Alternative

by Fangirl Forevz

What if Bruce Wayne wasn't able to adopt Richard Grayson as his ward, because the boy was kidnapped by Cadmus before he had the chance? When KF and Aqualad bust Superboy out, they also meet a cheerful boy who doesn't remember anything from before his time with Cadmus. Add Batman to the equation, who has been searching for Richard Grayson since his disappearance...Read on for more.

5. One's Name

AN: Warning, this chapter does not include scenes from any Young Justice episodes. This is my own creativity (though I still don't own anything). I hope you all don't mind!

Thank you for your reviews! Here are the listed pairings and their votes:

Spitfire: 6

Torpedo: 2

Supermartian: 5

Traught: 2

Chalant: 2

Dibs: 2

Birdflash: 2

No Renegade Pairings: 4

I'm still taking votes, but this is where you all stand. The future rests in your hands...Well, it rests in mine, but I'm definitely taking your opinions into consideration. :)

xXx (Le Cave) xXx

Renegade glared at his unchanging reflection. Black hair stuck up in several directions, his skin was far too pale for his liking, and he couldn't even see what his eyes looked like. That was the point, really, but after Wally had offered to assist him in removing his mask he just couldn't ignore this anymore.

The speedster cleared his throat from behind him. "If you can't do it today, there's always tomorrow."

One hand was brought up to his face and remained at the edge of the mask. They had already used an adhesive, so physically pulling the thing off would be no problem. It was the mental affect on him that was making him hesitate. Damn his childish antics!

"I need to do this." Renegade grumbled in reply. "I can't hide from myself forever. There's no need."

Wally frowned deeply. "I've done some research. Some people with amnesia hide themselves from their past because something terrible happened that they subconsciously don't want to remember. Maybe that's what you're doing."

Renegade's thoughts went back to the flashbacks that he had been pushing to the back of his mind. "That...actually might be true." His fingers remained at the edge of his mask, but he didn't make any move to proceed with tearing the thing off. He tightened his grip on the fabric, ignoring the way his hands started to shake.

"Dude. Maybe you should-"

"I can do this." He sucked in a deep breath and peeled the corner of his mask away from his face. He immediately recoiled and nearly fell into Wally, as the bathroom space was pretty cramped.

"Don't mean to crush your hopes and dreams, but this doesn't seem to be working." Wally chuckled half heartedly and inched towards the door. "Maybe we can continue this later."

Renegade closed his eyes and sighed. He needed to get this done, but his friend was probably right. Silently, he followed the older boy into the kitchen and helped him with the task of finding some snack food. A speedster's metabolism was no joke. It was a somewhat disturbing thing to think about- someone who had to eat almost every hour in order to not starve to death.

"Have plans for tomorrow?" Renegade asked as he jumped up onto the counter.

"Nah. Wanna try again? There's no rush, remember."

Wally had repeated that same phrase the entire day, and it was starting to get irritating. Each time he heard those words he felt like snapping at his friend, but refrained. Reminding himself that Wally was only trying to help seemed to do the trick. He knew that he wasn't frustrated with his friend, but he was annoyed with how long this was taking, and he knew that it wouldn't be right to take these frustrations out on someone else.

"Thanks..."

After that, the elder one started babbling about the possibility of the League turning against them due to a zombie apocalypse. Renegade started to zone out just when he started to explain how the renegade superheroes would effect the rest of society. His thoughts were way too crowded for mental images of a zombified Batman, thanks.

"-destroyed symbol of hope-"

Hm. Renegade's thoughts wandered to the rest of the Justice League. So far, he had only wanted to get close to Batman, the enigma of the team, but found that the other members were somewhat interesting as well. Superman was number two on the list of heroes that gained Renegade's attention. He often wondered how a super powered man like him was able to roam around the Earth as if he were a normal human. He wanted to know what his identity was. Maybe it would make sense once he had it all figured out.

"And Wayne enterprises would be the only reason Gotham would still be around!"

