NOTE: Although this features only one real character, I consider it an all out Batman story, and I hope ya enjoy! I've also been feeling REALLY lazy… Should I write a part duex?


The Back-Up Errand Boy
By: Carmen Wayne

Dedicated to: Rebecca! You'll appreciate this one. I promise!


"I'm going out!"
"No you're not!"
"Why not?!"
"You haven't cleaned your room!"
"…Yeah I have! Ask her!"
"She has a name!"
"Come on, let me go out, PLEASE!"
"Give me a reason why."
"Because ever since you lost the chair, I've been stuck in this stupid place for days on end! Between your health, the company and school, I've had no time for a life of my own!"
Shifting his book bag, the black haired boy stared at his elder with his cold blue eyes. The man before him wondered where he learned to glare like that, but it was slowly making him uneasy. He sighed and nodded.
"All right, but no longer than midnight."
"Thanks Dad! You're the best!" Timothy Drake smiled, running out the door.
Jack Drake glanced back at his maid, who shrugged.
"He reminds me of you, Sir," she said.

Tim jumped into his red sports car and tossed the bag to the side. He cranked everything on and sped down the driveway. Meanwhile, he pushed a button to phone the Batcave nearby.
"Good afternoon, Master Timothy," the crisp British accent came through.
"Alfred! I'm stopping by to pick up a few things from the cave, just so you don't freak out when you discover things are missing. Then I'm heading out to run some errands."
"Errands, Sir?"
"Yeah. Dick decided to bestow some oh-so-grand requests from Barbara to ME, so I have to be prepared for anything."
A soft chuckle came through the intercom.
"I shall have fifty dollars awaiting your arrival on the Batcomputer, Sir."
"Alfred!" Tim laughed. "That's really not necessary! I do have my own money. Besides… Dick has to compensate me for anything I lose tonight. Including body parts. I lose a head, I get his."
"Very good, Sir," Alfred said, his tone a humored one. "I shant be at the Manor upon your arrival. I have to escort Master Bruce to the airport."
"Gotcha! Bye!"

Tim bounded through the empty Wayne Manor and entered the study. Uneasily, he stared at the picture of Thomas and Martha Wayne, and then made his way into the cave. He passed the Batcomputer, just to see five twenty dollar bills laying there.
'Alllfreeeedddd!' he moaned in his mind. He walked over and took them. 'I probably WILL need it, though. It's not like what Barbara needs is a candy bar or something…'
He pocketed the money and walked to start supplying what he needed. A letter was in with the numerous Batbombs. He slowly picked it up and unfolded it.

""Boy Blunder,
It's Nightwing. Look, sorry to tell you so late, but I need you to go to check up on someone for me, you know? The address is Main Street, Lower Gotham. Apartment 5F. Just go check up. Ask the parents how things are going. Thanks.""

Tim blinked and looked around as if it was some kind of joke. That was the forth thing to add to his "to do" list. He had to help Commissioner Gordon catch a criminal they had pinned in a abandoned hotel for Nightwing, get Oracle a computer disc that held important chemical formulas, pick her up a new communication headset, and now check up on some unknown people for Nightwing, among doing rounds for him because Batman was going to be out of town.
'You people owe me so much,' he thought angrily, continuing his work.
When he first started this job as Robin, he would have gladly done anything they asked. Now he knew that they were just getting lazy on each other.
"We're so talking after this," he mumbled.

