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snakeredbirdbatkatana · 16 days

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What if one day Jason just puts the gun down.

At first Bruce is estatic no more murder no more compromises it's almost like having his son back his precious Robin.

Yet as time goes on he sees less of Jason and when he does he looks not well.

He's injured more frequently the entire underworld seems to be gunning for Hood but he can't say he isn't happy maybe Jaylad will have to call for backup.

He's working at the computer when Dick storms in heading straight for him.

"What does it take for you to be ten percent of a good parent clearly it's not your child dying so what will it take Bruce"

He's furious but he's also a detective before anything else.

"What exactly are you talking about."

Dick's entire body changes closing up the earlier anger gone for something colder even his eyes icing over.

"Jason is being hunted by all of Gotham because the Red Hood was based on the foundation of being the bat that kills. He changed everything about himself following your stupid rules, for what?"

Dick can't breathe he wants to tear Bruce limb from limb. Smash the entire cave he feels like there is nothing that can fix this.

He stares at Bruce waiting for what he doesn't know.

All this time and he's done.

"I am not burying my brother again because you are such a narssastic asshole who could give less of a fuck about anything other than being Batman. The reason every Bat or Robin comes to me is I actually love them unconditionally they don't have to doubt because Bruce they are enough."

"They could burn down the world and I would happily cheer them the fuck on don't call me, don't call Jason. I'm taking Tim, and Damian. You can go fuck yourself enjoy Batman cause that's all you will ever be."

He doesn't look back.

#angry dick Grayson #jason todd rights #Jason Todd is getting a hug #bad parent Bruce Wayne #This was a draft I wrote it kind of a while ago #batfamily #tim drake #dick grayson #damian wayne #batfam #jason todd #bruce wayne

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brucewaynehater101 · 11 days

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Protective Dick and Bad Parent Bruce short fic:

Dick, calmly glancing at Batman, leans forward in his chair. The other man shifts his weight at the sight of his oldest.

Dick's eyes narrow as he grabs the file in front of him. He leans back and opens the folder upon his lap. Depicted in cruel clarity are brusies, broken bones, cuts, and other injuries on three separate individuals. It seems the evidence has been collected over a period of time.

Bruce's eyes regard his son as he flicks between each photo. If the man was asked before this confrontation, he would have guessed that Dick's anger would have gotten the better of him. The son would react physically before allowing Bruce to explain. Batman even had contingencies in place to ensure Dick was contained in that instance.

Instead, no emotion is shown on his face. Dick Grayson regards the file as if it were a school assigned reading.

Finally, the young man closes the file and glances up at his father.

"Bruce."

Although Dick's tone is impassive, there's considerable implications in that word.

Did you think this was justified? It wasn't just me? How long?

Bruce remains silent.

Dick purses his lips and nods. Of course the man would refrain from speaking. That is his MO, after all.

Similar to how Bruce reverts back to stony silences, it seems Dick will always revert back to his angry Robin days.

He picks up his chair and slams it into Bruce's gut.

#all the batkids aren't doing hot in this au cause fuck bruce #tw abuse #protective dick grayson #angry dick grayson #angry dick grayson scares me #bruce wayne #all the batkids were treated bad and there's no need to compare trauma #if dick got a folder of all the things bruce has said or done to the kids that didn't leave physical marks #bruce wouldn't leave that room for weeks #dick grayson

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xoxo-mylove · 2 years

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I Hate That Soothing Voice (no I actually don’t)

(Batmom x dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne x reader)

*EDITED*

Word Count: 1,937

Synopsis: Where Dick Grayson is a very angry child who misses his mom and YN is a woman with all the patience and care in the world (according to Bruce) In reality Dick Grayson is about to make a grown woman cry.

Warnings: Angst, Very angst, parental loss, child grieving, arguing, self-insecurities, self guilt, but fluff towards the end ;)

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Richard John “dick” Grayson hates it here. He hates the long hallways, the tall the unreasonably tall doors.

The hugeee open rooms that occupy the manor that definitely do not make him want to yell at the top of his lungs in order to hear an echo of his voice that he is sure would be so, so cool, or the endless amount of cookies and desserts that Mr. Pennyworth and Y/N make for him.

Oh and don’t even get him started on how much he hates, hates Mrs. Wa-

Yep! No, Richard Grayson hates it here. So much so that after being in his new room, staring at the ceiling he sheds a tear.

He sheds a tear because he's frustrated, So frustrated that he just wants to find Missus Wayne and yell at her some more (he’s been doing that since Bruce had brought him into the Manor) for coddling him, being nice to him, and talking to him in that soothing voice that he hates so MUCH because he DOESN'T WANT THAT! He’s angry. So angry... So angry, so sad, and so another tear falls.

and another

And he doesn't know how but suddenly he’s on his side sobbing into his pillow crying for his mommy.

