AN: Just a reminder, this is the episode where the Team encountered Dr. Fate for the first time, yet Robin wasn't present. Well, in my story, this is what happens.
xXx
Renegade sat in a crouched position next to his mentor, the two of them perched on the edge of a shadowy rooftop.
Since there were no missions waiting for him back at the Mountain, Renegade was allowed to go on his first patrol in Gotham. The ex-experiment found that he could barely sit still, as his excitement was too much to keep under control. "Are you sure that they're coming here?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Batman said patiently, eyes still glued to the ground below them.
"Right." Renegade fidgeted in his position, clenching and releasing his fists at random. "But what if they don't show?"
"They will."
"But-"
"Focus, Robin."
Rene- Robin twitched at the sound of his new hero name and couldn't help but grin. Before Dick was allowed to even think about patrolling Gotham, Batman asked him to take the precaution of creating a new alter ego, so that no villains would be able to connect him to his civilian name.
The name 'Renegade' was not the only thing that was thrown out the window. Instead of a plain black suit with a red R printed across the front, he now had a new costume. His gear now consisted of black Kevlar pants, an armored red top with a small black 'R' over his heart, and a black hooded cape, with red underneath it. The only thing that remained the same was his domino mask.
Batman had insisted on him wearing colors that matched his personality, but Robin couldn't help but feel that he would ruin his mentor's dark and brooding style with his bright colors. They ended up making a compromise. Robin would wear dark colors that could easily blend into the Gotham night, but he his personality would remain the same.
No one needed more than one Batman, after all.
Robin was exceptionally giddy during the patrol, finding that he was more than happy to let go of the name and style that his kidnappers forced onto him. All of the new changes gave the boy a huge burst of energy, which was threatening to take over if the bad guys wouldn't show up soon.
Fate finally decided to give him a break, he decided, as Batman seemed to notice something. "Look."
Robin followed the man's gaze and was barely able to make out the outlines of three armed men. "Is that who we're here for?"
"Yes. One of them is Penguin's new second in command. I've seen him before."
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's take them down!" Robin tensed his muscles, ready to spring into a fight.
"No. I'm going to jump down there and let them capture me. They'll take me straight to Penguin."
There was no mistaking the emphasis on 'I'm,' which meant that Batman was going to do this alone. Again. "But can't you just interrogate them and get the information about Penguin's hideout that way? It would be easier."
"No, it wouldn't be easier. Penguin's second in command is known as the Liar in the criminal world. He has the uncanny ability to keep his heartbeat steady, even when telling a lie. There's no telling if he would tell me the truth or not."
Oh. That was logical enough. "How about I do it instead? They don't know me, and it would be easier to believe if I got caught instead of you. If I tell them that I have connections to you, they'll bring me straight to the Penguin!"
Batman stiffened at his argument. "Absolutely not. There are many flaws in your plan. First, even if you tell those men that you have connections to me, they might decide to kill you anyways. Second, if they do take you to Penguin, there's no telling what might happen to you there. And third, the Joker is said to be working with Penguin at this point in time. If that madman catches word that you're my partner..."
Robin deflated at the detailed response. "Fine. I'll just stay here, by myself, while you go kick butt. That's cool..."
A sigh. "This is your first time in Gotham. I don't want you to be overwhelmed and get hurt."
"I promise that I'll stay whelmed!" Robin whined childishly. "Please just let me do something."
Batman stared at him for a solid second before taking in a deep breath. "Fine. You can trail behind the thugs while I'm being taken away. If anything goes wrong, you can step in. Other than that, remain hidden." Before Robin could reply, Batman spoke again. "No more arguments. I have to move quickly. Remember what I said."
With that, Batman glided down to the ground.
Robin silently cheered to himself as he watched his mentor land on the ground. The three armed men, who were simply lounging around a broken car, immediately stood at attention. "It's the Bat!" One of them cried.
"No shit." Robin muttered, snickering.
"Don't just stand there." 'Liar' screeched. "Get him! Penguin wants him alive!"
"On it."
