Life Lessons [Robin, Open]

[Deleted]

((OOC: The beginning of this thread takes place within the bat cave beneath Wayne Manor and is only open to Robin until the scene moves to East Gotham. I will also give OOC notice at the beginning of the post where the setting officially changes to the city streets, which will then be open for anyone to join.))


“Focus, Jason! Aggression is only most valuable when you strategically use it!”

Fierce words from the experienced mentor were barked at the teenage protégé in training. A sparring session in combat was currently being conducted between both Bruce and Jason in an effort to continue to improve Jason’s expertise as Batman’s crime fighting vigilante partner Robin. Clad in black workout pants with a black wife beater, boots, and black hand/wrist wraps, Bruce looked every bit the role of the combat instructor he was.

He was trying to get Jason to hone in on his skill by setting up hand-to-hand combat rounds of sparring with the boy, taking on a deflective and defensive stance rather than straight up matching Jason hit for hit. The problem with Jason’s style of fighting was that it was so brutally aggressive it ended up burning through the teen’s energy much faster than well placed strikes and kicks would.

Sure, the raw aggression Jason had was effective and had been capable of causing some hardcore damage to the scum they cleaned off the streets, but it was sloppy as movement was simply done on pure reaction with no thought behind it—allowing for vulnerable points left without defense about Jason’s form. Luckily for Jason most hand-to-hand combat had been against foes who had little to no training at all; if the situation did get intense when melee attacks occurred Bruce was always there to take over the intensity of the situation.

Krav maga was the latest technique of fighting style he was now teaching to Jason within the sparring ring. The style was all about strategic hits being placed from close body range allowing the fighter to conserve energy so when a strike was made full strength and power would back up the momentum of the kick or punch, making the hit a critical one—most notorious for delivering one hit TKOs.

Though Jason certainly had the strength and power needed for the krav maga style to be effective his wild and uncontrolled aggression made him lose focus on trying to hit the one of the several critical damage points on the body, causing him to throw multiple punches and kicks without pause—leaving him open to be attacked from the side or behind.

“Slow DOWN! At best you would’ve bruised your opponent’s torso and limbs during the fight! When instead your opponent should be taken down and unconscious at this point! If we were on the streets, three more men would’ve jumped you!”

Bruce instructed, blocking each of Jason’s moves as though he was swatting at a fly.

“THINK about your strike, don’t just THROW it!”

[jason]

Jason continued on focusing at trying to strike Bruce. He was only trying to at least get a few hits at him. But so far through out this session, he had failed at that. Bruce had been blocking him all afternoon. Avoiding his moves. Reading his movements before Jason even go the chance to perform the motion.

At Bruce's words, Jason was getting a bit annoyed that he had yet to land a hit on Bruce yet. He was exerting more energy than it was taking for Bruce to block his kicks. Jason still continued to throw punches at Bruce. He had already broken out in a sweat compare to Bruce, who looked like this was simply a walk in the park on his half of the session.

Jason was dressed in a black pair of athletic pants and wearing a red t-shirt. His black light weight sneakers to help him move quicker and work easily for him as he moved about. His dark blue eyes focused on Bruce as he tried to strike his target. Again and again getting blocked off from his attacks.

"I am thinking," Jason grumbled back under his breathe at Bruce's instructions. Jason seemed to slow up a tad bit, but not all that to the point that Bruce probably meant.

Jason was getting slightly irritated with being blocked all the time. None of his attacks working. He was trying to at least listen to Bruce on his instructions. Jason had slowed down a bit more at this point and was striking with more force and strength behind his throws.

Jason's eyes shifted a bit to get a better image of his opponents stance. If he could just get Bruce to move more tan a inch to the right and then with the right attack, he might be able to land a hard blow. At this point, Jason got an idea and was going to carry on with it.

He now become quick and more aggressive with his punches for a few throws. He was expect Bruce to block them. The he was going to throw in a bit of a different combination. With expecting for his right hook to be blocked, Jason would use to block to build off of and follow through with a jumping spin kick with his left leg. Jason was ready for Bruce to dodge it completely. And as soon as Jason would land on the ground again, he would get down and try and take out the back of Bruce's knee to knock him off balance.

And as soon as Jason would succeeded in doing so, he would then try and land another spinning kick at Bruce's head with a fist readied to strike at his gut if he could get Bruce off balance for only a moment. It would give him an opening. Thing was, it was really hard to even get Bruce to move unless he move toward you or away on his own movement and not from regaining from an attack. The guy was like a mountain, there was just no moving him with your attacks. But Jason was still giving it a try.

