Be It Ever So Humble...

After Robin and Kevin left the police department, they wandered over to the Freebird. "Is there anywhere you want me to take you?" Robin asked, "a hotel, a phone store, or something like that?" Kevin thought a moment and then he said aloud, "actually... Would you be willing to take me to Wayne Manor? It's a bit of a family matter." Robin tilted his head and asked, "is that why you were going to Gotham?" Kevin nodded and said, "pretty much, yeah."

"I got you covered," said Robin, "hop in." Robin and Kevin then got inside the Freebird, and Robin started the car. As Robin drove, looking for Wayne Manor, Kevin asked, "so what's this children's show that you're hosting going to be about?"

"It's basically going to be your typical compilation show that shows various shorts of various Warner Bros cartoons such as Looney Tunes and Turner cartoons that the company owns," explained Robin, "Turner cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, Droopy, MGM cartoons that Turner purchased, Hanna-Barbera cartoons that Ted Turner had purchased also, and so on and so forth. There will be segments with me in it in which I talk about the cartoon, I tell jokes, do some fun little tricks or even tricks with a few twists in them, or maybe I'll stop to play a game." Kevin smiled and said, "that actually sounds like a lot of fun. When I was a kid, I loved watching Looney Tunes, Animaniacs, and Scooby-Doo on Kids WB and Cartoon Network. I would even watch reruns of Animaniacs on The Hub in high school."

"What's the name of the show?" Kevin asked curiously while continuing the conversation. "They're calling it Toon Time," confirmed Kevin. "When should I expect it to air?" Kevin asked. "Every Saturday morning," explained Robin, "It's a one hour anthology show. I film before a live studio audience every Friday, and after it's been filmed and edited, it will air every Saturday morning. The guys at the public television station will send invites to anyone that wants to watch a live filming. Anyone of any age can come."

"When I sort things out, maybe I'll attend one of your filmings," said Kevin, "maybe I can convince Commissioner Gordon and his daughter to attend one of your filmings too." Robin smiled and said, "I'd appreciate that. Thanks Kevin. Is it okay if I give you my phone number? Just so I can stay up to date and know if you got your car back? Or in case you want to confide in me about something?" Kevin nodded and said in a chipper voice, "sure. I could always use another friend." 20 minutes later, Robin made it all the way to a fancy mansion that was almost like a castle. The size of the place was like a cross between Robin's old house in Acme Acres (which was a modest house paid for by Steven Spielberg) and the Warner Bros Studio Lot. This was Wayne Manor. Robin said with amazement, "wow. This place makes my old house look like a tiny measly motel in comparison." He then pulled out a tiny card that contained his personal cell phone number, giving it to Kevin. "You ready?" Robin asked. "Yeah," said Kevin as he and Robin got out of the car. They wandered over to the front of the door and after a moment of hesitation, Kevin knocked on the door.

A minute later, an old man in his late '60s early '70s answered the door. The old man was Caucasian, had thinning white hair, a thin white mustache, and light blue eyes. He was six feet tall and wore a black tuxedo. The old man looked at Kevin and Robin, and he was slightly surprised to see an actual toon. But he thought nothing too serious of it. It wasn't the weirdest thing the old man had seen in his life. "May I help you gentlemen?" The old man asked, his accent British. "Are you Alfred Beagle?" Kevin asked. The British old man chuckled, "You're almost close, young sir. Beagle was the surname of my grandmother. I'm Alfred Pennyworth, personal assistant to Bruce Wayne and head butler of Wayne Manor. And you are?"

"My name is Kevin Beaumont," explained Kevin. "Beaumont? Would you happen to be related to Carl Beaumont and his daughter Andrea?" Alfred asked, not having heard the Beaumont name in over 20 years. "Yes, I'm Andrea's son," confirmed Kevin, "Is Bruce Wayne here?" Alfred could see a resemblance to Andrea in Kevin, and the young man reminded him of his employer/surrogate son Bruce. "I do believe Master Bruce is inside," said Alfred, "I will see where he is and inform him of you, Mr Beaumont. And whom might you be, young sir?" Robin raised his cap and said, "Robin Warner. I'm just an acquaintance of Kevin. I found him hitchhiking less than 100 miles away from here and decided to help him get to Gotham. Some guy in a red helmet stole his car with all his things." Alfred gave a look of sympathy and said, "I do apologize that your car was stolen Mr Beaumont. Have you reported this incident to the police?"

