Batman sighed as he threw himself onto his chair.

It had been a rough night. And as expected, the day started off rough. But then again, when was it not?

He typed into his computer looking for information about the latest crimes. Lately, he has been very keen on finding the boy who had robbed one of the biggest and most protected banks in Gotham. Sure, it was owned by shady people, but that doesn't justify robbing it.

The child had used some expensive technology. This led Batman to believe that he was not working alone. A secret organization must have ordered him to commit the crime. Is he doing this willingly, though? He inquired.

As he continued investigating, a butler walked up to him. "Here's you're coffee, Master Bruce."

"Thanks, Alfred." Bruce muttered.

Alfred noticed the tired look on his face. "I'd recommend you get some shut eye. You look exhausted." He mentioned in his usual British accent.

"I will. I just need to finish a few things. Don't worry about me." He replied.

"If you say so." He said as he walked away. He abruptly stopped and turned back to Bruce. "Master Bruce, have you heard about the circus boy?"

Bruce scrunched his eyebrows. Circus boy? Who is he talki-

Wait. The acrobat?

He looked at Alfred, concerned. "No. What happened?"

The butler looked into Bruce's eyes sadly. "He was put into a Juvenile Detention Center."

Bruce widened his eyes. "What? I admit, I didn't really know him, but he seemed like a nice kid." He commented disappointedly.

Alfred shook his head. "He wasn't placed there because of his behavior. You see, his parents were his only family. After they died, he was supposed to go to an orphanage, but, apparently, they were full. Instead, they sent him there."

Bruce stared at the floor. Gosh..Poor kid.

He opened his mouth to speak but Alfred interrupted. "I'm afraid there's more."

"Two days ago he escaped." He informed. Bruce looked at the man in denial. "No. He couldn't have."

Alfred said nothing in return. He walked up to him and gave him a document. "It was on the news. I went to the police and asked for an official report. I thought you'd want to see for yourself." He explained.

Bruce sighed. He looked up at Alfred gratefully. "You didn't have to. But thank you, I really appreciate it. I might be here for a while, so don't wait up." He stated.

"Alright. Call me if you need anything, Master Bruce." He said and left the hidden compartment.

Bruce redirected his attention on the document in his hands. Once he opened it, he began reading it.

The papers said that the boy, Richard Grayson, had been in the Juvenile Detention Center for almost two months. He had escaped at night unnoticed. In the morning, the guards couldn't find him and realized the vents were opened. He had escaped through the vents. After that, they searched around Gotham, asking people if they had seen a boy which matched his description. A few people said that they saw a young boy roaming the streets in a JDC uniform, but do not know his current whereabouts. Police are currently searching for him.

Bruce took it all in. As strange as it might sound, he couldn't blame the boy for escaping. He didn't deserve to end up in there. But of course, he shouldn't have. Now he was somewhere out there all alone. He could be hurt or in danger.

Bruce felt guilty in a way. He told himself that he would check up in the boy a few days or weeks after the devastating event. The child would need time to be placed in the orphanage. Bruce would visit just to see if everything was okay, and if maybe Richard had gotten adopted. He even considered adopted the kid himself. Crazy, right?

Yet he had been busy in the last couple of months. He was ashamed to admit that he had completely forgotten about the boy.

Bruce continued looking though all the papers. Then he found a picture of Richard. He had fluffy black hair and incredible blue eyes. He was very small and quite skinny.

That's when the realization hit him. I'm an idiot, he thought.

This was the same kid who was with Selina literally just a few hours ago.

Bruce ran a hand through his hair. If he took the boy back, Selina would be furious. But what exactly was she even doing with him?

Bruce would be lying if he said he didn't have a soft spot for Selina. Taking away someone who could potentially be important to her would be difficult for him.

But still, this was about Richard not Selina. And what's best for Richard in the long run is bringing him to an orphanage.

Bruce got up from the chair and headed to his black car. He was going to confront them.

- - - - - - - - -

"Do you want to join a life of crime with me?"

Dick stared at Selina with wide eyes. None of them said a word as they looked into each other's eyes.

"I-I-" Dick stammered.

Selina looked at the roof. "Okay, when I say it like that, it's probably overwhelming." She noted.

She took his hand. "It's just that, ugh- Why should you depend on this Oswald Cobblepot guy? I'll help you get revenge. He's just another one of those jerks who use other people to reach a higher status in this society."

Dick squeezed Selina's hand compassionately. "You don't know him. He's not like that. At least, not completely. He scared of being betrayed by his own friends. Maybe I can help him overcome that."

Selina sighed. "No, Dick. He's a sociopath. He needs professional mental health. Besides, none of that is your responsibility to deal with."

Dick knitted his eyebrows. "I don't know what you mean by that but I can't just walk away. Just like earlier today. And about joining you: I don't know. I get that I've done some dangerous and illegal stuff, but I don't think I'm good enough..." He admitted.

Selina nodded. "I understand what you're saying. But I'm not asking you for your skills, I'm asking because I care about you. You're young and lively. I like that about you."

"Anyways, you'll learn easily; you're a quick learner. And it'll be fun." She explained.

"Tell me, how did you feel when you were escaping Juvie?" She asked.

Dick thought about it. "...excited."

Selina grinned. "Exactly! I love the adrenaline rush, too! We can have adventures together. It could just be the two of us, living life the thrilling yet luxurious way."

