Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So that’s it then? You’re breaking up with me?” Terry McGinnis questioned into his phone and to his girlfriend Dana on the other end.

“You can’t say you didn’t see this coming, Terry. We’ve been trying for a long time now and I’m tired. Tired of waiting for you, tired of being stood up and tired of hearing promises you never keep.” She did sound tired but also sad. Terry clung to the small sliver of hope she’d give him one more chance.

“Dana, listen, I know my job takes up a lot of my time-” but she cut him off.

“You mean all your time.”

“I know, I know. Look, I know I haven’t been fair to you but I’m securing a future for myself and for us. Can we just meet up somewhere so we can talk about this in person?”

“We were supposed to meet for lunch today. I was going to talk to you about this then but, big surprise, you didn’t show.”

Terry winced at that. She had every right to be mad at him because she didn’t know what his real job was. She didn’t know that he was Batman and right now he wanted so badly to just tell her the truth. But he couldn’t, it would put her in too much danger and he liked her too much to do that to her, even if it meant she would finally understand.

“Dana I-“ but she cut him off again.

“Terry, just stop. I don’t want to hear another empty promise that ends with me all dressed up with nowhere to go. Even if this is the path to a fantastic career I don’t want to be one of those old fashion wives who wait quietly at home and never see their husband because they’re a big success. I’m not going to ask you to quit either because we both know you won’t. And let’s be honest, it wouldn’t make either one of us happy.”

Terry had to agree with her statement. Quitting and giving up Batman for her would only make him resent her. She was a smart girl and she deserved better but that didn’t mean he wanted to let her go.

“Dana…I wish I could make you understand.”

“Understand what? Is there something you think I need to know?”

She had given the perfect opportunity to come clean, to be honest. But he couldn’t, and he didn’t want to lie anymore. His only answer was silence.

“I didn’t think so.”

“Dana please…” but he still couldn’t think of any argument to convince her to stay.

“Take care of yourself Terry. Don’t let the old man make you forget about the important things in your life, or the people who care about you. Bye, Ter.”

And with that, she hung up, ending possibly the best relationship he had ever had. He would never find another one like her if he searched the whole world. Bitterly, he jumped on his motorcycle and headed for the Batcave. He was already late for training practice and since he had already messed things up with Dana, this time for good, he really didn’t have much of an excuse not to go. But he doubted the old man would be very sympathetic. Bruce Wayne had sacrificed everything for the sake of the mission, even his own family.

He thought back to his conversation with Mr. Grayson less than a month ago. Terry had teamed up with the former Nightwing to help stop Cadmus’s clone of Richard Grayson from destroying Gotham. Cadmus had intended for the clone to become the new Batman before Terry had stolen the Batsuit and taken up the mantle himself. Somewhere in their gene tinkering and brainwashing some wires must have gotten crossed and the clone went off the deep end. He took on the name Hush and started killing off Batman’s former adversaries along with some of Terry's current ones. His twisted mind thought that he had been cheated out of the Batman title and tried to finish Batman’s mission once and for all, by destroying his city.

Luckily the two of them and the new Catwoman had managed to stop him. The clone was presumed dead but since no body was found…well, everyone knows what that means.

Grayson told him of his last mission as Nightwing and it was a cautionary tale for Terry. He warned him what happened to all of Batman’s former prodigies but ultimately left the decision up to him. No one could force him to give up being Batman. But more and more Terry had been questioning his choices. Was it worth sacrificing everything he loved for a mission that would never end? One thing was for sure, he didn’t want to end up like Wayne; old, bitter, and utterly alone.

Alone, that was something he feared more than the danger. He was grateful he at least had Max to talk to but it wasn’t the same. She understood what he went through to an extent and her covering for him was a big help. But she wasn’t out there fighting with him and she couldn’t fully understand what it was like to put your life on the line every night without so much as a thank you. He didn’t really care much about the thanks. He didn’t get into this for the praise. But it would be nice to talk to someone who knew what it really meant to be a superhero that wasn’t yelling orders in his ear telling what he did wrong or what to do all the time. He thought about looking up Grayson again but the man left the mask behind a long time ago and for good reason. And he suspected he would just tell Terry to walk away for his own good.

“McGinnis, where are you?” And there was the old man ready to yell at him for being late.

“Yeah, yeah, give me a break I’m coming.”

“The criminals aren’t going to wait for you to get your act together.”

“Well how about a little break from you. Dana just broke up with me.”

Bruce was silent for a moment but his words didn’t exactly inspire Terry. “It’s for the best. This way she won’t be put in harm’s way or be used against you.”

Terry was so stunned by Bruce’s words that he almost missed his turn. “Are you serious?! Is that all you have to say?”

“What is it you want me to say?” Bruce said in his usual flat emotionless tone. It really pissed Terry off.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe something like, ‘That’s rough kid.’ Or ‘There are plenty more fish in the sea.’ Or even a simple ‘sorry’ .” Terry shouted back hoping for some kind of reaction out of the former Batman. But getting emotions out of Batman was like trying to get water from a stone.

“Pick whichever one is your favorite and suit up. I’ve got a lead on that tech thief we’ve been tracking.”

“You’re really not going to be satisfied until everyone is as miserable as you. You know what? I’m really not in the mood for this tonight. Call the cops and let them handle this one.”

“Believe what you want about me but may I remind you this thief is using extreme and sometimes lethal force to get what he wants.” Terry sighed as he turned his motorcycle around. In the last robbery a guard was killed, leaving behind two young sons. It hit home for Terry. This was one of the reasons he feared he’d never be able to leave the life behind. If he ever did quit he wouldn’t be able to turn on the news or read a report online about how someone was the victim of a crime and wonder if he could have prevented it.

“Fine, let’s get this over with so I can go home, complain to Max, and fall asleep listening to depressing music.”

Maybe he was just imagining it but he could have sworn he heard the old man muttering to himself on the other line. “Kids.”

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Bruce’s lead was dead on. Terry found the thief in an old warehouse. It looked like he was trying to piece together the parts he’d stolen into a larger device. It also looked like it was thrown together rather quickly and wasn’t working right. Terry managed to get a visual on the thief. After getting a good look he noticed the man was dressed a little strange. Something that was common with his villains. He was in a gray and purple burly body suit with a black helmet. The design on the helmet looked like a purple target with a line down the middle. It wasn’t anyone Terry recognized but this “Purple Target” had his back turned and wasn’t paying attention. Terry figured he could easily get the drop on him before he even knew what hit him. Bruce on the other hand had other ideas.

“Terry, come in.”

“Not now, old man. I’ll have him down and out and left for the cops before you know it.”

“Negative, stand down, I know who this is.”

“I can handle it; I’ve got the element of surprise.” Terry said, really starting to get annoyed.

“It’s not him I’m worried about, it’s his machine. Back in my day he was known as Time Code and his plans involved-'' but Terry cut him off.

“Don’t care. You’re not Batman anymore. This is my gig and I don’t need your permission for every move I make.”

“Stand down NOW McGinnis! THAT’S AN ORDER!” But Terry was done following orders tonight. He switched off the comm and visual feed, leaving the old man in the dark. Terry knew he was being petty and maybe a little reckless but right now he didn’t care. He just hoped the old man wouldn’t kill the suit again. Maybe he’d go visit Grayson after all. If anyone could figure a way to keep Bruce out it was him. He’d probably do it for free if he knew how pissed off Bruce would be. But he’d worry about that later. Right now he had a bad guy to put to bed.

Terry crept into the building trying to get as close to Time Code as he could without giving away his position. The villain was still fussing with his device letting out a few curse words every now and then. “Ah, stupid piece of junk! Going forward is so much easier.”

Terry would have liked to use knockout gas but Time Code’s suit looked too well insulated. That meant knocking him out the hard way. Without warning Terry shot out ropes from his grappling gun and bound the surprised villain. “What the? Batman? No! No, I’m not finished, it’s not stable.”

“Tough luck, you’re off to jail where you’ll have all the time you want to think about what you’ve done wrong.” But Time Code’s suit made him stronger than looked and quickly broke free from the ropes. But just before he did the device started sparking and a strange looking hole opened up right in the middle of the room.

“You FOOL! You’ve ruined it! It’ll never take me back now. I’ll have to start all over again.” And with that Time Code rushed him, this time catching Terry off guard. Terry was a little distracted by the glowing hole in the middle of the room which was now flickering and changing color.

“I can’t have you trying to stop me again, Bats. So you’re going to take a little trip. One you’re not coming back from.” Time Code moved to punch him but Terry dodged. Before he could go on the offensive Time Code kicked him in the chest sending him careening into the glowing portal. The last thing Terry heard before blacking out was Bruce’s voice calling his name after hacking into the comm.

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Terry awoke with a blistering headache and it took him a few moments to remember what happened. He looked around but Time Code was long gone along with his machine and that scary looking hole.

He checked his comm and sure enough it was back on. He figured Bruce must have found a way to force it back online. Terry sighed and prepared himself for a bat-lecture but for some reason all he was getting was static.

“Man, he’s going to do the ‘I told you so’ bit and chew me out big time.” But he knew it would be worse the longer he waited. He put his finger to his ear piece and took a deep breath. “Hello, old man, are you there?” Still nothing but static. “Must have busted it during the fight or something.” Wonderful, something else he was going to be lectured about. He figured he may as well head back towards the manor before Bruce started calling Max and his Mom, making them worry.

But as he looked up he was met with a shocking sight. “What the?” The buildings around the warehouse looked old fashioned but not old. All around him it was like he was staring at a hologram of Historical Gotham, only this wasn’t a hologram, this was real. But the real shocker was the Wayne Powers building in the distance. Only…the Powers part seemed to be missing.

Fighting down the urge to panic he tried to piece together what happened. He remembered fighting Time Code and falling through…

“Oh no.” he said quietly to himself as if he was afraid to say it any louder. He remembered the villain talking about getting back and that it was harder than going forward. The name Time Code should have been obvious as well. It wasn’t that long ago that a 14 year old Virgil Hawkins had jumped 40 years into the future after fighting a villain that was plotting to send wanted criminals to the future. The man must have sent himself forward to avoid going to jail but getting back was harder and he needed materials to rebuild his device.

Gazing out at the Gotham City of 40 years ago many things were racing around in his head but he only voiced one. “Maybe I should have listened to the old man.”

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

“Hey, Dick… It’s Tim… I called to see how you were doing. I assume that you’re there right now and not in the mood to talk to anyone, and I understand. Call me back when you get the chance or are in a better mood.”

“It’s Barbara. I know you’re there. Pick up the phone, damn it! Pick. Up. The. Phone. Ugh, fine, be like that! But I’m not going to stop calling until you respond.”

“Dick, it’s Artemis. I know this hurts you as much as it hurts me, but locking yourself up in your apartment and avoiding the team won’t help the pain. Everybody’s worried about you. The freshmen are stressing Kaldur out and Conner’s sulking like a lost puppy. And Bart’s been…acting weird lately; more twitchy than usual if you can believe it. He keeps asking when you’re coming back though. Call back, okay?”

“Barbara again. Please pick up the phone. If you’re going to keep doing this, I’ll have Conner knock down your door.”

That was the end of the messages. Dick wouldn’t say it out loud, but he was starting to feel a bit guilty about leaving his teammates behind. He was aware that they needed him, but the team only reminded him of Wally. It reminded him of all the things they said, the things that were never said. All of the good times and the bad times, the ups and downs, raced through his mind at a speed faster than the Flash. Every argument, spirited debate, and stupid conversations about Pokemon and Doctor Who and whatever stupid thing there was to have an argument, spirited debate or stupid conversation about. All of the firsts they had together or witnessed would play over and over again in his mind. The first time the team had an actual mission, the first (and last) time Dick had a sugar high from drinking his first (and, once again, last) Monster, the first time Wally drank alcohol, which led to Wally’s first hangover... every last one of them was on loop.

After checking the messages on the answering machine, Dick turned on the television, flipping from channel to channel. Eventually, he settled on the Colbert Report, deciding that Stephen Colbert’s sarcastic remarks on politics were better than listening to Barbara cuss him out.

Not even five minutes later, the phone rang. Dick sighed loudly, grabbed the phone without bothering to look at the caller ID. “Hello?”

“You’re needed in Gotham. Now. ”

Dick rolled his eyes. Bruce was probably trying to get him out of his apartment. “May I ask why, Bruce?”

“ There’s an abnormal energy signature that I am unable to look into. I want you to go with Barbara and Tim to check it out.”

Well, it is kinda strange, Dick thought. “Fine, I’ll be there in ten.”

Dick hung up without bothering to hear what Bruce had to say next, whether it was a comment about the mission or a statement voicing his concern over Dick’s decision to lock himself up in his apartment.

When Dick was in a hurry, it took him less than three minutes to suit up. Normally, he’d be commenting on how hot he looked in his Nightwing suit, but he wasn’t in the mood, nor did he care. He didn’t care that his hair wasn’t perfectly messy or that his escrima sticks weren’t perfectly straight in their holster. Right now, he had something that needed to be done, and, if he’s lucky, a bad guy’s face to punch in. It was about time he did something about the pent-up anger that he’d been holding in since Wally ‘ceased.’

In two minutes, he found his way to the Zeta tubes, and in four, he was almost to the meeting point where he would meet up with Batgirl and Robin. He could hear a tail end of their conversation so he kept himself hidden in the shadows, not making his presence known just yet.

“-anyone could get him to come out, it’s Batman.” Tim said as he adjusted his staff, making sure it was in working order.

“Let’s hope so. He’s brooding so much he’s starting to remind me of Batman.” Batgirl’s little remark made Dick wince. It seemed like no matter how much he tried to avoid being like Batman, more and more he saw himself becoming him.

“Oh come on, he’s not that bad…yet.” Tim paused as his cell phone alerted him to a new text message. “Seriously, Impulse?”

“Impulse again? What is up with that kid? It’s like he has Bat-fever or something…”

“You too? At first I thought he was just lonely after Wally…you know. But he keeps coming over or contacting me for no real reason. Every time I try to ask him what’s wrong he starts speed-talking and fidgeting. You know, the other day he actually came over to the manor to ask if he could borrow a cup of sugar.”

“Sugar?”

“And the next day he came over to return it.” Dick had to clamp his own hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing.

Batgirl didn’t bother to hide her smirk. “Is that when Batman scared him off?”

“Yeah. He was mad that Impulse kept using his speed to get from Central to Gotham City. Never seen anyone run that fast in my life and that’s including speedsters.”

Knowing his fellow bats would only worry more if he was late, Dick stepped out the shadow as if he just arrived.

“Well, it’s good to see you’re not sulking anymore,” Batgirl said, her eyes narrowing but still showing concern. He doubted he fooled her at all.

“Not sulking at the moment,” Dick corrected her, “Still not quite feeling the aster. Batman called me about an abnormal energy signature. Where is it?” Anything to keep the, ‘Are you alright?’ questions and comments at bay.

“One of the warehouses on the east side,” Batgirl said, “Let’s move.”

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When they arrived at the warehouse that had the strange energy signature, the trio of bats soon understood why it was so abnormal. There was a giant crater, and in it was a teenager no older than Nightwing. The teen wore a black outfit with a red bat on his chest. The mask he wore had familiar bat ears on top.

“Man, he’s going to do the ‘I told you so’ bit and chew me out big time,” the Bat-teen said. The teen seemed distraught, considering the tone of voice he was using. “Hello, old man, are you there? Must have busted it during the fight or something.”

Bat-teen took a look around and gasped. “What the?” Dick couldn’t see his facial expression very well, but he assumed it must’ve been a look of horror. “Oh no… Maybe I should have listened to the old man…”

“Old man? Who could he be talking about?” Robin gave Nightwing a look of confusion.

“Dunno Robin, might as well find out.” Nightwing stood from his vantage point and jumped down behind Bat-teen, landing without a sound.

“Hey… kid,” Nightwing called out. The teenager turned around to face the veteran crime fighter.

“I don’t know who you’re supposed to be, but that’s a pretty lousy imitation of Batman,” Nightwing said, “Who are you, anyway? Batboy? Bat-teen? Batlad?”

“I’m Batman,” the teen said, “Who the hell are you?”

“Like I said earlier, that’s a pretty lousy imitation of Batman. You look nothing like him.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Nightwing rolled his eyes, “You’re the one on the spot here, Batman , not me. But, if you must know, I’m Nightwing.”

Batman gave him a look. “You can’t be Nightwing. Nightwing’s old . Like, in his sixties.”

Nightwing snorted. God, this kid was funny. “Old? I’m old ? I’m not even old enough to get into a bar.”

Nightwing put his hands behind his back for a second. He signaled Batgirl and Robin with one of his many bat-signals.

“Speaking of bars,” Nightwing said, “Tell me if you’ve heard this one. Batman and Nightwing walk into a bar-”

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Terry couldn’t believe what he was seeing, who he was seeing. It was the legendary Nightwing, young, around his age. He had seen pictures, of course, but this couldn’t be real. He was hoping this was some weird dream or VR world because if not…

But just as Nightwing started to joke around he was ambushed on two sides. On instinct he fought back, using the extra strength the suit gave him to fend off his attackers. Only now he was even more shocked to discover he was fighting Batgirl and Robin. This was getting too weird, even for Gotham.

But while he had them out matched in strength, they had more skill. As he narrowly dodged a batarang he couldn’t help but think, ‘I see the commissioner hasn’t lost her touch.’ Or when Robin’s electrified bo staff got him in the knees, ‘And here I thought the Robins were only there to distract Batman’s enemies. Damn that hurt, even though the suit! ’ But with that thought, it made him realize he had made a critical mistake. ‘Uh oh, where’s Nightwing?’

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While Robin and Batgirl jump down from above and attack the fake Batman, Nightwing discovers something.

‘There’s actually a second energy signature here, which is coming from this Batman,’ Nightwing thought to himself. ‘ The first was so great, it covered his. But, with time, the bigger energy signature decreased to a level that allowed me to detect the second. It’s his suit… it’s so wired, it’s practically a computer!’ He smirked to himself. ’And if it’s more computer than spandex, I just might be able to hack it. If I can take control of the suit, I may be able to immobilize him… there we go!’

As if on cue, Batman falls to the ground. Batgirl and Robin seemed quite surprised.

“Hacked his suit~,” Nightwing said in a sing-song voice.

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Terry felt the horribly familiar feeling of his suit locking up, leaving him unable to move and completely vulnerable. ‘Ah SLAG!’ he thought to himself, trying to find any part of his body that would move. ‘Terrific Terry, what was one of the old man’s first lessons? Never turn your back on an opponent, especially a Bat.’ He listened as the trio discussed what to do with him.

“So what now?” asked Batgirl, keeping at least one eye on him. “Besides imitating Batman he hasn’t done anything illegal.”

“Batman might disagree with you on that one,” Nightwing said with a smirk. Terry smirked back. ‘Yeah old man Wayne would call that a federal offense, wouldn’t he?’

“You could always take me to the cave and have your boss question me himself.” Terry doubted very much that they’d take him anywhere near the cave, but he needed to see the old man. He had a theory about what had happened to him after his fight with Time Code, but he had to be sure. He hoped he was wrong, but if he was right…well, either way he’d need Batman’s help to get back to his reality.

The Bat-kids all looked at the stranger and then back at each other. Without saying a word the three of them all came to the same conclusion. Clearly, no one was letting this kid anywhere near the cave, and anyone who asked to be interrogated by Batman was up to something or just insane. Either way, the big man needed to be called in. The suit he was wearing wasn’t made in a fan boy’s garage and there was still that strange energy reading he gave off when he first arrived. Finally Nightwing took charge.

“Batgirl, Robin, contact Batman. I’m gonna take this Batman to my base in Bludhaven for a little chat.” Terry glared up at Nightwing who, in his opinion, was enjoying this a little too much.

“Great, but how are you going to get him there? You can’t use the Zeta tubes because he’s not authorized. And he might try to run off if you give any power back to his suit…” Tim asked as his older brother tossed him something. He looked in his hand and saw it was a motorcycle key.

“I’ve got a ride stashed a few blocks from here. I’ll keep an eye on our new friend while you bring that around.” While Batgirl went off to try and contact the real Batman, Tim went to get them transportation.

“Don’t you usually leave people hanging upside down from lamp posts or something?” Terry said, feeling like he might as well be tied up.

“Normally, yes, but we have a few questions for you. You could save us all a lot of trouble by telling me how you got here, who you are and why do you think you’re a mini-Batman.”

Terry tried to look around but found he couldn’t move his head enough. “No, not here, somewhere more secure.” Dick became quiet, hearing the tone in his voice.

“My bunker’s fully secure. But even if you insist on secrecy, I’m not going to be able to return power to your suit until we get there. Oh, and you’ll have to be blindfolded.”

Terry sighed, his muscles were already starting to cramp, but it didn’t look like he had much choice. “What? Not satisfied with cutting my optical feed?”

“Call me paranoid.”

“Fine, you’re a bat.” Dick smiled at his younger captive. At least he was entertaining.

Soon enough, Tim returned with the Nightcycle, a little disappointed he couldn’t take it for a real spin.

“Alright, Batman ,” Nightwing said after he got the teen into the sidecar, “Let’s mosey.” Terry grumbled as he was packed into the small car like a piece of luggage.

“I feel like a sidekick.”

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Nightwing took the teenage Batman to the old warehouse that the team had temporarily used after Mount Justice and the Hall of Justice were destroyed. Dick was relieved that he left some of the technology here, as he could be sure to monitor the teenager while he was away. He secured the teen in a small cell-like room before he pulled up his halo-computer and he pressed a few keys.

“I’ve rebooted your suit, but only your mobility,” Dick explained, “I don’t trust you enough to use any weapons on me. And remember, I can shut it off at any time if I feel you are a threat of any kind.”

Terry gasped as the suit unlocked and he could finally move. “Ah, son-of-a-” but his curse was lost as he straightened himself out. “I’ve never felt that stiff in my life. How does the old man live like this?” Nightwing was amused but put on his game face. Time for some answers.

“I want you to answer a few questions for me,” Nightwing said, “Who are you?”

“I’m Batman.”

“No, I mean who are you? As in, under the mask?” The kid looked hesitant for a moment. “Trust me, kid, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Except your boss.” But surprisingly Terry removed his own mask. “Terrence McGinnis, or just Terry. But it doesn’t really matter. If I’m right, and I’m about 99% sure I am, then no one is going to recognize me. And you won’t find my fingerprints or DNA on file anywhere either. How about you? You got a name besides Nightwing?”

“Sorry, doesn’t work like that.”

Terry gave him a knowing smirk, “Well, I thought I’d be polite, Mister Grayson. That’s what my mom always taught me.”

Dick’s eyes widened behind his mask. This Batman knew his secret identity. ‘ Shit, this is bad…’

“Don’t believe me? Tim Drake is the current Robin, Barbara Gordon is the current Batgirl and good old Bruce Wayne is the current Batman.”

Dick’s eyes narrowed. “How did you-”But Terry cut him off.

“Now, answer me this… what year is it?” It sounded like a stupid question, but the seriousness in which Terry had asked it unnerved Nightwing as much as the fact that his secret identity had been compromised.

“2016. Why?”

“Oh my god,” Terry whispered, “Oh my god… I really should’ve listened to the old man.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I was right. Slag it, I hoped I was wrong.” The boy’s sky blue eyes grew wider as it finally sunk in how much trouble he was in. “I’m not supposed to be here… I’m supposed to be forty years into the future.”

Dick blinked, once, twice, three times. “Okay… that explains why you’re Batman, and why it was hell to hack your suit. I assume you know Bart Allen?”

“Who?”

“Never mind kid-” Terry gave him a glare. “Right, sorry, Terrence . I assume you want to get home, right?” Terry nodded. “Well, we have yet to get Bart home, so you’ll have to wait a while. Sorry about your luck. Life sucks, shit happens, blah, blah, blah. I’ll spare you the details.”

Terry gave him a look. “You seem bitter. Even in his sixties, the Dick Grayson I knew wasn’t this bitter.”

Dick rolled his eyes once again. “You have friends in your time, Terry?”

“Yeah,” Terry said, “I do… not many, though.”

Dick gave him a sad smile and sighed, “Here’s a little advice… cherish the friends you do have, even if it’s only one or two. In this life, every time we see each other may be the last.”

Terry gave a confused look, having no idea what Dick was talking about. Sure, he did his research on the original boy wonder, but it was mostly fighting styles and cases. He’s heard stories from Grayson himself, but not about his personal life. But the look on Dick’s face told him that he was serious about this. But it also brought up some unpleasant memories of Jared and his step father Armory. He remembered what happened when- but he shook his head violently. He didn’t want to deal with that now. He just wanted to focus on getting home, focus on the mission.

Terry nodded, pretending Dick’s words didn’t strike a chord, “Okay. Cherish your friends… got it.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Dick said, moving over to one of the larger computers in the room, “I have to call you-know-who and explain this mess to him.”

 

To be continued...

Chapter Text

Nightwing sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He left Terry in his room/cell to access his main computer. He needed a little more information before he called in Batman. His eyes widened as he read the downloaded information he retrieved from the new Batman’s suit. This technology was way more advanced than anything he had ever seen, and he had seen a lot. Truthfully, he shouldn’t have been able to hack it, so how did he?

The answer was both surprising and logical but also scary. This was new technology but the programming was familiar, very familiar. This was the same base program that both the Bat Clan and the Justice League used. He himself had helped to write part of it. But that wasn’t the scary part. He knew Batman, his Batman, had been toying around with advancements to his suit. It was still in the blueprint stage but the similarities with this new Batman’s suit were striking.

And to top it off, the energy readings he got from the crater and the kid were very close to the readings he retrieved from Impulse’s time machine. Close, but there was something off about them. He pulled up a separate screen letting him keep an eye on Terry. After finding out he was trapped in the past the poor boy looked scared, but after his initial shock wore off Bat instincts took over and he put on an emotionless mask. He sure acted like a Bat, but was that because he was one or had he just been studying them? As he contemplated the many possibilities, he got an incoming transmission from the boss man himself. After years of working with the man, Dick had just about mastered reading the subtle mood changes most people would see as an eternal scowl. The man was not happy and Dick was just thrilled that he got to be the one that would give him the information that would put him into an even fouler mood.

“Batman, I’m glad you called. I was just about to forward the information I was able to retrieve from our new friend.”

“The man claiming to be Batman.” Oh yeah, he was pissed.

“As it turns out, there might be a word of truth to his claim.” A subtle twitch of his upper eyebrow was a clear warning to explain and to do it quickly. “He’s claiming to be Batman from the future and trained by…well, you.”

“I hope you’re not simply taking him at his word.”

“Of course not. I’m sending you the data I received from his suit as well as the energy readings from when he first arrived.” Batman didn’t say anything as he examined Nightwing's evidence.

“And there’s more.” Silently again Batman looked up. “He knows our secret identities, all of our identities.”

“What! How were we compromised?” Batman yelled, clearly angry.

“I don’t know. None of our masks were removed, nor were any of our names mentioned. He did make sure we were in a secure area before he called me, ‘Mr. Grayson.’”

“I suppose we should be grateful he didn’t shout it from the rooftops like the last time traveler.” Yeah, Impulse was not one of Batman’s favorite people at the moment. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, try to find out if he’s trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Remember to follow protocol and if he really is…Batman, remind him to follow protocol as well.” And with that, Batman cut the feed.

Nightwing groaned as he glanced back at the New Batman. Exactly how was he supposed to find out more about the kid without breaking protocol and learning more about the future then he already did? Still, it was never a good idea to leave a Bat alone for long, so he might as well give it a shot.

As he walked into the room, Terry looked up. Nightwing took this opportunity to get a good look at the potential Batman of the future. The boy was around his age, give or take a year or so. He had dark hair and striking blue eyes, something, he suspected, his Batman subconsciously looked for in his protégées, among other things. It was a little difficult to judge the condition of his body with the suit on but he looked relatively healthy. There was also a subtle hardness to his features that only someone in their line of work acquired and recognized. But it was also something their enemies possessed as well.

“Hey, when you’re finished threat assessing me, could I get some food? I’m starving,” Terry yelled, breaking Nightwing out of his stupor.

“Oh, right. Sure, just give me a moment.” He walked away, well aware that Terry’s eyes were following him into the kitchen area.

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Terry was grateful Nightwing had finally stopped staring at him. Even though he only knew the Dick Grayson in his time for a short while, it was still really weird seeing him so…youthful. He didn’t get to see much of Grayson fighting earlier, but the way he carried himself just seemed so strong. Not that the 60 plus Dick Grayson was a weakling by any means, but with the collection of injuries the man had sustained over the years, he was nowhere near at his peak, especially the ones he received in his final act as Nightwing. The young man in the kitchen area might as well have been a different person. In fact, it was easier to think of him as a different person. Going from late teens to 60’s was a huge leap and big changes were inevitable. He wondered just how much Bruce had changed other than physically. He somehow doubted the younger one was any friendlier than the old man back home.

“I hope you still follow the time traveling protocol of the Bat clan in the future,” Nightwing called out from the other room, “Because Batman expects you to follow the same rules.”

Terry rolled his eyes but nodded. “I know: No revealing anything about the future if you can help it. You might accidentally erase yourself, or cause an apocalyptic event or something.” He heard a slight chuckle from Nightwing. “Seriously I know the job gets us into some weird situations and there’s protocol for just about everything, but who would ever think we actually need to use half of them in real life?”

Nightwing laughed as he came out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of food. “After all these years I’ve learned not to question his bizarre orders. He’s usually right and his ‘I told you so’ lectures are the worst.” Terry frowned slightly. That didn’t sound anything like Grayson senior, but then again a lot can happen in 40 years.

“No kidding. I’m in for a big one when I get home,” Terry said, eyeing the bowl of soup and bread roll in front of him. “You didn’t put any sleeping pills or truth serum in this, did you?”

Nightwing smirked. “Nope, I need you awake for when Batman gets here. And the truth serum would be a violation of protocol. Besides, you already let an important piece of information slip.”

Terry blinked, trying to figure out his mistake. “I did? What did I say?”

“You told me you met me in your time, meaning I’m still alive in 40 years.” ‘Surprisingly’ he added on in his head.

Terry slapped a hand on his head. “Slag, I don’t suppose you could leave that part out? You know Batman isn’t going to want details either.”

“Sorry, if one of us is going to be lectured I’m happy it’s not me.”

“Oh come on, you do realize I’m going to get lectured twice for this little side trip, don’t you? Once from young Bruce, and once from old Bruce, the one with the big fucking cane.”

Nightwing was laughing out loud at this point. “Hey, don’t laugh, that cane hurts!”

“I would hope so.” It took every ounce of training Terry had learned over the years not to jump at the low but threatening voice of his mentor. He put his soup spoon down and slowly looked up at the legendary Dark Knight. The stories did not do him justice. The long flowing cloak, making him blend in with the shadows, the tall frame towering over him, ready to pounce at the slightest hint of an attack, and that soul piercing glare that was sure to give him nightmares. So this is why all those old school villains were never really scared of him when he first arrived on the scene. The old Batman’s presence alone would make most men tremble in fear. Luckily Terry was not most men. He refused to be scared of his mentor, even if he could probably put him through a wall without breaking a sweat.

Terry put on his most cocky smile and tried to hide the slight tremor in his voice. “Always wondered what you were like in your prime, Bruce.” The glair intensified and suddenly Terry wasn’t feeling so confident anymore. “Not that I want a personal demonstration or anything.” While he couldn’t see it he knew Nightwing was hiding in a corner enjoying watching him sweat, the bastard.

“Who are you?”

“Didn’t your little birds tell you? I’m Batman.” He felt a rush of air as a fist flew past his head making a small dent in the wall right behind his ear.

“Want to try that again?”

“And here I thought you might have mellowed after 40 years. Okay, like I told Nightlight,” He knew the other teen was frowning at that one. Take that, Dick. “My name is Terry McGinnis, in 40 years you’re too old for the job so I took over with you as my mentor. I’m not sure how much more I can say without breaking protocol, though.”

“Details on how you got here override the protocol. Now talk.”

“Alright, I was fighting a villain named Time Code. He’s originally from your time and a Gotham local. Ring any bells?”

“No one under that alias is currently operating in Gotham.”

“Slag, I must have been sent too far back. His MO was sending wanted criminals to the future for a profit. We had an incident with a teenage super from your time ending up in the Bat cave in my time. I don’t know all the details but he managed to make it back home.”

“Who was the hero?”

“Static Shock.” Nightwing, who was in fact listening to every word of this conversation, raised an eyebrow. “But if I’ve been sent back too far I don’t know if he’s even active yet. I’m not sure but the old-I mean Bruce, said his partner Gear helped get him home.

“That was over a year ago in my time. I was tracking a thief when Bruce recognized him. I uh…sort of lost contact with him and wound up in a fight that ended with him pushing me through a glowing hole in the middle of the room.”

“Lost contact?”

“I uh…may have been a little angry at him and sort of turned off the com.”

What followed was a very unpleasant lecture about the responsibilities of being Batman, following orders and insults to Terry’s character that almost made him want to break down in tears. He still wasn’t sure how he held it in though.

“You are to stay put while we try to figure a way to get you back home. You will not be disobeying orders again. Is. That. Clear?”

“Crystal.” Terry said, too stunned to do anything else. And with that the Dark Knight left the room Nightwing trailing behind him.

“Okay…maybe he’s mellowed a little.”

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Nightwing was right, he was glad it wasn’t him on the receiving end of that lecture. Oh course, now he felt sorry for the kid. He knew how easy it was to ignore an order that sounded foolish and get yourself into a heap of trouble because of it.

“So what’s the plan? Do we believe him or do you think this is some elaborate plan?” Nightwing asked.

“It’s too early to say. What are your initial impressions?” Nightwing was a little surprised Batman was asking his opinion, especially after the Blue and Green Beetle incident.

“It’s hard to say. He seems sincere and he’s definitely been trained either by a Bat or someone who knows a lot about us. In other words: a future ally or a present danger.” Batman silently observed his young protégé. They both knew what Batman wanted to talk to him about but it seemed like they were both talking around the problem.

“You reacted when he mentioned Static Shock. Someone you’ve met?” Yep, once again avoiding the issue, but for now that was fine with Nightwing. He really didn’t feel like talking about Wally and how he failed him.

“It could be the new freshman, Virgil Hawkins. He’s currently being mentored by Black Lighting but John Stewart’s also taking an interest. He hasn’t chosen an alias yet but I think Static was one of the ones he was considering. Beast Boy thinks he should go with Lighting Lad, not one of Virgil’s top picks.”

“And his supposed partner Gear?”

“As far as I know, Virgil doesn’t have a partner. The name “Gear” doesn’t seem to match any of the others we rescued from the Reach, but other kids were found once we exposed the Reach to the public. They tried to destroy the evidence, in other words, the kids, but thanks to Aqualad and Artemis we were able to get most of them out safely. There were also kids on their list that they planned to abduct but were never able to. It’s possible it could be one of them or simply someone he knows.”

“Or a hero who’s not active yet,” Batman added, “If Static really is Virgil, Terry doesn’t know he actually is active even if he’s just starting out.” In other worlds, slightly more evidence that Terry is from the future.

“I’m going to have the evidence you’ve gathered examined at the Watch Tower. We have to know for sure if he’s telling the truth.” Batman said, as he pocketed the flash drive Nightwing gave him.

“And if he really is from the future, what are the odds of us getting him home?”

“Nothing is certain at the moment, but it seems Kid Flash’s interference-” Nightwing visibly flinched. He still wasn’t used to the fact that Impulse had taken up Wally’s old name. Even though Wally had offered it to his future cousin, Dick still couldn’t call him that name .

Batman was on the verge of asking his son if he was alright but returned to the topic at hand. “As I was saying, when Bart Allen came to the past he interfered and as a result Barry Allen survived when he should have perished. He also helped to stop Blue Beetle and the Reach from enslaving the human race, altering the timeline he was from. In other words, the world Bart came from no longer exists. He’ll never be able to return to the home he once knew.” Nightwing agreed, but after finding out the horrible future Bart had come from, he doubted the boy had any interest in returning. But that reminded Dick of the boy’s strange behavior.

“Speaking of which… Im-Bart’s been acting a little weird lately.”

“I’ve noticed.” Batman said with a scowl, remembering the sugar incident.

“He’s been hanging around the whole Bat Clan recently. It’s almost as if he trying to tell us some-”

Batman held up his hand. “Whatever Bart has to say, he needs to follow protocol and keep it to himself.”

“But because of him, Barry’s alive and the Reach has been kicked off the planet. What if he’s trying to warn us about-”

But Batman stopped him again. “He’s already changed time dramatically. And while it may have seemed like a positive outcome, it’s going to have unexpected consequences. Add to the fact that we may have had another time traveler fall into our laps, any changes he makes could permanently damage the time stream. From my observation, Terry is not from the future Bart Allen left.”

“It almost sounds like you’d prefer it if he was an imposter.”

“An imposter would be a lot less dangerous.” Nightwing sighed, this just got a lot more complicated.

“So what do we do with him? The Bat cave is out of the question and our safe houses aren’t as secure.”

“I see no reason why he can’t stay right here.” Batman stated calmly much to Nightwing’s surprise.

“No offense Batman, but I’m supposed to be on a break. You know I’ll still help if you need me but…I’m not ready, I need time.”

“Dick, I know what happened to Wally affected you-”

“It’s killing me!” Dick yelled out, not caring that Terry might be able to hear him from the other room. “It was my damn plan that put Kaldur and Artemis in danger. My plan that made it okay to make everyone think one friend betrayed us and one was dead. My plan that lost us the cave and home to many members of my team. And it was my damn plan that forced the Reach into a corner, made them implement their endgame that led to my best friend getting killed!” Batman remained silent, letting his son finally vent out some of his frustrations.

“Everyone keeps saying the same thing. That it wasn’t my fault and there was nothing I could have done, but I know that’s not true.” Dick’s anger dissipated slightly as sadness crept into his voice. “I was monitoring the eggs when we first discovered them, but I chose to go out into the field instead of looking for more. I should have realized the magnetic poles would have canceled out our trackers and sent someone to scout. I should have talked to Wally right after we broke up the summit instead of waiting until the mission was over.” He closed his eyes remembering all of the events that happened over the last year.

“There was so much I wanted to say, wanted to apologize for and now I’ll never get that chance. I’m not fit to effectively lead the team and I'm even worse at being a friend. I can’t do it Batman I…I can’t be you. I can’t just keep pretending I’m okay and move on to the next case. I…I need some time.”

Batman put a hand on his young partner’s shoulder. “You’re right Dick, you’re not me. I never wanted you to become like me, so driven that you’d lose sight of your own humanity.” Dick looked up at his mentor. He didn’t know how to respond to that. “This job, this life takes its toll, and despite all the planning we do, mistakes will be made. How we adjust and compensate makes all the difference and ultimately saves lives.”

“I just…” But Dick couldn’t bring himself to go any further. He wanted someone to yell at him, someone to say, “Yes, it was your fault.” Of all the times for Bruce to have one of his rare moments of compassion.

“It’s alright if you still need some time, but time to heal, not wallow and brood. I want you to stay here and keep an eye on Mr. McGinnis.”

“Wait, Batman, didn’t I just say I needed some time.”

“Away from fieldwork and away from missions reports, yes. But we both know sitting in your apartment, wasting away won’t do you any good.” Not for the first time, Dick wondered if Batman really knew him that well or if he just hid cameras in his apartment.

“So you want me to babysit.”

“I want you to determine if he’s a threat.”

“And you’re trusting me with this?”

