Hi there! Bullying is such a problem in our schools. It’s gotten even more out of control than when I was a kid. Schools don’t do anything to help students who are being bullied. The common answer is to make yourself more like the bullies so that they will stop picking on you. Jason dealing with bullies bridges a connection between comic and reality. It’s a way for someone who is being bullied to see their problem addressed and see how it’s not okay what is being done. It also provides someone who sees someone being bullied with the point that standing by and doing nothing is not okay. If they see someone being bullied they should stand up and do something to help. Getting into a fight isn’t necessarily the answer but if it comes down to it, it’s worth doing because it’s for the right reason.

Dick catching Jason and talking him down really works best here because he can identify with Jason and share his own experiences with him. I always head-cannoned that Dick stood up to bullies in school but that he also endured a bit of it himself after he first became Bruce’s ward. Kids are cruel. They look for any little reason to pick on another kid. As Jason points out, it was because he wasn’t born one of them. He was just a kid that Bruce adopted. A common gutter rat. Like Dick would have been seen as circus trash. It’s a reality that both boys had to deal with.

Money can’t stop bullying. Granted, it can do something like encourage schools to do something about it but it can’t stop the bullies from bullying. A bully will take the money with one hand and bully with the other. Bruce placing a phone call to the school administration to invite them to do something is a great start. He carries a lot of weight and financial influence. He can get the ball rolling. However, it will take more than that to get bullying to stop. What the actual answer is, I don’t know. However, empowering Jason and Dick is a good place to start. The less bullies are allowed to get away with their actions, the less people are bullied.

Excellent chapter as always!

Hi there! Poison Ivy is a tricky character because she’s a dangerous villain with a complex set of abilities. There’s so many ways to go with her and it can be tricky to figure out how to exactly deal with her. I think that you handled it perfectly with Bruce trying to reason with Dick to bring him out of her spell. When that fails to work he uses his strength and weight to take him down so he could incapacitate him and get him back to the Cave and a potential antidote. It’s really the only way that you could have gone with this that wasn’t overboard and requiring some massive finagling. Clean and easy is sometimes the best way to go with a villain like Ivy (or even Scarecrow, Hatter, etc).

Pitting Bruce against Dick also allows us to see how far Dick has come as a fighter. Bruce observes how quick on his feet he is. That he always had been quick but he’s showing how much farther he has come since he was that little boy he took in and started training. He also remarks how he shouldn’t underestimate Dick, allowing us to see that Dick has grown so much as a fighter that Bruce knows he can’t simply knock him down and the fight be done. Dick is a serious contender now and in a real one-on-one match between the two, the winner could be either.

Gotta feel for Dick when he wakes up. He’s been drugged by Ivy and Bruce and has Jason shouting at him (well, not shouting shouting but it feels like it with his head pounding). Not only that but Jason is ribbing him for falling prey to Ivy. As is that hasn’t happened a time or two to their mentor, requiring help from others to get him free (such as Catwoman helping him lol). Dick tries to save face by saying he kept up with Bruce but Bruce just shoots him down. Talk about cold lol

Another great chapter!

Hi there! Dick makes so many good points because they don’t live in a city that can be classified as safe. Gotham is Chicago and New York and Los Angeles with the amps turned all the way up. Course, that’s because those cities don’t have people like the Joker, Scarecrow, Two-Face, Black Mask, Poison Ivy, Mad Hatter, etc terrorizing it. Only, Jason wasn’t terrorized by one of them, either. He was terrorized by a normal, every day man by the name of Owen Rogers. A man who worked for Bruce. Who chose to kidnap him and try to kill him for the purpose of getting back at Bruce. This is not something that Robin has to deal with, Dick is absolutely correct. Because this wasn’t Robin who was taken for the purpose of getting back at Batman.

Jason pointing out he took better care of himself on the streets is a bit of an oof moment. It’s a definite reminder about how he was a kid taking care of his drug-addict mother after his abusive father got sent to the crossbar hotel. He had to boost things to be able to eat and support himself and his mother. He also had to learn how to fight gangs and other ruffians to survive. He’s a survivor. However, just because he couldn’t defend himself from Owen doesn’t make him weak. It just means that he was caught by someone who didn’t give him the chance to fight fair. Owen drugged him and that reduced his chances of getting away on his own.