He doesn't even realize that he’s become so loud that he's notified the one woman he doesn't want to see.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

It’s late. You knows it's late, but you can never really sleep when Bruce is away on his....Nightly activities. The bed is always too cold and you’ve gotten too comfortable (spoiled) falling asleep in his arms. But you know that's not the real reason why you can't fall asleep. It’s because of the 8 year old boy who's currently across the hall asleep his room.

You can't sleep because you don’t know what to do.

You knew he was grieving, god, was he grieving and you were doing everything you could do in your power to help him adjust to this new life.

A new life without his parents. You felt for the little boy, Massively so, that you take the anger. You take the yelling, the screaming, and the tantrums that he pulls because you knows he’s angry.

You talk to Alfred about it while you both have tea one morning, and he tells you “Well Lady Y/-

“Just Y/N”

“I beg your pardon?” You huff and roll your eyes, “Y/N, Alfred. Cmon it's been years, you think we would be on first name basis now” you say cheekily.

He simply stares at you for a long second with eyes full of irritation, (you swears you could see a hint of amusement in them though)before continuing “As I was saying, I simply feel a wave of nostalgia when looking at young Master Dick” he takes your silence as an answer to continue. “The anger and the yelling reminds me of when Master Bruce was a young boy whom had just lost his parents.”

It’s then that you want to bash your head into the wall, because how did you not see it? Bruce and Dick, Both haven gone through some of the most traumatic thing ever know to a young child.

Loosing their parents. So you take the anger and with a new understanding. That seems to set him off more actually. Feeling hopeless and out of options, you go to Bruce. Your love, your confidant, your best friend in the whole world. And you asked him what to do.

Bruce was shocked. Because usually when you couldn't do something you would try your absolute best to tire out all your options when you came head first with a problem before you even attempted to ask Bruce for help.

It used to annoy the hell out of him, because he thought you not letting yourself need him was because you didn’t trust him, and that hurt. But he later found out that when it came to the important and vital things you would always come to him.

Your stubbornness over the years become more endearing. So he kinda understands why you do it. Because he knows that you know that he will rub it in your face that you need him. He finds it rewarding when you blush red, out of anger or blush because you’re flustered. He likes to think it's the latter.

So when you came to him with your problems with Dick he knew he shouldn't rub this one in your face. Because the look of defeat and hopelessness coating your beautiful face left him with a deep feeling of discomfort in his stomach, and concern and worry coating his usually stoned face.

So he tells his wife some of the things him and Dick have bonded over (dead parents, and broodiness and anger being their usual personality) He tells you some of his experience and how he absolutely hated the world, took his anger out on everyone and everything. He told you that because your there your gonna be a punching bag. He did the same this with Alfred. still does.

“You need to establish a ground rules.” he tells you.

“You’re could be patient and understanding, but he has to understand he can’t talk to you like that.” Bruces words and advice give you the courage to speak.

“Do you really think so? I feel like me getting strict with him will just get him more angry?”

“I promise you sweetheart, this will help.” And it looks like it does because the previous look of defeat was now replaced with a sense of determination, and it was painted all over his stunningly gorgeous wife’s face.

So much so that when you kiss him with your form of a simple thank you, he definitely prolongs the gesture of gratitude by grabbing you by the hips and pulling you onto his lap. Oh how determination and happiness on his wife’s face looks so, so sexy.

So now laying in bed, with Bruce’s advice running through your head you plan on bonding with him tomorrow. Thats right! You’re going to move past your guy’s ..awkward phase and you ar- *sniffle* *sniffle* your inner monologue stops. *wailing*, *sniffle*

“I want my mommy” and your breath catches. No. Oh no, no. You immediately rip off the covers and walks out of the room into the hall.

You make a beeline towards the door. When you suddenly stop. You’re hit with the realization that..He wants his mommy. Oh, he wants his mommy. If you went in there you’ll surely just be a reminder that his mother is gone and that he now lives with Bruce and Y/N. Two people who are not his parents.

You’re contemplating turning back when you hear another heartbreaking sniffle that causes a sting to burn in your eyes and and lump to form in your throat, yeah your definitely going inside. You turn the knob to the door and slowly open it.

Dick stops sniffling immediately when he hears the knob turn.

He raises his head to see Mrs. Wayne standing in the door way, looking at him with a warm tentative smile and soft understanding eyes.