Commissioner Jim Gordon thumbed at the radio in his car as he stared up at the hotel. He was mentally debating whether to send the Batsignal up, or to wait. One of the vigilantes were supposed to help get the hostages out safely. He ordered everyone to not make any moves, just to hold their positions.
He looked at the radio in his hand and frowned. Just as he pressed down to give the call, he heard squealing tires behind him. People turned as Robin leapt out of the Red Bird. Gordon got out and walked to him.
"Thank God. He's threatening to kill the hostages!"
Robin's jaw dropped.
"He got hostages?!"
"He's… had the hostages. Didn't Batman or Nightwing tell you?"
"No," Robin said, grinding his teeth. "I haven't seen either of them to be debriefed…"
'Oooooh, Dicky-boy. You set me up GOOD. You knew I wouldn't want to do this alone. You're smart… But I can beat you at your own game…'
Gordon rambled out the plan to Robin, who nodded and quickly sorted out the seemingly messy ideas into plausible actions. After Gordon was done, Robin nodded his thanks and pulled his grappling gun. He fired it up to the top of the hotel. It pulled him up quickly; meanwhile he reached behind him and pulled his folded bo-staff.
He crawled over the ledge of the roof and placed the gun on his belt. He took off running to the sky roof Gordon told him about. He gazed down through the dirty windows, seeing the galley that the man was in. Tapping the side of his mask, the vision zoomed up more.
"Children…?" he whispered.
The man had two children tied together, with wires that held them so tightly, they were bleeding from their struggling. The man was a psycho-looking one. His clothes… were not exactly the sanest. In one hand, he held a pistol, the other a small contraption. Robin immediately knew what it was and ran back to the edge. Cops nearly opened fire and Robin backed off. They stopped, seeing who it was. Robin took in a deep breath and approached the ledge once more.
Slowly, Robin made a few gestures to them. It was a sort of code that the task forces and bomb squads had developed for long range, silent communication. He had made it a point to learn it for purposes such as this. They immediately understood and started backing off the barricade, and radioing for fire engines.
Robin walked back to the window. He pulled a rope with a clasp as he tossed the still folded staff near the edge of the sky-roof. He attached the clasp onto the strong supporting beam of the window as he picked up the staff. Snapping it out to full length and taking in a deep breath, he leapt into the glass.
Not shattering like he first intended, he slid back to the roof and frowned. Realizing he didn't have the body weight like his older partners, he decided momentum would be a better choice. It's not like he did this before personally…
He took a few steps back and ran, leaping into the glass. He hit it, but it didn't break yet again and this time the "momentum" knocked him back, to the ground, and the so-called steady clasp snapped and flew, slamming into his head. He fell back onto his back, the staff rolling out of his hand. Trying to control his frustration, he stared up at the night sky.
"I ditched Stephanie for THIS," he moaned.
He stood and decided to try a full out run and lunge into the glass. Upon doing it, he involuntarily did a back-flip from the leg slam and landed on his butt hard. He was personally going to thank God that no one could see this after he was through.
Robin picked up his bo-staff and paced towards the window. Narrowing his eyes, he stepped onto it the best he could. He held the staff vertically and began test tapping the glass, testing for a weak spot.
'If initial strength fails… Use brains…' he thought. He found the weak spot and slammed the staff down, the glass shattering. 'Oh, I'm so good! …Wait…'
Not having a rope to grab, when the glass exploded, he was practically sucked in and he started a descent down. He grabbed the forth floor railing somehow and nearly dislocated his arms, then the railing snapped and he fell into a third floor balcony.
"Ooooh…" he moaned, slowly sitting up. A last part of the railing slammed into his head. "Ow!"
His attention was soon drawn to the bullet that ripped past him.
"I TOLD YOU COPPERS NOT TO TRY ANYTHING!!!" the man screamed.
"I'm not the cops!" Robin called back, moving quickly.
"Show yourself!"
Robin slowly stood and raised his hands into the air. The bo-staff was collapsed once more and attached to his back.
"See? Just a masked teenager!"
"Oh," the man said, uncocking the gun.
"It's Robin!" the older of the two children exclaimed.
"I know--Waitaminute!!" the man yelled, cocking and aiming the gun once more. "Robin as in the Batman's BRAT?!"
'Oh… Hell…' Robin thought.
A bullet whizzed past his ear and he moved to the side. Doing a cartwheel, he sprung off the balcony and dropped all the way down to the marble main floor. The floor slightly jarred his legs, but he painfully ran towards the man. His staff was snapped out once more and he leapt in close enough to slam the gun away.
"'Oh, stop whining, Robin!' he said," Robin mumbled as he dodged kicks and fists. "'Just a simple criminal stopping, Robin. Nothing to be concerned about!' he said. When asked about all the risks, he tells me, 'Just don't worry and stop whining, Robin! It'll be all fine!' YEAH---RIGHT!"
On the last word, he tripped the man with his foot. He went for the children when he heard a click. Slowly, he turned back to the man to see he pushed the detonator button in his hand.
"You forgot something, Bird-boy," the man grinned.
Robin's eyes widened.
"Oh fu---"
Fire cut through the floor around them. Robin turned his attentions to the children. He cut them loose, and picked them both up around the waists (the oldest couldn't have been more than 5 years, and the youngest 4 years). He ran for the doors quickly, trampling the man as he went.
He bolted out the doors as they just caught on the explosion and ran for the police. Leaping over a barricade, he crashed onto his knees on the hood of a patrol car. All that he could do was give the children to a cop that was on the ground before the major part of the explosion caught him. He slammed forward into the windshield, his face plastering on it. Heat and rubble fell onto him hard and intensively. Then, a pair of arms wrapped around him and pulled him off the hood, onto the street.
"Commissioner?" Robin asked, shocked that Gordon helped him.
"You get his face, son?" Gordon asked.
"Sir, with all due respect, the man was wearing a tutu and half of a top-hat. His face was the least of my concerns… But whoever he is…" Robin sat up and stared at the burning building. "I don't think he got out of there alive."

After shaking hands with the Commissioner, Robin leapt into his car and sped away from the clearing scene. Gripping the wheel tightly, his anger was escalating again.
"Well… At least I got one thing off the list…" He reached over to a compartment to pull his water bottle, but lying on top of it was a folded letter. "If it's from Nightwing, I'm going to hurt someone," he mumbled as he opened it and drove at the same time.
A fifty dollar bill landed on his lap. He frowned and pulled inside an alley so he could read the letter.
""Robin, it's Oracle. Sorry to bother you, but I can't get out to go shopping. Here's a list of stuff, and money. If it goes over that price, I'll pay you back..""
Robin hit his steering wheel hard.
"They don't pay me nearly ENOUGH for this!" he exclaimed. "What does she have here… Bread, rice, milk… Tampons for her friend who's visiting…" He looked upwards to the heavens at that one. "Why me?"
He continued to read. After he was done, he tossed it to the passenger seat and put away the money. He pulled another sheet of paper and a pen.
""TO DO LIST:
Help Gordon +
Oracle's disc
"………headset
Check on ppl. For Nightwing
Do rounds
Shop for Oracle""

