Talon chapter 20

Chapter 20 - First Meetings

"You sure about this?" Speedy talked quietly to Jason.

Batman and Green Arrow were conversing by the Bat-computer, Speedy was off to the side with Jason, while Robin was standing near the edge of the floor, a foot or two away from falling over it. And, for some reason, he had an owl on his shoulder. He appeared to be talking with it as he was examining everything in his belt, making sure it was all in working condition.

"Look, I get that you like him, but I know jack shit about him." Speedy continued.

"You don't know him," Jason agreed. "But you know me, so trust me when I say, he's a good kid. He's been raised to fight his whole life, but doesn't want to kill anyone if he doesn't have to. Heck, I think the kid might actually like Nightwing more than me. If that's not a good indication of his character, then I don't know what is."

"Why is he talking to that owl?" Speedy frowned.

"Maybe he doesn't want her feeling lonely," Jason said with a straight face, earning a dirty look from Speedy.

"Okay, kids," Green Arrow called out. "Time to go beat up some dangerous thugs. Ready?"

"I was born ready," Speedy said confidently as he walked over to Batman and Green Arrow. He looked over at Robin just in time to hear him speak.

"Hedwig, you're in charge while we're gone." He had told the owl. Speedy could have sworn the owl nodded at that before it flew off.

"We'll take our bikes, I'm guessing you're taking the car." Green Arrow said to Batman. "Race you there? Fifty bucks says we'll get there before you."

(.)

"I don't have my wallet on me, so I'll transfer the money to you later." Green Arrow said grumpily once they were up on a nearby rooftop, the night sky looming over them.

Robin looked down at the two ships that they were supposed to be focusing on, docked next to each other. They were both big cargo ships; one could only imagine how many drugs one could sneak in. According to the intel that Green Arrow and Speedy had brought in, China White had brought a boat full of drugs - the boat on the left - all the way from their city to here, where she was apparently selling it to someone for what they could only assume was a large amount of money. Batman had shot down Robin's idea of just stealing the money for themselves and/or the poor, so the 'obvious' logical choice from there was to simply stop the deal.

"The drug trade in Gotham is bad enough," Batman scowled. "All of that is most certainly not going to help."

"China White's not the sort of person who cares," Huffed Green Arrow. "She'd probably sell her own ancestors' graves if she thought she could get a good price on them. She's a complete -"

"Bitch?" Robin guessed.

"I was actually going to say 'sociopath, '" Green Arrow said flatly, though he didn't really deny the term that Robin had used. "Also, language." He added as an afterthought.

"Everyone remembers the plan?" Batman asked. Robin nodded. The plan was fairly simple.

There were dozens of armed men on each boat, and that wasn't accounting for the other dozen that were walking around the harbour. There were several snipers positioned at various points.

Green Arrow and Batman would work on taking out the snipers and the first set of goons, while Robin and Speedy kept watch on the ship for any sign of trouble. Once Batman gave them the signal, they'd head to the second boat while the adults dealt with the first boat, the one that had China white.

"Come on, Bats," Green Arrow said, nocking an arrow to his bow. "Let's go and have some fun. Hey, you want to..." He trailed off as he realised that Batman had already leapt off the rooftop and started gliding. "...Why must he always do that?" He wondered before shooting his arrow, it struck its mark, leaving behind a rope attatched to Green Arrow's bow. He held on to it and jumped, swinging after Batman.

Robin aimed his binoculars at the ships, looking first at China White's. It didn't take him long to realise that the men were all walking around in a pattern. They weren't standing and moving aimlessly; instead, they were constantly sweeping, constantly looking out for something. But they had been doing it for a while now, he could see them getting bored, starting to fall into a dull pattern.

"This is bull," Robin heard Speedy mutter to himself. "I should be down there and helping out; instead, I'm up here, babysitting."

"I sincerely hope you're not referring to me," Robin said lightly, still looking through his binoculars.

"Who else?" Speedy snorted. "After all I've done, they still don't trust me enough to help out."

"They're trusting us to take on an entire ship by ourselves," Robin reminded him.