And he doesn't know if it’s the sudden guilt he feels for treating you so horribly since he’s gotten here or if it’s that even though he doesn't deserve it, your here standing in his door way looking for his confirmation in order to comfort him but he immediately bursts into tears. Again

And nearly starts sobbing when you take on the soothing voice he thought he hated so much and says “Oh, honey! It's okay I’m here.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay to cry sweetheart.”

“I promise. I’m not mad. You can never make me mad honey.”

That’s what truly sets him off, so he does. Oh does he cry. He cries in your arms for hours, minutes, days, he doesn't know but after the tears have run out, the sniffles have subsided, and now that you’ve wiped all the wetness and snot off his face, he allows himself to fully sink into your arms. And be subdued by the warmth you provide and that soothing voice repeating praises to him, lulling him to sleep.

It’s when he’s on the brink of slumber, he feels a pair of lips press onto his head and he thinks to himself; he doesn't mind the comforting, and coddling at all. Because this feels nice. So nice. Oh yeah, he definitely doesn't hate you. Not one bit.

Hope you enjoy lovelys! - Yella <;33

#batfam #bruce wayne x reader #bruce wayne x dick grayson #bat mom x dick Grayson #angst #batfamily angst #fluff #angry dick grayson #simp bruce wayne #dceu universe #dceu fanfiction

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celaenaeiln · 9 months

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You know what’s interesting?

Dick didn’t set out to murder Zucco with the intent of being a killer. He viewed it as an unfortunate byproduct of his actions.

His real goal was to “purge the world of criminals” because “darkness needs light.”

Do you realize how unhinged that sounds? It means Robin wasn’t created from anger. It was created from the messed up psyche of a child who realized at 8 years old that the entire world needs something better than what it was given and so he went out and became it.

I cant properly explain how insane that is. It’s like putting the logic of the Joker inside the mind of child but turning it for good. Everything is falling into place now. That is why the Joker hates Dick-he is the one Robin the man couldn’t break. Literally COULDN’T because when he’s facing Dick, he’s facing the version of himself that would have existed if he had put himself to good. That was would break HIM.

Imagine spending the better part of your life doing your utmost worst to show Batman that people and the system are inherently evil only to have him fall head over cowl for a version of yourself to completely invalidate your reason for existing. How psychotic would you turn when you realize you have nothing to prove?

This also explains why Dick is so well adjusted and sociable in a way that Bruce and the others aren’t.

Bruce loses it when he loses his children, he thinks it’s a failure of his abilities and doubts his life’s work.

Jason loses it when he thinks he’s been replaced because his reason for being is having someone care for him.

Tim loses it when he comes to a dead-end. He feels helpless and lost when he doesn’t know the next move because his reason for being is being able to solve what’s wrong.

Damian loses it when he feels abandoned. He feels hurt and broken because he’s a child who wants to be loved.

The reason Dick was the perfect choice for Dark Crisis and to become the dawn of DCU is because his sole reason for being is to be the light.

That is why Bruce refused to destroy a planet when Superman asked him too. That is why Dick was the only person in the universe who could control the Darkness infecting him when even Deathstroke lost his mind to it. That is why the evil Justice League chose Dick of every one to kill-to make a point.

This is why he’s looked up to by major heroes such as Superman, Wonderwoman, the Titans, the children, the villains, and the civilians.

This is why Harvey Dent called Robin Dick “Batman’s secret weapon.”

Although anger was the baseline emotion, Dick doesn’t have anger issues because:

Robin wasn’t created for revenge. It was created with the intention of building a world so unrealistically good, that the level of the vision Richard Grayson was aiming for and set the standards for- is so terrifyingly inconceivable.

And that-is why he is a happy, feral, monster.

#robin was so much more than the result of an angry child #he set the standards so high he scared bruce for what he aiming #bruce didn’t enable him-he leashed him #dick grayson #nightwing #bruce wayne #batman #joker #tim drake #red robin #damian wayne #robin #jason todd #red hood #robin dick grayson #batfamily #dc universe

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batfamhyperfixation · 1 year

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*At a Batfamily meeting*

Tim: As the only one in a committed relationship- Selina doesn't count after your whole wedding drama- I really feel-

Jason: what do you mean 'thE OnLY oNe', you aren't the only one

Tim: oh yeah, who else is in a serious committed relationship?

Jason: Me? I've literally been married for years?

Bruce: EXCUSE ME???

Dick: who to?

Jason: Roy

Dick: EXCUSE ME??? EWWW YOU AND ROY, GET THIS IMAGE OUT OF MY HEAD, MY FRIEND AND MY LITTLE BROTHER GROSSS

Jason: Wait, did none of you know? I literally call him my partner all the time

Tim: To be honest we thought you meant partner in crime, not marriage

Jason: I mean, both but still...

