Chapter 11: Breaking Point; Rix's POV

Rix groaned as he rolled over to hit his alarm. Just his luck that it had to be Tuesday. Babs would complain continuously about Monday's, but if he was honest he hated Tuesday more. Maybe it was because of the late patrols that the other students didn't have to deal with Monday nights, or the stupidly early time he got up so he could practice his techniques. Both in their acrobatic forms and in their gymnastics form.

Reaching his hand out from under his warm blankets he hit the top of the alarm clock. Officially annoyed by the nonstop beeping.

Hearing it stop he sighed and sat up, looking around his dark room, seeing a few stripes of light coming from the edges of his rich velvety red curtains.

Walking around his bed he got to the light switch and closed his eyes as he turned it on. Blinking a few times he was finally able to see, since the last time he had seen this much light was when he got back from patrol last night. He stood up, looking to his yellow kid flash t-shirt and Batman logo pajama pants. He chuckled to himself, if Wally or Bruce were to see him he would most likely die of embarrassment or get laughed at.

He rolled his eyes, any vigilante other than Robin was pretty unpopular when it came to Gotham, sure Batman protected them, but he was scarier than the Boy Wonder. Part of him wondered what happen if he said his favorite was Kid Flash. Babs would probably say he's biased, which he would only halfheartedly argue. Bruce would give him that disapproving look- and then he would be forced to tell him that he was dating Wally- no thank you. Alfred would give him that knowing look which would mean the same thing as Babs' accusation.

He grabbed his uniform and put it on, going for the doorknob just as a hasty single knock warned him that the door was opening. Revealing Bruce. "Cave. Now." he commanded, Rix winced but followed him without argument.

"What's up?" he asked, looking around for any reason Bruce would willing let him be late to school. Nothing, zip, zilch, nada… goose egg. Wait, Bruce was talking, crap.

"There's someone I need you to keep an eye out for." Bruce spoke tensely.

As a civilian? Was his life endanger, again? He thought about it, he couldn't think of anyone he had angered recently. "Why?"

Bruce seemed to recognize that look in his eyes. "You're not in danger." well, that was good news. "I am." spoke to soon.

"What'd you do?" he questioned.

Bruce gave him that look that meant he'd rather not talk about it. Oh. He realized exactly what that meant.

He sighed. "Alright, lemme see." he said before he could get fully entangled in his curiosity. "I have Gymnastics practice before school."

Bruce said nothing more, pulling up a picture of a man known as the Face of Boe aka John Barrowman. (He, lol, honestly, I'm just too lazy to do a description and come up with something creative. Don't know who this is, look him up, cuz he's real- and not evil.) Reading the description of 'the Face of Boe', which one; who decided that was an evil sounding name? Two; was apparently a gun for hire. It was far less about why he was targeting Bruce and far more about who wanted Bruce Wayne dead.

"Any leads yet?" he asked.

Bruce grunted. "Not yet." Rix was almost afraid to find out if he had actually gone to bed last night. If this happened the answer was almost definitely no.

"Master Richard, if you wish to be on time to school you must eat now." Alfred's voice called down as he descended the staircase.

He glanced at Bruce again, who was fully dedicated to the BatComputer, he ran past Alfred and went back to the dining room.

"Are you sure it's smart to be lying to him?" Alfred asked Bruce.

Bruce closed the file, looking to the man he trusted with everything. "No." he admitted. "But if he changes his routine there could be disastrous consequences, I won't risk my son's safety because we don't know what's been happening."

Alfred smiled proudly. "I think if you were to tell him, he would be far more responsive than finding out later." he spoke wisely. "He's far smarter than you give him credit for."

Bruce shook his head. "I'm not saying he won't figure it out, and that he won't be angry with me because of it, I'm just saying that I'm okay with him being angry with me if it means it keeps him safe."

Alfred sighed. "If you asked him, he would probably tell you, for all you know you could be worrying about nothing."

Bruce sighed, continuing to type on his keyboard. "I want to be sure it's nothing, but something tells me it's not."

I sighed in annoyance, holding my phone to my ear. "I wish, Bruce is being overly protective and targeted as Bruce Wayne, which means directly to school and directly home."

"He's keeping you from the Team too?" Wally moaned on the other side of the line.

I huffed as I brushed past a couple girls a few years older than me. "Sorry." I murmured, then turned my attention back to Wally. "Unfortunately." I admitted.

