A/N: Thanks for the reviews Owan, Batman Dude, Carrie and Blas!

Epilogue:

Three weeks later:

Big Johnny was sitting on his throne-like chair again, pleased with the results of his deal with Turino. He was frustrated, however, with JT. The man had been pestering him for nearly two weeks about the sidekick, whose name they now knew was Robin. Batman had been flying solo again and Big Johnny had heard the rumors – Joker had really done a number on the boy and he needed time to heal. Joker had failed to get rid of the kid but Big Johnny had still completed his objective so the mobster didn't consider it a failure. Joker would still be an excellent go-to villain and JT needed to let it go. The mob boss was fed up; something had to be done.

"I bet he'll be out tonight, boss," the man in question rudely interrupted Big Johnny's thoughts as he walked through the large silver door.

"JT, I don't care if he's 'out tonight'," the mob boss replied with a snarl, "because you don't have a choice anymore. I'm not letting you try to go after him again; I'm out of patience. Either you find your place in this organization or the target that you put on the sidekick's back will be on your own instead!" Big Johnny's voice was growing louder with each sentence and the final threat was shouted at the man.

"But Joker failed and it's my turn!" JT yelled right back then immediately dropped his voice. "Sorry," he mumbled, "but I deserve a chance."

"Fine," Big Johnny snapped. "But if he's not out tonight, you're done with your quest for revenge. Do you understand?!"

"Yeah, boss," came the man's grumbling reply and he turned around and began stalking out the door.

"Send Jake to me!" the mob boss commanded and the other man acknowledged the order with a short nod of his head as he continued walking away.

Thirty seconds later Jake was strolling through the open door. He had a slight idea of what this might be about and was ready to take care of it.

"JT's getting on my nerves, Jake," Big Johnny stated. "I told him that tonight is his last chance to take down Robin. If the kid doesn't come out, make sure Batman knows that JT is targeting his sidekick. If that doesn't work, take the matter into your own hands."

Jake nodded with a grin and turned around to leave.

"Oh, and Jake?" the mob boss said, causing the man to look back at him. "You don't have to make it look like an accident. I don't want JT's actions poisoning any of our men so you can use him as an example."

Jake's grin grew wider as he replied, "Thanks for letting me know, boss. It won't even resemble an accident. That guy has always been on my nerves." He nodded again and left the room.

Later that night:

"Please?!" Robin was close to begging as Batman was preparing to leave. "I'm almost completely healed!"

"Almost, Robin," Batman replied, "is the key word. Your left arm, although no longer in a cast, is not ready for action. Give it another week and then we'll discuss this again."

"Holy impossibility, Batman!" Robin cried in consternation. "I can't wait that long!"

Batman chuckled at the phrase. Robin had begun using the word 'holy' before every exclamation that he deemed important. His partner was glaring at him and Batman realized that laughing was probably not the best response.

"Four days," the man stated as a compromise and nodded in satisfaction when Robin dropped his eyes and growled at the ground. Batman climbed inside the Batmobile and roared off toward Police Headquarters. The Bat-signal was on and that only happened when something big was going on – something that demanded his attention immediately. In other words, something that a still-healing young partner wouldn't be ready to handle.

Thirty-five minutes later:

Robin was riding his bike as fast as he could. Gotham City was fourteen miles away and the Batmobile was much faster than a thirteen-year-old on a bicycle. He hoped the commissioner would take a long time explaining the situation because he was quickly becoming tired and his left arm was already a little sore. The Bat-signal suddenly disappeared and Robin estimated that he had only gone about seven miles. Dropping his head in disappointment, he stopped pedaling and coasted to a stop. A familiar noise was rapidly approaching and Robin quickly jumped off his bike and pulled both himself and the bike off the road, pushing everything down as flat as possible. It was dark and Batman wouldn't be searching for him so Robin felt relatively safe as he lay in the weeds only three yards away from the edge of the road.