Batman stayed silent during the exchange, only reacting when someone rushed towards him. When the criminal moved to throw a punch at him, Batman simply grabbed him by the arm and swung his entire body into the closest thug, sending both men onto the ground. Liar snarled loudly and pointed his gun at the Dark Knight, who rolled to the side to avoid the onslaught of bullets and threw a batarang at the criminal's hand to knock the gun away. Seconds later, Bats had the criminal pinned to the ground.
Three armed thugs down in less than a minute. To say that Robin was impressed would be the biggest understatement of the year. He could only hope to be that skilled in the future.
"Get off!" Liar shouted, trying to pry himself out from under Batman's crushing foot.
"You want to breath? I want answers." Batman increased the amount of pressure on his chest. "Where is Penguin?"
"He's in the Diamond District." The criminal replied with a smirk. "Oh, wait...Or maybe he was over by the Holiday Inn. I think you hit my head too hard, I can't remember."
Robin knit his eyebrows together in confusion. What Liar was saying sounded like total bullshit, but at the same time, he sounded so truthful. The man's face was relaxed, but not too relaxed, and his answers came to him easily, as though he didn't have to make anything up. Batman really wasn't kidding when he said that it was difficult to get an answer out of the guy.
Batman was not having any of his nonsense, choosing to yank the man's head up with his hair and slammed it right back onto the pavement. "You are lying. Tell me where he is."
"I just did." Both Robin and Liar watched as another man came from behind Batman, holding up a silver baseball bat. "But if you don't like that answer...He's behind you."
The bat was smashed against Batman's skull, and the vigilante staggered before collapsing next to Liar. Robin tensed a little but forced himself to relax, reminding himself that his mentor was only faking unconsciousness.
"We did it." The third man said, staring down at the fallen form of the Dark Knight.
"Uh huh. Are you two bozos going to just stand there and look stupid, or are you going to help me put him in this car?" Liar stood up, brushing off his raggedy clothing.
"But...that's not our car." Thug Two said dimly.
"Is that so? Well, I guess that means that we'll just have to leave him here."
Thug Three blinked slowly. "Really? But the boss wanted us to bring-"
"I know what the boss wanted!" Liar pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ever hear of sarcasm?"
The two thugs continued to look confused.
"Ack. Never mind. I'll hot wire the car, you two get him inside."
Robin grinned to himself as the two dimwitted criminals struggled to put the limp Bat into the back seat of the car while Liar messed with the wiring to start it. When the automobile hummed to life, the head criminal looked between the two thugs. "You do realize that I can't let you get any credit, right?"
Robin tensed. What did he mean by-
BANG!
One of the criminals fell backwards, blood dripping out of a bullet hole in his chest. Robin remained frozen as the other thug took a few steps backwards, only to come to the same fate. Liar simply grinned down at his dead associates before closing the back door. He gave the two fallen men a mock salute then went around to the driver's seat.
The car drove off.
Robin felt his arms and legs move on their own, his grappling hook was pulled out and used to lower him safely onto the ground, a few feet away from the dead bodies. As soon as he felt solid concrete under his feet he rushed towards the closest man and knelt down to feel for a pulse.
Nothing.
Nearly hyperventilating, Robin moved over to the next man and repeated the same action.
Nothing.
Bile rose in the back of his throat, and tears sprung up in his eyes. He was there, right above them, yet he still let this happen. Why didn't he move? Why didn't Batman intervene?
Wait. Batman didn't intervene.
Robin's breath caught in his throat. If Batman didn't ditch the unconscious act to save those men, he must've actually been unconscious! Robin had such confidence in his mentor that he never even thought that it was possible for him to have been taken off guard. If Batman was taken to Penguin in that state...
Robin abandoned the bodies, shooting off into the air again.
xXx
Finding the car was difficult, but luckily for Robin, he was great at memorizing things, like license plates. Following the car was a lot easier. Robin briefly thought about rescuing Batman the moment he saw the car, but figured that the mission would be the more important thing to the older hero.
After nearly twenty minutes, the car finally stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse. Robin had to take several seconds to get over the cliche, and followed the man who was dragging his mentor behind him. Unfortunately, Liar took the precaution of closing the noisy door behind him. If Robin went through the main entrance, there was a ninety percent chance that he would be killed on the spot.
