Chapter 4

The plane ride was silent. Bruce was sitting with his arms crossed and eyes closed. He was mentally storing everything he had heard since he had arrived. He was mildly shocked that so many children would sacrifice their lives for this dark, hard, painful life. Bruce had also been surprised by something else. This Batman. This Batman was… happier? Bruce assumed it was because Jason never died. There could also be more. Since Dick was…gone here, the terrors that Bruce could remember the young boy going through can't have happened. Two-face had never almost killed him, which was a big one. Zucco never tried to hunt him down. Bruce hated remembering how the kid had cried when the threatening letters hidden as happy consolation cards had arrived for the boy. There had never been the feeling of letting someone who would always trust you, always come back to you, and always love you, down. It also appeared that Jason's and Tim's relations with this Batman were much nicer.

Bruce opened his eyes as Clark announced they were nearing their destination. Only another fifteen minutes…

Something bugged Bruce though. This world. Things that seemed to have been entirely influenced by Dick had still happened. Bruce couldn't believe it at all. Wally had experimented with the chemicals because he had been influenced by the first Robin. Sure, Jason might have done that… but by then Wally would have been 17, more likely 18. Even for a speedster, he would have been too mature to play around with chemicals like that. And Roy. Oliver had taken in the poor kid after Bruce had publically taken in Dick. Something else had to have influenced the man. And King Orrin not taking in both Gar and Kaldur? Well, that one was a little more outside the 'Dick Grayson Influence' zone.

There were other issues as well. Conner, or Kon-El, either name, Bruce had recognized the kid. Dick, with Wally and Kaldur had discovered the clone in Cadmus. That, Bruce knew had to have had Dick. He had figured out the timeline of everything in this world already, and according to everyone, Wally and Roy had found Conner five years after Dick Grayson's death. The next year the first Robin had appeared. A year after that, the YJ was founded. This… everything was wrong!

"You are having troubled thoughts. "J'hn said. His voice breaking the heavy silence. Bruce nodded.

"I am still having many issues with…some occurrences here."

"Would you like some clarification?" J'hn offered. "We still have time to talk."

"I, wish to know how Conner was discovered."

"Conner? Oh right, Kon-El's human name." Clark said. Both of the Batmen raised a slightly accusing eyebrow. "Sorry!" Clark said defensively, "I tend to only call him by his Kryptonian name!"

"It is a pretty interesting story!" Oliver laughed. "I remember when I was reminiscing with Roy, he was so shocked he had been working with a villain!" Oliver laughed.

"A villain?" Bruce asked. Batman answered.

"Renegade." He didn't expand. It was the second time Bruce had heard about 'Renegade.'

"Oliver, how did you even pick up Roy?" Oliver stopped laughing.

"I almost didn't. I was at an archery competition. It had been a year since the Grayson's kid's death. I already knew Batman then, so I felt bad for the guy. When they announced the kid's death, they also announced about how 'Playboy Bruce Wayne' was going to adopt the kid. I…I sort of understood. That feeling of total excitement, then the rug out from under your feet. The world likes to through shit at you sometimes." Everyone nodded slightly in agreement. "Anyway, at this competition, I saw this boy, he was 11, and he was out-shooting the high-schoolers. I sense they were about to do something bad so I went up and talked to the kid. I couldn't stop thinking about Wayne and Grayson. The kid didn't talk much. It didn't take much to see how skinny the kid was. I wondered how he paid to enter the competition. The kid won, easy. I won my section as well. When I was walking out, I saw the kid next to a car, beaten up and crying. When I walked over he tried to act tough. I asked him if he had a place to go and clean up. He shook his head home. I asked him if he wanted to come with me. He called me a perv, but came anyway. Now, I've never been, nor will ever be as paranoid as Batman. Roy found me out almost immediately. He demanded I let him join. He wanted to protect the kids like him. I remember I couldn't kick him out because I kept thinking about the Grayson kid. I still can't figure out why the kid would run away knowing he was about to be adopted by a millionaire." Oliver ended his story. The cabin of the plane was silent.

Bruce was surprised, and evidently so was Batman. Bruce had never realized his team members thought about his actions and probably worried about him as much as Oliver had just said. The looks on the other's faces said they were the same as Oliver. Bruce, and Batman, was astounded.

"What about Wally?" Bruce asked. Flash smiled brightly.

"That turd." He started. "So, I had just married Iris, and met Wally. The kid was obsessed with Flash. He was…13, maybe 14 when we met. Of course, he didn't figure me out right away, light a certain archer." Flash yelped as a pen hit his head. "Touchy. Anyway, by the time Speedy had arrived on the scene... Hmm… Kind of a long time after finding him, eh Ollie?"