“Just as I trusted you when I left Earth. Seeing how it wasn’t destroyed by the time I got back, I know I made the right choice then just as I am now.”

And without another word, Batman left his first protégé with a lot to think about and a new house guest to entertain.

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Terry was well aware that the current Batman didn’t trust him. Given the situation, he could see why. He did just fall out of a hole and claimed to be a Batman from the future. Okay, that sounded a little crazy, even in his head. But right now, he had to make him believe he was telling the truth. There was no chance of him getting himself home on his own. Right now, he wasn’t even sure if he could get home, the technology was iffy, even in his time, and if he jumped back too far like he suspected, then he might have to wait until Time Code went active. That was a long time to play nice and not change the future.

He hoped his Bruce from back home was still in good standings with Gear. Gear and Static were some of the few heroes that were still active after 40 years and, as far as he knew, the only ones who still considered themselves partners. 40 years was a long time to remember how to fix a time machine, but with a meta-charged brain, there was still hope that he hadn’t forgotten. Gear still worked with Bruce on occasion but Bruce still had a bad habit of pissing people off and he really sucked at apologies. Right now his only hope was that the old man would swallow a bit of pride and ask for help, if just to make sure Terry didn’t screw up the time stream.

Terry pinched the bridge of his nose. There were two situations Batman hated more than anything else, magic and time travel. He supposed he should be grateful that he wasn’t sent back by a wizard.

“It’s killing me!” Terry looked up as he heard Nightwing shouting something at Batman. He knew it was wrong and he knew he shouldn’t be listening in, but so much had happened between Bruce and the Dick Grayson in the future, curiosity won him over. He couldn’t make out the entire conversation, but it seemed Nightwing was upset about some plan that went wrong or something. He couldn’t tell who it was, but apparently someone died, someone close to Nightwing.

The rest of the conversation was too low for him to make out, but at least now he knew why Nightwing was in such a bad mood. The death of a friend was something he could relate to. Before he could think any more on that unwanted topic, Nightwing came back into the room, and he was alone.

Bats were hard people to read at the best of times, but right now, even though he had thrown up an emotionless mask, even Terry could tell Nightwing was still upset after the shouting match with Batman. “So where’s the boss?”

Nightwing paused for a moment, looking Terry over once again. “He’s trying to confirm your story. In the meantime, it looks like you’re my new roommate.”

Terry blinked. “So what, you’re just going to keep me locked up?”

“To be honest, I’m a little surprised you haven’t tried to escape yet. Not very bat-like.” Dick said, teasing slightly.

“Hey, I may know technology more advanced than anything you’ve seen, but time travel is not one of them. I figure my best shot of getting back is playing nice and hanging out with the rest of the heroes while trying not to erase myself or anyone else in the process.”

Nightwing admitted it was sound logic, if it was true. “I’ll see about getting you some extra clothes and a bigger living space. You can keep the suit and the com, but the weapons stay off.”

Terry flopped back on the cot in his cell, clearly frustrated. “Wonderful.” For a long time the two just stared at each other unsure what to say. Unable to stand the tension any longer Terry broke the ice.

“So, are we just going to stare at each other or did Batman forbid any unnecessary form of communication?”

“We have to follow protocol. That means no talk of the future and no shop talk.” Nightwing thought for a moment. “You like music?”

“Yeah, but I’m not into oldies.” Terry said, making a face.

“Oldies?” And so, the two sat in silence, once again trying to think of a safe topic that would span over 40 years. This time it was Nightwing who tried to break the ice.

“So Batman and Nightwing walk into a bar-“

“Is this the one that ends with, ‘But Batman, your cape’s on fire?’”

“Ah, so you have heard that one before.” And with that, both teens broke out laughing.

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Over the course of a week, Terry had made himself at home in Nightwing's bunker. The two seemed to have mastered the art of talking around the sensitive information. While Terry wasn’t allowed to leave, Nightwing did his best to make sure the other teen was comfortable and entertained. Nightwing wasn’t about to give Terry a computer, but he loaned him a few books and provided him with a large screen TV. He was given a much bigger room with plexiglass walls so that Nightwing could keep an eye on him but could also be darkened so Terry could at least get some privacy. Sometimes Dick would join him in the next room when it was time for a work out and the two would test their limits, trying to outdo each other.

Terry grudgingly admitted the older boy was one of a kind. Dick could do flips, leaps and bend in ways that would kill any other man. He also got a good look at the other boy’s body and he had to admit, he liked what he saw. There was not an ounce of fat on his body. His tone and taught muscles were strong but still lean enough to allow him to bend while in mid air. It was also scared and battle worn. This was a man who’d seen action and was no stranger to pain, someone Terry could relate to.

Now, Terry usually preferred girls, but he couldn’t help but be attracted to Dick’s nearly perfect body. Most guys that looked like that were complete jerks and were a complete turn off. Dick, on the other hand, was fun to be around. He wasn’t sure if Dick was flirting or just showing off, but sadly, it didn’t matter. Terry had to be ready at all times to go home if his current or former mentor found a way to get him back. Still, it couldn’t hurt getting to know the other boy and it didn’t cost anything to look. Dick seemed to like putting on a show.

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Dick was well aware that Terry was watching him while he did his usual workout. So what if he put in a few more twists into his leaps and put a little more flare into his punches and high kicks then was necessary…well, he always did like an audience. Getting to know Terry was a pleasant distraction from Wally and his failures. The other boy was a bit of a smart-aleck and had a sense of humor Dick could appreciate. He doubted more and more that Terry was any real threat, at least to the Bat-clan, and he was starting to feel bad about keeping him captive. Dick would have been climbing the walls by now, literally. He hoped the extra space would help ease the boy’s stress, but he knew he couldn’t keep him here forever. He would ask Batman to at least let him take Terry out for a bit, maybe for a quick bite. He was getting a little concerned; Batman hadn’t contacted him for a few days. Usually, he’d check up on him to see how he and Terry were doing every so often.

He was tempted to go back to Gotham, but he couldn’t risk leaving Terry for that long. Batgirl and Robin would have notified him if something was wrong, anyway. They kept trying to get him out of his apartment when he went on his break, so he wasn’t too worried.

Dick had finished his work out and was bringing Terry something to eat. Terry was still going through his martial arts moves. Dick admired the aggressive but controlled power behind his punches and kicks as he tore through the practice dummies. “Still trying to beat my high score?” He called out, opening the door to give the boy his lunch.

Terry stopped and smirked and Dick felt his heartbeat quicken. He quickly admitted Terry was attractive and fun to be around, but that was as far as this would go. He had dated quite a bit over his teen years, but had only been in love once. Wally was his first love, and by the time he realized it, the other boy was in a committed relationship with Artemis. He was happy for both his friends, he really was, and he never said anything to his best friend. There wasn’t a scenario in which all of them would be happy and someone was going to end up heartbroken. So he smiled as Wally and Artemis got closer to each other and more distant from Dick. But what he regretted more than anything was the fact that he and Wally never officially talked things out after the undercover mission. It was hard seeing him with Artemis but it was harder not having his best friend in his life. And now he was dead, and he’ll never get the chance to patch things up.

“You okay?” Dick was startled at Terry’s question but quickly recovered.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” That line was starting to feel like it was programmed in.

“Come on, we both know in Bat-speak ‘I’m fine’ could anything from a hangnail to you’re about to bleed out on the floor.”

Dick smiled at the joke, but wasn’t about to talk about Wally to just anyone just yet. “Thanks, but I’m really okay.” He knew Terry wasn’t buying it, but thankfully he didn’t push the subject.

“If you say so. So, what’s for lunch? And please don’t say it’s that green cereal again.”

“What’s wrong with Crocky Crunch?”

“Seriously, that stuff turns everything it touches green. I’m surprised I’m not glowing in the dark.”

“Well I’ve eaten the stuff for years and never had a problem blending into the shadows.” It was sandwiches today, with soda and chips on the side.

“Ah, real food.” Terry said, but before he could take a bite, his gaze turned to the door Nightwing had just come through. Nightwing noticed as well and gave the boy a sad look.

“Sorry Terry, I know this isn’t fair. I’ll talk to Batman and see if I can get you some fresh air.”

“When’s he coming back? It’s been over a week. I get the need for security, but I haven’t done anything that deserves me being locked up like a criminal. I think I’ve been more than patient, I’m a hero, damn it!”

“I know, I don’t think you should be locked up either, but the last time traveler that dropped in on us changed history in a big way. So big that the world he knew doesn’t exist anymore. He can’t go home.”

Terry’s eyes widened. He knew it was possible that he wouldn’t be able to get back, but hearing Nightwing spell it out for him made it seem all too real. “I’m sorry, I know you’re just trying to help and at least you kept me company. Shouldn’t you be out on patrol though? Batman never gives me this much time off.”

“I’m sort of…on a break. I’m not on the active roster at the moment. Emergencies only.”

“So you’re using your vacation to babysit me?”

“Something like that.”

“Sorry. Listen I-”

“Nightwing!” Both boys turned to see Batman standing behind them. Dick mentally cursed; he let himself get too distracted. He should have noticed Batman before he was partially on top of him.

“Batman, I was just-” But the Dark Knight cut him off.

“Later, we have an emergency situation on our hands.” Dick was honestly surprised, but it must be serious if Batman didn’t care Terry was right there listening.

“What’s going on?” The sense of dread was building up higher and higher and when Batman finally spoke his words chilled both boys to their core.

“Robin’s missing.”

 

To be continued…

Notes:

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Chapter Text

The words echoed in his head as Batman briefed them on the status of their missing teammate. “Robin’s missing.”

Nightwing was immediately at attention switching from Dick Grayson to the prodigy of Batman. “What happened?” His voice was devoid of all emotion but the twitching of his hands gave him away. He was worried about his teammate, his little brother but he knew if he wanted to help him he needed to focus on the mission.

“Last night Robin went out on patrol but after only two hours in we lost communication. He hasn’t come home or reported in.” Like Nightwing, Batman was also focusing on the mission but detaching his emotions was easier for him than his first partner.

“Where do you want me to start searching?”

“I don’t.” Nightwing looked confused but Batman raised a hand. “I want you to stay here and coordinate the search with me and Batgirl.” Nightwing was still confused for a moment but then glanced at his new roommate.

“Batman, you can’t be serious. I can’t just sit here while my little brother is missing.” But Batman didn’t waver.

“We don’t know if Robin is just missing or in a position where he can’t contact us. Your priority is still to keep an eye on our time traveler and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.” Hearing this Terry jumped to his feet.

“Hey! I’m not an idiot, I know I can’t leave this room until you find a way to get me back home. We all know I could have broken out whenever I felt like it. I’ve been as patient as a saint and I’d like to think I could be trusted to stay here for a few hours while you go look for your missing kid.”

Nightwing looked at Terry and then back at Batman. “Couldn’t we have some other leaguer watch him?”

“As of right now the League has agreed that the fewer people involved with the time traveler the better.”

“I have a name you know.” But Batman didn’t even acknowledge Terry’s outburst.

Nightwing rubbed his fingers over the bridge of his nose as if trying to fight off the headache. “Could we at least call in some of the members of the team? Even if it’s just the non-Metas, I know how you –“but Batman cut him off.

“This is a family matter. I don’t want half a dozen superheroes in my city if this turns out to be nothing.”

“But what if it’s not nothing?” Nightwing shouted, getting more and more frustrated. “What if Robin is in serious trouble?”

“This isn’t the first time Robin has gone missing. Robin has been trained well by myself, Batgirl and you. It’s highly likely he’ll get himself out of trouble before we find him.” The emotionless mask that Nightwing had put on earlier was starting to slip. You didn’t need to be a bat to tell that Nightwing was worried.

“But I can still –“but Batman cut him off again.

“I still need someone out of the field to coordinate with the rest of the family. Right now you’re of better used to me here. The time and effort it will save everybody including Robin will be invaluable.” Nightwing looked like he was going to argue again when his eyes got wide as if he suddenly realized what his mentor was truly saying. He hung his head slightly but complied.

“All right, give me a moment to set up and I’ll get everybody online and on the same page. Let’s bring Robin home.”

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Terry watched as Batman closed the door to his cell after he escorted Nightwing out. Batman gave him one last glare before he and Nightwing left the room. This time it was Terry who realized what Batman was saying without words. His whole speech about not doing anything stupid was a serious warning. In other words if Terry knew something about Robin’s disappearance he wasn’t to say anything especially to Nightwing. But now that he was left alone to his own thoughts he couldn’t help but remember what had happened the last time Tim Drake went missing in his time. It was a nightmare beyond belief and it tore the bat family apart. No one was ever whole again after that incident.

But there was a good chance that this wasn’t the same incident. They had no way of knowing if it was the Joker who took Tim Drake with the intention of not only torturing him for information but to mold him into the Joker's twisted version of a son. He remembered Barbara Gordon telling him what happened when Batman finally came to rescue his former protégé. The fight had turned deadly and the Joker fell by Tim’s hands. Tim, of course, was never the same, even after his lengthy recovery.

But even the death of the Joker didn’t free the poor boy from that monster. While under his “care” the Joker had implanted a device at the base of Tim’s neck with his own DNA so that he may one day resurrect himself should he ever perish.

Terry couldn’t even imagine what Tim had to go through all those years with the Joker literally in the back of his head whispering and manipulating him. All the while Tim probably thought it was just his mental instability.

He sincerely hoped this wasn’t the same incident. Honestly he really shouldn’t get involved, after all how many times did Robin get kidnapped in the past? It was almost a Job requirement. So for now he resided himself to simply wait and watch.

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Over the next few days Terry saw very little of Nightwing. His young caretaker was busy with the search for his younger brother. He only stopped by to see Terry when it was time for a meal. He missed a couple of those but Terry couldn’t blame him. Every time a meal came Dick Grayson only seemed more and more stressed and worried. On day three after missing both breakfast and lunch Nightwing finally came in with a tray of food that looked like it was put together rather quickly.

“Geez Terry, I’m so sorry, I brought you some extra food to make up for neglecting you today.” Nightwing set the tray down on the table beside Terry. Terry could see signs of not only sleeplessness but lacking nutrition in the young man’s face.

“Don’t worry about it. If my little brother was missing I’d be tearing up the city trying to find him.” Even though Nightwing looked exhausted it looked like he wanted to do just that. “Look I know you’re worried but have you had anything to eat?” Nightwing opened his mouth to speak but Terry instantly knew what he was going to say and cut him off. “And coffee doesn’t count.”

Nightwing shut his mouth for a moment but forced a smile on his lips a moment later. ”Don’t worry I’ll be fine, I'll grab something later.” They both knew this was a lie. “Sorry but I have to get back to work.”

Terry stood up and took his arm. “You look dead on your feet. Sit down for a few minutes and have a bite with me, there’s more than enough food for both of us.” But Nightwing just shook his head.

“I can't. I'm trying to work three or four leads and while I don’t think they’re going to lead anywhere there might be a chance –“ but when Nightwing took a step forward his legs wobbled and Terry had to catch him before he fell to the ground.

“That’s it, you’re taking a break whether you like it or not.” Nightwing tried to push him away but his over exhausted body wasn’t letting him put up much of a fight.

“But he’s still out there. No one’s heard from him in days and yesterday Batman found his tunic wrapped around a flagpole near the area we usually patrol. He’s not just missing, he's been captured and whoever took him wants us to know. But while normally there’s a clue or signature this time there’s nothing. Batman’s chasing down every lead and questioning every suspect in the whole city. Barbara finally convinced him to call in reinforcements but we’re still no closer to finding him than when he first went missing.” Terry held the exhausted Nightwing as he vented out his frustrations.

“I know. I know this is hard for you and everyone involved but you’re not going to be of much use to anyone if you collapse due to lack of sleep or food. I know I’m not going to be able to convince you to sleep but at least get some food in your system to balance out all that caffeine.” Nightwing sighed but didn’t try to get out of Terry’s hold.

“All right, I’ll refuel then get back to the hunt.” Terry sighed with relief as he went to get the tray of food Nightwing had brought in earlier. He accepted a sandwich and after a few bites he realized just how hungry he was and finished off another one. While nibbling on a protein bar Dick couldn’t help but look at Terry. There was a question on his mind that he knew he shouldn’t ask and if Batman ever found out, and he will find out, he would be furious with his first partner. But at the moment he wasn’t Nightwing the superhero, he was Dick Grayson; protective older brother.

“I know you’re not supposed to say anything about the future or the time you come from but I have to ask; Is…Is Tim all right in your time?”

Now that was a very open-ended question but Terry knew he couldn’t answer and trying to give a fake response would only cause more problems. “You know I can’t answer that, I’ve already told you too much as it is.”

“Can you at least tell me if we find him? Can you please tell me if he’s alive or…” Now Terry was really torn. He knew the overall outcome of the bat family and it wasn’t good. Technically they were all still alive but everyone was broken in one way or another. But again he still couldn’t answer Dick’s question.

“I’m sorry. I know both you and Tim were kidnapped and went missing a number of times but I don’t know which incident this is.” Nightwing looked slightly angry.

“That’s not what I asked. I know I’m still alive in your time because of your little slip up and so is Bruce, but what about Tim or Barbara or…” Suddenly Nightwing seemed to catch himself and turned away. “Sorry, I know you can’t tell me one way or the other and I know why but I just feel so helpless being stuck at home while everyone else can at least vent some of their frustrations.” Terry cocked his head to the side, catching the new meaning to Nightwing’s words.

“Is there another reason why the old man doesn’t want you out on the field? I thought this was your vacation but –“

“I took myself out of the field. There was a…incident. The mission was successful but… I miss something, something very important. And due to my incompetence we lost a great hero and a good friend.” Nightwing didn’t even seem to care that he wasn’t supposed to be talking to Terry about missions. After bottling up his grief for so long and finally having somebody who wasn’t involved to listen he finally let some of it out. “I screwed up and even though everyone tells me it’s not my fault I know it is. I was in charge, I was responsible. That’s why I took myself off the roster; I couldn’t trust myself in the field or to make any important decisions.” He looked over at Terry with a grim expression on his face.

“Barely a week after it happened, while I was trying to do some routine patrolling around the area, I caught a burglar. Normally a simple job but I overheard him bragging to his friend that this was an easy score since most of the superheroes were mourning the loss of one of their own. I just got so angry and before I knew it I had nearly beaten the man to death.” Terry’s eyes widened after hearing Nightwing’s confession. Suddenly Terry realized that not only did Nightwing realize he wasn’t fit to be on the field but so did Batman. That was the real reason why he was stuck here behind the scenes while everyone else looked for Robin. He also realized that perhaps Nightwing wasn’t just here to babysit him but maybe Terry was here to make sure Nightwing didn’t drown himself in sorrows. Sometimes it was just easier to open up to a stranger than a family member.

Terry didn’t know what to say and Nightwing seemed to be a little embarrassed that he had just confessed this much to someone he barely knew. “I’ve got to get back to work, thanks for forcing me to eat and sorry about my ranting. I just need to get Robin home.”

And with that Nightwing left the room. Now Terry was even more conflicted about what he should do. All the signs were pointing to this being the incident where Tim Drake was driven insane by the Joker. And if it was, Tim Drake wasn’t the only one who was going to suffer. He didn’t even find out about the whole incident until over a year later when he had confronted the Dick Grayson of his time. It was there he learned that during the search for Tim, Alfred had been taken hostage by the Joker. Batman and Nightwing went to rescue him but due to a bad decision on Batman’s part Nightwing was critically injured. The once strong and graceful acrobat was nearly crippled when the Joker opened fire on him with a machine gun. He might’ve been able to get out of the way but Batman had jumped in front of him blocking his view with his cape. That night Dick Grayson lost an eye and even after a long recovery he still had a bullet lodged in his spine. His days on the trapeze were over and he would never fly again.

But that wasn’t the worst part. Terry could tell Bruce’s actions after the whole incident hurt Mr. Grayson a lot worse than the bullets. Knowing all of this, how could he let such a horrible event happen to this family of heroes? Would it be worth risking his entire world to save them? Was this even the right incident he so desperately wanted to change? He sighed as he lay down on his bed. Maybe a few hours of sleep would clear his mind.

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Dick watched from his surveillance cameras as the young man in the other room seemed to be struggling. Was he worried about getting home or was it something else? He didn’t like the way Terry kept talking around his questions about Tim.

‘He knows something.’ The young hero thought to himself. ‘But he knows he can’t do anything about it.’

Dick had never felt so frustrated in his entire life. In the very next room was a guy supposedly from the future who could reassure him that his little brother makes it home safely or warn him if something really bad was going to happen to him. But due to their protocol Dick wasn’t supposed to ask and Terry wasn’t supposed to answer. Bart Allan’s behavior around the Bat clan was troubling as well. Two time travelers worried about the Bat clan was definitely a red flag.

Dick was ready to pull his hair out in frustration when he got an alert for Batman. “Nightwing I have another lead.” Batman was all business as he sent Nightwing an address not far from his bunker. “I was able to interrogate a possible location out of a suspect. You’re the closest and everyone else is tracking other leads.”

He didn’t like the way Batman made it sound like he was only asking him because he had no other option but pushed that thought aside for the time being. “We’re getting spread too thin, how reliable is this lead of yours?”

“It’s a lead, not a very strong one, but it’s still a lead.” Dick glanced at the monitor where he saw that Terry was asleep.

“I’ll check it out and keep you updated. Shouldn’t be more than 30 minutes max.” Batman paused for a moment.

“Is the…guest secure?” Dick rolled his eyes at the fact Batman still couldn’t say Terry’s name, never mind calling him Batman the second.

“Yes Batman, he’s locked up nice tight and currently sleeping. I can step out for a few minutes to check on this lead.” Batman looked like he wanted to say something else but turned off the com without another word.

Dick took one last look at Terry before racing out hoping this lead wasn’t another dead end.

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Terry’s nap was cut short as he heard the roar of Nightwing’s motorcycle as it left the building. He sat back up and rubbed his eyes. He wasn’t getting any sleep, not with so much on his mind and not with the nightmare he was startled from. It wasn’t a long one but it sent shivers down his spine. The cases that held the costumes of all of Batman’s allies were shattered. The costumes inside were shot up or slashed bleeding red as a familiar haunting laugh echoed somewhere in the dark.

He took a deep breath and tried some of Wayne’s meditation techniques to clear his head. He needed to think and he needed to make a decision. But the more he thought about it he began to realize something. When he was Batman and knew someone was in trouble he never stopped to think about how this would affect him or the world years from now. He saved the lives of people some would think were better off dead. But it wasn’t his place to judge or decide who should live or die…or be driven insane. If Old Bruce was in his shoes, would he try to save the time stream or his partner? Terry scoffed to himself. Batman would find a way to do both, or at least try to.

But he was Batman now and there was someone who needed saving. Hardening his resolve Terry strolled to the door to his cell. He may not be a world class hacker like Nightwing but the tech was old by his standards. Using parts of the TV and the tech from his suit he was able to disable the lock in under five minutes and Nightwing wouldn’t know until he got back.

He didn’t like the fact that he was betraying Dick’s trust; the guy had been genuinely kind to him considering he was still considered a threat by the current Batman. But if it meant sparing Robin from a lifetime of mental anguish and Nightwing from relearning how to walk again then he was OK with that. But he had to be sure. This was still a big risk and if he was going to chance not being able to go home again he had to be sure.

He knew Robin’s capture happened about two years after Arkham Asylum was closed for good. He was still surprised at the level of Nightwing’s tech but it made it easier to find the information he was looking for. Part of him was hoping he was too early but another part thought that maybe there was a reason he was flung back to this moment in time. And as a news article announcing the closing of Arkham dated 2 years ago popped up on the screen he knew what he had to do.

Luckily Nightwing had a spare ride.

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As Nightwing pulled into the bunker he let out a sigh. While the lead was a complete waste of time it felt good to get back into the field. The tiredness from too many nights with too little sleep was pushed down with the adrenalin he felt. He decided to report in to Batman and get back to work while he was still…

”Ah Hell!” he shouted as he noticed his spare cycle was missing. He jumped off his own ride and raced back into the living area of his base. Only to find the door to Terry’s cell wide open and the future Batman missing.

“Terry you son of a-“ but the curse was cut off by the loud crack that resounded as he punched his fist in the wall. “First Blue and Green Beetle and now…and people wonder why Bat’s have trust issues!” he shouted to himself trying to think of a way to explain this to Batman. “Looks like it’s my turn for an “I told you so” lecture.”

While trying to do some damage control he tried to see if the tracer he placed on Terry was still active. Surprisingly it was. He wasn’t sure what to think of that, Terry was either very sloppy or…suddenly his eyes widened with realization. ‘Or he left it on so we could follow him.’

He jumped to the computers easily pulling up what Terry was looking at last. It was an old article on the closing of Arkham Asylum and there were two others. One was a report on Robin when he took down a drug ring and another on the capture of the Joker.

Nightwing felt his heart racing as he watched the tracker making a beeline right to the old building. He may as well have painted them a picture.

“Nightwing to Batman this is an Emergency!” Barely two seconds later the Dark Knight responded. “Report!”

“Our Guest has escaped and I think he’s gone after Robin.” Nightwing quickly forwarded everything he had just found to his mentor. “He’s heading straight for Arkham Asylum and I think the Joker might be behind this.”

Batman swore over the com loud enough to make Nightwing flinch. “He left the tracer on, didn't he?” Nightwing nodded, coming to the same conclusion. “And he didn’t tell us because he thinks we would have tried to stop him.” Batman concluded. They could still stop him if they wanted to. Nightwing could lock up the motorcycle or the suit and bring him back before he reached Gotham. Dick prayed he wouldn’t get that order because honestly he didn’t think he could go through with it.

“Get to Arkham as fast as you can! I’m calling Batgirl, she’s not that far either. I’m at least 45 minutes away from the nearest Zeta tube. If Robin is there, get him out, if not…I’ll deal with our guest.” Dick didn’t hesitate as he raced back to his bike. It was still quicker to Arkham with his cycle than the Zeta. There were no Zeta tubes anywhere near there. He practically flew all the way to Gotham pushing the bike as hard as he could as fast as he could. He could only pray he got there in time. Ever since Batman had announced that Robin was missing he had this sick feeling in his gut that something really bad was going to happen. He only had that feeling once before. When Jason Todd, the second Robin, had run off in search of his birth Mother. He never came home. Dick could only pray history wasn’t about to repeat itself.

“Hang on Timmy; we’re coming, just hang on just a little bit more.”

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Terry felt like he was walking right into a horror movie. The building was old and foreboding long before it was abandoned. It was amazing that it was still standing. In his time Arkham Asylum had long been demolished and spoken about with the darker side of Gotham’s history or in urban legends. It was a place that bred monsters and insanity. No one ever referred to it as a place of mental rehabilitation.

He raced here as quickly as he could for fear Nightwing would cut his suit’s mobility again but now that he was here he had to move with great caution. He didn’t know the layout of the building and parts of it were so damaged they could collapse at any moment. Some already had. He blended himself into the shadows as best he could, wishing he could have gotten his stealth working. There had to be cameras set up if the Joker was using this as his Head Quarters but he would be reduced to generators since the building was no longer on the main grid. He hoped he could keep the element of surprise since the Joker was careful this time about not leaving clues for Batman to find.

Tim had only been missing a few days but that was still a long time to be in the hands of a madman. If Tim was hurt Terry would forever blame himself for not acting sooner when he knew what the boy’s ultimate fate was.

As he explored the twisting darken hallways he couldn’t help but wonder how anyone could stay in a place like this and come out with improved mental health. Even in the light this place just seemed to feed on madness, drawing it in and the inmates would be caught up in it. He was more than a little surprised that no one had decided to close the place down sooner.

As he crept around another corner he spotted a light flickering at the end of the hallway. Inching ever closer Terry tried to calm his pounding heart so that he could make out the voices coming from the lit room. The first voice was a woman who was giggling. He had watched a lot of old news footage from Wayne’s old cases and recognized her as Harleen Quinzel AKA Harley Quinn. But her voice was drowned out but a sickening laughter as it echoed through the door and into the hallway Terry was currently creeping through.

The young man actually froze for a moment. This is the real deal. This was the Joker, arch nemesis of the old Batman. Sure Terry had faced and beat him before but his suit was still shut down and he wasn’t anywhere near his peak. The Joker also wasn’t occupying the body of an old man. This was both a good and a bad thing all at the same time. He wouldn’t have to worry about holding back as much but he had no idea what the Joker was like in a younger more agile body. He wished he could wait for Nightwing and the rest of the Bat clan but he didn’t know how long Dick would be gone and he wasn’t able to contact them since their coms weren’t connected.

But as he was contemplating how long he should wait he heard a third voice. One that terrified him more than the first two.

It was the voice of a young teenage boy laughing.

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Tim Drake, the third Robin and current partner to the infamous Batman had put up a brave front so far, but he honestly didn’t know how much longer he could keep it together. At first he tried counting so he could estimate how long he had been here but after hours of endless torment, an irregular sleeping schedule and boarded up windows he had lost track of time long ago. He didn’t know how long he had been here but he was determined not to break. But even after all the electrical shocks he received, the injections that made it hard to think and even the Joker’s taunting he wouldn’t tell him anything. He wouldn’t betray his family to the man who had killed Jason Todd, his predecessor. He never knew the second Robin but he saw the effects his death had on Bruce and Dick. He helped them heal and they took him into their family.

Another shock rocked his body with blinding agony derailing his train of thought. Finally the shocks stopped and Tim was left panting trying to get his breathing under control.

“You’re not paying attention Birdy Boy.” The Joker said in a mocking voice as he came closer to the front of the table Tim was strapped to. “I don’t want to hurt you but it’s for your own good you see.”

“I’m not telling you…who Batman is…” Tim replied, still panting. The Joker had left his mask on and Tim knew he could take it off at any time. This was all a game to him and if Tim broke The Joker would win.

“So loyal to a man whose mission means more to him than his own kids.” He backhanded Tim across the face. “He knows how to stop me but he never will. I already did the unthinkable and still we keep repeating the same dance over and over again. Face it kid he doesn’t care about you or any of his other sidekicks. After he’s done with one he’ll just replace them. He's already on number three, how high do you think he’ll go before child services start to wonder why he’s going through so many kids?” Without warning the Joker stabbed Tim in the leg with a hypodermic needle. He cried out in surprise more than pain.

“You’re too tense my dear boy. You need to loosen up a bit.” The Joker said, tossing the needle aside rubbing his hands together with delight. Robin instantly knew what the Joker had given him and he fought the laughter bubbling up from his gut and the urge to turn the edge of his lips upward.

The insane clown soon strolled up to the boy and gave him an affection pat one the head. When Tim tried to pull away the Joker grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look into his eyes.

“You also need to learn how to pay attention!” He said with a twisted snarl never fully losing the mad grin on his face. “The original boy wonder had much better manners and a sense of humor too.” He chuckled as he took his hand off Tim’s head, and took a fist full of his hair in the process.

Tim’s first reaction was to yelp but the chemicals coursing through his blood made come out more like a chuckle. Joker smiled a little wider at the site. “I know you’re still a little new to this whole dynamic duo thing kid but this is how it’s supposed to go. Harley!”

“Right here Mister J.” The Joker’s hench-girl exclaimed happily as she entered the room with an art easel and a large sketch pad.

The Joker took the pad and set up the easel a bit haphazardly making the display lopsided. The Joker ripped off the cover of the pad revealing a crudely drawn picture of Batman. “This,” the Joker said, pulling out a pointer jabbing it into the image of the Dark Knight. “is Batman. The Dark Knight of vengeance, on his own never-ending crusade to defend justice by beating the pulp out of criminals and scaring the poop out of them too. But there is one line that Batman will never cross no matter how evil the evildoer are or how sick and twisted the crime is.” The Joker tour off the Batman picture on the sketchpad to reveal another crudely drawn picture underneath the first one. This one was a bloodied knife and a gun with a circle and slash drawn through the image. “His no killing oath is what sets him apart from every other cop and criminal alike. Don’t you see? It’s a game, one that we play together and will continue to play together until either I break him,”

He ripped off another page to reveal a ghastly looking Batman with a sick smile across his face resembling the man who was currently giving the lesson. “And I finally get to see that beautiful smile across his face that I know is there but he hides so well. Or I destroy him entirely by making him break his one unbreakable rule.” There’s another drawing underneath the one before that showed Batman in a straitjacket and in tears. “Either way I win. But you see good old Batman is a cheater and likes to break the rules.”

He viciously ripped off the last picture of Batman to reveal a smiling young boy in a Robbins suit, most likely Dick’s, standing next to Batman who had a hint of a smile on his face. “This was supposed to be our game, one that we play together by ourselves!” The demented clown started to breathe very heavily his nostrils flailing and his eyes bulging at the site. He took his pointer and rammed it at the image of Batman’s mouth. “You see that! He’s smiling! I’m supposed to be the only one that can get Batman to smile!” For a moment Tim feared that the Joker would get so riled up he’d be killed by mistake but a few moments later the madman seemed to have calmed himself down.

“But hey, if Batsy wants to break the rules then so can I.” He grabbed Harley, spun her around and dipped her so low she was almost touching the ground. The hench-girl squealed with delight at the attention she was getting from her beloved Joker. “He brought in another player so I did too.”

“Oh Mister J, you say the sweetest things.” But as soon as she spoke he carelessly let her drop to the floor with a light ‘thud’ from the ground and a small ‘eek’ from the girl.

“After all Robin was always useful as a hostage and someone I can torment whenever Bats ignores me for too long. But then the old one grew up and flew from the nest, which made me very happy since I now had Batman all to myself again, but you know what he did next? He goes and gets another Robin never once taking my feelings into consideration. And this new one…well he didn’t know how to play either. Always trying to be tougher than he thought he was and always disobeying his mentor and worst of all; the brat had absolutely no sense of humor. He had to go.”

The Joker took the paper with the drawing of Robin on it and held a lighter underneath it. He cackled maliciously as the paper burned slowly, incinerating itself starting at the feet until finally the head was burnt to nothing but ashes.

While Tim was struggling to be brave he couldn’t help but remember hearing how Jason had died in a violent explosion. He had no way of knowing how the Joker’s twisted mind saw his performance in this so-called game. But clearly if the madman didn’t like how he played then he would have no qualms about taking him out just like he had his predecessor.

The sketchpad now destroyed and his lesson completed the Joker strolled back over to where Tim lay strapped to the examination table. “Of course he and Bird Boy number one took turns putting me into a body cast for the next six months but even so they never broke the big rule and so we get to keep playing. And now Bats has a new little Robin for me to play with. Where does he get them all by the way, does he keep them in the closet all ready to go?” He laughed at his own joke.

“Which got me thinking, Harley and I aren’t getting any younger and maybe Batman’s got something with this makeshift orphanage/boot camp he’s got going for him.” Harley had already righted herself from her earlier spill and was now clinging to the Joker’s left arm and gently petted her stomach.

“And while childbirth sounds like soo much fun, Mister J and I have decided to adopt.” Tim watched as the Joker went around to a table just of his sites but he could hear the familiar clicks of a keyboard so he knew that the clown was typing on a computer. Tim was no weakling and he was trained by the best to resist most traditional forms of torture but the unknown that was held within those keystrokes was starting to make them sweat.

The Joker poked his head around so that Tim could clearly see his sadistic smile growing ever larger. “You’re not like the other Robins you know. You may not have the finesse of the original or the fighting spirit of his replacement but I’ve been watching and you know what I see? I see a detective, a child with a similar mind to that of the Batman himself. You are so much like my Batsy, which is why I decided to take you in and raise you as my own.”

Tim was momentarily dumbfounded at the ludicrous suggestion that the Joker is making. “I… I won’t ha help you ha ha.” But his warning which was supposed to sound threatening came out sounding like a joke with the laughter that escaped from his throat mixed in.

The Joker seemed to smile wider at every ‘ha’ that escaped Tim’s lips. “You know, I recently made a stop at Cadmus labs not too long ago and while looking for something to play with I found something intriguing. Something that will finally break Batman one way or the other and guess what? You’re going to help me do it! Congratulations kiddo you’re getting adopted! Doesn’t that sound like fun… Junior?”

Tim was more frightened now than he had ever been in his entire life. The vague clues only heightened the mystery behind the Joker’s newest and most devious plan ever. The pressure was just too much. As Harley started to laugh her demented boss just joined right in and Tim could resist no more. What should have been panicked cries came out as choking laughter. The uncontrollable laughter is so strong and powerful it threatened to cut off his air supply but that thought only made him want to laugh more. The only thing that kept him from giving into the madness was one thought. ‘Just hang in there Tim, your family is going to find you… Batman is going to find you. He always does. He would never let Jason’s fate fall upon anyone else. Right?’

Chapter Text

Victim Exchange

 

As Terry waited outside the door that separated him from the captured Tim Drake and the Joker he wished for a lot of things. He wish he still had his stealth mode so he could infiltrate the room without being detected, he wished he had more power to his suit so that he would have the strength to fight off the mad man that lurked behind the door, he even wished he had the old man shouting orders through his com link just to give him peace of mind. He was used to fighting solo but right now he really wished he could have called for backup. This is either the bravest or the stupidest decision he had ever made, save for the first time he stole the Batsuit to try and pursue his father’s killer. His every instinct was screaming at him telling him to just run in there and save the boy but the logical side of his brain was telling him he could be doing more harm than good. But it was too late to back out now. Even if he went back to Nightwing’s bunker in Bludhaven he had already left clues that he was sure any member of the Bat family could easily follow.

Turning back was not an option but he really wished he could wait for backup. But there was still the risk of Batman simply shutting him down even if Nightwing didn’t. He nearly jumped after hearing another string of cackles mixed in with what sounded like a scream. He hardened his resolve. Robin had already been in the hands of the Joker for three days, that was three days too many. It was time to make a move.

Silently he crept in taking his time to get the full layout of the room. If a fight broke out it was always good to know your surroundings. It was something that Bruce drilled into all of his students. It wasn’t a huge surprise to find out that the room where the Joker was playing doctor in was once an operating room. All around him he could see wheeled stretchers, some of them overturned, various medical instruments many of which looked like antiques and cabinets most of which were broken. This was not a good place to get caught in a fight. There were too many things lying around that could be used as weapons and who knows how many surprises the Joker had hidden. He still hadn’t seen Tim Drake but he could still hear the forced laughter of the boy coming from behind a screen on the other side of the room. Terry still clung to the hope that he could just grab him and get him the hell out of there. Let the other bats take care of Mr. Happy and maybe, just maybe, he could get away with minimal damage to the time stream. Of course, when do things ever go as planned?

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Nightwing could see the lights of Gotham in the distance coming ever so closer as he raced on his motorcycle towards Arkham. He really wished he could communicate with Terry but Batman didn’t want him to have access to one of their coms in case the boy turned out to be a threat and tried to hack their frequency. But even if Dick didn’t think Terry was an enemy he was still questioning the other boy’s motives. Just before Dick had raced off on a false lead he had asked Terry if Tim was all right in his time and Terry just danced around the question never really giving him an answer. But if Terry really did know that something bad was going to happen to Tim why didn’t he just tell them instead of running off? Was he really going after Tim to save him or did he have an ulterior motive?

Dick glanced down at his gauntlet. He literally had this new Batman’s fate in his hands. He could lock up to suit until he arrived or he could unlock it giving the other vigilante a better fighting chance. He looked up again still seeing the lights of Gotham coming so tantalizingly closer but it was an illusion. Even at top speed it was still too far away from his destination. He glanced back down in his gauntlet and weighed his options. One way or another he had to make a move.

