Chapter 6: A lone Robin takes flight (1)

*SHATTER!*

*HONK!* *HONK!* *HONK!*

Another day, another sloppy attempt at Grand Theft Auto on the grimy streets of Gotham City. The sun hadn't even set yet and there were still crimes popping up all over the city like no man's business. Yes, of course, expecting anything less from a city filled with weapon's dealers, corrupt politicians, gang wars, and clinically insane psychopaths roaming the streets would naturally lead to having a short life as one of the city's unfortunate residents.

However, the rise in criminal activity during the day would normally be expected considering the city's vigilant caped crusader effectively dealt a staggering blow to the old-fashioned ways of organized crime. Though cutting the head of the hydra eventually led to two more heads taking its place in new unpredictable forms of felonies. Either way, the masked vigilante's message now plagued ALL malefactors that dared to walk the dark streets of Gotham: To fear the Batman.

It was a powerful reminder for any punk to think twice about causing any trouble in the Bat's city, but alas, that very message was a double-edged sword in many, MANY ways. Like for example, the two pinheads were being too obvious with their scheme of jacking a car.

And sadly, for the domino masked young man watching this from above, it wasn't the first crime of the day and it certainly wouldn't be the last either.

"Are you a freaking idiot, Louie?" The average looking thug looked at the much larger thug that just bashed in the red van's window.

"What? I got us in no problem, Jorge." Laughed the muscled thug.

"You didn't consider setting off the car alarm as a problem, meathead?"

"Err…I guess not…" The slow thug scratched his head.

"Dumbass, and I was this close to picking the lock too."

"Really, but you've been doing it for hours?"

"That's because lockpicking requires a delicate touch, idiot. Something you wouldn't know."

"Yeah, but then how do you even about this stuff in the first place, Jorge?"

"What the hell are you on about now?"

"I mean just the other day, you broke into Lenny's place just to get that lockpicking kit."

"So, Lenny owed me five bucks and I decided to claim some interest. Besides, having better tools just makes the job that easier."

"You see I get that, but then if you're so great at it then why did you break Lenny's window just to get it?" Louie scratched his head with that confused look on his face as he tried to examine Jorge's momentary blank expression.

"…Shut up, Louie."

"Okay, Jorge." Louie obediently nodded as his partner meticulously continued to pick the door's lock before he bitterly cursing at the confounded lock.

"Just unlock the door on your side of the car already will ya?"

"Sure thing, Jorge."

"Idiot…"

As the big lug pulled open the door, Jorge let out a tired groan but not before noticing the whispers and glances coming from most onlookers across the street. Burrowing his brow, he's quick to push aside his jacket to show them some incentive to mind their own business, and it worked. The car alarm making his ears ring was already grating on his nerves, he was not in the mood for anyone's bullshit.

"Nosy rats…" Jorge spat as he turned around and pulled the van's door handle, which was still locked, "Are you seriously having this much trouble with a freaking unlock button, Louie?"

"I'm afraid, Louie's a bit hung up with something at the moment."

"What the-!?" Startled by a sudden laughter coming from above, Jorge was quick to draw his gun and set his sights to the van's roof above. There he came face to face with a black domino masked young man wearing the all to hard to forgot costume of the Boy Wonder himself.

His black tights fittingly hugged his athletic build along with the short-sleeved black t-shirt worn underneath his red armored vest donning his signature yellow "R" insignia. Matching most of his look were his black ankle-high steel-toed boots, black gloves, black bladed gauntlets, and a traditional black cape with a yellow interior. Not to mention, his iconic yellow utility belt hanging onto his hips.

"Robin, the Boy Wonder? B-B-But I thought that the Bat was out of town!" Jorge staggered back as the masked teen skillfully flipped off the van's roof and over the thug, blocking of his escape.

Heavily sighing, Robin shook his spiky black haired head and said, "Okay just to clarify for you, I haven't been the Boy Wonder since I was nine and I'm not a package deal with the big guy. While the Old Man is off with the League, he naturally leaves the protection of this wonderful town in my capable hands."

'Albeit begrudgingly…' Robin bitterly thought as a recent unpleasant memory with mentor almost soured his mood. Thankfully, he had this pinhead to brighten the rest of his day.

"So, I'd suggest you avoid comparing me to you and your buddy." That earned him a gun barrel aimed straight at his chest.

"What the hell did you do to Louie?"

"I seem to recall saying, "I'm afraid, Louie's a bit hung up with something at the moment" a few seconds ago." The bird boy smirked.

"I don't get it. Tell me what happened to Louie or else!"

"Or else!" Robin mimicked Jorge, "That's what you sound like, and I already told you that he's already hung up at the moment."

"What?"

"He's hung up on something… "Hung up"?" Even through his mask, the visible disappointment from noticing the gun totting thug's sideway glances, "Hung?"