Their bonding moment was really sweet. Each needed it. Especially Dick who has lost so many friends and family. It’s a never ending wound for him. And Jason? He’s trying to play it tough but he needs it, too. Especially since it’s not something that he has gotten before. He hasn’t had a secure family circle to help him with dealing with bad things like this. He’s always had to pretty much take care of himself. He now has Dick he can rely on but it’s something he has to allow himself to accept. Which he finally does after some typical angst and teenage snark.

Great chapter!

Hi there! Ugh, Owen was a bigger slime ball than we knew. Killing his wife and thinking he was doing it because of how she took his son away from him. Just shows you the mentality of people like this. He can’t accept responsibility for his actions or admit that he lost his family because of the choice he made. Had he not embezzled, he wouldn’t have ended up in prison, pure and simple. Had he not ended up in prison, he would not have ended up getting divorce and would have been there for his son and been part of the decisions about what to do for him. He made all those choices. Not Bruce. Same as he made the choice to kidnap a twelve year old boy to get back at Bruce for his “ruining his life.” No, he made that choice and must now live with the consequences. Though, he won’t. He’s firmly rooted in seeing himself as the victim and in being justified for what he did because of all Bruce took from him.

Bruce calling Gordon out was a “oof” moment but he does have a point. If it had been Barbara who had been taken and almost killed, Jim would have been in that room. Can almost guarantee that they’d have to pull him off of Owen, too. It’s not easy to separate being a father from a cop or costumed vigilante. The feelings remain the same in a uniform or out. These are your children and the idea of anyone hurting them is going to strike that primal parental side. Jim agreeing to let Bruce see him acknowledges that and acknowledges how Bruce needs to see Owen to be able to move on from what happened.

Not that Bruce will. We all know that he’s the King of Never Letting Things Go heh

Great chapter!

Hi there! Oof, poor Jason. Kidnapped again and this time by a crazed man who wanted to blame Bruce for firing him for his own misdeeds. No accountability or acceptance of responsibility. His wife leaving him is because of Bruce, not the fact that he was a thief who got himself fired from a good paying job. His wife deciding to end treatment for their son is something I can sympathize with him over because he should have had a say in the decision but hey, he was in jail. He made the choices he did and there have to be some repercussions for them.

The fact he kidnapped Jason with the purpose of making Bruce know what pain is shows how little a grasp he has on reality. Nobody in their right mind kidnaps a kid to get even with a parent. They wouldn’t want to visit that pain on another parent. Owen willingly doing so just shows that he has little regard for others and is only concerned with himself. The fact he attacked his neighbor when he came to check what was going on further proves that point. He was willing to get rid of whoever interfered in his plan to keep from getting caught. That was the only part that mattered to him outside of teaching Bruce a lesson. He wanted to get away with murder because he had it in his head that he was justified.

Jason curling up with Ace on the floor is a sweet and tender moment after what he endured. He needs that comfort and protection from his memories. Things that Bruce wants to give but isn’t sure how to give. The line about his removing the tape in a move that is unnaturally gentle for Batman shows how infrequently he has ever experienced these things from him. It’s not that Bruce doesn’t care, it’s that he’s afraid of letting himself care too much. That trauma of losing his parents continues to effect him even now that he is an adult with children of his own because it was the single most painful night of his life. And he fears losing his children in much the same way he lost his parents. So he keeps himself at bay. Protecting himself and he believes them. Which is far from the truth.

Another great chapter!

Hi there! This was a nice after the hurt comfort chapter. Two people just out for a walk in the park with their dog. It’s a nice way of showing how life moves on in a city like Gotham. There is no time to sit and lament over situations because there’s always some situation that is going on in a city with rogues like the Joker, Riddler, Scarecrow and Penguin always causing some mayhem or mischief. What happened to Barbara is a terrible reality. It’s left behind marks that might heal from the visible eye but which will never truly disappear. Barbara’s world has been changed by what happened. However, it did not defeat her. As she points out to Dick, she took care of herself. She was able to fight her attackers. She survived.

Buhaha Dick having to bribe Jason to get Ace is just perfect! That’s such a brotherly thing! I can see him doing that and choosing to make Dick wash the cars as what he has to do in return for allowing him to bring Ace on his walk with Barbara. Though, something tells me that Jason would have agreed anyway because it was Barbara heh he was just holding out so someone else could wash the cars.