Wait, what? "Wayne enterprises? As in the playboy idiot that only donates money to charities because it makes him look good? Bruce Wayne?"

Wally waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah, sure his personality sucks, but can you imagine what would happen to Gotham if Batman was out of commission? They would have to rely on Wayne's money to build some decent weapons in preparation against the zombies!"

A blink. "Is this what you spend your free time doing- thinking about things that probably won't happen?"

"Don't we all?" Wally grinned before continuing with his theory. "After that the Martians might have to-"

Well, at least he knew which city not to go to if there ever was a zombie apocalypse. Bruce Wayne was one of the few people that Renegade actually disliked. That man was a dimwitted idiot who threw his money around to get whatever he wanted. As an orphaned child without any financial support, rich people like Wayne made him jealous.

To be honest, Wayne was the least important problem in Gotham. The entire city was someone's nightmare that sprung to life. Just watching the Gotham news gave Renegade the chills, and every twisted villain that made an appearance made him cower in fear, even though he was perfectly safe in the Mountain. As he did more research on that particular city, his respect for Batman only grew. The world needed more people like him, and not Bruce Wayne.

"-the intake of carbonated beverages would then-

Renegade managed to not roll his eyes as Wally continued to ramble. They could be doing something productive right about now, like finding a way to safely remove his mask, which was a lot looser on his face than before. Since they were smart enough to use an adhesive, his mask was no longer clinging to his skin. But, this meant that if he didn't manage to pull this off himself, it would most likely fall of in his sleep or during a mission. What to do, what to do...

"-There's always the problem that he wouldn't want to inject the antidote himself, of course, so we would have to make Superboy do it for him. I think Supes would be the best choice 'cause-"

Renegade suddenly sat up straighter, the gears in his mind whirling. "Wally, you're a genius!"

The speedster gave him his trademark grin. "Oh, I know. I've been working on this plan for ages..."

Renegade shook his head. In all honesty, he had no idea what his friend was actually talking about, but the snippets of his long speech gave him an idea. "No, not that. What you were saying...He didn't want to do it himself, so Superboy would do it? Well, I can't take off my mask by myself. Maybe you can do it!"

That proud smile suddenly vanished. "Woah, what? You want me to take your mask off? Gee Ren, I don't know..."

"Oh, come on. It's perfect! If you take it off, I won't have a chance to chicken out."

Wally didn't look convinced. "Well yeah, sure, but shouldn't you be the one to do this? If you can't get it off now, it might mean that you're just not ready. Nobody is rush-"

"Nobody is rushing me, I know." Renegade cut in. "But, it will still be my decision to let you take it off. It's not going to be entirely spontaneous." At the other's set expression of concern, Renegade hastily added, "And anyways, my mask is really loose. If I don't take it off soon, it'll fall off on its own. I think it would be more of a shock if it randomly came off than if you pulled it off."

"You have a point..." Wally wrinkled his nose. "But you can still end up having a panic attack."

"Please, Wally?" Renegade whined, giving him the best pleading puppy look. It was evil, he knew; no one could resist that face.

"Oh, fine! But if this doesn't work out, don't blame me. This is all on you."

Renegade grinned. "Thanks Walls, you're the best."

"I know." The speedster stared at him uncomfortably. "So, uh, how do you want to do this?"

"Mm...Couch?"

Wally nodded and walked into the living room. Renegade jumped down from the counter and did the same, plopping onto the couch next to his friend. Once seated, Renegade turned his entire body so that he was facing Wally and tucked his knees under himself. The older boy brought his own legs into a crisscrossed position. "Tell me when you're ready."

"I'm ready." He responded immediately.

"Alright..." Wally smiled hesitantly and reached out to grab the edges of Renegade's mask. It was only when he felt the contact that the reality of what was about to happen registered in the younger boy's head. He sucked in a sharp breath and closed his eyes tightly. Maybe it wasn't too late to back out-

Without further warning, his mask was pulled right off of his face. Cool air fell onto the boy's eyelids as he closed his eyes even tighter than before. Okay, so it was definitely too late to back out. That was okay. He could handle this. He could.

