Identity **ON HOLD**

Chapter 5

Bruce's/Batman's POV

I was sitting across from Clark in a cafe in Gotham.  The same cafe, in fact, where I told him he needed to be more of a father to Conner.  Unfortunately, the conversation today was not about Conner.  It was about Robin.

"You don't even know the kid's name, Bruce.  How are you sure you can trust him?" Clark asked me as he took a bite of his slice of apple pie.

"I have worked with Robin for a long time.  I didn't even tell him my name until I had been working with him for two years," I said.

"But you have been working with him for almost five years now!  You don't know where this kid comes from or who he has involved himself with.  He could have worked for a villain!"

"At nine years of age?"

"You did say he had superb acrobatic skills when you first met him," Clark pointed out.

I took a bite out of my piece of chocolate cake, giving myself time to think of an answer.  Clark had tried to use this argument on me many times before.  

"Why are you so convinced he was a bad kid?" I finally asked.

"Because anyone that can't even be found out by the one and only Batman is a problem in my book," Clark answered.  "Robin is trouble."

"What does it matter if he was a bad kid then?  He has been doing nothing but good for years!"

"You don't know that.  You don't know where he goes, who he hangs out with, or what he does when he is not by your side or working in the Bat Cave."

"Robin is a good kid!  He is not what you think he is," I said with annoyance lacing my voice.

"I am just saying, Bruce, unless I know this kid's background, I don't know what to think of him," Clark said calmly.

We paused our conversation, both too annoyed to say anything.  We ate our food, lost in our thoughts.  

As I chewed the last crumbs of my cake, I thought, what about everyone in the world?  They do  not know our real names, or our backgrounds.  Yet, they trust us to do good.  

I shared this with Clark.

"That's different," Clark tried to defend. 

"How is that any different?  The entire world trusts us with everything without knowing a thing about us other than we don capes and tights to protect this world.  Robin is doing the same exact thing that we do.  The world trusts him.  The only people who don't are certain politicians and conspirators that trust no one that calls themselves heroes," I said.

Clark sighed softly.  He set down his fork he was using to eat his pie.  He stared down at the fork, seemingly lost in thought.  I stayed silent, waiting for his answer.  

"I will give him a chance," Clark started.  "One chance."  He gave me a hard look before continuing on.  "This little test for the team that you have going on will be his chance.  You know that Robin acting as a villain with his abilities, especially with the added abilities of the suit he designed, will attract other villains. 

"He will be offered positions, money, fame, partnerships.  He will be fully delved into the villain life as well as the hero life when working with the team.  He will be divided in certain situations on what to do.

"If Robin can get through this without being tempted by anything the bad guys offer him, if he stays good and helps the team prepare for the Light, I will consider trusting him," Clark explained.

"Thank you, Clark.  All's Robin needs is a chance.  Thank you for giving it to him."

"I don't know how well you can convince the rest of the League to give him a chance, though.  I'm pretty sure the Green Lanterns have a bet going on over whether or not he will stay a villain."

"The rest of the League will be easier to convince now that you are trying.  I am just worried about them accepting his heroics once this plan gets over with," I said.

"If he is heroic," Clark said.

I gave him a hard look and continued.  "When Robin proves his heroics, everyone will need to work on changing their ways.  Everything the team has heard about Robin has been from the League.  And they listen to it because they have never met Robin.  They basically think of him as some magical being that somehow got lucky enough to fool the world's greatest detective."

"By the end of this, everyone will have their answer," Clark said, finishing his last bite of pie.

<~>

I sat in my office, my Bruce Wayne office.  I sat in my chair at the large desk, staring out the also large window.  I was lost in thought, thinking of ways the plan could go, how the team would take it once they found out Robin was Red X, whether or not Robin would stay a hero.

I hated to think the thought, but I didn't know what would happen after these next few weeks.  Tensions will be high in both the hero world and the villain world.

I just prayed Robin would come out of it all right.