Rising Robin

Chapter XLII: The League

Dick Grayson stepped up through the metallic steps, & walked into the chrome elevator shaft. He surveyed the futuristic elevator & swallowed his saliva. He was terrified.

After he had ensured that Mother Louise was alright & that Nolan Drake was apprehended, things sort of went back to normal in Gotham City. Dick was able to enroll in another school, studying alongside Barbara Gordon. Barbara had begun to feel more open with Dick, & Dick was able to be open with her as well. They had began to trust each other more, & he felt genuinely loved for once. He was in love with Barbara, & it was the best thing ever.

Dick knew that she probably had some idea that he was Robin at night, fighting crime alongside the Batman, but she never brought it up. It was never really something that they felt the need to acknowledge. Whenever he said that he would be busy for a night, however, Barbara would always have this sad look on her face. He knew that she knew that he was never with another girl, but the fact that he was sneaking out every night to put his life in danger was hard for her. Dick could see it in her eyes. But someone had to.

Dick had also established a respectful relationship with her father, Detective Jim Gordon. Jim had done his best to keep Dick's name out of the reports on Nolan Drake's crimes, & Dick made sure that Jim knew he was appreciative of that. He would send Jim food delivery at work without question, & he would drop his daughter off at home after school, & on nights where Barbara wanted to be with Dick, he would make sure that he & Barbara were at her house with Jim & spent quality time together. Sometimes, Dick would even leave during the evening to "run an errand," but really wanted Barbara & Jim to still spend their quality father/daughter time together.

For Dick & his own as the Robin, he felt that he was doing good work with Bruce. The two of them trained more, fought alongside each other more often, & together, they made Gotham a little bit safer since the attack on City Hall. Bruce had told Dick that he was ready.

That's when Dick was told to leave town. Bruce had only given him an address, which was somewhere out in Washington D.C. Bruce had left early that morning, leaving Dick a message that gave him directions to an air strip. At the air strip was a private jet that belonged to Wayne Industries. There, the pilot escorted Dick on the plane & flew him to D.C. rather quickly. After that, a black Lincoln, similar to the one that Dick first arrived in when meeting Bruce for the first time, was waiting for him again. Dick stepped inside, hoping to find Alfred at the wheel. Instead, it was a younger driver that he did not recognize. The driver drove Dick all the way through D.C., passing the White House. Dick wanted a brief moment to take in the scenery, but it seemed that he was supposed to be rushing.

Finally, the car dropped Dick off in front of an abandoned museum. It was deserted, but it seemed as though it was partially under construction. Dick was unsure by the mixture of debris, police tapings, & trash. Dick knew other than to question Bruce, though. This was most likely the right spot.

After walking up the steps of the abandoned museum, Dick stepped inside & was surprised of the scenery within.

The interior of the museum was entirely polished & constructed as a elegant exhibit. The hall was surrounded with large monuments & statues of men & women, but they were all armored & clothed in strange costumes with emblems stamped across their chests & masks over their eyes. They...looked like tacky versions of vigilantes. Sort of like...

A small metal orb floated towards Dick. It startled Dick, but after a brief moment, he realized that the orb was not hostile.

A red light began to glow within the orb, & a humming sound buzzed as it approached Dick. "Greetings, Robin," the robotic orb spoke in a monotone voice. "Please follow me."