Summer, 1999

A young college graduated man was riding on a large bus with his suitcases that contained his belongings. He was wearing a University of Washington Huskies t-shirt, blue jeans, green socks, and red Converse sneakers. He had Caucasian skin, short light brown hair, and dark blue eyes. His name was Kevin Adam Beaumont. He was looking at a picture in his wallet. This picture was him at a senior prom when he was 18 going on 19. He was wearing a tuxedo with a blue bowtie and was standing next to his girlfriend at the time. His girlfriend had Caucasian skin, blonde hair in a ponytail, and brighter blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of glasses, a blue dress with red undertones, and she wore red open-toed heels. The photo showed them when they were truly in love and really happy. Kevin tenderly touched the picture, and he thought to himself, "I miss you Kara..." He sighed sadly. Suddenly, Kevin could feel the bus abruptly stop, as if one of the tires burst in deflation. "What the heck?!?!?" Kevin asked incredulously. Others murmured in surprise, confused as to why the bus suddenly stopped. Kevin put the picture back and went outside to see what was going on. The bus seemed to have stopped in a desert midwest. It was hot and sunny without any clouds. The bus driver was looking at the engine outside. "What happened?" Kevin asked the bus driver. "The bus got a flat tire," replied the driver, "and on top of that, the battery died! I'm going to call a repairman and see how long it will take..."

Kevin nodded and then decided to walk on over to a convenience store so that he could use the bathroom, while letting his mother Andrea know what was going on. Once he was finished doing his business and washed his hands, he came back a few minutes later and asked the bus driver, "any luck?" The bus driver nodded and replied, "I talked to the repairman, said they can get the bus fixed in 2 days." Kevin's eyes widened and he asked in shock, "WHAT?!?!?!? TWO DAYS?!?!?!? Are you kidding me?!?!?! I can't wait that long to go to Gotham!" The bus driver shrugged and said, "sorry. That's as best I can do. If you don't want to ride on this bus, whatever. Good luck getting to Gotham." Kevin sighed and got out his suitcases. If he had to hitchhike for a ride, so be it. "I definitely should have taken Mom's offer to let her drive me to Gotham..." Kevin said in hindsight, and he continued in a mocking and sarcastic manner while walking, "oh no Mom, you don't need to drive me to Gotham so I can meet my biological father. I don't want you to go to the trouble of asking for a few days off from work so you can drive me from Bellevue to Gotham. This will totally save you gas money and having to book motels. The bus is totally convenient! Real smart thinking, Kevin..." Under the boiling sun, Kevin kept on hitchhiking, hoping in vain to get a ride. This went on for an hour. Kevin was beginning to accept the fact that he would never get a ride. "I think I might have a heat stroke..." Kevin said to himself, panting. His face and hair were wet from constant sweat. There were sweat stains all over the chest of his shirt and his armpits, and his feet hurt from all that walking in what was practically a desert. It didn't help that he didn't drink any water lately. Carrying the suitcases didn't do Kevin any favors either. Suddenly, a psychedelic looking car drove by. It looked to be the type of van that hippies would drive, and it was incredibly colorful. It had the words Freebird on it, obviously referencing the Lynyrd Skynyrd song of the same name. Kevin could have sworn the van looked cartoonish... The window went down, and Kevin saw the driver. The driver looked like Yakko Warner if he was a teenager. He wore an orange and white cap with the words ACME etched in blue, a striped red and green t-shirt, white gloves, blue pants, and bright red and white shoes. "You okay, dude?" The cartoony driver asked. Kevin looked at the toon, confused. "Yeah," he replied, "I've just been hitchhiking for an hour..."

"In this weather? That must be driving you crazy," joked the toon. "You have no idea," chuckled Kevin as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "You need a ride?" The toon offered, "I got the AC on and bottles of water and Gatorade." Kevin nodded and said, "sure. Thanks." The toon got out of the Freebird and said, "let's get your suitcases into the trunk. I'm sure carrying all that in the boiling sun for an hour must have been a crick in the neck for ya." Kevin noticed that this ink spotted toon was 3 ft 3. The toon opened the trunk and he and Kevin put his suitcases into the back of the van. Kevin stretched and said, "yeah... that's better. Thanks. I gotta say, I never thought I'd be meeting an actual toon. Wait, does that mean Space Jam is real?" The toon chuckled and replied, "more or less. Here, take this damp towel on your forehead. It should help cool you off." He pulled a damp towel from his cap and gave it to Kevin. The two went inside, Kevin in the passenger seat with the damp towel on his forehead, and the toon went into the driver's seat. He gave Kevin a bottle of water, and Kevin took a careful sip so as not to overindulge or take any giant gulps. The cool air felt nice and relaxing. "Thank you Mr... Uh, what's your name??" Kevin asked. "The name is Atticus Melvin Isadore Frederick Charles Bosco Steven George Walton Lucas Warner," said the toon, "but they call me Robin. You?" Kevin took another sip and replied, "I'm Kevin Beaumont. You remind me of those Warner Brothers named Yakko and and Wakko." Robin smiled and said, "don't forget the Warner sister Dot. But you're not far off Kevin. I am their cousin. Nice to meet you Kevin." They shook hands and Kevin replied, "nice to meet you too Robin. When I was a kid, I loved watching Looney Tunes and Animaniacs on Fox Kids and other TV stations." Robin smiled and said, "well I'm flattered. I'm pretty good friends with Bugs Bunny. So where you headed?"

"Gotham City," replied Kevin as he drank a little bit more water. "Gotham, eh?" Robin casually asked, "what's in Gotham?" Kevin looked at the time and replied, "it's where my dad lives. My biological father. I never got a chance to meet him." Robin nodded and said, "I see. Well I definitely know what it's like to not have a father. I can help you find your dad, Kevin." He then started driving. "You're willing to do that?" Kevin asked. "Sure," said Robin, "I got nothing else to do. Maybe a father and son reunion might be a nice change of pace for me." Kevin smiled and said, "thanks a lot, Robin. I got a good feeling we're going to be good friends." Robin smiled and said, "yeah, me too."