Chapter Text
This is a collection of one-shot scenes during the movie Batman: Subzero. So these scenes are the ones in between the ones on camera. ENJOY!
********************************
Advice
Batman sat at the computer, clacking and typing away while listening to the surround sound of bats echoing throughout the cavernous area. He had left the fundraising gala early, much to Veronica Vreeland's disgust: there was more to do on the streets of Gotham, picking up where he left off before he had to change to go to the party in the first place.
Two in the morning wasn't such a ridiculous hour to return to the crime scenes, he figured.
However, as he fervently searched up any latest drug ring locations, he heard footsteps trailing down the long winding stone staircase that led into the abyss.
Bruce knew who it was without turning around.
"I was wondering how long you'd stay out"
"Sorry", Dick offered a halfhearted apology, walking over to a desk nearby as his guardian continued to type. He had taken off his jacket and was now taking off his tie, "Lost track of time, I guess"
This time, Bruce dropped the act and softened, "No need to apologize". He was dressed as Batman, but still had his cowl down, "Did you have a good time?"
"Oh yeah", Dick chuckled to himself as he walked over towards the changing area. Quickly reminded of his plans, though, he paused, "Oh, by the way, Babs and I are going up the coast for the weekend. Jazz festival, beach parties, just stuff like that"
"Sounds nice"
"Yeah, I can't wait!", Dick declared happily from the other area out of shot as he donned his nighttime gear, "It'll be nice to get away, ya know? Just hangin' out, no problems, no stress. Just me and Barbara and fun... I just hope it goes well..."
Batman could pick up on a subtle change in mood halfway through his excitement. Dick was elated at first, but then ended on a worried tone. While he couldn't see the college boy, he could picture the younger man's face dropping and his confidence waning. Bruce turned and saw Dick emerge as Robin. The Boy Wonder was adjusting his cape, his mask still off his face. After he finished mussing up his combed hair, the red and green hero's smile wasn't quite there anymore. He looked anxious. Nervous.
It was at that moment Bruce realized he hadn't given Dick any advice on women, just as he had asked about during the party. Seeing his ward's pensive, silent brow as he fiddled with his mask, not yet on his face yet, Bruce got an idea.
He rose from his seat, smiled to himself, and warmed up to a potential 'father hat' situation.
"You still want that advice you asked for?"
Dick looked up curiously, seeing his guardian's telling smirk. Smiling brighter at the unexpected friendly offer, he nodded, "If you have any"
Batman donned his cowl and chuckled in his throat, nudging his head towards the Batmobile.
"You can decide for yourself if it's worth it. We have time"
After the Chase
Freeze had just taken Barbara... She was gone...
Dick tried to rescue her, but to no avail. Even his craziest stunts and extreme hard work and ridiculous effort was no match for Mr. Freeze and his cold gun, sending him careening off a cliff and slamming into a tree.
Helplessly, he watched as the large van that held his captive girlfriend drove out of sight around the mountain. Slumping to the ground with a hefty painted grunt, he was both frustrated with himself and angry at the villain.
Although he was upset, he soon realized the adrenaline of the chase was wearing off... it made him realize how much his ribs really hurt.
"Ugh... Crap... This isn't good", he mumbled to himself, huffing with pain as he attempted to stand up. He knew he couldn't stay there in the middle of the mountain road, so he had to walk back. He had to tell everyone what he saw.
Not long into his staggered walk, Dick heard sirens in the distance. Looking up, he saw the familiar red and blue glow coming up the mountain. They must have cleared a path and made way for some vehicles to go past the pileup he so easily soared over with the motorcycle... which was now burning at the bottom of the cliff.
Coming closer, the police cars wailed to a stop just meters from Dick who had now propped himself up against the guard railing.
The first officer out of the car noticed his haggard stance, radioing in for "Rescue Team needed, injured citizen on the route. Require ambulance"
Dick grunted as the men and women came closer. None of the police officers he recognized, so when they asked him "What's your name, son?", he wasn't surprised.
However, he did not respond, instead redirecting their focus.