"That's different," Said Speedy in a dismissive tone. "We'll be dealing with a bunch of goons that I can take out in my sleep with one arm tied behind my back. They are going after China White, one of the most dangerous people of all time. And what are we doing? Up here, waiting for the grown-ups to finish so we can get what's left."

"What we're doing is keeping an eye out for potentially negative developments." Robin corrected him. "After that, we're taking part in launching a synchronised strike. Batman and your mentor will take out China White's team while we take out the other one so that they can't get away and have another opportunity to bring in more drugs."

"You really think that any of this isn't just their way of putting us out of the big picture?" Speedy asked incredulously.

"As you said, China White is dangerous; it makes logical sense for them to want to have a child, no matter how skilled and experienced you are, away from her," Robin said before, suddenly stiffening. He had seen someone he had not been expecting to see. Just for a second, but he had seen him.

"Why the hell are you calling me a child?!" Speedy demanded, not picking up on his reaction. "I'm older than you."

"Only in years," Robin replied easily. "Look at the other ship," He added, cutting off Speedy's response. The older boy huffed before aiming his binoculars at the buyer's ship.

"I see a bunch of dipshits walking around," Speedy said in a bored tone. "What about it?"

"Exactly," Robin said calmly. "They're just walking about. China White is a professional; she's got snipers set up in advance. Her men are constantly patrolling the ship; the other guys aren't. I saw one guy on that ship scratch his head with his gun; I saw another drinking from a bottle. They are not operating on the same level. Don't you think it's a bit weird that somebody who is rich enough to make a deal this big with China White wouldn't have some competent people watching his ship?"

"Hmm," Speedy hummed thoughtfully. Part of him wanted to say that Robin was overreaching, making a big deal out of nothing. But he couldn't help but agree with the younger boy's statement. China White, horrible and evil person that she was, was a professional; she kept things clean and quick and simple. Whoever she deals with would usually do the same. "Okay, so that is a bit fishy." He conceded.

"Speedy, Robin," Green Arrow's voice cut in on their comms. "Snipers are taken out. Any signs of trouble?"

"Nothing significant to report," Speedy replied. It's not like he could report the other team as 'unprofessional'.

"Good, Bats and I are moving in on our ship. You're good to go on yours."

"On it," Speedy grinned. "See you in a few," He said before cutting the call. "Okay, we're good to go. Follow my lead and..." He trailed off as he realised that Robin was no longer next to him. He looked forward and saw the young vigilante gliding towards the ship with his cape spread out. "Really?" Speedy exhaled.

Just like his mentor had done, he shot a rope arrow and swung forward, landing on a shipping container with a practised roll. He ran forwards, jumping onto another one. Some mildly impressive parkour later, and he was able to get close enough to the ship to fire another arrow, this one with a grappling hook at the end of it. The arrow shot upwards and hooked on the front of the ship just as a burst of smoke appeared from the top of the deck. A button press later, and Speedy was pulled off his feet and up to the top of the ship.

Once he landed, he saw a cloud of smoke about fifteen feet high had engulfed a large portion of the area. Just outside of the smoke, he spotted five men who were standing with their guns aimed at the smoke. Speedy quickly got three arrows ready. He shot the first, the tip exploded in mid-air, shooting out a small rectangular device. The device beeped as it got closer before it let out a large pulse that knocked the men back and off their feet. Speedy's second arrow landed next to them and released a large quantity of pink foam that enveloped all of them, covering everything but their faces. It quickly hardened, leaving them all unable to move.

At that moment, another man stumbled out of the smoke. He looked around wildly before he spotted Speedy. Just as Speedy nocked another arrow, Robin shot out of the smoke and smashed the guy in the face with his staff, knocking him clean out. Robin's staff retracted back into a stick, and he looked at Speedy.

"I had it handled," Speedy insisted as he lowered his bow.

"Okay," Robin said uncaringly. "Look, we've got news."

"What news?" Speedy frowned.

"I overheard one of these guys speak before I dropkicked him in the ear," Robin informed him in a matter-of-fact type of voice. "This ship is just full of grunts and idiots; their boss is on another ship. Specifically, that one." He pointed to a ship that was a fair distance away. "Here's the plan: you stay here and pick off these goons. I'll go over to the ship and take out the bad guys, then I'll let the other two know that we're done."

