I Am…

Chapter 3: Support?

"Hey Dick!" Barbra Gordon waved and ran to him.

"Hey Babs!" Richard smiled.

Barbra Gordon was beautiful as always.

She had red flowing hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin.

She had on her school uniform, which was a white button-up shirt, a red tie, blue jacket, and a blue skirt.

"What's up?" Barbra asked.

"Just…a fight with Bruce." Richard said.

Barbra grimaced, Richard and Bruce seemed to be having fights more often.

"What was it this time?" Barbra asked.

"The barcode." Richard said casually.

"What?!" Barbra had wide eyes.

"We got into a fight because I don't want to be behind a desk for the rest of my life." Dick said.

"Richard, you can't just go around doing whatever you like!" Barbra said.

"But what if I don't like the system?" Richard growled.

"No, Richard, people who test the system disappear and don't come back." Barbra said.

"No they don't. That's just said so that no one tests the system." Dick wrote it off.

"Dick, listen. You don't want to fight the higher ups. They will tear you apart!" Barbra said.

"Barbra, I'm tired of doing the same thing every day. I don't want to sit behind a desk for the rest of my life! Barbra, I want to do something else." Richard said.

"Richard, don't test them. They'll arrest you for treason or espionage or something! They will, and no one will see you again!" Barbra said.

"Well, I'm tired of being this. Being labeled by something other than myself." Richard said.

"But the barcode is a part of you. It's specific to you. Everyone's barcode is specific to them, and only them!" Barbra said.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to be defined by a barcode. I want to be defined by myself. I want to make my own labels." Richard said.

The bell rang loudly just then.

"Look we'll talk later. But don't tell ANYONE else, okay?" Barbra asked.

"I already told Bruce." Richard said.

Barbra shook her head, "No one else."

Richard sighed but agreed, "Okay."

"I'll see you at Lunch." Barbra said and then walked to her classroom.

"Yeah." Richard sighed and started walking towards his classroom.

oooOOooo

"Today class we'll start-" the teacher was talking, but Richard wasn't listening.

He was instead drawing in his notebook.

Then, an idea came to his head.

'I'll write down different occupations and do more research later. I'll show Bruce that I can do more.' Richard started writing down anything that interested him.

oooOOooo

"So Dick, about this morning." Barbra brought up.

"I know what I want to do!" Richard grinned widely.

"Richard, no." Barbra said sternly.

"What? You haven't even heard it yet!" Richard frowned.

"I don't want to. Whatever you think you're doing, you're not. You're going to be found out and takin' to jail!" Barbra said.

"I'm trying to make a better life for myself. I'm trying to be a better person. Be the best person I can be! Don't you ever get tired of the system?" Richard asked.

"No." Barbra said.

"Well, I'm tired. I want to do what I want freely. I don't want to be told to sit and do something I'm not interested in." Richard said.

"Richard…Dick…you have just a few more months until graduation. Let's just get past high school, and then we can talk, okay?" Barbra said.

"No. As soon as we get out of high school, we will be told to go and do classes in college for something that I don't want to do!" Richard said.

"Dick, why don't you at least try it first? Maybe you'll find it fun." Barbra said.

"I'm not going to sit behind a desk and be a department manager for my adopted father!" Richard growled and grabbed his books.

"I thought you of all people would support me." Richard said and walked away.

oooOOooo

"Richard, you're going to see Leslie tomorrow." Bruce said at dinner.

Alfred, their butler and friend, put a pot of mashed potatoes on the table.

"Fine, but I know what I want to do." Richard said.

"Oh? And what's that?" Bruce's eyebrow raised.

"I want to be a cop." Richard said.

Alfred dropped the pot of green beans while Bruce spit out his coffee.

Bruce, who was coughing, said, "W-WHAT?!"

"I want to be a cop." Richard repeated.

"Absolutely NOT!" Bruce said firmly.

"Why not? You said I could be!" Richard yelled.

"I said that we'd see. And you're not being a cop!" Bruce said.

"Why not?" Richard growled.

"Dick, you're not going to go out there and get yourself killed!" Bruce said.

"I'll be careful!" Richard argued.

"No you won't. I've seen you during your acrobatics training. You will not be a cop." Bruce said.

"This isn't about me being a cop is it?" Richard asked, trying to read Bruce.

"It's several reasons!" Bruce said.

"Like what?" Richard snarled.

"Like the fact that you could get killed. How about that you're carrying a gun. And maybe the fact that you're fighting the system!" Bruce yelled.

"You said that we'd see about changing! That I'd get to do something else! This is what I want to do!" Richard yelled.

"No. No way in ANYTHING! You are not doing this. And if you think that I will put resources towards your suicide, think AGAIN!" Bruce yelled.

"FINE! DON'TT HELP ME! I'LL DO THIS BY MYSELF!" Richard screamed and ran to his room.

Bruce sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

He pulled out his cell phone.

"Leslie, yeah it's Bruce. It's worse than what I thought." Bruce said.