After he was done, he tucked it away and pulled out of the alley. For nearly thirty minutes he drove in complete silence. When he got to the large, East Side Club, he pulled in another alley across the street. He crawled out slowly and started quietly for the club. A hand gripped his arm from behind. He swung around and went to punch the person from shock, but froze.
"Arrowette?!" he whispered.
"Hey, Boy Wonder!" Arrowette smiled.
Robin looked around, confused.
"Where'd you come from?"
"What happened to you?" she asked.
She pointed to the bruises on his head. She went to feel how bad it was, but Robin cried out at her touch and gripped her hand firmly.
"Cissie! I'm busy, here! Why are you here? HOW did you get here?"
"Kon dropped me off! I wanted to see if you needed any help!"
Robin walked to the end of the alley and peered around.
"No, I have everything under control, thank you," he replied coldly. He heard her begin to walk away in a sad scuffle and realized his words must've stung. He turned back. "Cissie, wait."
She slowly turned back.
"Yeah?"
"I… I could use your help. There's a man inside that has a very important disc. I need to be able to coax him out of the club into an alley and… "convince" him to hand it over."
She smirked and pulled off her mask.
"You have a jacket?"
"Of course!" he smirked.
He went to his car to grab his jacket. Meanwhile, she took off her quiver and bow.
"So, why exactly do you have to get this disc?"
"Because my friend Oracle needs it, and the Titan leader BAILED on her and dumped the job on me… Along with, like, five million other things."
"That doesn't sound like Nightwing to me!"
Robin walked to her and handed her the jacket as he took her equipment.
"Ooooh, you don't know Nightwing like *I* know Nightwing… He's trying to make me "loosen up" and to stop "whining" about things."
Cissie Jones hummed thoughtfully as she put the jacket on to cover her costume. Robin put the quiver strap around his arm and held her bow carefully. She stared at him a moment and smirked.
"Well… You DO whine."
"I do not!"
"You so do. What's this guy look like?"
"I so do not. Here's a picture."
He handed her the picture.
"Do so… Good Lord, he's ugly."
"Do not… I know. Hard not too miss that face…… You don't have to do this."
"I'll just close my eyes during the lap dance," she commented, taking off running.
Robin slapped his forehead.
"Cissie!" he hissed angrily. "Not at THAT cost!"
She ignored him and continued on her way. He shook his head and ran across the street for the alley near it. He walked to the back door there and opened it slowly, peeking around the club. As Cissie snuck in, he waved for her attention. She gave a slow nod and went to work. He closed the door and sighed.
'I so do not whine!' he thought.