So, he elected to grapple up through a decent sized window, which allowed him to follow Liar from the rafters, where the shadows kept him hidden. When the criminal exited the main room, Robin was forced to open a vent grate and crawl through the small passageway to the next room over.
The amount of dead rats he found there were horrifying.
As soon as Robin emerged from his hiding space, he froze. Below him were a mix of Penguin's and the Joker's men, all armed. At the front of the room sat a fat man with a large piece of glass in one of his eyes. Next to him stood a grinning clown who skipped and pranced around the area with childlike glee.
"Is that the Bat?" The clown, Joker, asked. Liar simply nodded from his position in front of the two, letting the limp vigilante drop to the ground.
"Where are your men?" Penguin asked as he too stood.
"We had a run in with the police on our way here." Liar said easily.
"You're lying, aren't you?"
"No."
"Oh, he's good." Joker said cheerfully.
Robin creased his eyebrows, trying to come up with a way to take on all of the armed men, keep the Joker and Penguin from escaping, rescue his mentor, and beat Liar within an inch of his life.
The last one was not negotiable, but it didn't look as though he could accomplish any of the other things listed. Unless...
Robin took in a deep breath before exhaling, his breathing turning into his signature cackle. While laughing, Robin sprung to the other side of the rafters, letting his chuckles echo around the room without giving away his location.
Everyone tensed. "What was that?" Penguin asked lowly.
"I'm pretty sure that's not my hyena." Joker said, shrugging. "Though Harley could have gotten another one without telling me..."
"This is serious!"
"I know! She really needs to stop letting strays in. The amount of fur in my house is ridiculous!"
Robin cackled again, his laughter now being fueled by the Joker's babbling. For a murderer, this guy was pretty funny. Well, his name was the Joker...
"It's the Bat!" Someone cried.
"Idiot! The Bat's right...Wait, where did he go?"
Robin felt a familiar presence appear next to him, annoyance coming off of him in waves. Robin glanced over at him and grinned weakly. 'What?' His smile said.
A glare. 'I told you to stay at a safe distance.'
Robin shrugged. 'You were in trouble.'
Batman seemed to misunderstand his signal and his glare intensified. The vigilante looked down at the panicking criminals and then back at his protege. 'Stay.' was the unspoken command.
Robin sighed. 'Fine.'
Batman then jumped back down, falling right on top of an armed man, who fell unconscious after impact. Chaos then sparked, bullets flying in all directions, punches being thrown, confetti flying through the air...Well, that last one was only because of Joker, who seemed to be more interested in making a mess than fighting. The only person missing was...
Penguin.
Robin saw the back of the chubby man as he made his way out of the emergency exit. Batman was too occupied with his fighting to notice, and Joker wasn't even paying attention. Robin decided to ignore orders and silently dropped down to the floor. After looking in all directions to make sure that he wasn't seen, he slipped out of the room and sprinted after the Penguin. It didn't take long for him to have him sprawled across the floor.
"Ack! Get away from me, Bat-" The man finally looked up at his attacker. "Wait. You're not the Bat. Who are you?"
"I was wondering the same thing myself!" Robin was suddenly pulled backwards and shoved into a wall. The cold touch of a blade was then pressed against his throat, and he kicked out in hopes of breaking free. It didn't work. "Now, now, play nice kiddo." Joker was grinning down at him as he pushed the dagger farther into his skin, producing a few ruby drops. "What's a rugrat like you doing in grown up land, hmmm? Who are you?"
Robin brought one of his hands up to wrestle away the knife. "No one." He said forcefully.
"Oh really? You know, I think you were the one laughing! I know for a fact that Batman doesn't know how to laugh, so it must've been you." He gave Robin a once over, raising a brow. "Did Halloween come early this year?"
"Yes." Robin said, finally able to successfully push the criminal away from him. When he was free, he did a hand spring to put some distance between them. "And I think my costume is better than yours!"
"Oh, you can joke! I like you!" Joker took out a gun from the depths of his pocket and swung it around carelessly.
"You have a funny way of showing it." Robin drew his escrima sticks and held them at the ready. He could dodge the bullets and get close enough to use his weapons to knock him out. Then, he could finally go after the Penguin...
WHAM!
