I don't own DC, otherwise it would all be about Robin and Batman angst.
Chapter 3-
He slipped into the warehouse to see Batman facing the Riddler. BW could only pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Guess who Boy Wonder…" he taunted as he circled the Bat. BW noted that he would need to work on stealth skills if he were to go up against more super-villains.
"Your forehead looks clean." He called form the shadows, buying time. As his eyes raked the warehouse he saw the god awful yellow and green suit of mirror master in the corner. Flash must be near then, BW assumed but he wasn't showing himself. "Why pay b-list villains from central to help? Oh wait you're on the same list as them."
"Please Boy Wonder, just tell me, which is correct 'The yolk of the egg is white' or 'The egg yolk is white?'"
"Neither, egg yolks are yellow. So orange is 054N63, a fireworks warehouse, that's the last riddle solved."
"Care to battle with words, Boy Wonder?"
So much for low profile he thought to himself as he stepped out from the shadows and his gaze turned to Batman. He just nodded and put his finger to his ear, listening through some sort of comm. piece. Maybe Flash would arrive after all. Then he looked around at al of the boxes of fireworks that hadn't gone off yet, strapped to them were bombs, with the corresponding switch in Mirror Master's hands. He would have to be careful; maybe that was the price of losing, then again there could be something that he couldn't see, like a aircraft on the roof that will lift off and drop everything over Gotham.
"Name your grounds."
"Can't you see the bombs, you lose and they blow. You win—which you won't—and it's a fair cop, or it would be if you weren't vigilantes, not cops. Nevertheless."
"Proceed."
"What loses its head in the morning and gets it back at night?" The Riddler asked snidely.
"A pillow. Why can't the Tyrannosaurus rex clap?"
"They are extinct." He lost his smile; he knew it was an easy one. "What building has the most stories?"
"A library. What two things can you never eat for breakfast?"
"Lunch and dinner. How many apples grow on a tree?"
"All apples grow on trees. A truck driver is going opposite traffic on a one-way street and a police officer sees him but doesn't stop him. Why not?"
"He was walking?" He answered hesitantly before regaining himself. "Railroad crossing without any cars. Can you spell that without any R's?"
Boy Wonder scoffed, he had tried that on his parents so many times. Thinking of his parents gave his eyes a murderous glint, one both Batman and the Riddler noticed as the young boy answered. "T-H-A-T." His turn now and he was going to end it. "I have nothing to do with eggs but X is in my name. I'm not a box for storage yet a box all the same. I am both controlled and controlling. Add 360 in front of my name if you will. Without me, they'll have nothing, with which to chill."
There was a pause and even the Batman's mask shifted as the man furrowed his eyebrows in thought. IT was a home made riddle; there was no way Riddler could know that, he would have to figure it out. However without it written down, it was unlikely Riddler would get it even with the massive intellect. Besides, he probably didn't have the console.
"I have nothing to do with eggs but eggs"—yeah you think that BW thought as the villain continued—"is in my name. I'm not a box for storage yet a box all the same. I am both controlled and controlling. Add 360 in front of my name if you will. Without me, they'll have nothing, with which to chill." He thought long and hard then, "I give up." He said forlornly as if breaking the news that a dear friend passed away; his ego was sort of a friend.
"X-box, it was 'X' not 'eggs' the second time."
"Mirror Master, drop the remote."
Behind him, the green and yellow clad villain watched on humoured until he was told to hand it over then he was confused. "Just like that they win?"
"Boy Wonder won, close the camera and we'll go."
BW swore internally at the mention of the camera but didn't react visibly. "As long as your destination is a jail cell."
"I never specified what I meant by fair cop though did I?" Riddler asked, with his grin returning as he snatched the remote from his partner's hands and threw it.
Boy Wonder caught the flying weapon and took the batteries out of its back, just in case. Then he matched the villains smile, his eyes still sparkling maliciously, and sending shivers down their spines. They didn't notice the tremors in the floor as they grew nearer. "You didn't need to specify, we'll take things from here."
The two villains shuffled quickly towards the exit, turning back to see Batman and Boy Wonder were standing still and patient. Only when the red blur shot through one of the side doors did they realize their mistake but by then they were on the backs on the floor with the Flash standing over them. They messed with two cities then they get two of their heroes taking them down, three if you count the boy but he drifted between city to city, again eluding the press.
"You should have stayed in central, you play with light, and Gotham's darkness just doesn't work for you." The scarlet speedster taunted as a smaller yellow form sped to stop just behind him.
"Not that anything suits you with that outfit."
"Says the human traffic light." Boy Wonder scoffed, catching the attention of the fastest boy alive.
"Am not. Oh, well if it isn't the Boy of Gotham's night." He broke into a grin and sped in front of the boy.
He stepped back, never before seeing a speedster this close; he didn't like anyone that close.
"Is-it-really-you-oh-my-god-Roy-will-be-so-jealous-you-are-my-idol-you-made-me-me-I'm-Kid-Flash-Flash's-nephew-but-you-probably-already-knew-that-since-you-know-everything-I-thought-you'd-be-taller…"
"Stop." Boy Wonder deadpanned, and halted the speedster talking, literally unable to cope with anymore.
"Oh, I forget to slow down sometimes. I've only been at this for a year after I got my powers and…"
Boy Wonder swiped the redhead superhero's feet from under him in a swift and pushed him onto his back in one fluid movement. He landed on his back, temporarily winding the preteen. He pulled out his marker and crouched beside him, scrawled something on his forehead under the flimsy yellow material. When the word 'motor mouth' was written he hesitated before standing again.
