Before Damian Wayne came into the scene, I'd been Robin for almost four years. Now I had to give up my name for some stuck-up kid just because his mom was Bruce's side chick?

Oh well, I knew this Robin thing would end eventually, and my Red Robin suit was pretty sick, and i got to keep being just Robin until Bruce decided he could go out.

"So, what am I dealing with?" I asked, taking a seat and spinning mindlessly.

"Missing persons case. Izuku Midoriya, former member of the Third Street Saints and petty criminal who disappeared from Superbabes two nights ago." Bruce pulled up a picture of the guy from the yogurt shop.

"Last week, that guy was at the yogurt shop on James Gordon Parkway, over by the GameSpot and Asian food market. He was with a blonde woman who ate straight from the machine and told me he was her adopted son."

Bruce continued, showing me pictures of people related to the case. "He was in the custody of his foster family, The Hickmans. George Hickman is a former professional poker player, currently working with the state to provide a home to children with rough upbringings. Sarah Hickman is an orthodontist and former PTO president of Gotham High before their son Adonis was killed in a car accident."

"You mentioned a rough upbringing. What's up with that?"

"He and his parents were immigrants from Japan, arriving a few months after his fourth birthday. Within a week, both his parents were murdered in front of him in Crime Alley. I worked the case myself in my early years before Dick was Robin. From there, he was placed in the old boys' home before being placed with over two dozen foster families."

I looked at the picture of the boy I'd seen, only a year and some change younger than me. He'd lost everything, but unlike Bruce or Dick, he didn't have anyone to rely on.

"We've got the yogurt lead, we'll find him." I told him, not sure if I was reassuring myself or Bruce.

The cameras from the yogurt shop and surrounding cameras gave us a positive ID on the woman whose face I'd never seen. Harley Quinn. What a rookie move on my part.

They'd gone to a furniture store, then to a shake shop. From there, the trail got messy, leaving us with any number of places they may have gone.

Following the camera trail only worked so well, they'd come from an area without any street cams. An area WayneTech hadn't gotten to help yet. But we found another clue, his phone thrown out on the side of the road, covered in mud and a Big Belly Burger wrapper, but intact.

All we knew was where the signal last connected before it went dark and when it reconnected, giving us a wide area to search, starting at one end and working to the other.

Weeks passed, finding a warehouse with Izukus fingerprints while following a Joker goon from above, hidden out of sight on the rooftops. But the freshest prints were days old when we arrived, and the hope of seeing Izuku again shrunk. I knew the odds were that he was already dead, but I didn't want to admit it.

My spirit was kept up by CCV cameras picking up Izukus face on them every couple of days, always in a new place, always for a few seconds, but he was alive, and that was enough to keep me grounded in my work, spending months chasing what may have very well just been facial Identification software being racist, but I didn't think so. How many Japanese people have green eyes and hair like he does?

Then it happened, Jokers car was seen barreling down the freeway, and we went to stop whatever he was doing this time, Damian finally joining us. When the Joker was involved, extra help was always appreciated.

Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones with a new guy, Joker and Harley apparently had a kid now. If it was him under that mask, I couldn't imagine what they'd done to him to make him like he was now. But if it was him, I hoped he was reachable.

Then he mentioned Two-face and the beating he'd gotten. Had Izuku been to the pier that night? There was no evidence left in the car we'd found, no DNA or otherwise. But it didn't matter. Right now, I had to beat him, and then we could rehabilitate him.

His words sent a shiver down my spine, my guard dropping so low he just came up to me, caressing my face.

"Who are you? I feel like I know you." He was so sweet, so gentle. I felt sadness at whatever had happened to him before pain shot through me, and the world went black.

Waking up Damian was out, but his vitals were stable. For now, I moved him somewhere safer, heading up to help Bruce, Izuku flirting again, but it wouldn't work twice, trying to him and getting my grappling hook stolen.

I was too late in realizing he didn't want to fight, watching him jump to save Harley, the hook barely holding on, slipping before I grasped it, struggling to pull them both up before the line started to retract, and Harley crashed into me.

The sound she made would have broken my heart if it was anyone else. A mother losing a son. But he wasn't her son. He was her victim.

"Look what you did!" She cried out, and I thought she meant me, but she walked up to Bruce, then past him, and punched Joker square in the nose.

"He was a good boy! You did this! You took my baby!" She cried, sobbing as she gave Joker a beatdown bad enough that Bruce had to step in, Harley sobbing in his arms while I put Joker in handcuffs.

No one said anything, no sound except Joker laughing was heard as I escorted him down, Harley walking down with Bruce. For once, she didn't fight, didn't insult us. She was too quiet.

Damian was helping untie people when we came down, opening his mouth to say something, but whatever it was, the look on Harleys face kept him quiet, finishing the evacuation while Joker got stuffed in the back of the Batmobile, Harley choosing to ride in the back of police cruiser.

"Be extra careful Jim, her physique just took a major blow. She's unpredictable as she is now." Bruce told the graying commissioner.

"Don't worry, I'll ride behind, keep an eye on them." I told him, pointing to my motorcycle.

"I'll be in touch." He replied, a police officer running over to the commissioner and Bruce.

"The body you told me to get is gone, Batman, uh, sir. Slight blood trail indicates he was dragged or maybe crawling away, but he's gone now."

"Red Robin, survey the scene for evidence and find out where he went. Robin, you're in charge of watching Quinn." Bruce ordered, and I tossed the keys to Damian.

"Don't scratch her."

The scene was still under investigation, but he'd landed on a dumpter, the trash breaking part of his fall.

I took pictures and found traces of blood leading me down into the sewers through an open grate. Great.

Blood indicated that he fell into the water, no signs that he got out, but it was a dead end both ways. There was nowhere for him to go, and yet he had disappeared.