Nearly twenty minutes had passed, and still no sign of Cissie. Robin was starting to get worried and decided to move in. He went towards the door to go in, but suddenly it opened and he leapt back into the shadows so quickly, he slammed into the wall accidentally. Cissie skipped out, followed by the man, who obviously had one too many drinks.
"I told you, I don't swing that way!" Cissie said, obviously annoyed.
"Oh, come on! She's as gorgeous as yooouuu!"
"No, you freaky jack-off!!"
"Why I oughta…"
The man went to slap her, but Robin slammed into him from the side and into the building side. Robin held him there by the neck.
"Robert Rodina…" he sneered darkly. "I thought we've discussed this!"
"I wasn't gunna pay her!"
"Do you realize she's a minor?"
"So?"
Cissie cringed as a huge crash followed. Rodina was flat on the ground, surrounded by trash.
"Give me the disc, Rodina." He tossed Cissie her stuff and pulled his bo-staff, staring at Rodina. Cissie loaded her bow and aimed at Rodina, incase he tried something. "You see that?" Robin asked. "Now you have two reasons to hand it over."
"Like I give a--"
Robin slammed a fist into his face and knocked him out cold. Cissie's mouth was wide at the brutality. Robin began to search Rodina's person as she coughed.
"Hey, uh, Robin?" No response. "If you're angry about the whining thing, I was just joking around--"
"Got it!" he said. He sprung to his feet, holding a purple disc. "At least, it better be it…"
He took off running for his car. Cissie quickly stripped off his jacket and replaced her mask. Taking in the smell of his cologne on the jacket, she smiled and ran after.
"Robin! Will you listen?" she asked.
Robin leapt into the car and pulled a small laptop. He slid the disc in and began to type quickly. When Arrowette got there, she watched attentively. Robin grinned widely and laughed almost demonically.
"That was too easy. Then again, the night's young!" he said, winking at her.
"Robin, come on--"
He cleared the passenger seat for her and started the car.
"Get in. We have to go check on some people for Nightwing."
She quickly obeyed, laying the bow between her legs so it wouldn't hit him.
"And then what?"
"And then we go shopping, and I need you for that too."
He slammed on the gas and started off at a nearly destructive pace. She quickly put the seat belt on and gripped the door. Whenever he was driving the Super-cycle, he was such a safe driving. Now, she had to cling for dear life because of him swerving through traffic and making two-wheel turns.
"Robin… Will you hear me out?"
"You got the time?" he avaded.
"…six fifteen."
Robin didn't even thank her. His driving turned somewhat normal as they came onto the Gotham Bridge. Keeping one hand on the wheel, Robin pulled his "To Do" list.
""Help Gordon +
Oracle's disc +
"……… headset (2)
Check on ppl. For Nightwing (1)
Do rounds (5)
Shop for Oracle (3)
Get rid of Arrowette (4)""
He put it away slowly and continued driving.
"Robin, I swear I will straddle you and claw off your Kevlar and make you do things you couldn't even dream of unless you listen to me!" Arrowette blurted out.
Robin shot her a glance of surprise at the brashness of her words.
"Okay, okay! Talk to me. What's up?"
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Hold in your anger so well? I know you're angry with Nightwing and me for the whining bit… But you contain it so well!"
"I'm not angry, Cissie. I'm just fed up with this. I'm not like the other Robins, okay? Both of them met very bad ends because of their jokes and carelessness. It may seem I'm whiney to you both because you have either friends as partners or patrons who respect you. I'm the protégé of the Batman, for God's sake, Cissie! I know your mother isn't exactly the nicest person either, but at least she's not like the Batman! The day I stop "whining" as you say is the day I can take out five men in fifteen seconds, even with a gun shot! And when that day comes…" he trailed off, not wanting to finish.
"When that day comes… You'll have fallen into the abyss," Arrowette finished, understanding. "Rob, I know how you feel! I've been forced to train to be this since I can remember! Yeah, so? We're the best in our fields for our ages. So what? What's the point if you're so busy worrying about what the adults think, you can't even form your own personality? I know you've asked yourself something similar, because I do all the time! We're not as different as you think, Robin."
"Maybe not. But yet we are. I reportedly "whine" in situations, when you don't."
"You only seem like you're whining because you're so concerned about getting it done perfectly instead of quickly."
"I've never--"
"Yes you have! Time doesn't matter to you. You fit time to the plan, not the plan to the time. Don't get me wrong! Every plan you've had has worked so far! It's just… Haven't you ever wanted to just… Hang at the mall or something? Or are you always in the mask?"
Robin clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth. His hands clutched the wheel tightly as he searched for a delicate way to say what he wanted to make clear.
"Cissie… I have a life beyond this mask… Okay, so maybe I'm not happy with that life either with a parent who doesn't seem to really give a whoop about my whereabouts and is more concerned that I'm smart… And maybe I *am* in the mask more often then I should have to be. But, you know what? I like this job. I specifically searched out these people and they allowed me into the mantle. If I did something to screw up the trust that Batman and Nightwing have bestowed on me when they gave me this mantle, I'd be so… In the wrong, you know? I don't want to disappoint them. But I also don't want to be clamped down by some "older brother" who thinks I take my job too seriously."
Arrowette observed his face for a few moments. She analyzed his tenseness and realized everything he said was the truth to him. Slowly, she responded:
"Rob… I've seen you around Batman and Nightwing. I've seen the transactions… I don't think you *could* disappoint them… They seem to care for you a lot." Robin looked at her doubtfully. "Of course… I was only there with the adults when you were on that twenty-two minute show-down with Despero with Imp and Superboy."
Robin had to snicker at that.
"Tell you what… I'll try to be a little more easy going tonight, only if you try to take things a bit more seriously."
"Deal! Kon's picking me back up at the GCPD in four hours, by the way."
"Sounds good. I'll drop you off there around that time!"