"We have, and Commissioner Gordon is getting his men to look for my car and the criminal who stole it," confirmed Kevin. "Allow me to find Master Bruce and let him know you would like to speak to him," said Alfred as he went inside to look for Bruce. Robin got out his cell phone and started looking up apartments in Gotham City. About a minute later, Alfred came back with his employer/surrogate son Bruce Wayne. Bruce was a Caucasian man standing around 6 ft 2 with jet black hair and graying sideburns since he was in his late '40s and early '50s, with dark blue eyes. He wore a yellow dress shirt with a black tie and a brown dress coat, fancy tan pants, and fancy black shoes. He was handsome and looked physically fit, muscular in a way. Robin could see a resemblance in Kevin and Bruce. "Hello gentlemen." Bruce said in a suave baritone voice, "so you're the two gentlemen Alfred told me about. I understand you wish to speak to me Kevin. But what about you Mr Warner? What brings you to Gotham?"

"I'm hosting a show for Gotham's public television station," explained Robin. "Oh that's right, I heard about that," said Bruce, "since you helped Mr Beaumont, I'll be sure to donate funds to Gotham's public television as a way of saying thanks, Mr. Warner." Robin smiled and shook Bruce's hand while saying, "why thank you, Mr. Wayne. I greatly appreciate that. It's really nice to meet you." Bruce smiled and said, "likewise. Best of luck to your hosting gig." Robin looked at Kevin and said, "well Kevin, looks like I'll let you talk to Mr. Wayne. I'm gonna look for some place to live while residing here in Gotham. See you around." Kevin shook Robin's hand and said, "You too Robin. Thanks for everything. Don't be a stranger." As Robin got in his Freebird, he watched as Kevin followed Bruce and Alfred into the mansion. Robin drove his psychedelic van and said to himself, "if I didn't know any better, I'd assume Kevin is Bruce Wayne's long lost son... I mean, Bruce Wayne's a womanizing billionaire playboy. I wouldn't be surprised if he had some babies."

Robin drove around Gotham City, even taking a look at the public television network owned by WB that he would be filming his show. A few hours later, Robin found a nice neighborhood in Gotham with some decent apartments. Conveniently, there was a room for rent at the neighboring apartments, so Robin contacted the landlord of the place, and before he knew it, Robin signed a lease agreement that allowed him to live in the apartment, always paying rent first Monday of the month. As Robin wandered over to his brand new apartment and got ready to unlock the door, he heard a familiar feminine voice ask behind him, "Robin?" The Ink-Blot toon turned around and saw Barbara. "Oh hey Barbara," said a pleasantly surprised Robin, "I didn't expect to see you here." Barbara pointed at the door next to Robin's apartment and slightly giggled, "oh I live next door. Didn't expect you to be my new neighbor."

"Well what were the odds of that?" Robin chuckled, "I just needed a place to live while I'm residing in Gotham while hosting my show. It's nice to know that you're my neighbor. At least it's someone I kinda know." Barbara rolled her wheelchair a bit closer to Robin and said, "well I'll make sure you feel welcome in this neighborhood. If you want to visit me and hang out, I wouldn't mind that." Robin blushed and said, "I'd like that a lot, actually. Well, I guess I'll see you around, Barbara." He looked into Barbara's sky blue eyes, and she looked at Robin's toon black eyes. "You too Robin," said Barbara as she smiled sweetly at Robin. The toon unlocked the door to his brand new apartment and went inside. He wandered around from room to room, saying to himself, "I think I might like this place. As they say in olden days, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. I wonder what's to eat around here?" As Robin unpacked his things, he started to realize that he might have a crush on his neighbor Barbara.

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