May 23rd, 2006
Gotham Central Park
Dick was wandering the playground, not really interested in playing with the other kids. He's still very much traumatized by what he experienced back in April. He takes a seat on a bench, staring at the sky. It's rather sunny, a bit cloudy, kinda humid, summer's coming.
From a van in the parking lot, a man is looking on his computer, seeing the young ward sitting alone and looking at the picture from a news article. "Millionaire Bruce Wayne adopts Circus kid following Haly Circus Tragedy." A perfect target. Now how to approach this… He gets out of the car and looks around, he doesn't see a lot of parents around. He makes his way over to the little kid, making it seem like he's a concerned parent here at the park for his kid. He kneels beside him.
"Hey, kid. You ok?" He asks. Dick looks at him, doesn't say anything. "You look like you could use some ice cream." Dick shakes his head. "Don't like ice cream? Well, what about some candy? I have some in my truck. It's my kid's but I doubt he'll get upset if I share some." Dick shakes his head again, noticeably tensing. "Come on, I wanna turn that frown upside-down." Dick stands up, the man thinks that's a sign he wants to, but he starts running to the playground.
"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" He shouts out, going to a woman with a stroller. The woman perks up immediately at the child who's calling for a mother, though the man knows that's not his mother. The woman kneels down a bit so she's more level with the tiny nine-year-old. "There's a man trying to talk to me and he wants to take me to his car."
"Ok, sweetie. Try to stay calm, it's going to be ok." She says to him, placing a hand on his back and guiding him to the bench with her. "What's your name?"
"Richard Grayson." He answers. The man had left the park, back to his car, he slams his fist on the steering wheel. This is going to be harder than he thought. Clearly this kid has been warned about stranger danger.
"That was really smart of you, calling out like that." The mother says. "Where'd you learn that?"
"My mom and dad." He answers. He tries looking around for the guy, but it looks like he'd taken off. "They told me to never go with strangers, no matter what, and to find the nearest woman and scream mommy."
"That's really smart." She mentions, having taken out her cell phone and called 9-1-1. "Yea, I have a kid here, he said some guy was trying to get him to go with him… We're at Gotham Central Park… His name is Richard Grayson… Ok." She hangs up. "Police will be here shortly." Dick nods, he looks down a bit. "Are you ok?" He nods a little.
"Bruce said I might be a target because he's rich, but I didn't think it'd be so soon after being adopted…" He mentions.
The man gets out of the car again, going around a different way, out of their sight, this time with a mask over his face, and a heavy lump in his pocket, just in case. He comes up from behind the boy and grabs his arm, hoisting him off the bench. He starts kicking and flailing.
"Help!" The mother shouts. The man pulls Dick to him, holding his small arm tight and takes out a gun, pointing it at the woman. Other parents at the park heard the woman shout, but see the gun. The man fires it into the air, causing most people to scatter, parents and kids alike, parents trying to find their kids.
"You stay right there, bitch, while I take my prize." The man says, he starts walking, keeping the gun aimed, looking around for any interference. Dick turns and kicks the man in the shin and it frees him, allowing him to take off. The man gives chase, shooting after him, but he just barely manages to dodge the bullets. Thankfully the man's an awful shot… But he does manage to catch up and tackle the kid, pressing a knee into his back while he pins his wrists above his head. "You think you're clever, kid?" He rips off Dick's shirt sleeves and uses them as bindings before getting him back up, carrying him back to his car and shoving him inside the back seat. Police are arriving, having received reports as well about gunfire.
The man climbs into the car and pulls out of the parking lot. He pulls over, trying to make it seem like he was just driving and saw them coming by. You're supposed to pull to the side when an emergency vehicle has their lights on. Once they're gone, he takes off driving. Dick is in the back, kicking the doors with his feet, shouting for him to be let go. There's no seats in the back of the van so he's laying on a rough car carpet with several crumbs and ashes. This guy probably lives in his car… It also smells like alcohol… Dick manages to squeeze his little hands out of the bindings, moving so he's behind the guy's seat and can't see him. He manages to untie his ankles and get up, heading for the back hatch and pressing a button that's back there that allows it to open up.
"Hey!" The man presses on the brakes and the force of it makes Dick fall backward. The man climbs out of the car, running to grab him before he can escape. Dick had managed to climb out of the trunk, but the man is there to grab him before he can make a run for it. The man pulls a switchblade out of his pocket, placing it just above Dick's ear. "You stop right now or I'll cut off your ear, got it?" Dick nods a little, starting to cry from fear. Here he thought all his tears were dried up. The man picks him back up, over his shoulder and carries him to the front of the car, placing him in the passenger seat and buckling him in so he can keep a better eye on him.
He goes back around, shutting the trunk and climbing back into the driver seat. Dick looks out the window, shaking, trying to hold back tears, but he's terrified, small sobs manage to sneak their way out of his throat with tiny whimpers too. The drive is silent otherwise. The man eventually pulls up to an apartment complex and gets out, going around and opening Dick's door, having the knife placed in such a way that if he tries anything, he'll get cut, but it's not in a noticeably place in case anyone sees them. He's brought up a few flights of stairs and into an apartment. It smells like smoke, animal dropping and must. He's forced to sit on a couch that feels almost wet, but it's not.
"You hungry?" The man asks. Dick shakes his head. The man shrugs and makes sure the door is locked up tight before going to the kitchen, grabbing out a beer bottle and chugging it down. He sits on the couch, turning on the tv to some adult cartoon thing that's really annoying and full of crude, low-brow humor. Dick is trying not to make it obvious, but he's looking around the room, trying to find anything he could use to escape. With how high up they are, there's probably a fire escape ladder somewhere.