"I wanted him fully trained. It took awhile." Oliver muttered.

"At least you didn't abandon him on an island for five years for his training." Flash charged on, ignoring Oliver's cry of outrage, "Well, Wally was an enthusiast. He was also very, very impressed with Speedy. And Robin. Jason had just hit the scene then six months later we have Speedy, he wanted in. he was 16 by then. Somehow, the kid found out my secret ID. He messed around in my lab and BOOM! Kid Flash! The three met up eventually and the rest is history!"

So things took a bit longer on this side…Bruce mused.

"And Kon-El." Clark started. Soft smiles filled the cabin.

"Guys you're making me sick with your nostalgia." Jason groaned.

"Are you embarrassed?" Flash teased. He yelped again as chalk hit him in the head.

"NO!" Jason shouted. "I'll tell the story since I was there." Bruce turned to give Jason his full attention.

"Anyway," Jason began, "Wally, Roy and I were bored one day."

"How were you bored! We had just taken you guys to see the meeting room in the Hall of Justice!" Flash cried out. Jason held up chalk threateningly. Flash kept quiet.

"Anyway, we were bored and ticked. We wanted to see the Watchtower. That hadn't happened. The League got called to a major disaster of some sort, and a small lab fire was going unchecked. Well, being the good kids we were, Roy, Wally and I decided to go check it out."

"Good kids my ass." Oliver grumbled. Jason continued.

"So, we arrive, but the fire looks like it is under control. Well, we head inside anyway. People could have been trapped. We were looking around when Wally screamed like a baby. Roy and I turned, just to find this black suited… I'm not quote sure what he was wearing, but he was in black. I'm guessing he was 14, maybe 15. He was older than me, even if he wasn't any taller. Anyway, this jackass is just sitting on Wally's shoulders. He was completely silent. He had a weird mask on. He didn't attack though. Apparently he was light, because Wally didn't have difficulties carrying him. We just kind of toted him along. God I hate to admit it, but the silent boy saved our asses so many times it isn't funny. He conveniently disappeared when we got captured, and when the League showed up. Asshole."

"So, you guys didn't know who the kid was?"

"Well, we didn't figure it out until three years back." Clark said.

"What happened three years ago?" Bruce asked.

"There were issues in Gotham. I discovered a cult within the city. They had trained assassins, and were very troublesome. One was particularly hard to deal with as he felt he had a personal history with me. He kept saying I killed off his blood. He was very troublesome." Batman said, looking at the dials from the captain's chair. Clark was co-piloting.

"Yeah. Ever since that 'cult' was destroyed, this kid, who seemed to be the only one that wasn't an undead warrior, ran off with Deathstroke." Jason checked his belt.

"Undead warriors?" Bruce was skeptical. Batman and Jason just nodded but said no more. Bruce assumed a couple, unpleasant, incidents had happened three years ago.

"We call the kid Renegade now."

"Why?"

"One, he likes the name." Flash said.

"Two, he doesn't really do the good/evil thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you never really saw him until about three years ago. Then he showed up a lot. Sometimes he kicked your ass, and sometimes he helped it." Hal said, piping up for the first time.

"It's really kind of sad that kid got paired with Deathstroke." Clark mumbled.

"Why?" Bruce had still heard the Kryptonian.

"I don't know how, but the guy is nice. He won't attack your back. I'm not saying he won't sneak attack you, but he doesn't attack an unarmed person, a downed person, or an innocent." Hal said.

"So, he has morals." Bruce summarized. Everyone shook their heads.

"He stops muggers, rapes; he even stopped a bank robbery before I got there once." Jason said. Bruce creased his eyebrows.

"I swear, once he made sure an old lady got out of a burning building ok, almost killing himself in the fire." Flash spewed out.

"The kid waits until you've caught your breath to attack, he doesn't kill." Oliver continued to list.

"Yeah, that is probably the biggest thing." Hal agreed.

"He was in a cult, and is with Deathstroke, but doesn't kill?" Bruce tried to figure this out. Who might this Renegade have been in his world?

"Well, I'm not saying he hasn't killed, but he seems to try to avoid it." Jason said. The plane went silent.

"He talks a lot." Hal said. they were less than five minutes away from landing.

"He'll strike up a conversation if you're sitting on a roof, and never attacks first, unless Slade orders him to." Oliver said.

"If you do talk to him, it is really weird. I mean, he just chatters!" Bruce frowned deeper. This person was sounding familiar. Batman frowned as he watched Bruce.

"Just a five minute conversation, not even that and you can tell," Clark started to get ready to land. Batman had to turn back to the controls. "You can tell, the kid is just nice."

Well? I'm hoping everyone is still enjoying this!

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