I’m also in agreement that it feels like Alfred is Batman but Bruce is just the one wearing the suit. Alfred just knows things. I mean he did raise Bruce and we all know that wasn’t an easy job. Plus, Dick gave him a good run for his money, too. He got into plenty of scrapes of his own that gave Alfred knowledge for how to deal with Jason once he came along.

Another great chapter!

Hi there! This is a situation that happens all too often. Something women fear every time they walk out a door. This is a situation that lives in the back of the minds of all females. One we try to tell ourselves won’t ever happen because we’d never leave our homes if we did.

Drunk jackasses are dangerous jackasses. They don’t care about right or wrong. They only care about getting their jollies. They saw Barbara alone in the alley and decided they wanted to mess with her because she was all alone. Jerks like this deserve what they get honestly. That Barbara handed the ass to the one is just desserts. She’s no damsel in distress. She’s Batgirl. She’s trained in self-defense. Only, it is a different situation when you’re in full armor and a mask against a couple of Gotham’s street rats. There’s a confidence there in wearing that protective armor. A feeling of being able to handle anything and everything. That armor is both a physical protector and an emotional one. She rallies, though, and handles the thugs as need be.

Barbara’s only mistake in this situation is that she didn’t anticipate jerk number one having a partner with him. Had she taken that into account she might have managed to walk away sooner than she did.

Her calling Dick instead of her dad was good for a fluffy moment to end this piece with. She knows her dad is coming so rather than stress him out more she reaches out to the other person she knows she can rely on at this point: Dick. He’s able to help her process what happened and pull herself back together. He’s the friend she needs in that moment.

Really great piece!

Hi there! OMG Bruce cooking... the one thing I do not see him excelling at! The fact he tries to make shrimp scampi and fresh apple pie is a recipe for disaster. Neither one is the easiest thing to make. Especially if you are not someone who tends to cook all that often or have any basic cooking skills beneath your belt. Even experienced bakers can struggle with making a pie. One little thing can make or break that dough.

Bruce should have heeded Jason’s advice early on. It’s typical stubbornness on his part that he pushes through even when he realizes he is in over his head. He sends Jason from the kitchen as if that will help him fix what is already a lost cause. Gotta admit, I’ve almost made the mistake of using the wrong spice in a dish. Only mine almost ended up being salt instead of sugar. Thankfully, I caught on when I realized that the texture didn’t look right.
Otherwise, my cookies would have been inedible heh

Ha, Alfred knew something was up the second he walked into the Manor! Can’t pull the wool over that man’s eyes! His nose is even more keen than Ace’s ;) he could smell the disaster that happened in that kitchen. The fact Bruce agreed and ordered Domino’s just confirmed what he already knew. Only question I’m left with is: how much of a mess was left in that kitchen? Did Bruce conscript Jason into helping him clean up and get rid of the evidence or did he leave it for Alfred to handle? ;)

Really great chapter!

Hi there! “Master Bruce can be… difficult at times,” oh, Alfred, tell it like it really is. Bruce Wayne idles at difficult lol It’s his base mood. He flickers between moody/broody to difficult like a candle wavers in a breeze. It’s just who he is. However, he is surprising. Alfred is right in that regard. Bruce does sometimes not react or do what people might expect of him. I think it’s how he keeps people on their toes personally heh however, having this come from Alfred is a great reminder of how well he knows Bruce. He’s seen him at his best and worst and in those between times. He’s learned how the man tends to think and how he will react given a situation. So he tries to comfort Jason and reassure him before leaving him to talk with Bruce about his fate.

Bruce pulls the perfect balance between mentor and parent here. He chides Jason for what he does wrong (in turning off the communicator) but also praises him for what he did right (choosing to help a woman who would have been severely hurt by those thugs). He tells him why he can’t turn off that communicator and tells him that there will be repercussions if he does it again in the future while also telling him that he’s proud of him for having put the safety of a stranger in trouble ahead of himself. It’s that right balance between parent and mentor. Teaching and chastising while building up confidence and showing pride in what he did. This is the Bruce that has been forgotten by the newer writers, sadly. The one who was flawed but still had a heart and compassion.

Another great chapter!

Hi there! Ah so finally we get Jason as Robin! I figured he was still in training in the earlier pieces and that’s why we didn’t get to see him physically don the costume. I can imagine how it must have felt to him to put on that mask for the first time. That combination of excitement but also fear. He has (in his mind) big boots to fill being that he’s the second Robin. Only, it’s not just Dick and the legacy he created as the first Robin that he has to contend with. He also has to measure up to Batman. That’s a lot for one set of shoulders to bear the burden of.

