What if Robin stays Slade's apprentice? What if the Titans don't find the nano-bugs?
Robin is alone. No one can save him from the situation he's in. It's up to him to somehow make contact with the Titans, or better still... Batman.
Robin groans, getting up and instantly reaching for his stinging head. He tries to make sense of where he is, and finds himself in a glass box by the supercomputer, in the same enormous chamber where he and Batman fought. After a moment of drowsiness, he gasps and checks the time. 9:30 pm. He's only been out for an hour. He reaches for his utility belt and feels it gone, then looks around and spots it on the supercomputer's counter.
To his surprise, Batman isn't there to interrogate him, and after looking over the supercomputer screen he finds out there'd been an attack somewhere in the city and he's gone to deal with it. Coincidence?
Robin searches for a way to get out of the box and finish his mission before Batman returns, but the box is sealed tight, with only a few breathing holes along the bottom. He presses his lips into a thin line. Slade may not like what he does next, but it wouldn't be part of his gear in the first place if his master didn't want him to use it. He removes his coms and puts them by one of the walls, then steps back and presses a button on his sleeve. He covers his ears and the coms explode, leaving a small but significant hole in the cell. He crawls through and grabs his utility belt, then uses the grappling hook to swing down and snatch the USB drive. He returns to the supercomputer and crouches under the counter, plugging it in.
The screen goes white, there are multiple warning signals of errors, then the screen returns to normal. Robin looks down at the drive. A bar has appeared on its side, tracking the download.
It's been a year since he left in search of leading his own team— Batman called it the 'next step in his training'. He allows himself a small smile... because nothing in the cave has changed. With his back to the supercomputer, he can see that the main platform for the Batmobile is surrounded by other platforms, some holding souvenirs like the giant dinosaur, the giant penny or the giant Joker card. Batman calls them reminders, but really at this point, they're just there to liven up the cave a little. Standing here now, he could pretend he hadn't left. Would never meeting his friends have spared them?
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Robin flinches as the illusion of peace is shattered by the roar of the Batmobile descending the runway towards him. What does he do? What can he do? The earpieces are nothing more than smears of dust by his prison now, so Slade can't give him orders, but Slade can still hear him through the microphone in his collar. He has to keep Batman from seeing the flash drive until it's done downloading, so he stands and fights.
Before the Batmobile can properly stop, Robin throws a knife into its windshield. It explodes on impact, spraying the area with shards of glass. Batman leaps out of the car through the broken window and throws a batarang back, which is intercepted by another one of Robin's mid-air. Robin chews his lip. This fight is going nowhere fast. If Batman throws another one of his tranq balls, it's over. Robin has to disappear.
He throws smoke bombs and uses the cover to check on the USB. It's almost done, it just needs a little more time. Robin throws knives and keeps moving, never letting Batman know where he is.
"Robin, this isn't you." Batman finally says, on guard and waiting for another attack. "You know better than this. So tell me why."
They're both as still as the dead, Robin fighting his urge to reply. Batman straightens, a deliberate show of lowering his guard, and lets his concern break through his mask. "Talk to me."
You don't understand!
It almost works, but Robin fights through the surge of emotion and checks the USB, finding it finished downloading. He grabs and pockets it, then climbs up the cliff towards the exit.
Batman's searching yell echoes off the walls. "Robin!"
The boy wonder turns around and aims his laser. He fires and the beam brushes Batman's cheek, close to his left eye. Batman stumbles back, pressing a hand over his wound, and Robin makes his escape while he's disoriented. As he's driving away from the Batcave, he realizes Batman isn't following him. Did he hurt him worse than he'd thought? Robin squeezes the motorbike's handles hard, the rubber protesting with a groan.
He can feel the pulse of his racing heartbeat in his fingertips, and takes a measured breath to calm the reaction. Is it anger, or adrenaline? He shakes his head to clear the thought. Slade is a manipulator. There's no way he could have found that a thrill.
