Behind the Mask

Chapter 2

Robin subconsciously rubbed the bandaged area of his upper arm, pausing for a moment to stare out over the scene displayed before him. It was a perfect Fourth of July day, the sun shining bright and a slight breeze to take off the heat of midsummer. The trees of Gotham Park waved gently back and forth as families sat underneath them stretched out on blankets and cooking hotdogs over grills. Robin smiled, enjoying how serene it looked, almost making him wish he could enjoy it too.

Him and Bruce had never really celebrated Independence; not in this day anyway. Bruce always made a big deal about the holiday, but never went out into the park to have a picnic, preferring to sit at home and mull over the history of it. Dick, if it was a nice day, would go outside and shoot some hoops; recently he’d taken to hanging out with Barbara for a few hours as Bruce didn’t usually come out from his secluded solitude until dinner. Alfred would always cook a special dinner, but no matter how good it was, it never compared to hotdogs on the grill. Dick had gotten used to this form of celebration, but he still sometimes longed spend the day with Bruce, whatever they did. Alfred said that the holiday reminded Bruce of his parents, which was why he stayed inside and acted almost downcast. The holiday reminded Dick of his parents, which was why he wanted to go outside and celebrate it.

Now here he was, in Gotham Park on a perfect day, Bruce hanging around nearby as the Batman, and all Robin wanted to do was leave. Any other year he’d have given anything to spend the Fourth with Bruce, even it meant chasing down one of Gotham’s criminals, but this year all he wanted to do was get over to the Hall of Justice and then from there to the League Headquarters. This detour could cause him to be late. Not that Robin was always super worried about being perfectly punctual, but this was something he didn’t want to miss. If only Freezey could see it the same way he did.

After Mister Freeze’s escape the night before, Robin and Batman had returned dejectedly to the Batcave, Batman unable to pick on his trail again. Batman had then had to break the ice of Robin’s arm from Freezey’s ice gun (painful, to say the least) and they’d both gone to bed feeling despondent. The next morning, though, Batman had gotten a call from the Commissioner that Freeze was wreaking havoc in Gotham Park, freezing people at random. It seemed he wasn’t too happy either about not being able to spend the Fourth with his family. They’d suited up and immediately headed over to the park, hitting the rooftops and treetops as they kept constant vigilance for the ice villain.

There! Robin immediately radioed Batman and sent him his coordinates as he shot a grappling hook towards a tree nearer to the suddenly revealed cyro-suited man. Robin landed neatly in a tall oak tree, watching as Mister Freeze jumped down from a ledge he’d frozen and began terrorizing a family, shooting his ice gun at them, instantly freezing them and their picnic, terrified expressions on their faces. He turned, aiming his weapon at a small crowd of people running away. Robin acted fast, whipping out a batarang which hit its target perfectly, knocking Freezey’s gun off target and sending him stumbling over from the force of the hit.

“Batman,” he breathed. “I was wondering when-”

Robin cut him off a cackle, leaping from his spot in the tree and flying through the air, landed directly on the ice villain’s helmet, succeeding in cracking it and sending its wearer to the ground. He used the helmet as a spring board, flipping off him and landing in a crouch on the grass, sending two batarangs flying at the man on the ground, cracking his helmet even more. Freeze looked annoyed, his face set in a grimace as he picked himself up off the ground.

“Oh, Boy Wonder,” he sighed, sounding disappointed. “The Bat sent you to drag me off to prison? Frankly, I’m underwhelmed.”

Robin sighed, looking past Freeze at his mentor now hiding in the treetops. He shot him a look and Robin frowned.