Robin and Arrowette stood on the ledge of the sixth floor of a high-rise skyscraper in lower Gotham. Robin was peering through a window to a dark apartment as Arrowette sat on the ledge casually.
"Golly, Rob. You sure know how to show a girl a good time!" she joked. "I mean, first you send me in to lure a guy out for a disc with high-importance stuff for that Oracle person… We took part of a debate, and then part of a high speed chase that lasted five minutes until you took the car out--by the way, I like those heat seeking tire locks--and now we're on surveillance for some unknown reason."
"Haha. I told you, Nightwing wants me to check up on these people for some reason."
"And, HOW much do these people pay you to do all this crap?"
"They only compensate losses," Robin mumbled as he flipped out a lock pick and began to pick at the window.
"That's pretty stupid!"
"I swear to God," Robin said, opening the window. "If this is another set-up, I'm taking scissors to Nightwing's tights."
He glided in and Arrowette followed. He helped her in and then turned on his Starlite technology. Hearing him groan, Arrowette blindly fished out her goggles from her quiver and pulled them on. All around them were vacuumed sealed bags of cocaine.
"Whoa…" she breathed.
"Oh, it's on now," Robin growled. "First hostages I didn't know about, and now his "family" check-up are drug runners."
"What do we do?"
Both suddenly perked up. They sensed someone coming through their shoes.
"Where is that coming from?" he whispered. Arrowette pointed to one of three doors. "Are you sure?"
"Mom taught me about this… Follow me!" she whispered.
She hurried across the wood floor with stealthy perfection. Robin followed with equal skill, and they both went behind a couch that was facing the door. There was a gap between it and the wall that was narrow, but just enough for them both to get in. Sure enough, that door opened and three men and a woman entered. She was crying hard, and bleeding from the mouth.
"Shut up, lady!"
There was a huge smack sound, followed by a thud. Arrowette clawed Robin's sleeve, her eyes wide behind the goggles. The lights flashed on and the two winced silently. They took care of the night-vision and listen as the woman whimpered and some struggling was heard. Both Arrowette and Robin knew what was going on. Robin took her hand from his sleeve and held it comfortingly.
The struggling neared the couch, and it slid closer to them as the woman was thrown on the couch. Robin slowly pulled his batarang, getting ready to appear. Arrowette pulled an arrow and gripped her bow tightly.
'Wait,' he mouthed to her.
'What is it?' she mouthed back.
He realized she could read lips and smiled. Her realization that he could read lips made her grin as well.
'Put your knees against the wall the best you can. We'll push the couch back into the guys,' he mouthed out.
'Okay. Then I'll go for the lady while you worry about the guys? I'll back you up if you need it.'
Robin nodded. They quickly took their positions. Robin waved three fingers, two fingers, and then they pushed back into the couch.
"WHAT THE--?!" one of the men yelled.
Arrowette leapt over the back and landed on the back of one of the men who was on top of the woman. She dug her heels into his spine, and then managed to knock him off. The second man pulled his gun, but it was knocked away by Robin's batarang. Robin ran around and drop kicked the man hard.
"Are you all right?" Arrowette asked the woman gently. The woman weakly nodded. "Good. Stay put."
The hand of the man she took out grabbed her leg and pulled her down, over him. He caught her in a bear grasp from behind and she struggled hard.
"Stupid punk!" he yelled.
"Stupid ass!" she retaliated.
She slammed her head back into his nose, causing him to let go of her. She somersaulted backwards, off him, and quickly armed her bow. However, the third man grabbed her arms and made her dropped the bow to the ground by clamping down on her pressure points. The cry of pain she let out caught Robin off guard, who looked her way.
He side-blade kicked the second man and ran towards the man with Arrowette. He put her in front of him, as if to try to stop Robin. Unfortunately for him, Robin was feeling bouncy right about then. Robin sprung up and Arrowette ducked as much as she could.
Robin's black boot met the man's face quite harshly. It went to the side and two teeth flew out, surrounded by blood. Arrowette squirmed away as Robin crashed on top of the man. She ran, stomping the man on the floor, and dropkicked the second man in the chest. She tried to punch him, but he caught her fist. She spun around to back hand him, but he caught that arm too.
Quickly, she pushed back into him. When his head was right over her shoulder, she swung her leg up, completely straight, and it slammed into his face. He fell back, unconscious.
Robin slammed the third man's head into the ground and bounded up to his feet. He looked around at the three men, and then ran to the woman.
"Arrowette!" he ordered, tossing her a intercom device. "Press the dial button and tell Oracle what's going on!"
"I get to talk to Oracle?!" she exclaimed, shocked.
"Just do it!"
"Okay, okay!"
She walked across the apartment to the tables and pressed the button as she slid on the earpiece. After a few moments:
"Oracle here," the female voice came over.
Arrowette was stunned that it was really a female, and then shook it off.
"Uhm, hi. This is Arrowette!"
"Oh, really? What can I do for you, Arrowette?"
"Wellllll… Okay, I guess Nightwing told Robin to check up on a family in lower Gotham and it really isn't a family, it's three drug-runners who were trying to rape a woman and so we took them out and Robin is over with her and he told me to call you."
"That… was almost audible. Okay, turn on the intercom's tracking system so I can locate your exact position. Do NOT leave until the police have shown up."
Arrowette tenderly did what she was told, and went to hang up. But then she paused.
"Oracle?"
"Yeah, hun?"
"…Nothing… Hey, do you think maybe I could call you sometimes if I need help with something?"
"Well, I'll have to talk to my partner, but I'm sure it'll be okay!"
"By partner you mean the Batman…"
"Yeah. Tell you what… Batman's currently out of town anyway, so after I talk with him--I will prevail--I'll have Robin give you all the info you'll need at the next Young Justice meeting, okay?"
"Okay! Thanks, Oracle!"
"No problem, kiddo. Say hi to Robin for me, okay?"
"I'll do that! Bye!" Arrowette hung up with her and walked back to Robin, stepping on guys as she went. "Oracle says hi," she said.
Robin was holding a cloth to the woman's wounds on her mouth.
"I so am fighting with Oracle, you know," he mumbled.
"She sounds nice!"
"Yeah… well… What'd she say about the Three Amigos here?"
"We're to stay here until the cops come."
"Sounds about right… Are you okay, Miss?" he asked. She slowly nodded, tears streaming. "It's going to be okay," he said gently. "These guys are going to jail." The woman shakily nodded. Robin glanced back at Arrowette. "Would you mind tying those guys up? Or would you rather I do it and you help her?"
"Such a gentleman," Arrowette smiled. She sat next to the woman and slid her hand under Robin's, gently taking the cloth. "You worry about them."
Robin smiled at her and got up to do so.

The three men were hauled away in police cars and the woman was taken away in an ambulance. Robin stood on a gargoyle ten stories up, Arrowette behind him.
"They'll be going to visit all the different Bubbas in Blackgate, I can guarantee it," Robin said. He turned to her and walked off the gargoyle, to her side. "You and I make a pretty good team, Ciss!"
"Yeah, we do, huh?" she smirked. "Hey, Rob? I wanted to tell you something."
"Yeah, Ciss?" There was suddenly an explosion in the distance. "Gotham Harbor! Come on!"

