Okay, I couldn't help myself. What can I say, I'm a sucker for Daddybats (that explains my other YJ story: Beware The Teenagers)!
Disclaimer: Still don't own anything. As always, enjoy.
Meanwhile outside:
"Commissioner, we've finally got a hold of Batman." An officer called out to Commissioner Jim Gordon.
Gordon quickly grabbed the phone.
"Hello." The Commissioner answered.
"Jim?" Batman said on the other line.
Bruce had his phone on speaker while he was driving one of his sports cars, still in civilian clothes, on his way to the Batcave.
"For Pete's sake, Batman; we've been trying to contact you for about 2 hours." The cop claimed.
"I was out of town and for some reason I just now got the alert." The Dark Knight explained. "I'm on my way now. I have the basic information; I just need an update on the situation."
"Well, the good news is that all the hostages have been evacuated safely and the bomb is believed to be disarmed, though we're not taking any chances." The Commissioner informed the Bat.
"So you don't need me then?" The vigilante asked.
"Well, I'm not sure." The commissioner started to say. "The thing is-"
"Hey, is that Batman?" Kid Flash asked Commissioner Gordon.
"Hold on." The Commissioner said into the phone, before covering the voice receiver. "Yes, it's Batman."
"Can I talk to him?" The ginger boy asked.
"No, this line is for official Gotham City PD business." Gordon informed the teen.
"Well, this situation is official Justice League of America business and as leader of the JLA, Batman would want to know the whole story." Kid Flash informed the cop, before he added: "Which I already told you, part of the story is classified information."
"Fine." Jim gave up before handing the phone to the incognito teen.
"Hey, Bats." Wally said into the phone.
"Kid Flash?" The Caped Crusader asked, surprised to hear from The Flash's nephew.
"In the flesh." KF confirmed.
"What are you doing in Gotham City?" The Dark Knight asked.
"Yeah, about that… Funny story." The fastest kid alive said as he looked around and glared at the nearby officers. "Take 5, guys." He commanded as the cops left him alone to talk to The Batman in private. "You know how Robin is good with computers...?" he chuckled nervously, trying to stall.
"Cut to the chase, Wally." Batman commanded, knowing the ginger haired speedster was stalling.
"Well, the thing is... Robin sort of hacked into The Justice League alert system, which lead us here." The young speedster spitted out, he could feel the Batglare he was getting from the other side of the phone.
"So the whole team is in Gotham?" Batman asked, slightly annoyed.
"Well, not Aqualad." Kid Flash pointed out. "He's still helping Aquaman with that pirate mission. The good news is that we got the hostages out and disarmed the bomb."
"No offense, Wally; but why are you telling me this instead of Robin?" The Dark Knight asked.
"Well, that's where things get a little interesting." The ginger stated nervously.
Batman sighed, he didn't like where Wally was going with this.
"You see, we hit a bit of a snag earlier and got caught by the Joker." Wally said. "Robin ordered me and Supey to get the hostages out, while the girls located the bomb."
"And what was Robin's task?" The vigilante inquired.
"To distract the Joker." Kid Flash said reluctantly.
"What?" Bruce blurted out in a harsh tone. "The man has attempted to kill Robin on multiple occasions. Robin knows he's not allowed to face the Joker alone. How could you all leave Robin alone with that madman?"
"It's not like we wanted to, it was Robin's idea; when Aqualad is gone we have a mutual understanding that Robin is the mission leader." The redheaded teen tried to defend his team. "We had another plan ready to go; but after the Joker caught us and said something that got under Robin's skin, the plans changed."
"Wait, what did the Joker say?" The Bat inquired, he had always trained Robin not to react emotionally on missions.
"Well, Joker made it clear that he was disappointed that it was us, instead of you or the Justice League, and he said he felt… 'gypped'." Wally said, as the only person on the Team who knew about Dick's past and heritage.
"How long have they been alone in there?" Bruce asked with a sigh, he knew comments like that irritated Dick.
"A little over an hour." The ginger speedster informed the Bat.
"Have you picked up any useful information on the mental link?" The Dark Knight asked.
"About that…." The younger male said in a worried voice.
"Is Robin injured? Is he alright?" The mentor questioned his friend's nephew/protégé.
"We don't exactly know." The scarlet-haired teen admitted. "Once the girls put the scrambler on the bomb; he ordered Miss Martian to cut his line to the mental link off. I'm guessing so the rest of the Team can't hear his personal thoughts about the matter."
"Of course he did." Batman sighed; if there was one thing he taught Robin, it was keeping the scars of the past hidden. Though, unlike Bruce, Dick usually mastered this skill with the disguise of laughter and joy, rather than an obvious display of brooding and misery. "What's the rest of the Team doing?"