Not.

"Renegade? Dude, you okay?"

Breathing was becoming such a difficult task. His breaths came in short intervals, his palms were sweaty, his body was shaking, dizziness settled in his head somewhere, and his heart was beating much too loudly. Why? All he did was take off a stupid mask!

"You're scaring me now."

He was distantly aware of himself speaking back to his friend to assure him that he was okay, but his words seemed to further panic the elder boy. Perhaps he said it wrong? The speedster shouted something to him, but it sounded like gibberish. The garbled words brought a sharp pain up to his skull, and he hissed at his friend to shut up so that he could calm himself down. His vision blurred after that, but he knew that Wally was no longer there. Maybe his eyes were so strange that he scared his friend away. The logical part of Renegade's mind pointed out that that was the least likely scenario, but he ignored it.

Consciousness was overrated, he decided, as he finally allowed himself to close his eyes.

"You can't hide forever, child..."

A boy with black hair blinked tiredly as his arms were strapped down onto the medical table. A scientist loomed over him, the drugs morphing his appearance to exaggerate his height. The child whined lowly and moved his head to the side as the man attempted to grab his domino mask.

"Leave him." A man painted in shadows walked into his line of sight and glared at the scientist. "You are lucky that I am still allowing you to use him for drugs. He belongs to me, and you know that I ordered for his identity to remain secret."

The scientist rolled his eyes. "And you are lucky that the experiment managed to slip that mask on before his capture, or you would not have the opportunity to be buying anyone. If we really wanted to, we could go into our databases and see just who this child is."

"And risk angering the Light? Please." A soft chuckle rang out, making the boy shiver. He did not like either of these people. They were scary.

"Hmph." The scientist moved his greasy hair out of his face and straightened his posture to make himself look superior. "And have you decided on a name for this experiment?"

The man nodded and came closer to the boy, though his image was still too distorted to make out. "Yes." The boy suddenly found himself face to face with the man. "Now, Renegade, I have an order for you to follow. Never take that mask of yours off. If you do, there will be...consequences."

The threatening tone in that command made the boy, Renegade, swallow nervously as he nodded. Keep mask on. He could do that. The mask could stay on for the rest of his life, for all he cared...

The scientist did not look amused. "Renegade, huh? Meaning traitor?"

The man smirked and walked away from the strapped down experiment. "Yes, because Renegade will betray anyone that isn't his true master. I will make sure of that."

Other images flashed by...

Renegade saw himself sitting in a dirty cell, singing a lullaby in effort to soothe himself into sleep. A second later, he saw a group of women trying to teach him how to wield a sword, but later found that he worked best with escrima sticks. He watched as he yearned for someone to praise him, saw the many times he chewed on his nails to help against his hunger, and the time he was finally presented his Renegade uniform...

"Renegade!"

The boy forced his eyes open and squinted against the harsh light. At someone's barked orders, the light eventually dimmed and allowed him to see his surroundings. Huh, he was in the living room. He must have fallen asleep while watching a movie or something.

"I'll go to my room..." he muttered sleepily, already bringing himself up into a sitting position. He was more than a little surprised when a pair of hands gently pushed him back down. Was he in trouble?

"You just had a panic attack. Stay down." So, it was Batman who had pushed him down.

"Panic attack...?" Renegade blinked. Why would watching a movie give him a panic attack? Unless the film somehow provoked an emotional response due to a flashback, he wasn't sure how a simple movie could have done this. That movie must've been intense.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "What do you remember?"

"Give me a minute..." He brought a hand up to his head and frowned. Usually, flashbacks gave him a headache. Since he didn't have one, he could rule out his previous theory. But, he couldn't remember anything that could have done this...

