping at all. Apparently, he was slowly getting used to my interruptions. "Care for a cup of coffee?"
My silence gave him his answer.
"Just thought I would ask. Listen, Freeze busted into the Chinese Embassy here about an hour ago. He's killed two people and is holding everyone else hostage until he gets money to support his research. As you know, his wife is still in a coma in Gotham General. We're keeping it pretty quiet, which is why I'm still here and there aren't any police cars over there."
"Why the Chinese?"
"I really have no clue." Gordon replied. "They hold a lot of the processing rights for the materials that he needs to continue his research. Do you think it would be possible to have his research moved to Arkham?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"The kind of research into cancer that Fries was doing before his accident was incredibly experimental. While not at all unethical, it was highly unstable and unlikely to succeed. There's a reason he was doing his research so far out of Gotham."
"Great."
"Listen, keep your radio on in your office. I'll try to remain in contact with you as I get in with Freeze. Maybe he'll let me get some of the hostages out. I would suggest bringing in limited police force about two blocks away. All unmarked vehicles and completely out of sight of the embassy."
"You know that going against that man could be suicidal, right?"
"The thought has crossed my mind."
And then, I was gone.
November 11
11:00
I had spent the better part of an hour tracing Dick. He had done the first thing that I had taught him and searched his uniform. Sure enough, the first thing I found was his entire uniform in a dumpster, all of the tracers that I had placed inside of his armor useless. I'm sure that he had grabbed the other set from Wayne Enterprises. He knew my passwords and had been given minor clearance to the R&D Department, where the armor was located.
Finally, when I hadn't heard word from Gordon that the situation at the Chinese Embassy had been defused, I headed that way. Rarely did I hesitate on a situation like this but with Mr. Freeze involved, the search for Robin had given me the opportunity to think about my plan. I knew that the Chinese Embassy would be incredibly well protected and so there was no way to get in without him knowing, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He wouldn't want any of his thugs to kill me and so I would be able to bargain to get people out.
I parked the Batmobile three blocks away from the Embassy and scaled the nearest building. Then, a quick sprint across the rooftops got my to the tallest building that sat next to the Embassy. What I found was wonderful. The room that Mr. Freeze had amassed the hostages in had a glass roof. Without one good leap, I would be able to launch myself in the room and land inside that room.
As I decided my course of action, I pulled out my radio and tuned it to the frequency of Gordon's office radio.
"Gordon?" I croaked into the radio.
Moments later, Gordon replied.
"Here. What did you find?"
"Freeze has the hostages located in the main ballroom which has a glass dome over it. I can launch myself into it. I just hope that none of his men have happy trigger fingers."
"Same here. My men are in place."
"Good. When I tell you to, go activate the Signal. That can act as a signal for your men to move into position just outside the embassy. I can use that as a distraction to get in."
"OK. Thanks, Batman, Gordon out."
Just after he finished speaking, the line went dead. I went about prepping my jump off the building, calculating the distance I would need to get up to the proper speed. Overshooting or undershooting the target would surely lead to possibly fatal injuries that I couldn't afford to sustain and hope to stop Freeze. As I finished prepping, I wondered whether Dick would respond to the Signal. Part of me thought that he would, arrogantly thinking that he could witness any possible meetings between Gordon and I without getting caught. Another part of me thought that with as good as he was, he could possibly have been right.
Suddenly, I picked up my radio and yelled for Gordon.
"Gordon!" I barked into the radio.
"What?" Gordon replied instantly. "I was just getting ready to head to the Embassy. What's wrong?"
"If someone comes to the roof of HQ dressed like me, don't shoot him. He'll look to be about sixteen years old."
"Sixteen? Isn't that young to be a crimefighter?" Gordon replied in shock.
"Not for him."
November 11
11:45 PM
Gotham Police HQ
Robin
About twenty minutes ago, I had seen the Signal go up into the sky from about four blocks away. Instantly, I began sprinting towards it on the rooftops of Gotham. Once I got there, I saw that Batman hadn't arrived yet. I took this to my advantage and found a good hiding place on the far side of roof. I waited for another five minutes before Commissioner Gordon came onto the roof.
"Is someone there?" he spoke to no one.
I had already decided that I wouldn't show myself to him unless I absolutely needed to. I just wanted to know where Batman was going to be so I knew where not to be. It was a risk but one that I thought was definitely worth taking.
"He's not coming." Gordon suddenly shouted out.
Instantly, this perked my interest. I stepped out from behind my hiding place.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Victor Fries has got him at the Chinese Embassy. He traded himself to get all of the hostages that Freeze was holding. Before he was captured, he told me to tell you that he doesn't want you to go anywhere near there." Gordon replied, obviously shocked by my youth.