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Even without his stealth working Terry had managed to sneak behind the curtain with little trouble. The Joker was nowhere in sight but he didn’t let himself relax. Even if he clung to the shadows and moved silently throughout the entire building there was still a chance he could be caught on camera. There was also no way of knowing when the Joker would be back. But right now he wasn’t concerned about that, he was concerned about the young teenage boy strapped to a gurney still chuckling. Gathering up his courage he finally got up the nerve to look at the poor boy who had been a prisoner within these walls for the last three days. Thankfully he wasn’t rolling on the floor in tears but he still wasn’t in good shape. His skin was starting to pale making the redness of his lips darken to the color of blood. A gruesome smile was trying to edge itself onto the boy’s face, one that Tim was fighting all the way.

That was a good sign, thought Terry. Robin may be hurt but he hadn’t lost hope or his fighting spirit. And it gave Terry the courage to put aside all of his doubts and fears about what may or may not happen. This kid was a hero and this hero deserves a chance to grow and become a legend. He crept to the side of Tim’s table and started to undo the straps. “It’s all right Robin, I’m getting you out of-“ but his words of reassurance were cut off when he felt a hard blow to the side of his head.

Terry’s ears rang as the pounding of his head kept time with his pulse. Standing before him in all his youthful horror was the Clown Prince of Crime himself wielding a large oversized mallet that was too heavy to be a prop. “Well well well, what do we have here?” The Joker said with a smile as he slowly walked over to get a look at this new player. “Too small to be the Bat with a new set of PJ’s. Perhaps bird boy number one?”

Terry tried to right himself but his vision was starting to blur. The suit just didn’t protect him as well when it was powered down. It was a problem that Terry didn’t have to deal with too much back home which left him unprepared for the hard blow.

“No, the first boy blunder was lighter on his feet and more graceful too.” He tried whacking Terry in the head again but this time he managed to move his hands in front of his face so that his head didn’t take another hit. The suit protected him but it still stung. He needed to get back on his feet and quickly.

“So if you’re not one of Batman’s little birdies, then you must be a new player.” The Joker didn’t seem that enthusiastic about a new rule change in his favorite game. “I’ve gotta say you’re not making a good first impression here kiddo.”

Terry was ready to launch a surprise attack while the Joker’s back was turned but held back as he positioned himself right next to Tim Drake. The evil clown stroked Robin’s black hair which was already turning green at the roots and patted his cheek a little too hard to be affectionate. “You see Junior? Old Daddy Bats has moved on to another sidekick already. Seriously though, where does he get them all? I was originally joking about him keeping kids in the closet but now I’m not so sure.”

The sidekick comment stirred up a bunch of new and old emotions for Terry. He was never a sidekick, he was Batman and he wasn’t about to play down his role to anyone especially the Joker. “I’m no sidekick clown.” Terry said, carefully aiming a battering right at him. The Joker swerved to avoid it but when he did Terry took the opportunity to punch him in the face. The mad clown staggered back a moment before looking at Terry in a new light.

“Is that so?” The Joker now seemed more interested in him and that was fine with Terry. Anything to keep them away from Robin. “And what does good old Batman have to say about you running around with his logo on your chest? You better hope he doesn’t sue.”

Terry stood tall and proud but never took his eyes off his opponent. “I’m Batman.” And the Joker’s reaction was the only thing predictable about this night.

The Joker started to laugh openly, almost doubling over. “That’s the best joke I’ve heard in weeks. I hope you know a good lawyer.” But as the clown was mocking him Terry felt the familiar rush of energy as the power flowed back to the suit. It was unlocked, everything was unlocked. “I always thought this old place drove people crazier than when they came in but I think we might just have a new world record on-“ but his rant was cut off when he looked up and no longer saw what he believed to be a fake Batman. “Now where did he-OOF!” But it was caught off guard when an invisible force seemed to slam directly into him. He quickly pulled out a switchblade and swung it where he thought his unseen opponent was. Taking advantage of his opponent’s confusion Terry snuck up behind the Joker and gave him a swift kick right in the ass sending the clown flying halfway across the room.

Terry switched off his stealth mode and confronted the madman face-to-face. “It wasn’t a joke. Sorry if I didn’t make a stellar first impression with you, allow me to fix that.”

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Nightwing had arrived at almost the exact same time as Batgirl. Quickly the duo found an entrance through the roof and made their way in with Nightwing leading the way. Batgirl was concerned about the younger man who she considered a surrogate little brother. She had been having a hard time getting him to talk about the death of his best friend Wally West and now that Robin was in danger she feared the stress might send him over the edge.

“How sure are you that this is where the Joker is keeping Robin?” She asked more to get an idea of his state of mind than the question itself.

“Terry left clues behind easily enough for our five-year-old to follow. They’re all here, I know it.” He said in an even tone of voice not even bothering to turn around. Batgirl frowned, not sure if his answer was sound.

“So we’re trusting Terry now? No offense but he did just run off without telling us where he was going. How do you know he’s not leading us into a trap?” This made Nightwing pause and he turned around. He didn’t look offended or frustrated just in thought.

“I’ve been practically living with the guy for the past week and I know it’s hard to believe but I honestly feel that he was telling the truth about coming from the future. The look in his eyes when I told him that changing too much might make it impossible for him to get back… That’s not easily faked. And if all of this is true then he’s taking a huge gamble for Robin’s sake.” The pair traveled in silence for a few moments before Batgirl said something that she had been fearing since Robin disappeared.

“Something bad happened to Robin in his time didn’t it?” Nightwing sighed but kept walking.

“He certainly seemed to be implying it the way he avoided my questions.” Hearing this Batgirl stopped in her tracks.

“You were asking him questions? About the future? Nightwing, you know the protocol. We can’t-“ but he cut her off.

“I know, I know it was stupid but I just wanted to know if my little brother was going to come out this okay. I don’t think I can take any more funerals right now.” He said the last line in a whisper so low she wasn’t sure she had heard him.

“Nightwing I know you’re worried, we all are. Batman told me the League was working on a way to try to get Terry home before Robin went missing. Let’s just focus on the mission, get Robin home, and then we’ll deal with time traveler number two.” And he went silent again as they went further into the heart of the abandoned mental hospital. She wasn’t used to Dick being this silent, not even on a mission. “So how far of a head start did he have? While he fought us off pretty good the first time we met I’m not sure how well he can handle the Joker with his suit powered down.”

Nightwing made a move like he wanted to stop but he kept going instead. “I’m actually not too worried about that.” Batgirl could tell he was sidestepping her question and she wasn’t about to let him get away with that.

“And why is that?” She said, already suspecting the answer.

He looked back with a slightly sheepish grin on his face. “I sort of turned his power back on.”

“Oh, Nightwing.” She said not bothering to hide her frustration. “I don’t know whether or not to hope you’re right about this kid.” And that was true, as much as she wanted to find Tim, finding him in the hands of the Joker after at least three days was not going to turn out well.

Suddenly they found themselves in a room with a large wall of windows facing the operating theater right below them. And after three long days of searching the hunt was finally over. They could see Robin strapped down to an operating table on the far side of the room while Terry was going head-to-head against the Joker. From what they could see Terry was gaining the upper hand but it was always tricky fighting the Joker he always had a trick or two up his sleeve. The Joker tried spraying some acid from the flower lapel in his jacket but Terry flipped back to avoid the spray. Batgirl smiled as she watched him kick his leg up and hit the Joker square in the family jewels.

“I’m starting to see why you like this guy so much.” She said with a smirk on her face causing her partner to blush.

“What do you mean? I never said I liked him.” He said a little too quickly.

His reaction made her smile even wider. “No but you practically did just now.” This only caused the vigilante to blush even harder.

“Can we not talk about this now? We need to get Robin out of here while the Joker is still distracted.” And with that he practically stormed out of the room to look for a quick and easy access to the operating room below.

“Fine by me.” She said following the younger vigilante out of the door. “But I reserve the right as your unofficial older sister to tease you about this later.” Nightwing just rolled his eyes and singled for her to follow silently and keep an eye out. They didn’t know if the Joker had henchmen or not and they hadn’t seen Harley yet either. They moved silently and quickly but at last they were at Tim’s side.

Nightwing practically ran to his younger brother’s side all the while trying to keep hidden and stay quiet. “Robin, are you okay?” It was a dumb question, it had been three days while in the hands of the Joker, of course the kid wasn’t okay, but he had to know just how badly he was hurt. Tim tried to respond but all that came out with a series of chuckles and laughs even as Nightwing untied him with Batgirl acting as a lookout. But before he could get the last strap off Tim started pointing to a computer just off to the side.

Nightwing looked and saw the computer, it must be important if Tim was trying to get him to look at it. “We’ll check it out buddy, let me just get you untied first.” Tim only started pointing at the computer even more frantically than he had before. Obviously this is something Tim felt could not wait. Grudgingly he singled for Batgirl to try and undo the rest of the straps while he examined whatever was on the computer. “All right Robin, I’ll check it out, just calm down, we’re going to get you out of here.”

Hearing this Robin did seem to calm down a bit. Nightwing instinctively pulled out a flash drive that he used to help with his hacking and to copy any files that might be important later. The Joker must’ve been in the middle of something because it was almost too easy to get into the files. But what he found made his blood run cold and his vision red. He knew the Joker was twisted but this was a new level of horror even for him. Somehow the Joker had gotten a hold of genetic manipulating chemicals and brainwashing programs and he was already attempting to use them on Tim. He couldn't help but think of Jason, his death was violent and painful but at least he died a hero. If they hadn’t gone here on time and the Joker succeeded, who knows what horrors Tim would have had to have gone through. How long would it take him to recover, if he could have recovered. There was one thing he did know. Whatever it was, it was so horrible that a complete stranger was willing to risk never being able to go home again in order to prevent it from coming to fruition.

Suddenly there was a strangled cry and Dick saw Terry getting zapped with something the Joker had thrown at him. Without saying a word he pulled out his escrima sticks and jumped into the fray.

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Batgirl was struggling to undo the last of the restraints that held Robin to the gurney. The old rusted belt loop was giving her some trouble. She saw Nightwing had run off to help Terry fight the Joker so she figured the other boy must’ve been in trouble. “This is taking too long.” She said giving up on the straps and pulling out a large sharpened batarang and started to cut the last strap. Before she could finish however Tim started jerking his head violently while trying to tell her something but the Joker’s venom prevented him from saying any actual words just giggles and gags. Fortunately she got the message and turned her head just in time to see Harley Quinn swinging a mallet at her head. She ducked and shoved Tim’s gurney out-of-the-way keeping him out of the fight.

“Oh no you don’t Bat Brat.” Unfortunately she lost her batarang during the struggle but she wasn’t worried since she had a lot more in her utility belt. She uses one to distract the clown girl and another to break the handle on the oversized mallet she was carrying.

“Hey, watch it!” Harley screamed as the head of the mallet nearly fell on her foot. Batgirl was torn between trying to get Tim loose and knocking this sad excuse for a psychiatrist into next Tuesday.

“What does the Joker want with Robin? What did he do to him?” Barbara said with a sneer while Harley smiled with a dreamy look on her face.

“Mr. J wants to add an addition to the family.” Batgirl raised an eyebrow under her cowl not sure if she should take anything Harley said seriously. “Mr. J’s been a little moody since Batman’s been away and there was only so much I could do to keep my little puddin happy.”

While Batgirl knew not to be sympathetic she had seen enough domestic abuse cases to know that Harley was an exceptionally extreme case. “So you thought that adding a child into this twisted family dynamic would make everything all better?”

Harley’s eyes hardened at the harshness but truthfulness of Batgirl’s words. “You don’t know nothin. I’ve never seen Mr. J more excited about anything in my life.” And with that she drew up a popgun from her shoulder bag and aimed it at Barbara.

 

Barbara knew this was no mere toy and taking a direct hit to the chest could be deadly. “He’s excited to have another connection to Batman, not to play house with you.”

“Shut up!” she exclaimed, shooting wildly missing Batgirl. “There are rough patches in every relationship but I’ll make it work, you’ll see.” Just as Harley was about to take another shot Batgirl ran up and knocked the gun from her hands. The two girls wound up wrestling for the gun while still trading insults back and forth.

“He’s just using you, you idiot.”

“He needs me Bat Bitch.”

“You’re both psychos!”

“We’re in love!”

“You’re insane!”

“Potato tomata.”

Harley was almost able to reach the gun but Batgirl kicked it out of her reach. Sensing she was losing the fight she decided to cheat. “Babies! Mama needs ya!”

Batgirl barely had time to brace herself as two giant hyenas came barreling around the hallway and launched themselves at her. While she was trying to deflect the worst of the blows from the ravenous animals Harley stood up and looked down at the two beasts fondly.

“You see, I make a good mother already.”

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Terry couldn’t believe he’d fallen for the same trick twice by the same villain. As he instinctively moved to deflect the object that the Joker had thrown at him it had opened up and clamped down on his wrist sending an electrical jolt all through his system. He didn’t even think that tech like this existed in this time period but maybe it was something else the Joker had stolen from Cadmus.

“You’ve got guts kiddo I’ll give you that. You fight dirty too, I can respect that. But you’re still no Batman no matter what T-shirt you buy from Hot Topic.” Terry let the Joker rant while he worked on getting the claw-like device off of his wrist.

“I don’t need your approval nor do I want it. I am Batman.” By now the Joker was starting to lose his patience. He picked up a large crowbar for one of the exam tables and made his way over to the future Batman.

“There is only one Batman and you’re not him. You’re not my Batman! You’re not the one I want and you never will be!” The madman raised the crowbar over his head intending to bring it down on Terry’s head but Terry was quicker. He reached up and grabbed the crowbar while wearing a highly electrified joy buzzer he had found when he was scouting the room. The Joker let out a scream as a jolt from the electricity sent him flying back.

Finally Terry was able to get the claw free from his wrist but he was still shaky. While the suit was already healing him he knew he was lucky not to have been knocked out. Fortunately now the Joker was in the same spot as him. But as always the Joker never played fair. Even while his hand was still shaking from the aftershocks he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun but before he could even fire it was knocked out of his hands by an electrified escrima stick. Confused for a moment the Joker turned around and saw Nightwing standing behind him right before he received a punch to the face.

Terry looked up at his fellow vigilante. While he was grateful for the quick save there is something off about the young man who he had spent the week getting to know.

“You okay?” Nightwing asked as he helped Terry to his feet.

“I’m fine.” Terry responded in typical bat fashion but he felt he should be asking the same question to Nightwing.

He could see Nightwing doing a quick assessment of him and appeared satisfied for the time being. “Go help Batgirl get Robin to safety, she’s duking it out with Harley right now and she could use some help.”

Terry seriously doubted that Batgirl would need help fighting off Harley Quinn by herself but he supposed there could be some extra henchmen hiding out. Still, Nightwing was acting a little strange. “What about the Joker?”

“I’m going to secure him for Batman and ask him a few… questions.” Nightwing said as he walked over to the Joker pulling out some zip ties. Terry was reluctant to leave, something had Nightwing on edge and if Terry had to make a guess he would say that Nightwing had learned what the Joker had intended for Tim Drake.

“Maybe I should help you out here. Batgirl’s more than capable to-“

“You were the one who was so eager to take on this mission so follow it through. Complete the mission, get Robin to safety. That’s an order!” The ferocity in his voice made Terry take a step back. But before he could argue back he heard Harley calling for her babies and the sounds of wild hyenas growing louder. Barbara might need that hand after all. But as he left Nightwing’s side he had an ominous feeling that something horrible was about to happen.

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After triple securing the Joker with both zip ties and handcuffs, Nightwing looked down at his prone form. He knew the clown was only faking sleep, most likely waiting for Terry to leave. That was fine with him Dick had some questions that needed answers now. And he didn’t need a crowd watching.

“I know you’re awake Joker. Getup, I have some questions I need to ask you.” He said in a low voice while giving the Joker a swift kick in the ribs. The Joker ground but let out a small laugh smiling the whole time.

“Well if it isn’t bird boy number one, good to see ya kid. I was going to come and see you next after I was finished with the replacement.” Nightwing kicked again this time a little harder.

“Shut up! I said I had some questions and you’re going to answer them.”

“So, do you want to shut up or do you want me to answer your questions? I can’t do both, you know.” Nightwing brought his foot back again but the Joker relented. “Alright already, sheesh you’re getting more like your old man every day even if you have switched back to black and blue. Nice color choice by the way. Tall, dark and brooding never really suited you.”

Nightwing was slightly taken aback that the Joker would reference his time in the bat suit. It was definitely not something he wanted to do but with Bruce off world for so long Gotham city was literally going crazy. Batman’s appearance every now and then was needed to keep the peace. He thought he had fooled everyone but apparently the Joker took notice.

“Did I hit a nerve? I know daddy’s shoes are so hard to fill but aren’t you supposed to be asking me some questions?” Dick cursed to himself. He was losing control of the situation. He needed to focus on the mission.

“I saw the schematics on your computer, I know what you were planning to do to Robin. How far in the procedure did you get?” It took a lot for him to control his anger and not automatically start punching the clown over and over again.

“Oh you peaked, you naughty boy. It was supposed to be a surprise. Once I had gone all the color out of his cheeks and turned his brain into Play-Doh I was going to invite everyone over to celebrate. You, me, Batsy, my hairdresser-“ at that Nightwing did punch him in the face.

“HOW FAR DID YOU GET?!”

The Joker spat out a tooth still grinning like the maniac he was. “I see it now. I didn’t believe it at first when they told me. I thought it was some fun joke but now I see.”

Nightwing grabbed him and pulled him up so that they were face-to-face. ”I know he hasn’t been here long enough for you to have finished, but the chip, did you implant the chip?”

Now the Joker was looking at him strangely, almost as if he was seeing the former boy wonder for the first time. “You’ve got more important things to worry about than that tiny little chip that I may or may not have inserted into Robin’s brain. You know you really should laugh more, you used to laugh all the time I found it very endearing. Come to think of it, I haven't heard you laugh since I killed off what’s his name.”

Nightwing’s grip tightened but that’s when he made a mistake, he got too close. The Joker nodded his head to the right triggering a small spike from one of his buttonholes. Nightwing felt a small sting in his arm where the needle had punctured and dropped the Joker to the floor. Feeling the familiar sting of Joker venom he quickly grabbed an EpiPen from his utility belt filled with the antidote and injected himself before the first giggle.

“Aww you’re no fun, I was just trying to help you loosen up. Once they come for you you’ll wish I had.” For the first time Nightwing had noticed the Joker was hinting at something about him, not Robin.

“Stop stalling Joker, you had better start answering my questions before Batman gets here.” But his hopes of intimidating the Joker were only met with laughter.

“But you’re not asking the right questions and if you can’t ask the right questions you shall never know the secret. It's about you, something so dark that if Batman had known he never would’ve taken you in as his little Robin.” Nightwing was quickly losing patience once again the Joker was trying to redirect and distract him from Tim’s condition. Who knows could be going on within Tim’s body and mind that not even Tim knew about. Nightwing walked back up to the Joker and backhanded him hard enough to see stars.

“Stop trying to distract me, it won't work.” It was really annoying that the Joker was still smiling even through a bloody mouth.

“Why do you want to know about Robin? Your secrets are much more interesting.”

“Are you trying to blackmail me?” He said almost as if the idea sounded funny to him.

“Oh no, these secrets are going to come out and I’m so looking forward to seeing the look on your face when old daddy bats finds out what you really are.”

“Shut up!” Nightwing grabbed the Joker and started slamming his head into the floor. “There is nothing in my past that Batman doesn’t know about. Now, one last time, did you insert the chip?”

“Once again I can’t shut up and answer your question at the same time.” Nightwing hit him again, harder this time. “And once again you’re asking the wrong questions so you’ll get nothing from me. Check the kid from top to bottom but I know in the back of your mind you always wonder if I slipped something into his psyche that could randomly go off one day. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even for years to come but maybe one day while he’s walking down the street something will go off inside his head driving him even crazier than I am. But don’t worry, I’ll keep a nice padded cell room right next to mine. Heck we can even be roomies. Laughing away into the night, like father, like son. Doesn’t that sound like-gag”

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The fight with Harley Quinn and her crazy pets had ended quicker than Terry had anticipated. Somehow he and Batgirl had wound up each fighting a hyena and Harley was too afraid of hitting her babies to take a shot at them. But just when they had managed to knock out the beasts an angry Harley was ready to attack when they heard an unexpected “thunk” and the clown girl went cross eyed and fell to the floor. Standing behind her was Robin holding up a bedpan of all things. The boy had used Batgirl’s discarded batarang to free himself and get the drop on the Joker’s Hench girl.

There was still a smile on his face but he was no longer laughing hysterically which meant that the Joker venom was finally starting to wear off. Batgirl rushed over to him asking if he needed the antidote, but Robin shook his head saying that the worst of it was over. He was still a bit weak not having been allowed to walk the last few days but with a little support he was managing. But despite how weak Tim Drake was, Terry couldn’t help but smile. The kid was a fighter and he hadn’t been broken by the Joker. They had all the Joker’s notes so they should be able to undo the damage already done. And since Terry knew where the Joker had placed the microchip on the Tim Drake of his time Terry knew where to look. If it was already there is a simple procedure to take it out and now they wouldn’t be surprised later down the road. But they were going to have to deal with this once Batman arrived.

“Nice move with the bedpan kid. You think I could get the old man to teach me or it is only something that he shows to his Robins?” Terry said putting an arm underneath Tim’s shoulders to help support him. Tim let out an involuntary laugh and immediately cringed.

“Please don’t make me laugh.” Terry just shrugged.

“Sorry, I’m used to the boss telling me I’m not funny.” This caused Tim to giggle a little more but this time he had it under control.

All things considered today was going really well, much better than Terry had expected. He had done it, he had saved Robin from a terrible fate and he knew he had made the right decision. But right now Terry was trying not to think about the now altered timeline and that he might never be able to see his family again. It was like Nightwing said, just focus on the mission. He’ll freak out about it later.

He had almost forgotten about his concerns for Nightwing until he heard Batgirl shout, “Nightwing! WHAT YOU DOING? STOP!” He raced around the corner as quickly as he could while supporting Tim. But when he arrived at the scene he stopped in his tracks. This wasn’t supposed to happen, it couldn’t be happening, but it was. Only a few feet away from them was a bound Joker with Nightwing kneeling over him, his hands clenching tightly around the villain’s throat.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Doing What’s Right?

 

Nightwing could feel it, the Joker’s pulse under his palm growing slower with every heartbeat. He could do it; he just needed a little more courage, a little more conviction, and a little more sacrifice. He wasn’t going to let this monster hurt anyone else ever again. He tried not to think of Bruce as he squeezed a little tighter around the criminal’s neck. He would surely be disappointed but Gotham needed a Batman, they could live without a Nightwing. Just a little more, just a little harder, just a little longer and this will all be over.

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“Nightwing! WHAT YOU DOING? STOP!”At Barbara’s exclamation Terry raced to the scene but stopped short, seeing Nightwing with his hands around the Joker’s throat showing no signs of letting him go.

“NIGHTWING STOP! We have Robin, he’s okay!” Terry was afraid of getting any closer and so was Barbara. Seeing the way Dick had his hands around the other man’s neck he might panic and just snap it if they tried to rush him.

“He’s not okay, no one is ever going to be safe as long as he’s still breathing.” Nightwing sounded serious but they could both tell he was hesitating. This went against everything Batman had taught them but his first protégé seemed bound and determined.

“Nightwing please don’t do this.” Barbara pleaded while she assessed the situation trying to find a way to get close without spooking Nightwing. “If you do this then he wins.”

That only seemed to enrage him even further. “I kill them he wins, I let him live he wins!” He shouted but just as quickly seemed to calm. “At least this way it will be the last time.” He said softly, almost sad. Terry decided to use that since logic wasn’t working at the moment.

“Maybe, but what about Batman, you know he wouldn’t want it this way. He wouldn’t want you to become a murderer.” His words seem to have an effect on the veteran vigilante and he paused in his efforts but still didn’t take his hands away.

“At least this way Batman won’t lose anyone else, at least not to him.”

“And then what?” Barbara asked with a sad look in her eyes, understanding where he was coming from but unable to condone his actions. “You know why Batman doesn’t kill because it’s too easy to lose yourself and not able to stop.”

“Then I’ll just let him stop me. I’ll turn myself in. I still believe in justice after all.” It was then Terry realized just how serious Dick was. He is willing to give up not only his vigilante lifestyle but also his freedom just to protect his family. But they all knew if he tried to turn himself in he would get off. Because unless the jury poll for his trial was composed of Arkham inmates no one in the world would convict him. But even if that was the case Terry was sure he would accept any punishment that Batman or the Justice League would give him. Terry took a brave step forward with hands in the air so that Nightwing wouldn’t freak out.

“You and I both know this isn’t justice.”

“You and I both know that there will never be enough justice for all of his victims. This way at least there won’t be any more. You knew that, otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten to Robin in time. Even now he still might have a chip in his brain that will one day drive him insane!” Terry could feel Tim shift beside him and saw the boy unconsciously reach for his head. Tim had been unusually quiet in an effort to keep from laughing as a result from the residual drugs still left in his system. So Terry continued to speak on Tim’s behalf.

“You don’t have to worry about the chip. Even if the Joker had implanted it I know exactly where it would be located and it’s a simple procedure to remove it.” While Dick had been careful to avoid talking too much about Terry’s origin Terry himself felt it was more important to talk Dick down and to reassure him. But of course this got the attention of the Joker who was lying bound on the floor unable to talk because his airway had been blocked. He was now giving Terry a curious look as if to say, ‘And how the hell did you know that?’

While he was greatly relieved at the news, Nightwing felt his resolve slipping. But he shook his head and tightened his grip harder than before. “Then let’s end this on a positive note instead of a tragedy.”

Fearing Dick was really going to do at this time Terry got desperate. “Do you want to know what happened in my time? The Joker did die but it wasn’t by Batman’s hands it was Robin’s. The Joker had gone too far and the kid just snapped the same as you’re doing now. And he has to live with that every day for the rest of his life.”

Now all eyes were on Terry including the Joker’s. He was doing more than just hinting at the future he was telling it. Batgirl covered her mouth in shock and Nightwing was looking back and forth between Terry and Tim. Tim looked even more shocked than anybody else in the room. Then Nightwing turned back to the Joker. “Don’t worry I won’t let that happen.” And for a moment Terry thought that he had finally gotten through to him but he was wrong. “I’ll take the burden on myself. I won't let Robin go through that.”

Terry wanted to pull his hair out in frustration but his cowl was in the way. “I didn’t risk giving up my timeline and possibly my whole world just for you to exchange victims!” Terry shouted as he started moving into position to try and tackle Nightwing by force. Batgirl quickly followed, making one final attempt to talk him down.

“Nightwing, you know this isn’t the answer. You may be taking out the Joker but how many lives will it cost if you let the Joker take out Nightwing? How many times have you saved a life or even saved the world?” While her words were logical and sincere they were also conflicting in his mind. True he had saved lives but there were so many more that he had failed to save, and while he did help to save the world more than once his last attempt had cost his best friend his life.

One last time he tried to block everything out and focus on this one task. They were wrong, this had to be done and nothing anybody said or did was going to stop him now. At least that’s what he thought until he heard a soft tiny voice weekly call out.

“Nightwing (cough) please stop.” Robin called out as loud as he could. “I don’t want you to do this (ha) please don’t make me lose my big brother.” And after hearing Robin’s plea the last of his resolve shattered. He stared at the little bird, damaged but not broken, begging him not to get lost in the darkness. And it was then Nightwing realized what Batman had meant all those years ago when he himself was still Robin. Batman had said that Robin was the light that had saved Batman from the darkness. Dick realized that after wearing the cowl even for a brief time he had started to let the darkness take over and once again it was Robin who brought Batman back to his senses.

He let his hands drop and stepped away. Part of him was grateful that Robin had called him back but there was still a part that wished he had the strength to finish off the Joker once and for all. Exhausted both emotionally and physically he sank to the floor. The bat clan breathed a sigh of relief but their relief was short-lived. While everyone had been concentrating on Nightwing the Joker had managed to free himself. He surprised Nightwing and punched him hard in the jaw.

The Joker laughed maniacally as he pulled out another knife and held it against Nightwing's throat. “Well, hasn’t this been a fun evening, kiddies?” He laughed again, his hand shaking a little causing him to nick Dick’s throat ever so slightly. “While Bat Fake originally just seemed like a cheap knockoff you have shown yourself to be more intriguing than I first thought. I look forward to seeing more of your exploits in the future .” The Joker said heavily emphasizing “ the future .”

Terry grimaced and felt like a fool. ‘ Great so much for keeping this a secret. Me and my big mouth!’ But he couldn’t worry about that now. Now Dick’s life was in danger and he wasn’t going to talk the Joker down the same way they had talked down Nightwing.

“A future that I now get to take part in, thanks to you.” He said rubbing salt into the wound. “Imagine actually being taken out by Robin of all people. The younger one,” he glanced over to Tim, “Or the old one.” He stared down at Nightwing holding the knife tighter to his throat as drops of blood began to drip down the silver blade.

Terry knew they couldn’t wait anymore; they had to get the Joker away from Dick. He saw Barbara pulling out a batarang waiting for the right moment to strike. Even though he knew Dick could be injured Terry did his best to try and distract the clown while Barbara made the move. “But wasn’t that your plan? Didn’t you want Batman to lose? After all, what better way for him to lose than to have one of his kids break his ultimate rule?”

He definitely had the Joker’s attention now unfortunately he only seemed to be getting angrier. “I am the Joker, I am the Clown Prince of Crime, mortal enemy to Batman himself. Batman is going to be the one that ultimately breaks by taking me out, not one of his little birds and certainly not one of his sidekicks.” Barbara threw her batarang at the Joker’s knife hand but unfortunately he dodged it at the last second.

He turned to her and smiled. “Naughty naughty. In fact you’ve all been very naughty kids this evening.” He glanced down at Nightwing, the knife still held tightly against his throat. “I know they told me not to kill you but you, and Batsy, and even Ra’s knows from experience that sometimes I just can’t help myself.”

But just as he was about to slice open Dick’s neck there was a sudden flash and the knife went flying. Barely a second later the Joker was flying as well. And that’s when he saw him rising out of the shadows like a demon from hell, it was Batman. Terry resisted the urge to say, ‘finally’ as the Dark Knight descended upon the Joker beating the man who had hurt his children into a bloody pulp.

Now that the danger had passed Terry could search for the fallen Nightwing. Luckily Robin had pulled him away as soon as the Joker’s knife was lost and was tending to his neck. Robin had used the cleanest piece of gauze he could find and pressed against his older brother's throat. Nightwing smiled at his brother and held in place himself. “Thanks Robin but don’t worry about me, it's not that deep.” Tim was skeptical seeing the amount of red that was seeping through the bandage but not enough for anyone to panic. “Really I’m fine, the punch to the jaw hurt worse.” He said, rubbing his jaw slightly as Barbara looked them both over.

Assured that everyone else was out of danger Terry tried to follow where Batman had drug the Joker to. When he found him he saw that the Joker was a mess. They were at least a few broken ribs, a smashed hand, and his left eye had been swollen shut by a well-placed punch. Batman had only sustained minor injuries but was now pinning the Joker to the wall while trying to restrain him.

For a man who looked like he needed an extended hospital stay the Joker seemed very pleased to have Batman's attention all to himself. “Sorry about the mess Batsy but your kids showed up and ruined everything I had planned for you.” Batman punched him in the face and let out a low growl. “And after all the trouble I went through you don’t even say thanks. I’m starting to feel really under-appreciated around here.” Batman growled again, tightening his grip on one of Joker’s arms, the broken one.

“I know what you tried to do too Robin.” But the smile never left the Joker’s face and neither did the scowl on Batman’s.

“Awa, you ruined the surprise. It was going to be so beautiful too, something that was both me and you that we made together. All I needed was another few weeks, a little more electroshock, some hotdogs, and some minor brain surgery and he would’ve been perfect.”

Batman slammed the Joker’s head against the wall so hard it almost cracked. Terry winced at the site. While he knew his mentor had never crossed that line and taken a life, no one ever got to him the way the Joker had and the Joker’s life was taken by someone else in his time. But after that scare with Nightwing Terry decided to hang out for just a little bit longer just to make sure.

The Joker turned back to Batman smiling with red teeth as the blood dripped into his mouth from a split lip. “You gonna do it this time Bats? Your oldest almost did it for you but in the end he just didn’t have the guts. Speaking of which, how well do you really know your first little birdie?” Batman’s gaze intensified but he didn’t releases hold even as the Joker smiled wider. “I know something you don’t know.” He said in a singsong voice.

Terry raised an eyebrow at the Joker statement. He didn’t know offhand what the Joker was referring to but then again he honestly just didn’t know much about the Dick Grayson of his time. Only that he still believes in justice and hates Bruce with a passion. Was the Joker just messing with him or was there something more?

“I’ll give you a clue but just a clue. Put those detective skills of yours to good use. But do come and see me again when you figured it out. I’m dying to see the look on your face when you do.” And with that the Joker leaned in and said something to Batman but the tone was so low Terry couldn’t make it out. Whatever it was, it seemed to upset Batman even more than he was before. As the Joker once again laughed out loud the Dark Knight had finally had enough and punched him out. Terry quietly slipped back out to join the others.

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After the Joker and Harley Quinn had been escorted back to whatever insane asylum that had replaced Arkham Batman rallied the troops. He first went to Robin making sure that he was okay, he was only partially satisfied. As soon as they were back home he was going to be under observation until Agent A gave him a clean bill of health. It wasn’t hard for Terry to guess who Agent A was even though he had never met the man.

Nightwing almost looked worse than Robin. He had a white bandage around his throat, a large bruise on the right side of his jaw that was quickly turning purple which contrasted greatly against his too pale skin. He also wouldn't meet his mentor's gaze and looked down knowing he had let Batman down greatly.

Batgirl was fine for the most part but even so Batman said that everyone would be checked over for any hidden injuries.

Terry just hung off to the side feeling like an outsider even though he wore the bat emblem on his chest proudly. He knew he had done the right thing but some of the things Nightwing said were resonating true. While he would shear no tears over the man who had his father killed or the Joker, if the Joker killed anyone else would that make them responsible as well? There were still so many questions like, what was to become of him now? He hadn’t disappeared entirely which was a good sign but now nothing was certain.

Batman stood in front of all his protégés, his eyes first going to Tim. “We need to make sure everything that the Joker gave you is out of your system until then you’re not to leave the cave.” Tim nodded in understanding but still looked vaguely disappointed that he was now under house arrest.

He then went to Nightwing who still couldn’t look up at his mentor. “You have an appointment with Black Canary. I had hoped you would have gone to her on your own but you clearly need more help than I thought.” Nightwing silently nodded looking up ever so slightly at Batman like a sad child who had just lost something precious. Terry had no idea why it was so important for Nightwing to see Black Canary of all people. Maybe for some sort of special training? He honestly didn’t know what kind of training would help Dick out right now. The guy needed more than just training after tonight.

He didn’t have much to say to Barbara which usually meant there was little to correct. But then he turned around and walked right up to Terry. Despite how long he had known Bruce this was the Batman and even though he knew they were one of the same they may as well have been two totally different people. Just like the Dick Grayson from his time in the Dick Grayson of today.

He leaned over and turned his gaze to Terry and the future Batman simply prepared himself for another stern lecture. “You disobeyed orders, you broke into Nightwing’s files, and you’ve completely disrupted the time stream.”

‘Yeah’ Terry thought ‘I’m in for a big one.’

“And you’ve also saved Robin.” He said in a surprisingly soft voice. “And for that, I thank you.”

Terry blinked sure he had heard wrong. “Wait, what?”

But Batman quickly turned around. “All right let’s all head back to the cave.” And marched off followed by Nightwing and Robin.

Terry just hung back for a moment not quite sure what had just happened. Batgirl came up beside him and poked him in the arm. “I know it’s bizarre isn’t it? But don’t expect him to repeat it.” She said with a smirk following the boy’s meanwhile Terry just stood there unsure of where he was supposed to go. Sensing that someone wasn’t walking behind them Batman turned back around.

“I know you have trouble following orders but I did say all of us.” Without another word he marched back off but this time Terry knew he was expected to follow.

It was bittersweet. He had finally gained Batman’s trust in all it took was for him save one of his sons from insanity, the other from committing murder, and all it cost of him was possibly never being able to return home. Piece of cake. But what’s done was done and despite everything he didn’t regret his decisions. He had saved Robin from a stay in the mental institute and years of guilt. He had stopped Nightwing from being shot, ending a promising career as a vigilante, and also prevented him from committing murder.

While these were all positive changes there was one change that he hadn’t really thought about until just now. The Joker, who was supposed to be dead, was now alive. That…was going to cost him.

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

The Wandering Grave

 

It was his fault, it was all his fault. The world was on the brink of destruction all because of him. All because he didn’t follow protocol and changed the past.

It all started when the Joker had stolen a nuclear bomb. Batman’s efforts to find it in time proved fatal. The mad clown had kidnapped Lois Lane who, by a miracle, was pregnant with Superman’s child, and attached her heart to the bomb’s trigger. To make matters worse the Joker dosed Superman with a special version of the Scarecrow’s fear toxin making the Man of Steel think he was fighting Darkseid when in reality he was fighting Lois.

She didn’t stand a chance, and when she died the stillness of her heart set off the bomb and destroyed Metropolis. Everything changed after that. Enraged like never before Superman killed the Joker and divided the League. Some sided with Superman agreeing that their no kill policy was outdated and that using lethal force was sometimes the only way to prevent a tragedy like Metropolis.

Others however, like Batman, thought that Superman was taking justice into his own hands. He warned them early on that the Justice League could not play judge, jury, and executioner but after the destruction of Metropolis a number of heroes were questioning their roles and their choices.

It only got worse from there. The Justice League who were once close allies were now at war with each other. Even the Bat family was divided. While Nightwing sided with Batman and tried to play peacekeeper, Robin was now questioning his mentor and was becoming angry feeling that his voice was not being heard.

It was brother versus brother while Superman took control. Not only the world’s criminals but the world itself. Lives were lost, so many lives were lost, but none were felt more than the death of Nightwing. It was a tragedy that should never have happened. While trying to fight off a number of criminals in Arkham Asylum Robin was getting frustrated and became violent. As Nightwing gently tried to remind him of his vows, an angry Robin threw his weapon at Nightwing. Normally the World’s Greatest Acrobat would’ve easily caught the weapon as he had done so many times before, but this time he was distracted by the villains and was knocked unconscious. If not for the random bit of rubble that he landed on this whole situation might have been just an embarrassment but Nightwing fell at exactly the wrong angle hitting the back of his neck on the rock killing him instantly.

It was the only time in the war that everyone stopped, even the criminals. Nightwing had a connection to just about everyone and with his loss it seemed to end any hope that the heroes could once again be united. A devastated Batman mourned the loss of his first child and rejected Robin. After that Batman became even colder and harsher than ever before as if all the light in his world had been snuffed out.

He found out later that Superman had taken Robin under his wing and Robin had taken up the mantle of Nightwing. The blood red suit was now a tribute to his fallen brother and to Superman but Batman only saw this as a mockery of everything Dick Grayson and Nightwing had stood for.

The war raged on with losses on both sides until finally the governments of the world got involved and it became an all out World War with nuclear bombs, air raids, and destruction as their answer. Death and devastation was now the norm and the Earth and humanity were heading towards extinction. And it was ALL. HIS. FAULT!