"Here, put these on." Sunglasses were suddenly shoved into his direction, and Renegade blinked yet again when he realized that the man was blocking his view from the small group of gathered heroes behind the couch.

"Why would I need these? I have a ma-" As he was saying these words, his hand fell onto his naked eyes. His heart picked up its pace as he felt feathery eyelashes under his fingertips. He moved his hand up a little and traced what he knew was an eyebrow. But...He wasn't allowed to take his mask off!

That's when he remembered the dream. "No..."

"Renegade?"

"Never take that mask of yours off."

"...He's going to kill me."

"Who?" A steady hand fell onto one of his shoulders, and Renegade flinched visibly. "Renegade, you need to talk."

"He told me that I wasn't allowed to take off my mask...and I did." Renegade shivered violently.

Batman eased him back onto the couch. The gentleness in the action would have confused him in a normal circumstance, but he wouldn't dwell on it right now. "Who told you that? Desmond?" Renegade slowly shook his head, and Batman narrowed his eyes even further. "It was the man who was supposed to buy you, wasn't it?"

Hearing that out of someone else's mouth seemed to break the dam. Renegade let out a loud sob and threw his arms around the dark knight without thinking. He needed comfort; he was scared out of his mind. Batman seemed to stiffen at the sudden contact, but ended up hesitantly returning the hug. "It'll be okay. No one is going to hurt you. They'll have to get through me and the entire League before they'll ever get near you. Okay?"

"Okay." Renegade pulled away and hastily wiped away his tears. His face burned as he realized with humiliation that everyone in the room saw this little mental breakdown. "Sorry..."

Batman shook his head. "Don't be. You have every right to be upset Renegade." He stared at him blankly before asking, "I believe you might want to see your reflection now?"

Renegade swallowed thickly. His reflection might bring his memories back, and that scared him still. But, the determination to get through this was stronger than his fear. After a quick mental argument with himself, he finally nodded at Batman. "Yeah. I didn't take my mask off just for the fun of it. I'll just go to the bathroom real quick..."

"No need." Batman held up a small mirror in his hand. "Canary had Kid Flash bring this over when they thought I was distracted."

The boy glanced over to the back of the couch but saw that the other heroes had cleared out. "They left?"

"I told them to leave if you took this badly. I didn't believe that you would be keen on others being present if you were to have another panic attack."

That was...thoughtful. Wow. "Um. Thanks, Bats."

"It's Batman." The vigilante narrowed his eyes. "And if people heard that I let you get away with something like a nickname..."

"So in other words, I can call you whatever as long as it's just us?" Renegade grinned when the man didn't argue. "Pssh. And people call you heartless."

"I'm not heartless. My heart is just two sizes too small."

Renegade's eyes widened. "What- Was that a 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' reference?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The man said evenly, but his lips were pointed upwards slightly.

"Can't fool me, Bats." Renegade laughed. "Now I know your secret identity."

While he couldn't see it, he was sure that Batman was rising his eyebrows. "Is that so?"

"Uh huh. You're definitely Dr. Seuss."

Batman chuckled lightly, a foreign sound that made Renegade's smile widen. "You caught me. Just promise me that you won't tell anyone. Green Arrow wouldn't hear the end of it."

Renegade laughed again. "No way! I'm telling the press about this. They'll totally believe it."

"You're right. We are talking about the same people who believed that I was a time traveling Abraham Lincoln."

"...Abe Lincoln?! Really?!" Renegade was nearly howling with laughter. "You have to be kidding me."

"I wish I was." Batman smiled. "But that's a story for later. Here," he handed the mirror over to the teen, who managed to catch a glimpse of his face as it moved.

"Right." Renegade's smile faded as he held the mirror up to his face. The sunglasses were still over his eyes, so he didn't have to worry about that just yet. His eyebrows, however, were able to escape the coverage of the sunglasses. Red lines covered his cheeks, and he traced them with the pad of his finger with a small frown. "What happened here?"