"Green eyes, yellow suit and red hair. How are you not a traffic light?" He then turned to a Batman who was trying to hold back a laugh, to an untrained eye he would be stoic but Boy Wonder was anything but untrained. Behind him the uncle of his latest victim was tying up the two villains while trying to ignore the helpless looks from him nephew. "Who's Roy?"
"Find out yourself, it would be rude of me to spill such an important hero's identity." It was evident in his tone that he did not think the hero as important and in fact, laid it out as a challenge to Boy Wonder to investigate.
He pretended to work it out as he strode to where the Riddler had hidden the camera between two overhead beams. He ran and grabbed the bar swung his body up into a handstand and cart wheeled onto his feet on the narrow surface. After effortlessly tightrope walking to where the device lay, he snatched it up and switched it off.
"Roy Harper is Speedy, he said simply." Glancing down, he saw Batman's lip curled in a smile at the mouths of two super speed heroes dropped open.
"How, in two seconds…"
"In Star city, I've stumbled upon someone stealing shipments from queen industries, high tech green arrows—that one wasn't hard after that piece of evidence. Oliver is Arrow and what would make more sense then to drag your son into the same business. Or nephew as it seems."
He chucked the memory card down to Batman's waiting palms and decided to keep the camcorder since he could use the lenses for something and the screen may be useful too. He found himself becoming a resourceful tech genius, the longer he stayed on the street. He could make anything out of anything. And yet he had nothing, he was bound to lose something if he became too attached to it. There was one thing that he cherished now, a poster of his act in the circus, which was buried in a cave only he knew and could get to; he had made sure of that.
"The Riddler has escaped custody, I repeat," the radio spat a female voice between bursts of loud and crisp static. Batman pulled it from his utility belt for us all to listen, "he just melted, be careful of approaching."
"We should probably get him back." The bat murmured and helped Flash haul the two criminals to shaky feet. Meanwhile, Kid Flash sped around to BW's side.
"What did she mean 'just melted'?"
"Mirror Master created a doppelganger to distract Batman but I took the bait instead. I took him in and the illusion must have worn out during interrogation."
"He uses a light projector box, the batteries never last long. It's stupid really."
"Even more so when you fall for it huh?"
"How long does it take for the marker to wear off?"
"Three to five days, you haven't got school tomorrow, have you?"
"No, but I am meeting the League, they'll be jealous, especially Speedy and Aqualad."
"Yeah, you remember 'stop'? Well stop."
"Right." The older teen of twelve chuckled.
Boy Wonder walked from the warehouse to look outside, climbing up onto the roof he saw the faint blue glow of their police cars and their faint sirens could be heard through the quiet night of the polluted city. He was aware of the Batman grapple attaching itself to the edge of the roof and the massive figure coming to land just behind. He saw his dim reflection in the dirty shards of glass that rested up against a pile of brick. They stood in silence as the police pulled up to the warehouse after receiving the tip and watched Flash and Kid Flash hand over the culprits.
"Anti-climatic huh?"
"The riddles are all solved and there are both locked up. Be glad the job is done."
"I'm not satisfied. I should loop around the city, from the docks towards Wayne industries. That seems to be the area Riddler was interested in tonight. Even if I don't find him, I'll be sure to find someone up to no good." As the police looked up towards the roof where Flash pointed, Boy Wonder slipped back into the shadows instinctively.
Commissioner Gordon nodded at something the Flash said before striding off to the building and waiting for Batman to drop down. "It's definitely him this time."
"Yes, I had my eye on the real one all the time."
"Boy Wonder sorted out the clone, I saw him you know. I think he's real. Have you—of course you have."
"Commissioner, he was on the roof last night while we talked. No doubt he has eavesdropped on many of our conversations. He solved the riddles you told me with lighting speed. Just now, the both of them had a battle with riddles; guess who won?"
"Boy Wonder. So you've seen him in action too."
"Yes. It's impressive to see someone so young with so much talent in psychical means and in wit. However, it is scary to see that it's wasted on something so dangerous."
Icy water spilled hit the Batman's neck and slipped down the back of his spine. On looking up he saw the silhouette of the young vigilante. He tipped another handful of rainwater onto the Batman, hitting him right in the face. It was clear how he felt about what the Bat had said. Gordon didn't notice; he watched his men work.
"What should we do about him? I mean—Gotham needs a second hero. Batman as good as you are, you're only human; you can't do everything and be everywhere. You need someone to watch your back too. But...he's a kid. This is dangerous work. Does he know what he's doing? He might just be a kid playing Superman."
"It has been a year now and still he's alive. It must say something for his skill."
"I know. But how does this affect him mentally. He looks so young; he could be just starting high school."
"He's younger than that."
"What if he fails to save a life one night? He'll blame himself and the guilt would destroy him. Besides, going up against criminals like this, the boy must have so many nightmares. And the secret identity thing. Surely if his parents knew they wouldn't let him do this sort of thing. My little Barbara couldn't lie to me about how many sweets she stole. It just isn't right."
"Meet him. Make it known that you are not corrupt like the majority of your force is and maybe eventually he'll be able to talk to you like I can. As for the identity, it's his problem. He dug that hole the second he donned a mask."
"I still worry. Not just for him but for every poor kid in this God Forsaken city. How are they to know right from wrong when their parents don't know themselves?"
"That's what the Justice League is for, a public show; a hero and idol to show any kid what's right."
"The kid decided to take it into his own hands."
"So did you, you just do it from the inside."
"I guess the joke is on me then."