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Terry woke with a start sweat dripping from his brow as he tried to regain his breathing and steady his heart. It took a few moments for him to remember where he was and how he had gotten there. He had changed history and saved Tim Drake from the hands of the Joker creating an unknown future and sharply decreasing his chances of ever getting back home. Thankfully the Batman of this time seemed to trust him enough to let him return to the manor with them as they helped Tim recover.

While he was still shaken from his disturbing dream he let out a small chuckle. While the destruction of the world in that scenario is certainly plausible he should’ve known it was a dream after seeing the way that Nightwing had died. Imagine Dick Grayson, the World’s Greatest Acrobat, being killed by falling on a rock, the idea was just ludicrous.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Ah, come in?” He said not quite sure who was at the door. The door opened to reveal a very posh elderly gentleman. Terry immediately recognized the man as Alfred Pennyworth. While he had never met the man in person he had seen a lot of old photos and knew that this was the man who had raised Bruce after his parents were killed.

“Good morning Master McGinnis, my name is Alfred Pennyworth the butler to the Wayne family. I’m here to inform you that breakfast will be ready in 10 minutes and if you’re feeling up to it you may join us downstairs. If you still need some rest however, I could offer you a tray in your room instead.” Terry blinked in surprise, not used to somebody being so formal and polite over something as simple as breakfast.

“Ah, no, that’s not necessary. I’ll be down in a few.”

“Very good Master McGinnis. I took the liberty of laying out some of Master Dick’s clothes for you to wear until I go shopping for something more to your liking.” Terry looked around and saw there was an outfit laid out on the chair beside the bed and on the other side was a small dresser filled with clothes. He couldn’t help but wonder when the butler had come in to put them away or had he prepped the room ahead of time?

“That’s okay, these will be fine for now. And there’s no need for you to call me Master McGinnis, Terry will do just fine.”

The man had an unreadable expression on his face and it seemed to Terry like he was studying him and sizing him up. “Very well Master Terry, I shall expect you downstairs in the dining room in 10 minutes.” And with that the Butler closed the door and left without another word. Terry wasn’t quite sure what to make of the man who had raised Batman but something told them not to get on the man’s bad side. He glanced out the window relieved to see that there were no bars. But even though he could tell it was morning, Gotham's polluted skyline was making it a bit difficult to tell how long he had been asleep. The clock on his nightstand read 7:31 but he had been so exhausted mentally and physically the previous night he had no idea what time he had actually fallen asleep. His rumbling stomach reminded him that he was indeed hungry and that there was food and possibly some answers waiting for him downstairs. He quickly changed, used the bathroom, and was pleased to discover that there were hair combs and toiletries for him to use. He took a shower the night before down in the cave so he should be fine to go down for breakfast.

On his way he remembered that Alfred had not told him where the dining hall was. This wasn’t a problem since he had been in the manor numerous times while working for and helping out Mr. Wayne in his time but he wondered if this was a mistake or if he was just testing Terry to see if he really knew the layout of the manor. This place could be a bit of a maze if you did know your way around. He had no trouble finding the dining room whatsoever and even if he had the smell of fresh pancakes would have drawn him in even if he did.

Once he arrived at the table he had to stop himself from just diving right into it. What lay before him was a feast. The table was covered with stacks of pancakes, toast, several jugs of juice, fruit slices, grapefruit halves, at least eight different types of jams and marmalade, scones, danishes, sausages, Canadian bacon and two large pictures of maple syrup.

“Ah, right on time Master Terry. How would you like your eggs?” Terry looked from the Butler to the widespread of food on the table. He was tempted to pass on the eggs but after almost a week of Nightwing’s bachelor style cooking and the fact that he had missed several meals while Robin had been missing Terry decided to indulge while he could.

“Over easy please.” But as he was about to sit down he noticed for the first time that he was the only one who had actually arrived for breakfast. “Say Mr. Pennyworth, where is everybody?” He followed behind Alfred into the kitchen so the man wouldn’t have to shout from the other room.

Alfred Pennyworth barely looked up from the food he was preparing as he responded. “I’m taking Master Timothy’s food to his room. He’s on bed rest for the next few days and his diet is going to be a bit restrictive.” Terry once again felt sorry for the kid. Not only was he cooped up in the house but he was going to miss out on all of this great food. “Miss Gordon left for home sometime last night. Master Bruce was supposed to be getting some much-needed rest but I suspect he has once again ignored my advice.”

Terry could imagine. He was probably in the Bat-cave as they spoke working on cases that he had put aside while looking for Tim Drake. Or maybe he was looking into that clue that the Joker had given him about Dick Grayson’s past. Speaking of which, “And where is Dick?”

Alfred paused for a moment before answering. “While the boy is certainly in need of a good meal he also needs his rest. Once I have your food prepared I shall see if he is awake. If not, best to let him sleep a little longer, I can always keep something warm for him.”

Seeing that Alfred had gone to so much trouble to make this large meal for the family, Terry felt he should at least give him a hand. “Why don’t I just take a peek into his room and see if he’s up?”

Alfred gave another pause but relented. “I suppose that would be all right. However Master Dick is not in his room at the moment. Sometime last evening he snuck into Master Timothy’s room, I believe he’s still there.”

Terry nodded and left to find the other boy without asking where the room was. Bruce was a creature of habit and surprisingly sentimental. He didn’t often show signs of emotion the way normal people did but he did keep momentous. Whether it was pictures in glass frames or old uniforms in glass cases, Bruce liked to keep a piece of something he loved or lost close by. He remembered finding an old jacket that was too small to have been Bruce’s with the initials DG on the collar, Bruce clamped up and walked away after that. It is obvious now who’s jacket that was and despite the fact that Bruce and Mr. Grayson hadn’t spoken in years the fact that he kept it implied that maybe Bruce wasn’t just a hard empty shell with no emotions. Maybe he kept the jacket hoping that Dick would come back for it someday.

Terry had reached the top of the stairs and went to the two rooms that were closest to Bruce’s master bedroom. Dick’s room was the closest door on the right and in his time it was one of the only doors besides Tim’s that he had not explored. The doors were kept locked and it was silently implied that those rooms were not to be touched. He found Tim’s room easy but paused for a moment seeing another door across the hallway. This door was also locked with a small makeshift sign on the front that read, “KEEP OUT!” And was signed J.T. on the bottom. This confused Terry, this door was not locked in his time it was just another guest room. Maybe Bruce was doing some kind of weird experiment or something. But the rumbling of the stomach caused him to forget about the odd locked door.

As quietly as he could he opened Tim’s door and instantly wished he had a camera on him. Tim was fast asleep in a queen-size bed that was much too big for him. Beside him was Dick Grayson in casual sleepwear, resting half on a chair and half on Tim’s bed, his large hand clutching Tim’s smaller one. The other boy must have nodded off while watching over his younger brother. ‘That looks comfortable.’ Terry thought as he smiled at the site. Come what may he didn’t regret his decision to help out Tim Drake in his time of need. Quietly he shut the door and was prepared to head back downstairs but as soon as he turned around he came face-to-face with Alfred Pennyworth. It took every ounce of his training for him not to scream but he did take a step back and surprise. How had this man snuck up on him? Then he realized that this is probably the man Bruce learned it all from.

“I take it Master Dick shall be dining later this morning.” Terry wasn’t sure if he should be surprised or insulted that the butler had followed him to Tim’s room. But it made sense that he would want to be sure his family was safe especially after Tim’s kidnapping.

“Yeah he’s still out like a light. Although, his back is probably going to be killing him when he wakes up.” He saw Alfred take a quick peek into the room.

“Oh dear, perhaps I should wake him after all. You may head back downstairs Master Terry, I’ve already set out a plate for you please help yourself to whatever else you’d like.” As Alfred went into the room Terry sighed.

‘So much for offering a hand.’ He just wasn’t sure what Mr. Pennyworth really thought of him but this man had been an important part of Bruce’s life for a long time and Terry honestly wanted to make a good impression. But he just wasn’t sure if he had not. He was tempted to wait for Mr. Pennyworth to bring Dick downstairs for breakfast but seeing all that food in front of him all nice and warm… Well, Mr. Pennyworth did tell him it was okay to eat and it would be rude to waste the man’s hard work.

He was only about halfway done when he heard Mr. Pennyworth and Dick entering the dining room. “I could’ve set out a cot for you Master Dick, all you have to do is ask.”

Terry heard a loud groan and what sounded like Dick cracking his back. “It was late even for us and I didn’t want to bother you.” Terry snickered to himself as he heard the boy groaning again. “Wasn’t exactly planning on falling asleep right then and there.”

The pair finally entered the room and of course Dick was still stretching out his muscles still stiff from sleeping in that awkward position all night. At one point the Acrobat nearly bent himself backwards seeking relief. Mr. Pennyworth was scolding him for his rude behavior at the dinner table and in front of a guest all the while Terry was secretly impressed just how far the other man could bend back.

When Dick had finally straightened himself out, he turned around and caught Terry’s eye. It was the first time Terry had seen the other boy without his mask and now he was having a hard time looking away. True he had seen Mr. Grayson’s one eye from his time along with his clone’s but somehow young Dick’s gaze just looked so different. It was the perfect shade of blue deep with worry but trying to smile as if there was nothing wrong. Terry actually had to force himself to look away before anyone caught him staring.

Terry stood up and pulled out the chair next to him offering Dick a seat. Dick smiled but the worry in his eyes still lingered. “Thanks Terry, but I’m not very hungry this morning. I'll get something later.” Both Terry and Alfred frowned. They both knew Dick had not been eating well lately and neither one of them wanted him skipping a meal. But when Alfred made a move to talk some sense into Dick, Terry held up his hand silently asking the older man to let him try.

“I could still use the company while everyone else is still asleep.” Dick seemed to think about this for a few moments but in the end he did join Terry at the dinner table. Alfred watched as Terry started up a conversation just like the ones they had had while he was held prisoner in Nightwing’s bunker. While he was distracted Alfred was able to sneak a bit of food onto his plate. It wasn’t long before Dick caught on to what he was doing but when he politely tried to refuse the food once again Terry interrupted him.

“Yum, are you sure Mr. Pennyworth isn’t using some top-secret bat pancake formula or something because these are the best I’ve ever had in my entire life.” Dick smiled at the other boy’s antics but he did stop shoving his plate away.

“Alfred is the best cook around.” Dick agreed, making Terry perk up while shoving another forkful of pancakes into his mouth nodding furiously.

“Yeah but are you sure this batch isn’t some special new recipe? My taste buds are going crazy!” Slightly reluctantly Dick took a bite of his own and despite himself he took another.

“It has been a while since I’ve had Alfred pancakes.” Terry kept Dick engaged in non-shop conversations and without noticing Dick had continued to eat. Not as much as they would have liked but more than they were expecting. Terry considered that a win.

After they were done eating both Terry and Dick took their plates to the kitchen but were intercepted by Alfred. “No need for that master Dick, master Terry. I shall handle the cleanup. I’m still hopeful Master Bruce will make an appearance before noon and I still have Master Timothy’s food for him when he wakes up.”

Terry reluctantly handed the older gentleman the plates. “You sure? You cooked, the least we could do is clean.”

But Alfred took the plates to the sink, “While the gesture is appreciated I’ve had my own way of doing things around here for years and will continue to do so for as long as I am able.”

Once again Terry was slightly disappointed, he didn’t think he had earned Mr. Pennyworth approval yet. “If you’re sure. Oh, and thanks for breakfast Mr. Pennyworth it was the best.” But as he turned to leave he heard the old Butler say, “You are quite welcome master Terry and please call me Alfred everyone around here does.” And Terry caught what looked like a hint of a smile on the older man’s face before he turned away. It seems as if he had made a good impression after all. And he had a strange feeling that Alfred’s approval might be more valuable than Batman’s in this house.

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Bruce emerged from the bat cave about an hour later. He stayed just long enough to check on Tim and grab a quick bite to eat, taking a large mug of coffee with him before he descended back down to the caves below. By then Tim was up, and after Alfred had taken him his breakfast Terry and Dick decided to check up on him as well.

The boy still looked pale and there was still a hint of green in his hair but the medication seemed to be doing its job and he was on the road to recovery. He was already asking to get out of bed but Batman had already told him no with Alfred and Dick agreeing wholeheartedly. Dick and Terry kept the younger boy company but it was clear he was more bored than anything else so they promised to bring him some books to read. He asked for his laptop as well but for that they would need Bruce’s approval for that. Terry was in the middle of telling his ‘Batman and Nightwing walk into a bar’ joke when there was a knock on the door.

“Pardon the intrusion but there is a young lady here who is anxious to see Master Timothy.” Alfred gave a quick but subtle gesture which Terry recognized. The person outside was a Cape. Terry looked to Dick ; he wasn't sure if anyone else was allowed to see him or if he was allowed to see anybody else. Dick looked from Terry to Tim and decided it was all right. Alfred nodded and a few moments later the door opened revealing a young black haired girl with glasses and a red jacket.

Her eyes went straight to Tim, she had a mixture of worry and relief all in one single look. It also looked like she wanted to run right towards the boy but seeing Terry in the room she hesitated. “Hi, I’m a… friend of Tim’s, a pen pal really. Are you a… friend of his too?”

They were now both looking at Dick as if waiting for him to say it was okay to talk to each other. “It’s all right Cassie, this is Terry and he’s one of us.”

Cassie looked relieved but still a little confused. “One of us as in…”

“He’s a bat.” Tim confirmed, turning her confusion now to surprise.

“Really? There’s more of you?” She said, now turning her attention to Terry.

But Terry decided that the less she knew the better, at least for now. “It’s complicated and classified.”

The girl didn’t seem to take offense and nodded, not asking him any more questions. She reached up and removed her glasses and black wig revealing long blonde hair underneath. Now that she knew she was among friends she didn’t hesitate to rush over to her boyfriend's side.

“Oh God Tim, are you all right? I was so worried, we all were.” Tim’s mood seemed to have lightened up considerably now that his tall blonde girlfriend was at his bedside stroking his still slightly green hair.

“I’m all right Cass, they got me out before anything serious happened.” But even with Tim’s reassurance Cassie could see the monitors and the anti-Joker medicine flowing into his arm through an IV line and knew his recovery wasn’t going to happen overnight.

“It’s just… I keep thinking about what happened to Wally, and when you went missing I thought…” As the young couple tried to reassure themselves that everything was going to be okay Terry noticed that Dick flinched and turned away when she had mentioned Wally. Has something happened to the speedster? But, that didn’t make any sense, Wally West was alive in his time. Come to think about it, the girl who was cooing over Tim right now was different from the woman that he married in his timeline. Did he set something off when he first arrived causing serious harm to Wally West? And what about Tim’s future children? Would they still exist now that Tim was dating somebody else or would he meet his future wife later? He has so many questions and new worries he just wished he could talk with somebody about this but unless he ran into another time traveler it wasn’t much of an option.

“Robin! Buddy, amigo you’re okay!” The entire room spun around at the sound of a new voice that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Standing by the closed-door was a young teenage boy in a yellow and red Flash-like suit with his brown hair sticking out on top. One moment he was there, the next he seemed to disappear and reappear at Tim's bed. “But are you really all right? Your skin looks a little pale and your hair looks a little green. Do you remember who I am? If you feel the urge to laugh, hold it in buddy, hold it in!”

But while Tim Terry and Cassie stared at the boy slightly dumbfounded, Nightwing stood up and grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him away.”Im-I mean Kid Flash what the hell are you doing here dressed like that!?”

The rest of the room shuddered slightly at the angry tone in his voice while the other boy looked slightly scared and nervous. “I know you sent a message saying that Robin was okay but I needed to see just how okay he was because you know how bats are ‘I’m fine’ and ‘I’m okay’ doesn’t always mean that you’re really okay, you know.” The kid was speaking so quickly Terry was straining to hear what the younger boy was saying.

But Nightwing didn’t let the other boy go. “I mean, what are you doing here in uniform, using your speed in Gotham, and addressing your out-of-uniform teammates by their hero names?”

The boy was now fidgeting under Nightwing’s bat-glare. Terry could definitely see Batman’s influence in that instance. “But I was moving too quickly for anybody to really see me and everyone in the house knows me so what’s the big deal? Oh, hi Cassie. She’s here too, why aren’t you yelling at her?”

“Cassie came in disguise and didn’t blurt out our secret identities to everyone in the room.” Cassie stood up and put her hands on her hips.

“I also took three buses and switched cabs like half a dozen times to make sure I wasn’t being followed.” She glanced back at Tim. “That was the right protocol wasn’t it?”

Tim smiled back at her. “A little extreme but yes Batman would approve. It’ll be easier once we set up a cover for you and Tim Drake though.” Cassie beamed at the praise but Nightwing was still angry.

“I don’t care if our identities were compromised in the future you came from. Right here and right now they need to remain secret, lives depend on it, not just our own.” It was only now that kid flash saw that Terry was also in the room.

“Ah…” He said nervously finally realizing that he may have made a huge mistake. “Hi there.” He turned back to Nightwing looking sheepish. “So who’s your new friend?”

“Someone who we can safely talk around but any one of Tim’s civilian friends could have been here visiting. You can’t keep showing up at our home in uniform or using your speed.”

Kid Flash looked back at Terry now, more curious than before. “So is he a…” But instead of using the word bat he put his fingers up by the sides of his head not so subtly making little bat-ears.

Nightwing rolled his eyes but confirmed that yes Terry was a bat. “And his status is classified but there could have been anybody in here with us, you need to follow protocol.” But Nightwing’s lecture was only half heard as he vibrated himself out of Nightwing's grip and sped around Terry trying to get a good look at him.

“You sure he’s a bat? Because he's old to be-but it’s too soon for-no it can’t be him he’s supposed to be black so who is this one?” The kid said his voice speeding up again as he whirled around Terry again and again. Suddenly the younger boy stopped and looked Terry directly into the eye, paused for a moment and then his eyes shot open. ”You’re from the future like me, but you’re from a different timeline that so crash!” Terry blinked in surprise, apparently this was the other time traveler Nightwing had mentioned. What was his name? Bart something? But how did he know Terry was a time traveler just by looking at him? Before he could even respond Nightwing had grabbed the kid again quickly losing his patients.

“What part of classified don’t you understand? You need to start thinking about your actions before you do them. Trust me, if Batman is the one giving you this lecture he’s not going to be nearly as nice as I am. Are you even listening to me?” But once again Bart seemed to be in his own little world looking back and forth at the occupants of the room and muttering to himself so quickly Terry was only able to catch a few words and phrases.

“… Interfered changing….. But then Wally…… New bat…. Joker Junior…. Too early….. Wrong order…. Will it still happen?” Once again the small speedster had vibrated out of Nightwing’s grip and was now vibrating so fast that the older man was no longer able to hold him still.

“Kid Flash, Bart, you have to slow down! I’m sorry I yelled but you need to calm down!” Nightwing tried frantically to calm the younger speedster but he was going too fast to even hear Nightwing’s warning.

“Too fast….. Not fast enough…. Could still happen….. Can’t stop it can’t stop it…… Need…. Here don’t…… Disappear….. Need him……” Nightwing was scared that the speedster was going too fast to stop.

“Bart, you need to slow down right now!”

“No no no stop stop stop!”

“BART!” And finally Bart vibrated so fast that he actually fell through the floor sliding right out of Nightwing’s fingers.

The occupants of the room stared at the empty spot where Bart Allen had just been. Cassie was the one who finally broke the silence.

“Ah, what just happened?” Tim leaned over to try to get a closer look.

“I think he vibrated through the floor.” Cassie looked worried.

“But where did he stop? We’re a few floors up but what if he’s stuck below the house? Do you guys have a basement?” Tim, Terry, and Dick looked at each other then back to the spot on the floor. They quickly realized what underground structure was directly below Tim’s room.

“Well it’s not exactly a basement.” Terry said all the while wondering if anybody was going to go down and see just where Bart had ended up.

And then it clicked. Cassie realized just what else was under the house. “You don’t think he fell all the way to the-“

Just then there was a slight knock on the door and Alfred asked to be let in. ”Forgive the intrusion but I heard shouting. Is everything all right?“ But he was interrupted by a yellow and red streak behind him that ran through the house in a panic, down the stairs and through the front door.

“-Batcave.” Cassie finished unnecessarily. And then suddenly there was another blur, this one with more red than yellow and much taller.

“Hey guys, has anybody seen Impl-I mean Kid Flash? I told him not to come here but he snuck out. Oh, hey Robin, are you feeling okay?” Terry resisted the urge to laugh as Nightwing face palmed clearly frustrated.

He was spared giving another lecture however when a dark figure in a black flowing cape appeared behind The Flash. “Allen!” The Flash spun around and yelped in surprise seeing the Dark Knight right behind him.

“I thought I told you and that boy not to use your powers around here or show up in costume unless it was an emergency!” What followed was a very unpleasant lecture that led to Batman practically dragging Barry Allen down to the bat cave for a more “private” chat.

Back in Tim’s room Cassie was fidgeting nervously. “Well Nightwing, when you said you were going easy on Bart I thought you were kidding. Not so much now.” Nightwing sighed again, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

“I had better get down there to run damage control. It never looks good when Batman sends a League member back in tears.” But Cassie was still fidgeting, unsure if she was in trouble or not.

“Maybe I should go. I'm not technically supposed to be here even if I did follow protocol.” Tim put his hand on hers.

“Don’t worry Batman’s more mad at the Flashes than you at the moment. It can take a while for Batman to chew out The Flash, he should calm down by then.” His words weren’t exactly reassuring and her face showed it because he also added, “But it probably would be best if you left. I appreciate you coming to see me though. Just let the rest of the team know I’m okay so we don’t have Batman putting up electrified fences and a moat.” Alfred stepped forward and presented to Cassie with her jacket.

“If you follow me Miss I can lead you to the backup Zeta-tube so you do not have to use multiple cabs to return home.” Cassie smiled as she put her glasses and wig back on.

“Thanks Mr. Pennyworth I appreciate it.”

“Not at all miss. Besides, you wouldn’t be the first young lady I’ve had to escort out of this house to avoid the wrath of a certain bat.” He said with a smile and a gleam in his eye as he looked directly at Dick who in turn blushed and looked away a bit sheepish.

‘Oh yeah.’ Terry thought lightly ribbing Dick. ‘Definitely best to stay on Alfred's good side.’

Before she left however, Nightwing asked her to keep whatever she heard in this room confidential. He also asked if she could talk to Miss Martian and see if she could locate Bart before he spread the story too far, did something stupid or just need someone to talk to.

But this puzzled Terry. He had never heard of anybody called Miss Martian before, there wouldn’t be since J'onn J'onzz was the last survivor of his home planet. Perhaps he had taken up a sidekick and she wasn’t active long enough for Batman to have a file on her. Or he simply could have hidden more encrypted files on his computer, it wouldn’t be the first time he had tried to hide things from Terry that way.

But there was another thing that was bothering him. It was the fact that The Flash should have been Wally West not Barry Allen. Barry Allen was supposed to have been deceased and Wally West had taken up the mantle of The Flash when the Justice League was first formed. Then again, that other speedster, Bart, was supposedly a time traveler as well. He was saying something about changing the past but he couldn’t make out what it was. Did he save Barry Allen and as a result Wally West wasn’t The Flash yet? But the way the other heroes talked about him made it sound like he was dead. Was that the change Bart was talking about? If so then Terry was really screwed if two time travelers were both meddling with the time stream. It’s a wonder he hadn’t faded from existence yet. But there were still too many questions and he wasn’t sure who or how to ask them without breaking protocol more than he already had.

After Alfred had escorted Cassie out he had shown Terry and Dick from the room telling them that Tim still needed his rest and that hyperactive speedsters were not a good way to get any. Terry was starting to really like Alfred.

Nightwing headed downstairs to try and rescue The Flash leaving Terry with nothing to do. So for the next few hours he was in the gym getting a proper workout. He was so focused he almost didn’t see Nightwing standing at the door simply watching Terry on the rings. Terry couldn’t help but put a little extra flair in his routine and when he jumped from the rings and landed perfectly.

Dick applauded, he was always a fan of showmanship. Terry would’ve liked to have done more to show off in front of the other boy but he sensed that he had come to speak with him for a reason.

“So I see you’re not missing any limbs, how about Flash?”

“Well he didn’t leave crying but I think Bart’s the one in for a double lecture this time I doubt we’ll be seeing either one of them back here anytime soon.”

“Just how much trouble is the kid in?” Terry felt a little sorry for him.

“Well the biggest argument between Batman and The Flash was that Bart needed more training for the present. He might be off the roster for a little while but he is still on the team. I also convinced Batman that if he wanted to avoid a slew of superheroes and their sidekicks invading our home that we should move Tim to the Watchtower for the remainder of his recovery. ”

Terry raised an eyebrow. “I’m a little surprised he agreed to that.”

“I have my ways. Say, I was going to go and say hi to someone and thought I’d ask if you want to come along.”

“Are you sure Bruce would allow that?” Terry asked with a bit of concern but Nightwing assured him it was okay. After taking a quick shower and changing into some clean clothes Terry followed Dick not to the car but outside to the Wayne family graveyard. It was obvious now that Dick wanted to say hi to somebody who is no longer among the living but who? He knew the Grayson’s were buried in a different cemetery and Dick did not strike him as a person that would visit Bruce’s parents' graves without a special occasion.

Terry was getting more and more uneasy and was seeing so many inconsistencies in the time stream lately. Did he really change that much or did the other time traveler change them first? And there was another thing that was bothering him. From what he learned from Mr. Grayson in his time he and Bruce were essentially at each other’s throats and only tolerated each other’s presence when they were searching for Tim Drake. But he didn’t get that impression from the young man standing next to him. He seemed to respect Batman’s wishes and there seemed to be more of a family aspect with the other members of the house then he would’ve imagined. Did they keep all their fighting behind closed doors? That didn’t seem right either.

Terry looked up and actually recognized the area where Dick was heading. This was in fact the area where Martha and Thomas Wayne were buried but Dick simply made a little nod to the gravestones and walked past them stopping in front of a grave just to the right of Bruce’s parents.

While Dick went to make a heartfelt confession at the grave Terry felt his blood run cold. This is wrong, this should not be here. He’d been to the spot many times before in his time this grave site should be empty now waiting for Alfred Pennyworth more than 20 years down the road. But the name on the grave read Jason Todd. This didn’t make any sense, he didn’t know anybody named Jason Todd in his time he had certainly never seen that name mentioned anywhere in Bruce’s files. Not to mention Bruce would never have moved anybody’s grave and placed somebody else here in their stead. Suddenly he remembered the other locked door with the initials J. T.

He stepped back as if he had been slapped, the realization staring him right in the face. Someone else had been living in the manner. Someone very close to Bruce and apparently to Dick as well. He didn’t know how long he had been staring at the grave that should not have been there but then he became aware that Dick was trying to get his attention.

“Terry! Hey Terry, are you okay?” Terry shook his head, he was not okay, this was all wrong, this should not be here. Slowly he turned to Dick and asked the question that he had been fearing the answer to.

“The other time traveler, when did he arrive?” Nightwing thought for a moment before answering.

“Less than a year ago, why?” But the date on the grave said that the man-no boy buried here had died more than two years ago. So this wandering grave was not the result of the other time traveler.

Nightwing grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look him in the eye. “Terry what’s wrong? Please tell me.”

Terry took a deep breath and asked three more questions hoping that Nightwing would answer them correctly. “Dick, how many Martians are currently on earth?” Dick was only getting more confused by Terry's strange questions and was a little hesitant to answer them but Terry seemed so shocked and scared that he felt he had to.

“Well technically there are three, why do you want to know?” ‘Wrong answer’ Terry thought, shaking his head. They should only be one if any at all, he wasn’t even sure of Martian Man Hunter’s status off the top of his head.

“Next question: who was The Flash when the Justice League first formed?” Again Nightwing wasn’t liking this strange line of questioning especially to questions Terry should already know the answers to.

“Barry Allen, but you just saw him a few hours ago, again why?” ‘Wrong again’ Terry thought, now starting to panic. Wally West was the first Flash for the Justice League. Barry Allen was already deceased by then and if the time traveler had just arrived less than a year ago this wouldn’t be something he could’ve changed.

“Terry, you're starting to scare me, what’s going on?” Dick pressed on still not taking his hand off of Terry's shoulder.

Terry looked Dick in the eye, “Just one more question and then I’ll know just how much trouble I’m in. How many Robin’s have there been?”

This is one question Dick was very hesitant to answer. He was standing right in front of his brother’s grave after all and all of these were simple questions Terry should know the answers to right away. But there is something in Terry’s eyes that told them he needed to know and Dick needed to answer correctly.

Meeting Terry’s gaze he answered, ”There were three. I was first, Jason was the second, and Tim is the third. Now what’s going on?” Terry would’ve fallen to the ground if Dick hadn’t been so close to catch him. Wrong, all wrong. There were only two Robins; Dick, and Tim. There was never a Robin by the name of Jason Todd and if he had died in battle there was no way Bruce would’ve moved his grave.

He had his answer, it was right in front of him all along. Truthfully he should’ve realized this when he had first arrived in the past. Time Code had said that the machine wasn’t ready and Terry’s interference had messed it up and that it shouldn’t have worked and shouldn’t have sent him to the past. He didn’t question it when it did work or at least when he thought it did. He was in the past but it wasn’t his past. He was also in another dimension altogether. He looked back up at Dick his eyes more haunted than ever. “I think I’m a little further away from home than I realized.”

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Worlds Away

 

Earth 12:

Bruce Wayne the once mighty and infamous Dark Knight, Caped Crusader, or simply the Batman stared at the monitor in front of him feeling utterly powerless. Back in his prime when he was still Batman he was many things but powerless was never one of them. Even fighting alongside his fellow super-powered heroes everyone was quick to realize that while he may not have any superpowers he was never powerless. But after his current protégé had been shoved through a portal to an unknown world, powerlessness was all he felt. The blasted machine that Timecode had used to try and escape back to his time wasn’t made right to begin with and since Terry fell through the portal while it was still broken the villain could have sent him just about anywhere. So no amount of interrogation or even mind reading was going to tell him where Terry was.

And so Bruce Wayne, the former Batman, was forced to call for help. And Batman never liked to call for help unless it was absolutely necessary, this was one of those times.

“Oh, now I see what he was trying to do but then why did he use an interlocking mechanism when a bilateral circuit would’ve been so much more effective?” Bruce’s guest mumbled to himself as he had been doing for the last few hours while examining Timecode’s device.

“Have you found out anything?” Bruce called out to his younger companion, making him snap out of his train of thought and sit up, a little too quickly.

“I think I’ve officially found a brand-new arch nemesis- OUCH!” The man exclaimed, hitting his head on the underside of the machine he was working on. “Can you have an arch nemesis if you’ve never actually met them?”

“Focus Gear.” Bruce said his voice a little gruff with irritation. Richard Hawkins formally Richard Foley a.k.a. Gear was possibly the smartest person on the planet but his rambling could easily get on anyone’s nerves.

“You know, we’re all alone in the Bat Cave right now and we’re both out of uniform. You could just call me Richie, or Richard if you still think that’s too juvenile.” To most people Bruce’s face appeared to have remained emotionless but Richie saw the little twitch in his eye when he mentioned Richard.

“Gear is fine.” Bruce stated.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with my first name being the same as Di-“

“Gear is fine.” He said more sharply effectively ending the conversation before it began. “Give me a status update.”

Richie sighed but let it pass, he was here for a whole different problem. “Well, our boy Timecode made a real mess, a real dangerous mess. His old time machine, the one that sent Virgil to the future 40 years ago, was originally meant as a one-way trip. He couldn’t get around the paradox problem so he felt that by simply only sending criminals forward and not back he could get around that. And he did, in a way, but when he sent himself into the future to escape from justice he found it much more difficult to return home to the past. In other words, the math he used in the programming was horrible at best. He’s lucky it worked at all, it could have easily torn a hole in the time stream. Even with unlimited materials he simply didn’t have the right calculations to get himself back to the past without creating a paradox.”

“You didn’t seem to have too much of a problem when you were 15 years old.” Bruce commented recalling the reason he called Gear here in the first place.

“I also remember after getting Virgil back home you gave me a very stern lecture on never playing with time travel again, even though you were the one who asked for my help. And here we are again. Funny isn’t it?”

Bruce’s growl reminded him that he was getting off track. “Anyway, after practically rewriting the laws of quantum physics, and not being able to publish any of it, we were able to avert a time paradox by making sure that we were prepared 40 years later when Virgil would once again come to our time.”

“Yet I seem to recall him mentioning something about you gaining weight.”

“Ah, but that was one of the more brilliant parts of my plan! Virgil didn’t actually meet me in person because you sent me on an errand that turned out to be a wild goose chase, thanks for that by the way. So once I invented the holograph Shock Voxes I programmed them to show myself as overweight if anyone tampered with them. This way I get to keep my six-pack,” which he said patting himself on the stomach proudly. “And it helped catch several bad guys since we knew that fat Richie was a fake Richie. All done paradox free.”

“That’s all well and good,” Bruce said, rising from his chair and walking towards Richie. “But how does any of this help us find where Terry went?”

“That’s the tricky part.” Richie rubbed his eyes, he had been staring at a screen too long again. “Because Timecode’s paradox equations were so off he never would’ve made it into the past even if it was working perfectly. Time traveling is very tricky especially if anything is changed. Things are changed, you create paradoxes, these paradoxes could either rip holes in the time stream, create false memories of a time that never existed, even create entirely new worlds altogether or in some cases can even destroy the old world by making even the simplest of changes. And those are just some of the risks.”

Richie’s revelations were nothing new, it was something Batman had had to live with ever since Lord Chronos had been screwing around with the time stream back when he was still younger and still Batman. He remembers coming to a time when Gotham looked just like this and meeting his future self and the future Batman a.k.a. Terry McGinnis. But no one besides him and John Stuart remembered the events that nearly destroyed their entire world. He could never be sure if this world was actually still the original or if it was an entirely new one that wiped out the old. His best hope is that the memories were a false one that was created after he fixed Chronos’s device but he can’t be certain and he may never be certain. But he pushed the thought aside and focused on the mission at hand, bringing Terry home.

“I know all of that but what I need to know is, where is Terry and can you bring him home?” Gear didn’t answer right away he ran a hand through his hair as if thinking how to phrase his answer.

“I’m not going to lie to you Bruce, your new Batman is... I’m trying to think of a more polite word than ``screwed.”

“I didn’t bring you here just for you to tell me that there’s nothing you can do. I brought you here to help me find Terry.”

“You don’t understand Bruce, I’m not saying I can’t fix this, I’m not even saying I can’t get him home but the problem is he could be anywhere within the DCU, countless worlds each of them with almost infinite alternates. I could be looking for 100 lifetimes and still never find him.”

“What do you mean by DCU?”

“Well in multiverse theory DC is our sector, the “U” stands for universe. A while back somebody tried to categorize the different Earths with a prime Earth that supposedly is where all other Earths, at least for our sector, were born. Think of it as a seed, it grows stems and roots, each stem grows into a branch, each branch grows twigs, each twig grows leaves, the leaves bear fruit, the fruit bears seeds and the process just keeps going on and on until the end of time. It’s been theorized that there is an “Earth Zero '' or Earth Prime, where every single Earth exists but none are real, they simply exist in the form of fiction. That’s one theory anyway, no one’s ever been to Earth Zero and returned to tell about it.

“Earth One is the mainline, one that is constantly changing and has even reset more than once. Only a few years ago someone tried to change the past in the mainline and it set off a flashpoint paradox with the changes radiated not just after the change but before as well. They managed to fix it, sort of, but there was still a lot of damage left. Earth One is still the mainline but everything changed, people’s histories, origins, personalities, races, thought patterns, everything. New heroes were made, some survived others died and some just simply ceased to exist. It may be Earth One but everybody calls it the 52’s. Supposedly because there were 52 different stories going on or took 52 weeks for this to be created, or someone could have just been playing poker I’m not entirely sure.” Bruce didn’t like hearing about problems in the mainline, trouble tended to flow from it.

“And our world was compromised by this as well?”

“Not as much as some other worlds, we were lucky, we weren’t very close to the mainline and Earth 12 wasn’t affected as much.” Gear reassured him.

“So that’s where we are, Earth 12?” he had always wondered.

“Tactically we are in DCAU Earth 12 A FF X #9442372-

“I get the point.” He knew that number was a lot longer but didn’t really need to hear the whole thing.

“Anyway the number of numbered Earths and even each lettered Earth we’ve been able to catalog and confirmed are in the thousands, all have infinite numbers of Earths or alternate dimensions that spawned from them like that old tree branch scenario I was just telling you about. Take the Justice Lords for example, that was an alternate world based on the main Earth 12’s A line.”

Bruce frowned, “I would’ve thought the Justice Lord’s world was an entirely different world than our line.”

“Nope, it was just an alternate version where several things happened differently that led to the heroes of that world taking over. Now Earth Three, that dimension has all their morals reversed: good is bad, bad is good, the heroes are evil, and the villains are righteous. I sincerely hope he didn’t end up there, can you imagine what an evil Batman would be like?”

“I’m more worried about the current Earth One or the 52’s. I know enough about multiverse theory to know that the current mainline tends to bleed into other worlds and I take it from your description that the current Earth one is not very pleasant.”

“That would be an understatement, but yes, elements from that world could cross into others more easily than most making even more worlds for Terry to get lost in. Do you see what I’m trying to say here Bruce?”

“The way I see it you have to narrow your search pattern. You don’t seem to think he’s gone out of our sector DC, find out what the device is capable of, and find out as far he could have gone, from there it’ll be easier to narrow down.”

Richie put a hand on his chin, he seemed to be deep in thought. “I guess we could use the Dr. Seuss method.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow, “And that would be…”

“The way to find a missing something is to find out where it’s not. But Bruce, that’s still going to take up a lot of time and I can’t be sure if the world he’s stuck in is going faster or slower than ours. He could be there for years and here it might only be a few days or vice versa.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Richie sighed as he looked over at the device and fought the urge to kick it. “I suppose if I got Timecode’s notes I might be able to figure out where he went wrong and narrow the search a bit more.”

Bruce nodded, going over to retrieve them. “They’re here in the lab. I've also got the recording Terry used before he cut off communications. It’s not much, but we’ve worked with less.”

Richie still looked less than enthusiastic about the prospect of once again rebuilding a broken Time Machine that had turned into a dimensional portal generator. “When I was a kid, just starting out as Virgil’s sidekick-I mean partner, we both looked up to a lot of heroes but Batman was always my favorite. It wasn’t because you were the infamous Dark Knight or even because you had no superpowers and had to rely on your brains, it was because you seemed to be able to do the impossible. That’s essentially what you are asking me to do right now. The amount of work, time, and luck I’m going to need to even attempt to pull this off is just blowing my mind, and that’s saying something.” Richie looked almost disappointed at his own realization. “This really is impossible and I’m not Batman.”

Bruce looked at the younger man already in his mid-50s, his blonde hair dyed to hide the gray but they could still be seen in his eyebrows. He had no part in mentoring Gear or Static; he just kept an eye on them as they learned the ropes for themselves. But that didn’t stop him from silently encouraging them on the right path. Bruce Wayne awarded both of them scholarships to fine schools and awarded Richie with the internship at Wayne Tech Industries after he graduated from MIT after barely 2 years. It proved a useful investment much of Batman’s modern technology was based or realized on gears designs and knowhow. He left when Powers took over even though he was offered a small fortune to stay.