[Deleted]

The moment Jason switched his combination of tactics, was the moment Bruce immediately caught the random spin kick and rather than dodge it, he held fast to Jason’s leg and slammed him down to the matt. The block take down wasn’t performed hard enough to harm Jason in anyway, save for knocking the wind out of the boy.

It was performed to drive Bruce’s point home in the lesson he was trying to impart to his protégé—make every strike count, target every hit, strategize the purpose of move to shut down or render the opponent stunned.

“You’re focusing on the HOW of your tactics Jason, not the WHY.”

Bruce now held the boy to the matt, one hand on Jason’s leg right at a pressure point of his femoral artery, the other hand pressed on a pressure point beside his left collar bone—able to strike either area once in order to cause loss of consciousness.

“See how your spin kick left you open here and here? It’s because you’re focusing on my pattern of blocking when your focus needs to be on the precision of your strikes to my pressure points. Though the tactics are essential, it’s the result that ends up most important—it determines whether you live to fight another day or not.”

He released Jason, brushing his hands off and took a moment to glance at the clock.

“That’s enough sparring between us tonight. Let’s take a break by heading to the streets for patrol--test what you've retained from your krav maga lesson tonight. Suit up and see you in the Batmobile in five.”

He ordered, now leaving Jason in the sparring ring to head off and change into his notorious, dark, bat-themed suit of armor. He had the speed and accuracy of changing into such a complex, highly sophisticated, and well protected uniform down to a science; and once the bat-suit was secured on his lean, sharp, and muscular frame—concealing his complete identity as well as donning an entirely new one, he set to calibrating coordinates for their night’s patrol.

He took seat within the cabin of his massively powerful armored black car and updated all information from the bat-computer to his suit’s mainframe, waiting for Robin to join him in the passenger seat.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick had been in the gym the whole while the combat training had gone on. He could see the rage in Jason. The kid was nothing but a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off. There was just something unsettling about the kid that didn't set well with him.

Sometimes, Dick wondered if Bruce ever took notice to that in the kid. He was sure Bruce was aware of something, but he never pushed at it to see if there was any problems going to arise with the boy's anger. Sure Bruce was just trying to harness Jason's anger, but there was an unruliness to the side of Jason that was on set back mode at the time.

When the kid got ticked off, it was best to just try and sit back to stay out of his way. That was one of the many, many, many reasons Dick did not fully trust Bruce's judgment in allowing the kid to join in on the fight of Gotham. Jason just wasn't ready to face off in nothing but anger. Dick could see it in the kid. It followed him around like a storm cloud.

Maybe it was just Dick, but there was something else that was unsettling about Jason's fun in watching others in pain. The kid was becoming a dangerous weapon. He learned combat quickly. True he may not hold up against Bruce all that well at the time. But the kid lacked the abilities and combat that Bruce knew. Hence the reason for the many training sessions.

Dick worked on a bit of his rehabilitation of his strength as he worked out lifting weights, not quite as heavy as usual and working to maintain his muscle tone. Though he was able to multitask and had been able to watch the whole sparing session.

Dick wanted to roll his eyes at Jason's reactions to the attacks. Nothing up aggression in his movement. There was no strategy. There was no reading of his opponent. Though fighting Bruce wasn't easy. Even at full strength, Dick could stand his own in a combat match against Bruce for quite sometime. But Dick had faced off against meta-humans and aliens before.

He slowed up and got ready to stop, when he watched Bruce easily turn the attack against Jason and slam him to the ground. Go figure that was going to happen. Dick stopped and learned forward to rest for a moment to watch the interaction as Bruce proved his point and then left to head out for a patrol.

Dick stood up and hobbled over toward the towel rack to grab a towel to dab off the sweat he had gained from his own work out session for the day. He was getting around without the crutches more and more. His ribs on the mend really well. And his wrist no longer wrapped. And the stitches were holding everything together properly for them to heal up. Hopefully soon he would be able to try and get back out on the streets. He was getting tired of being cooped up in the Manor for so long. Sure he could run the computer systems, but it was nothing compared to the patrols.

As Jason seemed to regain himself from the sparing match, Dick spoke up without looking over at the boy. "You should have seen that one coming a mile away. You know he can read you like a book. Even I saw that coming," Dick commented to criticize the kid.

"You really do need to learn how to think before you react. Or act at all. That was quite the pathetic choice for a move like that at that time as well," Dick continued.

