Ok, y'all are amazing. Thank you so much for all of the support. It all means so much to me and I can't thank y'all enough for it.

Chapter 6: The Threats of a Madman

When she signed up, she knew there would be a risk. She would have been naïve to think there wouldn't be. But she never imagined this could go as far as it did.

OoO

"—sightings of a new possible hero in Gotham—"

"—Captain Gordon confirms—"

"—why would Batman allow another teenage vigilante—"

"—Penguin yelling out revenge for—"

"—the new hero of Gotham—"

"—Captain Gordon informs the public the heroine's name is—"

"—Blue Bird—"

"Allison!" The girl in mention jumped out of her seat and dove to the remote, switching the channel off just as her mother opened the door to her room. Her mother eyed Allison and the television suspiciously before seemingly deciding it was not worth her time.

Instead, Juliet James sent her daughter a pleased smile which promises only bad things for Allison. In response, the girl prepared herself and instantly guarded her facial expression. See, she was enjoying a rare, peaceful day in her room while blissfully ignoring her parents for the millionth time. Her family has a nice system where Allison doesn't bother them and they don't bother her. If she were honest, she hasn't had a real conversation with her parents in months with the occasional exception of them checking in to see if she is doing the proper things an heiress needs to do (whatever that means).

As her mother strode to sit next to her on her bed, Allison wondered what changed.

"Now, my dear daughter," her mother began and attempted to look earnestly at her, "you are aware of the importance of creating connections with certain families in Gotham, yes?" Allison resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It's not like that particular lesson hasn't been drilled into her brain since she first learned to talk or anything. Oh, wait, it has. "Since you are becoming older, you are able to help your father and me with maintaining those connections and even making new ones!"

Her mother looked genuinely thrilled. Allison didn't know exactly what her mother was going on about, but she had a terrible suspicion of what it may be. She hesitantly said, "Sorry, mother. I, uh, I'm not exactly sure what you and father have in mind."

Juliet gave a disapproving noise. "Allison, darling, what have I said about hesitating when you speak! Never mind that. I'm sure you will behave yourself better in respectable company." She said this with a pointed look towards Allison.

Allison felt her spine straighten and she knew her lips were pursed angrily. All the girl wants to do is shout at her mother and explain that if a person doesn't like her for who she is then that's their problem. However, her mind was able to control her mouth before she did so. It warned her of the inevitable consequences that would arise if her mouth ran wild.

She could be forced to attend more socialite events. They could force her to throw parties for rich kids her age. They could have her mingle with men well into their fifties. Yet there are more severe things that could happen. There is a boarding school just out of state that the James' would have no qualms about sending Allison to. They could move her halfway across the globe and require her to study there. They could take away any sort of independence she managed to gain.

They could cut off all contact she has with Barbara and Dick.

She would become a ghost to them.

So as much as she despises it, as much as she wishes for full independence, Allison must surrender to her parent's needs once again.

The twinkle in her mother's eyes shows Allison she hid her frustrations poorly. Unfortunately, Juliet James knows as well as her daughter that Allison is unable to do anything but follow her wishes.

When they come calling, Allison must answer. She's too afraid of what might happen otherwise and her parents know it. They know of her fears and they are unafraid of making those fears a reality.

Allison took in a deep breath. She quickly calmed her nerves. She faced her mother with an even more guarded expression—a content smile, peaceful eyes, inviting features—an expression all socialites must learn from a young age.

Her mother's smile became more genuine, however, that doesn't make it any less wrong. "I see you are learning every day how to use that little card. With that smile, you can get anyone to tell you what you want. Sweet, innocent, and young. Not a single soul will suspect anything from you! On the other hand," Juliet stood up and walked across the room to Allison's bookshelf, "in a few years, I'll be teaching you how to wear a different kind of smile."

Allison felt her stomach churn at the implication. Her mother gave a short chortle. It was sweet in sound, but it lacked warmth.

"I suppose you are still wondering why I must ask for your assistance today?"

"I am, mother."

Juliet turned her head to give Allison a satisfied smirk. "Short and assertive. Never say I haven't taught you anything, my daughter."

Allison remained silent.

"One of your father's friends, a man he hasn't spoken to in years, is traveling to Gotham from Los Angeles. This is his home town, you see. Your father is interested in doing business with this man, yet that isn't a special thing. Almost everyone in this city has been wanting to do business with Theodore Worthing. What puts us a step ahead, darling, is you."