It was important to Bruce that this smart mind was given a proper outlet, too many other brilliant scientists became criminals or used their knowledge in ways they never should have. Richard Foley was one of the few that never swayed and it was why he was asking this brilliant young man to do something no one had ever done before. He gave Dick and Tim all the training he could but in the end he failed them. He kept his distance with Virgil and Richie and they flourished. It wasn’t fair, but few things in life were. But one thing was for sure, he wasn’t going to lose another partner.

“You’re right, you’re not Batman, but I don’t need Batman right now I need Gear. Everything is impossible until it’s done once. That’s how I made the impossible happen, I did things nobody else had and I pushed myself beyond my limits. Now it’s your turn.”

Richie stated at the man he had idolized for years. Bruce Wayne, Batman thought he could do this, there was no hesitation or wavering in his voice and that 14-year-old kid inside of him was both jumping for joy and praying he wouldn’t let his personal favorite hero down.

He looked back at the machine and then back to Bruce Wayne. “I’d better call my husband and tell him I have another special commission job.” Which was code for superhero IT work.

Bruce nodded, “Tell Virgil it might be a long job.”

“Oh believe me, I know this is going to be a long job. I was kind of hoping he’d come over to help, the more people searching the better the odds.”

Bruce frowned at that. While he knew Gear could benefit from additional help there were very few people with the knowledge and the clearance to actually assist him. Bruce may be an old war horse but he was a very unpopular one. He had burned a lot of bridges over the years and there was one thing he was never very good at, apologizing. Especially when he was right, not a lot of people wanted to hear the truth and when he was at fault he certainly didn’t want to admit it. Virgil Hawkins a.k.a. Static Shock was not very happy with him mainly because the last job he had asked Richard to do kept him away from home for quite a while. This time would be even longer.

“Hey Virg… Yeah another special commission project… Oh nothing big, Bruce is just asking me to rewrite the laws of quantum physics again.”

Bruce had a sick feeling in his gut that his once solitary quiet cave was about to get a lot more crowded.

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Earth 16:

Terry sat on a chair in the Bat Cave nursing a couple of chamomile tea. Normally he preferred coffee but after realizing he had just jumped dimensions with no feasible way of returning home he needed something to calm his nerves. Dick had been with him most of the time only disappearing every now and then to inform Batman of the new situation. Bruce was not going to be happy about this.

Terry glanced up at the glass case that held the uniform of the second Robin, Jason Todd, who died at the hands of the Joker. He couldn’t help but wonder what else was different in this world. It seems so similar when he first got here by now the differences were glaring. He felt so stupid for not realizing that the Time Machine shouldn’t have worked or least questioned why it did.

He looked away from the case and suddenly Batman and Nightwing were at his side. He didn’t hear them come in but he had been a little distracted. Nightwing glanced between his mentor and his new friend and decided to break the ice.

“It’s going to be all right Terry will figure this out.” Terry raised an eyebrow as if he was unable to believe that any one person could have that much optimism. “I didn’t say it was going to be easy. Let’s just start with protocol.”

Terry groaned and put down his teacup. “Yeah, since the protocol for time travel is to keep your mouth shut while dimensional travel you have to give as much information as possible. Slag I’ve lost so much time!”

Batman was unfamiliar with the word “slag” but after years of having Dick make up his own words and have them catch on he was used to it. He did suspect it was a curse though.

“Then let’s not waste any more. The Justice League has been analyzing the data from your suit when you first came over and we have a theory.”

Terry perked up at this, any theory was worth listening to. “A good theory or a bad theory?”

“A possible helpful one. From what we’ve gathered we suspect that you landed in the right place and time, just the wrong world.”

“How is that helpful?”

“It means that despite how different our worlds were, there was something that connected them. The machine couldn’t go directly back into the past, so it veered off but it still searched for something close enough to its original destination.”

Terry thought for a moment then his eyes widened in realization. ”The Joker kidnapping Robin!”

Batman nodded. “That’s what we suspect at least. We believe that your world and ours shared this event and that’s why you ended up here.”

Terry tried not to get too hopeful it was only a theory after all but it was the best one they had. “If that’s the case then I’m going to need to tell you everything about what happened to Tim in my world.” Terry glanced at Nightwing and saw he was shifting uncomfortably but made no moves to exit the room.

“Keep in mind I don’t know all the details, just what I’ve heard from the people in my world. My Bruce covered the event up pretty good and there were no files for me to look into later. I should also warn you that this event didn’t just hurt Tim, it affected everybody.” Terry looked directly at Dick as he said the last part but the other man didn’t waver.

“I know this isn’t going to be easy to hear,” said Dick trying to reassure Terry, “but it’s in your past and you’ve made a change for the better here. I want to help you, we want to help you.” Dick announced as he stood by his mentor who placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulders. The image was meant to be supportive but it just made Terry feel sad. The dynamic duo no longer stood together in his world, they haven’t for a long time. Maybe this world would be different or maybe it was just too soon, he hoped it was the former.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Someone Else’s Future

 

Terry was glad that only Batman and Nightwing were here to listen to his origin story. This might be a little too traumatizing for Tim. He just finished up telling the former dynamic duo about how his father worked for Bruce’s old company and stumbled upon Powers’ plot to make nerve gas and how that secret had led to his murder. He told them how he had discovered Bruce’s identity as the former Batman and how after asking for his help and being turned down he stole the bat suit and made his debut as the new Batman. He told them about the basic stuff like a few of his new recurring villains, the fate of some of their old ones and finally about the Bat family’s last stand.

“Keep in mind half of what I know is only verified by Barbara Gordon and a few tidbits from Bruce. I didn’t even know about Dick Grayson’s involvement until I met up with him almost a year later.”

Both the current Batman and Nightwing nodded in encouragement waiting for Terry to tell the tale even though they knew it wasn’t going to be pleasant.

“In my time we were having issues with this new mysterious villain and his henchmen. He knew a lot more than your average villain about both Bruce and myself but while we’re investigating, the boss himself crashed a party we were attending. To everyone’s surprise, especially Bruce's, it was the Joker himself. After that Bruce was trying to deny that it was the real Joker then tried to have me hang up my cowl. I wasn’t getting any answers from him and so I went to Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon for a better explanation.”

Dick didn’t interrupt but he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Barbara as the new commissioner for Gotham. He knew she’d do a good job.

“She told me how a long time ago Robin, Tim Drake, went out alone on patrol as Robin and never came back. Batman of course investigated but this time the Joker covered his tracks. Usually he likes to be found but this time he took his time. Tim was missing for weeks without so much as a lead. Nightwing had come in to help even though at the time he and Bruce barely talked to each other.”

Dick frowned at the thought. Sure he and Bruce fought sometimes but what kid didn’t fight with their parents every now and then. Even though they argued about him joining the Police Academy there was still no doubt in his mind that Bruce cared. He couldn’t help but wonder what happened to their counterparts in Terry’s world to break up such a partnership.

“I don’t know when it happened exactly but while he was in the Joker’s clutches Tim finally broke and told the Joker all of Batman’s secrets. Secrets that the Joker used to tear the Bat family apart even further. He had managed to kidnap Alfred and was threatening him with the machine gun. Nightwing and Batman went to rescue him but it had been a long time since Bruce had worked with Dick and he forgot one of his oldest roles, never stand in front of your partner. Nightwing was in pursuit when Bruce jumped ahead of him blocking his view with his cape and the Joker opened fire.”

Terry had to look away at the shocked expression from Batman. He was hard to read if you didn’t know how but Terry knew this was very upsetting. He wished he didn’t have to continue because this was just going to get worse.

“Nightwing was hurt badly. Bruce managed to get him out of his suit and called for an ambulance but the Joker had taken Alfred and escaped forcing Bruce to pursue. He was able to save Alfred in the end but once again the Joker got away with Tim still in his custody.”

Terry paused for a minute wondering how much more he should tell when Batman spoke up.

“How badly was Nightwing injured?” Again you had to know how to read Bruce to catch any form of emotion but even if you didn’t you could tell he was very worried. Dick was still standing beside him, his face blank and emotionless as he waited to hear the fate of his counterpart.

“It was really bad, he lost an eye, has limited use of one arm, and to this day still has a bullet in his spine. He essentially had to relearn how to walk again. His days on the trapeze were over and he never put the uniform back on again.”

Terry couldn’t help but notice the subtle gesture in Batman’s hand almost as if he was going to put a hand on Dick’s shoulder for support but then thought better of it. He also saw Nightwing glance at Batman and the two had an almost inaudible conversation. Or perhaps they would simply talk about this in private later. Terry was only halfway done with a story after all.

“It was shortly after that the Joker sent Batman and Batgirl an invitation. He and Harley Quinn were waiting for them in the rundown ruins of the old Arkham Asylum building. That’s where he revealed the gruesome details about what he had done to Tim Drake. He had used stolen technology from Cadmus along with his own brand of Joker venom to mold the poor kid into a miniature version of himself. Tim was tortured, brainwashed, and essentially driven insane at the hands of that monster.

“During the fight Harley fell off a long side of the building and while her body was never found she was presumed dead. As for the Joker, he tried to get Tim Drake to shoot Batman but there was just enough of Tim Drake left to resist. But after such a long and painful ordeal the kid snapped, shot the Joker, and killed him instead.”

Batman and Nightwing were both silent but clearly distraught. Their Tim may have escaped this fate but it didn’t change the fact that this had happened to another version of someone they loved very much.

“It took Tim over a year in a psychiatric hospital to recover but Batman never took a partner again after that. Barbara took time off to help Tim but never went back out as Batgirl again either. Her father, the original Commissioner Gordon helped them cover up the incident but it left a stain on the family and was forever tainted after that. What they didn’t know at the time was that the Joker had inserted a microchip in the back of Tim’s head with his own DNA and memories that, over time, turned Tim Drake into the new Joker.”

Nightwing looked pale and spoke for the first time since the story started. “That was the information I found on the chip. If you hadn’t helped us when you did Tim might’ve… Dear God.”

Terry found it a little endearing that whether in the future or the past Dick Grayson always thought about others first. His future was painful and full of hardships but here he was focusing on his little brother. He hoped that this Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne wouldn’t have the same falling out as the ones in his world did. He could tell they still cared about each other even if time hadn’t healed old wounds.

“Back in my time the Joker had managed to break into the Bat cave and attacked Bruce, nearly killing him. I was on my own for most of the investigation after that but I did manage to find a clue that linked the Joker to Tim Drake and when I confronted him I found out that he was using Tim’s body to do his dirty work making him forget right afterwards. Tim had a history of mental illness after the incident so he never questioned any unusual nightmares or lingering gaps in his memory so no one caught on until it was almost too late. I barely managed to beat the Joker by frying the circuitry in Tim’s head and got him to a hospital. He’s okay now physically but no doubt this set him back quite a bit mentally.”

The room fell silent as Terry finished his tail. He hoped this was enough, Bruce had said the incident with the Joker and Tim Drake was a possible link between their worlds but then since he interfered did that interfere with the link as well? Finally Bruce spoke.

“That should be enough information for now. If all goes as planned we will be leaving for the Watchtower within the hour.” And without another word Bruce went further into the Bat cave.

Terry didn’t know what to make of it, it wasn’t unusual for Bruce to hide his emotions but it was almost like he was more disturbed by this then Terry thought he would be. But then again this Bruce was younger and also lost a Robin. Time could also be a factor.

He glanced at Nightwing who was looking a little pale. There was no doubt that Dick was disturbed by Terry’s story. “You want to head upstairs? I’m starting to get a little claustrophobic down here.” He said more for Dick’s benefit than his. Dick nodded and followed Terry up the stairs and behind the old grandfather clock. Alfred wasn’t in the kitchen but there was a hot plate of freshly baked cookies waiting for the two of them. Neither of them were very hungry.

Nightwing sat at the table, his chin resting in his hands and seemed to be deep in thought. Terry patiently waited for Dick to say something wanting to give the other boy a chance to digest all the information he had just learned.

“It must’ve been tough for Bruce,” Dick suddenly said. “Having two injured kids to worry about at the same time.” Terry couldn’t look Dick in the eye. There was a part of the story that he had left out hoping it wouldn’t come up.

But Dick was raised by the Batman; he could easily see Terry was trying to hide something. “So what happened after that? I know you said that my counterpart and Batman didn’t get along but I can’t see my other self trying to escape the manor if I was injured as badly as you said. I would think they would put their differences aside to help Tim recover.”

Again Terry looked away and a feeling of dread crept into Dick stomach. “What is it you’re not telling me?” Terry sighed and finally relented.

“Bruce sent Tim to recover in a private hospital, the best that money could buy. I don’t know how much he was involved with his recovery but Bruce cut off all communications with him even after he got better.”

Dick looked at Terry wide-eyed with disbelief. “That can’t be right. You said yourself you didn’t know the whole story. And I know for a fact that I would not have stood for any of that, ‘I need to stay away from my family to keep them safe’ bullshit!” Terry sighed again he had been hoping to avoid this.

“I know Mr. Grayson didn’t abandon Tim, he was the one that helped me find your counterpart. But after the incident Mr. Grayson officially cut himself off from Bruce entirely.” The look on Dick’s face was one of shock, disbelief, and anger.

“No, there’s no way I would just abandon Bruce without giving him a chance to explain... I know him, emotions are not his strong suit but even if his visits went poorly-“

“Bruce never came to visit.” Terry interrupted. “He sent Alfred with a replacement Nightwing suit but he never came to visit his Dick Grayson.” Terry didn’t expect Dick to pound the table so hard it almost cracked. He jumped back in surprise.

“You’re wrong, Bruce may be emotionally constipated but he wouldn’t just…” His voice was now a mixture of anger and hurt similar to the tone Mr. Grayson had when he first told Terry the story. “He wouldn’t just abandon his kids.” Terry came up and laid a hand on Dick’s shoulder. He stiffened a little but didn’t pull away.

“I don’t know what else to say, like you said I’ve only heard parts of the story and the gap that Bruce could fill he’s not filling.” Suddenly Dick stood up but kept his back to Terry.

“That may be your Bruce, but that’s not mine.” And without another word he marched upstairs presumably to visit Tim and prepare him for the temporary move to the watchtower. Terry wanted to follow but feared he might be intruding so he sat back down at the table and glared at the plate of cookies now cold on the table as if they were responsible for this mess.

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Alfred Pennyworth approached his long time employer and surrogate son who was seated at the Bat Computer multitasking. He frowned when he saw he was watching a recording of Dick and Terry having a conversation in the kitchen and frowned even more when he heard what they were arguing about.

“You do realize that when Master Dick discovers that you’ve been hiding recorders around the manor again he will not take it well.” Bruce stared at the monitor still watching as Dick left the room leaving Terry alone in the kitchen. “I know you are aware of this but Master Dick is correct, you and your counterpart are very different people.”

Alfred is probably the only one who could read Bruce’s emotions better than Dick and he could see him calculating and trying to find the reasoning behind his counterpart’s actions. He knew that if he let this continue Bruce would drive himself crazy.

“Might I recommend that you cease worrying about your counterpart’s past actions and focus on the task at hand. Master Timothy is still in need of recovery and seeing as how I just chased away a strange green bird from his window, I suggest we leave soon.”

Bruce groaned knowing that yet another meta had tried to sneak into his house. After Tim was secure he made a mental note to seriously increase security around the house. “Preparations are almost ready and after Tim is settled in I’m having a long talk with the team.”

“Very good sir, just please try not to scare them too much, they are only concerned about Master Timothy’s well-being.”

“If their concern is causing them to ignore the rules it creates a greater risk for all of us.” Bruce was silent for a moment before continuing. “There are too many involved as it is and too many people know too much.” Sensing what was really concerning Bruce Alfred once again offered his wisdom.

“If you are implying that your counterpart cut himself off from his entire family to spare them greater harm, I think you find that he was the one who wounded them the deepest. I know you’ll never make the same mistake, at least not as long as I am alive. And if you do and I am no longer here to remind you then I shall be forced to haunt you until your dying day.”

Bruce cracked the rare smile at his old friend, grateful for his guidance. Suddenly the program he was waiting on beeped, indicating it was complete. While overtime Bruce had learned to let people in he was still paranoid by nature. So far the DNA analysis he had run on Terry McGinnis had come up negative for any matches. He was not surprised by this and he was also not surprised to find no record of any possible mothers in this time. But what did surprise him was that a positive match came back for his father.

“Oh dear.” Alfred commented as he saw the name flashing across the screen.

Bruce Wayne 99.97% positive paternal match.

Bruce glared at the screen. Sometimes he wished his paranoia wasn’t always justified.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Trust is Like a Mirror

 

Terry had no idea what he did wrong but shortly after the argument with Dick in the kitchen the Batman, not Bruce, barely let him out of his sight. Terry tried asking what was wrong but only got a strange glare back. Not the usual Bat glare, this was something… different. It was part accusing, part curiosity, in part… something else that Terry couldn’t quite make out. He tried asking Dick if he had done anything wrong but the other young man simply shared his confusion.

Soon enough Tim was relocated to the Watchtower via something called a Zeta tube, something his boss would never allow in his cave, but as Terry was about to follow Batman stopped him.

“You need clearance to enter the Watchtower.” Again this just confused Terry who was under the impression that he already had it.

“Okay so just give me clearance and we can be on our way.” Batman’s stare lingered for a moment.

“It’s not that simple.” Now Terry was just getting irritated.

“Look, did I do something to upset you or make you suspicious? I’ve answered every question you’ve had for me, followed all your rules except the one which saved your kid. And since I haven’t been going around kicking puppies within the last hour I don’t know what suddenly changed. I thought we had trust.”

“So did I.” said Batman in a low cryptic voice.

“And what the slag is that supposed to mean?” Batman raises an eyebrow at the unusual slang phrase but continues to glare.

“You’ve been keeping something from me.” At this Terry went from angry to generally confused.

“And what exactly am I keeping from you? Granted I haven’t told you my whole life story but you’re going to have to be a little more specific.” But again Batman just stared at him as if the answer was obvious. Not getting the response he wanted, Batman waved his hand and a tall figure stepped out of the shadows. Standing before Terry was the legendary Martian Manhunter. He may not have met the hero in person but it didn’t take a genius to figure out why Batman had called him here.

“Wow, you really have trust issues. You’re so paranoid that you’ll have your friend force himself into my mind.” At this the Martian Manhunter raised a hand in a gesture meant to calm the boy down.

“No one is forcing you Terry but if you wish to enter the Watchtower we must make sure that you are not a threat.” Terry rolled his eyes then looked back to Nightwing who was silently watching the encounter.

“Nightwing, can you tell your boss that too much paranoia is not good for a person.” But instead of support Nightwing looked between his mentor and the Martian and lowered his eyes.

“I think….we should play it safe.” Terry felt like he had just been slapped in the face, he thought for sure Nightwing would be on his side. He only knew Mr. Grayson briefly in his world but he was already getting the impression that like Bruce, this Dick was a very different person.

“Fine.” He said in a bitter tone looking away from the other boy. “Since it’s three against one I guess I don’t have a choice in this matter.”

“You do have a choice, you can choose to say no.” Batman said in an even tone all the while watching to see how Terry would react.

“Oh, like I have any other option! I’m not nearly tech savvy enough to try and get myself home, any chance I have is up there.” He said, pointing up indicating the Watchtower. “You do realize that if you were in my position you would refuse and find a way up there yourself. Every Bat instinct of mine is telling me this is a very bad idea. You talk about trust but how do I know you’re all not secretly evil or trying to use my knowledge of the future for something. Trust is a two-way street Batman and so far I’m not getting very much.”

“Like I said, it’s your choice.” Batman said making it clear he was not changing his mind. Once again Terry was sure something had set him off but he still had no idea what. He didn’t like this, not one bit, but if ever wanted to get home and see his family again he had no choice.

“Fine, let’s just get this over with.” Terry said as he sat in the chair next to the large green alien. “Just to me one favor Mr. J'onzz.”

“You have a request?”

“Yeah, you have my permission to show Batman anything he wants.” Everyone in the room was a little surprised by this request including Batman. “Especially the part about him winding up an old, bitter and lonely old man.” And with that the room fell into silence as J'onn J'onzz got to work. It was a strange sensation for Terry to have somebody rifling through his thoughts. More than once he had to resist the urge to block him. The sensation didn’t feel invasive but it still made him feel vulnerable. In just a few minutes it was over and Terry sighed in relief.

“Happy now?” Terry said, getting up from his chair. Everyone looked expectantly at J'onn who seemed a little disturbed by what he saw. At first Terry was worried he might’ve seen the time he spent in juvenile hall but then it occurred to him if there were other Martians currently on this Earth then he would have known that the Martian Manhunter of his world was the sole survivor of Mars. If he had any loved ones they would be dead or never born. He wondered what else was different about the worlds that John saw.

Composing himself J'onn looked at Terry with an unreadable expression. “Thank you Terry, we will do our best to help return you to your home.” He then turned to Batman. “It is safe to allow him access, he has no ill intentions.”

‘Finally’, Terry thought. ‘All it took was risking my future, myself and having my mind put in a blender. Piece of cake.’

Nightwing walked up to the tube entrance and programmed the machine to allow Terry access. He turned to the other boy with a smile, one which Terry did not return.

“Look Terry, I’m sorry but we had to play it safe. It’s just-“ but Terry cut him off.

“No I get it, don’t trust anybody, don’t let anyone in, isn’t that the bat family motto?” Nightwing frowned, almost looking sad but Terry was still too angry to let it go just yet. “Guess that’s why you and Batman haven’t had a falling out yet. You’re both on the same page.” One look at Dick’s face and Terry knew he went too far but before he could try to apologize the Zeta tube opened and Nightwing stepped through.

“I… I’ll see you later Terry.”

“Nightwing wait, I-“ but he was already gone. “Slag it!” He was so distracted with Nightwing he almost missed what J'onn said to Bruce as he entered the Zeta Beam light.

“He does not know.” Was all he got before he vanished from the Batcave.

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There were many things Batman did not like. One of the biggest things on his list was surprises. He hated surprises and finding out that this hero from another dimension was his biological son really through him for a loop. If he thought he was unprepared when he decided to take in Dick he was even more unprepared now. He had no idea what to do with this information. Technically Terry was not his child he was the other Bruce’s but after years of rebuilding his family to suddenly find out that he had a blood relative left him very conflicted.

It wasn’t just the fact that Terry was his son but it seems as though Terry had lied about it and tried to hide the fact from him. He had told him that his father was murdered and he had only found out about Bruce being Batman by chance. That was either a lie or a very bizarre coincidence. And Batman did not believe in coincidences.

His story didn’t match up which made Bruce feel bitter and angry that he allowed Terry into his home so easily. He had truly wanted to trust the young man but now it seems he couldn’t. And he couldn’t allow Terry into the Watchtower until he knew for a fact that he posed no danger. He also didn’t like asking J'onn to find out Terry’s intentions but he needed to know the truth.

Of course Terry was angry and he was right, he himself would not allow someone to openly go through his mind like he was asking Terry to do. The boy is either a very good actor or sleeper agent but after the incident with Red Arrow everyone had to be extra cautious.

Once John was done he gave his okay. Bruce couldn’t help but wonder what he saw and what the real story was.

“He does not know.” John said as Terry and Dick left for the Watchtower bickering along the way. That just left them with more questions. How did Terry not know Bruce was his biological father? While he wouldn’t put it past his older self to possibly have a one night stand he was usually very cautious. But still accidents can happen and if the mother never told him or told him not to interfere then he supposed it was possible for Terry not to know. But what he refused to believe was a coincidence was that Terry just happened upon a long retired Bruce Wayne and accidentally discovered that he was Batman. Even though J'onn said Terry had described his first meeting accurately, that meant there is still something missing in this puzzle.

“My counterpart has to know, from what Terry says he’s even a more paranoid man than myself and there’s no way he wouldn’t have done a DNA test just as I had.”

“Why do you think he has not told the boy?”

“There could be a number of reasons but if Terry doesn’t know himself then we’ll only have educated guesses to go on, not enough evidence.”

“Do you think perhaps that you should inform him?” But Batman shook his head.

“We don’t know why my counterpart has not told him there might be a very good reason.” ‘Or a selfish one. ’ He said to himself thinking about some of his counterpart’s more questionable actions. Still, he was reluctant to be the one to break the news to Terry in case there really was a good reason. J'onn gave him a questioning look.

“If you think that is wise.” Batman collected Terry’s blood sample intending on showing it to the Atom for further analysis.

“It probably isn’t.”

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When Terry arrived at the Watchtower he was grateful Nightwing hadn’t completely run off. He ran up and grabbed his shoulder to get his attention.

“Look Nightwing, I’m sorry, that was a stupid thing for me to say.” While Nightwing still wasn’t smiling he wasn’t trying to run.

“Maybe but maybe there’s a ring of truth to it.”

“Well… paranoia does seem to run in the family but trust me you’re not nearly as bad as my Bruce.” Nightwing turned to him with a serious expression.

“He’s… He’s been burned a lot and so have I. There was an incident when I was leading The Team.” Terry wasn’t sure which team he meant, possibly the Teen Titans, but he didn’t want to interrupt. “A group of our younger members were in trouble including Robin and out of the blue this new hero shows up and saves the day. We checked him out but not thoroughly enough and even though I had my doubts I wanted to believe he was here to help us. That decision nearly cost my entire team their lives.”

Now Terry felt like a real jerk. Nightwing was just protecting his team and family and he went and threw it back in his face. “Sorry, it’s just easy to forget sometimes that while bat paranoia is often overkill it’s justified a little too often.” Finally a smile started creeping back onto Dick’s face. Terry had to admit he liked Dick’s smile more than his frown. He also noticed a small strand of hair on the side of Dick’s face slightly out of place. Terry had the urge to reach up and brush it away. It was almost like his hand was moving on its own violation when suddenly-

“Nightwing, your back!” Terry jerked his hand back in surprise. Perhaps he imagined it but it looked a little like Dick had wanted him to do it. At least he wasn’t pulling away. The person that interrupted them was a tall redheaded girl with green skin hovering a few inches off the ground. It took her a few moments to realize that Nightwing was not alone.

“Oh, and you brought a guest.” Dick smiled up at her and gestured to Terry.

“M’gann this is Terry, Terry this is M’gann also known as Miss Martian.” M’gann extended her hand and Terry shook it. It seems his hunch about Martian Manhunter was correct. They were more Martians in this universe. He wondered if it was just the three Nightwing had mentioned or if there were more still alive on Mars.

“Nice to meet you Terry, are you that new Batman from the future that saved Robin? I mean another dimension, which is in the future.” Terry’s eyes widened behind his bat issued shades. He thought the bats like to keep their issues to themselves. Apparently they did because Nightwing face palmed.

“Seriously? Who told you about that, we were trying to keep this on a need to know basis.” M’gann looked a little abashed and blush slightly.

“Bart kind of let it slip while we were visiting Tim. Sorry I blurted that out, I didn’t know it was a secret.” Nightwing let out a huge sigh.

“You do realize that Bart and everyone who broke protocol is going to be in for an earful from Batman. And everyone else is going to get a reminder.” But M’gann just put her hands across her chest.

“Everyone was really worried Nightwing.”

“We sent a communication saying Robin was fine.” But at the word “fine” M’gann scoffed.

“Says the guy who came to the mountain after a head injury and passed out in the training room because you were also bleeding from a knife wound that you didn’t tell anybody about. You classify that as ‘fine’ too.” Nightwing’s cheeks reddened as Terry snickered trying to hide it behind his hand.

“Okay I get it but right now Robin’s fi-“ he almost said the ’F’ word but M’gann sent a glare back at him. “I mean recovering with only minor injuries. Better?”

“It’ll do for now.”

“Regardless, Batman's not happy, especially with Bart.”

“I know you've been taking some time off Nightwing but Bart’s been acting really strange lately especially when Robin went missing. Do you think he knew something bad was going to happen to him?”

Nightwing looked thoughtful and Terry couldn’t help but wonder the same thing.

“I’ll see about talking to him later if he’s still avoiding Black Canary.” The answer seemed to satisfy M’gann at least for the time being.

“Well since the secret’s out and you brought him to the Watchtower how about we show Terry around?” Terry looked at Dick as if asking if this was all right.

“The League is going to be trying to help him get home but until then he’ll be staying with us. Might as well get to know The Team before we have any more green birds flying into our windows.” M’gann covered her mouth in surprise.

“Garfield was over there too? He said he was running out for some exercise.”

Terry got the feeling somebody else was in for another lecture. He was just glad it wasn’t him.

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Once again Bruce really wished his paranoia wasn’t justified. Between himself, J’onn and the Atom the three of them were able to piece together how Terry was Bruce’s son, had no knowledge of it, and yet still found Bruce to become the new Batman.

The answer was Cadmus. It seemed in whatever world they existed in they caused trouble. The Atom was able to read Terry’s DNA down to the molecular level and discovered that Bruce’s DNA was introduced through another man who Terry believed was his real father. It was really quite sophisticated work. Warren McGinnis had his reproductive system altered to match Bruce’s, most likely without his knowledge or consent. That answered the “how” question but it still didn’t answer the ”why” question.

That answer was found when John informed them of another Cadmus incident from Terry’s memory, one that involved their Dick Grayson. It seemed that the Batman in that universe had made himself such a strong figure that some people actually feared what would happen if man actually did die. Similar to the way they currently viewed Superman in this universe. And like Superman their first answer was a clone. But it wasn't a clone of Bruce Wayne, the bastards had cloned Dick Grayson thinking that the original was too unstable and Dick was the most logical choice for a successor.

They had stolen his DNA along with his memories after he had been gunned down by the Joker and lying unconscious in a hospital bed. The thought made Bruce literally shake with anger at the thought of someone violating his son like that even if it was his counterpart. The problem was they had tried to program the clone to do things that contradicted Dick’s memories. They wanted him to kill and they wanted him to be Batman, two things that he knew neither Dick Grayson ever wanted. The programming conflicted so badly that when the clone escaped he went on a killing spree and targeted Batman’s former villains and some of Terry’s current ones feeling that the Batman title had been stolen from him. And then he tried to end Batman’s mission once and for all by destroying Gotham. Terry and the real Dick Grayson helped to stop him and supposedly the clone died in the fight but Bruce was doubtful.

But this meant that Cadmus had a very real interest in creating a new Batman and if they were willing to clone Dick Grayson and alter Warren McGinnis’ reproductive DNA, who knows what else they had locked away in their closets. But this also was suspicions in Batman’s mind. It was very possible that Terry might have some unseen subtle programming like Red Arrow and Superboy. This might be what led him to the Bruce Wayne of his world or it could be another form of manipulation. In either case Terry was not consciously aware of the possible manipulation. He wished he knew why his counterpart kept this from him but there could still be a very important reason for keeping him in the dark.

He was going to have to ask J’onn to probe a little deeper just in case and the League needed to be informed.

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Terry had learned a lot about Nightwing’s so-called team in these last few hours. For one thing “The Team” really was their name and no one had ever heard of the Teen Titans. He did however recognize a few Titans like Beast Boy from the original team and Bumblebee from Titans East but there were a lot he didn’t recognize.

Obviously Miss Martian didn’t exist in his world since Mars had been wiped out more than 1000 years ago. There was no Supergirl in this world, at least not yet, but there was a Superboy who was the clone of Superman. That was new. He knew about Galatea the clone of Supergirl but Connor Kent didn’t exist in his world either.

There was a different Aqualad named Kaldur not Garth. Although Garth did exist here he chose to take another role. Blue Beetle was different too but Blue Beetle had gone through several different hosts so that didn’t surprise him too much. He had never heard of Wonder Girl, Artemis or Tigris as she was calling herself now, or Kaldur.

Many of the other sidekicks from his time were not here but he is a little surprised to see Virgil Hawkins a.k.a. Static Shock. The guy was a big hero in his time but right now his career was just starting he hadn’t even officially picked the name yet. He wondered if Gear or Richard Foley was around somewhere. Those two seemed to come as a set. They were married in his world after all. But after all these weird changes he decided not to make too many guesses for all he knew this Virgil might be straight. After all, his origin story here was a lot different than in his world so who knows.

There were a lot here today mostly to make sure Tim was really okay and not just bat okay. He suspected Bart Allen, the second Kid Flash, was around here somewhere but was probably hiding from Batman. It was a lot to take in at once. And of course the rumors about him must have spread because every once in a while somebody would turn to look at him. Some were looking at him kindly, a lot were curious and some, like Superboy, were giving him a suspicious glare. Not that he could blame them he did just fall out of the sky claiming to be Batman but he was seriously getting tired of all the paranoia. This is why he liked working alone, well, alone with the crazy old man but his League membership was temporary at best.

“Hey Terry, wasn’t it!” Terry jumped and nearly took a swing at the person who had startled him. He stopped just short of hitting Kid Flash who dodged the potential attack in the blink of an eye.

“Whoa, sorry I scared ya, I should know better than to startle a bat.” Terry was surprised to see Bart here. He had to know Batman was pissed at him and he had already seen that Tim was OK so why was he risking the man’s wrath in front of everyone.

“Shouldn’t you be in hiding? You know Batman’s here in the tower with us.” The young speedster nervously looked around as if Batman would appear at any moment. Well, truthfully he might.

“Well it's worth the risk to get a chance to talk to my IDTTFBBF.” Terry raised an eyebrow.

“Your IDT…what?”

“Inter-dimensional-time-traveling-best-friend-forever!” Before Terry could ask Bart what on Earth he was talking about the young speedster took him by the arm. “I just realized we don’t have a secret handshake! We can’t be IDTTFBBFs without a secret handshake. Let’s go make one!”

“What are you-“ but before he could say another word he was whisked away without anyone even noticing.

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Dick was about to check on Tim again just to say hi when he felt a tap on the shoulder.

“My friend, it is good to have you back.” Kaldur said while extending him a hand which Nightwing shook eagerly.

“I’m just here for a visit and to make sure Robin doesn’t get overwhelmed.”

“I do wish you would reconsider, the team has been… unbalanced since you left.”

“I do plan on returning some day but I’m just not ready. Besides you were always the better leader. I'm sure you can handle this, just give it time.” Dick said with a reassuring smile but Kaldur didn’t smile back.

“I am glad that you still have confidence in me but the team is much larger than when I led them into battle. It has been tricky trying to relearn everyone’s strengths.”

“Yeah you did kind of leave him with a whole new batch of freshmen to look after.” said Artemis as she walked over to join them. “You need to start answering your phone once in a while.” Dick had the decency to look a little sheepish.

“It also might help if we had known that our former leader had been undercover for two years instead of betraying us.” Dick grimaced at Superboy’s tone but he could tell the young man was more hurt than angry, both of which were not something he ever wanted to inflict on his teammates and closest friends.

“Connor, don’t start.” M’gann called out as she floated over to join them. “We all know why he did it, the plan really did save a lot of lives and finally gave us an edge over the Light.” Superboy shrugged.

“I’m not here to fight with Nightwing but I think a long talk is way overdue.” Nightwing glanced around and saw all of his friends had been slowly converging on him effectively cornering him. While he had been avoiding this conversation he couldn’t help but smile. All that was missing was a joke from Wally.

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Terry had never been carried by a speedster before, it felt like he was fighting a 100 mile per hour wind but only for a moment. It was not a pleasant experience. It left him a little disoriented and it took him a few more moments to realize he had been brought to an empty room. It looked like a study/lounge area with a few shelves of books, a coffee machine, and several couches. He noted all the exits which was second nature to a bat. He would guess he was probably at the other end of the station from the med bay waiting area where everyone else was gathered. Terry figured that Bart wanted to talk to him and he also wanted privacy. And perhaps he figured it was safer to approach him here at the Watchtower as opposed to the manor which might be booby-trapped by now.

“So Terr, about that handshake, I was thinking there could be a partial slap here fake slapped then to the right-“ but Terry cut him off wanting to know why Bart had literally yanked him out of the med bay waiting room.

“Cut the crap Kid Flash, we both know you didn’t bring me here to show me a secret handshake. I know you’re from the future so you probably knew about the fate of the Bat Family even though Batman probably told you not to share. But I need to know, did you know what was going to happen to Tim?”

Bart fidgeted and glanced around the room every few seconds as if expecting Batman to appear out of the coffee machine or something. “Well sort of, it’s just… It’s kind of complicated.”

“Nightwing said you’ve been hovering around the Bat Family lately, were you trying to warn them or stop it from happening altogether?” Bart was now fidgeting even more Terry sincerely hoped he wasn’t going to start vibrating again. It would be just his luck if Bart fell through the Watchtower and he was the only witness.

“I didn’t want this to happen, Tim’s a really good guy and he’s been a good friend.”

“So what was stopping you, I heard you already changed the past once before.” Impulse did indeed start to vibrate and Terry had to forcibly put a hand on his shoulders and tell him to calm down. All joking aside he really didn’t want to see this kid fall into the vacuum of space.

“It’s because I screwed up.” He sounded sad and frustrated but at least he had stopped vibrating. “I thought I did everything right, I saved my grandpa and we kicked the Reach off the planet but…”

Terry waited silently urging the distraught young man to open up.

“But Wally, he wasn't supposed to die!” He shouted as if it took extra energy just to get the truth out. “Over the years we’ve lost a lot of heroes but Wally wasn’t supposed to be one of them. He was supposed to get married and have a set of super speedy twins, but now none of that is going to happen and all of it is my fault because I made a change that I thought would make the world a better place.” His cheerful mask had broken and there were tears dripping down his face but he stubbornly wiped away and looked at Terry with a serious expression.

“But despite all that I was still going to try and help Tim but something else went wrong and it happened too soon. A different event was supposed to be happening right now, and now I don’t know what to think.” Terry let his words sink in, Bart was revealing consequences that he himself had been afraid of. They both knew that there still might be consequences to come.

“What do you mean it happened too soon, what was supposed to happen first?” Once again Bart was looking around making sure they weren’t being overheard.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on all of the Bat Family because a lot of bad things were supposed to happen to them in a short period of time. The first was Barbara Gordon getting shot by the Joker, paralyzing her from the waist down.” Terry’s eyes went wide, that was very different from what had happened in his world. Barbara had never spent any time in a wheelchair as far as he knew.

“Oh God, that’s horrible. How were you planning on stopping it?”

“That’s the thing,” he began ringing his hands. “I wasn’t sure I should.” Terry looked at him incredulously as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Seeing as how his words upset Terry, Bart quickly added, “Because she came back even stronger. Barbara Gordon never walked again but she didn’t let this tragedy ruin her life. She became Oracle, the world’s greatest computer hacker and has been the eyes and the ears of every hero I can think of. She’s probably saved more lives as Oracle and she ever did as Batgirl. Since changing the past the first time had such a horribly unexpected consequence I was seriously debating whether or not I should interfere. But I must’ve messed up something in the timeline because Tim was attacked first. I still don’t know if Batgirl will stay Batgirl or if she’ll become Oracle. I’m just not sure anymore.”

Terry had to admit that he felt for this young boy had had to make some very hard decisions knowing that there were consequences for both changing things as well as keeping them the way they were.

“I can sympathize.” Terry said, meeting the young man’s eyes. “I don’t regret saving Tim but I have no idea how this is going to affect the future especially because it’s no longer my future.” At that Bart perked up a bit.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Ever since I figured out who you are and where you came from I have been doing some serious number crunching and I think that since you are not originally from this timeline you can make changes with fewer risks of creating paradoxes. Granted my math with time and dimensional travel is a bit iffy and I’ve already changed the past so new changes are inevitable but you’re the wildcard bro!” Terry had to slow him down to make sure he heard him correctly but it sounded like he had a better shot of changing things because this wasn’t his world.