She smiled longingly. "It'd be really fun teaching you things. Maybe you could even teach me a thing or two. You know, your circus tricks."

Selina looked at Dick intently. "What do you say?"

Dick stared at her, shocked. She had said a lot. And if he was being honest, he was convinced.

He'd never really liked the idea of committing illegal deeds. Well, that was before everything fell apart and his parents died. In a way, a piece of him died.

Of course, Dick was still Dick. But now, he seemed to care less about what was considered legal and illegal. From breaking out of somewhere to breaking into somewhere else. If he remained a goody-two-shoes, he'd never acomplish anything.

Dick had liked Selina from the moment he met her. She was cool. She taught him stuff. Without realizing it, she made him feel less uncomfortable and scared in his new surroundings.

Now here she was, offering him to stay with her. To learn new things. That sounded much better than waiting to get stuck on the streets again.

Dick nodded happily. He grinned from ear to ear. "Of course!" He shouted.

Selina let out an exhale and then smiled. "I'm glad." She laughed slightly. "This will be a lot of fun. I can't wait to show you all of Ninja's friends."

Dick raised his eyebrows. Ninja has friends? He wondered. He was about to ask more until someone walked up to them.

It was penguin.

"Richard, are you ready to- oh, who's this?"

Awkward silence...

"Uh, s-she's my, erm, my friend." He answered. "I- umm, I'm sorry. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to invite anyone." He apologized.

Penguin smiled. "No, no, it's quite alright if she's your... Friend."

He cleared his throat. "I just wanted to talk to you about... You know." He hinted.

Dick glanced towards Selina.

"Sorry, I'll leave you two alone. Meet me outside when you're done, alright?" She said as she got up from the table.

Dick nodded.

Penguin watched her as she walked away. "So, where did you meet her?" He questioned.

"On the street." He replied.

"The street? Did you lie to me about her being your friend?" Penguin interrogated.

"No." Dick truthfully answered.

"... I see. Anyways, I was looking for you earlier, but you weren't here, it appears." Penguin stated. "No matter. Here you are. Now, the question at hand: are you ready to face Tony Zucco?"

Dick blinked. He had not expected for Penguin to ask that.

"My men quickly found his location. It appears he is a thug. While it's up to you, I'd advise you to say yes, because I can't guarantee that he'll still be there tomorrow." Penguin suggested.

"Okay then. Let's do it." Dick casually said. While Dick was still angry at Tony for what he'd done, he hadn't thought about what he wanted to do. He just wanted to get this over with. Well, whatever 'this' meant. The sooner he finished, the sooner he'd return to Selina.

"Oh yeah, can you, like, send someone to tell my friend what we'll be doing? She's outside and I don't want her out there for so long." Dick asked.

"Of course." Penguin affirmed. He called for some random worker nearby and told them what to do. The man nodded and left.

Afterwards, Dick followed Penguin outside, where there was the usual expensive looking car. He looked around for Selina but couldn't find her, that meant she probably left to do something in the meantime.

Once they settled into the car, Penguin explained the plan to Dick. "Currently, he is at a casino. My henchmen will take down Tony Zucco's men and-"

"Don't kill them. Please." Dick interrupted.

Penguin looked at him strangely.

"They didn't kill my parents; Tony did. They just follow his orders and stuff." Dick reasoned.

Penguin sighed. "That makes things slightly more complicated, but fine."

Dick smiled. "Thank you." He said sweetly.

"Whatever. As I was saying, then we'll have him a gun point and tell everyone else in the building to scram. Don't worry, we won't injure the bystanders. I know how you'll get if we do." Penguin implied.

Dick sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Afterwards, you are free to do whatever you please with him. With that, our deal will be completed. Sound good?" He finished

"Yep." Dick said, popping the 'p'.

They rest of the car drive was silent. In a few minutes, I'll see the murderer of my parents again, he thought anxiously.

They arrived in front of a very large casino. They parked in a VIP section, although Dick doubted that they actually had VIP passes.

Penguin and Dick hopped out of the car while the driver said bye. Suddenly, two cars, one to their right and one to their left opened up. Several men with guns spilled out in both directions.

"Holy moly! That's a lot of more people than I though there would be! Will we really need this many?" Dick shouted nervously.

Penguin let out a laugh. "This? This is nothing, trust me. And yes, just to make sure everything goes smoothly." He said.

"Alright. Head in. Tell me when the security is knocked out. Remember, don't kill anyone." Penguin ordered. The henchmen muttered "yes, sir" and "got it" and made their way into the building.

From a distance, screams and crashes could be heard. This made Dick worry.

Penguin said he wouldn't hurt any bystanders and he won't kill... don't worry. They're just surprised by the attack. He reassured himself.

Moments later, large crowds of people scurried out of the casino and got into their cars hastily. They looked scared, but not injured, at least.

A bald man with a small cut in his chin walked up to them though the chaos. "We have him secured, sir. He's all ready."

Penguin smirked and looked at Dick.

"Go in. The rest is all up to you."

What will happen next?
I feel the need to share that It was so weird writing the Batman scene because I didn't know what to call the Batcave or the Batmobile since Dick hadn't named it yet. -shudders-

Also, I changed the chapter name because a reader pointed out that it was a spoiler, which is 100% true, lol.