"They went up that way", he pointed shakily towards the rest of the road with extreme urgency, "You gotta go after him! He took Barbara!"
"We'll go after him, son", the one man promised, "But you need to get to a hospital"
Dick scoffed angrily, still gripping his very bruised ribs. He shook his head and growled against their suggestion.
"No! We need to go after him now! Mr. Freeze took her!"
Taking it upon himself to do just that, the young injured man tried to turn and walk back up the mountain to — somehow? — catch up to the runaway van.
"Easy kid, easy, you're not going anywhere", one police woman soothed him, gripping his shoulders to halt his stubborn progress up the mountain. She looked over her shoulder, "Is that ambulance on its way?"
"What's your name, kid?", another one asked again.
Dick Grayson was now furious. Not only did they keep calling him 'kid', but they didn't seem interested in the kidnapping as much as his injuries. But, he knew they wouldn't let him go, so he exhaled heavily and answered them, albeit through gritted teeth.
"Dick. Dick Grayson. But Freeze took–"
"Lie down on the ground"
"Nice and easy"
"Ambulance is on its way"
The black-haired young man wasn't getting anywhere fast. Yet, as the arms lowered him to the ground, his ribs flared up once more, eliciting a seething pained moan from his throat. Dick pinched his eyes shut and laid down, feeling helpless... Yup... definitely bruised ribs. Maybe a fractured one, he wasn't sure. He slammed his fist to the ground in frustration, just as he heard more sirens. More police cars showed up on scene.
This time, he knew one of them.
"Dick? Is that you?"
It was Renee Montoya. The Latina detective knelt down next to him with a supportive hand on his shoulder as the younger boy's face contorted: he was losing his battle at covering up his discomforted aching. Renee lifted her head and barked at the nearest officer.
"Call Bruce Wayne, his guardian. Let him know what happened. And get Gordon on the horn, now!", she directed one of the nearer officers before turning back to the injured man, "Are you alright? What the heck happened?!"
Seeing the woman's face above his own made his urgency flare up again. Dick clutched onto the Detective's sleeve, ignoring the older woman's voice of concern.
"Freeze took Barbara Gordon!"
No Time to Waste
Batman and Robin had just came back from a visit with Gregory Belson's stock broker. The market expert was fast asleep in his bed, but they didn't care. Then, to make matters worse, the two vigilantes found out Belson and Barbara were not on the coast: they were now five miles out to sea on the oil derrick.
"We can prep the Batwing", Batman was half talking to himself and half to Robin. While the oil derrick was out to sea and could require the use of a boat, the Dark Knight reasoned, "Flying will be quicker than traveling by water"
He was gathering his equipment, putting new tools and weapons into his utility belt when he realized he didn't receive any return comment from his ward. Turning over his shoulder, Batman saw Robin staring at the papers they had just mulled over. The black-haired boy was clearly deep in thought, his brow furrowed with a mixture of consternation and worry.
But also, Bruce noted, pain.
Dick was rubbing at his torso mindlessly as his mouth pinched. Batman knew he bruised several ribs when he fell onto the tree branch – the fact it was even there prevented him from tumbling over the cliff, effectively saving his life. Staking out at someone's house was one thing, but going into battle? Facing Freeze and the polar bears again?
"Are you going to be alright?"
Robin blinked with surprise and looked up to his guardian, seeing a hooded gaze with a concerned tilt to his tone. The young man forced a tight smile despite his discomfort and nodded.
"I'm fine"
"If you're not feeling well, you d–"
"I'm helping you rescue Barbara", Robin's voice lowered as he didn't wait for his guardian to finish his suggestion, his softness hardening as he thought of his girlfriend in danger, "And you can't talk me out of it"
Batman stared at Dick, quietly judging to see if he was well enough to travel. Yet, as Robin set down the papers and stormed over towards the Batwing that had gunned up without another word, the father in him couldn't help but worry.
But he knew there was no use... Robin wouldn't stay home, just as he alluded to. He would just have to keep an eye on him in case he felt worse. Batman nodded to himself and followed after his partner into the plane.
After the Rescue:
The battle was won.