“So you’re saying I might be able to change a few things and not have the time stream collapse all around me?” Bart scratched his head and looked up thinking about the problem.

“More like you have less of a chance to screw up the time stream.” Terry rolled his eyes but Bart put both his hands on his shoulders looking him straight in the eye. “But we still need that chance because there’s something, rather someone I need you to save. Batman’s not going to let me hang around the family probably for a long while but he’s going to be keeping you close.”

Terry’s eyes narrowed. He knew he couldn’t be talking about Tim; he had just escaped his unfortunate fate and Barbara Gordon seems to have missed hers. It didn’t sound like Bart was talking about Batman either and that only left one person.

“Bart what happened to Nightwing in your time?” Terry could feel that the speedster flinched but fought to keep his hold and keep eye contact.

“That’s where I’m going to need your help Terry, we need him. I know he doesn’t have a huge amount of confidence in himself at the moment but we will need him, the team will need him, the league will need him, the world will need him. We can’t lose him this time.” Terry gripped Bart’s arms which were still clutching his shoulders as he fought down the fear that was now growing in the pit of his stomach.

“Again, what happened to Nightwing?” Bart almost looked away.

“I don’t know.” Terry actually shook Bart, getting a little frustrated by the boy’s cryptic answers.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened!”

“But that’s just it, I really don’t know, no one does.” The fear that was growing in Terry's stomach was now creeping up to his throat.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s going to happen soon but with things happening out of order I’m not sure when. But in a very short period of time both Nightwing and Dick Grayson will vanish, never to be seen or heard from again.”

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

This Secret Mission

 

Terry was speechless at the news. The words repeated over and over again in his head. “Both Nightwing and Dick Grayson will vanish never to be seen or heard from again.” He thought he had saved the other boy when he prevented the event that led to him being shot by the Joker but he was wrong. This was much worse.

“Bart, you need to tell me all that you know.” But the other boy was hesitant. “Please Bart I can’t help him if I don’t know what I’m protecting him from.”

Bart took a deep breath, steadying himself as he remembered the unpleasant story. “In this world the Joker did indeed attack and mentally scar Tim Drake but he didn’t kidnap Alfred while Tim was still in his custody and while Nightwing was shot at during the rescue attempt he was never injured.

“After the Reach made their claim on the Earth, the members of the Justice League who were on trial off-world tried to escape. None of them made it back, not even Batman. Dick Grayson was forced to leave the mantle of Nightwing behind and he took up the role as the new Dark Knight. He led the team and what was left of the Justice League in a rebellion against the Reach and for a while it looked like our side was winning but one day all communications with him just stopped. His safe house had been ransacked but whatever happened he didn’t go without a fight.”

“But you don’t think it was the Reach?” Questioned Terry figuring since the Reach were already gone and Bart was still concerned it was unlikely that they were the cause.

As expected Bart shook his head. “The Reach didn’t take any active rebellion lightly. They were known to… display anyone who crossed them as a reminder. It seemed like they were still looking for him long after our side discovered his ransacked home. Even when they declared that the new Batman was no more there was still no body. The war only got worse after that, that’s when most of the major heroes started to fall one by one. Wally did say they tried their best to find him but with so much going on in the war they were forced to put it on the back burner. No one ever really knew what happened to him.

Terry’s eyes widened with shock, no wonder this kid risked everything to change the future, he had almost nothing to lose. But apparently the one thing he did have to lose he lost anyway. Nevertheless the two of them now had the same goal, they had to protect Nightwing.

“Were there any clues found when he went missing, anything, even something small would help.” But Bart shook his head again.

“The only thing that we know was that they were strong, fast and efficient. They didn’t even leave any type of calling cards or DNA behind. Sorry, I wish I had more information to give you but that’s all I know.”

Terry sighed, “Can you at least eliminate anyone?”

“Just the Joker who was already dead when Tim…well you know.” Bart said with a little quiver in his voice. “Most of the known criminals tried to get in with the Reach pretty early on. They didn’t start eliminating other criminals until after Nightwing disappeared.”

“Should we let him know?” Terry asked. “Or Batman maybe? They’re both detectives, maybe they’ll be able to figure out something before it’s too late.”

“And just what exactly should we tell them?” Bart asked, cocking his head to the side a little. “That we think Nightwing might disappear but we’re not officially sure where, when, how, by whom, or if it’s actually going to happen out. Yeah that’ll go over real well with Batman and Nightwing.”

Terry felt a headache coming on. “All right, point taken, but what do you expect me to do?”

“At this point just keep an eye on him, at least until you’re sent back to your own world. Another reason I didn’t want to tell Nightwing was that if he started investigating on his own he’s likely to try and fix it himself without calling for backup which is exactly what we don’t want him to do. If you’re just hanging out with the other Bats maybe he won’t get as suspicious.”

“Maybe.” Terry thought. “This is worse than what happened with Robin. At least then I knew what was going to happen and how to stop it.” Sometimes not knowing what happened to someone is harder to deal with than anything else.

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Meanwhile another Bat had finally been cornered. M’gann, Connor, Kaldur and Artemis were finally all together to discuss a few things with Dick. It still felt sad and unnatural that all but one of their founding members were here for this.

“So are you coming back to the team?” Artemis asked with her hand on her hips. The others look at Nightwing expectantly. Dick sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m not sure everyone is going to want me back after that whole undercover fiasco.” He said while looking at Superboy remembering how angrily the clone had yelled at him after finding out that their leader had been lying to them. But surprisingly it was Superboy who responded.

“We never wanted you to leave.” Connor said with a slight scowl while looking away. “We were just mad that you didn’t trust us with something like this, at least us senior members.” Dick understood where they were coming from, the subject of trust was a very delicate subject especially in his family but there were few things his teammates needed to understand.

“It was never about trust, Kaldur was risking his life every day, every moment and your reactions had to be as real as possible. I did plan on telling you about Artemis beforehand but then we found out that Psimon was once again active. With having to put another teammate in grave danger with a powerful mind reader on their side, I felt it was best that the fewer people that knew the better, Wally agreed with me but now I know it was a mistake. And Kaldur wound up being attacked by M’gann because of it.”

“I still feel horrible about that.” M’gann said as Kaldur walked up to the Martian.

“It is all right M’gann, all is forgiven.”

“No, it’s not alright.” She sighed and rubs her arms. “I’ve already talked to Black Canary and my Uncle J’onn about this but you guys deserve to know too. I’ve been abusing my powers to the point where I know it’s not acceptable or right. I’m not quite sure when it started but somehow I started pushing a little harder than I should and then a little harder the next time. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I kept getting such good results and so I kept justifying it to myself. Black Canary recommended I take some time off from the team to relearn how to use on my abilities properly.”

The other members of the team were definitely surprised but only Connor seemed to be really upset. “She can’t make you step down, this is our team!”

M’gann put a hand on his face trying to calm him down. “Connor calm down, I happen to agree with Black Canary and I’ve already made arrangements with my Uncle J’onn. But I’m not leaving the team, I'm just leaving with my uncle to do some training so I won’t be going on missions for a while that’s all.”

Connor seemed appeased but still unsure. “This isn’t all your fault I could see what was happening and I knew what was going on but I kept my mouth shut hoping you’d come to the right decision on your own.”

“No Connor, it was my responsibility. It shouldn’t have gotten to the point where I nearly fried Kaldur’s brain and then let it affect my duties when I didn’t scan Green Beetle’s memories as well as I should have.”

The room was quiet for a while letting M’gann’s confession sink in. One by one they each came up to her and embraced her as teammates letting her know that they were there for her.

After hearing M’gann pour out her soul it made Nightwing think about his decisions and his mistakes and knew he had to get a few things off his chest as well.

“Guys there’s something else I think you should know. It wasn’t just Wally’s death that made me leave the team.” Nightwing said in a low voice. He told them about how he had nearly beaten a criminal to death by accident and how he nearly murdered the Joker on purpose. He also had a session with Black Canary coming up and he wasn’t allowing himself back into the field again until she cleared him.

The rest of the Team were just as shocked by his confession as they were of M’gann’s. He half expected them to turn on him but instead they repeated the group-hug but this time he was in the center.

“Dick you idiot.” Artemis said, still hugging him tightly. “You should’ve come to us a lot sooner, and you should’ve answered your damn phone, I could have helped you, I wanted to help you.”

The others all shared similar views and agreed with the blonde archer/swordswoman. Somehow the conversation went from everybody confessing horrible things that they had done in the past to how to improve the team's fighting abilities and teamwork.

“I confess I find it a little difficult.” Kaldur stated. “While Wonder Girl’s strength and flight powers are definitely assets, she seems to want something more challenging. I am a little unsure how far her training has progressed even with the notes you left me, Nightwing.”

“While she is a little eager to learn she’s also very dedicated.” Nightwing put a hand to his chin thinking. “I was supposed to help her with her stealth training but didn’t get very far before I left. I know that was an area she needed improvement on.”

Kaldur nodded. “You can’t get better stealth training than from a Bat. I would ask Robin but with the two of them currently dating I fear she becomes a little too… distracted.

Nightwing still looked a little unsure so Kaldur pressed on. “I must admit I could use a little assistance with training some of the younger members. They still seem a little unsure around me.”

“Maybe I should talk to them, they should still respect you as a leader.” Nightwing said with a frown. “I had hoped that by openly giving you your leadership title back that would dispel any doubts that you were on our side the whole time.”

“While it did work for the most part,” said Artemis, crossing her arms. “It was still a sudden switch and I think they expect you to be around a little longer. You’re a good teacher, Nightwing, especially with the younger members.” The other members also seemed to agree.

“Not all of us have the patience and the dedication for it.” Said Connor. “Maybe you can stick around a bit and help us at least set up a new training program?”

Nightwing was hesitant, while it felt good to be back with his friends again it still felt wrong without Wally here. But then again he had soldiered on when Wally first retired even so there was always that little bit of hope that one day he’d be back and they would be fighting side-by-side again. That hope was no longer there. Still, his mind couldn’t help but think of all the new techniques he could show to the younger members. Virgil was brand-new and could definitely use the training and some team building exercises.

“Well… maybe I can pop in from time to time and give you guys a hand, but no fieldwork unless Black Canary gives me the official okay.” The rest of the team seemed happy by his decision and he couldn’t help but wonder how he had been talked into this. He even wondered what Terry would think of the situation, probably laugh his butt off. Speaking of which, where did he go?

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Batman’s eyes scanned each member of the Justice League gauging their reactions to what they had learned about Terry McGinnis, the future Batman. The most notable were Hawkman, Hawkgirl and the Green Lantern John Stewart. Hawkman was glaring at John as if he had discovered the man was actually having an affair with his wife. Which was a fact that Batman knew to be false but Hawkgirl and John were looking as far away from each other as they possibly could. It seems they didn’t like the news that they had somehow hooked up in an alternate universe and had a son who is currently a member of the Justice League in Terry’s time.

Arthur was looking somewhat concerned but at the same time proud that he would have a strong and mighty granddaughter who would sit in his place with the new League. It gave him hope for the future of his family. Batman just hoped this wouldn’t make him too overconfident, there were a number of differences between the worlds both good and bad and it was dangerous to think a positive outcome there would guarantee a positive outcome here.

Green Arrow and Black Canary were both looking a little conflicted. Roy had in fact fallen on hard times in Terry’s world but it wasn’t due too to finding out that he was a clone. In fact there was no evidence to support that he was cloned at all. Either that or if he was cloned, no one had ever discovered the truth. It was an unknown factor that left the two of them unsettled. Terry didn’t know much about Roy and therefore they had no idea if he turned out okay or not. Another unsettling thing was that Lian was never born in Terry’s world. While the relationship between the clone Roy and Oliver was strained he still brought his daughter over to see them every now and then. While uncomfortable at first with the idea of being a grandfather, the sweet little girl had warmed her way into his heart helping to mend a few bridges between the wayward adoptive father and son.

While he hid it well Martian Manhunter was deeply disturbed by the idea that his entire race was wiped out generations ago leaving him the only survivor. It was a very difficult thing to process and right now he was doing all he could not to project his feelings of distress on his fellow members. He was going to need some time alone afterwards to meditate and process all this disturbing information.

Superman however was looking too smug for Batman’s taste. He had to disclose the fact that Terry was in fact the biological child of Bruce Wayne and that his conception had been an experiment facilitated by Cadmus. The situation was a little too similar to that of Superman and Superboy and Batman could tell that Clark was dying to ask Batman how it felt to have a clone himself suddenly pop up from out of nowhere. But at least he was smart enough not to say anything out loud. Bruce admitted to himself that he hadn’t reacted very positively when he discovered the truth about Terry and maybe now he had a little insight on how Clark felt when Connor suddenly came into the picture. Unlike Clark however, he wasn’t going to simply ignore the boy pretending that he didn’t exist. He was going to learn from Clark’s mistakes with Connor and his own mistakes with Dick and try to regain some of Terry’s trust, he owed him that much at least.

The other members of the League that had sidekicks who were in training or on the team were saddened by the fact that so many of them never took up a partner. In fact some of their legacies by Terry’s time had simply died out. But there was one who lived on past his expectations and that was the hardest one to learn about.

Barry Allen was a mess not fully recovered from the loss of his nephew and now he finds out that in a simile universe he had grown up, taken up the mantle of the Flash, married a girl (who was not Artemis ) , had kids and even grandkids. He was even still alive in Terry’s time even though he was retired. Barry was torn, feeling that it was so unfair that Wally’s life had been cut short here but at the same time he felt he should at least be grateful that in another lifetime his nephew got to live on having a very happy and full life. All these thoughts and emotions were dancing across his face and his body language. Batman made a note that before the end of this meeting to make sure that the other members would be forbidden to tell the Team about Wally, especially to Nightwing and Artemis.

“And now that everybody has been briefed we need to discuss what we can do to help this young man get home as soon as possible.”

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Terry and Bart had been hashing out different strategies and scenarios about the secret mission. They both had several contingency plans but for now Terry was to stick as close to Nightwing as possible. The mission wasn't difficult in Terry’s eyes. He had grown fond of the older boy and truly did want to get to know him better. He could even fall back on the excuse that he and Batman weren’t seeing eye to eye which Terry wouldn’t even have to fake, he was still pretty mad at Bruce right now.

Bart would be scouting and keeping an eye on things from a distance but Terry was worried the boy was going to wear himself thin. It was clear that Bart used the happy-go-lucky personification to hide behind while he dealt with the stress of his missions and it was starting to become too much for the boy and he was starting to crack under the pressure.

But just as Terry was about to ask Bart if he really felt okay the other boy suddenly took his hand. “Then a slight turn to the right then two light fist bumps there and- Oh hi Nightwing!”

Terry was able to sense Dick’s presence just a few moments before Bart had scrambled back to the secret handshake practice. He didn’t think the other boy heard anything important but no doubt he was already suspicious.

“What are you two doing in here?” Terry was going to make up an excuse but Bart beat him to it.

“Top-secret IDTTBFF stuff!” Bart said, putting his hands on his hips.

“The what?” Nightwing asked, more than a little confused.

“Inter Dimensional Time Traveling Best Friends Forever!” Bart said, throwing his hands up in a wild display but maybe a little too over-the-top because he was still vibrating slightly. “Only people who have traveled through time and/or dimensions can join so sorry Nightwing maybe next time.”

Seeing as how he wasn’t going to get anything reasonable from Bart, Nightwing looked to Terry.

“I don’t get it either.” Terry lied trying to hide the fact that they were plotting something together. “He’s just been trying to show me this really complicated handshake that has about 50 steps-“

“Quite Terr, that’s members only information.” Bart interrupted and if Terry didn’t know any better he would swear this was just a weird kid not some time traveling secret agent. Maybe he should go to Bart for acting tips instead of Batman. Terry threw on his own look of confusion and hoped that it looked genuine.

Nightwing did study the two of them but was concentrating more on Bart. Dick had been around the kid longer than he had so maybe he could pick up when he was acting off.

“Let’s just head back to the waiting room before Batman comes looking for both of you.” If Dick did suspect anything he was keeping it to himself. They weren’t walking very long before Dick spoke up. “I’ve got an appointment with Black Canary tomorrow. Why don’t you come with me Bart I’m sure she could squeeze you in.”

Terry saw Bart twitch a little at the suggestion. “No, that’s okay Nightwing, I’m a little busy tomorrow.”

“Why would you guys need to see black Canary?” Terry asked Dick thinking about how Batman had ordered Nightwing to see her.

“She’s sort of the resident psychiatrist for the League and the Team.” Nightwing said, surprising Terry. His Batman was so paranoid he doubted the man had ever seen a real psychiatrist before. He knew about Hugo Strange of course but that obviously didn’t count. “I suggest you make time to see her on your own, Bart. Batman’s not happy with you and at this point she might be the only one that could make him go easy on you.” Bart was looking around, twitching nervously even more than before.

“But I was only trying to make sure that Robin was okay.” The younger boy was now starting to blur ever so slightly. “I mean, he wouldn’t do anything too extreme would he?”

“He’ll probably have you suspended from the team.” Nightwing said without turning around. “And that’s just for starters.” Now Bart was becoming even more distressed.

“What? No, he can’t do that. I need to be here, I need to be with the team!” Finally Nightwing stopped and turned around seeing that the boy was beginning to vibrate again.

“Whoa, hey, calm down! This is why I wanted you to go to Black Canary yourself before you’re ordered to. It’ll look better with both the League and Batman.” Nightwing said, trying to reassure him. “If you don’t want to go to Black Canary you still need to talk to somebody. You can go to another League member or they could suggest another psychiatrist who is affiliated with the Justice League. Or, worse case scenario, my door’s always open and you could talk to me if that’s what you’re more comfortable with.”

Terry felt a little bit like an outsider in this situation. He was tempted to leave and let these two have their conversation in private but a quick look from Bart begged him not to. Terry wasn’t sure if Nightwing was the right person for Bart to talk to but he did agree with the older boy, Bart needed to get a few things off his chest but unfortunately due to the security clearance of his mission he really couldn’t. It seemed that just talking with Terry Bart already felt like he had unloaded some weight off of his shoulders.

But it looked like Bart was considering Nightwing’s offer. Not for the chance to talk but for the chance to stay close to the older boy and maybe find out what caused him to vanish in the first place.

“I… I guess it wouldn’t hurt to talk to somebody and you can tell Batman that I didn’t mean any harm but after what happened to Wally I just need to make sure that I wasn’t going to lose anybody else I cared about.” As soon as Bart had mentioned Wally Terry knew this wasn’t going to work. Dick still needed help dealing with his own grief and while he could be sympathetic he wasn’t sure how helpful he could really be to Bart.

“I know it’s been tough Bart, it’s never easy losing somebody that you care about especially family but his sacrifice saved a lot of lives. He would want us to move on and remember the good times that we shared together.” Terry could tell that Dick’s voice sounded a bit hollow as if he wasn’t believing his own words.

“I just wish,” began Bart. “I just wish I could’ve been a little bit faster, then Wally wouldn’t have needed to sacrifice himself.” Nightwing put a hand on the other boy’s shoulder.

“You shouldn’t be blaming yourself, you did everything you could, it’s my fault for not realizing that the polls would’ve canceled out our search beacons. It’s my fault for letting everybody down.” But instead of his words comforting the other boy Bart shook the hand off his shoulder.

“Will you stop this self-sacrificing bull shit!” Bart snapped, causing both Nightwing and Terry to step back. “You keep telling everybody how we're all supposed to work as a team but you keep taking the blame and the responsibility for everything that goes wrong. The entire League and Team were working on this mission and everybody else missed it too!” There were tears streaming from his eyes as he continued his angry rant.

“You have no idea how much of an impact you have not just on the Team, not even the Justice League but everybody that you meet. You’re not just a good leader, your great leader even if you can’t see it, which is stupid because everybody else can. Turning away because of a mistake that wasn’t even yours just makes you a coward!” Fearing that he was going too far and that Bart might let something slip, Terry tried to calm him down.

“Okay Bart, take it easy.” Terry said coming up to him with his hands up in a non threatening gesture. “Let’s not say something that you’ll regret later.” Terry said hoping Bart understood he was talking about the mission and would take the hint. But now that he had started Bart still had one thing left that he had to get off his chest.

“You want to know who’s responsible for Wally’s death? It’s me! In my time he was still alive but because I traveled back in time and changed something I wasn’t supposed to, events happened differently and as a result Wally died.” Tears were now streaming from the young speedster’s eyes. “I was the “X” factor, I’m the one who made changes, I’m the reason he’s dead. So stop trying to take on every single little burden because this one is all mine, not yours! MINE!”

Silently Nightwing walked up and hugged the other boy offering what little support that he could. In response Bart clung to him, drenching Nightwing's suit with fresh tears. Having no words of comfort himself Terry walked up to the pair and put a hand on both their shoulders knowing Dick was going to need it just as much as Bart. The three of them stood together until Barry Allen found them sometime later. He eventually managed to convince Bart to let go and come back home with him. Even Batman who was watching from the corner had nothing to say. He had been prepared for a lecture but now was not the time.

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It was late at night and Batman was already on patrol. Tim would remain in the Watchtower for at least a few more days and Dick was staying at the manor at least until Tim was better. Dick was exhausted and emotionally drained. Bart’s outburst reminded him that he wasn’t the only one grieving but despite the claim that the young speedster had made Dick still felt that there had to be something he could’ve done to save his best friend. Terry had knocked on his door earlier asking if you wanted to talk or just hang out but Dick shook his head.

Truthfully he really did want company but more and more he is finding himself attracted to this mysterious boy from another world and that made him feel guilty. He knew it was irrational and that he and Wally were never together that way but that didn’t mean his feelings for the redhead had changed. It was just so confusing.

But he was in fact exhausted after the long search for Robin; he had gotten little to no sleep even when they had found him. And sleeping in that twist position on Tim’s bed didn’t exactly give him a lot of rest. Finally he couldn’t resist any longer and succumbed to his body’s needs and drifted off.

But it wasn’t long before something woke him. It wasn’t a noise and it wasn’t his silent alarm but a scent with a mix of cinnamon, Old Spice with a light touch of wet dog hair that got his attention. He’d know that sent anywhere. Bolting up in his bed he saw a figure standing by his window or rather he saw through the figure standing by his window. The red and yellow uniform without a mask topped with a head of flaming red hair. The figure looked at him and smiled. There was no mistaking who this man was but how was it even possible?

“Wally?”

To be continued…

Chapter Text

 Saying Goodbye

 

Dick stared wide-eyed at the site before him, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, who he was seeing.

“Wally?”

The redhead that was standing by the window gave a short wave.

“In the flesh, well not really in the flesh more like… well you know what I mean.” But Dick just shook his head, this couldn’t be real, Wally was dead.

“You can’t be real.” He said in a sad but almost hopeful voice. “Is this a dream?”

“Of course this is a dream Dick.” Wally said with a smile. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not real.” Dick shook his head.

“I may be sounding a little skeptical here but that didn’t sound anything like the Wally I knew.” Wally just shrugged.

“What can I say, your perspectives on science and how the universe works kind of changes after you leave your body and experience a whole array of new things that you never thought possible. But hey, science changes every day and every day new science is discovered so this could all just be something that living scientists can’t explain just yet.” And that sounded a lot more like his Wally.

“But I still don’t understand. How are you here, why now, why me?” Dick asked, still a little in shock, his mind not fully believing that his best friend was standing just a few feet from his bed.

“It’s a long story but let’s just say Kent Nelson is still on good terms with Dr. Fate and seeing that I was having trouble resting he gave me one night to put some of my affairs in order and say my goodbyes.” He turned away looking sad but with a small smile on his face. “I’ve already said goodbye to my family, settled things with Uncle Barry, had a heart-to-heart with Bart, and… Argued and laughed with Artemis one last time. Now it’s your turn bro.”

Dick stood up and reached out to put a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder only for it to fall through. “I’m sorry,” Dick said, starting to tear up. “I’m so sorry.” And while he couldn’t even touch his best friend he felt something envelop him, not quite arms but more like a presence and that scent that was Wally seemed to grow even stronger. Tears slipped from his eyes and down his cheeks as he clung to thin air just trying to take it all in.

“I’m sorry too.” The redhead whispered in his ear but this made Dick look up in confusion.

“What are you sorry for, I'm the one that got you killed?” Wally had the audacity to roll his eyes.

“Okay, this has got to stop. I’m the one that chose to run out and risk my neck to try and save the world, you had no influence on that decision.”

“But I should have realized the polls-“ but Wally cut him off.

“No, you're the hacker, I’m the scientist. I should have been the one to realize it.”

“But you were retired, you shouldn’t had-“

“Enough, the Reach were the ones who put the bombs there, they are the ones at fault. You, me, the Team and the League we all save the world together. And if my life was the only one lost during that whole event I’d say we came out that really lucky. You are not responsible, nobody’s blaming you, I am not blaming you.

“But as much as I would have liked to put the superhero life behind me I’m glad I got to go out like that. Please don’t cheapen my death by letting it drive you insane. There are so many others who need you and who want to help you. You don’t have to do this alone.” Wally paused looking away from Dick. “That’s what I’m sorry for, for leaving you to deal with so much during the invasion when honestly I should have been helping you from the start.”

Dick was honestly touched by Wally’s speech but it took him a few moments to find the right words to say to his best friend.

“You wanted a normal life, it was unfair of me to ask Artemis to go undercover when you two were settling down.”

“Yeah well, she jumped at that offer pretty quick.” Wally said, sounding a little annoyed. “Sorry, the truth was she was getting restless. She said she wanted to retire but I knew deep down she was just agreeing with me because I wanted to.” He was quiet for a moment and then looked out of the window gazing at the moon shining in the sky.

“For me it was all fun and games. We got to be heroes, we got to look cool, and even though I knew the next mission could be our last it didn’t really hit me until we lost Tula and Jason.” Dick’s eyes darkened at the memory of his brother’s murder and Tula’s death in the field.

“I was scared.” Wally confessed. “Losing friends like that really hurt but it also made me worried about who else I could lose. I didn’t want to lose Artemis but I also didn’t want to lose my best friend.”

Dick tried to place a hand over Wally’s once again falling through just a little. “You asked me to come with you.”

“And you turned me down.” Wally said in a sad voice. “I was afraid for you, after Jason died it seemed like you were losing more and more of yourself. You weren’t the same scrawny little kid that laughed when he took out the bad guys or cheated when we played video games, and don’t try to deny you didn’t.” Dick let out a small laugh.

“I guess I just grew up.”

“Yeah, puberty hit you pretty hard, you lucky bastard.”

“You sound like Babs, she says puberty hit me like a stick.”

“Puberty hit you like a damn truck. I still remember the day when you realized you were taller than me. You were just loving that.”

“I filled out more too.” Dick said now with a cocky smile.

“Hey, that’s because my metabolism keeps me trim. And I’m still not buying that all you did was exercise and eat right. Alfred was putting something in your cookies wasn’t he?” He joked and for the first time in a long time Dick had a genuine laugh.

“I missed this.” Dick said after he regained his composure. “I know that things between us have been a little rough for a while now but I honestly thought we could work it out somehow.” Both boys were quiet for a moment. “I just...”

“…thought we had more time?” Wally finished for him.

“Yeah.” Now Dick had another challenge. He didn’t know if he should confess to Wally about his feelings for him or let that forever remain a secret. He never thought he would get another chance but here they were and he knew they didn’t have much time left.

“Wally?” Dick asked, still a little hesitant. “I… What I mean is… What do you regret most in life.” He said, chickening out at the last moment. Wally seemed a little confused by the question but somehow picked up on its deeper meaning.

“Well, I’ll tell you one thing, it’s not so much the things that I’ve done in my life, it's more the things that I never got to do. I never got to take Artemis to Paris, I wasn’t as good of a mentor as I should have been to Bart, I never got to babysit my new little cousins while their dad is out saving the world and I was never there for my best friend when he needed me the most.” Dick was a little taken aback by the last response.

“What are you talking about you were there through thick and thin up until-“

“until me and Artemis retired. I know we talked a few times and hung out every now and then but in reality I was hiding from this dangerous world that I left and that you were still living in everyday. And as stupid as this sounds some part of me thought you chose Artemis for the mission because you were jealous that she and I were together.” Dick’s eyes widened in shock. He didn’t think Wally knew, after all he never said anything but maybe he didn’t mean it that way.

“Wally you can’t believe that, Artemis was the only one who was far enough away from the team but someone I could still trust. Believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was to hurt either one of you.” Wally held up his hands.

“I know, like I said it was a stupid thought that just got stuck in my head because two people that I cared about were both in grave danger while I was stuck on the sidelines. I should’ve taken back the mantle even if it was temporary and helped especially after seeing how stressed you were getting and certainly long before Kaldur blew up the mountain.” Dick looked away with a hint of shame on his face.

“I wish I could’ve found another way. I knew we didn’t have much choice and I convinced myself that it was a necessary sacrifice for the mission but it wasn’t until later I realized what I had helped destroy.” Wally would have turned Dick’s head back to him but since Dick couldn’t feel it Wally moved so he was facing Dick once more.

“And I was so blinded by my fear that Kaldur might’ve been a traitor for real that I took it all out on you. It didn’t hit me till later that you came so close to dying in that explosion too but I made such a scene that I was embarrassed and still a little angry at you.

“Remember years ago when we finally opened up about what happened during that botched failsafe mission simulation?”

“How could I forget?”

“Remember how you told me that you finally knew what it was like to be Batman and how you were afraid that you’d be just like him someday?”

“Think I’m already there.”

“No you’ve still got a ways to go yet but yeah, you're a little closer than both of us would’ve liked. But it’s not all that bad, Batman is an amazing hero that even all of us who have powers can’t seem to compete with. So maybe it’s not such a bad thing that you’re turning into your mentor and there may come a day when you have to take up the cowl again. But that doesn’t mean you have to be Batman-Batman you can be Dick-Batman. Wow that sounded a lot better in my head and a lot less dirty.” That got another laugh out of them and Dick even tried to shove Wally away lightly once again forgetting he wasn’t quite all there.

“This coming from a kid who at one point told me he had to go on patrol with The Flash and that you two were going to go Flashing.” This caused Wally to laugh and it took them several minutes for them to calm down enough for Wally to respond.

“I said it sounded better in my head but yeah that was stupid even for me. But getting back to my point, you could still be your own hero even if you had to put on another costume. Take Terry for example, he’s Batman where he comes from and he definitely has a style all his own.” Dick was a bit surprised that Wally knew about Terry.

“How did you know about him, he didn’t show up until after you died?” Wally just shrugged.

“I’ve been watching you, all of you. And I’ve gotta say I really like this kid. Any Batman that could say screw protocol and risk it all to save Tim is a grade “A” hero in my book.” At the thought of Terry, Dick remembered how he had been feeling around the other boy lately and how his still lingering feelings for Wally were preventing him from moving forward. Remembering Wally’s advice regarding the things that you don’t do Dick decided to finally make his confession.

“Listen Wally, there is something I need to tell you. I never told you before because I was afraid it would change our friendship but for a long time now my feelings for you have… grown beyond friendship.” Dick carefully watched his friend's face hoping that he wouldn’t see signs of rejection but Wally’s expression didn’t change.

“It’s okay bro, I knew. You hid it pretty well but I guessed pretty early on. I didn’t confront you about it because I didn’t really want our friendship to change either. And while it may have made things awkward at first I think we would’ve gotten over it.”

“I guess I figured if I didn’t ask you couldn’t say no but I honestly just wanted you to be happy even if it wasn’t with me. You and Artemis were great for each other and I was just happy I could have you as a friend.”

“I do love you little bro, I’m just sorry it’s not in the way you wanted.”

“This is more than enough.” The two once again embraced as closely as they could, relying more on presence than on their physical bodies to support each other. They were quiet for a while when Wally finally broke the ice.

“You know I don’t mind if you and Terry wind up hooking up.” Wally said with a smirk while Dick just blushed a little bit. “Like I said I’ve been watching and I can tell that you like him and he is more than interested.”

They had talked about their love lives before but it was weird seeing as how Wally was almost giving him permission.

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s great but he needs to get home to his own world. Not sure if it’s really fair to start something knowing we may never get a chance to go much further.” Wally nodded.

“You never know if you don’t try and who knows, dimensional traveling is tricky and there’s a chance he may never go home. I’m not suggesting for you to jump right into a relationship but maybe just get to know each other a little bit more and see where it goes through there.”

To Dick this conversation still felt a little strange. He literally just confessed to his best friend that he had feelings for him for a long time now. Even though Dick knew Wally would never feel the same way it was as if something in that confession had freed him somehow. He still loved Wally, a part of him always would but now it felt like he could move forward. He really wasn’t ready to immediately jump into a new relationship but he was curious enough to at least get to know Terry a little bit better.

“Don’t worry Dick, I know that I’m irresistibly handsome and have probably ruined you for all other men but someday you’ll find that special someone and maybe they’ll be half as good as me.” The joke was just what they both needed and they laughed together even as Dick threw a pillow at his best friend which flew right through him and knocked the lamp off his bedside table. This only caused them to laugh more as they both finally started healing.

As Dick picked up his lamp and set it back up he couldn’t help but wonder why Wally was the only one who got a chance for one last get together with him and not anyone else. He asked Wally and the speedster was still a little unsure himself.

“I still think it has something to do with my connection to Dr. Fate from that one time I tried on his helmet. That could be why Kaldur’s getting a visit from Tula, apparently dying with a lot of unfinished business and baggage kind of hinders my rest at least that’s what Mr. Nelson calls it. I guess being Nabu’s host for a short time does have its advantages. Did you know that in another dimension you were actually Dr. Fate? Anyway, I am just lucky I got a chance to talk with all of you for one night so I’m not reduced to trying to write messages in blood on the walls or something.”

“So you’ve seen Ken Nelson? Have you seen anyone else that we knew?”

“I did get a chance to see Ted Cord, and I know Tula is doing something similar tonight with Kaldur and Garth. I just haven’t seen her in person yet.” Dick looked up a little eager.

“What about Jason? He died pretty suddenly too, did he have anything to say?” Dick asked a little nervously about what he would hear but Wally just shook his head.

“Sorry bro, I haven’t seen him yet.” Dick lowered his eyes disappointed, he would’ve liked to talk to his brother the same way he was talking with Wally. “But don’t worry, the afterlife is a pretty big place and I’m sure I’ll run into him sooner or later. I have met your folks though.” Hearing this Dick jumped to his feet.

“You… You saw my family?” Dick asked with a touch of hope and fear in his eyes wondering what his family might think of him now.

“The amazing flying Graysons.” Wally said about spreading his hands in the air in the exact same way his family did when they were about to start a performance. “They watch over you a lot, you know.”

“They… They do? How are they? I mean…” Wally could tell Dick was nervous so they quickly reassured him that his family still loved him.

“They’re all fine and they told me to tell you that they’re very proud of you. And while they are sad that they couldn’t be there with you while you grew up they were glad that Bruce was there for you and that you are good for Bruce.” Once again Dick felt tears coming to his eyes, he hadn’t cried over his family in a long time but even though the memory still stung his heart somehow felt lighter at the news.

“I still miss them.”

“And they miss you too. They said they’ll be waiting for you but they expect that time to come a long time from now, ideally after a couple of grandchildren.” Dick chuckled a little at the thought.

“That might be a little tricky if I end up with a guy.” But Wally just shrugged.

“So then you adopt, I think they’d like the idea of you taking in some poor orphan who needs a lot of hugs or maybe a little demon brat who’s all mean on the outside but really just needs some love.”

“Demon brat?” Dick asked, raising an eyebrow.

“That just popped into my head just now but somehow I think it works.” As the pair laughed they noticed that the light was changing outside the window and Wally seemed to be growing fainter.

“What’s going on, what’s happening to you?” Dick said, starting to panic.

“My time’s just about up here.” Wally confirmed with a sad look in his eye.

“What? No, not now! Please, just a little longer. I still have so much I want to say.” Dick tried once again to grab onto his friend only for his hands to fall through. Wally’s translucent hands rested on Dick’s shoulder.

“I can help it, you’re waking up.”

“What do you mean waking up?” He wondered.

“I can only talk to people for one night and only when they’re asleep. Dr. Fate said it has something to do with when the magic is aligning or something. Personally I think it has more to do with how the brain can be opened to suggestion at certain stages of R.E.M. sleep. I’m sure there’s a scientific explanation for all this. But I had to wait a long time for you to finally get some rest. I knew the bats function on very little sleep but geez.” He said trying to get a little laugh at Dick but the time was quickly fading and so was he. Anything else they had to say needed to be said now.

“Please don’t go.” Dick said tears forming in his eyes once again. “You are my best friend, my first love and I never told you how much you really meant to me.” Wally once again tried to embrace his friend offering whatever comfort he could.

“You just did. And even if we both screwed up along the way I’m so grateful that I got to be your friend and be a part of this wonderful but crazy life that we shared together. I do have a few requests though. ”

“Anything.” Dick offered, anxious to be given a task that would somehow make everything all right with him and the former Kid Flash.

“Keep watching over Bart, he’s carrying a lot more weight on his shoulders then we both realized.”

“I promise.”

“Be sure to give Artie a kiss for me. She’ll probably slug you but it’ll be worth it to see the look on her face when you do.”

“Maybe just on the cheek.” He offered with a wink.

“Just to make sure she doesn’t overwork herself too much, I want her to enjoy her life. But the most important thing of all is don’t forget to take care of yourself. I agree with your family, I don’t want to see you on the other side for a really long time. This is going to sound a little cliché but I don’t want you to live in sorrow and self-pity. Live the life I never got to live. Remember me as I was; a hero, a total chick magnet, and a smooth ladies man, in other words I don’t mind if you embellish a little.” Dick couldn’t find it in him to laugh so he just offered a somber smile.

“Do you forgive me for asking Artemis to go undercover?” He asked slightly nervous.

“Only if you forgive me for not being there when you needed me the most. And you have to forgive yourself for my death. It’s all or nothing.” Dick’s smile finally met his eyes.

“All is forgiven.” He said, meaning every word.

“All is forgiven.” Wally responded in kind. As the light grew stronger Wally faded more, more until Dick could barely make him out.

“I love you Wally, please don’t go.” He pleaded even though he knew it was useless.

“Sorry Dick, it’s time.” Only faint traces still remained.

“Wally…” One last plea…

“Goodbye Dick.” …And then he was gone.

And with that Dick opened his eyes and bolted up in his bed his eyes desperately seeking any sign that the former redhead was ever there.

“Goodbye Wally.”

His scent still lingered in the air.

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Moving on

 

Terry awoke the following morning and made his way down for breakfast. He didn’t get a lot of sleep the previous night still worrying about both Bart and Dick. The smell of freshly made coffee lured him into the kitchen where he saw Alfred preparing today’s meal.

“Morning Alfred.” Terry said with a yawn and Alfred instantly turned around and offered him a fresh mug of hot coffee. “You are a prince.” Terry inhaled the aroma and took a long sip. “Whatever Bruce’s paying you it isn’t enough.”

Terry was pleased to see that Alfred smiled at his comment. “Something I remind Master Bruce quite often I assure you.” Terry took a quick look around to see once again he was the first one at the breakfast table.

“So where’s Bruce and Dick?” He asked as he watched Alfred prepare this morning’s meal to which he noted was a lot smaller than yesterday’s. He supposed that the return of Tim was a special occasion. It didn’t really bother him though, that huge meal was way more than he usually ate.