"Kid Flash said that during your panic attack, you started to speak in a foreign language. When he tried to get you to calm down, you started screaming and used your finger nails to scratch your face. Wallace decided at that point that it was time to call the League."

Renegade winced. "Who came?"

"Me, Black Canary, and Martian Manhunter."

Black Canary and Manhunter must have shown up to make sure that he was still mentally intact. It also might've been J'onn that knocked him out, as he was wide awake for the longest of times. They probably thought that it was necessary so that he would be unable to hurt himself again. "So, uh, why did you come?"

Batman frowned. "Did you not want me to?"

"No, it's not like that. I'm just confused. The other two had a reason to be here."

"My reason of being here was because I was...concerned."

Concerned. Uh, okay? "I didn't think you'd care." Renegade admitted.

Batman stared at him. "Why would you assume that I don't care?"

"Because you're Batman. You're not supposed to care."

A sigh. "Well, I do." He glanced away, looking distant. "We have something to discuss later. Right now, you have something else to do."

Oh, right. He wasn't sure if he was purposely distracting himself from his reflection or if it was completely accidental. It was probably the former. "Okay."

He stared at his reflection and sighed. Yay, he was right back at square one, confronting this all on his own. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to convince Batman to take the sunglasses off of him. The dark knight would want him to be strong and do it himself...

But, he didn't want to. As he stared at his own face in the mirror, his hand began to shake again. The thought of seeing his entire face was still completely frightening. What if he had another panic attack? What if the man that paid to buy him found out about this and actually hunted him down? What if-

A steady hand on his shoulder anchored him to the real world. His gaze went to the area of the mirror that showed the dark knight, and saw that he was simply staring at him. The man obviously didn't know how to comfort someone, but the fatherly gesture he performed was enough. Renegade smiled at him weakly and turned his gaze back to his own face. He could do this.

His fingers pinched the frame of the sunglasses...

'Never take your mask off.'

Renegade took in a sharp breath and hesitated. The shadowy figure of the man came into his mind, pushing away all other thoughts. The man's smirk, chuckle, voice, and posture all made Renegade nervous. The added affect of the drugs did nothing for his fear, it only added on to it.

"Renegade." The boy glanced over at the dark knight, who squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't think about him. Remember the good times, not the bad."

The good times, huh? There was one specific memory that he could think of, and it was a recent one, too.

"Does this mean that we're...friends?"

Wally blinked. "Duh! We're all your friends, Ren."

"Oh."

Friends. After he had spent a year with Cadmus, he gave up on the idea of spending time with people around his own age. As the years dragged on, the thought of people hanging out and doing things together was a ridiculous idea. How could anyone be so carefree in such a messed up world? It was drilled into his head that Cadmus was the only safe place in the world...

After he escaped, he was still reluctant to become attached to anyone. His mind was still stuck on the notion that everyone on Earth was corrupt in some way. When his new teammates managed to show him that this was untrue, saying that he was shocked would be a huge understatement. And then when they started to show that they cared for him, he didn't know what to do.

'No one is going to hurt you. They'll have to get through me and the entire League before they'll ever get near you."

He never felt this...safe. It was new. Having people that allowed him to eat at every meal, who periodically checked in on him, and provided him with a warm bed was a million times better than what he was used to. Even Batman, the coldest man in the League, went out of his way to assure Renegade that he was safe. It was...

It was great.

Renegade slowly removed the sunglasses and opened his eyes after a few tense seconds. He almost didn't recognize himself; it was a totally different thing to see himself without something covering a portion of his face. He blinked his blue eyes a couple of times before examining them closely. He had always liked the color blue, put he found that this particular shade was quite extraordinary. If they weren't his own eyes, he would call them pretty. They were bright and shining, showing the world an innocence that hasn't been there for years. He liked them.

"That was anticlimactic." Renegade mumbled.

Batman chuckled. "What were you expecting? Bright red eyes?"

"No." Yes. "But I thought that maybe my eyes would trigger some memories. Nothing happened."