"…What's your angle here?" Jorge narrowed his eyes as his trigger finger twitched.

'Is this really going to be my last bust before Pre-Calc?' Robin shook his head and jabbed his thumb over his shoulder to the street light nearby.

Jorge's line of sight followed the Bird Boy's subtle pointing only to find a jaw dropping sight, "Louie?" It was his muscled partner in crime unconsciously tied up and hanging upside down by black wire. Jorge winced at the sight of the big nasty welt that formed across his lower face.

"I was wondering when you'd figure out, and here I was wondering if you being the brains in the operation was joke, Georgie Boy." The thug jumped as he just now realized that Robin was now leaning against the van next to him.

"How did y-!?" Jorge gasped.

"I walked over here while you weren't looking is all, no need to be so gobsmacked, man." Robin crossed his arms, "So how do you want this to go?" He looked up at the big lug swing about on the street light.

"I mean you can try to fight back, but you can make this so much easier for yourself if you'd just…" But before he could finish that thought, he was soon met with Jorge quickly aiming his weapon at him and decided to use that one good bullet of his.

*SPLAT!*

"The hell?" Sadly, it was his only delicious bullet that slipped out of its yellow peel.

"Pfft! You know that might have been the only thing I brought for lunch today but that was totally worth it. By the way…" Uncrossing his arms, Robin revealed the glock, "I also took this if that's alright with you." He didn't have to look as he expertly shucked out the gun's rounds and disassembled it.

'Three seconds, a new record.' The Boy Wonder smirked as he tossed the disassembled gun to the side, 'Seven years of practice really pays off.'

Thankfully, the guy still hadn't learnt his lesson as he attempted to take a more physical crack at the masked teen by rearing back his fist to deliver a good old slug to the face. Robin's response was that of smug boredom as he yawned and stuck out his fist which infuriated Jorge to take that one step and lean in to giving the punch.

*WHAM!*

"Had a nice fall?" Robin joked as Jorge slipped on the smushed banana on the asphalt and landed right into his fist. It was quite the fall too since he heard the disgusting crack of the man's nose breaking. As soon as Jorge limply collapsed, Robin wasted no time to immediately tie the and handcuff him to the rear view mirror. One quick anonymous phone call to GCPD later, he was already grappling onto rooftops and jumping/somersaulting over each one in a rushed panic.

"Stopping a crime should feel like a reward, but I still can't shake off how disappointing that last one was!" Robin panted as he pushed himself to keep moving through the smog filled skies of the city. Tapping a button on his gauntlet, a portable computer hologram projected itself displaying case files, gadget designs and of course his homework for long nights. He was more focused on the time and his fears were confirmed since his next period of class was already beginning.

*RING!* *RING!*

Turning off the portable CPU, Robin quickly pulled out his cellphone from his utility belt and answered, "Hello?"

[Hey, Ritchie where are ya? I haven't seen you the whole break and class is about to start.] The all too familiar sound of his friend's Brooklyn accent filled his ears.

"Oh, hey, Harls, I decided to quickly go out to get some eats at Big Bang Burger and their line was long. You wouldn't believe my struggle just to even reach the end of it."

[What, so your telling me that you snuck out of school just to get a quick bite?]

"Yea…" Robin hesitated.

[Without me!?]

"…Uh…sorry?"

[You better be, but not as sorry as you'll be if you wind up missing the test.]

Pressing a button, Robin placed up the map to school on his phone, 'Fifteen minutes away.' He dreaded the thought of failing that math class, it was touch and go, if he got a grade then he would be set for the rest of the semester. However, if he failed then he would have to make more time making it up for the class and less time doing his "job" and he definitely couldn't have that.

Lost in thought, Robin's lips tightened, 'I don't want to give him any more ammunition to use on me.'

[Hello, Ritchie?] Sang the voice on the other line.

"Look, Harls, I won't lie. I'm going to be late, but don't worry, I'll be sure to come up with the perfect excuse."

[Your gonna call and ask your Butler to make up an excuse?]

"Yes, wait, no! I'm going to lay on the old Grayson charm…"

[Oh, you mean be a kissass?]

"Kissass is a strong word, I prefer sycophant."

[So a kissass.]

"Yes, a kissass."

[Welp, Ritchie, I can't wait to see how you'll weasel your way out of this.] The echoing of the school's bell could be heard in the background, [Oops, class is about to start see you then!]

She hung up, leaving Robin to his thoughts.

'One more crime bust wouldn't hurt, I said. You'll have time to eat lunch, I said. You won't miss the big test, I said!' He really has to better coordinate schedule, but he wistfully sighed at the minor setback, 'Well, at least things should be looking up for me now.'

