[5 September 2003]
[Weeks Later]
{For weeks each night was the same. Looking for Zucco took him to places he never should have gone.}
Leonard is in an alley fighting a group of five men who he just caught trying to break into a building. He ducks under a swing from a baseball bat and kicks the attacker in the face causing him to fall on his butt disoriented. He dodges a punch from another attacker and counters with a haymaker and hard elbow to the face knocking him out. He jumps and kicks another attacker in the face and uses his face as a spring and back flips over another swing from the baseball bat guy, he drop kicks another attacker trying to join the fight in the face knocking him out.
He dodges another attacker's punch and counters by using his own momentum against him and judo-flipping him, as the guy lands with a loud thud, he kicks him unconscious. The guy with the baseball goes for another swing, but he dodges again and grabs onto his arm, and breaks it causing him to drop the bat screaming in pain. He grabs the back of his head and knees him twice in the face knocking him out as well. The last guy makes a feeble attempt at running away but he picks up the bat and throws it hard, hitting him square in the back of the head and knocking him out.
{With people he never would have been with.}
"You have got to be fucking shitting," Leonard growls in frustration glaring at the man sitting tied on a chair. The man sitting chuckles at his frustrations and says "I told you, kid, I have no fucking clue where that rat Zucco scurried off to,". Leonard sighs and stares at the man for a few seconds and then says "Fine I believe you...Fuck another dead end,".
"So how about untieing me now, kid? Since I'm just a dead end and haven't committed any crimes...recently," The man says looking at Leonard who now has a self-made domino mask on. "...No, I don't feel like it," Leonard says impassively. "What do you mean? No? Kid I told you everything I know! Come on I'm chafing over here!" The man exclaims indignantly frowning at him. "That's what you get for being so useless Victor," Leonard sneers watching as Victor starts wiggling uncomfortably in the chair.
Victor huffs irritated and scowls at Leonard, "Look what do you want kid? Obviously, you are not just here for info,". Leonard tilts his head and shrugs, he walks over to Victor's hidden weapon stash and starts looking through it. "Of course, you knew where I kept my stuff," Victor grumbles and then sighs in defeat. "Oh, this looks nice," Leonard says taking out a gray battle staff. "Oh that was for a client but the fucker pulled out at the last second," Victor says annoyed at the client.
Leonard inspects the staff, tests the weight in his hand, and inspects the different features which are a built-in taser, and several feet of internal cable which can be used for grappling or transforming the staff into a flail or nunchaku. "Things made of ceramic-coated magnesium alloy. Durable and lightweight," Leonard nods impressed. Victor whistles in amazement "You sure know your stuff kid.".
"Yeah...anyway, I'm taking this," Leonard says as he collapses the Staff and puts it in his pocket. "God you are such an asshole kid," Victor sighs looking at him. "Aw you're making me blush," Leonard dryly says making his exit through Victor's window and out into the night. "Hey kid you fo--" Victor gets cut off as a shuriken sail through the open window and cuts the sides of the ropes freeing him. Victor looks in shock down at the shuriken and grumbles "Fucker took my shuriken as well."
--Line Break--
In a Penthouse apartment, a man and woman are peacefully sleeping. On night stand a phone starts ringing disturbing the couple from their sleep. The man groans having his sleep interrupted blindly reaches over for his phone and answers without looking at the caller id. "Hello, who is this? And do you have any idea, what time it is?" The man snaps agitated to the caller. "Sorry to disturb your sleep, but I'm here to collect on that favor, or is that off the table now?" A modulated voice asks.
The man still groggy from his sleep looks confused at his phone wondering who it was until his eyes widen in realization and clear his throat awkwardly "Oh...it's no problem at all. You finally called and yes the favor is still on the table. I owe you a debt and I'm determined to pay it back however I can and within reason." The man says calmly while glancing over to his wife, who is now also awake and looking at him anxiously and curiously. "Good. Come to the balcony I'll be waiting for you there," The modulated voice says.
"What?? how do--" He is cut off by the sound of the phone being hung up. He looks at the phone and releases a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. "Who was it dear?" His wife asks softly and squeezes his shoulder softly to ease the tension. "It was that young man that saved us a few weeks ago. You remember him right?" He asks his wife to which she nods. He nods and gets up from the bed and puts on his night robe. "Where are you going?" His wife asks frowning at him.
"He asked me to meet him by the balcony, so that we may discuss some private matters," He says picking up his glasses and putting them on. "Should I come with or..." His wife trails off nervously. "No, I have it handled," He shakes his head and gives her a reassuring smile.
The man walks onto the balcony and sees Leonard with his back to him standing by the railing dressed in a different red hoodie, black tactical gloves, black tactical pants with some pouches, and black combat boots. He looks far different from when he saw him first all those weeks ago.
"I apologize for disturbing your sleep Mr. Hyde, but we both know I can't contact you during normal hours of the day," Leonard says turning around and facing the man. The man sees the newly added black domino mask of Leonard, the man just shakes his head and says "It's quite alright, and please call me Allister...and what may I call you..?". Leonard doesn't say anything for a moment and then says, "You can call me Robin,".
Allister nods and then asks "So how can I be of service Robin?". Robin looks to the side staring at nothing and then sighs, taking out a bunch of papers, "If possible I need you to purchase this property for me and restrict access to it. If you can also acquire these materials and equipment for me and just deliver them to the property I'll handle the rest." He holds out the papers for Allister to take.
As Allister goes to retrieve the papers, his wrist is caught in a tight grip by Robin who says in a low serious tone, "I am trusting and putting my faith in you here Allister,". Allister tugs his hand which Robin lets go of and he looks at him with a sincere and serious expression and says "You not only saved my life but also the lives of my wife and son, and that is something I will forever be grateful for...I would never betray the man who risked his life to save ours when others just watched and did nothing. I will show that your faith and trust aren't misplaced with me."