I like how there’s a moment of realization here where Dick sees that Robin is a symbol of hope and means a lot to kids for that reason. Sure, they want to be Batman but they also want to be Robin. Because any of them could be Robin. Robin is one of them. Batman is an adult. Something to aspire being like when they get older. Robin is someone they can be now. He’s who makes them able to fight the school bullies or not be afraid when they’re walking home from school. He’s the standard by which they live. The hope that they need when the city or their lives become chaotic. He’s right in that Robin is in the shadow of the Bat but it’s not because he’s overshadowed by him. Batman is the standard but Robin is the goal.

Poor Bruce. Parenting is not easy and it shows. He has one wisecracking son who pesters him constantly and now he has an eager one cracking wise about him getting old. Dick picking out how tired he looks and wondering how much sleep he got shows how connected the two are. He knows what Bruce’s tells are... even if he occasionally misses one or two because he’s annoyed or otherwise distracted. He knows Bruce the best outside of Alfred. Who would likely make a quip about Bruce getting a taste of what life was like when he was raising him ;)

Another great chapter!

Hi there! This was a cute chapter that does such a good job at representing the complicated land of relationships. Whether you’re rich or poor there are Sasha’s everywhere. I think she was a perfect foil for Dick here: the spoiled society girl who doesn’t know the word no and doesn’t understand that she can’t snap her fingers and expect feel to fall at her feet. She’s the exact opposite of Dick in that people don’t matter unless they’re providing something for her. She’s an extension of her father in that regard. Only the best matters to her. The most fashionable dresses, the best horses, bands writing a song just for her (and I know what song I’d write her... in fact. Meredith Brooks already did it lol), huge parties that are just a way of showcasing her social wealth and privilege.

Underneath that superficiality is a very insecure child, however. Most narcissists suffer from low self-esteem and have to talk down to others in other to make themselves feel superior. Hence why she knocks Barbara’s basic black dress (despite it being considered the first weapon in a woman’s arsenal). Hence why she brags. Why she calls Jason a brat. Flounces off in a huff after her dress was ruined. It’s all about pumping herself up and making her look good to Dick (and others).

I think the parallel between Dick and Bruce also works here. Bruce has cultivated that ability to handle these sorts of social situations. He can listen to the annoying babble of some society princess while tracking ten other conversations. Dick hasn’t acquired that skill. He hasn’t developed the ability to shrug off social obligations in the same way. In short, he hasn’t managed to become the jerk Bruce is in public but is forgiven for because he’s Bruce Wayne LoL he’s simply too nice a guy to handle Sasha as Bruce would have (and gotten away with it). Dick can be callous and cruel, especially when he’s under pressure or dealing with them pesky feelings that the Bat-Men all tend to have issues with (with the exception of anger because they’re experts in externalizing that emotion) talking about but he also tends to lean towards being kind and considerate, too. Which is why Barbara and Jason are needed to help save him. He can’t tell Sasha to take a long walk off a short pier. That requires the careful manipulation of one Batgirl and one Robin ;)

Fantastic job!

Hi there! This was such a great bit of closure for this particular little arc. Bruce and his worry are so in sync with how any parent would feel about their kids being kidnapped and rescued. Course, he’s not just Bruce Wayne. He’s also Batman. A group of thugs kidnapped his kids and his protégés and hurt them. If these guys hadn’t been caught by Montoya and the other GCPD officers, they’d be in trouble of a beating from the Dark Knight himself.

I love that Alfred is the voice of reason and gets the cops to let Dick and Jason go home. It really shows what place he has in the family. He’s the voice of reason and the one who handles things like diplomacy. I mean, someone has to take up that role since Bruce’s response is to don his cape and cowl and pulverize them or growl threateningly at them. I also love how Alfred tries to have some standards with what the boys and Bruce eat but he gives in after the day that Jason has and agrees to allow them chili dogs just this once.

Dick taking the blame for his and Jason’s kidnapping is so typical of him. Of course, he’s going to assume that he allowed this to happen. He wasn’t being vigilant enough. He didn’t see the kidnappers before they had them. He didn’t do enough to get Jason to safety. He’s why Jason got beat up (ignoring the fact that he suffered at their hands, too). Bruce shuts that down and reminds him that he’s only human and can only do so much. Of course, one can argue that he needs to take his own advice but... ;)

Another great chapter!