"So he wants me to stay away, huh?" I replied.
"That was what I got from him." Gordon replied. "How old are you?"
"Old enough." I replied smartly. "Is there any way to get the power shut off in the Embassy?"
"We can get the outside power turned off. That will turn off all outside lights and the security to the outer doors. But once you got inside, you would be going against a completely armed security system."
"Perfect."
"What do I call you, then?" Gordon asked curiously.
"Call me Robin, Commissioner." I replied respectfully.
"Why Robin?" I heard him say as I disappeared from his sight.
I was too far away to answer him by the time he finished the question. It was also hard to answer in the middle of free fall from a 26 story building.
November 12
12:09 AM
Chinese Embasy
Robin
He had obviously jumped from here. The angle at which the glass was broken on the dome indicated that this was likely the only position he could have made the jump from. Looking inside, I could see Batman, frozen to the wall. Regardless of what he said, he needed help and the only person even remotely qualified was me. I had only been out on patrols to follow Bruce three times before this and was never allowed to engage criminals and I knew that I was diving into some deep water by going against Freeze, but someone had to do it.
I pulled out my radio and called to Gordon.
"Alright, get the power company to pull the plug on the power for the Embassy." I ordered the head of Gotham Police. At this point, it struck me as odd that I, a fifteen year old orphan, was ordering the Police Commissioner of one of the largest cities in the world. I liked it.
Suddenly, I looked down and the lights on the outside of the ornate building went out. Instantly, people from the room that Bruce was being held in began moving. Moments later, five or six men ran outside.
"Gordon, get those cops into place now!" I called out over the radio again.
Within seconds, a dozen unmarked police cars pulled up to the outside of the Embassy. Instinctively, the armed men inside the gate took cover and aimed their weapons at the police. This was exactly what I wanted. Just enough of a distraction to get me in without a lot of noise or gunfire.
I launched myself of the building. However, instead of aiming for the dome that I couldn't have reached at my age, I aimed for a column on the side of the building. I used the razor gloves that Bruce had given me for climbing sheer objects, like the columns on the side of a foreign embassy. Once they were within reach, I reached out and grabbed the column. Sure enough, the super grip on the gloves allowed me to get a firm grip on the wide pole. I quickly climbed to the top of the column and on to the roof. I ran swiftly over to the ventilation tube that opened up a couple feet off the roof. As quickly as possible, I got inside and slid down the metal tube.
Once inside, I needed to find the room that Bruce was being held in. Logically, Freeze would have transformed the room where he was holding Batman into an ice cube. So, I pulled out a simple thermometer that I kept in my utility belt. I was about ten minutes into my search when the mercury in my thermometer took a dive. Suddenly, I heard a voice.
"We all know that you work alone, Batman. No one is coming for you. Why you would give yourself up for those people is beyond me." said the cool voice of Victor Fries. I had heard his voice numerous times in training footage Bruce had given me over the last six months.
"The same reason you held a Chinese Embassy hostage. To save a life." Batman replied surprisingly.
"Ahh, you believe that you were doing good, Batman? If you were doing good, then you would be helping me instead of trying to send me back to the madhouse." Freeze replied.
This time, Batman didn't respond and when he didn't, I could hear the sound of something hard hitting Batman. Where he hit him, I couldn't determine, but I knew that it couldn't have been the first one because he let out a small grunt when Freeze hit him, something he definitely wouldn't have done if it had been the first time. He wouldn't have given him the satisfaction.
After hearing nothing more for the next couple of seconds, I took off down the vent, looking for a way into the room. After several more minutes of searching, I thought that there was no way into the room when graciously I turned to see a vent covered in ice. Obviously, this one led to Batman. I crawled over to it and checked it. The ice wasn't very thick and it wouldn't prevent me from taking it off the wall. Also, Freeze was facing away from the vent so if I was quiet enough I should be able to get through.
Maybe.
12:34 PM
Batman
I had to admit: things weren't looking good. However, I knew that someone was on the way. About fifteen minutes ago, I heard someone moving in one of the vents hanging high in the room. I was sure it was Robin. Now was the time when I got to see whether or not his training was going to pay off. I was confident in Robin's ability but this might have been too big for him. Victor Fries had been one of the world's leading genetic researchers before the accident. What I hadn't told Gordon about Fries' research is that if there was anyone on the planet that could have been successful in coming up with a cure for cancer, it was this man.
This man who had been transformed into an icy meglomaniac when an explosion in his lab genetically altered his state to one of constant sub freezing temperatures. He had created a suit created for him by the government to keep him at a temperature of around 25 degrees Farenheit when he was in Arkham. He had taken the suit with him during his escape from Arkham and as a result was able to survive outside of his frozen cell there. However, it was new technology that had me worried. He had somehow constructed ,or had someone else build for him, a gun that created subzero temperatures. It shot out a spray of water that froze once it made contact with something.