“Master Bruce has once again forgone breakfast in favor of a thermos of coffee and has already left for a meeting at Wayne Enterprises.” Terry kept forgetting that this Bruce still owned his company and needed to be a more active participant then the almost retired Bruce he was used to.

“As for Master Dick he was still asleep in his room last I checked. I felt it was better to let him sleep,” on that point both Terry and Alfred agreed. Dick had been running himself ragged and it was good to finally see he was getting some rest.

“You may as well sit down and have something to eat Master Terry. I don't know when Master Dick shall awaken but I’d rather he slept in this morning.” Terry listened to the sounds of pots and pans clanging as Alfred continued to cook but he also remembered how little Dick had been eating lately; he felt it was better to lead by example than to lecture. That seemed to work yesterday.

“If it’s all the same with you Alfred I’d rather wait for Dick.” Alfred nodded then returned to the kitchen. He hoped he wasn’t causing too much trouble for the kind butler but he knew they both felt it was for the best.

Terry didn’t have to wait too long before Dick finally woke up and came downstairs. Terry wasn’t sure what had happened the previous night but the other vigilante looked a little different. He seemed to carry himself like he had just a little less weight of the world on his shoulders. The weight was still there but it seemed lighter somehow.

“Morning Dick!” Terry called out trying to gauge his reaction. In response Dick stopped on the stairs and his eyes fell upon Terry for a brief moment before quickly looking away.

“Um, morning Ter.” Terry wasn’t sure but it almost looked like Dick was blushing but it was probably just his imagination.

“You slept in for once, did you get a good night's sleep?” The sad smile spread across Dick’s face as if remembering something.

“I had a very… welcomed dream last night. It helped me put a few things into perspective.” From the tone of his voice he got the impression that Dick didn’t want to elaborate very much so Terry let it slide as Alfred brought out their breakfast. Dick looked curiously at Terry’s plates and then back up at the boy. “Did you wait for me to get up?” Terry tried to casually shrug it off.

“No, I just wasn’t hungry.” As if listening in his stomach decided to let out a loud growl.

“Ah, so you did miss me, didn’t you?” Dick teased poking his fork at Terry’s arm.

“No.” Terry responded this time blushing himself. “I just didn’t want Alfred to have to make breakfast twice.” It would have been more convincing if they didn’t hear Alfred coughing lightly in the background to cover up a potential laugh. And judging by the looks Dick was giving him, nobody believed him.

“Well we wouldn’t want to have Alfred’s hard work go to waste now would we?” Dick said, taking a bite of his own. Terry could have argued back but he was pleased to see that Dick’s appetite was returning. As they ate breakfast they joked and laughed and by the end Dick had eaten a bit more than he had the previous day. Again he still could have eaten more but it was an improvement and Terry would take it.

“So what’s on the agenda for today?” Terry asked not knowing what the routine was around here since Nightwing was essentially benched until he was cleared for duty.

“I’ve got an appointment with Black Canary while you’re going to be meeting with Ray Palmer The Atom. He’s going to do some readings to try and determine if we can narrow down the dimensions you came from and ideally find the path that you came on.” Terry nodded in agreement. He was please see that some progress was being made to get him back home even if this was just a test.

“Sounds like a plan.” The pair retreated to their rooms to change. Terry in civilian clothes and Dick in his Nightwing attire.

They met up again in the Batcave where Terry was handed a briefcase containing his suit. “The Atom wants to go over the readings from your suit as well. It may have held more information for him to work with.” Nightwing explained as he programmed in the coordinates for the watchtower. “He may even be able to help you make some repairs to it.” Terry nodded as he followed the other boy into the Zeta beam light. Upon arrival both Black Canary and The Atom were waiting for them and each boy was anxious to get to work.

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Despite this being a confidential meeting and having gone to her for years Dick was always a little nervous when he first walked into her office. Bats kept secrets and secrets kept people safe which is why opening up like this to someone, even though he knew them, was still hard for the former boy wonder. Nevertheless the visit/dream he had last night seemed to make it a bit easier. They talked for a while about how Wally’s death had affected him and his performance as Nightwing. They also talked about how he tended to shoulder the burden for the whole team when in reality he was carrying too much.

Black Canary had some good insights that let Dick see things from a new perspective. And during the conversation she brought up how he seemed different today as opposed to just yesterday.

“I had a… dream last night.” He said, a little hesitant to say that Wally was really in his room as a spirit saying a final farewell to him. “Wally was there and we had the conversation that I wished we had while he was still alive.”

“Do you still think he blames you for his death?” Black Canary asked, a little concerned. Dick took his time before answering.

“While I’ll always feel responsible for the safety of my friends and loved ones I don’t think he’d want me to dwell on this forever.” It wasn’t quite the response she wanted but again she could hear improvement in his words.

“So tell me about this dream you had last night, how did it feel to see Wally again?” And this time he answered with a smile recalling how good it was to see his longtime friend again. And for the first time in a long while talking about it wasn’t painful.

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Terry was with The Atom for over two hours and in that time he felt that they had made little progress. The Atom assured him that these tests were just the first step but he also admitted time and dimensional traveling were very tricky and not to expect results right away. In other words a lot of this was guesswork with him as a guinea pig but he supposed it was better than sitting around doing nothing. On the plus side together they were able to fix his suit while Ray was gushing over the advanced technology. Terry was just happy to have his suit back in working order but he was starting to get restless. He wished he could go out and take his anger out on some random criminal but it was clear that while they trusted him in the watchtower he was still most likely being watched and not allowed to leave on his own.

Frustrated with the lack of progress he decided to try and find Nightwing. The first place he tried was the waiting room outside of Black Canary’s office but instead of finding Nightwing he found Bart patiently waiting outside the door. Or, as patient as a hyperactive speedster could be.

“Hey Bart, what are you doing here?” Terry asked, getting the speedster’s attention. Bart looked up and looked around as if he was afraid somebody else might be standing there.

“Oh Terry, it’s just you.” Terry could guess why Bart was here today and was a little concerned.

“Are you doing okay?” Bart had that same strange sad smile on his face that he had seen Dick wearing earlier.

“Actually I’m doing a lot better today and I thought I’d take Wal-I mean Nightwing’s advice and see Black Canary before Batman tries to boot me off the team.” While Terry wondered about that little slip it was good to hear that Bart was seeking additional help not just for Dick’s sake but for his own.

“Looks like everybody got a good night's sleep last yesterday.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently Dick slept in for the first time in…I don’t know how long he said something about good dreams too.” As he glanced at Bart’s face saw a little something there that might have been recognition or understanding but what it meant he had no clue. Whatever it was seemed to have a positive effect on both Dick and Bart so he decided not to worry about it.

“Is Nightwing still with Black Canary?” He asked, glancing at the closed-door.

“No, he left about an hour ago to hit the training room. He said something about needing to work off some excess energy. I’m just waiting for my appointment to start. She said she could squeeze me in.” To Terry that sounded like a great idea. If he couldn’t take out his frustrations on the criminals then he could at least take it out on a few training dummies.

“You know I could do with the workout myself, mind pointing me in the right direction?” Bart was happy to oblige and in no time at all Terry had found the entrance to the training room. But just as he was about to go in the doors opened and a large African-American man walked out with a towel draped around his neck. Terry remembered meeting him the night before and remembered that this was Mal the new Guardian. He seemed nice enough even if neither one had existed in his world before.

“Getting in a midday workout?” He said casually.

“Yeah I’m starting to get antsy. Was Nightwing still in there? I was hoping to borrow some of his workout clothes?” Mal just smiled.

“He sure is. He's in section G4.” He said to Terry pointing him in the right direction before heading off. “Enjoy the show.” He called back at Terry who wasn’t sure what to make of it.

That was answered pretty quickly for as soon as he walked into section G4 he saw that he was in a large section dedicated to gymnastics. There were new balance beams, parallel, and uneven bars, rings and even a trampoline. But what stuck out the most was the life-size trapeze and swinging from it he saw the most graceful performer who had ever flown through the air.

Terry couldn’t help but watch in awe as Nightwing swung, jumped, and flipped through the air catching the trapeze bar almost as an afterthought. He had seen videos of a young Dick Grayson on the trapeze in his time and while he was still impressed it was a much different experience seeing it in person. But as beautiful as this was he couldn’t help but feel sorry for Mr. Grayson in his time. With a bullet in his spine he could no longer perform as he once did. He knew the man taught aerials in the school he owned. Terry supposed it was better to pass on a tradition and a skill rather than letting it go to waste. He had to commend Mr. Grayson for that. If Terry was in a similar position he wasn’t sure he would be able to look at a trapeze every day without feeling a sense of loss.

But this Dick Grayson had no limitations and he also seemed to know he had an audience. Progressively the tricks got more and more dangerous Terry almost wished there was a net set up. After practically giving gravity the middle finger Dick did a quadruple somersault through the air at a speed so quick Terry was sure he was going to miss the bar. He was almost ready to jump in when Dick lazily stretched his hand out, grabbed the bar, swung himself up to the podium, and took a bow.

Stunned, Terry took a few moments before he started clapping. Dick made a long graceful bow soaking in the praise even if it was only coming from one person. Instead of climbing down, Nightwing grabbed a rope from at the podium and graciously swung himself safely to the ground.

“What do you think Terry, do you want to give it a go?” Terry looked up at the tall contraption that Dick had grown up playing on. As foreboding as it looked from the ground he imagined they would look even more so from up high.

“As easy as you made that look, I think I’ll pass. I’m more used to running and jumping across rooftops.” Nightwing gave a slightly skeptical look but didn’t look too disappointed.

“Suit yourself but it’s still not a bad skill to learn.” Dick commented as Terry tossed him a towel. “Thanks, so how did it go with The Atom?” Terry sighed as he looked down at the bag he was holding.

“I’m getting the impression that a lot of this is guesswork and the odds of me getting home are looking slimmer every day.” Dick put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t take it so hard, and don’t forget this is just the first day and our scientists have pulled off some amazing things so don’t lose all hope.” Terry did appreciate the gesture but wasn’t sure if all of this would be for nothing. “Did he at least get a look at your suit?” Terry held up the case.

“Yeah, luckily we were able to get that fixed up pretty quickly. If I’m going to be stuck here, and I mean long-term, don't expect me to just sit on the sidelines.” Nightwing glance from the case back to Terry.

“And what if one of us locks the suit up again?” Nightwing said half teasing half serious.

“Then I’ll make do without it, Batman is more than just the suit after all.”

“True.” Dick agreed. “So I take it you had to fight a few times without it.”

“More than a few hell there was one time I actually had to fight the suit itself when it was taken over.” Dick looks slightly impressed. “Was it being remote-controlled?”

“Something like that but the point is I beat it in nothing more than my street clothes and one of Nightwing’s old masks.” Dick raised an eyebrow at that last comment.

“Just the mask? Why not the whole suit?” Dick said lightly teasing.

“Because there’s no way my ass would look half as good in that suit as the original.” Terry said without giving it much thought but once he had he realized he was more than just hinting at the idea of flirting with Dick he was actually flirting. He wasn’t sure it would be reciprocated or appreciated.

“Oh, I don’t know, you pull off that high-tech spandex pretty well.” Dick responded with a suggestive smirk and walked in front of him ever so slightly as they headed for the locker room. Terry was definitely enjoying the view.

“But speaking of uniforms I’d kind of like to see you out of one.” Terry was glad he was facing Dick’s backside so that he couldn’t see the blush on his face. “You up for a little sparring session in just street clothes and without all the gear?”

‘Oh,’ Terry thought, now really glad Dick was facing the other way. “Sure I’m game. Do you have any workout clothes I could borrow?” Dick turned back around and Terry had hoped the blush had faded enough so that the other boy wouldn’t notice.

“Sure do, in fact let’s take this to the training ring.” Terry wasn’t sure what the training ring was but he had to admit he was looking forward to getting to fight Nightwing in his prime. Once they both changed, Dick led Terry to a large room with a metal floor covered in sensors. Terry surmised this was used to collect data on the other heroes’ fighting skills to show strengths and weaknesses. He kind of wished they had something like this back at the Batcave but he also suspected that Bruce would use it to nitpick every little thing he did wrong. A casual sparring session like this was a lot less pressure.

“Tim, what are you doing out of bed?” Terry stopped observing the room and noticed that Tim was in fact off to the side talking with a young Hispanic man Terry was sure was the current Blue Beetle. Tim gulped and looked back up at his older brother.

“I’ve been going stir crazy Nightwing, I just need to stretch my legs for a little bit.” Dick looked skeptical.

“And you decide to stretch her legs in the training area?” Even behind the dark shades Terry could tell Tim was rolling his eyes.

“I’m not here to train, I'm just here to watch.”

“You’re supposed to be resting.”

“Like you’ve never ignored medical advice and left early.” Dick had the decency to look a little abashed. Taking pity on the two brothers, Terry decided to come up with a solution.

“We were about to spar for a bit. Why don’t you let Robin stay and watch and after that we’ll take him back to his room?” While Dick looked like he was thinking it over Tim seemed more interested in the idea of them sparring then getting out of his room longer.

“You two are going to spar?” Next to him Blue Beetle seemed to perk up at the news.

“So Nightwing is going to fight the future Batman?” He said starting to get a little excited as well. “This I’ve gotta see.” The way the excitement was building it was looking like this was going to be more performance than a fight. But the prospect of a performance was what helped sell Nightwing on the idea. He never could resist a captive audience.

“All right, but afterwards you’re going back to your room for the rest of the night. I still want you to get some more rest.” Tim nodded, satisfied with the compromise.

And after a few minutes of stretching both Terry and Dick stepped onto the platform their stats lighting up on the overhead. When the buzzer went off signaling it was time to begin neither one of them immediately moved. Both were still staring at each other waiting for the other to make the first move. Terry was anxious and took the first swing. As expected, Nightwing dodged and quickly countered. Terry dodged the first blow himself and they went back and forth for several turns neither one of them landing a hit. They were both figuring out each other’s styles. Nightwing was quick and he was constantly moving something that might draw a fight out longer than necessary but it also made him extremely hard to hit. Terry on their other hand had the more direct approach. He had learned most of his fighting on the streets and in juvi before he met Bruce where his skills were refined.

They both seemed to realize that they needed to take this up another notch. Nightwing made a couple of fake moves before jabbing Terry in the side. Terry pretended the hit hurt more than it did which gave him an opportunity to kick Nightwing in the legs. Still neither one with them was hurt enough to stop and the adrenaline kept them moving. They were both enjoying fighting with a partner who was on their level and kept them on their toes. They were so into the fight they almost didn’t realize that the crowd that was observing them had gone significantly larger.

Bart had found them after he had finished his first session with Black Canary and had joined Tim and Jaime to watch the fight. On the other side Artemis and Connor were observing as well.

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Artemis was glad to see that Nightwing seemed to be feeling better. She also noticed that Bart seemed to be more upbeat than he was just yesterday. She was wondering if the dream she had with Wally was real or if it had just been some sort of turning point. Either way she was glad to see that everyone was moving forward and seemed to be happier, well most people. Connor was standing beside her watching the fight with a slight scowl on his face. Connor had told her earlier that he didn’t like the newcomer for some reason but when asked why he said he didn’t know, he just did.

“It looks like they both needed to let off a little steam.” Artemis said to Connor even though he was still frowning.

“The new guy fights like a bat.” He said not taking his eyes off the fight. “He’s also fighting dirty.”

Artemis looked back at the fight and while she wouldn’t exactly call Terry’s fighting dirty per se some of his moves had certainly not been taught by Batman. In fact his style reminded her a little bit like Jason’s. It’s also something she saw on the streets of Gotham which is likely where he picked that up.

“I’d say it’s a mix between bat-style and Gotham Street style.” Connor still didn’t look impressed and still didn’t take his eyes off the arena. As she watched a little more she smiled to herself. “If you asked me this is more flirting than fighting.” And finally Connor turned his eyes away from the fight to look at Artemis.

“What are you talking about there really going at each other.” He took another look back at the fight as if trying to figure out where this flirting was supposed to be taking place. “I know what flirting is and M'gann never flirted like that with me.” He said, sounding a little confused.

Artemis was slightly confused as well; he almost sounded jealous but, “there are lots of ways to flirt, not just the way you and M'gann flirted. Are you two-“

“Friends.” He said a little too quickly. “We talked it over and while things are better between us then they were before neither one of us thinks that getting back together is a good idea. But being just friends really doesn’t sound bad at all. It just took us a while to move on.” Artemis could sympathize. She had dated in the past and sometimes people made better friends and lovers and you are lucky if you can still consider the other person as a friend after a break up.

“While I’m happy for you two,” and she was. “Why do you seem so against the idea that Terry and Dick might be flirting with each other?” Connor’s scowl deepened.

“I just don’t like the guy, I know he saved Tim but how do we know he’s not using that to gain our trust.” It was a valid point but something in Connor’s tone told Artemis that he was trying to convince himself more than her. “Besides Dick doesn’t even like guys.” At that Artemis let out a snort and she started to laugh. Connor turned back to her in confusion.

“What?” Now getting slightly ticked off.

“Dick’s bi, I thought everybody knew that.” Apparently Connor didn’t because he looked genuinely surprised.

“Bi?”

“It means he likes-“

“I know what it means.” He snapped, cutting her off while they looked back at the two fighters in the training area. “I’ve just… never seen him with a guy before.” He said in a much more toned down voice.

“He usually does date women but I know there’s been one or two guys he’s gone out with outside of the team.” For some reason that only seemed to upset Connor even more. “I know there’s a bit of a social stigma attached to couples of the same gender but-“

“but it’s not something to be ashamed of.” Connor finished fearing he was giving off the wrong impression. Artemis was only slightly relieved that she wasn’t going to have to deal with any stupid prejudice. But she was more relieved that it seemed that Superman was at least trying harder to be a good mentor and family to Connor.

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The truth was that Connor suspected that he was bisexual himself. It was one of the more serious yet awkward conversations he had managed to have with Superman when he finally stopped ignoring him and started being a real mentor.

He had a lot of Cadmus programming but the programming didn’t teach him how to handle certain feelings and emotions. Connor was supposed to be a duplicate, a replacement for Superman but Superman was 100% straight. So when Connor started to notice that he was attracted to men as well as women he feared it was another defect and one the Man of Steel would hate him for. Fortunately once they talked he actually found that Superman was very understanding and he wasn’t rejected but there is still a part of him that felt uncomfortable sharing this with anybody else. Maybe that was why he tried so hard to make it work with M'gann even after they broke up.

Looking at the arena where he saw Terry and Dick fighting but smiling all the while he felt something unpleasant stirring in his stomach. But whatever it was it couldn’t be a crush. He had known Dick pretty much his entire life and while he admitted the dark-haired man was attractive he never really let his mind consider that perhaps it could be taken further. But now that he knew that Dick was in fact attracted to men and that another man seemed to have gained his attention he was looking at the situation from an entirely different angle. He wasn’t sure what it was but it wasn’t a crush, it couldn’t be.

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Artemis watched Connor as he watched Dick and Terry’s fight/flirt session with a little concern. On the one hand it was kind of cute that Connor seemed to be developing a crush on Dick but the fact that Dick seemed to have another suitor was definitely problematic. She wanted her friends to be happy, all of her friends but this situation could turn ugly really quickly. She didn’t say anything to Connor; it seemed like he was still trying to process his own feelings but she did make a mental note to keep an eye on the situation.

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The sparring session had gone on longer than Terry or Dick had thought and by the end both were tired, a little worn, and sore but in a good way. They had both been pretty evenly matched even though neither one of them was really going all the way. They both pretty much collectively agreed to call it a draw and since nobody had suffered any major falls the computer didn’t declare a winner either. They both kind of liked it this way.

“Ah, don't stop now. It was just getting good.” Bart cried out from the crowd which had grown substantially since the fight began. “Just a few more minutes and I would’ve won the bet.”

Nightwing looked over and glared at the speedster. “You were betting on our fight?” Impulse looked away a little sheepish.

“Well sort of, but it wasn’t for money I swear. Jaime was going to owe me a case of Chicken Whizzies.”

“In your dreams there was no way he was going to-“ realizing he was on dangerous grounds as he saw both Dick and Terry staring at them with their arms crossed. “Oh would you look at the time, I need to get home or my mother’s going to be worried.”

“But your mom said you could-“ Jaime quickly put his hand over Bart’s mouth and tried to make a hasty retreat. Dick allowed them to make their escape and instead walked over to his brother.

“And which side were you betting on?” Dick asked with a smirk while Tim smirked back.

“Neither, I was the judge.” Dick couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“Well you still have to go back to your room for the night. Come on, we'll walk you.” Tim followed without complaint, not telling them that he was actually getting a bit tired.

“You know,” Terry began. “Since we don’t have to watch the time traveling protocol anymore I could tell you guys about something interesting in my time.” Dick looked intrigued and Tim looked excited.

“Is it about some new technology or advancement in science or health care?” Terry spread his arms very wide theatrically.

“Batman: The Musical.” Tim’s face fell with disappointment while Dick nearly doubled over laughing.

“Are you serious?” He said between breaths. “Batman: The Musical, Bruce must’ve wanted to burn the theater down.” Terry let out a little laugh of his own.

“I’m pretty sure he was tempted. He certainly stormed off pretty quick; he didn't even make it through the first act.” Tim didn’t seem to like the idea of the Dark Knight being made into a parody. Bruce wasn’t exactly the type of person that could laugh at himself.

“Wait, you took him to see the show?” Terry nodded.

“That’s right, for his birthday.” At that Dick grimaced.

“Revenge on his birthday that’s pretty low.” Terry honestly seemed surprised that they would consider this punishment. The show was highly acclaimed and there was a waiting list a mile long for tickets.

“Come on, I thought he’d like it. It was a tribute to all of his years protecting the city of Gotham and this show shows that his legacy wasn’t forgotten.” Dick and Tim exchanged glances. They both knew their Bruce was different from Terry’s Bruce but both would probably have pretty much the same reaction.

“While that may have been your intention I’m pretty sure Bruce took it as a mockery of all of his hard work and suffering.” Tim said as they got to the door to his temporary room. “Especially if there was singing involved.” Terry looked down; he was honestly trying to show the man a good time he didn’t think he would take it so seriously. Then again he did go off gallivanting with who they thought was Talia and even allowed himself to be bathed in the Lazarus pit. Even so Terry didn’t think the play was that bad.

“I do have to ask you one question?” Dick said as he helped Tim get into bed for the night while the other boy was trying to get him to stop fussing over him like he was a child. “In this musical was Batman singing? Oh please, tell me that Batman was singing.” Terry smirked and then promptly cleared his throat.

“I am vengeance I am the night I am… Batman !” He belted out the last word as he started to sing. “ There is a song the good folks sing. Batman! About a hero on the wing! ” Dick was covering his mouth trying not to laugh as Terry continued his rendition of the song.

“ Batman! I am Gotham’s darkest knight, the villain’s darkest fright, turn on the signal light! ” By now Dick could no longer contain his laughter while Tim was covering his eyes and shaking his head.

“You hate me don’t you.” And still Terry continued.

“ For… Batman! Batman . ”

As he finally finished Terry bowed while Dick clapped and whistled. Tim plopped down on his bed clearly not having enjoyed the show as much as his brother. “Okay I get it; gambling is wrong, I’ll never do it again, just please stop!”

“Ah, but that was only the first song.” Dick whined. Tim simply glared at the both of them.

“Oh don’t worry Tim, the actors in this show all took their parts very seriously.” Terry reassured him. “In fact the actress who played Robin won a Tony the first year it was performed.” The fact that he had just said Robin’s part was played by a girl did not go unnoticed by the current and former Robin.

“Wait, did you say…” Began Dick and was quickly finished by Tim.

“Actress?”

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Batman sat in front of the surveillance computers as he re-watched Terry and Dick sparring session. You could learn a lot about somebody by how they fought. There was no doubt that Terry had been bat trained but there was a decent amount of street fighting mixed in. He wasn’t quite as fast or flexible as Dick but he had more upper body strength and used it to his advantage. Bruce was painfully reminded of Jason, the son he had lost to a madman. One of the biggest differences between Terry and Jason though was that while Terry was prone to anger he didn’t let it control his actions and was quick thinking on his feet. Even if he wasn’t his son from another world Bruce could easily see potential in this young man but he saw something else while he was watching the fight.

Neither Dick nor Terry were using all their tricks which was a smart tactic you never want to let anybody know all that you’re capable of. This fight was more about them feeling each other out and getting to know their fighting styles but there is also something else. He took a closer look at their facial expressions and their body language and confirmed what he feared.

Terry was attracted to Dick and it seemed like the feeling was mutual. This was more than a little concerning to Bruce. Dick was his son in every way but blood and he just discovered that Terry was his son if only by blood. Technically since both boys were from different dimensions and were never raced together they weren’t technically brothers but Bruce was not very comfortable with the idea of both boys getting too close. Initially he thought it was a good idea for Dick to keep an eye on Terry but now he wasn’t so sure. But how could he convey his thoughts about this without revealing the results of the DNA test.

In his eyes this new blossoming relationship was not a good thing. If Terry is going to be stuck here permanently then eventually Bruce was going to have to come clean about what he found but that would also reveal that his own mentor had kept something important from him. On the other hand if the boys did get close and they suddenly found a way to get Terry home Dick would be heartbroken. Dick had a habit of becoming attached to people and loss affected him deeply. It was not something he wanted to see his son go through again.

For now he would keep an eye on the situation and if need be prevent it from escalating any further.

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After trying to teach the Bat kids another song from the musical, Tim promptly kicked them out and locked the door behind them. For a kid who was still on bed rest it was easy to forget that he was also bat trained. Neither of them seemed to mind since it was an indication that Tim was in fact getting better.

After their sparring session they were both feeling rather hungry but instead of going to the cafeteria Dick managed to convince Black Canary to let him take Terry out to his favorite burger joint by his apartment in Blüdhaven. While the snack was not up to Alfred standards Terry still enjoyed the greasy burger and seasoned fries. Dick ordered a milkshake while Terry declined. To their surprise the waitress had brought him the milkshake with two straws each of them facing one of the boys. The waitress left with a wink as she went to wait on the other tables. Both Dick and Terry looked at the shake and the straws with a bit of apprehension. True it was fun getting to know Dick a bit more and Terry wasn’t going to deny that he was flirting with the other man but this was the kind of thing he used to do with his former girlfriend Dana. He realized he really hadn’t thought about her very much since he arrived in his strange alternate universe. And for that he felt very guilty.

True she had broken up with him but it was so sudden that, at the time, Terry couldn’t help but think that maybe there was some way to work it out even though he knew it was over. The breakup was the reason why he was so off his game that he wasn’t paying proper attention and got thrown through the portal in the first place. Maybe he didn’t love her as much as he thought, maybe he just liked the idea of having a normal relationship outside of being Batman. Or maybe it was so that hopefully one day he wouldn’t end up like Mr. Wayne old and utterly alone. When push came to shove Batman always came first and she had put up with him a lot longer than a smart girl like her should have. The fact that he really hadn’t thought about her much pretty much confirmed that he really had taken her for granted. And here he was flirting with someone else barely giving it a second thought. Silently he took out his straw and folded it in one of his napkins gently pushing the milkshake back towards Dick.

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Dick had been watching Terry the entire time and could deftly read conflict all over his face. He wasn’t sure what was troubling him but he didn’t want to push the issue. Due to protocol he didn’t know too much about Terry’s home life and maybe they had been somebody back at home who Terry had to leave behind. Although he was pretty sure that Terry had been flirting with him almost all day, admittedly the milkshake might’ve been a little too much too soon. Neither one of them were ready for anything more at this point so Dick just took the milkshake back and they ate the rest of their meal in silence.

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While they were in Blüdhaven Dick wanted to stop by his apartment to pick up a few things. He was still staying at Wayne Manor for a little while longer and the area he was living in wasn’t the safest and he wanted to make sure that his apartment hadn’t been broken into while he was away. Terry had been silent most of the way there but Dick could tell he was itching to say something. Once Nightwing had unlocked the door, double checked the security and went inside. Terry took a deep breath.

“Sorry about dinner.” Terry said as Nightwing moved about his apartment throwing a few things into a duffel bag.

“Did you want to talk about it?” Dick said, lending him an ear. Terry took a seat at one of the barstools at the island in Dick’s kitchen.

“I was just thinking about my ex-girlfriend back home.” Dick noticed how he said the word ex almost hesitantly. “We broke up just before I got the call to track down Timecode. I really should’ve seen it coming and while I could use the excuse that I was always neglecting her because of my Batman duties the reality was I couldn’t give her what she needed. And I couldn’t tell her about me being Batman because that would just put her in more danger. Either way it wasn’t fair to her. But the worst part about it was the whole time I’ve been here I barely gave her a thought which only seems to prove that she was right all along.” Dick sat down across from him listening to the whole story and put a hand over his forearm.

“It’s never easy having a relationship in our line of work, especially with civilians. Believe me I’ve had my fair share, most of them didn’t last very long but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth trying. I know Bruce would disagree but, well he’s Bruce.”

“You know a part of me thinks that I might have hung on to Dana just so I could prove to the old man that you could be Batman and have a happy normal life at the same time. I know I loved her, at least at one point, but I can’t honestly remember when I stopped.” Terry sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. “I just don’t know where to go from here.” Dick didn’t have the answers to his questions, both boys definitely felt an attraction to each other but they were each moving on. One from a failed relationship and one that was always one-sided. They both finally agreed to take things slow and Terry was grateful that he had finally found someone who understood what it was like to be a hero. Who knows how things would progress from here but for now this was enough.

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As Dick went through his apartment one last time to make sure he didn’t forget anything he stopped in his bedroom but noticed something was off. He couldn’t quite figure out what it was but something felt off as soon as he walked into the room. Nothing was out of place, missing, or added and he double checked his security system. Nothing had been tripped and there was no hacking done to the system but something just didn’t feel right.

“Dick you coming?” Terry called from the other room anxious to get back before somebody sent a search party for him. Dick took one last look around the room but as he left he had the strangest feeling that he was being watched.

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Reunion

 

Bruce groaned when he looked up at his screen doing his best to try and find Terry's signature or at the very least its limitations. He knew the task that he had assigned to Gear was difficult bordering on impossible but he was not willing to give up on his charge just yet. But after only two days of fruitless searching he had to agree that they needed additional help. Gear’s husband Virgil a.k.a. Static Shock was quick to jump in and offer his assistance.

Bruce was forced to ask Max, Terry’s best friend, to help them set up a cover story for Terry so that any long-term absences would be explained. He had a contingency plan already mapped out just in case Terry didn’t come home but it was only a last resort, one that he wished he didn’t have to think about.

Max quickly joined them in the Batcave where she officially met Static and Gear. While she tried to hide it Max was definitely excited to meet Gear, one of her favorite heroes of all time. And it seemed Richie was just as thrilled to meet a fan who was smart enough to follow his explanations on what exactly they were trying to do. Somehow without even asking Max had become Gear’s assistant and was assisting him with calculations and helping to eliminate worlds where Terry could not have ended up. Normally he would have protested but Max was proving herself to be more than a little useful. He just hoped that Gear didn’t get any bright ideas about taking her on as a protégé. He was grateful that Terry was against the idea of bringing Max out into the field and Bruce would not allow any other young crime fighters to operate in his city if he could help it. He was going to have to keep a close eye on those two, perhaps give Gear warning before he started getting too attached.

He was taken by surprise when on the third day he got a call from Tim Drake asking if he could help. Tim didn’t say if he was contacted by one of the others currently in the cave or if he had hacked into the systems and found out but Bruce really couldn’t turn down any help at this point. He made sure to hide any Joker memorabilia and cleared out most of his old Robin stuff. When Virgil asked why he didn’t just throw away his Joker collection Bruce responded with only silence. He couldn’t explain why he needed to hold onto such grisly things but somehow he felt that by looking at those things every day he kept the memories alive and it helped to remind him of how badly he had failed Tim as a boy and made sure they would never be repeated. And here he was looking for another boy he had shared his mission with, another boy who he had possibly lost for good. But secretly he was glad that Tim had the courage to come back to the cave, he just hoped it wouldn’t overwhelm him or cause him to relapse. He really had missed him.

“Well that’s another Earth we can cross off our list.” Gear called out as he made a slash mark through the world number. Virgil came up to him and looked at the screen he was examining.

“So he’s not in the Lego universe?” Virgil commented as Gear resisted rolling his eyes at his partner.

“For the last time that world was not made out of Legos the screen just couldn’t interpret the data correctly due to distance and interference.” Virgil took another look at the screen then shrugged.

“You say potatos, I say Legos.” Gear almost face palmed but stops himself, he was more than used to his partner’s bad jokes over the years and he knew this was just Virgil’s way of relieving the tension. “Which one was it again? The one with the normal founding members of the Justice League or that really strange Justice League that Batman was on?” Gear took a closer look at the data.

“Which other team?”

“You know the one with the construction worker, DJ, astronaut, ghost, steampunk mechanical pirate thingy and that weird creature that was some kind cat/unicorn mutant.” Tim was the only one who raised an eyebrow at the strange description. The others who had been here a few days had seen a lot of weird things as they were searching through the dimensions. Nobody else even looked up from their work.

“I was referring to the one with the standard Justice League founding members. The other one wasn’t really the League, it was more like a rebel group. While they were in similar dimensions their Earths are pretty close but actually…” He trailed off slightly as he did the calculations. “Yes, we can eliminate both of them.” Virgil gave his husband a congratulatory pat on the shoulder and smiled.

“Everything is awesome!” He started to sing.

“Please do not start singing that again!” Max cried out putting her hands over her ears. “Do you know how long it took me to get that out of my head the first time?” Virgil looked a little sheepish.

“Sorry but it was always playing almost nonstop while we were searching through that place. Hopefully there won’t be too many others with a soundtrack.” Bruce simply huffed as he was able to cross off another world of his own. So far it felt like they weren’t making much progress.

“Status report, I want to know how many Earths we’ve eliminated and how many more we’ll need to search.” Bruce announced as everybody gathered around the main screen in front of the bat computer. Gear stepped up and showed a map of the known Earths. It was very disheartening to see that there were several thousands of Earths alone and that wasn’t even counting all of the individual worlds within each Earth. Still they had to start somewhere.

“Okay so far I’ve eliminated earth 17 which is good considering it’s a nuclear wasteland. Earth 9 were all the heroes pretty much have the same names as ours but are completely different people and many have different powers. Then there was Earth 32 where Bruce became a Green Lantern instead of Batman. The other two worlds I just crossed off were still within range but from an unknown Earth.” Bruce was disappointed that so few worlds were crossed off by Gear he was hoping the others had better luck.

“I’ve only got a few crossed off myself.” Said Virgil as he held up his chart. “Earth 31 is where Batman is not only scary but downright terrifying. He retired just like you but came out of retirement and took a young girl as his Robin instead. Kind of glad Terry’s not there.” If he was expecting a response from Bruce he was going to be disappointed. “He’s not on earth 11 where everybody’s genders are reversed.” He shivered for a moment. “Sorry, I'm still thinking about hairy Wonder Woman-I mean, Wonder Man. And he’s not on Earth 44 where all of the Justice Leaguers are robots with the exception of Red Tornado ironically.” Again a disappointing low number when they still had so many to cross off. Max stepped up next.

“Speaking of a world I’m glad Terry didn’t wind up in, he’s not an Earth 43 where Batman is a literal vampire.” At this Bruce finally reacted even if it was just a raise of an eyebrow. “Don’t look at me like that, you’re the one who likes to dress up as a giant bat. I’m just surprised we haven’t seen this in more worlds. But anyway, he’s not there and he’s not an Earth 26 either where the world is populated by anthropomorphic beings.”

“That’s a shame.” Said Virgil with a smile on his face. “I kind of liked Captain Carrot.” This got a smile from everyone in the room with the exception of Bruce of course. Sensing he was losing patience Max got back to her list.

“He’s also not an Earth 33 were all the heroes are magic users or Earth 10 where the axis powers won World War II, the Nazis rule and the Justice League is covered in swastikas.” The last one she read off send shivers down her spine.

“I’ve only got two in my list.” Tim said lightly disappointed but still pretty impressive since he was the last one to arrive. “Earth 19 which was still in the throes of an Industrial Revolution making most of their heroes steam punk versions of our own. And finally Earth 3 where everything is reversed. Good is evil, evil is good, all the heroes are villains and all the villains are heroes.” Tim tried not to think about how the Joker was the hero in that world and how Owlman was a twisted and sadistic version of Bruce.

Bruce checked over his list and noticed something interesting about the ones checked off. “All the ones we’ve eliminated are in the post-crisis division. Which is the same division that our Earth is located in, Earth 12, post-crisis. The ones I’ve managed to check off were in the pre-crisis division. My list is larger mainly because these worlds are further out of reach.” Bruce paused for a moment to think and Gear was doing the same thing. “Gear, do you think we can get a more accurate estimate of how far Terry could have gone?” Gear was still thinking but quickly went over to the computer and started to crunch a few numbers.

“So you’re hoping that he didn’t go as far as the division before or after us?” Bruce nodded while Gear looked at the screen still deep in thought. “Logically it would make sense. It would take a massive amount of knowledge and power to actually break through to the next division, or an incredible amount of bad luck. I can try to reconfigure this with a little more data from the original machine then I can probably get a narrower window if I just stick to our division. But Bruce, there’s always a chance that Timecode got lucky or unlucky and Terry did go further. It is a small chance but I think I might have better luck if we all concentrate on our own division?” The other heroes and former heroes looked at each other. This did seem like a better strategy even if there was a risk but they also knew that Batman liked to be prepared for anything and liked to keep his bases covered.

“Work on your theory Gear. The rest of us will keep trying to narrow down the Earths within our division. Even if Terry did jump to the next division we still need to eliminate the more obvious ones first.” It was sound logic, they all knew it but Tim was still hesitant.

“Are you sure somebody shouldn’t be checking those other Earths? We haven’t even started on the 52’s which is the current and strongest division at the moment and the pre-crisis Earths are so vast.” Bruce was silent for a moment and then he heard a voice that he wasn’t expecting to hear.

“I could look around as well if you still need help.” The whole room quickly turned around. They were a little surprised that someone had gotten it into the Batcave without being detected. Once they saw who it was however the reason was clear.

“Dick, glad you could make it.” Tim said as he went over to give his older brother a handshake which the former Nightwing quickly turned into a hug. “We really could use all the help we can get.” Bruce sat there in shocked silence. He had screwed up a lot of things in his lifetime. One of his biggest regrets was never officially apologizing or making things right with Dick after he was gunned down by the Joker. He was just so ashamed by his actions that he didn’t know where to begin. More than 40 years later he had another chance when Dick came back to help fight off his own clone but once again he screwed it up. He didn’t miss how Dick flinched almost as if in pain when Bruce offered him a uniform. After they defeated Hush Bruce was ready to sit down and talk things over with Dick only for Terry to tell him that Dick had left right after the fight. Bruce knew better, he knew Dick had heard him but chose to walk away. It hurt, but he couldn’t say it was undeserved.

“Exactly how many worlds do we have to eliminate?” Dick said as he walked past Bruce without saying a word and looked up at the screen. “Oh boy, we really need to narrow this down if we’re going to make any headway.” Bruce looked over at his former partner with a forlorn expression. He wanted to say something but had no idea how to say it. After more than 40 years a simple ‘I’m sorry’ was not going to cut it.

“We think he’s still within our division, post-crisis, which are these worlds right here.” Gear said, highlighting about one fourth of the chart, the one that had the most Earths crossed off. “I’m trying to get a more accurate path based on the strength of the machine.” Dick took another look at the chart and thought for a moment.

