Gotham City, later Saturday evening into early Sunday morning
Robin rode across Gotham on the Batcycle, in search of Tony Zucco, the man who killed his parents. It wasn't going to be easy, but he did have one lead: he was tracking the Batmobile. This tactic only lasted a few minutes before Batman wised up and deactivated the tracking device in the car, leaving Robin with no obvious trails to get to Zucco.
Fine. No shortcuts. Before Zucco fled Gotham, Dick found Zucco all by himself and before Batman was about to. And Dick was ten back then. He could do it again now. Zucco couldn't hide from him. He'd been trained by the best, after all.
From the radio, Robin learned the name of the criminal he and Batman had caught earlier. From there, it was easy to find the criminal's address. And once at his home, it was very easy to break in and search for clues. Robin pulled a phone tracing device from his utility belt and put it on the phone before playing a hunch and hitting redial.
"Yeah, who is it?" an agitated voice on the other end of the line said. It was Zucco. Robin would recognize that voice anywhere. "Hello? HELLO? WHO'S THERE?" Before Zucco hung up, Robin looked at the tracing device. 1252 Ocean Parkway.
"Gotcha," Robin said. He ran out of the house to the Batcycle and rode off.
Not much later, Robin arrived at the hideout, only to find that it had been abandoned. This clearly wasn't a planned evacuation. There were bullet holes everywhere. A large hole in the ceiling suggested that not only had Batman been here spying, but he'd been discovered. The remnants of a smoke pellet suggested that Batman had to make a quick escape. But they'd all be nearby, Robin was sure of it.
By the time he got back to the bike, he heard gunshots from a nearby amusement park. It was closed for the season, but lights were coming on, probably as a result of a fight. Robin raced towards the lights. While riding through the park, Robin noticed two thugs who'd been taken out already. As he approached the brightly-lit carousel, he heard Zucco's voice.
This was it.
Criminals were a cowardly and superstitious lot, and Robin wanted Zucco to know fear. He jumped the Batcycle through a sign to achieve this and let the cycle's armor protect him from the hail of bullets Zucco fired at the incoming Boy Wonder.
Robin rode right up to Zucco, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him as he rode toward and onto an elevated pier a few stories above the water. He dropped Zucco after about fifty yards of dragging, stopped the bike, and rushed towards the criminal.
Zucco reached for his dropped tommygun, but Robin kicked it away with ease. "You're through, Zucco," Robin said. "Forever."
Zucco threw a punch at Robin. "Is that so, birdy-boy?"
Robin caught the punch, picked Zucco up, and whispered, "I've waited a long time." He started playing with Zucco, throwing him around the pier.
Zucco stumbled into the flimsy railing at one point, breaking it and barely keeping his balance before Robin grabbed him and held him over the edge. Batman's primary rule had always been 'no killing.' Dick had lived by Batman's rules for so long, but right now he wasn't sure about that first one.
"ROBIN!" Batman yelled as he hobbled over. Batman had a makeshift splint on his leg - he'd apparently hurt his ankle in his fall from that ceiling - and was using a large plank as a crutch. "Enough. You can't let your emotions get the best of you."
"Stuff your advice, Batman!" Robin yelled as Zucco looked on with terror. "You and your stone-cold heart! You don't know how I feel, how COULD you?"
Batman stared at Robin.
That response snapped Robin out of his rage. He remembered that Batman was the one person who could know how he felt. Batman had dealt with his own rage over his parents' deaths and never let it take him over. That's why he took Dick into his home. That's why he made Dick his sidekick. "Batman, I... I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."
Robin heard the sirens of incoming police officers and threw Zucco back onto the pier. He approached silently, letting Zucco cower. And then he stepped past his parents' murderer, leaving him to the law.
Later, as Zucco and his crew were thrown into the paddy wagon, Batman and Robin took a moment to talk. "You were right, you know," Robin said. "Not bringing me along? You knew I would take it too personally."
"It wasn't that, Robin," Batman said. "It wasn't that at all. Zucco's taken so much, caused you so much pain. I couldn't stand the thought that he might... take you, too."
"Come on, partner," Robin said as the sun started to rise. "It's been a long night."
[OOC: The bit with Robin checking out the hideout is all me, taking place during the long stretch where Dick's just shown riding around on a motorcycle while Batman actually does crap. Everything else is lifted from Robin's Reckoning, Part 2.
I take absolutely no responsibility for the dialogue and how completely over the top or just slashy it may be. Just know that after this post, they go back to Wayne Manor and sleep in their own separate beds in their own separate rooms on opposite ends of the hall and there is no pining or anything. "I couldn't stand the thought that he might take you too." Really?
NFB, NFI, etc etc.]