Of Birds and Jokers

Chapter 6

*YJ* (All chapters to follow that have this in the beginning will follow in the Young Justice world)

Well, some of you have been asking for a Batman/YJ chapter and it just so happens I planned to write them every sixth chapter...so your wishes have come true!

I'm your fairy God mother now, I will do my best to make sure you enjoy this new chapter!

Trickles of water were all that was heard. The lone, dark figure that sat hunched over a powered down super-computer was the only inhabitant. Everything was still, as even the bats that hung in the stalactites above seemed to feel the absence below them.

The only sound being emitted by the shadow draped over the dead keyboard was deep, almost strangled breathing. Gauntleted hands seemed to be plastered to its face, not having moved from the position in nearly three hours.

It was all wrong. The Batcave should never
be this quiet. How in the world had he ever lived like this before? It was torture.

Bruce raked his right hand through his disheveled hair, the first movement in what seemed like an eternity. His eyes remained sealed shut, the hand moving to rest behind his neck where his cowl was pooled.

Nothing made sense anymore. It didn't seem important to eat. Or sleep. Or train. Or do anything, really, besides look into any lead he could find to locate his lost partner.

Alfred tried to get him to eat many times. At first, Bruce listened to his reasoning. But when Alfred started slipping sedatives into his coffee to get him to rest, it was decided that eating was not necessary in order to find Robin.

    Many Leaguers tried to get involved. They would simply get in the way. The Team was especially persistent in trying to help, but a visit from Batman quickly silenced their requests.

    Well, not all of them. Kid Flash seemed to be the most stubborn and rebellious of them all.

It had seemed that the teen was reluctant to obey a direct order that even his superiors followed: No other heroes in Gotham. Especially meta-humans.

Now it was an almost a regular occurance to find a black streak topped with red blazing through the streets of Gotham while Batman was on patrol. It had been a month, with the instruction to 'Keep out' very clearly stated (multiple times), yet he still found a wayward speedster in his city at night.

    He had visited the Allen household after the third time, and thought he made it perfectly clear to the Flash to keep his partner on a tighter leash. Kid Flash was getting in the way.

    Yet, even though the elder speedster (fearfully) agreed to keep Wally contained at night, it still had yet to happen.

    The hand on his face clenched into a fist, and he let out a grunt of frustration.

    Why was it, that when he told children to stay put, they always disobeyed him? The Team had done it numerous times in the past, on almost all of their missions. Kid Flash was doing it now. And Robin...

    The hand resting on his neck slammed down onto the console Bruce rested his elbows on, making a small crack appear on the surface from the pure strength behind it.

    It wasn't anything new for Robin to be kidnapped. Both in uniform and out of it. But when out of uniform, there was always a ransom demand sooner or later, asking for an insane amount of money he would no way be able to produce in the amount of time given, and then Batman would come and save the 'civilian'. 

    There wasn't much difference in uniform, either. One of Gothams villains would nab Robin while on patrol, and, depending on the villain behind the scheme, Robin would either take care of it himself or Batman would track him and take whoever it was down.