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[b][color=CE2F29][centre] Red Robin #2 - Welcome to the Belfry
Location - The Belfry, Gotham City, New Jersey.[/centre][/color][/b]
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Admired and beloved by her peers and teachers alike, Janice Lincoln was the perfect student. Born and raised in upstate New York, from the outside it seemed that Janice Lincoln had a fairly normal childhood. Admired and beloved by her peers and teachers alike, she excelled in her studies and constantly found herself the centre of attention. You’d almost think she was perfect, if not for the whispers and secrets of her home life. The most people knew was that her father was absent most of the time, only dropping by the house once every blue moon. The truth of the matter was much worse. Her father, Lonnie Lincoln, was actually the infamous crime lord and foe of Spider-Man, Tombstone. 

You’d think such a fact would lead Janice to steer away from the brute of a man, however, strangely his occupation had the opposite effect. Janice idolized him. He spent his visits sharing tales of his exploits – his battles -, and Janice hung on to every word. While her school friends spent their free time hanging out and gossiping, Janice found herself mapping out her own heists and planning for her future. Of course when they found, Janice’s parents forbade her in following in Lonnie’s footsteps, but that didn’t stop her determination. She kept at her classes, and in some time went to college, where soon she became another force for evil; a lawyer.

She soon found herself defending another of New York’s deadliest; the Fixer. It would seem that part of her payment was a helping hand into the world of villainy, with the Fixer providing her a costume of his own design. She became the Beetle, an assassin for hire, and the predator of any person whose enemies were rich enough to pay her bills. 

And as Tim Drake had just discovered after watching CCTV footage of her passing through airport security, she was now in Gotham City. 

Everything about her fit the bill for Ramon Bach’s killer. She was the right height, and her MO fit the experimental round found. What more, that suit of her’s came with its own set of wings, meaning she would’ve been able to easily enter from that balcony. Now all he had to do was find her.

Running his fingers across the keyboard, the screens before him sprung into life, displaying a map of the city. A smaller screen flashed with colour to his right, as it sped through various CCTV cameras that Tim had hacked into, scanning the faces of all it showed. It wouldn’t be long until he located his target.

Red Robin sat back in his armchair, stretching his arms out over his head triumphantly, before spinning to face the rest of the Belfry. He had converted the pinnacle of Old Wayne Tower into his base of operations well over a year ago now, equipping it with all the technology he needed in order to create his very own Bat-cave, right in the heart of the city. From the screens that filled one of the walls of this place, Tim could be his family’s eyes and ears, providing them with all the support they could ever need while fighting the good fight.

He was proud of what he had accomplished here. Bruce liked it too, even if he did rather stick to that cave of his. He couldn’t blame him for that though. Even for Tim, that mansion would always be his home. Even with the ghosts of their fallen friend, that roamed those halls to this day. 

The Belfry felt like a new start. A breath of fresh air, that Tim didn’t know he needed until he took that leap. A new home for the future.

Speaking of one potential future, it was at that point that Tim heard the buzz of his phone from his desk. It was a message from Tam Fox, youngest daughter of Wayne International’s board member Lucius Fox. The two of them had been working together recently for the Wayne Foundation, the company’s more charitable projects. The two of them had also been dating, although given the message he had just read detailing the dinner plans he had accidentally missed that night, that may not be the case for much longer. 

Tim sighed, a pang of guilty hitting him hard. It’s not that he didn’t like Tam. It was genuinely nice to have someone in his life that he cared for outside of those who regularly found themselves donning capes and cowl every night. But as Bruce had told him ever since he first put on a mask, the job came first. He turned over the phone, hiding the message away. 

Thankfully a distraction quickly came in the form of another of his screens lighting up, as an all too familiar face appeared before him.

“[color=CE2F29]Takeshi![/color]” He exclaimed, a smile forming across his face. “[color=CE2F29]How’s it going, man? Settling in alright?[/color]”

“[color=crimson]Double R, I told you...[/color]” The teenager before him gave a smirk before relaxing back in his chair. “[color=crimson]Call me Wiz-Kid.[/color]”

Tim couldn’t help but let out a smile. The kid was confident. And who could blame him? He was one of a lucky few to receive a full scholarship to MIT. 

“[color=crimson]It’s been amazing though. Like, check this out![/color]” Wiz-Kid moved away from the camera excitedly, revealing his newest creation.  Takeshi’s wheelchair no longer found itself confined to the ground on a set of wheels, but now moved effortlessly through the air, gliding peacefully. Clearly pleased with his work, he gave the controls on his armrest a quick tug, causing the brilliant red craft to spin beautifully before the camera. 

“[color=CE2F29]Oh, nice![/color]” Tim was now right up to the screen, taking it all in. “[color=CE2F29]You got the thrusters all working in synch then?[/color]” 

“[color=crimson]Yeah, took a good couple of days though. Was a nightmare![/color]”

“[color=CE2F29]What about the power usage?[/color]” His eyes had moved away from the gleam of the red and was now analyzing the blueprints that Wiz-Kid had just transferred over to him. 

Takeshi drifted back over to the camera, running his hand through his hair. “[color=crimson]That’s my next problem.[/color]”

Spotting something within the blueprints, Tim raised an eyebrow.

“[color=CE2F29]Have you considered flowing some of the kinetic power from the engines right back into the battery?[/color]” He asked, glancing back towards his friend.

Wiz-Kid’s eyes lit up immediately. 

“[color=crimson]Bird Boy, you are a genius![/color]” He cheered, his hands now running over the very same designs. After a few seconds of scanning over them, he glanced back up towards the camera. “[color=crimson]You given any more thought on whether you’ll be joining me here? They don’t just give out those scholarships to anyone?[/color]”

Another wave of guilt. Tim’s eyes moved away from the screen and towards the side of his desk, where a folded-up piece of paper sat, now doing little more than collecting dusk. He’d received the letter weeks ago now yet had come no closer to making a decision. Usually, Tim had no issue solving whatever problem he came across. One of the Riddler’s riddle? Piece of cake. What to do with his future? No clue.

And with everything that had happened in the last year, this wasn’t exactly something he wanted to spring on Bruce. He didn’t want him to lose another family member. Not after Alfred.

“[color=CE2F29]I... I’m still working it out.[/color]” Tim finally managed, his fingers now drumming his desk. 

Wiz-Kid simply nodded. “[color=crimson]I know what you’re doing there in Gotham is important. But here, you could help make a real difference to the world.[/color]”

Before Tim could offer a rebuttal, an alert pinged across his monitor. He expected it to be the completion of his search for the Beetle, but it was much worse.

Mr. Freeze was back.