*Thunk…*

"Crap…" He cursed, his thought got the best of him as tripped over the ledge of a rooftop and came hurtling down into an alley.

*THUD!* *SLAM!*

And to make matters worse, he crash landed into an open garbage dumpster. It looks like it would taken a while before things could properly start looking up.

"Pbbt! *COUGH!* Why!? *COUGH!* I didn't jinx it!" Robin cried as he pushed open the dumpster's lid and coughed up a fit before gagging from the horrid smell that coated his body, "God that's vile…urp…" Pulling himself out, he patted off the loose garbage clinging to him, but the smell still lingered.

"This might make the old charm difficult, but I'm sure it won't…mngh!" Despite trying to be optimistic, he still loudly gulped to suppress the urge to vomit, "Be that bad in class."

*Riiiiiiiiing~!*

*SLAM!*

"Thank god!" Taking a deep breath of fresh air, a student out of the many pouring out of the classroom rushed out to distance themselves from the putrid smelling range that was exuded from the tardy student himself, Dick Grayson.

The downtrodden young man's brown eyes were examining the yellow slip that his teacher had struggled to give him on account to him struggling to get past the smell. This was his second warning for being extremely late in the class as well as the others in different periods that had him to make a leave of absence for either "Family Business" or sudden "illnesses".

Soon enough the old excuses weren't going to work on his teachers anymore as he's been playing every card in his book of excuses for the past year and a half during his stay at Gotham City High School.

'Great, one more warning then I get detention.' He thought then bitterly joked, 'Wonder if I'll get a free ice cream sundae for getting a complete collection of these.'

As soon as he snuck back on campus, he quickly changed into his civvies consisting of a white t-shirt, a blue zipped up hoodie under a black jacket over it, blue jeans and black running shoes. By putting so many layers over his suit, he deluded himself into thinking that the smell wouldn't be too obvious. Then he was told to sit in the back of the class near the windows while literally everyone was scooting their desks away from him. Well, almost everyone.

"Wow, the ol' Grayson Charm sure does get the job done based on how…"effective" it is." Walking up to his side was a young woman about his age, her long blond hair bouncing with each step while bound into a ponytail and her waggling eyebrows emphasizing her clear blue eyes behind her glassed spectacles. She wore a black and red checkered flannel top, black jeans and red sneakers.

"Haha, very funny, Harls. Plus, just to let you know the charm basically did the heavy lifting because this guy gets to retake the test on Friday by himself." Dick proudly pointed to himself.

"You sure it was just your charm, Ritchie? You sure it wasn't about how you smell like a dumpster cat? Or the fact that the teacher wanted to wait out the days it takes for you to wash that odor off your body. I'm pretty sure your leaning towards the latter, Ritchie Rich." Harley playfully tugged at his sleeves for further emphasis, "BTW, I'd avoid using cologne and invest all that Wayne money of yours into Tomato Juice and lots of it."

'Hard to do that after getting my allowance cut in half among other things…' Dick groaned and quickly wore a shit eating grin before Harleen could notice.

"Guess it pays to have family working in the Trash Collecting business."

"Ah, sanitation services and it actually pays daddy extremely well considering the hard work and the risks it takes to work on the streets in this stupid crap shack of a town." Harleen corrected.

"Now ain't that the truth…" Dick agreed and thought, 'And I'm basically out there doing my own work for free not that I'm complaining.' Being Robin is the best thing that could ever happen for him especially since…yeah, he couldn't have asked for a better path in life.

"So, you free after school or what, Ritchie?" She asked pulling out her phone.

"Nope, and like I said before I'm not interested in joining the Gymnastics team. I have a ton of things to do and besides that offer lacked any kind of subtlety." Dick rolled his eyes.

"Pfft! Don't flatter yourself, fly boy, a while ago I figured from your steady "late" track record in classes that you would be a huge load that we couldn't possibly afford to carry." Not much to his chagrin, she did cast a not subtle glance to his rear, "Though I do regret the opportunity to see you in a pair of tights."

'If only you'd knew, Harls…' Dick cheekily smiled.

"My, my, Ms. Quinzel are you trying to seduce me?" Dick chuckled.

"Just praising a good butt because it would be an injustice not to. Plus, don't get me wrong, Ritchie. Along with your nice ass, your cute face, those mysterious blue eyes of yours and not to mention that nice ass you'd be some princess' prince charming. As for me, well, I think of you as a brother at best."

"Oof, consider me wounded, milady." He playfully held his chest and gasped. The feeling was mutual, having a steady friendship was the best thing he could ask for and frankly he had no experience with the whole dating scene. As for the two role models in his life who do have the experience, he didn't bother asking. One was extremely old fashioned while the other still suffers from the occasional cat scratch here and there.

She giggled, "No offense, but my type usually leans towards guys who have wicked smiles."