"It triggered memories." At the boy's confused look, Batman explained. "Didn't you have a flashback after you took your mask off?"

Oh, right. Those. "Yeah. I think my panic triggered those, though. It's whatever. I'm not complaining over memories that I don't really need."

"They're memories that you don't want." Batman corrected. "And on that topic, have you remembered anything new since our last talk?"

Renegade quickly went over the flashbacks that he had, which only included the visions of his family camping trip, and the sounds he heard whenever he thought of the circus. When he spoke of the circus, Batman sat up straighter and demanded that he described his parents features. "Well, um, my mom had blonde hair and blue eyes." Renegade had his mother's eyes, he realized with a smile. "My dad had black hair and hazel eyes." He also had his father's hair. He was almost a perfect blend of the two.

Batman narrowed his eyes and suddenly produced a holo screen in front of him. The man typed furiously on his keyboard until the images of Renegade's parents appeared on the screen. His heart beat loudly in his chest as he finally got a good look at the two of them. His flashbacks usually blurred their faces so that their features weren't as recognizable. Now, however... "Are those your parents?" Batman asked, staring at him with such intensity that it made him nervous.

"Yes." He replied softly, staring at their pictures. "Are they...alive?"

Batman fixed his eyes on the screen as well, not meeting the boy's gaze. "No." He said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Renegade nodded slowly and looked down, ignoring the sudden pain in his chest. He was already suspicious that his parents were deceased- how else would Cadmus have gotten him? He knew his parents loved him and wouldn't intentionally give him away. As he remembered the camping trip from all of those years ago, his eyes strung. "Wha-" his voice broke and he had to compose himself again. "What were their names?"

"John and Mary Grayson."

"Grayson..." Renegade furrowed his brow. The image of two adults flying through the sky on a trapeze burned into his mind. "What's my name, then?"

"Richard Grayson."

"Dick Grayson." Renegade corrected without thinking. Immediately afterwards, he realized what he said and smiled. "Wow. I already knew my name. That's...wow."

Batman nodded. "We were already suspicious that you knew more about yourself than you thought. Without your mask, it's possible that your flashbacks will come more frequently."

"Right..." Wanting to get off of the subject of his memory loss, Renegade said, "So...You had something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Suddenly, the air changed. "Yes." A moment of silence, and then, "I've been meaning to ask you something of great importance."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"I've seen you fight. You're excellent with hand to hand combat, your acrobatics are a definite advantage, and your hacking skills are above average."

Woah. He didn't get just one compliment from Batman, but three. This must be very important. "Um, thanks..."

Batman nodded stiffly and continued, "I spoke with Canary, and she believes that my choice is an excellent one. So now, I must ask: do you want to train with me?"

A blink.

And then another.

Finally, "Sorry, what?"

Batman sighed, probably annoyed that he had to repeat himself. "I want to be your mentor. You have potential, and it would be an honor if you were to become my protege."

The gears in Renegade's mind were working furiously to understand the situation. Since when did Batman even want a protege?! The dark knight doesn't like children! Was this some sort of test? Was this a bad prank? What. Was. Going. On?

"Um." Was the intelligent response he came up with.

"I don't need an answer right now. I hope that you'll consider my offer."

"So, you're serious? You really want me to be your protege?"

Batman stared at him. "That's what I said. I don't wish to repeat myself a third time."

"That's..." Renegade shook his head. "I mean, yes. My answer is yes."

The dark knight frowned. "I think you should think about it before you come to a decision."

Renegade laughed. "Are you kidding me?! You're practically my mentor already! I learned more from you in the past month than what I've been taught the past five years!" He jumped up from the couch, nearly bouncing up and down with excitement.

Batman looked as though he had no idea what to do. "I'm...glad to hear that." He said, though it sounded more like a question. A smile finally graced his face again. "Then it's settled. Pack your things."

"What?" Renegade froze. "I'll be living with you?"

