A/N: Sorry for a crappy ending to Warm Shadows guys, but the reason for it is cause I'm redoing it in this story. For those who haven't known, Warm Shadows was a free written type of story with no real guideline, and I really didn't like it. So I'm rewriting the story so that is has more guidelines for me to follow so I'm more organized.

Thanks for those who bore with me, enjoy the first chapter of the remake.

For those who read Warm Shadows, the remake begins similarly.

Warnings: Language, violence, child abuse, dark themes.

AU + OOC (at DickGrayson1Fan: Thanks for catching that, didn't know what I was thinking when I wrote the A/N which was sort of last minute thing so I apologize. I was originally supposed to write AU + Somewhat OOC, but now that I think of it, I'm not sure anymore haha. And yes I do know Grayson's history from watching Batman as a child and comic collecting while growing up. Though I admit, I don't know much about Wally! Anyway, thanks again! P.S: Don't gotta' act so harsh ^^" a simple correction can be corrected with a simple notice.)

Fight, Live, Retaliate

Chapter 1

The Apple Thief

"Hey Dick!" Wally shouted with a wave as he jogged down the hallway towards his best friend's locker.

Dick was cramming all of his textbooks and the many loose sheets of paper into his stubborn locker. "Hey." He spoke as he gave his locker a good slam. "Finally... so what's up Wally?" He turned to face the teenager.

"Nothing, I was—what happened to your face?" the speedster asked as he gently brushed his thumb over the existing bruise on Dick's cheek.

"Don't do that." the shorter boy urged wincing.

"Sorry. So how'd you get it?"

"Ahh…" Dick thought for a while, "I don't really wanna' talk about it."

"Alright… I mean, if you say so." Wally reluctantly replied, giving the boy some space. He noticed Dick had been awfully secretive lately. Sometimes he wanted to just pry a little deeper and find the source of his discomfort, but prying never solves anything. He forced himself to let it slide, thinking Dick would talk about it when he was ready.

The two boys walked down the hallway until they exited the school building. Dick remained quiet as they strolled. He kept his distracted eyes glued to the floor, dragging his body that was disinclined to move.

Wally was unaware, but underneath Dick's thin layers of clothing were a series of black and blue bruises, one on top of another along with a variety of scars. Each step he took stung and it took every bit of energy he had to walk forward.

"Wanna' walk me home?" Dick asked with a weak pathetic smile, breaking the silence as they reached the end of the sidewalk. He already knew the next answer to come, but he always liked to pinch himself with a little bit of hope.

"Sorry Dickie, can't." the speedster replied sympathetically. This short conversation turned into a routine that Wally took as casual. He didn't see it as an oblique plead for help.

It was irony that settled between the two. Wally, being Kid Flash and saving citizens from all over the city, failed every day to save the helpless soul in front of his eyes. Dick nodded with disappointment and watched as they parted ways.

He trudged his body forward, his stomach growling and his head feeling nauseous. He remembered the last time he'd been fed properly, which was four years ago, before his adoption. Living in an orphanage, he at least got a decent meal.

Why is everyone so psyched about getting adopted? I rather be un-adopted! Un-adopted? dopted? I rather be dopted.

By the time he had finisheddebating about prefixes with himself, he had reached the doorstep of his "home." He didn't bother knocking on the door, because he figured it would have been unlocked from countless opened-invitation parties. And he was right. The knob twisted easily in his hand and he pushed the door opened.

"If you'd just get off your ass and try using your incompetent mind, maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation!" his foster mother yelled as she stormed out of the kitchen. She strode past her child and skimmed her long painted fingernails along Dick's shoulder. "Hey son, kisses." She whispered quickly, passing through the door.

Son, child, boy, kid, it, that's all they ever call me. At this point, Dick was particularly sure that his caretakers did not bother to learn his name. He huffed as he tried to maneuver to his room without being spotted through the kitchen door.

"Child." He heard a gruff voice call the second his foot passed the opening. Sighing, he turned around and hesitantly entered the kitchen.

"Child, sit" Tom, his foster father spoke firmly as Dick walked along the tile flooring. He had a cigarette between the side of his lips and took another drag.

"Yes?" Dick asked wearily as he took a seat from the farthest end of the table.

Tom blew out a long stream of thick gray smoke and growled lowly. "Closer."

The black haired boy nervously dropped his backpack and pulled out a chair next to his father's. As he sat down, an abrupt burning sensation took over the back of his right hand making Dick hiss uncontrollably.

"What was that?" Tom asked, cocking his eyebrow as he grinded the cancer-stick against Dick's skin.

The teenager bit his lip back and forced himself to sit. "N-nothing." He responded coarsely.

"Where's your mother?"

"She left a few minutes ago." Dick replied bluntly and blindly.

A swift and fierce backhand struck Dick's already bruised cheek. The impact swung the boy right off his seat and he landed on the cold tiles. He heard as the chair Tom sat on screeched as it was pushed away roughly and then tossed to the side.

"Damn right she left." His father growled. "That whore, left. Me."

"Left?" Dick dared to ask. Whenever Wendy left Tom, she always came back under the roof the next day. However, it was different when Tom threw a set of papers at Dick's body. Dick picked up one of the pages and skimmed the contract, only to find the word "divorce" appear more than once.

Dick never imagined to see the day when his foster mother would leave the broken family. Everything seemed to spiral out of control the moment Dick had become the new addition. Tom grew relentlessly aggressive and his wife began to sleep with other men.

Even though, none of this was Dick's fault, he felt that it was.

Tom lit another cigarette then grabbed Dick's shirt collar and crudely rammed the boy's spine into the wall. He blew a puff of smoke into the child's face, growing bored when Dick didn't show any strong reactions. "I'll deal with you later, go to your room."