Despite having no interest in assisting in business affairs, Allison was curious. Theodore Worthing is a rich man with a successful career. His company's net worth rivals that of Wayne Enterprises. They certainly had more wealth than her family's company. In addition to that, his wife and son are both famous in the acting community.

Her head quirked to the side. "What could I possibly do, mother?"

The woman's smirk was not a kind one. "Far more than you realize. It is one of your responsibilities as an heiress."

Allison narrowed her eyes.

"Tell me, Allison, what do you know of the Worthing family?"

OoO

Being a vigilante is dangerous. She knows this. She's been hurt on the field before. Yet, this is different.

OoO

Allison James is a smart girl. She is considered a genius compared to others her age. Working alongside Batman has only increased her knowledge. Bruce even said she may be smarter than Dick (for context, the boy is a kid prodigy).

But for as smart as she is, she really can be dumb sometimes.

The Wayne Manor isn't too far of a distance from her mansion. Well, it would be if you drove. In Allison's urgency, she completely omitted the idea of driving there. Instead, the young girl ran the entire distance to the manor in the humid, hot weather.

Long story short, Allison's straight, blonde locks have developed into a frizzy mess of uncontrollable hair due to the humidity. Some strands have even taken to clinging onto the sweat on her face. As she finally trudged up the steps to the front door, Allison was panting and ready for a glass of water.

She frowned. She'll get her glass of water after she gets her well-deserved freakout.

Allison knocked on the door and impatiently waited for it to open. When it finally did, she forced herself to stop and properly greet Alfred before rushing inside.

"Hello, Alfred. Please forgive me for my… frazzled appearance, but I need to rant. Desperately. So, uh, where's Dick?"

The butler rose an eyebrow before hesitantly saying, "Master Dick and Master Bruce are in the kitchen. However, Miss Allison, I must first say—"

"Thanks, Alfred!"

Allison sped throughout the manor, huffing and grumbling all the way. Her voice steadily rose as she gained near the kitchen. She knew Dick could probably hear her with the level of her voice, yet she had no reason to care at the moment. Actually, she would be fine with the whole world hearing this. Allison would be doing the world a favor for announcing the scummy, disgusting, and horrifying plan her parents have in store for her. Then, at least, they will know the type of parents they are.

"Dick, they've done it! They have finally done it! When I thought it was impossible, they did it! Grayson, they did the impossible!"

Seriously, what kind of parents do this? Well, people way back then used to do this all of the time, but this is America in the twenty-first century! America is like a symbol of freedom and independence and things like that. This stuff is just unheard of in this time period!

"I mean, the audacity, Dick. The audacity! This is a whole new level of audacity, let me tell you!"

Allison may be shouting at this point. Frankly, though, she doesn't care. Her parents have hit a brand new low and there is absolutely no way she isn't going to rant about it. Dick has heard too many of her rants before, but this is just going to be another one he has to listen to.

"You know what, I'm gonna tell you! My mother had the balls to—"

While Dick may be reluctantly willing to listen to her rant, Allison is not sure the black-haired man sitting next to Bruce and Dick at the kitchen table would be as interested.

So she stood there with her mouth still agape as if she had forgotten to talk. Which, when she identified the man, she completely did. The sound coming out of her mouth was unintelligible.

Dick, the horrible friend that he is, decided to be no help at all. In fact, he graced her with a smirk and said, "Please continue, Allison. I'm sure we are all interested in what your mom had the balls to do."

Words can not describe how much hate was shown in the glare Allison sent Dick.

Deep breath in, Allison. You've already made a bad first impression so far. Salvage the situation.

She straightened her shoulders and attempted to reign in her wayward emotions of rage, excitement, and nervousness. She gave a strained smile. "Sorry about that, Mr. Kent. Someone forgot to tell me you were going to be here today."

He smiled at her, Superman smiled at her!

Alfred, who was following Allison the entire way from the front door, spoke up. "You would have discovered Mr. Kent was here, Miss Allison, if you refrained from loudly 'ranting' throughout the manor and merely waited at the front door."

This only sent Dick into a fit of laughter. Even Bruce looked begrudgingly entertained. Allison, on the other hand, was far from pleased. Actually, she was still rather upset from the earlier conversation with her mother and this did not help.

The Clark Kent made an effort to meet her eyes. "There's no need to apologize, Miss James. I'm sure your ma did something awful to have you react in that way." He looks amused. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

The gentle smile on his face did nothing to help her from freaking out. Nothing at all. She weakly said, "Uh, yeah, mother is something. And please just call me Allison."

