Young Justice: Ronin Chapter 2

YEARS AGO

"Come on, Joey; catch up!" The darkhaired ward of Bruce Wayne dashed down Prospect Park West. He was visiting his friend, Joey Kane, in Brooklyn. They met the previous summer, a few months before Dick's parents died. However, even in Gotham, he and Joey managed to stay in touch, even as Dick began his mission as Robin. Not that Joey knew that; but given how smart Joey was, it was safe to try and hide that fact.

"I'm coming, Circus Boy." Joey was walking with a cane, having gotten over a brief illness before Dick arrived. He was constantly sick, constantly weak. But he was smart, scary smart. But when he first revealed it to Dick, Dick was the first person who wasn't scared of him at all. His sandy blond hair shined dully in the sun. His bodyguard, an ex-Special Forces type named Brighton, walked behind him a few feet away. "Not all of us are physically inclined." Joey managed to idle up to Dick, the younger boy being several inches shorter than his guest.

"Come on, you need more exercise," grinned Dick.

"A fact I'm well aware of and Brighton has been trying to get my parents to agree to, to no avail."

"That's odd."

"They rather I stay inside studying."

"That's silly."

"I hate it."

Dick was surprised; he never heard Joey say he hated something, or say something with such venom.

"You hate studying? But you pick things up so quickly..."

"At what cost? I've few friends, I'm constantly sick, I'm always indoors. I feel trapped, I can't breathe."

"What do you want to be?"

"Free."

"Free?"

"Yeah." Joey sat on a bench by the park. He looked up into the trees and saw the birds flying around. "Like these birds. I feel like I'm in a cage; I don't even make my own decisions."

"Yeah, but you're seven."

"You get to make choices. I don't. Do you know how much I want to go to school; a normal school? Or just run around Prospect Park, skin my knee, and not have a hoard of doctors be summoned. Or have greasy food and not need to be with my grandma to have them. I hate my parents. They treat me like a machine," the small boy started crying, "I never get any breaks that they don't plan in advance. When you leave, I'm going to be reading, studying, working on virtual cadavers...your parents and Bruce let you be as normal a kid as you can be. I'll never have that oppertunity. Every day I wonder if I'll live to see 20, and not be dead from overwork..." the small boy coughed.

Dick sat down and started comforting Joey. "It's okay, you'll have your choices someday; you'll be free to make your own decisions."

"Easy for you to say, you made one of the best decisions of all..."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I just want a childhood."

"What do you call this then?"

"Hell. Slavery. A living death."

Joey started coughing again and again and couldn't stop. Dick helped get a tissue from Joey's pocket. He then saw spots of blood among the phlegm.

"BRIGHTON! HELP HIM!"

----------

THE PRESENT
KANE INDUSTRIES BUILDING

So far, Wally West had not been having a good first day to his internship. His new boss, Dr. Joseph Kane, berated for him for his manners and embarrassed him in front of the other interns. Then Wally had the bad fortune of the circuit he was working on for a proposed new device to help with energy consumption blow up in his face in front of the younger man. His pants were sprayed by the water fountain. A shaggy Old English Sheepdog made off with his sandwich before hiding somewhere in the building. Now he had to take in some forms for a revised proposal on the device he was making to Dr. Kane's office.

I already hate this Kane kid so very much! Don't know how he and Nightwing were friends when they were kids. Kane is an annoying brat, too smart for his own--

At this moment, Wally was almost knocked over by a large man in a gi.

"Sorry about that, West, come in."

Wally came in as Kane went over to help the other man out. Kane was also in a gi, showing that he was much more athletic than one would think. He and the other man exchanged words in Chinese as Wally looked around the office. It was bigger than his entire apartment; and apparantly Dr. Kane used this place as a secondary residence too. The office part was covered in papers and plans on almost available surface along with various bric-a-brac and pictures and mementos. There was a workout area with a lot of equipment and a sparring area. There was a kitchenette, a small "living room" and on an upper tier what one could call a bedroom. There was a lot of open space it seemed; a luxury in New York.

Dr. Kane coughed for attention, "Sorry about that, Mr. West; my weekly sparring test. That was one of the best Kung Fu practitioners in New York, by the way. So, how may I help you?"

The utter change in Kane's tone and attitude took Wally by surprise.

"Ah...those plans you ordered?"

"Oh right...put them...well anywhere. Sorry that the place is a mess; I kinda have it here because at home I don't really have my own space."

"Why?"

"I live with my folks; help to take care of my little brother. Plus it's hard finding a place in Manhattan or in Brooklyn that are up to my specifications at the moment."