He turned to look toward the boy. And that was suppose to be Robin. A title like that on a kid that just couldn't handle his own anger. Dick knew what that was like, but he never completely let loss like Jason kid. One of these days the wrong person was going to cross that boy's path and who knows what could happen.

"You're thinking move with your eyes and fists than you are with your brain...Then again, for you it could go either way," Dick commented. It wasn't that Dick was trying to be cruel. He was just giving the kid his just deserves after all he had to put up with Jason since he had been there. "You're always going to be landing flat on your back if you don't pick up your act."

[jason]

Jason hadn't seen that one coming. He should have, but missed it. Bruce always struck without a single reading of his movement. Another thing that angered Jason. No matter how he tried to attack of fight him. He was always the one to end up on the floor.

From the spinning kick, it happened so fast, Jason hadn't had the chance to react to the attack. Or try and other counter attacks. Withing a split second, he found himself being behind slammed into the mats. "Ooff," was all that came from Jason hitting the floor. The hit was hard enough for him to lose his breathe.

He didn't even get the chance to regain himself before Bruce was now threatening two pressure point that could knock him out. This ticked Jason off that he had hardly even moved the guy and the match was now over. He was silent while Bruce went over what he had done wrong. And as soon as Bruce let him got Jason sat up and watched him leave.

It was then that he heard Dick speak up. "Says you, the original 'boy blunder' as the crooks called you," Jason took a cheap shot a Dick, even though he was now the replacement 'boy blunder' now. He wasn't going to take it from Dick after having been slammed to the mats by Bruce.

He stood up and watched the older boy, glaring at him from were he stood. He needed to keep his mind focused. He needed to get ready for patrol. But Dick's comments and taunting were irritating him now. "Pathetic, I'll tell you what's pathetic, having you back around and watching you hobble about the place. That is a pathetic sight. I can't believe you fell for a trap like that. Now that was and is pathetic," Jason shot back.

Jason started to head toward the door. He needed to get ready. This was a waste of his time. But the next comment angered Jason further. He was getting so sick of everyone comparing him to the original Robin. And he was getting sick of having Dick around at the Manor. And now Dick was actually speaking up a bit more and having the guts to call him out as if he was a mentor. Like Jason would listen to Dick. He had had it with listening to his criticizing as well.

Jason gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at Dick comment. "You're the one going to end up flat on their back now," Jason shout at Dick as he charged at the him. He charged at him and rammed him with his shoulder, knocking Dick back into the metal towel rack. Which it came clattering down with the metal hitting the ground and Dick landing off to the side after hitting into it.

Jason came at him again, fists balled up to give Dick a piece of his mind. "You're one to talk. I've heard about your failures. And I can say, at least I can handle things for myself," he said as he went to hit Dick in the face. He didn't take into fact that Dick was still injured and healing. He was just annoyed had it with being criticized by everyone, including Dick.

[Deleted]

Neither members of the Bat-family had heard or even seen him coming—then again, almost no one ever did when it came to Batman’s omniscient force of presence. One moment, the Bat had been sitting in the Batmobile syncing updates from the bat-computer to his digital itinerary for patrol that night with Robin, and in the next moment he was a foreboding shadow looming over the feuding young men easily able to interrupt and dismantle their altercation.

When Jason drew his gloved fist back to strike Dick, he would find his arm suddenly caught and stopped in a steel grip by an unmistakable intense force.

[glow=gray,2,300]“ROBIN!”[/glow]

Batman barked out as he captured the boy’s intended assault. The anger that now boiled deep up from within the Bat was an unmistakable intense force to be reckoned with all on its own. It was actually frightening.

[glow=gray,2,300]“Un-FUCKING-acceptable!” [/glow]

He apprehended his protégé with one hand and secured him in place, while his other hand now took grip of the collar on Dick’s shirt and pulled the young vigilante up to now secure Dick in place; separating and holding both boys away from one another.

[glow=gray,2,300]“If you want to mentor, Dick, then mentor—don’t harass. You’re better than that, so cut the bullshit.”[/glow]

He released Dick and then turned his intimidating slivered gaze to Jason.

[glow=gray,2,300]“And YOU…”[/glow] He snarled, pulling the young boy closer up to him in his single handed grip. Teeth bared in a feral manner, tone laced with rage and authoritative grit.

