The Flash meets Robin:

The Flash was in a bind. While it was true – he was the fastest man alive – he couldn't be everywhere at once, and that was why he had called in the Bat.

Maybe that was a bad idea after all. Bruce had seemed pretty fed up with him the last time they had talked. Well, Barry had talked; Bruce resolutely ignored his peer.

Though why anyone wouldn't want to hear about Barry's new ring was beyond him. It was something Zatanna had souped up for his fifth anniversary with his wife, Iris: a glamour charm of sorts. Now, all he had to do to transition from a mild-mannered man to the freaky-fast savior of Central City was touch the face of the accessory with a finger. It wasn't much of a time saver for someone who could already move faster than the speed of sound, but he got to rub it in the face of other supers (*cough* Batman *cough*) who still had to go through the whole costume-change routine.

But at the moment, he was really regretting his decision to do said bragging. He'd called Bats nearly ten minutes ago, and the man was rarely ever late unless he was doing something very important or doing his billionaire, playboy spiel. It could be a twisted form of Bat revenge, but he seriously hoped it wasn't.

See, one of the slipperiest Central villains was a man by the name of Mirror Master. He was a brilliantly clever scientist, but he was also – unfortunately – very mad. And by mad, we mean insane. Devious and foaming-at-the-mouth was more up the Gotham Vigilante's alley while the Flash dealt with things that were more straightforward. And – well – straightforward was not a term that applied to a man who was an expert in mirrors, refraction, and duplicity.

So that was how he found himself zooming around a warehouse that was completely abandoned save for the technology that was going to reflect the city into another dimension in less than three minutes. Mirror Master's laughter echoed around the hero, seemingly reverberating from every angle. The Flash had fallen into a few traps already, but thankfully, he'd remembered how to escape from the last time Batman had helped him with the same villain. But he still couldn't find the mastermind or the proverbial 'self-destruct' switch (hey, every villain had an 'off' button).

He skidded to a stop as a holographic image of his foe appeared in front of the scarlet speedster. A leering grin was on the old man's face as he spoke:

"Give up Flash! You won't be able to stop my machine. My house of mirrors has you confused beyond belief, and even though you have the ability to escape, I know you would never abandon this deplorable city. That is why I'm going to wipe it off the map! So you can go ahead and disappear with it!"

The whir of the machines in the warehouse was growing in volume, the power charging for its final act of vengeance against Central City. The speedster was left with no chance to do anything further. It was too late. And too late also came the revelation that the mastermind was not even in the vicinity. Mirror Master was orchestrating their demise from afar.

Flash bowed his head, clenching his fists with the bitterness that comes from hopeless defeat. And Batman – his trusted friend – had let him down. Barry squeezed his eyes shut, accepting his fate.

But that fate never came.

He didn't comprehend what happened right away, but he heard the engines suddenly cut. The momentum of the turbines simply ran out, a slowing noise that greatly contrasted his own racing heart. Barry opened his eyes, fearing the worst.

It was pitch black in the warehouse, not even the flickering of LED lights on mysterious contraptions glowed in the darkness. Had the transportation been completed?

Suddenly a steady light shone, cutting the veil of inky blackness: a simple flashlight. The speedster remained where he was. Was this person friend or foe? He couldn't tell; the light did not illuminate its bearer.

"Who's there?" He called, unable to overcome his curiosity.

"Me," the voice was young but firm and confident, "And I'm here to help."

The soft pad of feet was barely audible. Whoever this was, they moved like a ninja. Barry would have guessed it was a Bat, but it definitely wasn't Bruce, he'd have recognized Dick's voice, and Jason was…

"Who are…" he tried again, but was cut off by a sharp shhh!

"They're coming." The stranger whispered again.

"Who?"

"The flunkies! Who do you think?"

If Flash could have seen this person's eyes, he was sure they would be rolling them.