*Later, during the ✨vigilante hours✨ of the night*

Bruce: I hear you are married to my son

Roy, panicking cause Bruce is really protective of his kids: Oh, shit, um, yes- yes sir

Bruce: without my blessing

Roy: uh, yeah, we were on a time crunch, married couples can't testify against each other

Bruce: without inviting me to the wedding

Roy: I uh- you were gone that weekend, business trip

Bruce: I haVE A PRIVATE JET, I WOULD HAVE FLOWN IN! IT WAS MY SONS WEDDING, I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE BEEN THERE

Roy: I'm sorry, sir

Bruce: tell me one more thing

Bruce: was Ollie there?

Roy: No

Bruce: Does Ollie know

Roy: No

Bruce: your recompense is to allow me to be the one to tell him so I can brag to him that I knew first

Roy: uh, sure?

#bruce tells ollie #who has the same freakout and interrogation except against Jason #and both men force the two to have a vows renewal so they can all be there #but both men just use it as an excuse to one up each other #roy and jason are just like i mean free stuff #and tim is just sitting in the corner with bernard all angry cause he wanted to be the first wedding within the family #and he coulda been if he just shut his mouth and let Jason be happily married at the courthouse without a wedding involved #jayroy #jason todd #roy harper #red hood #red hood and the outlaws #jason todd and the outlaws #tim drake #dick grayson #bruce wayne #incorrect batfamily quotes #bat family #batfam #batkids #the outlaws #dc outlaws #the only person who knew was alfred #he was their witness and he was the first person Jason told #and lian obviously #and kory was there but she couldnt be a witness cause she is an alien

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ghost-bxrd · 6 months

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Prompt

Tim is a genius, so it’s really no surprise that he’s got the number of each batfamily member saved in his phone long before he becomes Robin.

But then Jason dies (and comes back to life) and Tim is struggling to keep Bruce alive and Dick from spiraling.

To cope with the stress of having the lives of Gotham’s two most important vigilantes depend on him he starts leaving Jason voicemails and text messages on his old number detailing progress and setbacks, fears and hopes, and the dream of finally finding somewhere he belongs. Along with the crushing realization that Tim’s own hero — Jason— is long dead.

Unbeknownst to Tim, Jason listens to and reads every single one of the messages.

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pinkcowzz · 2 months

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dick had bruce as a partner. there was a mentorship there yes, but at the end of the day dick & bruce were a team.

jason had bruce as a father. bruce took him and made the extra effort. he actually adopted jay and stayed home when jason was sick.

tim had bruce as a liability.

tim went to bruce- bruce never found him. i just really love the idea that because of the difference in dynamic, tim is one of the few people who can shame bruce into compliance so easily.

dick and bruce will get into shouting matches that neither one of them walk away from being satisfied, bruce is an unmovable object and dick is an unstoppable force. when they meet, its not pretty and there is almost always collateral damage.

jason and bruce are like setting off two firecrackers next to each other when they fight. it's loud, it's bright, but it burns off fast. the anger and righteous fury is there one moment but then gone the next.

tim and bruce fight differently, because a lot of the time, tim understands where bruce is coming from. he saw bruce start on his path to self destruction and managed to get him to switch tracks. bruce was never the same after jason's death (what parent is after seeing their child die) but batman was able to correct himself. after stepping into the role of robin, tim understood. he too lost so many people he cared about because of the weight of the cape he wore.

and i think the first time that damian and bruce go head to head, dick may be the one who comforts damian and assures him of his place in the family, but tim is the one who goes to bruce. it's the first time bruce has ever seen tim this angry. tim is seething with a fury that would put the devil himself to shame. he is so angry that he is shaking and bruce can the restraint that tim is using to keep the discussion from becoming physical. tim tells bruce, or rather lectures him, in all the ways that he has fucked up with dick ('kicking him out, never officially adopting him, forcing him to go through with the spyral mission- you treat him as your partner when its convenient but the moment it's not he is your soldier again. its unfair bruce. he's more of a man, more of a father than you have ever been'), with jason ('do i even need to say it? actually, let me address it. you cannot see the forest past the trees. jason isn't who he was before he died. he never will be. same as you. he lost a lot more than his life when the joker blew him up. he lost his innocence, he lost his faith in you. i'm starting to think he may have been right') and with himself ('i love you bruce. i have always cared so deeply about you and your mission. it's why i came to dick in the first place. but this isn't about me.').

and bruce remembers why his relationship with tim is so different. tim trained overseas, tim got to patrol on his own as robin so much sooner than his other boys did. tim was largely unsupervised during his run with the young justice. tim had made up an entire fake uncle to keep his indepence. tim would never argue with bruce about himself in this way, but he would argue about- ('this is about damian. and i swear to god bruce. if you can't pull that stick out of your ass and find a way to apologize to damian that leaves him feeling properly taken care of. superman himself wouldn't be enough to save you from my wrath.')

and it's only later, after bruce does apologize to damian in a way that leaves dick speechless. when barbra happened upon the cave's security footage that she shares with dick who shares with steph who shares with jason that his family figures out just how fitting of a last name that drake is for tim.

