There's this one episode of Batman Adventures where he gets his sense of fear taken away from him and I felt like I need to do that with Dick then I got a request which perfectly fit my idea - there's some inspo from that one episode of merlin where he tries to kill arthur since i thought it could be cool to add some light stuff in there

also might have mixed up timelines but it's dc i can do what i want if they get to make dc vs vampires

Ilike_cringe sorry it took so long to get around to this!!

Dick woke up feeling off. Not bad off or today will be horrible off. Just off. Like a bit of his brain hadn't fully woken up yet and was laying dormant despite the rest of him being fully awake. The night prior, he'd been fighting Scarecrow and at some point, during the fight, he'd been hit by a sweet-smelling gas, unlike any fear gas he was aware of. It also didn't do anything. He'd thought at the time that the villain was losing their edge and simply messed up the chemical reaction, making a dollar store perfume instead of nightmare fuel. He'd shrugged it off since not every scientist gets their formulas right on the first try and went about his night hardly thinking about the encounter so he supposed this weird feeling must be part of the chemicals he'd been hit with. Despite thinking this, he didn't feel an ounce of anxiety about all the side effects waiting beneath the surface. It was actually quite nice. He was always on edge as a hero so waking up with that pit of dread at the bottom of his stomach was a relief. Maybe Scarecrow accidentally made an effective Xanax or something. Again, he didn't worry about what that could lead to. He felt fine enough. He actually felt content enough to play on his phone before making any effort to get dressed for school. It'd be fine.

Twenty minutes later there was a knock at the door and he mindlessly shouted for whoever it was to come in. Alfred entered with a raised eyebrow and frowned when he saw the teen was still in bed with his pyjamas still on. Any other morning and Dick would've been in his uniform with his pyjamas at the bottom of the bed ready for the butler to clean but not today. He didn't even bat an eye at the older.

"Are you alright, Master Dick?" the older asked. He put a hand against the boy's forehead, feeling mild warmth that could be the beginnings of a fever but could also be due to staying under the thick bed sheets for too long. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just playing a game," Dick answered casually. 

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?"

"Wasn't planning on it to be honest." Again his tone was casual. Too casual. It was like he was talking to a peer rather than a sort of authoritative figure. "Thought I could stay here today."

"Why? Are you sick?"

"Nah, I don't wanna go to school so I'm just not gonna go." That had Alfred stunned into silence for a good few moments. Sure he expected someone who was used to an action-packed life not to want to go to school but it was stated with such firmness like it was a real option he had. It wasn't whining as to be expected from every teenager. Dick had no intention of going to school. 

"Did something happen, sir?" 

"Uh, not really? Bullies have been pretty quiet since Jenkins got suspended and I think I have a crush on the guy from the football team but I'm pretty sure I just respect his drive. That's about it." Again, the butler was stunned into silence. The Dick he knew was never this open about his thoughts. The most he could get out of him regarding school were grades and random bouts of gossip about the popular kids. He didn't even know Dick had bullies nor that one of them was suspended and if he didn't know then Bruce definitely didn't know. "I can give you my pyjamas if that's what you came in here for but I don't fancy getting changed into my school clothes. Is my hoodie washed?"

"It is." Somehow he agreed that the teen should have the day off from school. Living with vigilantes made you aware that any change could be a bad change and this right here was a very bad change. "Stay here. I fear there might be something wrong."

"I don't. I think Scarecrow actually did something good for once." Yep, this kid definitely wasn't going to school. 

"How so?"

"Well, I got hit with this pink gas last night and since then I feel totally calm. No anxiety at all. No fear either I don't think. Awesome." Alfred nodded, silently moving back out of the room and closing the door. He supposed they were overdue for a small crisis. 

After leaving Dick, Alfred went down the hall to Bruce's bedroom and knocked once before entering. Whatever Dick had been hit with, it could be contagious and even if it wasn't it was still dangerous. He was a trained professional who needed restraint or he'd be no better than the people they fought and put away. He could do anything without fear and there were plenty of people Alfred could think of that was in big trouble if he decided to take advantage of the situation. Bruce huffed at him, grumbling about it being too early but that was hardly the most pressing matter right now. 

"Sir, there's something wrong with Master Dick," he explained, immediately getting the billionaire to wake up. Bruce doubled his efforts to get dressed as he quickly asked for more information.

"What's happened? Is he okay?"

"Physically yes but- well it appears he isn't feeling any fear." The billionaire paused his efforts for a few seconds as something akin to a moment of clarity sparkled in his eyes before he finished getting ready. "You know what it is, don't you?"