He nodded. "As long as you call me Clark."

Allison slowly nodded in acceptance, still unconvinced this is actually happening.

Dick finally decided to stop being a horrible jerk and began to fill in the loll of the conversation. "Seriously, though, you are normally not as loud when you rant. What happened this time?"

She hesitated and took a quick look towards Clark. He seemed as curious as Dick to know the answer. For some reason, she couldn't get a good read on Bruce and she didn't even try with Alfred (he always holds the same unreadable expression so she learned to give up trying with him).

"I'm not sure Superm—I mean, Clark would want to hear about my family drama." She gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Instead of agreeing, Clark's eyebrows rose in shock. Allison had no idea why… Wait, scratch that, she knows why.

Clark turned to Bruce. "Why am I surprised that she knows? She works with you for heaven's sake."

"You should know by now, Clark, we have a bad habit of finding out things we are not meant to discover. Allison's habit happens to coincide with discerning superhero's identities."

Allison missed the tiny, proud smirk Bruce sent her way. Rather, she slightly winced and elaborated on what Bruce said. "I was bored one night and I already hacked into a bunch of organizations so I decided to hack the Bat-computer to see what I could find. I happened to find your secret ID. Along with a few others."

Clark's laughter seemed to make his face seem kinder. "Out of curiosity, what other identities have you discovered?"

Allison smirked, starting to feel more at ease with reporter Clark Kent. "The entire Justice League and the majority of the independent superheroes."

Clark gave an impressed look towards Bruce who only slightly shrugged.

"Well, Allison, it is good to know Alfred has someone as smart as you helping to keep these two," he gestured toward Dick and Bruce, "out of danger whether you're off or on the field."

Allison honestly thought she was handling this whole meeting Superman thing pretty well. That was until he recognized her as a fellow vigilante and complimented her work. In which case she rationally freaked out and lost the ability to speak. Again.

"I, uh…" Allison desperately searched for something to say, but she couldn't stop thinking — "Superman just said I was smart," she whispered.

Judging by the slight smile on Superman's face which seemed seconds away from teetering over the edge to full-blown laughter, he heard it. She kicked herself mentally for forgetting how to converse and that he has super-hearing.

"Dick!" The boy jumped in his seat. "You have something to show me."

His face morphed to one of confusion. "I do?"

"Yes, you jerk," Allison glared at her friend. "You do."

Dick rolled his eyes and said in a very sarcastic tone, "Oh, of course, I do! How could I ever forget the extremely important, essential even, thing I needed to present to you so you could see it with your very own eyes—"

The blond grabbed Dick's arm and started to pull him out of the kitchen. "Stop being sarcastic, it is annoying on you."

Dick widened his eyes in mock surprise. "Annoying? How could I ever be annoying? Clark, you don't think I can be annoying, do you?"

"Definitely not, Dick," Clark shook his head. "You are the most well-behaved child I know."

Dick dropped the charade and frowned. "Okay, Clark, now that is just mean."

Allison continued to pull Dick out of the kitchen and away from the laughing Clark Kent with no real destination in mind. The whole encounter was just so unexpected and embarrassing that she completely forgot why she came to the manor in the first place.

"Allison, can you let go of my arm? It hurts."

Allison looked at her hand still clutching Dick's arm and practically threw it away from her.

"Why do you have such a strong grip?" He muttered as he rubbed his arm.

"I just met Superman," Allison said in disbelief. "I met Superman and I was un totale idiota."

Dick looked shocked. "Since when did you know Italian?"

Allison gave a smirk. "Since my parents told me not to."

"Devo essere d'accordo con te, il che è strano. Sei un idiota." He blinked innocently, but Allison knows Dick well enough to see the mischievous glimmer buried in his facial expression.

"I don't know what you said, but I know I wouldn't like it."

"That is probably true. You haven't explained what your mother did this time, you know."

Allison froze and her spine went stiff as if someone poured icy cold water down her back—the water is the reminder of just why she came to the manor ranting and raving all the way. She clenched her knuckles again and again in a useless attempt to reign in her justified anger. While Allison was nervous at meeting Superman, she was full of excitement. Now all that is left is poorly hidden disdain.

Allison could see Dick take a step back due to her rapid change of mood.

"My dear mother has made a request for me."

She said this as aloofly as she could. Her friend nodded his head for her to continue.

"Theodore Worthing is visiting town soon and my parents want me to assist in making connections."