#guilt tripper tim drake #tim drake #dick grayson #bruce wayne #jason todd #batfamily #batman #dc comics #robin #red robin #damian wayne #damian is tims little brother #as god as my witness he would do anything for that boy #manipulative tim drake #angry tim drake

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greenapplebling · 2 years

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Jason, doing a presentation: You heard about daddy issues and mommy issues, now I present to you *shows a picture of Dick* big sister issues

Dick: What-

Tim: Say no more, I'm convinced

Steph: *nods*

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butwhyduh · 4 months

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I love how everyone thinks Jason is the dark angry robin when he’s just trying to read a good book without having criminals in Gotham.

Dick on the other hand? His hands are rated E for everyone. He purposefully finds fights. He rows with Bruce at a drop of the hat. Everyone in Gotham is terrified of batman but 16 year old Robin Dick Grayson just told him to go fuck himself.

Tim is a cold anger like ice. He’ll slowly make a plan to destroy your life. If you act better he might abort the plan altogether before you even know it exists. Jason and Damian are fire, burning quickly and can spread but often go out just quick as they started.

Dick is like lava. He rages hot enough to melt metal and can simmer for ages before exploding seemingly at random. He can light fires under others too causing flames to rise. The line between justice and vengeance is small and he toes it often.

#jason todd #dick grayson #tim drake #damian wayne #Robin #nightwing #red hood #red robin #angry robin #batman #batboys

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im-totally-not-an-alien-2 · 1 year

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Damian enrages a ghost from the GZ after they said there's no one who works harder than them to keep thier city safe. The ghost decides to switch the bats of Gotham with Danny Phantom so now the bats are stuck In Amity Park protecting the place and Danny is stuck protecting Gotham as Phantom.

The bats are playing thier cards close to thier chests cause all of these heros showing up the same time as thier civilian counterparts is going to be super suspicious so they gotta be clever.

Danny in the meantime is kinda freaking out but the ghost had at least told them what was going on before booting everyone out of thier respective dimensions. Luckly for Danny Nightwing is officially Bludhavens hero not Gothams and he and "Agent A" help him learn the ropes properly. Danny is glad to finally have a mentor despite the situation. Nightwing seems thrown when Phantom mentions it and starts asking a lot of questions about both his home life and his hero career back in his home world.

Needless to say neither he nor Alfred are pleased and don't want him to go back. Danny doesn't really wanna go back either but what else could he do?

Turns out he didn't need to cause one bat is scary enough, but nearly the whole flock? Disaster. Especially for Vlad, the GIW and the Fentons.

#dp x dc #fanfiction prompts #prompts #danny fenton #danny phantom #batman #batfam #nightwing #dick grayson #mentor dick grayson #mentee danny #the fenton parents think the bats are ghosts or ghostish especially after a successful shot at Red Hood and RH being affected by thier tech #Jason is more angry than scared #the bats are vicious about this #everyone is using aliases

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spacedace · 1 month

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Got inspired by the below tiktok and the idea of the Rogues killing the Joker in revenge for Jason instead of Bruce and had to write about it.

Here, have probably way too many words (with more to come most likely, this really won't leave me alone) of the Rogue's feelings about Jason's death at the Joker's hands and everything that followed.

(also I know the timeline is a bit screwy, shhh just go with it, we're going on vibes with this one lol)

Childhood was not held universally sacred in the dark streets of Gotham.

The city was hard and cruel and she didn’t care about the ages of those that were ground up and spit out in her oily black heart.

A kid could slit your throat as easy as a man grown in a place like their fine city, maybe easier even for those who still fell for the ideal of children being incapable of anything but innocence and sweetness. Children learned from the world around them though, they learned from the savagery that filled their world, the hard scrabble desperate attempts to survive. They learned what dark corners to avoid, which ones were safer to skitter down.

It didn’t mean there weren’t still some rules of decency to be honored though.

Most folks, even those in the circle of the Rogues, largely left kids out of the equation. Crossfire happened of course, hitting busy city centers always meant some kind of collateral. But there wasn’t much that they got out of purposefully hurting kids outside a black mark on their name in most levels of the grungy underbelly of the city and one hell of a big target on their back. Both from the Bat and those criminals in the dark with them that took offense to those kinds of things. They were crooks, but with few exceptions they weren’t complete monsters.