"Scarecrow's new formula. Dick was hit with something last night and when nothing happened, we chalked it up to a bad batch," he explained. "But this means that Scarecrow is changing tactics. Without fear, he could reveal his identity or-"

"Break his oath not to kill." He nodded. There was a big difference between fearless and fear-none-existent. One ensured you followed the right rules but fought back when needed, the other meant nothing mattered and everyone is in deep shit. With no fear of consequences, the line between right and wrong became blurry or move to accept the unacceptable. There were plenty of times either he or Dick saw red but it was the fear of becoming something they could never return from that kept them in check.

"Is he in his room?"

"He was when I left him."

"Good, we need to keep him inside the house until I come up with a way to get him back to normal. All he's going to feel until we find a cure are positive emotions and not an ounce of regret. Be prepared for him to fight back if he decides he doesn't want to be here anymore." That sounded great as an isolated statement but without fear and purely good emotions, there were going to be a lot of people who Dick would be happier seeing dead rather than alive. He just hoped they could keep him content enough to stay inside.

Dick didn't see what the big deal was. Being without fear or anxiety was the best. Most of his time was spent managing those two emotions but now he could spend so much time enjoying himself without looking over his shoulder. He should seize the day. He was smart enough to realize that this wouldn't be a permanent fixture so he wanted to make the most of it. He got changed into a hoodie and jeans since there was no way he was spending his whole day in his room. That was boring. He grabbed his phone, noticing the lack of charge but not caring to think about it deeply, and went downstairs. Mount Justice came to mind as a fun time waster but nobody would be there during the day now his friends started school. He'd have to wait until they come back if he wanted the trip to be worthwhile. So where else could he go? Usually, Robin didn't make daytime appearances but if he was having the day off, he could go for some crime fighting. Especially now he wasn't feeling fear or anxiety. He could really get in there pulling no punches. Now there was a thought. Pulling no punches. Who did he want to hurt the most? Joker popped up but it didn't feel personal enough. That guy was crazy but it felt like Bruce's territory and he didn't want to steal his thunder. Then another name came to mind. Two Face. That was someone who had a tonne of personal beef with. Especially after he nearly died thanks to him and forced him to play a game with no winner. That's a good person to pull no punches with. Plus it would kill some time for everyone to be done with school. He hummed to himself, deciding on that for his first activity of the day. Well maybe second since his stomach was grumbling.

By the time Bruce was ready, Dick was already out of the house with a nice bat in hand and a stomach full of sugary cereal Alfred only let him have on special occasions. He still wore the mask of Robin, he wanted Two-Face to know exactly who was taking his life even if he couldn't be bothered wearing the rest of his garb. He was vaguely aware of his phone going off in the background but he didn't care all that much. If someone wanted him they could find him or watch the news. Either one of them would do. He'd taken his R-Cycle and if Bruce needed him, then he could probably track it but again he didn't care. He wore a smile on his face as he weaved through traffic. Oh, he was going to have so much fun killing Two Face. Hell, even if he didn't manage to kill him then he'd be happy just to give him a taste of his own medicine. A cackle escaped him. They should do more vengeance stuff. In fact, they should make it so they could never feel fear. It was like having the best mental health day ever. He hadn't felt this free since he was a child. 

Robin raised the bat over his head and was about to deliver the final skull-crushing blow when suddenly a body slammed into his, sending him flying across the room. He hit the crates with a yelp before looking up to see who the hell just interrupted his fun. There he matched his eyes with Batman's white lenses. Of course, he'd be here to stop him. He'd expected it because his mentor was that horrifically predictable and he hadn't done anything about the tracker on his mode of transport. Although he wasn't prepared at the moment to be thrown into a load of crates, he wasn't too off put by it. He wobbled a bit as he stood up, noticing that his side was aching more than it should. Sometimes Batman forgot how light he could be so the mistake was a forgivable one even if it was a bruised rib he suspected it to be. 

"Nice of you to join B. I was just finishing up," he greeted, dusting himself up and picking up his bat with an extra twirl for flair. He should use a bat more. There was something classic about it. Plus it looked amazing with the blood splatter over it. 

"You're done here. You're coming home where I can take a blood sample and synthesize an antidote to whatever you've been given," the older replied. Boring.

"See, that sounds like a great man. Really great work thinking it up. Here's my issue with it: I prefer feeling like this so I'll be staying right here." Batman shook his head in typical disappointed father fashion but it had no effect on the teen. He was silently ecstatic to not feel that crushing guilt of not being good enough, unable to stop the smile that broke out on his face. Why on Earth would he want to go back to how he was before where that would've destroyed him? 