"Isn't making connections something you already do?"

She snorted without any humor. "They want me to change my strategy. They want me to become… acquainted with Mr. Worthing's son."

Dick's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by acquainted, Allison?"

She crossed her arms and struggled to appear nonchalant. She knew she was failing because this topic is far from making her feel nonchalant. A stray hair fell into her face and she angrily pushed it away. "They want me to try and 'woo' him."

The only sound coming from Dick was nothing. The words stunned Dick into silence which rarely ever happens. Allison could see the mental pieces of the puzzle connecting when a violent, almost murderous expression materialized on his face.

"What do you mean by 'woo?'"

"I mean 'woo,' Dick! Make him like me and want to date me so his family likes me and—"

"You aren't doing it."

Allison sighed deeply and looked at Dick in defeat. "I can't."

"You can't? You mean you can. Surely this isn't legal. You are 10 years-old. You are not doing this."

"Dick, I have to."

"This isn't right, Allison. It isn't normal."

She chuckled. "Since when is anything normal?"

"Stop treating this like a joke, it isn't! They can't make you do this."

Before she could stop herself, Allison winced. No matter how hard she tried to make it look natural, she knew Dick saw it. She went to explain before he could comment on it. "We know that isn't true."

Dick looked completely torn and Allison felt the same. Dick has been the person who she has confided to the most and because of that, he knows as well as she does how much her parents are a slave to control and power.

Dick started to mess with his perfectly combed hair and she could hear the gears whirling in his brain working to search out their possibilities. It was fatal, though. She knew it and Dick knew it.

Allison always claims she was lucky in the friend category and she will forever stand by that. She never liked to go into the whole cliché wholesome stuff, but she has to admit that Dick Grayson is the most loyal person she knows. If someone he cares about or even vaguely knows is hurting, Dick feels that pain. His pain is tenfold if there is nothing he can do to help. He never gives up at that point, though, and remains determined to find something he can do to help. Not many superheroes have this characteristic and it is this that convinced Allison her friend is perhaps one of the best superheroes of their time.

Because he is a superhero when the suit is on and he remains one when it is off.

She put on a strained smile. "It's alright, Dick. It shouldn't be that bad, right?"

Dick looked resigned, but not defeated. "Anything, Allison. You need help with anything and I'm there."

Her smile became a lot more genuine. "Ditto."

Maybe that is all she needs—a reminder that she isn't completely alone.

OoO

She hated her city's rogues. The criminals are fine since most of them are just desperate. But the rogues, the main and utterly insane villains of Gotham… she hated them.

OoO

Dick reassured Allison he acted more of an idiot than she when he met Superman which slightly encouraged her. That didn't make her less nervous from walking into the Batcave where Clark Kent and Bruce are supposedly at.

She reflected on how the famous cave doesn't really represent one of those stereotypical cold and dark caves. In actuality, it is the opposite in her opinion.

"Do you have any leads on who it is?"

"Nothing definite and nothing I need to share."

"I know you don't like outsiders in your town, but I'm not here to interfere. I caught wind of it and got worried."

Allison and Dick shared a quick glance and started to walk down the stairs with a significantly greater level of discreetness.

"How did you find out? I told Gordon to keep this silent."

"Diana told me. Don't ask me how she found out."

Allison gave Dick a questioning look and a quick shake of his head told her his answer. Neither Dick nor Allison knows what the two men are talking about. This means that Bruce deliberately kept something from them. Unfortunately for Bruce, nothing he tries to keep secret from them stays hidden for long.

"You came, you worried, and now you can leave."

They could hear Clark's sigh reverberate from the chasms of the cave. "You forget how well I know you, Bruce. I may not be you, but I care for Dick as well."

Her head snapped to look at Dick in dread.

"Will you tell them?"

"Them, Clark?"

"Dick and the girl, Allison. They deserve to know."

"They'll know when it is imperative for them to know."

"They won't be happy, you know."

For a while nobody said anything.

"They'll be safe."

Dick ran out of the stairway with Allison stumbling behind him. She slinked back in on herself, however, when she and Dick suddenly found themselves in the gazes of the two men they were eavesdropping.

"Why is Clark here, Bruce?" Dick's tone was steady, yet there was an underlying hint of venom hidden in it.

Instead of responding to Dick, Bruce turned to Clark. "You knew this would happen."

"I knew it could."

Bruce glared daggers at the man. "You had no right."

Clark shrugged, looking strangely content for being on the receiving end of Batman's glare. "Maybe I didn't. But they sure do have a right to know."