The Red Bird skidded around and slammed to a stop in front of the entrance to the Gotham Harbor. It was a practical war zone as men armed with cannons ran around, destroying everything.
"Well, isn't THIS great?" Robin grumbled. "I think there's only two."
"Well, get in there and mow them down!"
"Don't you realize that if I drive this thing onto the harbor decks and piers, it'll fall through? Look, it's weak!"
Arrowette looked out quickly, observing everything. Robin knew she saw what he was talking about. She nodded and unbuckled herself.
"Follow me. This is my specialty!" she smiled.
"Great!" he said.
He unlocked the shields and they leapt out quickly. Pulling an arrow to her bow, Arrowette began to jog, on guard, into the harbor.
"Step where I step!" she ordered just above a whisper.
"Gotcha."
Robin pulled a batarang and followed her quickly. One of the men with a canon started for them, firing. Arrowette raised her bow and fired the arrow. It exploded into a large net and slammed into him, taking him to the ground. She turned to give Robin a quip, but he was gone.
"Now where did he go?" she asked.

Robin ran and leapt onto some crates as he chased the second, and last, man down a loading pier. The canon the man once held was long gone. Robin continued his chase, but his mind was elsewhere.
'Shaving cream and superglue… Yeah, that sounds good. He comes back, it's all good. I'm gunna do something so crude to him… Oooooooh!!' he thought angrily.
He sprung off the crates and lunged into the man, pinning him to the ground on his back.
"Why are you here?!" he ordered.
"Like I'm gunna tell YOU!"
"You better, or else I'll rack you so hard you won't be able to breathe!"
"I don't believe you!"
He flipped Robin off hard. Robin nearly went off the edge of the pier, but managed to stay on.
"ROBIN!" Arrowette hollered. "On the buoy!"
Robin weakly looked that direction as he stood. It was a bomb tied securely on it. Robin's eyes widened and he tapped his mask to zoom it in. The man warily took off running as Robin concentrated on the large object. Just as he reached the end, Arrowette punched him out.
"We've got twelve minutes to disarm it!" Robin yelled.
He took off running down the pier for the water.
"Oh, WON-derful. I blew off my date to get myself killed… Robin! Wait!!"
She took off running after him quickly. Robin didn't wait for her as he dove off the pier quickly. She reached the end and sprung off the edge. For a moment she did a flat freefall, and then she did a somersault and a dive into the water. Robin was still ahead of her, swimming very quickly towards the buoy. She followed obediently, making sure nothing caught her. When Robin surfaced, she followed his exact path, right to the buoy.
"Okay… okay…" Robin panted. "We have to find the central nerve system of the bomb…"
"It isn't a organic creature, Rob!" Arrowette said.
Robin gently stripped off the casing around the wires and control panels of the bomb.
"Doesn't mean it doesn't have a nerve system… Oracle and Nightwing taught me how to diffuse bombs--but this is awfully sophisticated!" He pushed a button on his belt. "Oracle? It's Robin. We have a problem here…… Wellll, it's a bomb. But we're talking technologically advanced!"
"It's going to start sparking on the five minute countdown!" Arrowette announced.
"How do you figure?"
Arrowette ran her fingers down two silver panels that had horizontal slits.
"I've seen this before. It's to ward off anyone actually trying to disarm it. It'll hurt, but it won't be untouchable." She pulled wire cutters from Robin's belt quickly. "Tell me what to do and get back."
"Hey! How'd you know I had those?"
"Will you tell me what to do?! We've got seven minutes!"
"Okay, okay! Hang on…… Is there a silver wire?"
"Silver, silver… Yes!" Arrowette said.
"…Don't cut it. Find the GOLD one."
"Gold? There isn't a GOLD one! There's brown and beige!"
"…Cut them both, then!" Arrowette did so. The timer didn't stop. "Hey, Oracle, it didn't stop… Okay, okay… Cissie, now find the--Hang on, I'll do it." He hoisted on the buoy the best he could and observed the system. He narrowed his eyes and fingered a small chip. "Okay, I found it. The CR-16 control chip. Now--ACK!"
Both Robin and Arrowette backed away as sparks began to shoot out. Robin stripped off his cape as he kicked to stay surfaced. Gently, he slid it around Arrowette's neck and fastened it there to protect her skin a little better.
"Thanks, now what do we do?!" Arrowette asked.
"Oracle?! Help?!" Robin yelled. "…Pull the chip off? Okay, okay!" He got behind Arrowette and grabbed her hand that held the wire cutter. "We have to latch onto the chip with this and use both our strengths to pull it. The explosion will be… smaller then."
Together, they reached through the sparking wires and made the cutter fasten around the tiny chip. He put one leg on both sides of her and boosted them on the buoy. After being a little flustered, Arrowette boosted her legs on it.
"On the count of three," she said. "One… Two… THREE!"
They yanked back and went under the water. The bomb ruptured and fire swarmed over the water. The force of the explosion forced the two teenagers under water even further. So they wouldn't get separated, Robin wrapped his arms around Arrowette's waist from behind. He began to stroke towards the harbor as he held onto her with one arm. The fire stopped for the most part and they kicked up to the surface. Without saying anything, they swam for the harbor separately.

