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So, I've been around here a while. I know a lot of the comic history, especially related to Batman and Robin, and some of that will show up in here. Just a warning.

Funny story, I wrote "googles" instead "goggles" for the entire story, and my beta just caught it. I went back and fixed it, but yeah... I found 27 misspellings...

I do not own Young Justice.

Without Further Ado.

Chapter 1

Dick remembered when Bruce found out about the bet. The Joker had escaped from Arkham and Batman was going after him. Rumor had it that the escape had been violent with ten guards killed and six others seriously injured. It left Robin wondering how Arkham continued to be able to hire guards. Who wants a job where they are almost guaranteed injury or death whenever one of the prisoners decided to leave?

Anyhow, the violence of the escape was not what had Bruce unsettled. Rather, it was the rumor that, before escaping, the Joker spoke of the need to spear the bird. Afraid that the Joker would kill Robin on sight, Batman wanted Robin to stay home. Of course, rather than explaining this logic, he simply said, "No," when Robin came out ready to go, minus the mask.

"What? Why not?" Robin had asked.

"Because I said so."

"That's not a reason!" He shouted, indignant, "I've fought the Joker before."

"No."

"What Master Bruce truly means," Alfred interrupted before the argument could reach its crux and lead to Robin, who would invariably lose, storming away and potentially sneaking out later, and being in even more danger than if he had just gone with Batman—it had happened before. "Is that he does not want you to get hurt or kidnapped by the Joker when he is more focused on killing you instantly if he were to get his hands on you, instead of using you as bait to get Batman's attention. While the other side is also not wanted, it is more preferable than your death." He assessed.

Robin paused, and the two turned to look at the interfering butler. Alfred met Robin's gaze and raised an eyebrow. Robin looked at Alfred, looked at Batman, looked back to Alfred, and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. It was a valid argument. Besides, this was probably a situation that could make him lose the bet anyhow and he had no intention of losing. He sighed.

"Fine," Robin said, and stomped to the changing area.

"Make sure he doesn't leave, Alfred," Batman muttered once Robin was out of earshot.

"I have no intention of allowing such a thing to pass, Master Bruce," Alfred stated.

Hours later, when Batman returned from capturing the Joker with many cuts and bruises, he was surprised to learn that, not only had Robin remained home, but he did not try to leave either, not once. Instead, he had spent the night with Jason and the two had a movie marathon before going to sleep.

"It's rather odd, Master Bruce. Perhaps you should speak with him. He has been more cautious these last few weeks." Alfred said while Batman changed to Bruce. "He's in his room, pretending to sleep. I believe he was waiting for you to return."

Dick had, in fact, been faking sleep when Alfred had come up to check on him, but sometime between Alfred leaving and Batman returning, he had slipped into real slumber. When Bruce came up to check on him, he found Dick in a deep sleep, although fidgeting slightly. Bruce searched for the reason, and found that Peanut had fallen on the floor. Placing the toy in Dick's arms, the boy instantly calmed.

Bruce smiled slightly, and patted Dick gently. As he moved to get up, he noticed there was a sticky notepad next to Dick's bed with the number 63 written on top. Finding it odd, he picked up the pad and looked at the note under it. 62. He flipped through the entire thing and realized it was a countdown. A countdown to what exactly? Heart sinking, he looked at his son's peaceful face, then at the notepad before him. His face hardened. He would figure out what the countdown meant.

But first, better make sure the other little rascal was in bed.

Bruce confronted Dick the next morning, and he explained the bet with Wally and how he was counting down until it was over. Although he was relieved that the countdown was not for something sinister, Bruce called Barry to send Wally over and gave the two teens a stern talking to about making bets like that.

However, he did not tell the two to call off the bet. Instead, he cashed in with Dick. If Dick won, he said, he would buy Wally a new pair of goggles to replace the ones Dick would keep. They knew he wanted Dick to win as much as anyone else. Bruce felt that the second the bet was off, Dick would start taking more risks again. He didn't want to argue with his son about missions that he felt were too dangerous, and the bet provided the perfect excuse.