Hi there! Ah yeah, Jason did exactly as I imagined he would heh no way was he gonna simply leave Dick behind. He stayed and waited for him to come through that window. Even if his leaving him behind meant possibly reaching the police or Bruce to get help to him. This is just who Jason is. He’s loyal to his family and friends... even when he’s insanely pissed off at them (course the argument could be made that nobody but him is allowed to beat them up but I digress). Of course, this results in his being captured again and assaulted by Mr. Stinky Hand. He’s lucky that Renee Montoya showed up and not Batman. Seeing that mark on Jason’s cheek would be enough to earn him a few broken bones, minimum.

Gordon reassuring Bruce and letting him know that he understands how the man feels is a nice way of connecting them in their civilian lives and as crime fighters. He knows that Bruce wants to don that cowl and go out and get the men holding his boys but he can’t. It’s that balance that Gordon always has to maintain between being a Dad and a Cop. He can’t let the Cop invade the Dad’s life and he can’t let the Dad dictate the Cop’s. There are rules that must be obeyed for them both. He understands that and commiserates with Bruce over it.

I do like how the cops are actually the ones who make the save this time. So often it falls onto Batman or one of his protégés/friends in the JLA to make the save. The cops end up looking inept and the truth is that the GCPD isn’t inept. It’s just overwhelmed by a city rife with criminals and men like the Joker. They managed to lay a trap for the kidnappers, knowing that at some point they’d make a phone call to Bruce to demand ransom money. They triangulated that call and got a location and were able to bust in before Dick and Jason could be hurt or killed (since it was evident that neither one was going to survive after they saw the faces of their kidnappers).

Really nice way of bringing everything together! Can’t wait to see the reunion ;)

Fabulous job!

Hi there! It’s no wonder, given how often that one of his kids gets kidnapped or goes MIA why Bruce has installed tracking devices in them. This is exactly the reason why. They keep getting kidnapped by people who want to extort him for money. Not something he cares about since he’d pay up soon as they call (and then go and kick their asses as Batman once he has his boys back). His frustration and feelings of limitations since Batman only goes out at night are understandable.

The Joker and Scarecrow and Penguin are only one type of danger that Gotham offers. There’s also the desperate criminals who kidnap children because they want/need money. Desperate people do desperate things and people get hurt because of it. Thank God for Alfred trying to reassure him despite his own concerns about the safety of Dick and Jason. Love his nod to the fact that Jason is resilient and Dick trained by Bruce himself. It shows that despite his fears that he has trust in Dick and in what Bruce taught him while he was Robin.

He has good reason to trust in Dick because Dick does manage to keep his head. He comes up with a plan to get him and Jason free. Even teaches Jason a little by having him recount what he knows and remembers about their kidnappers and their kidnapping. His plan works as Jason manages to get free and frees Dick but their escape gets derailed. Jason manages to escape through the window but Dick is not fast enough and is captured. That he doesn’t care is evident. Long as Jason is safe is all that matters to him. That’s such a fundamental Dick Grayson thing. Never worrying about himself but everyone else around him. He and Bruce share that aspect (each of them getting it from their parents).

Really great chapter! Can’t wait to see what happens next and how Jason reacts to Dick being caught!

Hi there! Yeah, Jason being quiet is never a good sign, I agree. It’s like Damian when he’s silent. Trouble is a brewing. Dick imagining that he’s probably plotting against him is a pretty safe bet given the dare he gave him and the extra chores he got because of it. The fact that it’s a squirrel that has Jason occupied is such an endearing twist. It shows how compassionate Jason is, how good he is underneath it all. That’s something that he struggles with, as much as he does with feeling as if he is a value and wanted member of the family. Of the team. There was such potential in Jason and DC absolutely ruined it.

Again, Bruce handles this so much better than I would have. He takes away Jason’s desserts, makes him clean up his mess and gives him a necessary lesson in not picking up wild animals with his bare hands. Course, that devolves into Jason and Dick bickering as they head back inside but that’s just brothers being brothers. Plus, Jason is feeling a little sensitive now that his secret is out. He’s not someone who handles having secrets like this brought out into the open and being teased about it.

Another great chapter!