Several minutes later, Arrowette leaned against a wall of a warehouse, breathing deeply to get her breath back. Robin, who was equally as desperate to get his breath back, was walking past Detective Renee Montoya, who had just arrived on scene.
"Good job, kiddo. That bomb could have cleared the entire harbor!" she said, knowing that he was the one that helped the explosion.
He saluted and nodded as he walked. He slowly walked to Arrowette.
"Good job, Ciss," he said between breaths.
She just slowly nodded. He continued to walk to get to his car. Suddenly, she yanked him back by the cape and spun him around. With a simple smirk, she pulled his lips to hers, delivering the most passionate kiss he ever had. For a moment, he followed her lead, and then pulled away.
"What the HELL was that for?!" he yelled.
"I-I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! But-but--!"
"Hmm… I liked it."
He shrugged and pulled her in for another kiss.

Standing nearby, Montoya stopped Harvey Bullock and gestured to the two. He smirked and shook his head.
"As long as dey don't have kids like dem," he said.

Arrowette slowly pulled away. She really didn't want to, but she knew one of them might pass out if she didn't. Colors swirled in her vision from the kiss he returned. It was five times more furious then the first one. Robin leaned his forehead to hers as he held her hand in both of his.
"I have a feeling that's what you've been meaning to tell me." She slowly nodded. He grinned widely. "That's cool."
"Lets just go shopping for Oracle, please?" she asked.
She pulled away, her face red. Robin reached out for her, trying to catch on to what was starting to happen.
"But--"
"Please?" she asked.
Her voice was shaking, and she kept turned from him. He dropped his hand to his side and slowly nodded.
"Yeah, okay… You still have… like an hour before Kon has to pick you up… So, come on."


""Help Gordon +
Oracle's disc +
"……… headset (2) +
Check on ppl. For Nightwing (1) +
Do rounds (5) (NO WAY)
Shop for Oracle (3)
Get rid of Arrowette (4)""

"Will this work, Robin?" Cissie asked.
She tossed him a computer store bag. As he sat in the car. She pulled on her mask and pulled off his jacket she was borrowing yet again. He pulled out the headphone set. After a quickly read-through of the packaging, he nodded.
"It'll do great, Ciss. Thanks."
"Don't we have to go shopping now, Rob?" she asked.
She walked around and leapt into her side. He started up the car and drove out onto the main road.
"Yeah, we do. There's a small store I know of near her place that I'll take us to."
Arrowette nodded slowly and looked out the window. She felt like a complete idiot now the way he was so passive about the kiss. She was half-wondering if it was just a New York vigilante thing, like they didn't know how to really handle a crush. Or, if it was something else.
"Rob? Are you… do you have a girlfriend?" she asked.
Robin was silent a moment as he drove. If the question phased him beyond the silence that filled the car, it wasn't on his face.
"Yes, I do."
"Oh…"
Those three words hit her like a ton of bricks. Robin could tell it from the corner of his eyes. Her body tensed and she looked out the window again, followed by inching closer to the door.
"I'm sorry if I… led you ON, Cissie…"
"Y-you didn't lead me on, Robin," she said spaciously.
Robin frowned and sighed, shaking his head.
"I shouldn't have kissed you again."
"No! No," she said, turning to him. "I shouldn't have… But I mean… And… I'm such an idiot," she moaned.
'Oh man,' Robin thought. 'Now I'm going to be discussing THIS with Dick. There we go, though! He can pay me back by THIS! Mwahahaha!!! CISSIE doesn't have a crush on me. Cissie doesn't GET crushes. Guys get crushes on her, but she doesn't get crushes on guys!! …Does she?'
"You're not an idiot, Ciss." 'Think of a way to get her off you, Tim! Thinkthinkthinkthink!' "Barthasacrushonyou!" he blurted out.
"What?!"
"You heard me!" he said, calmly down actually.
'Smooth, Tim. Bail yourself out at the expense of your friend… Waitaminute! Bart's ROBIN's friend, not Tim's… So that would mean as Tim I'm scott free and ooooohhh my God, what am I talking about, this is turning out to be SUCH a bad day!
'First I get an ultimatum from my father: Be home at midnight or ELSE. Then I get set up by Nightwing TWICE. I have to go shopping for Oracle still… That STUPID sky roof wouldn't cooperate with me--I STILL have a headache--I just crushed the heart of all-around Hollywood Arrowette and I still have two more hours! Man, I know I'm not going to make it home on time!'
"Arrowette?"
"Yeah?" she asked sadly.
"Have you ever power-shopped?"
"Why?" she asked warily.
"That's what I need you to do," he said. He handed her Oracle's list. "I have to go to another part of the store."
"To get what?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Condoms, blow-up dolls and vibrators."
Arrowette laughed sourly and rolled her eyes.
"Is that kind of humor a trademark to all you Boy Wonders?"
"Heh, better believe it. Remember, I'm not allowed to whine that much! Okay, so, you snag all that stuff, and I'll go get what I have to."
"And… we're walking in like this?" she asked.
She tugged on his cape.
"Hey, they've seen worse. Trust me!"