Mr. Freeze was stopped.
Gregory Belson was stopped.
Barbara Gordon was safe.
It was quiet inside the Batwing for quite a while. Koonak, the young boy, taken in by Victor Fries after his own parents had died, fell asleep in his rescuer's arms. Nora Fries remained unconscious, oblivious to any outside world.
Which left Robin and Barbara Gordon.
Robin continued to fly, the stress of the ordeal slowly leaking away which allowed his mind and body to relax.
"Where are we going now? Police headquarters?"
Robin was beyond relieved she was okay, more than thrilled to know she was safe. Now, they could go to the police headquarters to drop her off, but he knew there was only one place she should go first...
"We're going to Gotham General. They'll take care of you, Nora, and the boy"
Even though she agreed with the action, Barbara couldn't help but still worry about someone else caught up in this mess. Her face dropped as she gazed out the window, "I hope Dick is okay..."
A knowing smile grew on Robin's face as he commented back, "Oh, I'm sure he's fine"... then quickly he corrected himself, "Umm... I mean.. Who's Dick?"
Barbara sighed with concern, "My boyfriend. We were on a date together when Freeze attacked us and kidnapped me. I think he got hurt, but...", she bit her lip, "I'm just worried about him. Mostly because I'm sure he's worried about me"
Robin wasn't sure how to respond, so he paused for a second. Then, he smiled again, "If he was worth anything to you, he'd be worried sick"
Barbara chuckled, playing bashful, "Oh, he's worth it alright. The best guy I know"
This made Dick smile even wider, his cheeks blushing near to the color of his outfit, "Well... That's good to know"
"I just need to know he's okay", Barbara urged Robin, leaning forward in the seat, despite the young boy sitting in her lap, "Is he hurt? Is he missing like I was? Or has he been out looking for me? Dick can get pretty crazy sometimes, so I wouldn't put it past him to try to find me all on his own"
Robin smiled again and shrugged off her concern with a quick little laugh, playing right into it.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. It was just a tree branch. Could have been worse"
Now this caught Barbara's attention. Opening her eyes wider, she turned her attention towards the back of his head. That was not what she was expecting to hear from the masked hero.
"What?"
Uh oh
Robin realized he stepped in it... Big time. His own eyes shot open and his face reddened as he flailed to cover up his mistake. His huge mistake. He fumbled and gaped, trying to find the words.
"Oo-oh, u-uumm... What I meant was... I mean, he's fine. Ya know.... Cuz he's not... I'm...", he gulped, freezing in his spot, cinching his mouth shut.
He was done. Doomed. Over. Finished.
Barbara, sensing there was more to his flub than met the eye, leaned forward further, trying to reason why Robin would even say that. Staring at the back of his head, she suddenly put two and two together. When she felt like she couldn't hold it in anymore, she cautiously, suspiciously, voiced her discovery.
"...Dick?"
Now at this point, Robin tried to wrack his brain for a way out of it, but realized he couldn't. He was in it. No getting out. No covering up... Crap... So instead of trying to fix things, he grinned crookedly and gave a short awkward chuckling snort.
"Heh heh... H-hey Babs"
The redhead's blue eyes nearly bulged out of her head, her mouth gaping wide open. She couldn't believe it. Her boyfriend... right in front of her... was Robin.
"W-wait... Are you... Are you serious? Dick? You're Robin?"
Grimacing apologetically at her questioning blurt, he shrugged, seeing no way to take things back, and nodded.
"Wow", Barbara leaned back as she tried to cope with her new discovery, "I... I can't believe it... How... Why didn't I..."
"Well, I guess I'm just pretty good at keeping secrets, huh?", Robin pathetically tried to offer, but it didn't sit well with his girlfriend who simply stared back with narrowed eyes.
"Uh huh..."
Dick slumped further, feeling guilty for keeping this bombshell from her. He sighed and deflated, "Look, I'm... I'm sorry, Barbara. I've wanted to tell you, honest, but I just... I just didn't want you to worry, and–"
"You didn't want me to worry?", Barbara blasted back, "Didn't want me to worry?! Of course I'm worried! You're out there night after night kicking bad guy's butts and at any point you could get hurt! Or worse!"