Wow, who are you and where is the real Joseph Kane?

"I am the real Joseph Kane."

"Beg your pardon?"

"That look on your face just now. This is how I truly am; had to be a bit brusque earlier for image's sake. You just happened to be the perfect patsy."

"Why couldn't you say that to me earlier?"

"Well it looked like you were having a crappy day so I was going to wait until later. You are actually the most promising of the interns here."

Wally was surprised, "But I blew that circuit...."

"Well, you were supposed too! It was a test. Makes me worried what the others did to make that circuit "work"; probably did it in a way that makes it less safe."

Wally nodded, "Thank you."

"Well you came highly recommended; you got a recommendation from Dick after all. Don't know how you know him...."

"Dick Grayson, Dr. Kane?"

"Call me Joseph."

"Joseph; well he and I met at a tech fair when we were younger, kept in touch." That was close, hope he swallows it. "You and he were friends when you were younger, correct?"

Joseph nodded, "Correct, and I take his recommendation as a high mark." While he kept smiling, his eyes suddenly seemed sad, "He and I lost touch years ago; I went on an extended trip."

"Ah."

"Also, you wouldn't happen to know where my Barkley got a ham and swiss sandwich?"

"Huh?"

With a whistle, Joseph summoned the same shaggy sheepdog who stole Wally's lunch.

"He--He stole it from me."

The dog seemed to confirm that truth with a whimper and look of guilt.

"I apologize profusely; join me for lunch...."

------

THE SECRET HIDEOUT OF THE TEAM
LOCATION ON A NEED TO KNOW BASIS
THAT NIGHT

"Okay, now that is the Joseph I remember!" laughed Nightwing.

"I don't know if I wanted to deck him or shake his hand. Though he was surprised by the amount of food I ate." Wally was in his Kid Flash uniform as Nightwing and Batgirl combed through the data they received from Ronin the previous night. "He told me some things about where he traveled; though I have the feeling he's hiding a lot of it."

Nightwing nodded, "Yeah, we started losing touch roughly when the Team began. He...he was nearly killed not too long before in a random attack when he tried to protect a kid. After that, he went abroad for his health."

"Health?" asked Kid Flash.

"He was often sick as a kid, barely could walk on some days."

"Are you sure we're talking about the same guy? I mean, he beat up a kung fu master for practice and is pretty built."

"Dunno; I mean, I haven't seen him in years, a lot could have changed."

A tense silence filled the room. Kid Flash and Batgirl knew Nightwing was regretting not talking to his old friend for years, that he barely knew what Joseph had been up to, what changes there had been in his life.

"So," said Kid Flash, trying to ease the mood, "How much data is there?"

"A lot, he practically downloaded the entire LexCorp mainframe, but Ronin flagged certain parts for interest."

"I don't trust him," said Kid Flash.

"Me neither," said Superboy, joining the group along with Miss Martian and Beast Boy.

"I got a surface read on his brain, strong independent streak, but shame at his having to be lonely."

"He HAS to be lonely, sis?" asked Beast Boy.

"No, not have...but it's like it's what he's used too."

"You feel sorry for this guy?" asked Superboy.

"Well, I don't know."

"Are we gonna have a patrol or what?" asked Beast Boy impatiently.

"Not until we get through all this duty," said Nightwing.

This gave Kid Flash an idea, "Why don't you take a break, reconnect with Dr. Kane?"

"I don't know, I have a lot of work to do...."

"Nightwing, Mal can do this for you; he's your friend," Batgirl smiled, "Besides, you two probably have a lot to catch up on."

"Sure." Nightwing nodded.

Batgirl saw something was off, "What's wrong?"

"What if he's angry with me, I haven't spoken to him, didn't see what he was doing...."

"Nightwing, he took your recommendation for me as the highest mark I could get on my application; he's probably willing."

"Why don't you surprise him?" suggested Miss Martian.

"I can try," Nightwing smiled, "Besides, I want to see him healthy for once. I mean, even with the physical changes, he has to be the same guy deep down, right?"

The group agreed, but Nightwing, in his deepest heart of hearts, didn't know that was true or not.

"What about this Ronin guy? We don't know anything about him," said Superboy, crossing his arms.

"I'll look into him while I'm there, I'll be in contact."

Superboy nodded at this, "Right. Be careful."

"Hey, it's me."

---------

NEW YORK CITY

Somewhere, a robbery has occurred. Somewhere, a young vigilante just had his first major loss as a special piece of tech has been stolen from him, that he couldn't defeat someone.

Somewhere, Ronin is screaming in rage.....