Bruce wondered if he could get them to extend it. Six months without a kidnapping would be nice. Maybe a year would be a good amount of time for the bet. Longer worked, too.

The last day of the bet was a Thursday. School was out for the day, and Dick and Artemis—she still didn't know he was Robin—were heading over to Artemis's house for a tutoring session. While Dick was a year below Artemis in school, they were in the same Calculus class due to Dick's genius and mathlete status. Artemis wasn't doing too hot, as Calculus was her worst subject, so the teacher had suggested a tutor. That tutor was Dick, who enjoyed their sessions for the amount of trolling he was able to get in. Honestly, he was kind of surprised that Artemis hadn't figured it out yet. He wasn't that discreet. Hmm… Guess Bruce was right with his secret identity tips after all.

Dick couldn't wait to see Artemis's face when she figured it out. He predicted it would be somewhere between indignation, outrage, and shock. There was another bet about that. Both he and Wally thought she would figure it out on her own; there were ample opportunities and hints, and they knew she couldn't remain oblivious forever, no matter what Bruce wanted.

Dick had predicted she'd insult him, something along the lines of "you little troll!" Wally thought she'd be so far in shock she wouldn't know what to say, would probably wait a few days to be sure, before quietly hinting to Dick that she knew by using a Robin reference. Roy personally believed she'd never figure it out, but he cashed in on the bet anyways, saying she would need to be told and would be more upset by the fact that Bruce Wayne was Batman.

Dick walked with a spring in his step, while fingering the goggles he was hiding in his pocket. He and Wally had decided the week before that the bet would end at 5:23 pm today because that was the time at which it had been made. He checked his watch again. 5:11. 12 minutes to go. He had made it. Three months with no kidnappings. Wally joked that it was a new record. Although…. there had been a couple close calls as Robin, but he had played it safe and avoided situations that almost guaranteed a kidnapping.

Dick and Wally were planning to go celebrate after the tutoring session. Flash and Batman had oh so graciously given the two boys the night as well as the next day off, and the two were planning to go to an ice cream parlor, eat to their heart's content (with Bruce's credit card), while Dick gloated by showing off the goggles. Bruce had already ordered Wally's new ones. They'd arrive in a couple weeks.

After filling up on ice cream, they would return to the manor and have a movie marathon with Jason, popcorn, and Alfred's cookies. On Friday, Roy was coming over and taking the two to Six Flags, also on Bruce's money. He'd already bought the tickets.

How Dick had managed to convince Bruce to allow and pay for all this was anyone's guess. Truthfully, he had merely applied puppy dog eyes, promised to stay out of trouble, reminded Bruce that Roy was an official Justice League member and Wally had super speed, and promised to wear a pair of goggles—sunglasses would fall off—but they didn't need to know that. The mystery was worth the trouble.

At 5:20 pm, three minutes to go, the two teenagers took a shortcut through an alley. Artemis was prattling on about school and teachers and how the other students, but not him of course, were so rich and stuck up. Dick was so distracted by excitement for the evening and next day and Artemis's rant that by the time he realized that the hairs sticking up on the back of his neck were not his imagination and his Robin senses were tingling, they were already cut off and trapped. Dick only just managed to dodge the first blow to the back of his head, one that would have easily knocked him unconscious.

Dick saw four men, buff and strong. The two teenagers immediately sprang into action, Dick made sure to pare down his fighting and to not fight like he'd been fighting beside Artemis for months, which he had, so as to not lead to the conclusion of him being Robin by the wrong people. Even though he trusted Artemis, he did not trust these new men to not put two and two together. It would be suspicious if a puny rich kid could knock out two men twice his size.

Each took two men. Dick focused on his fight, trusting Artemis to handle herself. He wasn't winning, but he was holding his own. He never saw the fifth man, but Artemis did.

"Richard! Look out!" She shouted.

BAM!

Dick swayed on his feet as his vision tunneled. Through the clouds of consciousness, he felt someone pin his arms to his sides and lift him so that his feet dangled. Voices echoed, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Loosely, he found himself glancing down at his watch. The red numbers blared out a blurry 5:25. He felt a pinch in his arm, and then the world faded to nothing.

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