The Batmobile zoomed past him on its way to the Batcave, its wheels tossing gritty dirt at the hidden boy. Robin stood up, spitting out the sandy gravel, and tried to decide whether or not to follow. But the Bat-signal was only turned on for something really important so maybe Batman just needed something from the Batcave. Robin turned around and started pedaling toward Gotham City again. Even if nothing was going to happen, at least he would know how long it would take him to get to the city on a bike.

Batman slammed the Batmobile to a stop when he pulled into the Batcave, a little frustrated with the police department. The Bat-phone would have worked just as well in this situation. A deal between a mob and a gang wasn't the type of threat that required use of the Bat-signal. Commissioner Gordon had been worried about the possibility of an attack by Mr. Freeze, who had recently been spotted on the outskirts of the city. But, if the man had just called him, Batman would have had the same information without wasting nearly half an hour in the Batmobile.

The hero sighed and tried to decide whether or not to allow Robin to come with him. It was just a group of thugs trying to trade things with each other. Climbing out of the Batmobile, he realized that he didn't have to make that decision because Robin was nowhere to be seen. He must have gone up to the Manor to sulk for a while before going to bed. Batman strode to the changing area and switched from his regular Bat-suit into his thermal, anti-freeze one. Better to be prepared than surprised. After his quick change, Batman climbed back into the Batmobile and took off, heading for the very edge of Gotham City that was only thirteen miles away.

Present time:

The warehouse was small and square with only a few good hiding places. JT was the one dealing with the five-man gang, out in the open and exchanging the guns for the money. Jake watched from the shadows, his own gun tucked into the band of his pants behind his back. He wouldn't need it – he could easily take down the bigger man. JT was powerful but sloppy and Jake hadn't been surprised that a sidekick had been able to knock him out so quickly.

There was a loud, familiar sound and the easily-spooked small gang scampered out the back door. JT retreated behind a pillar of cement and clenched his fists. The kid had to be here; it had been almost a month! He was disappointed, however, when Batman strode into the room alone. How long does it take for a young body to heal?! JT's only experiences with pain were headaches, injuries from fights and wounds from different types of weapons. He had never broken a bone so he had no idea of the length of time it needed to completely heal.

Robin was almost there; he could see the lights and make out the tall buildings. His tired legs were trembling, his breathing was erratic and the pain in his left arm was more than just an ache. But…he was almost there.

The familiar roar was back and Robin repeated his earlier actions, hoping that Batman had assumed that his ward was up in the Manor. The Batmobile pulled to a stop in front of a small warehouse that was only twenty yards away and Robin grinned in relief. He watched Batman enter the front door of the building so he quietly rode around to the back. Five young guys were running out the back door and Robin slipped inside before it closed. His left arm was throbbing now but he was tired of sitting around doing nothing when he should be out fighting crime.

Everything was quiet as two men and one young boy watched Batman turn in a slow circle, searching the entire room with his eyes. Robin realized he was directly behind the man he had tackled in his very first fight. There was another man in the shadows on the other side of the room. He was shorter but built like a fireplug and Robin knew he would be much harder to take down. Suddenly, the man in front of him stepped into the light.

"Where's the boy?" JT snarled. "Is he too scared to come out? Did you decide he's not good enough to be your sidekick?"

From the darkness behind him came a quiet noise, almost like a growl, and JT whipped his head around. The sound was so soft that even Batman hadn't heard it but the hero quickly regained the man's attention when he began speaking.

"My partner's name is Robin and he is healing. Don't worry, he will be returning soon," Batman replied calmly. His tone, however, was laced with anger and a minute, undetected amount of confusion. Why was this man targeting Robin?

Jake decided to take the lead so he, too, stepped from the shadows. JT glared over at him; this was his fight and it had nothing to do with the guy who considered himself Big Johnny's right hand man.