Robin had always held an interesting place in their grungy little ecosystem. Anything to do with the Bat was generally ruled as gloves-off, do what you do without hesitation. And Robin - both of ‘em - had no problem hitting hard and being ruthless. The first one in particular had a feral sort of rage to him that was a terrifying thing to be on the business end of.

But they were still kids.

Defending yourself from any kid swinging on you was fair game, a person had the right to defend themselves. Grabbing up Robin to hold hostage or bait Gotham’s local cryptid, that was all fine and dandy. You could even get away with roughing the kid up a little here and there, so long as you made sure not to go too far and always kept hits to where the kid’s armor was the thickest. No hard and fast written rules, mind, but general rules of thumbs. Lines indistinct due to the shaky ground a child dancing through the night as a vigilante left all of them on, but ones clear enough that you knew when you were at risk of going too far.

Besides, the Robins were good kids. Fucking feral little shits, of course, able to leave you bleeding just as easy from a kick as they were a sharp word. But good kids. Even most the Rogues in the Gallery liked em. It was hard not to be at least a little fond of a gutsy little punk like that.

Though they were all maybe a tad less nervous around Robin II than they were the original.

Robin I had a lot of anger burning in him, a lot of anger in him, but he was still a cheerful boy with a bright attitude that was refreshing in a world so bleak and dark as the one they all lived in. It was up in the air which was scarier about the kid: The smiled he gave when he was about to give a hands on demonstration about how much force a tiny ten year old could put into a kick when they had half a dozen spins shoved into a flip to wind up to 80 miles an hour, or the flash of his teeth when he was demonstrating the knife sharp brilliance of his belief that Batman was only as frightening as Robin was hopeful.

They weren’t sure if he realized that sometimes they felt a helluva lot more hope at the sight of the Bat when the little bird was putting the hurt on them, or if he’d simply folded that fact neatly into his core philosophy without issue.

Robin II on the other hand had this kind of quiet shyness to him - even as he was shouting the most inventive swears ever heard by human ear at someone while he kicked them in the balls hard enough to make ‘em see not just the face of their own god but a few dozen besides. He was just as unhinged as the Robin before him - seemed to be a requirement for the job really - but there was a distinct different in how the two birds flitted about the darkened skyline of the city. Where the first Robin’s smile was as much danger as it was dazzle, a fanged declaration of victory against the dark, Robin II’s was a sunny, stubborn declaration of perseverance. Kid was sassy and smart, and never - ever - flinched away from extending a hand to those he thought in need of it.

Even if the folks he offered that hand to were in the middle of an attack on some fancy Gala or Wayne Enterprises or whatever target of the week it was. Even knowing the offered hand was likely to be slapped away and followed by a right hook. Kid still always tried.

They all knew why.

The Bat was big on offering chances, on rehabilitation rather than damnation. Some of Robin II being the way he was came from the broody cryptid he followed around. But Batman couldn’t claim to be the sole reason for Robin II being the way he was, couldn’t even pretend to be the cause of most of it. Nah, they knew why the little bird was the way he was.

That unmistakable thick accent. That frame that was always a little too thin even as he got older and stronger. That unshakable, headstrong spirit.

Robin II was an Alley Kid.

A true child of Gotham.

Her polluted waters in his veins. Her smoggy air in his lungs. Her shadows clinging to his edges less like a beast looking to swallow a small bird up and more like a protective mother hiding her hatchling. He understood the world most of them came from. The one they all lived in. Knew it in a way anyone who hadn’t been swallowed up by the dark never really could.

Everyone had their favorite, but even those that claimed the first Robin as theirs couldn’t deny that Robin II was someone to be respected. Nor could they deny a fondness for the chain smoking, classic lit referencing, perpetually baby-faced little shit. They’d all had knock out drag out fights with the kid and knew how fucking unhinged the puny motherfucker could be in a fight, but he always tempered it with offers of resources, of a listening ear, of understanding.

He visited them after they’d been arrested sometimes. In Arkham, or Blackgate or wherever else they’d been locked up in after being stopped by the Dynamic Duo. The little bird would make the rounds whenever he had a broken wing or was stuck waiting as the Bat interrogated someone else or for any other reason he wasn’t out flitting about the city skyline at night. He’d bring cookies or snacks and even cigarettes from his own secret stash on the rare occasion, mask unable to hide the furtive glances around to check for the living shadow that was the disapproving Bat.

The Rogues and their Goons always had a soft spot for the Robins. And Robin II made it especially easy to let fondness bleed out of them from time to time. He was a good kid.

But childhood was not held universally sacred in the dark streets of Gotham.

Bad things happened to good kids all the time.

