Whipped
By Arlene Pon (a_pon@juno.com)

***

Patrol had been quiet. It had been one of those blessedly low-crime nights. A 
couple muggings here and a purse-snatching there had pretty much been the sum of 
the evening, which had gradually turned to early morning. Three dark figures 
converged on the rooftop of Wayne Towers and waited, more bored than tired from 
their nocturnal activities.

They watched and waited.

They waited and watched.

Finally, the low hum of a ringing cell phone emitted from the shortest of the 
trio, startling the vigilantes from their surveillance. The two older men looked 
sharply down at the boy.

"Uh, 'scuse me." Robin took out the offending object from a hidden pocket and 
answered. "Yeah?"  Batman and Nightwing turned back to viewing their city.

"Oh, hey Steph. You want what? Now? But I'm on patrol. With him. Yeah, him too, 
so I can't--"

The cell phone was now emitting a high-pitched squealing sound, causing Robin to 
pull it slightly away from his ear. He attempted to interrupt.

"But Steph--" More squealing. "I thought cravings only happened during 
pregnancy. You had the baby already and--" More squealing. Robin lowered his 
voice. "Well, of course I care about you. But I--" Squeal. "You know I want to 
be with you, but you know how he is . . . um, ask him? You know I can't, he 
won't just--" Loud squealing. "Okay, okay, I'll ask." He lowered the phone and 
turned toward the darker of the two figures.

"Uh, Boss? Steph needs, uh, something, and she can't exactly take off by herself 
at the moment, and, uh, since it's so quiet tonight, could I, y'know . . . ?"

Nightwing hid his smirk behind a gloved hand, trying to hold back a laugh. He 
could only choke out one word. "Whipped!"

"Am not!" The boy quickly covered the mouthpiece and said in a lower tone, "I am 
not whipped!"

Batman was considering the request. While he didn't approve of the Spoiler 
having contact with Robin during patrol (or ever, for that matter) it was done. 
Okay, slow night, patrol's almost over. If anything arises, he and Nightwing 
could take care of it. He was thinking of calling it an early night (morning) 
anyway. Let the boy go now and he'll be grateful. Grateful = happy = more 
dedication. Fine. Batman gave a short nod.

Robin's worried countenance melted into a relieved smile. "Thanks." Back to the 
phone, "It's cool. So what flavor was it . . . ?" The rest of the conversation 
faded as Robin jumped off the roof. The other two didn't bother to check if he 
landed safely.

By now, Nightwing had removed his hand. "Heh. That boy is so whipped."

Batman's mouth quirked slightly. "Definitely."

Before the younger man could comment further on the matter, he was interrupted 
by his comlink. 

>dit<

Finally, thought Nightwing with a smile, some action. "Yeah Babs?" Batman had 
not reacted, indicating that Barbara had only contacted Nightwing. The older man 
looked on curiously.

"Dick," Babs opened sweetly, "you remember that bet we had going earlier? And 
how you lost? How you lost so very, very badly?" He could hear her smile through 
the link. He dropped his own smile and grimaced. "Uh, Babs, I'm on patrol right 
now. Can it wait?" Unlike Nightwing had done earlier with Robin, Batman didn't 
cover his smirk. "Whipped!" he mouthed, letting his partner see it. Nightwing 
stuck his tongue out at Batman and turned his back on him.

"Listen, Short Pants, I've been monitoring your positions for the last ten 
minutes. Nothing's going on right now."

"It's a patrol. This is called surveillance." 

"Nothing's going on right now. Nothing much happened earlier. For all I know, 
you boys could've been standing around comparing . . . batarangs!"

>dit< 

Babs had cut the line. Nightwing waited patiently. He knew exactly what she was 
doing and the longer, the better. Maybe she would forget why she'd called in the 
first place. He crossed his fingers.

She came back on-line a few minutes later, slightly breathless, laughter under 
control now. "In fact, Junior just took off and he ain't heading to no crime. 
It's an early night and you're coming here."

"But Babs," he whined, "now, like precisely right this minute? I mean, yeah, I'm 
gonna honor the bet, but I mean, c'mon, now?"

Babs' voice took on a dangerous tone. "Richard, if you don't get your cute 
little rear in gear right this moment . . ." She let the threat hang.

"Okay, okay, I'll ask him. Sheesh." Nightwing turned back to his mentor.

So embarrassed was he that he didn't notice how similar his and Robin's requests 
sounded. "Uh, Batman? Babs needs me to, uh, get something, and she can't exactly 
take off by herself at the moment, and, uh, since it's so quiet tonight, could 
I, y'know . . . ?" The unmasked portion of his face turned to a lovely shade of 
scarlet as he sputtered.

Quite honestly, Bruce was dying to know what the bet was and what Dick had to 
do. However, since he was The Batman, he kept his face and voice neutral. "Go." 
You are so whipped, he added mentally. It was an interesting exercise trying not 
to chuckle while keeping his face impassive. A challenge like this didn't arise 
often.

Nightwing gave a short nod to signal his thanks. Still talking to his tormentor, 
he dove off the rooftop.

The amusement quickly faded. Alone again, story of my life, he sighed to 
himself. He turned to head towards the Batmobile when a slight flash caught his 
eye. He whipped out his binoculars and looked down at the vicinity of the flash. 
Hm. Jewelry store. Catwoman in plain sight, swinging a necklace and she's . . . 
waving? At the Tower? No, not at the Tower, at him. He was slightly shocked at 
her gall.

Possibilities raced through his mind. 1) It's a trap. 2) She's short on cash. 3) 
She wants to play. Eliminate 1, she knows better. Eliminate 2, store is not 
known for high quality. Number 3? By this time, he could see her tapping her 
foot and looking at her wrist. She looked up at him impatiently. Time's 
a'wasting. Why not? Nothing better to do. Besides, it's probably not her 
necklace.

As he dove off the rooftop and prepared a jumpline, a thought struck him. I am 
not whipped!

End