"Hell no," Speedy said at once. "I'll do it,"

"Respectfully, you're not capable of -"

"Yes, I am," Speedy said firmly as he walked to the edge of the boat. "Sort these guys out and then contact Batman and Arrow. I'll call you when I'm done." He said before he leapt off the boat.

"Great," Robin said in a satisfied voice once he was gone. "That'll keep him busy for a while."

(.)

"What the hell?" Jason frowned from within the Batcave.

"Is there a problem?" Selina's voice came from behind him as she walked up to Jason, who was currently sitting at the Batcomputer.

"Bruce and Arrow are on a mission; they brought Speedy and Harry with them." Jason began explaining. "They split up, but Harry's turned off his visual feed. I can't see anything he's doing. He's not answering his comms either."

"Well, that's concerning," Selina said slowly. "Run the footage back,"

"Already on it," He told her as he pulled up the video from Harry's lenses. He played the last minute or so of what Harry could see, wondering just what had happened. "Wait a sec," Jason froze as he spotted something. He rewinded the footage and paused it.

"Jason?" Selina asked in a concerned voice, staring at Jason. The boy had frozen, his skin had paled, his eyes widened.

"It's...it's him..." He breathed out heavily, looking like he might collapse. Selina followed his gaze and looked at the screen. There didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary, just a regular ship. She was about to question Jason again when she spotted what he was looking at. She stiffened immediately. She reached over Jason and zoomed in on the image.

"Oh shit!" She cursed. Walking away from the other men, barely in view with everything else blocking the way, was a very familiar set of green hair.

(.)

"So, would you rather fight a calm Batman or an angry Robin?"

"Is that a real question?"

"Real as I am, go on and answer."

"Angry Robin. Batman is a walking pile of muscles; Robin is just a kid. I'd slap the taste out of his mouth," He finished confidently. He looked away from the sea and to the other thug just in time to see a birdarang hit his friend straight on the head, knocking him off his feet. A whooshing sound had him look in time for Robin to slam his staff into his face, knocking him unconscious.

Robin paused and took in a deep breath before he continued moving forward. He had spent the last minute or so taking out various thugs. Some had guns, some had knives; in the end, it didn't matter. Half of them had been drunk, and the half that wasn't were slacking off, alert as a sleeping baby. It didn't take him long to get to the control room.

He snuck up the stairs, keeping close to the railings and made his way forward to the door. He was about to reach it when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He leapt backwards, falling on his back as the window next to him smashed open and a large mallet shot out, shooting through the air, right where Robin's head used to be. A wild laugh filled the air, Robin quickly got out of his feet just as someone leapt out of the broken window. He blocked the kick that nearly got him head, stumbling back as he saw just who had landed.

Standing in front of him was a slim, athletic-looking woman with unnaturally white skin, big eyebrows and a wide grin. She was dressed from head to toe in a black and red jester outfit. He knew instantly who she was: Harley Quinn, the right-hand woman of the 'Clown Prince of Crime'.

"Ooh!" She cooed, giving him a grin that instantly pissed Robin off. A grin that was nearly identical to the one that Bellatrix Lestrange had given him in his previous life. "So, the Bat's got a new Robin." She said in an amused voice, looking him up and down. "That's a tough gig, kid. The kind that takes years off your life!" She cackled.

"Death can have me," Robin said, glaring up at her. "But you...you're getting me first."

"Little bird's got teeth!" She laughed loudly as she picked up her mallet and spun it around. "Aunt Harley's going to knock them out!" She grinned before charging forward.

Robin flipped back into a back-hand spring, narrowly avoiding a mallet to the face. Another back-hand spring and he landed in a crouched position. He aimed his hand up and mentally chanted the incantation for the seize and pull spell, a bright orange cord shot out from his hand, shooting between her legs. She raised her mallet and tried to squash him; the spell pulled him, and he slid between her legs and stopped a short distance away. He pulled out a birdarang and tossed it straight at the back of her head. She managed to turn around and block it with her mallet, just in the nick of time.