[glow=gray,2,300]“If you EVER attack one of our own again like that, you WILL retire as Robin—no exceptions! We’re on the same side and have only each other to trust and rely on. If I can’t trust you to keep your attitude in check, then I damned well won’t trust you to be Robin. If you don’t cut YOUR bullshit and get control of your temper, then I will control it for you. And you REALLY don’t want me to do that.” [/glow]

He released hold of Jason and then stepped back, folding powerful arms over his broad chest as he glowered down at his young wildcard of a protégé before him.

[glow=gray,2,300]“Either get ahold of yourself and take some damned responsibility for your rage right NOW, or get the hell out of the suit, permanently. I won’t tolerate disrespect. Especially towards the mantle of Robin. Your choice, Jason Todd.”[/glow]

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick could see the anger in Jason's eyes. There was no doubt he had hit a major nerve, but he didn't expect the kid to actually go and lose his cool and attack him. The kid had major anger management problems. Dick didn't have the chance to move out of the way before Jason charged him and rammed into him.

Dick got knocked hard in the right side of his torso. He cringed in pain at his healing ribs being rattled like that. And he slammed into the towel wrack. It broke a bit of his fall, but he still hit the ground none the less. The kid was stronger than he looked. But it was his anger driving him.

And no sooner had he hit the floor did Jason came at him again, ready to strike him. Dick was spared from taking the hit by intervening of Bruce coming up behind Jason as Batman. Bruce had grabbed a hold of Jason's arm before he could get the chance to hit him.

For once, Dick was glad to have Batman actually intervene in a situation like this. It was different when you were still on the mend from a major attack like he had gone through. Dick hadn't seen Batman that anger in a long time. Not even in their heated arguments lately.

He was half glad Bruce stepped in, but Dick could have handled it himself. Sure he would have fought back, but didn't have the chance with all this going on now.

He glared at Jason from where he lay on the ground as he had started to sit up a bit as the Batman had a hold of Jason. And when Jason was secured, Dick wasn't expecting to be pulled up the way he was. It was a good thing Bruce hadn't lifted him and higher as he jerked him up by the collar of his shirt. And higher and he would have been standing on the tips of his toes to keep contact with the ground.

Though Dick knew better than to fight against Bruce's grip. There was no point, fighting right now would only worsen things. Dick's blue eyes met with that of the cold icy blue glare of Bruce's beneath the cowl. He didn't say a word when Bruce yelled at him.

He was glad once Bruce had loosened his grip and finally let go of the collar of his shirt. Dick stepped back from the two and glared over at Jason for turning things upside down the way he did. Dick hadn't necessarily expected that much of a reaction of Jason.

[jason]

Just as he was about to strike, he felt a strong force holding back his arm. A every tight grip around his arm as well, only growing tighter as the name was yelled out. At first he tried to fight back against the told. Just wanting to break free and get away at this point.

Bruce had easily managed to move him about with no trouble as he tried to keep a hold of him. Jason struggled against Bruce's hold. Not wanting to be there.

And when Bruce went and did the same to Dick, Jason would have shot a smirk at the new situation. But he was a major part of his. He swore that Bruce was holding him back more than Dick. Seeing as Dick was just shooting him glares at this point and not fighting back. Dick had kept his mouth shut after being told off by Bruce.

Though Jason was no where near to being in the clear as he felt Bruce hold on him bet tighter as he was pulled in closer. He was now looking up at Batman. He struggled less against Bruce's hold as he could see the intense anger that was hidden beneath the cowl, but not in the eyes of the Bat.

He squirmed a bit under the watchful eyes of his mentor. He didn't think he had even seen Bruce so mad before. He didn't dare speak at that moment and play the blame game. Jason was actually a little frightened to even attempt such a thing at that time.

Jason was glad once he was released from the hold, but was horrified at the idea of giving up everything he had been working for. He didn't want to think about. Jason could believe that this was the choice he was left with.

He remained silent for a bit then spoke. "Alright...I will," Jason just about mumbled the last part. He'd shoot Dick another glare when Bruce's back was turned away. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, not wanting to say it at all and not wanting to admit defeat, but he didn't want to lose his line of work either.

[Deleted]

Perhaps the Bat had come off way too harsh on Jason over his behavioral misconduct against Dick—but Batman, of course, had good reason for his severe consequences. Jason Todd, though talented and skilled and was slowly but surely proving himself to be rather useful and dedicated as the new Robin, he also carried a violently destructive attitude towards others as well as himself. Bruce was more than aware of this dark nature his protégé was showing to have. He decided to make sure he taught the boy skills, tactics, and lessons that would specifically help to keep Jason’s focus away from his rage.