In another time zone about 3 hours behind…

*Achoo!* *SNIFF!*

"That's strange, the ACs not even on. Weird right, Mom?"

"…"

"Guess the mornings are getting colder as we're approaching October, eh?"

"…"

"Are you still mad?"

"…"

"Yeah, your still mad…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…I-I'm sorry…please forgive me…I love you…"

"…"

"Say something!"

Back to Gotham

"Besides I only asked if you were free because me and Pam were actually going to meet the creators of the "Green Abomination" movie at GothCon this friday." Harleen showed Dick the movie's poster on her phone depicting some freakish looking plant-man thing emerging from a marsh.

"You mean that top selling horror film?" Dick rubbed his chin in thought, 'I heard about that movie, some guys on the web keep raving about it being the pinnacle of horror films compared to most nowadays.'

"Yup, they've finally decided to make a sequel HERE in Gotham after 3 long years and I am not about to lose out on gaining the juicy details. Like if they're changing directors or even actors! If they even consider recasting Basil Karlo, the one and only Green Abomination then I wouldn't hesitate to get a riot started!" Harleen giddily bounced about.

"You really are passionate about this, huh? But wait, you're going with Pam!?" Dick asked with his eyes widening.

"Yup."

"To a GothCon convention that's centering around a Horror film?"

"Yes."

"Are we sure that we're talking about the same, Pamela Isley?" Dick didn't mean to come off as rude, but he didn't take Pamela as the type to be watching horror films heck even films with jump scares. To him, Pamela seemed so fragile and soft spoken but when it came to plants she was like a different person. It was like a kid talking about their day to their parents except with an unending barrage of plant facts.

"Hey, don't be dissing Pam. After days of begging her otherwise, we sat down together and watched the movie." Harleen smiled, "Though I did have to strap her down just to keep her from running during the gore bits."

"You are a twisted woman, Harls."

"Sue me." Harleen stuck out her tongue.

"And that still doesn't answer the question about why she's interested in going."

"Because the movie's protagonist plays an honest depiction of a botanist before changing into the Green Abomination. Pam wants to meet the creators and see if any had some real life experience along with question whether any plant life were really hurt during the film." Harleen explained.

"So it all comes back to the plants. Yep that makes sense." Dick chuckled at Pamela's one track mind.

"Sooo…you wanna join up or not?" The pair reached their individual classrooms just across the hall from one another.

"Pass." Dick shook his head.

"Figures." Harleen shrugged.

*Riiiing~!*

"Well, if you change your mind you know where to find me."

"In your dad's garbage truck." Dick grinned as he entered his classroom already hearing the groans and gags of his classmates reacting to his odor.

"It's a sanitation truck, jackass." Harleen slyly raised an eyebrow as she slammed the door behind her.

*THUD!*

The heavy thud of a black case about as long as the metal table it was thrown onto rang throughout the dark room as only one lamp emitted some light in the middle of the room.

"Everything there?" A deep voice asked.

"…" A black fingered orange glove stuck itself out under the light and made a beckoning gesture.

"Fine…" Growled the deep voice as a pale hand came into view and slapped a full stack of hundred bills into the gloved hand that pulled itself back into the darkness.

The sound of bills being flipped could be heard before a soothing, calm voice said, "As you requested, a state of the art jetpack with high performance speeds and handling and a combat mask equipped infrared vision."

Checking the contents, the pale hand opened the case and lightly touched each piece of tech before stopping their touch at a pair of sleek black gauntlets connected to the jet pack's fuel tank.

"And as you asked, we've integrated a plasma ray to interface with your jetpack. To quell your worries, we've made precautions to add in a separate fuel tank, so you won't run empty too soon."

"Nice, and if you don't mind me asking… Who exactly made these babies?" The deep voice whistled.

"I do mind. You have my permission to at least inform others who are well off enough to purchase these services, but this all remains confidential. I'll respect your privacy and you'll respect mine because if I even hear slip of my name pass through your lips. Well, lets just say that any recall won't just with your purchases. Are we clear?" The soothing voice eerily threatened.

"Of course, besides I've always been one to at least abhor treacherous mistrust." Closing the black case, the pale hand along with a red blistered scarred hand lifted the case off the table, "It's been a pleasure doing business with you, but now that I finally have what I need its about time I paid my favorite person in the world a warm visit."

"You'd forgive me if I don't jump at the opportunity to inquire about your life story. If I actually was curious, I would have asked how you even procured this amount of cash in under a month but considering how this is Gotham the conclusion is already easy to make." The soothe voice began to fade, "Try not to let the glory of robbing a few banks while the Bat is out of town get to your head. Later."

*SLAM!*

"…Bitch…" The deep voice growled as their trembling, scarred hand balls itself into a fist, "And a simple robbery? No, what I want will last more than some cash…"

Once the final bell rang, Dick immediately ran off to his base of operations.