A nod. "Yes. When you're up for it, we can go to the police station and have you be declared alive again." He frowned. "And I suppose that I should register you for school..."

The boy stared at him, shocked. "Woah. Does this mean that you're going to show me your secret ID?"

"Yes. Manhunter checked your mind for programming, and deemed you safe. I trust you with my identity."

"...Um." Wow, two major shocks in one day, both occurring within the hour. Not only was he going to be living with Batman, but he was also going to be allowed to become a normal member of society. Well, as normal as someone can be with his occupation . "How am I going to explain to the police where I've been this entire time?"

"Leave that to me." He gestured to the nearby hallway. "Go get your things. I'll show you the Bat Cave as soon as you come back."

Wow...the Bat Cave!?

xXx (Le Bat Cave) xXx

Turns out, the Bat Cave was a lot bigger than he originally thought, which is saying something. Renegade's eyes widened as he took in his surroundings, from the giant computer a few meters away, to the Batmobile that sat on a rotating platform. He was especially interested in the bats that hung from the ceiling. He briefly wondered if they were trained to do anything or if they were only there for the emphasis on the bat.

"What do you think?" Batman asked. Renegade noticed that from moment they stepped foot in there, the dark knight sounded somewhat kinder. It was interesting.

"Do you even have to ask? This place is beyond awesome, heavy on the awe."

A sudden noise by the staircase made Renegade spin around, automatically reaching for his weapons. He was a bit surprised to see an old man coming towards them. Batman put a reassuring hand on his shoulder once he noticed the reaction. "It's okay, he's a friend."

...Friend? Batman had friends? What kind of world did he accidentally step into?

"Ah, I see you have returned with a guest. I suppose you finally asked him?"

Batman nodded. "Yes. And he's not a guest, he'll be staying with us from now on."

"I see..." the elderly man smiled down at Renegade. "My apologies, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Alfred."

Renegade nodded. "I'm Rene-" he paused. Civilian names, right? "I'm Richard, but I go by Dick."

"Very well, Master Dick." Wait. Master? What. "I will lead you to your room after you have a talk with Master Batman." He looked at Batman, and rose his eyebrows slightly. Batman's shoulders rose up in a quick shrug. Huh. Maybe silent communication was what people referred to as bat-talk. Doesn't everyone do it, though?

As Alfred disappeared upstairs, Batman turned to look at him. "I don't think I need to tell you that you're not allowed to tell anyone my identity, do I?"

"No, sir."

Batman nodded, though looked a little uneasy at the 'sir' thing. Rene- ahem- Dick mentally made a note on that, wondering what it was about. "And, you won't be able to reveal your own identity to anyone either."

Dick blinked. "Why not?"

"Because as soon as you're legally alive, the media will be all over it. It would be easy to link your identity to mine."

The media? Well, he could see people being interested in someone who came back from the dead after being away for several years. And he could definitely understand his mentor's paranoia- the Bat didn't need his identity being revealed because of some kid.

His smile widened. Batman was his mentor now!

"Okay, I understand. Anything else?"

"No." The man grabbed his cowl and moved to take it off.

Renegade watched with growing curiosity. He has seen all sorts of theories on the internet, all ranging with levels of ridiculousness. He's heard of normal ones, like certain celebrities and movie stars that have the same height and voice of the dark knight. However, there were several idiotic ones that always made him laugh when he thought about them. Batman being the Joker in disguise was one of his favorites. He also loved the theory that Batman was a ghost who was bent on revenge against the person who murdered him, and decided to take down every living criminal while he was at it.

But, the most ridiculous one was saying that the great Batman was actually Bruce-

The cowl was off.

-Wayne.

The now unmasked Batman smiled at him. "My name is-"

"Bruce Wayne." Dick said, staring at him. The media thing made a lot of sense now.

Instead of looking annoyed, Wayne nodded. "Yes. I'm guessing that you've heard of me?"

"Well, yeah..." Remembering all of the times that he made fun of Bruce for being a wimp, Dick paled.