Try as Bruce might, Jason was a stubborn person and though the training would help, destructive acts and thoughts still remained present within Jason’s core being. However, he had earned the boy’s respect and found the best way to maintain control and keep Jason’s respect was to come down strict and hard. Way much harsher now in his mentoring with Jason, than he ever was or ever had to be with Dick during training for the first Robin. Cape now pulled tightly about his muscular, lean and tall form, he turned about and headed back towards the Batmobile, appearing to practically hoover over the floor given how still and precise his stride was.

[glow=gray,2,300]“You should re-wrap your ribs, Dick." [/glow]

Stall. He was stalling to work himself up to say what he really wanted to say to Dick.

[glow=gray,2,300]"… I’ve enabled full access on the bat-computer should you want to track us and advise Robin about some tactics that work well for you. Or offer constructive criticism.” [/glow]

There it was—his “apology” for barking so harshly at Dick as well as “validation” over the trust and respect he has for Dick as the skilled crime fighter with valuable expertise in experience that Nightwing possesses.

Dick was granted full access to the bat-computer (though he figured that given enough time and dedication, Dick could probably hack the supercomputer for such access if he wanted. At least, Bruce saved him the headache of hacking his ever-changing/updating security…) full access to the bat-computer now permitted as well as complete approval for Dick to mentor Jason as Robin--a true sign of the respect both Bruce and Batman held for Dick and his Nightwing mantle.

The murmured apology Jason gave to Dick didn’t go unnoticed by the Bat even though he said nothing; once again resuming his position behind the wheel of the Batmobile. And in that same stony, graveled dark tone, his words would suddenly fill Robin’s ears in their serious-as-a-heart-attack delivery.

[glow=gray,2,300]“You WILL listen to Dick and/or his mantle Nightwing, should he decide to offer advice or critique in regard to your skills as Robin. Like me, he is your superior—end of discussion.”[/glow]

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick simply just watched the too. Keeping his mouth shut was the best thing he could do to keep himself out of any more trouble at the moment. And he could see that Jason had done the same thing at a point and took it. He could see how much this work meant to the kid.

Jason had caved on the issue and had even said he was sorry in a way. But Dick did not acknowledge the apology. The kid had done enough to cause trouble. He wasn't sure he could trust that this would be the last time of any of this sore. Maybe for the attacking someone.

Dick's eyes followed Bruce as the figure of the Batman coasted across the floors toward the batmobile. Dick heard him speak again, but the rage that had been in his voice had settled quite a bit. There was not so much anger this time around in what he said.

"Yeah, I will Bruce," Dick replied to his concern over the proper care of his injuries. Dick was just waiting for his chance to come that he could finally stop nursing his injuries and finally go out on the streets again.

"Maybe," Dick said in return to the offer of following them on the computer systems. He paused for a moment as he turned to face the figure of Batman leaving. "And thanks." Dick understood what Bruce was getting at. He didn't need to try and apologize, and Dick knew it was hard to get anything like that out of the guy. But he accepted the offer.

Dick did not gloat about the fact that Bruce was setting the law against Jason on any subject that had been causing trouble between all of them. There was no point. Dick wasn't like Jason, he didn't care if he won the fight or not. Bruce was the one calling the shots right now. This was his home and he had the rule over the mission and patrols of which Jason should be following. Robin wasn't a solo type symbol. He was the lighter side of the Dark Knight. His partner. Just the reasons Dick had left the title of Robin for his own.

[jason]

Jason just ignored the banter between the two of them. This was getting annoying. He just wanted to get out of there and on the streets of Gotham. He needed to get away from there. And to help clear his mind a bit. There had to be something to do in Gotham.

Now following after Batman right away, the figure of Robin stood off to the side of either of the other two. This wasn't his place to step in on this conversation. He was already in trouble and didn't feel like dealing with more. When Bruce said enough was enough, Jason stood to attention.

After giving some distance between him and Batman, Robin soon joined suit of Batman to the batmobile. He was ready to put this all behind him for now. It was enough for one night. Robin walked easily with a bit of speed to not keep Batman waiting.

He climbed into the batmobile right away and sat in the passenger side as always. Robin sat there and then Batman spoke again. And once again became annoyed with all this demanding of orders to follow everyone else's rules. Jason was about to protest, but stepped down a bit to hold his tongue against Batman's ruling.