"Robin took him out and hurt his pride," Jake shrugged indifferently. "He's looking for revenge." Turning around, Jake walked toward the back door, leaving a shocked JT to deal with the wrath that he knew would be coming from Batman. His eyes widened in surprise when he noticed Robin, but he just grinned at the kid as he passed and strode out the door.

"Revenge?" Batman stated, his voice still calm but on its way to fury. "I suppose that makes sense. You were taken out by a thirteen-year-old. And it was only his first night on the job."

It was Robin's turn to grin and he raced from the shadows, tackling JT just like he had before. The big man went down and Robin jumped straight up in the air, kicking the guy in the head. It was the same move, in the same order, but this time Robin landed hard on his left side and a burst of fire flew up his arm. Small sparks of light gently exploded in his mind and he didn't jump back up. Suddenly, JT was looming over him with a smug smile plastered on his face. Pushing the pain away, Robin quickly rolled onto his back and thrust his legs up, slamming both feet into the chest of the criminal. There was an audible 'crack' and the man stumbled back, clutching his ribs and attempting to catch his breath. The wall was close and JT hit it hard, his eyes closing as his body went limp and slid down the length of the wall.

"I told you to stay home," Batman growled with a hint of pride sneaking through the words. "Now you have to wait for that arm to heal again."

Robin was cradling his left arm as he pushed himself up to his feet and shrugged. "He wanted revenge on me so it was worth it." The young crime-fighter grinned as he walked toward his partner.

Batman shook his head and went to secure JT while Robin strolled out the front door and climbed into the Batmobile. This time it was the Boy Wonder who removed the collapsible Bat-splint from the glovebox and secured his arm to it using the Bat-rope from his utility belt.

"By the way," he stated as Batman sat down and started the engine, "my bike is in the back. Unless it was stolen by one of the gang members."

The Batmobile circled the warehouse but the bike was gone, just as Robin had suspected. He shrugged again as they headed toward the Batcave. That bike had a lot of miles on it anyway.

"JT is taken care of, boss," Jake declared as he joined the large man in the throne room. "Batman appeared to be solo again but Robin was waiting in the shadows. I mentioned that JT wanted revenge on the boy and Batman didn't look too happy about that. I don't know who took the idiot down but I did stay long enough to see him in the back of a GCPD cruiser."

Big Johnny grinned but also grimaced slightly. JT was gone but the sidekick was good. Robin could become a problem, although not as big of one as Batman, but right now he didn't have to worry about it. The duo had rid his mob of an irritating, dim-witted fool and Big Johnny basked in the glow of complete control.

"Only one more, I promise," Robin stated on the drive back to the Batcave. Batman rolled his eyes; the boy had been asking questions and making comments about everything hero-related since they had left the warehouse. Many of them were things Batman had already heard at least twice in the last three weeks.

"Okay, but this is absolutely the last one," Batman replied.

"Do crime-fighters harass their kidnappers? You know, taunt them and shoot sarcastic remarks at them?"

Batman raised his eyebrows and glanced at Robin. That's a new one.

"Well, I suppose it depends on the situation. If you already have a solid plan to escape, something like that could distract your captor and give you an advantage." Batman grinned slightly in the darkness, glad that Robin couldn't see his expression. "If, however, you are lying injured and bloody on a cement floor with no plan, you should probably keep those thoughts to yourself. Especially if you can't think of anything good to say and the person who kidnapped you gets his feelings hurt easily."

Robin rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Holy hostage, Batman, it was my first time! I have better stuff planned for future kidnappings and I won't forget them!"

"I have a more effective idea," Batman countered. "Don't get kidnapped."

THE END

P.S. Kirik is having trouble escaping from Arkham and only has snippets of ideas about what he wants to do with Robin. So the story "If At First You Don't Succeed…" is going nowhere. Right now it's pretty much just a bunch of words with no order or transitions. I don't have any more completed stories and no ideas for any new ones. So if you have any suggestions, for Kirik or for a different story, feel free to pass them my way. Thanks for reading! :)