"Can um… I go to the bathroom…?" Dick asks quietly. The man huffs and stands up, grabbing his arm tightly and pulling him to a hallway. He opens a door and gestures for him to go in. He steps inside, the man shuts the door to give him privacy. He uses the bathroom and then turns on the water. Dick uses that to look around, trying to find anything he can smuggle out. There's a straight edge razor in the cabinet… He takes it and slides it into his shorts pocket, gently closing the cabinet. He then walks lightly to the window, looking out of it, he doesn't see any fire escape ladders along that side, and they're too high up for him to jump out.
"What's taking so long in there, kid?" The man questions.
"Just… like the feeling of running water…" Dick says. He wets his hands real quick, there's no soap, so he can't properly clean them. He'll have to take a shower once he gets home anyway… He shuts off the water and comes out.
"You're a weird kid, but you're a circus freak, so what can I expect?" The man comments. Being called a circus freak annoys him, but he ignores the comment as the man grabs his arm and takes him to a closet, grabbing out what looks like some camping rope. Dick's heart starts racing seeing that. He backs up a bit, the man goes to grab him, but Dick steps back quickly, jumping back and using the momentum to turn and run down the hall. He looks out the window, seeing the fire escape. He pulls the window open, but the man grabs him up. Dick starts screaming, flailing in the man's arms, making it difficult to hold him. He pins the boy harshly to a wall, making him stop.
"I warned you, little bitch." He mutters, taking out his switchblade. Dick starts crying.
"No… I-I'm sorry! Please!" Dick begs. He feels the cold metal against his head. His eyes snap shut, bracing himself for the pain, shaking terribly. He hears a metallic clatter next to his ear and the man shout from shock. He lets Dick go, making him fall to the floor. Dick opens his eyes, lifting his head to see Batman by the fire escape window, inside the apartment.
"Batman…" The man mutters, taking out his gun, aiming it at Dick's head. "One move and his brain is in bits." Dick's eyes snap closed tight, terrified, sobbing. "I doubt Wayne would appreciate you failing to save his charity case."
"Seems we're at an impasse." Batman states. While distracted with Batman, Dick pulls the razor out of his pocket and turns, swinging his arm, cutting the man's leg through his jeans.
"Ow! You little shit!" The man shouts, grabbing him up by his hair and making the boy wince and yelp in pain. Batman uses that distraction to toss a smoke bomb at him. There's a beeping sound and then a boomf as smoke fill the air, the man pulls the gun away, coughing into his arm. Batman rushes forward, jumping and hitting the man in the face with his knee, knocking him down and out quickly. He grabs the camping rope and drags the man to a chair, tying him up for the police to find. He then runs back to Dick. He's coughing too, unable to breathe or see. Batman lifts Dick up in his arms. Dick starts screaming and kicking.
"Easy, Dick. I've got you." Realizing it's Batman, Dick stops. He steps out of the apartment the way he came, via the fire escape. He holds Dick with one arm and uses his grapple, swinging off and to the ground below. He sets Dick down to allow him a moment to breathe. "Are you hurt?" Dick shakes his head, not really having a voice right now, his body trembles. "Good…" Batman says, rubbing his back gently, trying to sooth him. The Commissioner arrives with a few of his officers. They move in while Commissioner Gordon comes over.
"Is he alright?" He asks.
"He's rather shaken up, but he'll recover. He's a strong kid." Batman says. "Do you think you can move?" Dick nods a little and Batman helps him to his feet. "I'll take him home." Batman calls the Batmobile to him and guides Dick to it.
"Ok, be safe. See you, Richard." Jim says. Batman shuts the door after Dick climbs in and gets in himself. Dick stares out the window, still shaking, but the tears have dried up. He blinks slowly as the streetlights pass by.
"You're sure you're not hurt?" Batman asks.
"No…" Dick answers, he pulls his legs up, hugging them to him. "I… I was so scared…"
"I'd be surprised if you weren't." Batman remarks. "I'm sorry you had to go through this, because of me."
"It's not your fault…" Dick says softly. "You warned me this could happen, but I wanted to go to the park anyway… To… try to find some normalcy…"
"What happened isn't your fault either and nothing should prevent you from living your life." Batman says. He glances at the young boy. "Tell you what, we can start training tomorrow." Dick lifts his head, looking at him. "Perhaps learning to protect yourself will help you feel better."
"Really…? So… Will you… Let me be your sidekick…?" He asks.
"Not just a sidekick, a partner. What you did, it helped me take the man down easier. It was reckless, you could've gotten seriously hurt, which is why training is in order." Batman explains. Dick's eyes light up a bit, smiling a little. "You'll need a name of course. Can't be calling you Dick in the field." Dick thinks a moment, trying to come up with a name for himself. He looks out the window for a moment, thinking, it has to be something important, personal, but not well known.
"Little Robin…" Dick remembers the nickname his mom would call him, all his life, he was her little robin… And they're still trying to hunt down Zucco. How fitting would it be for the little Robin to take that bastard down. Dick smirks a little, looking at Batman.
"Robin." Dick says.
"Robin…?" Batman tests the name, nodding contently, "I like it. Sounds fitting." Dick smiles a little more, uncurling.
"Can we get some food?" He asks.
"What would you like?" Batman asks back.
"Pineapple pizza!" Dick answers excitedly. Batman's silent for a moment, then sighs.
"Ok. I'll get you an abomination." Batman teases. Dick cheers. It relieves the Bat seeing Dick perk up. He's probably still traumatized, probably will have nightmares for a while, but as Batman said, he's a strong kid.