As Tom released his death grip on the shirt, Dick scurried away. He dropped the divorce paper and snagged his backpack as he threw himself into the barren room. He tossed the backpack in the corner along and took a seat on the cheap dog bed. One of the few pieces of furniture in between the walls.

He curled into himself, trying to get comfortable in his bed. It was raggedy and torn, but it still had some of the original stuffing which gave it a bit of fluff. Even though Dick was a former, but flexible acrobat, he couldn't fit his growing body onto the bed of cotton. In the end, he had his legs sprawled out and his upper torso in the fluff.

When he finally managed to find a comfortable position, his stomach growled wildly. He scowled at the grumbling that vibrated throughout his entire frame and flipped over onto his back. Great. I can't even take a nap without my own body harassing me.

He rummaged through his closet and pulled out a red t-shirt along with a thin black hoodie and a black pair of jeans. He hastily changed his clothes, wearing the t shirt over his hoodie. Tucked inside one of the holes of his bed was a black domino mask, which he also took out and secured in front of his eyes.

Dick jammed the door knob with a wooden chair and crawled out of the window as the sun began to set. It was just going to be another simple attempt at trying to snag a bite to eat. Using an intricate route of alleyways he mapped out, he managed to bring himself onto the outdoor market streets. There were vendors everywhere, some with carts, some with stalls. The one with stalls were the easiest to steal from, so he sucked up his guilt and aimed for a fruit stand.

He pulled the hood over his face and kept his head down, hiding his domino mask. As he passed by the stand, with a sleight of hand, he popped an apple into his palm. Before he could tuck it away, someone grabbed his wrist.

"Stealing isn't the way to go!" A cheerful, yet familiar voice spoke, tugging the teenager's wrist.

Dick spun around and stared at Wally, who was standing with two other boys and two other girls. So this is why he's been so busy lately… he has other friends. I should have known.

Wally mouthed, "Robin…" Then stared at the familiar bruise on the teenager's face.

Dick smirked and pulled his wrist away from Wally as he felt adrenaline fill his system. He ran with the fruit, darting down the street, plunging back into the shadows.

He could hear the group of teens still trying to pursuit him, but why? What did they want with him? As Robin filled his mind with questions, he thoughtlessly took a wrong turn, leading him into a solid brick wall.

"You're not going anywhere." A larger, black haired teenager stated. He wore a black shirt with a red version of Superman's "S" in the center.

Robin took an offensive position, his legs apart and his hands held up, balled into fists.

"We don't want to fight," Wally clarified as he pushed through his friends. "just to talk."

Robin relaxed his shoulders and retreated his position. When he saw the group of teenagers do the same, he instantly leapt off from the tips of his feet. He gripped tightly onto the metal railing and pulled himself upwards, working his way through the fire escape until he reached the top of the building.

"Miss Martian, keep an eye on him." Kaldur commanded. The brown haired girl's skin went from peach to green, and she floated into the sky.

Robin kept his pace, running to the ends of each building and diving off the edges at full force. He landed perfectly onto the rooftop of the next, and the next, until he lost his footing from a broken roof tile. As he tumbled off the rooftop, Miss Martian quickly used her telekinesis abilities to gently lower his body to the ground.

By this time, the group of teenagers had caught up.

"Please Robin, don't run!" Wally begged. "We just want to talk."

"Bullshit." Robin spat as he took up another fighting position.

"We do not wish to fight." Kaldur explained. "It is not necessary."

Robin shook his head and ran at top speed towards Wally. He swung his leg at a slow pace, slow enough that anyone could dodge.

Wally ducked under it and Connor jumped in with a swing from his dominate hand.

Robin side stepped and gave the large teenager a good kick in the back, sending him to the ground easily. He tossed the apple in his hand and asked, "so… you gonna' take this from me or what?"

A loud explosion occurred and everyone snapped their heads to the source of the sound. Dick's second instincts took over and he dashed to the scene with the other teenagers trailing behind him.

There was a car accident, and flames were quickly engulfing the vehicle. Robin knew that there were people still inside, and he ran towards the burning automobile. With his elbow, he cracked the windows and pried the glass away from the frame. He pulled the semi-conscious bodies from the car and dragged them onto the sidewalk to a safe distance.

Robin then immediately left the scene as quickly as he arrived.

When the group of teenagers reached the scene, Kaldur used his water bearers to channel water from a fire hydrant, putting out the fire.

"Is anyone in the car?" Kaldur asked Artemis and Connor who were already running towards the steaming vehicle.

"No."

"They're over here!" Miss Martian called, a few feet away from the scene.

"What the…?" Connor wondered.

"Robin…" Wally muttered in response to Superboy's unasked question.

Robin watched as he perched alongside the edge of a building. Police cars were beginning to swarm the scene, taking questions from each of the teenagers. He swung his legs freely while observing the act.

Being Dick, he felt so constrained. But being Robin, he felt so free.

"Robin." A low voice spoke from behind.

Robin turned around and met the Dark Knight. "Batman." He returned the greeting.

"I saw what you did."

"Amazing, aren't I?"

"You stole."

Robin gulped, twisting his lips. "So what're you going to do now Bats? Lock me up for saving two lives?" The black haired boy responded, trying to keep up his façade.

"No. But I do have an important question to ask you."

"Fire away, I'm feeling generous."

"I'll let you go with thievery this once. Are you working with any villains?" Batman asked in vibrating tones.

"No."

"Superheroes?"

"I work with no one Bats." Robin replied.

The city clock rung loudly, signaling that an hour had passed. Dick's head shot up, realizing that he was more than late. He had to get home. He took off on his feet once more and flipped through the city.

Batman walked to the edge of the building and picked up the apple that the bird left behind. Who exactly is Robin?

He was bound to find out.