Verisimilitude

Circus - Part 1

[Finally got this caught up to its Fanfiction.net and Ao3 counterparts.]

His eyebrows creased as he read through the reports that made him grow increasingly more worried. The harsh, bright light of the batcomputer stared back at him, and he was vaguely aware of the squeaking of bats behind him.

Having finished up his homework, he had decided to see if there was any work for him to do in the Batcave, as Bruce was still at work. He had stumbled upon news reports of a robbery that police were thinking about connecting to Haly International Traveling Circus, and instantly began investigating.

He had to admit that the evidence that had been found so far was pretty damning, and if he hadn't been raised in that exact circus he probably would have thought that Haly was guilty.

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the news reports in front of him, but not actually reading them.

I could ask Bruce if we could investigate it...no, he's too busy with Gotham. Riddler's still out there, and by the time we catch him this will have ended.

Maybe the Team?

No, he won't clear me for that. Neither will Dinah, as Bruce has probably already told her about... He sighed, remembering his breakdown that had occurred weeks prior. He hadn't talked about it with Bruce directly since that night, but he noticed that his mentor had grown increasingly more protective, and finding excuses to take him out of Team training more and more. He wasn't complaining per se - being around the Team did hurt, even though it had been months since the simulation.

But still...a part of him knew that it would always hurt. A part of him would never get over it. The pain would stay forever. Maybe he was being too dramatic, and he should just face the problem head on?

He tapped on the table in front of him indecisively, before moving away from the Batcomputer and standing up from the chair. He would worry about his own mental state after Haly's circus was safe. He moved swiftly, trying to not think about what he was about to do so much that he would change his mind, and changed into his Robin costume quickly. Bruce wouldn't get back from work for four more hours at the very least due to meetings, but Alfred would realize he was gone before then.

He leaned back over the keyboard, not bothering to sit down again, and typed out a brief message for either Bruce or Alfred. He gave them a vague idea of where he what was happening - mission in Europe with the Team, be back in a day or two, that he would be careful, etc.

By the time Bruce got wind of it, and figured out the details of what he was up to, it would be too late. Bruce probably wouldn't have the will to stop him, as the man knew how much that circus meant to him. It would probably be no use anyway, due to the amount of time it would take to fly to Europe to collect him, and that whole time Gotham would be unprotected. And with Riddler on the loose, that could be nearly disasterous.

He finally made his way to the zeta tube and, taking a deep breath, typed out his location.

"Recognized: Robin, B01."

No one was in the hangar, but he knew that M'gann and Conner were in the lounge or the kitchen (as those were their typical locations at this time of day), and either Artemis or Wally would probably be with them. He hoped it was the former, as the latter knew of his ties to Haly's circus. He knew Aqualad and Zatanna wouldn't be there - Aqualad had already informed them that he would be on a mission with Aquaman, and Zatanna was working with Dinah on some legal issues that had appeared from the apparent disappearance of Zatara (since the public didn't exactly know the entire Zatara/Dr. Fate situation).