"I'm going to crack a magnesium flare," the boy – he was certain it was a boy – was speaking quietly again, "Don't look at it, but use its light to take care of these thugs. There's fourteen in all."

With barely a second to process the information, Barry adverted his eyes and a brilliant, white light flamed into existence. The flare was tossed to the floor and in the revealing illumination he saw a short, black cape flutter out of the corner of his eye. The enemy was upon him before he had more time to ponder the growing sense of familiarity.

Among the flurry of limbs and weapons that followed, he cause glimpses of his ally in the fray. The red, yellow, and black uniform was familiar, but the boy was not. He fought with a long staff, wielding it with two hands. Every action was calculated; not a single movement wasted. There was a dispassionate air about him as he coldly exploited every weakness presented to him in the fight. The short battle was over in moments between the two of them; exactly fourteen men lay unconscious on the floor in the diminishing light of the flare.

The boy said nothing to the Flash as he methodically turned each man over, tying their hands and dragging them to lean against a nearby, cement pillar. Barry could do little but watch him in confusion.

It was undoubtedly a Robin costume, but slightly different from the others he had seen. The boy looked to be twelve, an average height and more built than he remembered Dick looking at that age. His black hair was short, only slightly longer in the front where it stood up. His face was stony and serious for one so young.

Nevertheless, that meant that another boy had crept his way into the life of the Dark Knight: a man who had been torn up over the death of his last ward for the past two years. Bruce had fallen into the darkness of his guise, becoming more secluded and violent as the guilt of failing his partner consumed him. Batman needed a Robin, but he was unwilling to allow anyone to fill the position when his self-hatred was at an all-time high.

What was so special about this one? He didn't seem happy-go-lucky like Dick or mischievous like Jason. He was a skillful fighter, but had none of Dick's natural grace or Jason's overeager volatility. So far he had yet to say a word that hadn't apply directly to the situation at hand. Why had Batman chosen him?

A clank accompanied a chorus of buzzing sounds as the industrial lights turned on and gradually brightened.

"He's coming." The boy murmured, finished with his chore.

"Who…?"

Flash turned around to receive a mini heart attack. Batman was standing right behind him as if he'd been there all day, a black, chasm-like void in the featureless grey of the warehouse. There was a man, hands tied and looking extremely unhappy sitting at Batman's feet, glaring relentlessly at the Flash.

"Hey, Bats!" his greeting felt weak, "I didn't think you were coming."

"You called me. I came." His deep, gravelly voice revealed that he was not happy about something. Barry seriously hoped he was not the object of that displeasure.

"Of course," he tried to look confident with his hands on his hips, "I never doubted you."

The Dark Knight gave him a blank look as if he didn't give a lick as to whether or not Barry believed in him or not. His heavy gaze didn't last long; it moved to the boy standing resolutely in front of his catch of criminals.

"Robin," that edge of ice was in the Batman's voice. It was chilling. Barry flinched even when it wasn't directed at him, but this boy bore it like it was nothing. "I told you not to get involved. Observe: that was your order. Keep me posted but do not initiate."

"I didn't initiate. In fact, I de-initiated it. I shut it down."

"How?" the Flash interjected. After all, that was what he'd been trying to do.

Robin gave him a flat 'duh' look, "I disconnected the power."

"I had seven alternate energy sources and two backup generators," Mirror Master screeched from the floor, "An infant like you couldn't just 'shut it down'! I had them encoded and the interfaces were supposed to blow up any hackers attempting to break in. Even the Flash couldn't handle it."

"Shut up," Batman said quietly, prodding the villain with his boot. The man promptly shut his trap, gulping as he glanced at the vigilante and received a patented bat-glare.

"Cut the power and the machine doesn't run. It was a simple solution really." Robin said, meeting his mentor's gaze, "I'm surprised no one else thought of it sooner."

So he neglected to mention the firewalls he most likely had to circumnavigate, or the programs he most likely had to decode, or the additional control panels he most likely had to locate, or the thugs he most likely had to avoid. No biggie.