Robin sat in the passenger seat with his arms crossed. Clearly annoyed over the final ruling of the situation. Which was not in his favor. But he kept quite and did not reaction to Batman's orders. He waited to hear any details on the nights patrol. Trying to put the interaction of this event behind him.

[Deleted]

((OOC: This post is now open for any/all who wish to join.))


That notorious, unblinking, eerie and thinly slit white gaze of the Bat’s seemed to bore into Jason as the boy buckled up within the passenger seat in pure silence. The only visible part of his true self beneath the bat-suit, his chiseled jaw and mouth, added to the etched scowl on his mask with his lips firmly pressed into a thin line of determination. Nothing more needed to be said. Robin had apologized and had kept his attitude in check by accepting the new shift of additional authority over him as well as shown his desire to continue to hold the mantle of being the Caped Crusader’s partner in crime.

Batman had been explicitly clear in his decision of allowing Nightwing to have some partial hold of the reigns over Jason’s training as Robin; he had also been more than crystal clear about Jason’s status in the Bat Family should he decide to lose control and strike out against his mentor(s) and complete disobey orders with disorderly conduct—the boy would immediately be stripped of the right to harness the mantle of Robin and all participation in Batman’s war on crime would cease permanently. Indeed, the silence between the two vigilantes in the specially armored and fully loaded vehicle served as an understanding. Nothing more need be said on the prior topics.

The Batmobile now roared to life, the Bat now focusing on the vehicle’s operations and the targeting navigational system. It would be mere seconds before both Batman and Robin sped out of the Batcave—heading towards the East end of Gotham, more specifically heading towards the more slum-infested area titled Park Row, also commonly known as “the Narrows”. Even though the Feds had been cleaning up the scum about Gotham, crime still found a way to seep back into the streets through the city’s corrupted pores. Gang activity had been spotted recently within the seedy side of the East end—they would start within the dilapidated and near-abandoned industrial /low income residential area of the Narrows.

Once the Batmobile was strategically parked in a secure and hidden spot within a shrouded alley way, Batman grappled to the rooftop of the abandoned 20 story apartment complex before them. Landing with stealthy prestige and silence, he now crouched on the end of the roof’s corner, blending in with the decaying gargoyle beside his inky black form. Lenses switched to his preferred vision mode for scanning in the dark, he would wait for Robin to grapple up the building to join him upon the roof. When his partner reached him, the Bat now informed of the details for the night’s patrol, still keeping his enhanced steadfast gaze on the streets and alleys below them.

[glow=gray,2,300]“There have been recent reports of new gang activity in the Narrows. Since the Feds mainly focus on higher threat criminals they only arrested the main gang leaders in the area, leaving the rest of the gang members to the wayside. As a repercussion of those acts, the remaining members have begun to commit criminal acts more heinous than usual in an effort to earn respect and take the reigns as the new gang leaders. Expect conditions to be heavily populated and armed by gang members and potential leaders—trials apparently have started.”[/glow]

He then turned to look directly at Robin, his tone just as grim, dark, and commanding as ever.

[glow=gray,2,300]“Most of the members are boys around your age, maybe younger. They crave leaders to respect. If we neutralize the members trying to take control over the gang, those boys will be less likely to continue their current gangster lifestyle. We can’t just detain the potential gang leaders; we need to be brutal, relentless, and powerful. All that rage you have? Now is the time to use it.

"We want those potential gang leaders to hurt bad and we want the rest of the gang members to see them get hurt. Once they're down, we'll apprehend them for the police. We will command the respect of the gang and ensure its disbandment by teaching them the hard lesson of what will happen should they continue to stay in that lifestyle. Don’t forget, even though brutal tactics are expected--given how many members there are--method and strategy is what will win this fight.”[/glow]

True, the Bat was giving Robin some leeway in regards to crafting his own style and ferocity of fighting, but the importance of stratagem and efficiency was still expected. No sooner had the words left the Dark Knight’s mouth, when suddenly a few scraggily dressed young men wandered into a nearby parking lot, forming a circle. A gang initiation of sorts appeared to be starting—complete with a wounded, crying female victim clutched tight within the hands of one of the members now stopping in the center of the circle. A count of 20 or more gang members was taken as they filtered in; boys clad with guns, bats, chains, knives, and other weaponry was prevalent on almost all attendees.

[glow=gray,2,300]“I’ll distract. You get the victim to safety.” [/glow]
Batman then stood, preparing to swoop in and utilize his own seemingly endless arsenal of gadgets.