"Lame." he grumbled. "Then I'll just come to your house!" he said excitedly.

I chuckled, climbing into the back of the limo. "Alright, just don't show up in costume, I'm ninety percent Bruce would kill you if you did that again."

"He was the one who said we should come as the team." Wally objected.

"Whatever, just get permission from your parents first, okay?" I asked, glancing forward at Alfred once I realized we weren't moving. I gasped.

"Rix? You okay?" Wally questioned.

My heart pounded in my ears. A hand clamping over my mouth before I could move past my instinctual reaction to freeze.

"Dick?" he questioned, his tone gone very serious.

He shut the phone off, glaring at me. I frowned, I really wanted to kick his stupid ass right now, but I could see the second man with another gun to the back of Alfred's head.

He grinned maliciously. "You recognize me bitch?" he questioned, I glared heavily. He put a gun to my heart. "Scream and I shoot the old man, capiche?"

I nodded. His hand moved slowly and came to rest around my neck, not even to bruise, but enough that made me all-too aware of the fact that he was letting me breathe.

"Zucco." I growled.

"Ah, so you do recognize me." he taunted. "I had hoped so."

"What do you want Zucco?" I demanded angrily.

"I know your secret, Grayson." he said darkly. I continued to glare. "Or should I say, Robin." My eyes went wide. "I knew it." he said a malicious smirk that made his eyes glint like the steel, and seem as unforgiving as the metal. "Who would've thought, little Rachel Grayson, the only one I didn't kill that night, was also the one that would get me booted off to jail."

"You should still be there." I snarled. "How'd you get out?"

He clenched his hand tighter around my neck. "Keep quiet you stupid cunt." then turned his head towards the front of the limo. "Drive faster, old man."

"Don't boss him around!" I yelled. A hammer clicked back, looking down I felt sick, because it wasn't the one aimed at my chest. "Don't." I forced myself to not yell, despite how much I wanted to. "I'll stop." I bargained.

"Will you?" he questioned. "Because even after four years you seem to be just as talkative as you were then." I didn't vocally respond. "I tore your life apart once, Grayson, now I'm getting my revenge." he grinned, putting more weight on the gun pressing against my heart. "In the same way, except this time, there won't be a Bruce Wayne to come and save you."

My eyes widened as I realized where we were. Wayne Tower.

His hand moved to clench the back of my Gotham Academy jacket in his fist. "Now, we're going to go find Bruce Wayne, and you're going to watch as I kill him the same way I killed your family."

I clenched my jaw but nodded.

"Good." he said smugly, his gun finally disappearing from my sight. Then he shoved me out of the limo.

As we walked into the building the secretary recognized me.

"Ah Ra-Richard, sorry, Bruce didn't say that you'd be coming." she said, slightly confused.

"That's alright. I just want to see him, is he in a meeting?" I asked tensely.

She looked down at the schedule. "He's in a meeting with Lucius Fox until the half hour."

I nodded, it was 23 past now. "I'll just head up now if that's okay?" I checked.

"They're in the main board room." she told me.

"I'll meet him in the hallway." I assured her.

She nodded. "Have a nice day Richard." she said as Zucco nudged me forward.

As the elevator door opened I turn to her over my shoulder. Away from Zucco's line of sight. 'Call the Batman.' I mouthed, her eyebrow scrunched up in confusion, so I resigned myself to my fate.

"Get in." he snapped, and I did. "Which floor?" he questioned.

I pressed 84 with no hesitation. As the doors shut I paused. I've had it. I thought harshly. Turning tightly to rip my arms out of my jacket sleeves and jump at Zucco in fluid motion got me in the optimum position to kick the gun to the corner and land a solid punch to his face. Landing and turning tightly to hit him with a hook to his face. Which knocked him to the floor as the elevator doors opened.

"Rix?" one of the employees questioned, I recognized her as the head of the Argentine division. Brown hair, brown eyes, typical pale Gotham skin tone. An average woman.

"Call Bruce now, tell him I need him at his office." I begged, running towards the office's double doors.

A gunshot rang out and I barely dodged the bullet. Which would've torn through my side if I hadn't reacted fast enough. "You're going to wish you hadn't done that you stupid brat." Zucco shouted.