Bruce frowned in concern. "Are you okay? You look ill. Do you need to lie down?"

Slowly shaking his head, Dick responded, "No, I'm good." He continued to stare. "You're seriously Bruce Wayne?"

The responding chuckle made the boy even more suspicious. "Last time I checked, that was my name. What, a rich man can't be a vigilante?"

And now Batman was making jokes? What? "...Would it be alright if I said no?"

Bruce laughed even more at that comment. "I know it must be shocking. Seriously, Superman wouldn't even believe me until I beat him up with a bit of Kryptonite."

Dick narrowed his eyes. "I hope this doesn't mean that you're going to beat me up too."

"Of course not. I think you'll come to terms with it yourself." The man smiled at him kindly and began to walk towards the staircase. "I bet Alfred made us some food. Coming?"

"Yeah...Give me a minute?" The man nodded in understanding and left the room to give him some space. Dick ran a hand through his hair as soon as he was alone, trying to wrap his head around everything. This was...too much. Way too much. "Bruce Wayne is Batman. Okay...I can deal with that. Ha."

Yeah, he could so deal with that, as long as-

"Updating information..."

His heartbeat quickened as the voice thundered in his head.

"Batman, aka Bruce Wayne. Owner of Wayne Enterprises. Weaknesses- Unknown. Attacks- Master at hand to hand combat and is equipped with weapons. Suggestion- Use 'Alfred' as leverage. Sacrifice may be needed to destroy."

Shi-

"Master Dick?" Dick slowly turned around as the elderly man returned. "I apologize for rushing you, but your food is getting cold."

Dick looked down. "Sorry Alfred, but I don't think I'll be eating."

"Oh. I was not told that you have already eaten. Do not fret, I'm sure Master Bruce-"

"It's not that." Dick interrupted. "I can't stay here. I'm leaving."

Alfred looked concerned, even though they just met. "May I ask why you are leaving?"

"I can't be trusted." He sighed. "Bats shouldn't have told me his identity."

"Are you planning on telling anyone who he is?"

Dick frowned, offended. "Of course not."

"Then how is it that you cannot be trusted?" Silence. "Master Dick, if I may, I wish to explain something to you."

"Okay..."

A sad smile. "Master Bruce lost his parents when he was a little boy, and has been rather distant with everyone ever since." He sighed. "I was very worried about his well-being, especially after he decided to dress up in a costume, calling himself 'Batman.' It seemed as though becoming a hero only made him more distrustful." He put a hand on Dick's shoulder, smiling again. "So, you can only imagine my surprise when he decided to take on a protege."

"I don't understand what you're trying to tell me." Dick muttered. He hated it when adults didn't get to the point.

Alfred made a noise that almost sounded like laughter, but it was quickly muted. "Batman, the most paranoid man in the world, trusts you completely. I think that's enough to go off on, yes?"

"Oh." A small smile. "I guess so."

Alfred nodded. "Then, come. If you remain down here any longer, you will worry Master Bruce."

"Okay, Alfie." Ignoring the miffed look that he received for the nickname, Dick bounded up the stairs with a fake bout of laughter. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes as he thought back to the words that The Man had said.

'Renegade will betray anyone who isn't his true master.'

What a crappy destiny...

xXx

AN: Aaaand...Done! This chapter is finally complete! Go me!

Sorry that there wasn't any action in here. I would have added scenes from the next episode, but this chapter is already over 6000 words. Add on the next episode, and...Yeah, I'm not sure if anyone wants to read that long of a chapter.

Note: I'm still taking requests. There are days between each episode, so I can add whatever I want. This chapter here is a prime example. I wanted it, so I added it. Yaaay.

Note 2: Renegade still isn't the mole. I know, I know, this is probably really confusing. I understand that I'm seriously laying down hints that he's the mole...Well, maybe I've been lying to you guys this entire time. Who knows at this point?

Note 3: I'm still accepting requests for pairings. :)