Stars erupted in front of the young hero's eyes as something collided with the back of his head. Vertigo took over his body, the dizziness forcing him down to his knees.
"Am I late puddin?" A high pitched female voice asked.
"You're just in time!" A foot connected with Robin's side, making him fall over. Joker was then in his face again, grinning widely at his pained expression. "Aww. Does the kiddy have an ouchie?"
"I'll live." Robin said breathlessly as he tried to pry the foot away from him.
"Oh, still have some fight in you? Don't worry. I'll fix that right now." Joker signaled for Harley to grab Robin's arms. She did so, after several swipes were made at her face. Joker then sat himself down on Robin's legs, holding his knife to his chest. "So, what will it be? A smiley face?"
Robin attempted to thrash out but was pinned right where he was. His struggling became more and more desperate as the blade came closer to his uniform. He was already warned by his mentor that the Joker possessed weapons that were able to pierce Kevlar. Joker would carve into his skin like a jack-o-lantern, and then what? What further torture would he go through until he was killed?
"Batman!" He called out, his voice sounding pleading even to his own ears.
"Hm. I think that's a bit beyond my artistic skill. I'll do my best!" Joker paused. "Huh? No fair, you're wearing the fancy hero armor! I didn't bring my special tools to work today." He pouted.
Robin let out a small sigh of relief.
"We'll just have to go straight for the kill, then!" Robin gasped as the knife was at his throat again, and he felt a steadier flow of blood run down his neck. "It's bed ti-"
Joker's weight was suddenly yanked off of him. As soon as his legs were free, he used them to fold into an inwards somersault, kicking Harley away from him in the process. When he got back onto his feet he grabbed his escrima sticks from their position on the floor and used them to defend himself against the onslaught of blows that were sent his way. As he jabbed, dodged, blocked, and kicked, he slowly backed up until he was back to back with his mentor.
The two of them reacted in an instant.
Batman ducked onto the floor, dodging a swipe of a knife as he did so. Robin used his mentor's back as a springboard to launch himself at the Joker. While Robin did that, Batman rolled from under him and when he uncoiled, he swept Harley's feet from under her. The two heroes then stood, watching both villains with a careful eye.
"It's over." Batman said quietly, his body more tense than usual. "The police are will be here soon. There's no escape."
Joker seemed unaffected by the news. "Is that your brat, Bats?"
Batman ignored him, turning to said boy. "Robin, where's Penguin?"
Robin looked down. "He got away."
The older hero's response was interrupted by the police, who stormed in with guns pointed at both criminals. Robin stiffened when a few of the guns were hesitantly pointed at him, the looks on the officer's faces revealing that they weren't sure about which side he was on.
Commissioner Gordon made his way to the front of the crowd, nodding to Batman. "I have a squad of men rounding up the thugs in the other room, and Arkham is prepping for the Joker's return as we speak."
"Good. Unfortunately, the Penguin got away but we were able to take down his second in command. Don't question him, it won't get you anywhere. I'll track down the Penguin myself."
There it is again. Batman was emphasizing the 'I'm,' and the 'myself.' Robin sighed, his shoulders slumping as he realized how badly he failed tonight.
Gordon finally seemed to notice the younger hero. "And him? Did Penguin hire him for something too?"
Robin bristled. He looked nothing like a criminal! Batman noticed his discomfort and put a hesitant hand on his shoulder. "No, he's with me."
Everyone went silent.
Finally, the Joker came to his senses. "So he is your brat! Ha, you reproduced! That's funny."
Gordon looked as though he didn't know what to do with this information. "He's...with you." He repeated slowly.
"Yes." Batman sounded impatient. A few men and women of the police looked uneasy at the harsh response and chose to drag the Joker and Harley out, who were both staring at Robin while giggling to themselves.
"Is he your son?" One of the officers blurted out when the villains were gone.
Batman stared at them blankly. Robin, without thinking, answered with, "Yes."
More silence.
"Right. Everyone, get out." Gordon commanded. Soon, he and the two heroes were alone. "Are you insane?" The Commissioner said with narrowed eyes. "You can't just bring a kid into your line of work! Even if he's yours, you know damn well that he could easily be killed! Just look at him." He made a gesture towards Robin's neck. "I don't need to be the greatest detective to know that he almost died tonight."