And some of the monsters that lurked in the city’s darkest shadows took the black mark of a kid killer as a point of pride.

Robin II disappeared one day. Just after that piece of shit Garzonas took the fast way down from the top of a tall building. There were a lot of Rogues with doctoral degrees to their names but even those Goons that dropped out of school before they learned to spell their own names could do that math.

The big bad Bat had benched the boy after the fierce little bird had done what any decent member of the criminal underbelly would have. There were those that thought maybe it’d been an accident, that the kid was pulled off duty because of being too upset at unintentionally crossing the heavy line the Bat drew in the sand. Those voices were drowned out pretty quick though.

Sure, Robin II was all about second chances, of doing better, of redemption. But Garzonas had chances to spare and only ever spat in the face of those offering them. Doubled down on being a monster in a way very, very few of the Rogues Gallery would. The kid was a sweetheart, but he wasn’t no push over and there were some things so heinous that there was only one way of handling them. Crime Alley had its own kind of justice system, and when faced with a monster that was beyond even Batman’s jurisdiction, Robin II did what he always did: fell back on his roots.

Or so the rumors said, at least.

That was the thing about Gotham’s seedy underbelly. It was a grimy, wretched nest of vipers and cut-throats, but it was also worse than any beauty parlor when it came to gossip. No one actually knew anything other than that piece of shit motherfucker took a dive while Robin was chasing him and that he’d not been seen on the streets since. But most had a fondness for the kid, and a distaste for the kind of cruelty Garzonas reveled in and there was no proof that Robin hadn’t gone and done the world a favor by drop kicking that barbaric sack of shit off a roof. So as far as most in the Gallery were concerned, the little bird had stepped up and been a hero.

Time passed. Not a lot. But enough. The Bat disappeared too, popping up on an entire other continent in a way that was awfully tempting. Even with other Masks playing baby sitter while the local cryptid was away. Rogues were scrambling to set plans in motion, Goons getting hired en masse, weapons and weird chemicals getting delivered to shady places across Gotham by the truck-full. The criminal underbelly was abuzz with the same excited energy of children the day before a big birthday party.

And then the news came in.

There were people in the dark who made their living finding things out. Knowing things that no one else did or could. Some even specialized, keeping tabs on Batman and Robin better than anyone else in the business were able. And when the information they found wasn’t anything handy to have tucked into a back pocket or a secret they were paid extremely well to keep? They held on to with the same tenacity a sieve clung to water.

Robin II had run off across the globe and ended up in Ethiopia. Something to do with a doctor doing aid work, the same something that had the Bat end up there was the assumption. Kid ran off to handle things himself or was sent on a separate path on purpose for some plan or other the Bat had cooked up on his hunt.

Whatever the reason, the kid crossed paths with the Clown.

Alone.

Childhood was not held universally sacred in the dark streets of Gotham. The city was hard and cruel and she didn’t care about the ages of those that were ground up and spit out in her oily black heart. But Robin II was hers, the child of her heart, an exception to the rule. And besides, most folks - even those in the Rogues Gallery - largely left the purposeful harm of kids out of the equation.

The Joker wasn’t most folks.

And the little bird was a long way away from the protective shadows of his mother city.

The Rogues and their Goons always had a soft spot for the Robins. And Robin II made it especially easy to let fondness bleed out of them from time to time. He was a good kid.

When the news broke, it broke most of them right along with it.

Plans stalled. Schemes ended. Gotham, for an unnervingly quiet stretch of time that neither its civilians or the world at large understood, went still. Crime continued, of course, but the big names weren’t seen. It was only right, by the standards of those that lived their lives in the dark, that they hold off and give the man that fought them all so relentlessly over the past years the time he needed to focus on hunting down the monster that killed his son. He didn’t need the distraction, and they all owed it to Robin II not to interfere while the Bat at last put a final end to the Clown.

And the hellish cryptid would need his full focus on this one. The Joker wasn’t one to take lightly at the best of times, but he’d set himself up neatly in the middle of a nasty bear trap. Ugly and complicated in the way everything with the Clown was. Interference from the CIA, from the UN, from Superman.

Shit went down. People heard about the Bat and the Clown throwing down in a helicopter plummeting from the sky in one hell of a water landing. Big Blue fished Batman out of the drink before he could drown but there’d been no sign of the Joker.

But the Bat would find him.

They all knew the relentless bastard would find him. It was just a matter of time. With the hellish drive of a demon straight from Gotham’s darkest shadows, the Bat would track the grinning, child killing ghoul down and make right the terrible wrong the evil motherfucker had done. Batman would hunt him to the ends of the earth and enact the justice he held up so fiercely. Robin II would have the vengeance the kid so rightly deserved.