"Looking for me, Birdy? I won't let you find me yet, but I'm alive." His voice echoed, green gas surrounding me before it disappeared just as quickly as it had come.

"Izuku? Izuku, if you're okay, just come back with me. The most you'll do is a year, assuming any jury wants to even prosecute. You were manipulated by Joker of all people, but you're a good person." I begged, switching vision to my mask and finding no one. There was no sign that he'd been here.

"Batman, Izuku Midoriya is alive, but he managed to escape. What's weird is that he had nowhere to go. No false walls, no pipes to escape in. It's like he just vanished." I reported, confused about the whole thing. It made no sense.

"Make your way back to the Batcave. Oracles already sent you a ride." He told me, and I listened to him, setting up hidden cameras before I left. If he came in or out, I'd spot him.

The next few days were quiet, Gotham usually was for a couple of weeks after Joker struck. But there was no sign of him anywhere, spending more and more time determined to bring him in.

Then Arkham was hit, first Poison Ivy got ahold of plants, and then the cells all opened, every lunatic in Gotham free, with one exception. With the camera system down, no one knew for sure what had broken Jokers arms, but I had a good idea of who it was.

Whoever freed the inmates seemed to have a change of heart. Only Ivy and Harley were able to get away while the others were left laughing from a micro-dose of Jokers gas and easily rounded up by security.

Once Harley was free, no one could find her, but she was the least of our worries. She'd shown nothing but hatred for Joker since Izuku had gone missing. No, what worried us all now was that before the cameras went down, green gas had crept through the asylum, just like the sewer gas I'd seen.

What no one expected was for Izuku Midoriya to turn himself in, standing up on the roof of the GCPD, the batsignal shining bright, the three of us showing up to find the commissioner and Izuku sharing a drink, the greenette grinning as he joked with the grizzled cop.

"Wow, it's true. Flip the switch, and he's here in less than five whole minutes. Impressive Mr.Batman." He joked, his clothes worn and ripped, but he looked fine.

"You're going to do the time for your crime, Izuku." Bruce told him, but Izuku shrugged.

"Normally, I'd agree. But there's a problem with that. See, Joker had a plan, one that he has the answers to. I asked Harley, but she didn't know either. All I do know is that it involves a shit ton of his special gas." He moved quickly, laying on the side of the edge of the roof and sighing.

"And unfortunately for us, it turns out all the work Joker did on me activated my meta genes. I knew I should have taken WayneTech up on the free testing." He laughed, his whole body turning into the green gas that had shown up twice now, and he floated over the city.

"You freed Quinn and Ivy." Bruce deduced, and he shrugged again.

"See, I only meant to free mom and beat the hell out of Joker, but I managed to blow in a leaf, and boom, Ivy got free, and then the power went down, and it all went south from there. I managed to keep the other inmates from escaping. Ivy was immune to me. I couldn't stop her. Sorry, my bad." He explained, walking on air and waving his hands.

"Let me get this straight. Joker plans something with his gas, and you just miraculously turn into it? It's kind of suspicious." I pointed out, and the smile on his face faltered.

"I was trained for months to withstand his gas until I could breathe it like air. I can't help it that the clown uses gas in like, thirty percent of his plans. Give or take a little."

"Impossible." Bruce told him, but I wasn't so sure.

"Those inmates got micro-dosed and lived." I reminded him, holding out my hand to the greenette. He didn't have to go, I didn't want him to.

"I swear on my parents' graves, whatever it is Joker has planned, I'm not a part of." Izuku told him, taking off his mask and taking my hand. I liked the way it felt when it solidified in mine, stepping back on solid ground.

"When I was a child, you came to me when I needed it. Now Gotham needs me, and I'm willing to do my part. After that, I'll take whatever punishment I gotta."

Bruce listened, thinking about the situation. I knew he wanted this under control as soon as possible, and Izuku was his best bet at doing that.

Unbelievably, it was Damian who spoke up first, looking straight up at his father.

"I believe him. You saw the footage. He could have killed Red Robin and I, but he just tied us up. And if he's telling the truth, then we can't afford not to listen."

"Robin's right, Batman." Gordon told him, handing him a map.

"Here's all the hideouts the kid knows about and a few properties Joker managed to get his hands on."

Izuku looked at Bruce, and I could see the goodness in him. He wasn't a bad guy, just a guy in a bad situation.

Bruce finally gave in, looking at Izuku and making himself more intimidating.

"We do this my way. If you get in the way, I won't hesitate to take you out."

"Sure, but I'd rather take Red Robin out." Izuku replied, looking like he wasn't scared, but his hand tightened around mine. Oh God, we were holding hands.

I let go, clearing my throat while trying to think of something to say.

Izuku smiled pleasently up at the brooding hero

"I get why Catwoman keeps coming back. The mask, the mystery, the muscle~. It's all so... inviting. Isn't that right, Red?"

I opened my mouth to say something, words failing. I wasn't as good at hiding my emotions as Bruce was, liking the way Izuku acted with me.

Bruce was annoyed, and his patience spread thin from Izukus behavior.

"Enough. Red Robin, with me. Robin, keep Izuku in line."

Izuku rolled his eyes, turning into gas and floating over the city again.

"If he can keep up, he can come." Izuku must have solidified, falling ten and a half stories with a cheer before turning back into gas and flying off.

"Great. I'm a glorified nanny." Damian complained, shooting his grappling hook and following the trail.

Gordon turned, and we made our exit, too, gliding down to the Batmobile and my motorcycle.

"You have horrible choice in men." Bruce told me as the top closed on his ride, and I nodded in agreement. Izuku Midoriya was anything but the kind of guy I liked. So why did I?