In my case, it had been me.
I couldn't say that suspended by ice from a wall in the Chinese Embassy would have been how I wanted this to play out, but it was the situation I had gotten myself into. However, I was comforted by one piece of information. Freeze wouldn't kill me while he needed research supplies. If he killed me, his bargaining chip would be gone and the police would move in on him. Wonderfully enough, he was a scientist, not a miltary strategist or expert. He wasn't particularly fast or strong and wouldn't have been too difficult for the police to take down, especially if they were able to rid him of his freeze gun.
Suddenly, I looked over Freeze's shoulder and saw motion on the other side of the ice covering the vent that was there. Robin must have been there. I was so concerned with him that I didn't see Freeze get up again.
"What are you looking at, Batman?" he asked as he got up in my face again.
I didn't respond. He took that as another sign of disrespect and hit me in the face again. He seemed to be getting tired, his punches weren't packing as much power as they were twenty minutes ago. Suddenly, Robin acted. The vent that he had been hiding behind came flying off the wall. Moments later, I saw a Batarang come flying out of the vent and towards the giant chandalier that hung from the ceiling. With one quick motion, it cut through the small metal wire that had kept it up. It came crashing down onto the middle of the great room, turning out the lights, just as Robin planned.
"WHO'S THERE?" Freeze screamed out into the night. He turned to me and grabbed me by the head, pulling me closer to him. "I swear to God Batman, if someone gets me, I will kill y-ahhh!"
Just as he had finished speaking, Robin had snuck up behind him and kicked him in the back of the knee. If a normal person kicked you there, you would simply fall down. However, someone trained in body weak points and physiology could destroy every bone and ligament in the knee from behind. From the looks of the way Freeze fell and the fact that he still had yet to get up, I would say Robin had done just that.
With Freeze rolling around on the ground, Robin flipped him onto his back. Then, he reared back his left hand and punched him square in the face, knocking Mr. Freeze unconcious.
"Shut up." he said to the knocked out man on the floor. Then, he turned to look at me. "Need any help?"
"Just use that metal rope laser I gave you around my hands. I'll be able to get out from there."
Quickly, Robin came over and pulled out the laser. After melting the ice around each of my hands, I was able to flex my muscles again and break my way out of the ice. However, my body ,having been suspended from the wall for that long and encased in ice, was weak. I looked at Robin to give him instructions.
"I want you to call Gordon and his men in here. Escort Freeze back to Arkham. Tell the doctors there to keep his sedated for three or four hours before allowing him to wake up. Then, finish patrols and get back home by 4." I ordered him.
"Why? What are you doing?"
"Mobile, activate remote." I ordered into the radio that connected to the Batmobile before answering him. "I'm going out on patrols. I'll be back home around four. Call the cycle into the city at around 3:30 and you'll be able to be back at base by four."
"Wait, so I'm going out on my own?"
"For tonight. It won't be normal for awhile but I think you can handle yourself tonight." I replied.
4:05 AM
Batcave
Bruce Wayne
Robin finally pulled into the Cave, five minutes late.
"You're late." I said as he cut the engine to his cycle.
"Sorry. A pair of muggers took me a little longer to put down than I thought they would." Robin replied as he walked into the uniform bay to change.
"Don't make it a habit." I replied sharply. "If I say be back here at 4, I mean it. I know you did well tonight and you helped me out a jam, but that doesn't make you in charge."
"OK, Bruce." Dick's voice rang out from the uniform bay.
"Hurry up and get changed. I want to talk to you before you go to bed."
Moments later, Dick came out, dressed in a black training tank top and matching sweatpants. He stopped a few feet away from me.
"First, you did well tonight. Your plan to stop Freeze was well thought out and executed well. For that, you should be proud of yourself."
"Thanks, Bruce." Dick replied with a grin.
"However, if you remember, the goal for tonight was to make it so I did not find you tonight. I would argue that by coming to me, you did the exact opposite of what you were ordered to do."
"Bu-"
"Don't interupt me. Now, until I give you the rights to patrol on your own, you are under my command. That means that you take my orders and you do what I say. If I order you to stay away, you do so. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Bruce."
"Good. Now, go to bed. I want you rested for tomorrow night." I replied.
"What's tomorrow night?"
"Another night of patrols and hell in Gotham."
"Wait, so am I in then?"
I sat down in front of the computer to begin upgrading the computer. Then, I sighed and spoke again.
"Yes, Robin. Now, go to bed."
"Thank you, Bruce."
Finally, he turned and ascended the stairs to go to bed. I waited until he was far enough away before I replied softly.
"No...thank you."