The Ghost Brother

Chapter 24: Puzzle Pieces

Third Person POV

Bruce stared at the small calendar sitting on his desk in his home office. The date was circled with red ink. His eyes were sad as he continued to stare at the date. They then drifted down to the papers on his desk. He should have been doing work, he had promised himself that he would work on the documents for the expansion of Wayne Enterprises. LexCorp had proved to be a most difficult competitor in recent months and was quickly trying to push Wayne Enterprises far behind it. But Bruce couldn't bring himself to focus on work today, which was odd for him.

A knock sounded on the door to the office and Alfred poked his head in. "Master Bruce?" The butler said stepping into the office, leaving the door open behind him, "Master Dick is calling. He asked specifically to speak with you."

Bruce sighed and stood, adjusting the documents on his desk and making another mental promise to work on them the moment he was finished with his call. He walked around his desk and out the door, offering a small smile to Alfred. He then headed into the study, adjusting the time on the clock and activating the secret entrance to the Bat Cave. Walking down the large flight of stairs, Bruce listened to the faint echoes of the bats who inhabited the cave and his footsteps on the stairs. He reached the bottom of the stairs and walked by the glass unit containing his costume. Quickly suiting up, Bruce walked over to the large computer and sat down in front of it. He accepted the call coming from Titans Tower and Robin's face appeared on the screen.

"Robin." Batman greeted, his tone serious.

"Batman." The former sidekick greeted in return. Both heroes remained silent for a long time, neither of them knowing who should speak first. Robin and his teammates had been busy fighting the Brotherhood of Evil and recruiting honorary Titans for the past month so he hadn't had much time to contact Batman or continue the search for his missing brother. Batman had continued the search but he still had yet to come up with anything.

Finally, Alfred broke the silence, appearing beside the Dark Knight without a sound. "Hello Master Robin. I trust you are doing well?" The butler asked, a hint of cheer in his voice.

Robin's lips somewhat twitched into a smile, "Hello Alfred," he replied, "I'm alright." No matter what, the younger hero always had a soft spot for the elder man who had helped take care of him and his brother.

Batman cleared his throat, drawing Robin's attention back to him. "How goes the fight with the Brotherhood of Evil?" He asked.

"Good." Robin answered, raising his fist, "We're growing in our ranks. If things keep going as they are now, the Brotherhood doesn't stand a chance." 

"Don't get cocky." Batman lightly scolded. At first he had been against Robin and his teammates fighting the Brotherhood on their own, but after a meeting with the League, a call from the Doom Patrol and a long talk with Robin, he had decided to let the matter be. Robin was his own man now, he could handle himself fine.

"What about you?" Robin asked, interrupting his former mentor's thoughts, "Any news?" There was a slight bit of hope in Robin's voice, even though he had a good feeling of what the answer would be. The same answer he got every time he asked. 

"Not yet." The older vigilante replied, eyes narrowed beneath his cowl.

Robin groaned and cursed under his breath. "He's been missing for a year and one month as of today. How is it that we haven't found a single trace of him?!" The colorful hero gripped his raven locks and shut his eyes. 

Alfred looked up at the teen sadly and excused himself from the room. He had left dinner in the oven and didn't want it to burn.

Batman swallowed and prepared himself for what he was about to say to Robin. It was going to be hard for the both of them, but he had made his peace with it a while ago. He only had to hope that Robin would eventually feel the same. "Robin." He began, "We have to start considering other possibilities."