"I don't want to fight you. I know this isn't the real you and that your judgement is clouded right now."

"That's a bit teen drama, don't you think?" he retorted, twirling his bat absentmindedly. "I'm not scared of you Bats, you know that. You should also know guilt is off the table too due to the whole no fear of consequences. I really don't know what angle you're trying to play."

"I was trying to appeal to your logic. Whatever Scarecrow gave you won't permanently alter your mind. At some point, you're going to stop feeling this and you're going to have to face the consequences of your actions."

"Exactly, so I'm making the most of it whilst I still have the balls to do some payback. Starting with the guy who nearly beat me to death and made me get someone killed. I don't fear the consequences, I'm actually quite happy bashing the guy's head in and I'll probably feel the same when I go for the others. I'll leave Joker to you I know he's like your evil soulmate."

"He is not my evil soulmate and I didn't even know you were still thinking about that day." Robin laughed because that truly was laughable. 

"B, I was torn apart. You really think I forgot it?"

"Not that you'd forget, more so that you had moved past it. I guess I was wrong to assume that."

"Yeah, you're wrong more often than you think when it comes to me. It's kinda funny how incompetent you are sometimes. Well, it would be if it wasn't soul-crushing sometimes but unfortunately, I'm not gonna waste this time on telling you how I feel. Why don't you go play with your villains and ignore me like you usually do?" 

The insult hits Batman much harder than he'd ever expected it to. It was like he'd been run through with a sword. He was trying his best. Better than he had when Dick was young and unable to be Robin but maybe that was just the problem. Bringing his ward out with him wasn't the same as giving him attention. Then, he thought about it. If he could get a rise of out Robin then he could hopefully keep his attention long enough to either convince him to stop or tranquillize him. He hoped for the former.

"I never meant to ignore you," he replied honestly.

"B, not the time, the younger huffed.

"I think it is. You have no fear so you can be honest with me."

"Oh, you always make it about you! I'm trying to do something for myself here. Can you believe this guy Harvey? He's unbelievable right?" The villain said nothing but that was probably from the severe concussion that had him unconscious. The only thing that kept them from thinking he was dead was the shaky fall and rise of his chest. "He'd probably agree, he's a little busy being beaten to death right now." Dick poked him with his bat as though he was roadkill and made a face. "A few good swings should finish it. Then I'll go for Scarecrow."

"I really don't want to fight you, son."

"Fuck off calling me son," Dick replied through a laugh. "I'm a successor, a charity case that happened to be useful. I'm not a son to you."

"You are. You really are."

"Oh yeah? And you're definitely not saying it to distract me from killing this guy, right? I'm sure this is really coming from the heart. Tear-jerking stuff." He turned and once again rose the bat over his head. 

Batman huffed and barrelled into him, this time being mindful of how light Robin was - which he'd need to address later because even an acrobat shouldn't be that easy to throw around - and pinning him to the floor. He threw the bat across the room and got a tut from his ward as though he'd mildly inconvenienced him. 

"Get off, you weigh a tonne!"

"I am not that heavy," he mumbled under his breath. He grabbed both of Robin's wrists and pinned them down but that did nothing for the kicks he was getting to the stomach. "Brat," he wheezed out, not really meaning it. He'd be stupid to blame Robin for any of this right now with how impaired his judgement was. They would need to have a conversation after this about the whole Two-Face incident and even if it was painted as vengeance right now, Batman knew deep down there was a need for security there. A need to know the monster wouldn't hurt him or anyone he knew again. Batman had felt it himself as he held his tiny son in his arms who was barely breathing and only just clinging on. Such a little fighter. He shook his head at the thought as he rooted through his belt for a tranquillizer dart. 

"You know he deserves it! I'm doing what you refuse to do!"

"You're drugged. Once you wake up, you'll be glad I stopped you."

"You're stopping me for yourself, not for me. If I wasn't your protege, you still wouldn't give a shit how I felt and just stop me because killing isn't okay. Well maybe sometimes it is when people always get away with it!" He punctuated himself with an extra firm kick. 

"We'll talk about it later," Batman huffed as he stabbed his ward with the tranquillizer.

"I hope you never find a cure," Robin muttered. "I don't wanna be scared again."

"I know chum. I know." He loosened his grip on the younger's wrists and lifted him up into his arms, ignoring the small noises of protests and blind slapping at him. "You'll thank me when your head is on right."