A simple studio apartment above an abandoned warehouse in downtown Gotham. It certainly was spacious, definitely so considering he didn't take much stock in gathering all of his possessions during the move. He had a queen-sized bed, a bathroom and a kitchen; the essentials.

Pressing his hand on the pad next to the door, the electronic locks disengaged as he turned the rusty doorknob and entered his residence. The trip from school to here took about an hour; half an hour if he was in his Robin costume but that would only happen during emergencies.

The place's location was in some abandoned warehouse lot that hadn't been used in years, well, legally at least. The mob used to congregate here before the Batman's interference in their business caused them to take their work to more spread out and private locations until they were rooted out again for being complacent. So, it'd be pretty rare to find any thugs looming around the corner.

Even so, he took caution to avoid any lingering eyes that might follow him. Even he'd be ashamed of his stealth skills if a single citizen were to notice him.

The very moment that he entered the apartment, he let his backpack slide down his back to his heavily hit the floor and with his nose crinkled, he rushed through the large expanse of space in the apartment, stripping himself of his civvies and his suit worn underneath it.

Followed by a shower which almost washed most of the smell from his body, he changed into a black t-shirt and red sweatpants.

"Now that was refreshing…"

Roughly drying his spiky hair with a towel, he placed a hand on the large white wall in the empty expanse of the apartment, two secret compartments slowly opening. One of them held a glass case holding two mannequins modeled around his body type with one laid bare while the other sported a rather old and worn out Robin costume.

In contrast to his more recent costume, the color scheme for this one was considerably brighter with both the colors yellow and green. Not to mention his old pair of infamous green shorts.

Looking closer at the remnants of stitches on the old costume, Dick sighed, "I've sure been through a lot in this, but I won't say I regret changing my look. Looking that bright sure made it easy for criminals to use me as target practice, well, until Bruce swoops in when they're distracted…"

As his eyes lingered on the green shorts, he makes out the vertical stitching as his body visibly shudders upon reliving the memory. All that needed be said was that there was an incident with the Riddler on Wayne Enterprises, and from them on he decided to hang up the old trunks.

The young man questioned his sense of nostalgia every time he gazed upon his first costume design. This soon led to feel a bit homesick, but before it could fester, he quickly shakes it off to focus on snapping his current utility belt onto the empty mannequin along with placing his mask on it. As for the suit itself, well, he'll have to handwash it later since emerging from the second compartment was a medium sized Flat monitor with a keyboard attached to it.

Stepping in front of it, he stomps his feet twice before the wooden floor of the apartment below him rose up into a block to act as his seat.

"Now let's review what I've managed to gather this week." Cracking his knuckles, he quickly typed in his password and accessed the main page displaying the gold and black initials: "FG". On the corners of the screen were all files and documents either for school or for cases.

Moving the arrow over to click a file dubbed "Nocturnal Maulings AKA She-Bat". As soon as it opened, Dick felt his skin crawl as a litter of pictures detailing corpses with mauled necks and mangled faces popped up all over his screen.

Each victim was dangling from high places in the city's parks, rooftops and alleyways. Every now again, bodies were either found by GCPD investigating around or just popping up in public like the body that fell off a ten-story building and splattered into a restaurant's outer patio just the other day.

'Ugh, it hurts just to look. Makes it even worse knowing that Rebecca's the one doing this. I know that we had a few rough meetings at Wayne Enterprises, but I'd never wish this upon anyone. Documents from security state that Dr. Langstrom was authorized to enter his office only for his to get authorized again to enter about five minutes later.'

Dick grimaced as he remembered the scene afterwards, 'Things took a turn for the worse since then. I won't pity her too much since she did make such a stupid choice, but she will have my condolences once she's turned back to normal.'

He made sure to delete that certain picture after Bruce sent him most of the evidence, after seeing the results of that tragedy firsthand, he'd rather not tarnish the image of the good doctor in his head.

"Let's move onto another case file that won't leave me nightmares…" He clicked on the file named "Penguin's Gunrunners(?)".

"There we are, the business of one of my least favorite crime lords in Gotham, Crump the Penguin." Dick laughed and closely looked over the files and photos, "And it looks like he was sending his enforcers to do one of my top five least favorite crimes, arms dealing with the unsavory types in town. Actually, it seems that something else is happening entirely…"

Photos depicting empty cases and cargo of guns along with evidenced photos of hooded ski masked men with either wet crimson gashes on their throats or a direct bullseye between their brows. It looked as if another party was sabotaging the Penguin's dealings.

"It can't have been another crime lord…" Dick rubbed his head in thought.