"I know, I know, I just...", Dick bit his lip at her accusatory tone, "I'm sorry... You have every right to be mad at me"
Barbara was beet red. She was upset with him, knowing he kept this a secret for so long... And yet, despite feeling frustrated and bitter towards her boyfriend at his secrecy, she stopped herself and frowned... Because, deep down, knowing that she herself was also keeping a secret of her own of the nighttime vigilante variety, she knew she couldn't keep the anger going. Instead, the heat in her heart cooled down and sunk into her own regretful embarrassment.
Hypocrisy at her finest, she acknowledged.
"No... I don't...", she exhaled heavily.
"Huh?", Robin was confused at her change in pace, her anger dissipating.
Barbara looked up at the back of his head and grimaced awkwardly, "I can't get mad at you, Dick... Even if I wanted to be, I couldn't..."
"Why not? I-I didn't tell you", Dick tried to reason, gesturing to his outrageous outfit, "I kept this a secret from you"
This time, Barbara felt ashamed. She pursed her lips and shied away, feeling every bit the irony of the situation. Clearing her throat, she attempted to lighten the situation.
"Weeelllll... Let's just say... You and Batman aren't the only ones with a secret identity"
Robin was thoroughly puzzled now, narrowing his eyes curiously as he continued to fly the jet. His face twisted as he tried to figure out what the heck she was talking about, but just as he opened his mouth to ask for more clarification, it struck him. He spun around as much as he could with an unconscious woman on his lap. His girlfriend's blue eyes stared back at him, her flush of embarrassment across her face. When she bruxed her teeth apologetically, it hit him.
"Wait", his own eyes shot open even further, eyebrows near the back of his head, "You're... You can't be serious?!"
Barbara chuckled nervously, shrugging as he guessed it, "Yeeeaaahh..."
Robin couldn't believe it. He gaped at her, truthfully beside himself. His girlfriend was Batgirl. Batgirl!
Rotating back to the windshield and his destination ahead of him, the black-haired hero stared blankly, blinking slightly as he tried to catch up with what was going on.
However, rather than questioning and berating her for keeping her own secret, he just laughed. Laughed and laughed. Soon after, Barbara joined in. Koonak, the little boy from the arctic area was confused, staring back and forth between the two cackling strangers. Apparently he had woken up without either of the heroes noticing.
"Gee lady, he's just as crazy as you are"
"Wow", Robin wiped a tear and calmed himself down, "I... I can't believe I never figured it out. I had no idea!"
"That's the whole point", Barbara snarked back as she settled her own laughter.
Dick exhaled with a humorous shake of his head at the irony, finding their situation both touchy and hilarious at the same time. The plane approached the shore as he guided it along towards the hospital.
"I guess we have a lot to talk about now"
Barbara didn't answer, she just giggled and agreed.
When the Batplane finally landed on top of the medical building's roof – first with Batman dismounting from his long hold of the grapple –, Robin opened the canopy.
"I got her", Batman was right there without announcing himself, appearing overhead to carefully take Nora Fries from his ward's grip. Robin struggled with lifting her up with his aggravated ribs, but managed nonetheless.
Soon after, the Dynamic Duo, Barbara Gordon, Koonak, and the wife of the frozen villain were on the helicopter pad being greeted by hospital staff who were radioed in ahead of time by the Boy Wonder.
"Get her on the stretcher"
"Take her inside"
"Hook her up immediately!"
Swiftly, the unconscious woman was taken away. Just as she passed on the gurney through the doors leading to the elevators, Jim Gordon busted through to the rooftop. When he saw his daughter, he gasped and lunged.
"Barbara! Oh my God, thank Heavens you're safe!"
"Dad!", she reached out for his hug, accepting his squeezing embrace.
"Oh sweetheart, I'm so glad you're back", Jim was nearly crying as he held his daughter tight, "You have no idea how worried I was"
Barbara chuckled and patted her dad on his back, "Oh, I think I can guess"
When Jim leaned back, he cleared his throat and collected himself to a more professional demeanor, then turned up to the Dark Knight and his partner. His eyes still twinkled with relief.