"Everybody run!" I yelled and the employees didn't hesitate to do as I recommended.

Another bullet was shot, this one hitting the outside of my right arm. I had to fight the instinct to turn and cover it, because I knew Zucco was too close to me for comfort. Just barely managing to avoid the bullet that would've killed me had I followed my instincts."They call you Boy Wonder. All I see is a scared little girl."

I growled angrily. "You don't know anything!" I snarled, jumping high into a backflip to avoid the three bullets I knew he'd shoot. Landing on the balls of my right foot before charging at Zucco.

Dropping under two more bullets, his right arm and kicking him in the back to shove him into the double doors.

As I rolled through it I heard him take out a new clip, he smirked and threw his shoulder into the door. Jarring them open, unloading the whole clip on the empty room. I charged at him once more, jumping for a knockout strike, only for him to turn and nail me in the face with the handgun.

"You stupid kid, where is he?" he demanded, standing over me.

I kicked him where the sun don't shine, getting back to my feet and nailing him with a 360° roundhouse. Knocking him into the massive desk and hard enough to knock it back. "You really thought I was that stupid?" I questioned, annoyed at the clear insult to my intelligence.

Zucco smirked, his lip bleeding. "C'mon, prove that you're a man." he taunted.

Without a second thought, I played right into his hand.

I charged, hitting him with a hard right hook punch. He grabbed my forearm and spun me towards the window and released. I barely caught him under the chin, but that was enough for him to follow my trajectory.

I felt nails dig into my left arm, ripping away the skin and drawing blood to the surface of the skin. The hand latching tightly around my wrist. My right hand barely holding to the edge of the busted out window.

"Let go, Zucco." I growled.

His eyes went wide, realizing what I wanted him to do. "No way, brat, if I'm going to die. I'll make sure the last Grayson falls with me." My fingers were barely holding onto the lip of the window. "C'mon Grayson, live up to your name." Zucco taunted.

My eyes narrowed. "Go to hell Zucco." I snapped, tucking my thumb towards my palm.

His eyes widened more as his grip began to slip. "You're the Bat's sidekick, he wouldn't want you to do this."

I glared. "I'm not doing it for him, I'm doing it for the five people you killed that night. I'm doing this for my parents John and Mary Grayson, my aunt Karla and uncle Rick Grayson, and my fifteen-year-old cousin Johnny!" I snarled. (I had to dig to find his aunt's name, but his cousin's age was never mentioned, but I'm assuming he was minimally a teenager. Considering he was allowed to perform and Dick was not.) "I'm not doing this for the Batman, I'm doing this ME!" ripping my hand out of his grip and reaching up to grab the windowsill, only to feel my right hand give out.

A grapple cord wrapped around my waist and slammed me through the window two floors below the already broken window. The wind getting knocked out of me and glass getting embedded in my back.

"It's about doing what's right and that's the only reason you need."

"Fuck you." I snarled, getting back to my feet. The grapple cord around my waist gone slack long ago. Running to the window I threw it down with perfect accuracy. Getting it around his right and bringing his momentum to a controlled stop just before he would've hit the pavement, then dropping him the remaining three feet to the ground. I was breathing heavily, leaning on the windowsill, not even feeling the glass embed itself in my palms.

"I almost did you know, part of me… part of me wa-wanted him to die."

"But you didn't." I jolted to a start. "Twice you've saved the man who murdered your family from death. You're bringing him to justice."

"H-how did he even get out?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but I promise it won't happen again." large arms wrapped around my smaller frame. I pushed them away, falling to my knees amidst the glass from the window. Fighting the tears that wanted to fall so badly.

"He wanted- he w-was going to-to kill you." I managed my voice breaking and stuttering.

"Dick…" the low voice tone said sadly.

"He knows." I said suddenly, turning to face him. "My God, Bruce, he knows." it hadn't hit me til now.

Bruce brought me back to my feet. "He knows what?" he asked.

"He kn-knows I'm R-Robin." I managed.

There were so many emotions on his face I couldn't read them all. Before I could question anything he was gone.

I sunk back to my knees the tears finally falling.

Holy long-lost writer Batman!

I am so sorry I've been gone for so long, I've been swamped with school work and it took me a while to figure out where I wanted this chapter to go.

Anyway, comment, follow, fave, ya know- the uz.

Thanks again! I hope to see you again soon!

-BVDG1