'It can't be Sionis because the whole city would be already be in the midst of another one of its infamous gang wars.' So that was one name cross off the list. 'Not the Joker since he's in Arkham and really isn't motivated to do much with the Old Man out of town.' Another crossed off name.

'And lastly Two-Face, he's also in Arkham after he and the Old Man stopped that huge drug operation of his, yeah, sometimes I wonder if he realizes that hinging all of his decisions on a coin might actually do more harm to his work.' Not that Dick was complaining, Dent's whole 50/50 shtick is a great lifesaver sometimes while also being a total pain in the ass as well.

"Besides, the M.O. seems way different than their methods…" Each thug that was killed had been cleanly cut and shot in such a bizarrely organized fashion for each crime scene, "Its looks like they were used as practice."

Whoever this was, they obviously have experience and the missing guns only added more to the threat that they may pose to the city. He'll have to keep an eye out for any further happenings surrounding this mystery.

"Now for the exact opposite of the case…" His mouse icon glossed over the files named "Croccy" and "BB-Cold Case" to stop and click the file titled "Fire Fright". And boy was the contents in that file frightening it was nowhere near as bad as the mauled photos, but literally seeing barbequed bodies lying about in burnt down warehouses and bars would be a close second.

'Another case of arson this week. The victims certainly weren't all saints, but they also weren't under the same boss. A few of Penguin's guys, a little of Black Mask's men along with some up and coming street gangs here and there.' Dick thought.

It certainly wasn't a vendetta, so it might have been for the pleasure of causing the fire. That would have been the easy answer and Dick wasn't one to deny that considering a crazed clown mobster gets his kick out of making everyone's life a living hell. While that was still on the table, he kept looking for more possible clues but the crime scene like the victims were torched and left barren.

Meaning, him and GCPD had to imagine what was even there in the first before concluding anything further. Such a frustrating mystery only made him more frustrated because he could definitely see his Old Man immediately figuring it out in under a minute.

He narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin, "Perhaps it won't hurt to recheck the recent crime scene."

*BEEP!* *BEEP!*

"Ugh…"

Immediately glancing at the caller ID on his phone, Dick was quick to hang up. He wasn't in the mood for another back and forth right now.

"Yuck, I should have washed this before leaving." Robin gagged at the smell of his costume as he jumped onto another rooftop as the cool night wind brushed against his skin. Landing near the site of the crime, he made his way toward the burnt remains of what was once a one-story building as police tape wrapped itself around the perimeter.

"Aw, they wrapped it up in a pretty bow for me." He jumped off the roof's ledge and made his way across the tape to notice the white body outlines on the floor, "And they even spruced the place up too thanks guys…" He was grateful that he didn't have to smell burnt carcass, but at the same time, he was also sad that forensics might have been a bit thorough with their sweep of the scene.

Tapping a small button on his gauntlet, the portable computer on his arm began to do a quick scan of the room with help from him rotating about to capture the whole area. After completing the scan, a big fat "X" appeared on his screen.

"Just like last time…" Robin held his head down, "Except now I'm even more skeptical since the police already scrubbed the place clean. Damn, I should have just called in sick at school that day and made a second scan…" No bothering to get down about it now, Robin decided to take a different approach as he emerged past the yellow police tape.

'If the scene itself isn't yielding anything then maybe if I looked around the outside…' Walking around the building on the sidewalk and into a nearby alleyway, Robin stops mid-step as he felt something slightly crack and roll under his feet, 'Bingo…'

Robin pulled back and recovered from under his foot, a small capsule filled with an amber fluid.

"Peculiar…" He tapped the button to his CPU to do a quick scan on the mystery capsule if it even had any significance to the case.

*BEEP!*

"Crap…" Robin's eyes widened as the screen projected a certain chemical formula: C3H5N3O9, AKA…

"Nitroglycerin…" His heart was beating a storm, he nearly crushed something this volatile, heck, any person walking around would have been sent to kingdom come had they came across it. Safely containing the capsule in one of his utility belt's capsules made to reduce any force that may damage or set off its contents.

"I'm definitely glad I came back. I need to contact the Commissioner to keep a lookout for any of these stray capsules laying around."

*BOOOOM!*

But before his immediate call could patch through, the unpleasant noise of a fulmination rang through the streets. In a flash, Robin grappled to the heights of rooftops and other structures; using the force of each grapple to increase the speed of his travels towards the explosion's source, the Gotham Strip, a stretch of casino hotels, performance venues, attractions and…circus acts.

*BOOOOOOM!* *BOOOOOOM!* *BOOOOOOM!*

'Nope, focus! Robin is here to save the day! Grayson can curl up in a ball later.' Robin pushed the swelling grief in his chest down as his expression hardened, 'Now any criminal willing to stir trouble there would have to be pretty ballsy considering that place is lit up like a Christmas tree. The cops would automatically see you in plain sight, and if its not on the outside, then it being in one of hotels will make things even more complicated.'