"In the end, we all did our part." The Bat growled, a sound that came out almost like a sigh for him, "Except maybe Flash. He just stood there and looked stupid."

"Hey!" Barry objected, "I resent that."

The boy was smiling, a tentative grin that lit up his face, "Well he wasn't completely useless. These punks had a hay day watching him run around. It was a fantastic distraction."

Bat's face twitched, the way it did when he was trying to smile. Only those who knew him well enough could recognize and appreciated the sentiment. He was proud of his protégé, if not a little worried by his interpretation of 'observation.'

Sirens wailed and gravel crunched as the police cars finally arrived on the scene. In the blink of an eye, the Flash had delivered all the bound men to the authorities outside. He didn't want them to come in and see all the help he had needed for this near-catastrophe.

"I believe introductions are in order." Batman declared when he returned, "Flash, this is Robin, my partner. Robin, The Flash, the Scarlet Speedster, Fastest Man Alive, blah blah blah…"

Did THE Batman just say 'blah blah blah'?

Ignoring the abnormality, the hero extended his hand to the boy, "Nice to meet you Robin."

The bird tilted his head, seemingly examining the speedster's hand before he took it in his own, "Yeah, nice to meet you…" Robin adjusted his grip, thumb pressing the face of Flash's new ring. In a millisecond the protector of Central City had reverted to his everyday attire, maskless. "… Barry Allen."

As Barry stood there, gasping like a fish out of water, the new Robin plastered a satisfied smirk on his face, "Let's face it. It's not hard to guess which of Bruce's acquaintances are supers. Capes have jobs in law enforcement or media where they get the first scoop on anything crime related. It's all very cute and original. It surprises me that more people haven't found out."

Batman chucked, but it sounded more like he was gargling rocks, "Not everyone has an eye for pattern and detail like you, Tim."

"No kidding." Barry mumbled, reactivating his ring. The boy just stood there and looked proud.

A moment passed in comfortable silence.

"Robin, Nightwing commed me." Batman suddenly spoke, "He's in Gotham and wants you to join him for patrol. I'm going to help Flash pick up here. Take the batwing back to the city and I'll meet you later tonight."

"Nightwing?" the Dark Knight nodded and the boy began bouncing in place, "YESSSS!" He was sprinting out of the warehouse less than a second later, "You'll zeta back then? See you later tonight!"

Tim's cape flipped around the corner and he was gone.

Flash felt the need to say something to his friend, but he was rather lacking in words at the moment. The boy, Tim, may not be like the other Robins, but he still had those unique gifts that qualified him to be a hero of Gotham. And he filled that void that Batman so badly needed to have filled. He was that someone to teach; that someone to look after; that someone to lighten his life.

A few author's notes:

Tim is a little more difficult because he's not very similar to some of the other Robins. In Young Justice he seems so much more quiet and rather reluctant to let his abilities shine. I haven't read any of the comics with him in it, but I have done my research.

Tim is supposedly the most 'detective-like' of the Robins (and that's saying something, cause they are all super smart). He uses his intellect to out-think his opponents. He's the best hacker of the bunch (which surprise me, cause YJ made Dick out to be such an amazing computer freak; but lo-and-behold, Tim is BETTER!). Also, he fights with a super awesome bo staff (like a BAMF) to make up for his less-than-legendary combat skills.

Then there is the whole matter that he discovered Robin and Batman's identities when he was NINE! If he can do that, he will have absolutely NO PROBLEM figuring out everyone else's in the Justice League.

I'm not saying that Batman keeps the identities of his peers secret per se, throughout this story, just that he doesn't outright tell the Robins. He lets them figure it out for themselves as a certain training challenge.

Anyway, if you enjoyed this story (or any chapter), tell me what you liked best so I know what I'm doing right and what I can improve. Thanks!

AUTHOR OUT!