"Talking to reporters." Kid Flash said, "But don't worry, they don't know the whole story. They just think Robin flipped because of the teen and sidekick jokes the Joker was also telling."
"Alright, tell Jim I'm on my way and to be ready to take the Joker back to Arkham." The billionaire hung up the line and searched his contact list before pressing the desired number.
"Your mobile and uniform are ready when you are, Master Bruce." A man with an English accent informed the billionaire on the other line.
"I take it you've seen the news." Bruce stated calmly.
"Indeed." Alfred confirmed.
"Apparently the Joker made a comment that got under Dick's skin." The Billionaire informed his butler. "Kid Flash said the hostages are safe and the bomb is disarmed, so my task is mostly damage control."
"You don't seem very alarmed that Master Richard is alone with the Joker." The butler stated, slightly confused.
"Part of me is terrified about that." Bruce admitted with a hint of concern in his voice. "But given the nature of the comment, I'm worried more about what's going on in his mind. Which reminds me, Alfred: this should take no more than 20 minutes. I'll need you to draw a warm bath for him and get out his special mix CD for tough days."
"Which one, sir?" Alfred inquired.
"The one with the songs about Gypsies." Bruce informed the older gentleman.
"Ah, yes; one of those comments." The older man said before adding. "Though I must admit; I have had a bit of a longing to listen to that one song by Cher lately."
"Of course, it's a classic." Bruce commented, "At least it doesn't get stuck in your head like the one by Shakira does. Also, can you bake some of those cookies Dick likes?"
"Already in the oven, Master Bruce." Alfred announced proudly.
"You're the best, Alfred." Bruce said with a slight grin in his voice. "I'm turning around the corner now; I'll meet you in the Batcave."
Once in the Batmobile, it only took Batman 3 minutes to reach his designation. The Dark Knight parked a block away from the actual office building to avoid being noticed and entered the building from a back window. Batman searched the rooms, when he opened the 7th door; the Caped Crusader was shocked by what he saw.
"Batman, Help!" The Bat heard the words he was expecting to hear; but not from whom he had expected hear it from. The vigilante saw one of his arch enemies tied up on the floor, soaking wet. "I told him I was sorry several times, but he just won't let me go!" The Joker informed his captor's mentor.
"Because I know you don't really mean it." Robin stated darkly from the other side of the room, holding a water balloon that he was filling up at the office's water cooler.
"Robin, what did I tell you about putting water balloons in your utility belt?" Batman sighed partially in irritation that the boy broke a rule and partially in relief that his adopted son was okay.
"Hey, I told you they come in handy." The protégé claimed as he tied the water balloon close.
"Come on, Robin." The mentor sighed. "You've had your fun, but we need to turn him in already."
"No!" Robin shouted getting ready to throw a fresh water balloon at the Joker. "I'm not done with him, yet!"
The Joker just let out a nervous yelp, not wanting to say anything that would anger the boy more.
"Robin, this isn't you." The vigilante proclaimed.
"You don't understand." Robin mumbled under his breath and staring at the water balloon in his hand, not looking his adoptive father in the eye.
"I know what he said." The Dark Knight declared calmly. "I've told you before, that's not a direct comment on you or your family. It's an old saying that many people use without thinking about what it really means. That doesn't make it right, but you can't always control what others say. However, you can always control how you react to what they say. I've also told you that you can't let your emotions take control on missions or you might wind up getting hurt... or hurting someone else."
The Bat gestured to the tied up villain on the floor who was drenched in water.
"I guess I did get carried away." The younger male admitted, after evaluating the situation around him.
"It happens." Batman said putting a gentle hand on Robin's shoulder and used his other hand to request the water balloon, which the Boy Wonder surrendered to his mentor. "Now, if you're done here, let's turn him in and go home."
Both Batman and Robin exited the building with a damp, tied up Joker. They released him to the police and both made a few quick statements to Commissioner Gordon and the press about the situation, not mentioning the real reasons. Batman excused the other team members to go home and reminded them to report for debriefing tomorrow. Robin said bye to his friends and gave his best friend a little souvenir before the dynamic duo headed to the Batmobile and drove off.
"So since everything worked out, does this mean I'm off the hook?" Robin asked after several moments of silent in the Batmobile.
"For kidnapping and torturing the Joker, yes." Batman stated before adding. "But for hacking into Justice League computers, as well as leading the Team on a hijacked League mission without proper authorization: you're grounded from midnight patrols for 2 weeks and you're off the Team for a week."
"I guess that's fair." Robin agreed with a sigh. 'Still worth it.' Dick thought to himself mentally.
The End
Thanks for reading, please review and let me know what you think.