It was just a matter of time. So they waited. And waited.

Days.

Weeks.

Months.

The Clown still lived.

The world, impossibly, began to move on. The Bat returned to his lurking in the night, picking off gangs and petty crooks and no-name gangsters as if nothing had happened at all. More vicious, more savage, but failing to turn that rise in brutality into the killing blow against the one figure that so rightly deserved it.

No one knew what was happening. There were rumors and theories, as there always were in the underground. Some thought that it wasn’t the Bat at all back in Gotham but someone else pretending for awhile, looking after his neglected city while he continued his pursuit of the Joker. Other held that it was the Bat but the whole thing was a ploy to draw the Clown out into the open. A pretense at not caring meant to get under the Clown’s skin, make the asshole mad enough to get stupid and sloppy and reveal himself.

That the man simply had given up was beyond comprehension. Beyond what any upstanding Rogue could accept. So it simply couldn’t be true. There was a trick being played. Some brilliant game of 4D chess that none of them had been able to parse out. It’d be revealed in time, and they see the brilliant trap that had been set. The Clown would be lured out, the Bat would put him down for good, and then they’d all at last raise a glass to the little bird that had been shot down far too soon and smoke shitty cigarettes and quote literary masters and mourn the loss one of Gotham’s own true children.

They just had to play along. Stumbling forward back into their usual habits, pretending that it was a choice and not the world just forcibly dragging them along. It’d make sense, eventually. The Bat had a plan. Robin II wasn’t forgotten, his killer not left free to roam and ravage unpunished for what he’d done.

And then one day there was a new bird flitting across the rooftops.

Chasing the Bat’s looming frame like a reverse shadow. Bright flashes of color in contrast to the bleak darkness of Gotham’s grimy nights. Small and thin and young.

Not the first Robin. With his showman bright grin and bloody rage and unwavering belief in the terrifying power of hope. Not the brilliant, vicious little boy that they’d seen grow over the years into the fierce and fearless Nightwing.

Not Robin II either.

Not Gotham’s soft hearted little bruiser with his unshakable belief that people could be better if given the chance, shinning so bright in the dark as he held out a hand that even the Rogues had no choice but to believe right along with him sometimes. Not the tough little songbird they’d never get to see grow up. Unavenged and unhonored. Put in a box and buried in the ground with a name none of them would ever know carved into a stone they’d never be able to visit.

No.

It was a new Robin.

A new child with the R emblazoned upon his chest.

Sharp and quick and young in the way the birds always were when they started flying at the Bat’s side. Every inch of the boy’s tiny frame a tragedy and an insult. One very, very few of Gotham’s vicious underbelly were willing to tolerate.

Childhood was not held universally sacred in the dark streets of Gotham, but there was a damn big difference between holding something sacred and not giving a damn about it at all. There were rules unspoken but understood, a way things were done. Nothing so solid or concrete as a code of conduct, more a collection of time honored traditions. Blood for blood was among the oldest and truest, and the more precious the person taken the more vital and vicious payment was to be made in kind.

The Clown had killed Robin II.

Beaten the kid half to death and then finished the job with a bomb.

Everyone knew he’d done it laughing all the way.

The Bat should have done the same in kind. Done worse. It was justice, it was what was right. You kill a kid you’re marked forever. You kill one so well liked and kill ‘em like that and you’re destined for a cruel and cold death. The Bat had first dibs. It was his kid. It was his right to put an end to that awful laughter and let his son have peace at last.

But he never did.

Nightwing had. For a bit. For a moment.

Robin I, who half the time had scared them all more than the Bat ever could. Dazzling and dizzying and dangerous. Gave back the pain and hurt the Clown had forced upon him with clenched fists and bone shattering hits. They were glad for him, that he was able to beat the monster who had taken his little brother from him to death, that he was able to have such justice.

And then the Bat stepped in.

Revived the fucking Clown.

A slap in the face. The snapping crack of a spine beneath one straw too many. The final, unforgivable insult the man had dared visit upon not just the child taken from him but the entirety of Gotham.

The Rogues and their Goons always had a soft spot for the Robins. Respected their ferocity, admired their moxie, marveled at their ability to keep shining in the dark like they did. Robin II made it especially easy to let fondness bleed out of the city’s dirty criminal underbelly from time to time.

He was a good kid.

He deserved better.

Better than the silence and peace he should be granted in death to be marred by the mad cackles of his killer still running around alive and unpunished. Better than his father giving up, returning to the same old routine as if nothing had happened at all. Better than the Bat snatching up a new bird less than a year later.

Gotham and her Rogues had given the Bat time enough to do what needed to be done.

It was their turn.