""Help Gordon +
Oracle's disc +
"……… headset (2) +
Check on ppl. For Nightwing (1) +
Do rounds (5) (NO WAY, BITE ME)
Shop for Oracle (3) +
Get rid of Arrowette (4) +""

Robin took a step back as Superboy floated into the air, holding Arrowette carefully.
"You two take care, okay guys?" Robin asked.
"You know it!" Superboy grinned.
"Oh! Wait up a minute!" Robin protested before Superboy could fly off. The two looked at him strangely. From under his cape towards the back of his belt, he pulled a single red rose and walked to Arrowette. He bowed and extended it to her. "Just wait a while," he said gently.
She took it and smiled brightly. After taking in a smell of it, she nodded to Superboy. With a smile to Robin, Superboy leapt into the air. Robin smiled after the two and just shook his head.
'And yet another successful event in the life of Tim Drake AKA Robin,' he thought as he made his way to his car. 'I-once again-took what could be the ultimate disaster of a night full of humiliating mistakes and made it all good. So, why do I still feel so BLECH?'
He hopped into his car and started off, deep in thought.
'Why is it that they stuck me with such weird and some almost impossible cases? If it hadn't been for Arrowette, I would be dead! I just don't get it… Well, it doesn't matter. I'll drop off all Oracle's stuff and then get home. I will NOT do any rounds. I don't have the time! I have to get home before I get grounded.'
When he got to Oracle's place, he quickly grabbed all the plastic bags full of stuff and rushed up before he would be spotted by anyone. He kicked on the door a bit since he couldn't knock. It opened and he staggered in.
"Got your stuff!" he called. He turned to the door to kick it shut. "You better appreciate it too, 'cause it was NOT pretty!"
"Robin, you are a TRIP," a male voice said.
Robin froze. He knew that voice. He also recognized what the whole charade was about. Breathing VERY slowly, he didn't turn around.
"How long have you been watching me?" he panted out angrily.
"Long enough," Nightwing responded.
Robin slowly turned to face the grinning Nightwing and Barbara Gordon. He slowly walked to the couch and laid the bags on it.
"I suggest, Dick Grayson, that you RUN fast…" He spun, flipping out his bo-staff. "Because I'm going to PROBE you with THIS!"
"CHILL, Robin!" Barbara yelled.
"Chill?! CHILL?! She tells me to chill… How in the Hell can I chill when you knew ex-ACTLY what I was walking IN TO?! Oh, this is SO it. I'm out of here."
Robin stormed for the bathroom with his backpack he had.
"Robin, wait a minute!" Nightwing said, leaping forward and grabbing his shoulder. "We were just testing you under certain situations!"
"Yeah? Whatever." Robin pulled away and continued walking. "This test subject's flying the coop."
He slammed the door behind him. The two remained in silence as they heard him changing. He came out once more as Tim Drake and walked out without saying a word. Nightwing turned to Barbara and smirked slightly.
"I… think we should've told him earlier."
"Let him sleep on it, he'll understand our reasonings in the morning."
"Yeah, I know, but I still feel kinda bad. You shoulda SEEN him on that roof of the hotel! He needs to weigh more… It was the most pathetic thing…" he snickered.
"Help me put away this stuff, wouldja?" she asked.
They went over and grabbed the bags.
"I can not believe you made him get tampons for your "friend". That was MEAN."
"Why? He just had Arrowette do it for him anyway! Besides, I need to know what lengths he'll go to for me, and us. It's a matter of faith--"
A huge crash, that almost sounded like thunder, shattered the night's semi-peace. Nightwing ran to a window and peered out.
"Oh my God!" he cried.
"What is it?!" Barbara asked.
Nightwing ran out of the apartment for the streets below. Barbara skidded over in her wheel chair and looked down. In a massive pile of three cars, a slow fire was ensuing. The pile up was a Honda Civic, a Toyota pickup truck and the Red Bird. Barbara's emerald greens were wide in fear.

Nightwing swooped down and ran to the wreckadge as the other two drivers staggered from their cars that were piled on Tim's car. The truck owner was obviously drunk.
"I didn't do NOTHIN' man!" he belched out.
Nightwing shoved past him and ran to the best place to reach Tim. Prying away shattered roof, he saw Tim pressed against the seat from the air bag. Nightwing punctured it and it went down. To his despair, the cars shifted and the steering wheel slammed into Tim's chest. After doing a test tug, Nightwing found he could move the wheel just enough to pull Tim out, but the problem would be if his legs were caught.
A passing car slammed to a stop and a man leapt out. The man ran to Nightwing, who was perched on the roof.
"Who's in there?!" the man exclaimed.
"A boy! Sixteen years old at the most! Will you help me?"
"Of course!" the man nodded. "We can pry the car out with mine. I have a rope that'll hold."
"Hurry, man!"
Nightwing leapt off to help him as he ran for the car.
As they worked quickly, nearby residents phoned 911 and sirens were heard in the far distance. Nightwing knew Barbara was watching from her apartment as she tried to contact Bruce Wayne. By the time paramedics came, with cops, the man and Nightwing had successfully pulled the red car from the other two. Nightwing ran and tugged on the door around the frame.
"Help me here!" he yelled.
A paramedic and the man ran over. They pulled off the door with their combined strengths and Nightwing sprinted around to the car.
Tim had a horrible head wound and a large piece of glass in his right shoulder. Blood covered his white shirt and tanned skin. Nightwing gently pulled him from the wreckage and laid him on the ground gently. Tim was unconscious and still. Nightwing's eyes were wide as he stared at the lifeless form.
"Oh… my… God…"

To Be Continued--maybe.