She laughed once more and leapt at him. This time, Robin side-stepped the mallet and raised his right fist, slamming it into her throat. She stumbled back, choking. Robin's leg shot up and kicked her between the legs, getting her to hunch over, allowing him to throw her over his shoulder and onto her back. A pair of handcuffs came out of his belt. A few seconds later, Harley was facedown on the floor with her hands cuffed behind her back.

"Wh.." She trailed off, coughing violently. "...w...what the hell is Bats feeding you kids?" She wondered just before Robin kicked her onto her back. He knelt over her, looking down at her with an unimpressed look. "Yeah," She said with a small chuckle. "You're definitely one of his. Same mask, same boots, even the same brooding little -uurkkh!" Her eyes widened as Robin grabbed her mouth with one hand and pulled out a birdarang with the other.

"You hurt a friend of mine," Robin said, voice as cold as ice. "You and your boyfriend both. Not just him, either. You've hurt a lot of people. I'm going to ask you very nicely to stay still, please. I'm going to hurt you now, and I'd be very irritated if you make it harder than it has to be." He said matter-of-factly. Harley struggled and wriggled, trying to move as the sharp end of the birdarang came closer and closer to her mouth. She had no idea what he was going to do to her, but she didn't want to find out.

Just as the sharp point of the weapon neared her mouth, Robin froze. Without thinking, his body leapt off of Quinn, just as a bullet shot past where his lower back used to he and pierced through her upper chest. Robin landed on one hand, tossed that birdarang behind him and transitioned onto his feet in a crouched position just as another gunshot knocked his weapon out of the air. Standing a short distance away was exactly the man that Robin had been hoping to meet.

Tall and lanky, his skin was even paler than Harley's. He had purple wing-tip shoes, a bright yellow shirt that looked a little too big for him, purple pants and a purple pin-stripe Victorian tailcoat, along with a green bowtie and a white flower pinned to his lapel. His lips seemed to be covered in blood-red lipstick and looked as if they were permanently fixed into that sinister grin he was sporting. His green hair was only a couple of shades lighter than the green in his eyes, eyes which burned with madness.

The man let out a creepy, soft laugh. The very sound of it grated harshly on Robin's ears. His laugh eventually dropped down to a small giggle as he looked between Robin, Harley and the gun he was holding in his hand.

"Joker," Robin glared at him.

"Ah, always nice to meet a fan." His grin got wider somehow. "How wonderful to finally meet the new member of the 'Dynamic Duo'. You know, I had heard rumours that Bats had gotten a new 'Robin', but...I hadn't believed them. I thought for sure that after the last one, he had gotten tired of them."

"P...puddin..." Harley gasped out, choking as blood filled her mouth. It was only then that Joker looked away from Robin to stare at the girlfriend that he had just shot.

"Oh, Harley," He said with a deep sigh. "Such a shame," He spoke in a sad voice. "I'll miss you deeply."

"Mr...Mr J..." Despite being close to death, his words seemed to bring a smile to her face. "...Really?" She asked, staring at him with pure love and devotion.

"Yeah, if anything ever happened to you, I'll be inconsolable." He told her sincerely. "Eh...for about a minute or two, but then I'd probably move on." He said casually, wiping the smile off her face in record time. She tried to speak again, but didn't get to say anything more as Joker fired another bullet from his gun, ending her. "What a shame," He said out loud, looking away from Harley to stare at the new Robin who was crouched a short distance away. He hadn't flinched or even moved, had simply kept his gaze firmly on the Joker. "She was a good one, you know," He said with a wistful smile. "Good manners, always brushed her teeth, and bonked people on the head with the proper respect they deserve. Such a waste," He tutted before staring curiously at Robin. "Not going to say anything?"

"Is there any point?" Robin asked genuinely. "Nothing I will say changes the fact that you're evil, I'm angry, and we're going to try to break each other's bones. I'm not here to talk. I'm here to make sure you walk away changed, forever."

"Are you?" Joker smirked at him, his yellowed teeth peaking through his lips. "What would Batman say?"

"I'm not allowed to kill you; everything else is still on the table."

(.)

A.N: Hi guys, hope you liked the chapter. I was orginally going to make a very long chapter but I've decided to divide it into two chapters. Either way, hope you guys liked it. Next chapter will be Joker vs Robin.