The strip was mostly a place for tourists or anyone wealthy enough to enjoy themselves in the city as rare as that is, but trouble would still rear its ugly head there from time to time in the form of a friendly mafia game of cards going awry. If there were actual explosions then he was sure to expect an all out fight between some gangs and the police.

But he has been wrong before since there were indeed burning police cruisers, cabs, carts and destroyed marble statues along police scrambling about on the streets trying to escort citizens to safety, but no signs of any gangs shooting their bullets or rocket launchers all willy-nilly.

Looking over the edge of the building, Robin muttered, "What's the big idea…?"

A shrill shriek and horrified yell then reached his ears prompting the masked teen to look up at one of the nearby hotels looming over the desolated roads. Among the many windows there was one that was shattered that kept emitting a fierce rapid flash of yellow light from the room and with each flash the panicked screams grew.

"That's the big idea…" Backing up, Robin examined the clear distance as he took a deep breath. Then as he finally steeled himself, he took off and vaulted off from the rooftop as gravity pulled him down toward the clean streets of the Strip. Too early and he fails to get enough momentum; too late and well, he'll be eat the pavement. So, it'll have to be perfect.

"…!" He strained his shoulders as he forcibly grabbed the edges of his cape and with one straightening tug, the flowing fabric grew rigid as it caught the harsh winds of his fall to carry him up the building.

"…our fault!" The aggressive shouting reached his ears but was too faint over the harsh winds.

But just in the nick of time, he finally reached the shattered window to find some guy dressed in black and yellow armor wearing some backpack pointing some kind of arm gun at a man and woman. Whipping out his grappling gun, he quickly shot it to wrap around the armored individual's arm and pull it back while also pulling himself into the room. The armored assaulter gasped as his redirected weapon shot a laser beam right through the side of the building.

"Your-!"

"Robin, the Teen Wonder!"

*CRACK!*

Using the momentum to pull himself in, Robin delivered a swift heel kick to the armored assaulter's red eyed helmet sending him crashing into through the room's bathroom door. "Emphasis on the Teen part by the way." Taking a quick scan of the area, he noticed the steam coming from the wall that was just blasted along with many others that desecrated the luxurious suite that he found himself in.

Turning his attention back to the victims, he noticed the tuxedo wearing man clutching a cauterized wound on his shoulder.

"Agh!" The black haired man inhaled sharply as his brown eyes winced at the pain.

"Karlo!" Tearfully cried a spectacled red headed woman dressed in a ruined purple gown quickly ran to his side and tore off a piece of her dress to cover the man's injury.

'Karlo? As in Basil Karlo that famous actor that Harls likes?' Robin questioned the sheer coincidence of running into the guy but focused his attention on the grumblings of the assailant picking himself up and out of the bathroom.

"Are you okay?" He helped the woman pick up the injured Basil Karlo and received a breathless nod from the two of them, "Good, good… Now I want you two to go downstairs and let the police take care of you, okay?" He immediately pulled out a pulled birdarang and threw it across the room at the nozzle of the armored man's ray gun.

"You little…!" The armored man angrily growled as he tugged off the projectile and threw it to the ground before smashing it under his heel.

"Hey, those don't grow on trees!" Literally, it costs a ton of money just to make them and he's already running low on his allowance funds as is.

Apparently, the assailant didn't much care for words as he immediately fired another ray at the three of them. Thankfully, Robin was able to push all of them out of the way as the beam bisected an artistic granite table.

Shoving them to the door, Robin pushed the pair out screaming, "Just go, I'll handle this!"

"T-Thank you…" The bespectacled woman muttered as she gave the armored assailant a downtrodden glance before shutting the door.

"Grrrrrgh!" Frustration laced the black and yellow assailant as they focused their sights on the door and aimed their weapon to the wall as if seeing through it. But before he could fire, he was reminded of the grappling rope pulling at his arm.

"Forgetting someone?" Robin grasped the rope and leaned back, "You know, I'm starting to question if your mad about them not giving you a tip for room service!"

The armored man struggled to reclaim his arm through he tough material of the line and quickly made use of the other arm's ray gun to burn through it and send Robin reeling back some. It was the perfect chance to fry the kid as he prepared to fire another beam.

"I mean, I understand where your coming from since I know hotel service can be a pain of an occupation to have! But again when you see the crap that guests have to put up with; like not having the ability to use fridges stocked with hotel products, expensive room service meals, and expensive channels! Seems pretty fair in a way, huh? So what do you think?"

"Shut up!" Looks like he finally starting to wear out the guy.

"Only if you say please!" Robin laughed.

"Fuck you!"

'They never say please…' Robin thought.