"Bruce."

Time seemed to hold still while everyone waited for Bruce to respond to Dick. The hidden truth appeared to be a heavy burden for him, a burden Allison is not sure she wants to be shared with her and Dick.

"You have to understand I would have told you eventually."

Allison saw Clark make his way out of the cave. Both Bruce and Dick didn't look like they noticed.

"It just wasn't safe, Dick."

"You keep saying that," was Dick's reply. The rage on his face was clearly visible for anyone to see. In addition, there was something Allison could tell he was trying to push down. Simply put: he was hurt and betrayed Bruce kept something from him.

While Clark insisted that she should be involved in this conversation, Allison just wasn't as sure. She started to creep back to make her way out of the cave when a glance from Dick made her stop. She cautiously looked at Bruce.

"Clark was right. If Dick wants you here, you should listen as well." Allison was hesitant, she was extremely hesitant, but she couldn't deny she was even more so curious. Not only that, but her friend wanted her here.

Allison leaned against a nearby wall close enough to be part of the conversation but also out of the way so she didn't feel like she was intruding. Neither Dick nor Bruce looked like they were going to continue the conversation (Dick wanting Bruce to start and Bruce very obviously not wanting to have this discussion). With a raised eyebrow, the girl looked expectantly at the pair before she cleared her throat. Thankfully, that seemed to be what was needed to break the silence.

"There have been recent disturbances randomly appearing throughout Gotham. The places have no connection, but the disturbances themselves are all the same."

Bruce began to trail off. Dick's patience only ran for a few moments before he demanded, "What disturbances?"

"I told Gordon to keep this all silent. We didn't want the public to catch word of this."

He looked carefully at Dick and Allison as if he were calculating if he should really say the truth.

"Birds."

The unexpectedness of what Bruce said threw Allison off. Her anticipation turned into complete puzzlement. However, Dick didn't look like he was confused. It looked like he was almost discovering a revelation.

Bruce said nothing more and Dick still appeared to be lost in his thoughts. While she wanted to not interfere, Allison has to admit that her own patience is running very thin.

"What birds?"

As if they were broken out of a trance, both Bruce and Dick spun around to look at her. Dick released a heavy sigh and shut his eyes. Instead of answering her, he asked, "What type of birds?"

Allison could tell Dick knew the answer. The pieces of the puzzles started to connect in her brain.

"Robins."

She held her breath. While Dick looks unsurprised by the answer, Allison was the reverse as she could finally see the big picture.

She kept silent.

"How many?"

"Dick—"

"No, Bruce," Dick stopped Bruce with a deadly glare. "How many?"

Bruce paused, yet they all knew he would finish this debriefing. They all knew that both Dick and Allison knew too much to let this go.

"Three different locations: a warehouse, an old house, and an abandoned building. Every room is filled with deceased robins."

Dick reacted as if he hadn't heard Bruce, but he had. Allison has only seen Dick look completely emotionless a few times. This was one of those times. His face was fully blank and the only way she knew what he was thinking was because of how long she has known him. She wanted to go over to Dick and help him process this sudden information, but she couldn't.

Her panic was keeping her where she stood.

She didn't move when Dick stormed out of the room. She didn't look up when Bruce released a sigh and went back over to the Bat-computer. She simply remained still, frozen in shock of what this anonymous villain has in plan for her friend.

Someone is out to kill Robin.

OoO

Insanity can be an excuse for only so long. It's when the insane person finally does his or her worst that causes people to no longer care about their state of mental health.

Insanity can be an excuse for only so long before the worst happens.

Please read this because this is stuff y'all will probably want to know.

So I know I haven't updated in a while and while life is very full of stress, I do feel bad leaving y'all without any sort of, well, anything, but I DO HAVE A SOLUTION.

So this chapter is the first part of this sort of storyline. I'm not completely sure how many chapters it will be, but I do have it all planned out so never fear. I do have a solution that will hopefully help me do more updates sooner, but I'm gonna wait until this storyline is done to tell y'all of what it is.

Also… any beta's out there? Please? I'm kinda in need of one soo… Hi, ya, please let me know if you be interested.

I hope y'all are doing well and staying safe. The world is always wack, but I think the world is especially wack right now and every single person is having their own issues right now so I hope you all are either doing well or will be well.

If y'all have any questions at all, anything you liked, or anything you wanted to point out, there is a nice box right below that would love for you to leave a review! ;D