Robin stares him dead in the eyes and sees nothing but sincerity. He chuckles and nods at him "Thank you, Allister. If you need anything use this to contact me,". Robin takes out a two-way untraceable communication device he made a few days ago. "It's called the Bird's call. You just press the button and it will connect you directly to me," He hands him the device and watches as he inspects the device and puts it in his robe.
"Thank you, I'll be sure to let you know if I am ever in danger or in need of aid," Allister nods at him and then looks down at the contents of the paper curiously and nods his head again, "I can easily get you the property and equipment and materials. It will just take about a week but I will have it all for by then,". "That's alright...Well I should be going now," Robin says and turns to the railing of the balcony.
"If I may ask Robin how did you get all the way up here?" Allister asks curiously as he watches him taking a bar out of his pouch which extends into a Staff. "Well, Allister...I flew." Robin says and jumps over the railing. Allister gasps in shock and runs to the railing looking down and seeing Robin swinging to safety and away into the night. He sighs in relief and laughs to himself "Can't believe New York has its very own Superhero,"
--Line Break--
{He studied and trained, every day. His obsession with Zucco fueled his every move.}
Leonard spent the next weeks during the day going to his Hideout, which he calls the 'Birds Nest'. Practicing with the training dummies in his different fighting styles, Eskrima, Bojutsu, Savate, Muay Thai, Boxing, Capoeira, Hapkido, Tae Kwon Do, Jeet Kune Do, and Krav Maga. If he wasn't practicing his fighting then he was putting his body through a vigorous and intensive training regimen, and keeping up with his acrobatic and parkour skills.
If he wasn't training or practicing, he was expanding his knowledge with books on physics, biology, science, chemistry, computer sciences, engineering, criminology, forensic science, coding, programming, escapology, psychology, sociology, criminal justice, and various other subjects. Even books learning different languages such as French, Spanish, Japanese, and Russian for now.
He also started developing his very own suit. He first made the cape which was colored yellow with black accents at the neckline. The cape was made with a Nomex fire-resistant material and a Kevlar weave to slow the impact of bullets. He upgraded his domino mask which can be fixed in place with spirit gum, it includes built-in Starlight-night vision, can track the GPS coordinates of a cell phone, thermal vision, detect radio waves, and is capable of giving a detailed analysis of scenes, and fights, and also has a built-in radio transmitter/receiver.
The suit itself is a red sleeveless tunic, with black accents and yellow buttons, with a black undershirt. The suit has a yellow 'R' on the left breast. The Tunic is made from Zylon fibers which are strong enough to withstand a flamethrower from 10 feet away. It is insulated against electricity and is bulletproof, the suit also consists of a Smart MR-fluid-based liquid armor system of Leonard's own design which provides superior shock absorption by hardening on impact. The suit is wired to deliver a 150-thousand-volt shock through the symbol, however, it only has a one-time charge.
He also has a utility belt with defense mechanisms such as electric shock, locks, and stun gas to prevent tempering. The utility belt contains his collapsable Staff, his Birdarangs, a re-breather device, flash and gas grenades, smoke pellets, lock picks, explosives and detonator, electronic surveillance equipment, a forensic kit, a medic kit, a homing device, a cache of money, among other useful gadgets.
He added black polymer woven elbow guards to the suit for added protection. The green and black tactical gloves have been treated to be shock-proof as well as radiation-resistant. The gloves have joint armor reinforcement in the glove, from the wrists and knuckles to the fingers. The gloves are also equipped with a 100 thousand-volt stun gun. The knuckles contain a small amount of lead to increase the force of blows. The backhand of the right glove has a holographic computer interface and hacking cable attached which allows easy access to building schematics and data files. There is a USB cable that can be hooked up to larger systems that allow for complete access through his advanced hacking programs.
The black pants are made from the same material as the tunic. The green boots are made from lightweight rubbers and are much more flexible to allow for full extension when kicking. The bottom is a flexible split sole design and is textured for a variety of surfaces, and also has steel toes making them much more effective when on the offensive.
{But as the months went on...something shifted. Once again something changed. As he honed his craft and devoted himself to pursuing justice...}
[Months Later]
Robin is seen fighting a gang of men at the Brooklyn harbor, seamlessly transitioning from one target to the next incapacitating them with deadly precision not giving them a single chance to regroup or form a plan to counter him. After knocking out every single one of them he contacts the police and then makes his way to a shipping container and opens it. He sees about a dozen women huddled together in fear.
He raises his hands showing his not a threat and says soothingly "It's okay, you're safe now I took care of the assholes that put you in here. The police are on their way right now.". He steps back as the women watch warily and cautiously for any signs of deceit. Robin moves away from the container still keeping it and the women in his sights as he goes around tying up the knocked-out criminals for the police.
After a few minutes of waiting the police arrive, with paramedics for the women. Robin had stayed behind to make sure that nothing happens to the women between the time the police arrives. The paramedics get to work looking over the women and the police start loading the criminals in the cruisers. Detective Goodman walks up to Robin who is standing in the background watching everything happening, "We have been looking for these assholes and missing girls for months and you just come and find them in three days tops...Making us look bad, Kid" He chuckles to himself.
"You guys had them cornered. I just finished the job," Robin says softly glancing at the man at his side. "Don't worry about it kid...You a long way from Queens, Why's that?" Goodman inquires lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. "Personal reasons," Robin turns getting ready to leave. Detective Goodman just nods and watches him walk away and says "Nice suit,".
Robin smiles to himself and says "Thanks," Then grapples off into the night.
{To stop what happened to him from happening to anyone else, He realized...This wasn't about 'Them' anymore.}