The masked teen quipped as he reached into his utility belt and tossed 3 chirping discs at armored man just as he fired his beam. As soon as the projectile made contact with the attack, they explode in pieces as the beam shot itself at the Teen Wonder.

"Alley-oop!" Planting his hands on the ground as he fell back, Robin skillfully performed a series of backflips as the beam continued to follow him. Just as he was about to running out of room, he pushed himself off the ground, planted his feet on the wall and launched himself at the armored man.

*FWISH!*

'Ah, close…too close…' The fringe of his hair got burned as he deftly avoided the beam after him.

Reaching for his utility belt once more, he pulled out his most trusty tool.

*CLICK!*

"Hyaaah!"

*WHAAAAAM!* *CRACK!*

Swinging his shoulders back, the teen equipped himself with his collapsible bo staff and deftly struck the armored man's yellow helmet. The blow may not have done much to injure the man, but it certainly did hinder him, and that helmet of his was showing the signs of cracking around the lenses.

'If the head won't be enough then body will just have to do.' Spinning the bo staff between his fingers, Robin readied himself in a stance to react to whatever move his foe makes.

"…Grr…" Lowly growling after feeling the crack on his helmet, the assailant pointed his ray gun at Robin and began charging it up.

The two stood in silence waiting for the other to make a move. This tense moment gave Robin the time he needed to think.

'Looks like I might have found my arsonistic perp…probably…' Robin thought as he was quick to look around the room but not before focusing his sights back on his opponent each time his eyes lingered away. The heat rays didn't match the causes of deaths or were seen leaving any marks on the crime scenes, but it was a close comparison nonetheless.

"Okay spill it are yo-!'

"Dammit…"

Just as the armored man's ray gun was at full power to fire, he moved his head to the door and angrily cursed to himself. Before Robin could question the strange behavior, the heavy thud of the suite's door being kicked down reached his ears as a whole squad of GCPD broke into the room.

"Put your hands up now!" All guns were raised and aimed at the heat ray wielding assailant.

"…Kid…" Though it was hard to tell, Robin could visibly feel the man's heated glare through their helmet, "Stay out of my way…"

In a rush, the black and yellow assaulter pulled something out of his yellow belt as he made a run for the windowless opening in the suite while the police opened fire on him. Robin made sure to get out of the line of fire but noticed something being thrown into the room just as the helmeted individual jumped out of the building.

'Crap…' Robin's eyes widened.

"He jumped?" One of the police officers gasped as they attempted to see the aftermath by approaching the window, but stopped once Robin's voice reached a pitch that was high enough to translate the severity of the situation.

"Get out! NOW!"

*Beep!*

*KaBoooooooooooom!*

Smoke filled the suite and hallway of the hotel's floor as a big explosion engulfed the entirety of the room in the flames. Lowering the protection of his flame retardant cape, Robin coughed up a fit and sharply inhaled a breath of air after being sent flying through the room's wall and into the hallway.

"Argh! *COUGH!* *COUGH!* Is everyone…okay?" The blood dripping off his cut lip dripped down his fallen jaw as he looked around what remained of the room with his eyes as wide as saucers. He cared little about the destruction, the lives of the officers took more precedence. He limped his way back into the room and checked on the first cop that was close enough.

"Hey, come on, your okay…please be okay…" He wheezed as he pressed middle and index finger on their neck, "…" It was faint, but they still had a pulse.

*Bzzzzzzzzz~!*

'He has a jetpack!?' Robin gritted his teeth.

His eyes trained itself through the huge hole in the ruined suite and at the hovering armored man pointing his heat ray at him. The fiend had the perfect shot, the teen was still reeling from that blast and wasn't going to carry out the officer in his arms let alone leave of the other officers to get shot during the attempt.

But no, he lowered his weapon and threatened, "Last chance, keep your nose out of my shit, kid or else…" Flashing brightly, the helmeted individual took off into the night sky leaving a streak yellow light in his wake.

Lowering the injured officer on his back, Robin picked himself up and stared off into sky. Fists clenched, and his gaze hardening, Robin glared through the flame and body filled suite as he growled through clenched teeth,

"Never."

Next Chapter: A lone Robin takes flight (2)

Well, I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter! I really tried to make this version of Robin as accurate and original for this story as I can. So, I took inspiration from another hero to help me get a sort of good template to write for the character. By the way, if there was a voice actor for him, Dick Grayson would be voiced by Josh Keaton. While Michael would be voiced by Seth Green.

So this Robin is working alone in Gotham while Batman is off on Justice League business if it wasn't obvious in the story. So, yeah, the Justice League already exist so expect them in the distant future.

Welp, I certainly manage to fix up some future storylines while also introducing this story's Halreen Quinzel.

Now onto making the next part before continuing with Michael's side of the story.