"Thank you, Batman. Thank you, Robin. Thank you for rescuing her"
Batman nodded, "You're welcome"
"Always there to help", Robin commented softly, his arms at his side.
Within seconds, the doctors surrounded Barbara and Koonak for questioning, ushering them towards the doorway for more observation. Robin and Batman stood back, relieved the wild event with Freeze was finally over.
However, just before they could turn around to leave, Barbara had other plans than to go into the hospital. A coy smile curled on her lips as the idea sunk into her head. Then, without warning, the redhead spun around and released her grip from her father's hand. In three quick strides in the opposite direction, she grabbed Dick's cheeks...
... and pressed her lips firmly against his.
Robin's eyes widened at her show of affection, but relished the contact. His eyes soon closed and he melted into her kiss. His hands flew out to his sides, his brain not knowing what to do about them.
Jim Gordon and Batman also reacted to the public display, but not the way the boy did. Gordon blinked and shuddered in shock, aghast at what his daughter was doing. Batman simply smirked at the two lovebirds and averted his own gaze to give them some semblance of privacy, regardless of the medical and law enforcement personnel gawking onward.
When Barbara released her lip lock on Robin, she backed away from his stupefied expression with a proud yet mannerly smile. She straightened herself up, whispered softly into his ear...
"That's for what we didn't toast to"
...and then patted his chest before returning back to the doctor's who were awaiting her for observation. Just like that.
Robin, though, took a few seconds to pry his eyes open from his dreamworld back to reality. He blinked himself awake and stood there gaping. Slowly, his eyes focused on what was in front of him as the blood rushed back into his brain and his breathing resumed. A smug sappy smirk crossed Dick's face, widening to his ears as he stared after his adoring girlfriend being led into the elevator hallway. It truly was the toast they never finished...
Jim Gordon, though, wasn't quite pleased.
More embarrassed than anything, really.
"W-well, u-uum... Ahem...", he cleared his throat and tried to push his blushing awkwardness into his gut. He shifted on his feet, scratched at his neck, and puffed out a finality that he hoped would end it all, "Okay then...", and beelined it for the doorway after his daughter and the doctors. The closed door echoed behind him.
When everyone had left, Batman and Robin were left alone on the rooftop, standing side by side in the night. The Dark Knight looked down and noticed his ward's ditzy, enamored gaze after the girl who had since disappeared into the building, the girl who had smooched him unashamedly in front of everyone. He noticed Robin was smitten, ridiculously gaga over the redhead. The boy even wavered slightly, unsteady after his romantic ordeal that lasted not even half a minute.
After a few seconds of studying his ward's goofy posture and sloppy grin, Batman chuckled and teased.
"Come on, Romeo, let's go home"
Robin wobbled with love and spun around to follow his guardian towards the plane, his dopey grin still cracking his face. Then, a small yet uncontrollable giggle of amusement rose from his throat as he shrugged, not even bothering to say anything to the contrary.
When the two of them made their way back into the Batwing to return home, Robin's voice spoke up from the back, exhibiting more humble yet confident bravado than before.
"Ya know, I don't think I need that advice after all"
Batman piloting this time, smirked over his shoulder to his lovesick ward in the back after he started up the engine.
"Oh really?"
The only response Batman earned in return was a quiet chuckle. He saw the boy swing his arms over his head, a very brazen and relaxed posture as he happily gazed out the window. Truthfully, Bruce found it hysterical. Instead of laughing out loud, he simply played it off and asked another question, a crooked smile still across his face.
"So... How does Dick Grayson feel about his girlfriend kissing a masked vigilante?"
Dick snorted, then gave a wistful yet sly sigh of contentment and anonymity, "Oooh, I think he'd be okay with it... all things considered"
Batman raised an eyebrow at the oddly calm comment, curious as to what he meant.
A sneaky smirk grew on Robin's face, like he was harboring a juicy secret when he saw his partner's questioning gaze.
"I'll tell ya all about it when we get home..."