Robin stiffened. "I was caught off guard, that's all! Look, I have plenty of experience in crime fighting, so you can just-"
"Robin." Batman said in a warning tone. Robin's mouth snapped shut. "Commissioner, I know what I'm doing. Robin is right, he has plenty of experience in the field, but this is his first night in Gotham."
Gordon sighed. "I'm wasting my breath by arguing, aren't I?" He turned away, staring at a wall with puzzlement. "Joker and Penguin forged an alliance, just days after Joker did the same with Poison Ivy. It can't be a coincidence. What are they planning?"
When he turned around again, the two were gone.
He chuckled to himself faintly. "I'm actually surprised that he stayed so long. We have a new record." He looked at the spot where he last saw the two with a thoughtful expression. "Their personalities are as different as day and night. A real dynamic duo if I ever saw one..."
xXx
"You disobeyed direct orders," was the first thing Batman said when they landed on a rooftop.
Robin put his grappling hook away. "No I didn't. You said that I could step in if things got out of hand."
"Things were not out of hand."
"You were unconscious!"
Batman narrowed his eyes. "I was faking. I thought you knew that."
"No, you weren't faking. You would have stepped in to save those two goons if you were awake." Hit with a sudden realization, Robin flushed. "Oh. You regained consciousness in the car. I didn't think about that."
His mentor stared at him with an unreadable expression. "No, Robin. I was awake the entire time."
Robin blinked slowly. "Oh. Then you were drugged? I can't believe I didn't see that. I'm really out of my game toni-"
"I wasn't drugged either."
"I...I don't understand." Robin looked up at his mentor with wide eyes. "If you were fine, why didn't you save them?"
"I would have blown my cover." Batman said simply. "And then it would have been impossible for me to find the Penguin's hideout tonight."
Anger suddenly flared. "What!? You sacrificed two lives just so that you could find the Penguin?!"
"More lives could have been lost if we didn't take out everyone we did in that warehouse."
"We could have found another way there!"
"And if we couldn't?" Robin found that he couldn't answer that. Batman's gaze finally softened. "Look, I know it must be difficult for you to understand, but sometimes you have to sacrifice things for the sake of the mission."
Robin's breath hitched. "Does that include me?" He couldn't help but ask. "Would you throw my life away?"
The resulting silence was an answer enough.
"I see..." he said quietly, looking down.
Batman sighed. "It's time to head back to the Bat Cave. I won't be able to find Penguin tonight."
Without waiting for a reply, Batman jumped off of the ledge and walked towards the Batmobile. Robin stayed behind, feeling numb. When Batman first asked him to be his protege, he was certain that he was training himself to take on the cowl if his mentor ever died, or retired. But now...
He wasn't sure if he wanted to be Batman anymore. The person who used to be his hero was starting to become something else, something he couldn't quite name. All he knew was that he didn't like it.
The ride home in the Batmobile was filled with tense silence, with Robin questioning his role in Gotham. What he didn't know was that Batman was also questioning himself.
What neither of them knew was that they were being watched. A man stood on top of a faraway building, leaning against a ventilation shaft precariously. A black and orange mask glinted in the dim moonlight as the unknown man watched the dark vehicle race away, a broad smirk on his face.
"It's time for a wake up call, Renegade." The man said softly, disappearing into the shadows.
xXx
AN: So, yeah, anyone who said that Deathstroke was the villain that bought Dick was spot on. Smart thinking!
By the way, I asked for your favorite villains last chapter, right? Well, I put every person's choice on a slip of paper. I then put all of the paper into a hat, drawing two villain names. I ended up with Deathstroke and the Joker but since I was already planning on putting Deathstroke in here, I replaced him with Penguin. I like working with a bit of surprise. Even I didn't know what was going to happen this chapter (kind of).
It's official, all pairing votes are now closed, as I have come to a final decision. What's my decision, you ask? You'll have to wait and see!
Also, I realize that there were some ideas presented to me that I wasn't able to put in my story. Me being the author I am, I was thinking about starting a one-shot series that would have some reader requested scenes. What do you think?
That's it for now. Stay whelmed everyone!