“I say keep looking just in our division for now, if your information tells us that he could’ve gone further will expand the search but for now we’ll just stick closer to home.” Unknowingly Dick had pretty much said just what Bruce had suggested. Despite the fact that the two had barely spoken in over 40 years they still knew how each other thought whether they liked it or not. “It might be a good idea to try to find out exactly what the device was looking for when it was activated. I wouldn’t be surprised if we found him in a similar world at least at the point of his arrival.” The suggestion put ideas into Gear’s head and a real smile spread across his face the first time in days.

“Dick you’re a genius, I think that’s exactly what happened. How did I miss that?” Dick just smiled as he watched the tech inspired vigilante running around the room gathering parts and notes and putting things together in such a way that only he understood.

“The forest through the trees my friend. That’s why it’s always good to have a second pair of eyes on the prize.” Dick said with a smile as Tim showed him how they were analyzing the worlds so he could help them eliminate as many as he could. Static on the other hand was rolling his eyes.

“And you just had to get him all riled up again.” Virgil said as he watched his partner run around excited. “Whenever he gets excited like this, with a new idea in his head, he’ll go nonstop until it’s finished, sometimes forgetting to eat or sleep. I’m glad our kids are grown up and out of the house because he’s going to be here for a while.”

Virgil’s words echoed throughout the cave. They couldn’t all stay here for an extended period of time. The civilians had work or school and the other heroes couldn’t neglect their duties for very long. Bruce was realizing that they were most likely to have to bring in more people which was not something he wanted to do. The cave was already too crowded. But even so this whole incident had given him a chance to reconnect with his first partner. He wasn’t prepared for this, even after 40 years he wasn’t prepared for this. Once everyone got back to work Bruce swallowed his pride and walked up to his former ward.

“Dick I’m… I’m glad you’re here.” Dick kept his back to him not acknowledging that Bruce was even there. “I was hoping we could talk. Maybe even-“ but Dick him off.

“Stop right there Bruce.” He said softly even though he was pretty sure everyone else in the room could hear him. “Let’s get one thing straight I’m not here for you, I’m here for the kid and I’m also here to make sure that you don’t hurt Tim again while he’s here.” After hearing that Tim almost wanted to speak up but he held back.

“We’ve had our share of fights over the years and almost every time I was the one who came crawling back to try and put the pieces together, not anymore. You should have been the one to come to us and not wait for another disaster to use as an excuse. You should have made an attempt without one of us walking through your door for you to acknowledge us. I’m done Bruce, and you couldn’t have made your feelings any clearer when you abandoned us.” The whole time he was talking Dick never once turned around to look his old mentor in the eye. He didn’t want to see the look of pain on his mentor’s face or worse the lack of pain on his mentor’s face. “When we get the kid back I’m taking him away from your dangerous influence. If you have any compassion for him whatsoever you won’t try to stop me.”

With an emotionless mask in place Bruce quietly went back to his station and continued to go through the Earths on his list. No one in the room dared say anything and Bruce did the only thing he knew how when he needed to reign in his emotions, he focused on the mission and only the mission shoving everything else out.

The tension in the room is so thick you could cut it with a knife, the only sound that could be heard was the light clicking of keys and the soft dings coming from each person’s workstations. No one said a word from almost an hour until…

“Everything is awesome!”

“GEAR!” Every else in the room shouted out causing Richie to jump a little bit.

“So not my fault, Virgil got it stuck in my head again.” Virgil just sat there with a large grin on his face.

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Back on Earth 16 the lost boy in question was keeping himself busy in the Watchtower’s training area. He had another session with the Atom and once again he left disheartened by the fact that so little progress was being made. He was given an explanation about multiverse theory including how vast their sector alone was. More and more he was fearing that the League might not be able to help him after all. He could only hope that his Bruce was working on a way to help get him back.

He heard Batman coming before he even entered the room. He casually turned around showing no surprise at seeing the Dark Knight standing behind him. “Not satisfied with the cameras, you have to spy on me on your own?” Batman kept a neutral expression on his face as he observed the young man who would one day bare his symbol and name.

“I saw the sparring match with you and Nightwing the other day.” This didn’t surprise Terry, he knew there were cameras all over the Watchtower.

“It’s not like we were trying to hide it, half the team and even some League members showed up to watch.” Batman then glanced at the training dummy that Terry was practicing on, noting that it would probably need to be replaced soon.

“You fought well and adjusted your fighting style to counter Nightwing’s without showing too much.” Batman then looked back at Terry. “Very impressive.” He quickly turned away and Terry was left with his jaw hanging open, not quite believing what he just heard.

“I’m sorry, was that a compliment you gave me?” Terry asked, still thinking he heard it wrong. “I don’t get you, one minute I think you’re sway with me, the next you’re having a Martian probe my head and now you’re complimenting me. Men can’t get pregnant on this Earth can they?” And to his utter shock he saw a slight smirk on the Dark Knight’s face when he made that bad joke. Then the next moment he was back to being serious.

“I fear I owe you an apology Terry.” Now the boy was beginning to think that somebody was playing a joke on him or this was someone who was impersonating Batman. “After receiving some data with conflicting results I jump to the conclusion that you are being dishonest and hiding things from me. Upon further examination that conclusion proved to be incorrect.” Terry noticed that Batman was talking around his findings but not actually saying what they were.

“What did you think I was lying about?” His tone was more questioning than accusing. He was curious to know what the Dark Knight had discovered.

“Like I said, my initial conclusion proved to be incorrect and my response was unjustified.” Terry was still half convinced that he was going to wake up any minute now and this would prove to all be one very weird dream. But even so, he had just been complimented and apologized to by Batman. He wasn’t about to press his luck any further.

“I guess I can’t blame you for being too paranoid, you did almost lose your kid.” Terry actually saw Batman shudder slightly just at the thought. “Sorry that came out wrong.” He expected Batman to simply walk out the door or vanish into a shadow but to his surprise he held up one of his old-fashioned batarangs and tossed it to Terry. Terry caught it with ease but noted it was slightly heavier than the ones he was used to working with.

“Your usual batarangs are definitely an improvement on the originals but you only have a few of your own and the alloy that they’re made of hasn’t been invented here yet. I want you to practice with some of mine so you can get a better feel for them.” Curiously Terry took a hold of the batarang and threw it at a nearby target. He hit pretty close to the center but it was off by a few inches.

Batman pressed a series of buttons on a nearby panel and a hidden compartment in one of the walls opened up revealing a large number of batarangs in various sizes and shapes.

“Now this is what I call sway.” Terry said as he picked up a few testing the weight in his hand starting to get the familiar rush every Bat-kid got when they were presented with a new toy.

“Tomorrow you’ll be on the roster for official combat training. As long as you’re here you might as well keep your skills sharp.” Terry had to keep reminding himself that this was not his Bruce, this wasn’t the Bruce that he wanted to hear compliments from or even just more positive reinforcement. But even so it was still nice to hear.

“Yeah that… That sounds like a good idea. Thanks B.” Finally Batman turned around and started to leave the room.

“You also might want to think up a new codename while you’re here. Wearing my symbols is one thing but here I’m still Batman. Oh, and to answer your question from earlier, no men can’t get pregnant on this Earth, at least not usually.” And with that he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Terry stood there for a moment as he processed what he had just learned. Batman wanted him to come up with a new codename, he also wanted him to train with the Team and with Batman’s own weapons. That could only mean one thing, Batman is thinking about letting him go out into the field to fight crime for real. It was a surreal feeling, he had barely been here two weeks but it felt like forever since he had gone out on a mission. He was so excited about the prospect it took him a few moments to realize what else the man had said.

“Wait, what did he mean by ‘at least not usually?’ ”

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Batman walked out of the training area pleased that his strategy was working. He still needed to keep an eye on Terry but he also wanted to keep an eye on his and Dick’s possible relationship. He knew that trying to drive a wedge between the two would be a mistake and the last thing he wanted was Dick running off with the other boy if he tried to push them apart.

No, it was better to get on Terry’s good side and keep them both close. It wasn’t very difficult on his part, the apology was sincere even though he hated the fact that he had to give one in the first place. The boy also had skills that could be of great use in the field and if he accepted training in the Watchtower Batman would have more of an influence on what the boy learned.

It was for the same reasons that Batman approved of the Team when Dick was only 13. After the Cadmus incident Bruce knew he had to do something before the young protégés really did strike out on their own. Once again he knew forcing them to stay inline would’ve only brought on further rebellion. They weren’t trained enough to fly solo completely and he feared if they attempted to form some ‘Super Friends Club’ without the support of their mentors it would have been disastrous, possibly deadly. But even with guidance there were losses.

Better to give them smaller missions out of the public eye where they could spread their wings and gain a little bit of independence. Of course things almost never go as planned but at the end of the day Batman stood behind his decision.

In the long run Batman did need to learn more about his biological son but he feared revealing the results of the DNA test too soon could be disastrous. He was still debating if he should even reveal this information to Terry at all; it could drive a wedge between the boy and his mentor back home. Although after hearing how his alternate self reacted to Tim and Dick’s injuries he wondered if maybe Terry might be better off without him. But it was still too soon to make that judgment call. For now he would just wait and watch.

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Adjusting

 

It had been a month since Terry had landed in this strange alternate universe where things were similar yet different at the same time. Progress on getting him back home was progressing slowly and while they kept telling him to be optimistic it was painfully obvious that unless a miracle occurred he wasn’t ever going back home. Not that a miracle was out of the question but they couldn’t be relied on. So that left Terry in one place, stuck.

You would think moving to a different dimension would be difficult to get used to but surprisingly it seemed like he was settling in rather well. Unlike back home where he had to hide the fact that he was a superhero, here he was surrounded by other heroes, many of them around his own age. And for the most part he was getting along with most of the members of “The Team” which Terry had started calling Young Justice. It was a joke at first but more and more members seemed to be using it and so became The Team’s unofficial nickname. Speaking of names, he had to choose a new name for himself since Batman refused to compromise on the Batman trademark.

“Recognized: Red Bat B-27” the computer announced him as he entered the Watchtower for the day. He didn’t realize it at first but the stand alone numbers were for Justice League members, B designation was intended for members of The Team, while A was reserved for authorized guests. He supposed it was nice on their part to make him feel included but it felt a little too permanent for his taste.

Over the last two weeks he had gotten into a routine which included combat training, education, and what Nightwing called team bonding which was a fancy term for hanging out. You would think having to relearn history and being stuck 40 years in the past would be difficult but Terry was picking up on it fairly quickly. He knew he was going to be confused as hell when he got back home since some of these countries didn’t even exist back in his home dimension. Math was pretty much straight forward with no real changes but literature and media both old and modern were really confusing. There were so many little things that were different and so many things that were new to him but most kids his age were very familiar with.

Technology was also a tricky one. He discovered that the current technology in this world was actually not too far behind his own but he had to make sure to read the manuals for everything even for the most basic equipment. He found that out the hard way after attempting to make breakfast one morning. After the smoke cleared Alfred thanked him for the gesture and then promptly banned him from the kitchen. He was getting the hang of it though, he now knew how to use the microwave. It was so not his fault that he didn’t know you couldn’t use metal in a microwave, he always could at home.

After his latest round of combat training with some helpful notes from Black Canary he stayed to watch Robin take his turn. It was remarkable how quickly the young hero had gotten back on his feet. Terry also suspected there was a drive in the young hero to prove to himself, and to Batman, that he was not a weakling and didn’t need to be babied. Of course it wasn’t going to stop anybody from keeping an eye on him but still Terry was pleased to see that Tim was pretty much recovered. He would be going back on missions pretty soon, probably sooner than Batman or Nightwing would like but the reality was he needed to get back out there.

After lunch Terry went looking for Nightwing and learned that he was giving Wonder Girl some extra training. The session was just about over so Terry figured he’d go and say hi only to run into the last person he wanted to see.

Connor a.k.a. Superboy, Superman’s clone, was standing right in front of the training room door as if he was guarding it. Terry didn’t know what it was but for some reason the guy hated his guts. Terry never did get a real reason why, the only response he got was either, “no reason” or “I just don’t like you” so Terry didn’t bother asking anymore. But right now he was standing in front of the door he needed to go through and was forced to try and play nice.

“Hey Superboy,” Terry said with a forced politeness that he didn’t bother trying to hide. “Can you move please? I need to get in that room.” The clone frowned and folded his arms across his chest.

“Why? Can’t you use another room?” Terry gritted his teeth and tried very hard to not snarl.

“No, I need to get into this room. I wanted to talk to Nightwing.” This only made Superboy frown even harder.

“Well maybe Nightwing doesn’t want to see you.” Terry was quickly losing patience but he didn’t want to start a fight, especially with half Kryptonian.

“Why don’t I let him tell me that? Besides he seemed fine this morning at breakfast, we do live under the same roof you know.” Connor looked like he wanted to throw a punch but didn’t dare. He had been very careful about how he acted around Terry. He had no problem showing his dislike but didn’t do anything outright threatening to him. And Terry wasn’t going to be the one to play tattletale.

“Well he told me he was constantly moving back to Bludhaven once Robin was settled.” Connor said with a smirk but Terry smirked back.

“Yeah I know, he said he was thinking about getting a roommate and asked if I was interested.” It was a good thing that Superboy didn’t have Superman’s laser vision because they’re probably would’ve been two holes through his forehead right about now.

“You’ve been hanging around Nightwing a lot.” It seemed like he wanted to add more to that statement but refrained. Terry couldn’t tell him that he was still watching out for Dick because of Impulse's warning.

“What can I say, he’s a nice guy and I like him.” At that the clone’s eyes shot wide-open.

“What do you mean you like him?” Suddenly Terry was getting the idea that Connor might not be that fond of him because he and Nightwing appeared to be close.

“Is that what this is about? Are you actually jealous?” In a span of two seconds Superboy went from jealous and overprotective to surprised and embarrassed.

“Th-that’s ridiculous, of course I’m not…” And suddenly Connor abandoned his post, turned his head and quickly walked away. Terry could just make out a slight blush on the other boy’s cheek as he made his exit. Terry wondered if Connor really did have feelings for Dick or maybe he was just embarrassed and he was making too much out of this.

Terry decided to worry about it later once he had more information. He may not like Connor but he wasn’t going to go around spreading rumors especially if he wasn’t sure they were true or not.

As he walked into the training room he could see what looked like an obstacle course filled with tiny bells strung up everywhere. Wonder Girl, or Cassie, was trying to move around the various objects without knocking anything over and it looked like she wasn’t using her powers either. He saw Dick, looked up, and waved at him.

“Hey Terry.”

“Hey Nightwing, Cassie.” The girl paused from her exercise and looked up.

“Oh, hi Terry!” But a buzzer went off as soon as she spoke. “Shoot! And I was almost out too.”

Nightwing smiled as he pushed a button and the obstacle course collapsed making it easier for her to get out.

“Sorry Cassie, I should have waited until you’re done.” Terry said feeling sorry for messing up her training exercise. Cassie just shook her head.

“Don’t worry about it, this is a stealth training exercise and I wasn’t supposed to make any noise. It was my own fault but I was just so close!” Nightwing came up and handed her her jacket.

“They are distractions in the field all the time but you’ve made a lot of progress since we started. Just keep at it and soon you’ll learn to be as quiet as a bat.” Terry saw how the girl had perked up at his praise.

“Don’t worry boss I’ll get it next time, I’ll train even harder.” Cassie left excited and motivated for her next training session eager to show how much she had improved. Terry wasn’t really surprised by this, the Dick Grayson in his time had been a teacher in acrobatics and aerialists.

“You seem to be pretty good at training but do you usually give private lessons?” Dick shrugged as he headed out the door with Terry following him.

“Sometimes, if someone needs a little extra help in a certain area. Wonder Woman is great at combat but she’s not exactly the most quiet member of the Justice League. And when you’re in a black ops team it’s pretty essential.”

“Despite the fact that most of your missions end in explosions.” Dick actually laughed at that. It was good to hear him laugh again.

“Not all of our missions but yeah, oftentimes things don’t go quite as planned.”

“That’s true.” Terry said as he thought of something else she had said. “But why did she call you boss? I thought Aqua Lad was the leader of Young Justice.” Dick gave a shrug but it almost looked uncomfortable.

“I was the team leader when Cassie was recruited and I was the one who brought her into the fold. It was during this time Aqua Lad went undercover.” And now the uncomfortable look made sense. Terry had been briefed about Kaldur’s undercover mission that he and Nightwing had set up. There had been a few snags but from Terry’s understanding the mission had been successful. He also read how Dick had given Aqua Lad back leadership of the team. Again this is only stressing the differences between the Nightwing of his world and the one standing beside him. Dick Grayson in his world had been the leader of his own group of young heroes and led many others in his years as a superhero. This one here seemed a lot more reluctant to actually take charge even though it was clear he was respected and he was good at. Terry wondered offhand if Batman’s attitude had influenced Nightwing differently here than back home.

“Do you regret giving up leadership to Kaldur?” Terry asked a little curious but Dick frowned and shook his head.

“Kaldur is the leader of this team, he's risked a lot to go undercover. As far as I’m concerned I was only keeping his seat warm.”

“It’s a shame you don’t seem to think of yourself as a good leader. Because from what little I’ve seen you’ve made a pretty good one.” Dick paused as if to think about something.

“That’s pretty much what Black Canary’s been saying to me. She thinks I should help Aqua Lad with leading the team.”

“It might not be a bad idea your numbers keep increasing all the time. You’ve even got superheroes falling right out of the sky.” Dick chuckled slightly and smiled back at him.

“I already told her I’d give it some thought. I’m still not quite convinced that leadership is right for me but I don’t mind helping out a friend.” Terry nodded but didn’t push the issue any further.

“Speaking of Black Canary, how many more sessions do you have before you're back in the field?”

“I think I just have one more left tomorrow afternoon. I just regret not going sooner.” Terry still couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that Bruce would be okay with one of his kids talking to a psychiatrist even if she was a member of the Justice League.

“So she’s really helping you?”

“Sometimes it just helps to get a different perspective on things. It also helps that I’ve known her for years so I don’t have a hard time putting my trust in her.” Terry figured that if the bats had that much trust in her and she was probably the most trustworthy person on the planet. Then again this Batman seemed to be a little bit more trusting than the version he was used to.

“So Terry, I heard you might be added to the roster pretty soon. Are you excited to get back into the field?” While Dick was enthusiastic Terry was a bit more subdued about the idea.

“I guess.” At the unenthusiastic response Dick looked at him slightly worried.

“You guess, I would’ve thought you’d love the idea. I’m starting to climb the walls myself, literally.” As amusing as a mental image of Dick Grayson actually climbing the walls was, Terry was still hesitant.

“It’s not that, I would love to get out but I’ve barely been out of the tower.”

“But what’s holding you back? I thought everybody was trying to help you feel more comfortable while you’re here.” And Terry appreciated that, he really did but this wasn’t his home. But he was more upset about the fact that he felt this could be home. Was he really prepared to give up his own world or his own family that easily? Terry glanced back at Dick and tried to fight a blush that was creeping up to his cheeks. Was it fair to tell Dick that he liked him more than a friend but he was still planning on leaving him behind if they found a way to get him home.

He needed some air, he needed some space, he needed… Honestly he wasn’t sure what he needed.

“I’m fine, really I am, and everybody’s been great.” But this only made Dick more confused.

“So then what is the problem?”

“Nothing, you’ve all been great it’s just… Never mind I’m just being stupid.” And with that he walked past Nightwing and hoped the other hero wouldn’t follow him. He turned the corner and spotted Superboy lurking in the halls. He sped past him and hoped Connor would delay Nightwing long enough for him just to get away. He wasn’t even sure why he was running in the first place; he just knew he needed to get away from the other boy before he did something that he was afraid he wouldn’t regret.

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Nightwing did indeed try to chase after Terry but came to a sudden halt when he nearly ran into Superboy. He quickly backed up and looked around realizing there were several paths Terry could have taken.

“Connor, did you see which way Terry went?” Connor almost scowled but managed to hide it.

“He brushed past me in a bit of a hurry but I wasn’t paying attention and I didn’t see where he went.” Then Connor’s eyes narrowed as an unpleasant thought crawled into his head. “Why, he didn’t try to hurt you did he?” Dick raised an eyebrow at the thought.

“What? No he just started acting weird and just ran off.” Nightwing said, still trying to figure out which way, Terry had gone without accessing the security cameras.

“Well maybe you should give him some space then, if he’s that upset I mean.” Nightwing was about three seconds away from using his holographic computer in his gloves to locate the other boy but then thought better of it.

“I suppose you’re right but I just wish I knew what set him off.” Connor wasn’t all that interested about what Terry said but this was one of the few times he actually caught Nightwing alone without the other boy hanging around him in some time. He had something he wanted to ask Dick but he wasn’t sure about how to express himself.

“I wouldn’t know he mostly hangs around with you.”

“True but he has been making other friends among Young Justice.” At that Connor made a face.

“So now you’re calling it Young Justice as well?”

“I like it, what’s wrong with Young Justice?”

“It sounds like a Justice League fan club or something, what was wrong with just The Team.” Nightwing chuckled a little.

“I guess we just never thought about what to call ourselves back in the early days and by the time we started adding new members I guess “The Team” had just stuck. But if you really don’t like Young Justice we could always put it to a vote.”

“It’s not that important.” Connor said, still scowling slightly. Truth was he was more afraid that the team would vote in favor of the new name and he would be the only one to oppose. “Say Dick,” Connor started feeling a little nervous. “You and Terry aren’t… Together are you?”

At that Dick froze for a moment. It’s not like he hadn’t thought about it, he thought about it quite often, but he seemed to be getting mixed signals from Terry and was still debating if getting together would be a good thing or not.

“No, we're not… Together.”

“But would you like to be?” Connor was determined to get a clear answer out of his old friend. Bats were known to be cryptic.

Dick didn’t answer right away as he put a hand on his chin as if he was seriously considering how to answer this question. “I can’t say there’s not an attraction, but…”

“But?” Superboy said, almost hopeful.

“But it’s like there’s a hesitation not just on his part but I think on mine as well. He’s getting along with everyone so well I keep forgetting that this isn’t his home. And maybe there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to make him choose.” Dick then shook his head. “Wow that sounds really presumptuous on my part. I’m sorry Connor, some of the things I've been talking about with Black Canary are starting to make me reevaluate a few things.” But Connor didn’t seem that upset in fact he seemed a little pleased. And yet there was a hint of hesitation on his part.

“That’s okay, but can I ask you a question?”

“Technically that was already a question but yes, go ahead.

“Would you…” But Connor still didn’t have enough confidence to ask the question he really wanted so he chose another one that would hopefully lead up to it. “I mean have you ever liked someone that you didn’t think would like you in return?”

Dick wasn’t quite picking up on the fact that Connor was trying to assess if there was a chance the two of them could possibly get together. Instead it made him think about Wally.

“Yeah, just one and I never did tell him how I felt.” Connor wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or jealous. He had no way of knowing that Wally was the one that held Dick’s affection for so long.

“Do you regret it? I mean, not telling them how you felt.” Connor said out loud while in his head he was slowly building himself up.

Despite the heartache that it caused the memories that came with it made Dick smile a little. “Sometimes I do but he was in a relationship and happy and I just didn’t want to ruin that. But I can’t help being reminded of something a friend told me. He said that when all is said and done you regret the things you didn’t do more than the things that you did do.” For someone who was considered the apprentice of the world’s greatest detective Dick was missing out on the obvious clues that Connor was sending him. In fact, that last little phrase was practically giving him permission to go ahead and try his luck.

“I think that’s good advice.”

“Thanks but why do you ask? Was there someone that caught your eye that you wanted to ask out?” This was it, Connor thought. Dick was practically telling him to suck it up, take a chance, and just confess his feelings for Dick right here and now.

“Yes there is. Dick I…” He tried to get the words out, he really did. This was absolutely the perfect time for him to tell him but for some reason his mouth wasn’t working. He felt himself getting hot, a red blush spreading across his face. Right now he wished he could be facing the entire Reach Army along with “The Light” and a chunk of kryptonite strapped to his chest. He was so close he could almost taste it, all he had to say was three little words.

“Yes Connor?”

“I’ve gotta go.” And with that he ducked his head, turned around, and ran off in the opposite direction cursing himself for being such a coward.

Nightwing on the other hand was too stunned to chase after the half Kryptonian. That was the second boy that had run away from him within the last half-hour seemingly with no explanation. Alas Dick was unaware of the power of his own sexiness and unaware it had the power to drive everyone around him into a frenzy. He scratched his head and wondered why everyone was acting so strange around him today.

“Is it my breath?”

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Terry had been running around aimlessly not sure where he was running to or what exactly he was running from. And because he wasn’t paying attention he almost ran right into Black Canary.

“Whoa, slow down Terry, what’s the rush?” Terry wasn’t sure how to respond, truthfully right now he was just too confused to know how to handle anything right now.

“Yeah I’m fine.”

“Are you adjusting okay, is everyone treating you all right?” And that was a problem in a nutshell.

“It’s fine, everyone’s fine, your fine, Dick’s fine, everything is just peachy.” Sensing there was more to the story than the bats infamous I’m fine attitude she put a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She said gently as she motioned to her office door. “Away from prying eyes and ears?” Terry thought about it for a moment. The bats all seemed to trust her with their secrets and if they had been confiding in her for years he doubted that she would betray their trust anytime soon.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to get a few things off my chest.” Black Canary smiled and opened her office door leading the young man inside. He chose a chair rather than a couch and Dinah sat across from him.

“Now then, do you want to tell me what’s got you so upset?” Terry thought for a moment about how to best describe how he was feeling.

“It’s just that everybody here has been really accepting of me despite the fact that I literally dropped in from another world. It’s been really easy to adjust, too easy.

“And why is that a problem?”

“Because it feels like everyone thinks that I’m not going back home, including me. I know Ray’s been working hard to try and help but I can read between the lines, he doesn’t think there’s much of a chance of finding my right world. So far this place has been pretty good to me and I’m starting to get comfortable.”

“But you feel like you’re abandoning your own world.” Her words rang true as Terry gripped his hair in frustration.

“I’m not like Bruce or any of his Robin’s, I have family back home. My mother’s probably going out of her mind with worry and I don’t want to put her or my little brother through losing another family member. And what about Gotham? I don’t exactly have a protégé that could take up my cowl and I don’t want to see my best friend Max try because I’m afraid that’s just what she’d do. I also don’t want to see Bruce or any of the other retired heroes to try and take on my responsibilities. But I’m stuck here and there’s nothing I can do about it.” He paused in his rant, stood up and took a look around the room almost not sure where we should be focusing.

“This is going to sound strange but it almost would be better if this world was a horrible place. It might motivate me to look harder or look for another option despite the fact that I have no idea where to even begin.” But Dinah was quiet while Terry voiced his concerns.

“And what if I do go home, then I’ll be saying goodbye to everyone here. Either way I’m going to have to say goodbye to someone I care about for good.” His energy spent he dropped back into his chair and slumped down.

“I can see why you are so frustrated Terry, sometimes not knowing is harder to accept than a bad outcome.” Terry nodded in agreement.

“I feel like if I knew I was stuck here then I could at least move on but I’m afraid of getting too attached to Di-I mean everyone here. It’s only going to make it harder when I leave. What if I have to make a choice?” The sad look crossed his face as another thought came to his mind. “Maybe it would be better if I just left.” Black Canary thought for a moment before she voiced her opinion.

“It sounds to me like you’re already going to have to make a choice and I don’t think that cutting yourself off is going to help you in any way. You already know that you’re welcome here and if you do go home I hope you take away good memories of us and our world. The best advice I can give you for the present moment is not to be worried about what you might miss but what you might miss out on.”

Terry took a few moments to digest what black Canary had told him. There wasn’t going to be an easy answer for the situation he was in but it did feel good to simply get it out and vent some of his frustrations. He still wasn’t sure what to do about Dick though, should he see if the other man was willing to try a relationship knowing that it could end at any moment? At first he thought he should probably avoid it but what she said made sense. If he were to go home tomorrow would he regret not even giving them a chance?

By the end of their session he felt a little better but still had a lot to think about. He made his way to the training room hoping a good workout would ease some of his tension. There are a few sparring sessions underway that looked like they were being supervised by none other than Nightwing himself. At first he thought about turning back but then decided to stick around, they still needed to talk after all.

After watching the match between a de-armored Blue Beetle and Tigris, Nightwing came up to him.

“Hey Terry, so what happened earlier, why did you run off?” Terry rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly.

“Sorry I just had too many things going on in my head but Black Canary helped put a few things in perspective. “ Dick seemed pleased that Terry had finally gone to seek some counseling.

“Are you okay now though?” Dick asked gently, not wanting to pry if it was anything personal.

“Yeah, I’m just getting a little homesick that’s all.” Nightwing nodded sympathetically.

“I wish there was a way I could help you get home?”

“Don’t feel bad, you’ve been more than helpful while I’ve been adjusting here.” And with that Dick smiled and for some reason that smile warmed Terry’s heart. In that moment he chose to follow Black Canary’s advice. The truth was as much as he was afraid of getting attached to Dick he would regret it more if he went home and spent the rest of his life wondering about what could have been.

“Say Nightwing, what do you say we get out of the Watchtower for a while, get a bite to eat, and maybe catch a movie?” Hearing that Dick’s smile grew even wider.

“Are you asking me out on a-“ but his questions remained unasked as Robin burst into the room panting slightly as he ran straight for Nightwing.

“I just got an emergency alert, the Joker has escaped!” Suddenly everything was on hold as everyone in the room turned to Robin hoping that they had heard him wrong. Unfortunately that was not the case as Nightwing opened up his holographic computer and confirmed what Robin had just reported. But before anything else could be said or done the computer had announced that Batman had arrived.

“Team I have an assignment for you.” He turned and looked directly at Terry. “And Red Bat will be joining you.”

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Shadow Mission

 

Nightwing was not happy. After Batman had assigned about half of the team to an obvious filler job he fully expected to join Batman on his hunt for the Joker. What he was not expecting was for Batman to tell him to sit this one out.

“Are you serious?” Nightwing said in a louder than normal tone of voice. “You expect me to just sit here while you go out on your own hunting for that madman?” Batman glared at Nightwing but the younger hero didn’t flinch.

“Batgirl will be accompanying me.”

“You’ll need more help than that and you know it.”

“So you’re doubting Batgirl’s abilities?”

“That’s not what I’m saying and you know it!” By this time he was shouting while the rest of the team looked on a little awkwardly. “What you need is all the help you can get. I understand why you don’t want to take Robin on this one.” Terry noticed that Tim shifted a little somewhat hurt by the comment. “But I can help.”

That man’s hard gaze never softened. “Have you been cleared for field duty?” Nightwing gritted his teeth fighting the urge to look away.

“No, but I just have one more-“

“Then you can’t help.” By this time Nightwing was glaring back at his mentor when Superman came into the room. He had been around the bat family long enough to know that there was a fight starting to brew.

“Am I interrupting anything?” Neither hero turned to face the Man of Steel but at least it looks like they wouldn’t be throwing punches at each other, at least for the moment.

“I just wanted to see if some of the Young Justice members could be spared for a small mission in California.” Batman then turned away from Nightwing and quickly assigned the rest of the members to Superman’s mission with the exception of Kid Flash who had also been put on restricted duty due to breaking protocol in Gotham. While Bart didn’t protest, Nightwing definitely looked like he was going to fight Batman’s decision. Trying to keep the peace, Kaldur came up to them with a request.

“Since our team, Young Justice, is going to be spread pretty thinly between these two missions, might I suggest we have Nightwing coordinate the two?” At first Nightwing wanted to protest but what Kaldur said was true, the teams were spread pretty thin and they really could use somebody as a go-between in case someone needed backup. As much as he would like to help take down the Joker he would settle for helping his friends rather than sitting around waiting for everyone to return safely.

“All right, Batman will brief Alpha team first and after they depart we’ll go over the details about Superman’s mission with Beta team. “ Nightwing looked back at Batman as if daring him to object. For a moment it looked like he was going to but in the end he let Nightwing stay.

As expected the mission was simple one. Batman’s team was off to investigate a chemicals factory that had previously done business with Star labs. The numbers that Ace Chemicals were submitting to the labs looked okay on paper but after an inventory count it seems as if some of the numbers have been fudged. In other words there were some chemicals that weren’t going to the labs and possibly being sold to an illegal third-party. Again nothing fancy, they were supposed to just sneak in without alerting the guards, and take some pictures of the chemicals they stored while Robin hacked into the company’s files.

Superman’s team on the other hand was heading off to Jump City in California to investigate a cult leader who was trying to form his own super villain school. The first team consisted of Tigress, Mal Duncan, Virgil (now officially called Static Shock), Beast Boy, Red Bat and Robin. They all felt like they got the short end of the stick this time around.

The second team, who felt like they got a real mission, was led by Aqua Lad, and was joined by Wonder Girl, Superboy, Blue Beetle, Lagoon Boy and Bumblebee. Kid Flash would remain at the Watchtower since he was on restricted duty but could still act as a backup in case of an emergency. Miss Martian was on a trip with her uncle to help with understanding her powers so should be less likely to abuse them again in the future.

Even though Terry was a bit jealous he got stuck with the “busy mission” he was grateful that Connor was on the opposite team. The last thing he wanted was to be fighting with him while he was on a mission. He also noticed that most of the superhero couples were also split up. Terry didn’t doubt for one moment that this wasn’t an accident on Batman’s part.

Once all the team members were set they all linked up their communication devices with Nightwing’s and were on their way. Despite this being a simple recon mission Terry couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread when he departed the Watchtower. But even as he tried to brush off this feeling Terry decided to take this mission seriously. He had a feeling this wasn’t just a simple mission but also a test for him to see how he would do out in the field with the team. This was also a test for Robin to see how well he had recovered. Best to treat this as an important mission and pray for no explosions that this team was famous for.

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It was late in the evening when the team arrived at Ace Chemicals. Tigress was the official leader for this mission, a role which she had taken almost begrudgingly, but she was in fact the best person for the job. The idea was to get in, get the information and get out while trying not to be seen because if they were spotted there was a good chance that the evidence would vanish before they could report it to the League.

Sneaking inside was easy enough and from there Terry and Tim split from the group so they could do their hacking thing. Tim was the one who was doing the majority of the hacking since Terry was still getting used to the technology differences in this world but he was getting better. Right now though he was acting as Tim’s lookout while in stealth mode. They kept radio silence since entering the compound not wanting to be overheard. While the uneasy feeling Terry had early on still lingered he kept vigilant and didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary.

“All right I’m done.” Tim said in a low whisper.

“Anything interesting?” Terry asked slightly curious as he tried to map his way back to the others.

“I couldn’t read all of the data while I was downloading it but there’s definitely something fishy going on here.”

“More than just a few numbers being swapped around?” Terry asked, a little surprised that they actually found anything useful. He was half expecting to find either somebody cooking the books and pocketing the money or at best some industrial espionage.

“More like numbers being swapped around to hide the fact that they are making something potentially dangerous here. Something that neither the government or the League knows about.”

“And here I thought this would just be a mission to keep us busy.” Terry said trying to reach the team on his com.

“Batman doesn’t do busy missions but I don’t think even he knows the full extent of what’s really going on here.” Tim says as he tried to get a hold of the team as well but for some reason neither of them were having any luck.

“Alpha team, this is Red Bat, can you read me?” But there wasn’t even any static on his end, just silence, as if the cons weren’t on at all. He even took his out to check to make sure it was in working order.

“Robin to Alpha team, is the coast clear?” But there was still nothing. Not even the soft beeping sound that was sent when the team couldn’t talk and they needed to suddenly go to radio silence.

Robin looked at Red Bat silently drawing his bow staff while Terry took out a few batarangs. Something was seriously wrong here.

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Nightwing was trying not to get stressed out. Barely an hour after both teams were sent on their missions the Justice League got an emergency call about an earthquake that had gone down in Japan. The League was quick to offer their assistance when they were asked for help. That left Nightwing in charge of not just two of the Young Justice missions but also keeping the Justice League informed on theirs.

Not to mention he may or may not have been listening in on Batman’s frequency to see how the hunt was going for the Joker. He was used to juggling but this was pushing it even for him. Not only that but the Beta team in Jump City had found their suspect, Brother Blood a lot earlier than expected. Unfortunately Brother Blood was prepared for a surprise attack and was sending out some of his brainwashed students to take on Beta team.

Dick had no choice but to send in Kid Flash to help, hoping to end this before it escalated because right now there is virtually no backup and with him coordinating three separate missions he couldn’t leave if he wanted to. Meanwhile, Alpha team was being suspiciously quiet. While he knew this mission called for stealth more than muscle power the silence was a little unnerving.

“Alpha team, this is Red Bat, can you read me?” Nightwing heard Terry ask over his com but was surprised not to hear anyone answer. He had heard nothing from the Alpha team almost since they went into the building. That wasn’t very unusual though since the idea was to not be seen or heard.

“Robin to Alpha team, is the coast clear?” Once again the Alpha team was unresponsive. Nightwing tried to raise them on his computers but he couldn’t get through, not even on the Watchtower’s technology. Nightwing bit his lip wondering if he had sent Bart away too soon. The Justice League was too occupied with the earthquake, Beta team was up to their necks in brainwashed teenage super villain wannabes and Batman wouldn’t come unless he knew for sure the team was in real danger, not while he had the Joker to deal with anyway. All he could do was let Robin and Red Bat know that he had no luck contacting Alpha team either and to use extreme caution. Right now he could only wait and listen and hoped that the two bats were up for whatever was around the corner.

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So far all of Batman’s leads for finding the Joker have come up empty. He had tried a lot of the Joker’s old hangouts but most of those places had been cleared out long ago. The Joker was also hard to predict even for Batman. He would’ve thought that the Clown Prince of Crime would have been up on the roof of the Wayne building threatening to blow it up if Batman didn’t come out to play but so far he hasn’t heard a peep out of him and that worried Batman even more.

After discovering a few small clues that Batman didn’t think were going to lead anywhere, he did manage to find what looked like a temporary hideout the Joker had recently vacated. It looks like they just missed him by a few hours. This time instead of no clues the Joker had left quite a mess and it was taking him and Batgirl some time to go over what was left behind to see if there is anything important. They also had to be on the lookout for traps and were grateful that the apartment had not already blown itself up while they were searching it. Batgirl was pocketing some parts from a computer that look like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it, and most likely had, but it was a random scrap of paper that she found between the pages of a comic book that caught her attention.

“Batman, you need to see this right away!” She exclaimed, showing Batman the paper. It only took a few seconds before Batman realized what was in front of him when ran from the apartment.

“Batman to Nightwing, this is an emergency!”

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Terry kept his suit cloaked as he silently made his way back the way he came. As for Robin, despite not having any invisibility circuits woven through his suit he blended in with the shadows just fine. They made their way out of the offices where they had done most of the hacking and down the hall to the main floor where most of the chemicals were manufactured. This was also where the team had set up a distraction to allow the bats to get into the offices undetected.

But as they entered the main floor they heard a sound which stopped both of them in their tracks and caused Robin to actually tremble. It was the sound of a loud throaty insane laughter echoing throughout the building. Terry couldn’t believe his luck. He also couldn’t believe that the mission that Batman had specifically picked to keep the team away from hunting the Joker had landed them right into the palms of his ghastly white hands. So much for a simple mission.

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

No Laughing Matter

 

The situation was pretty bad. Terry could see that everyone from Alpha Team except for him and Robin had been captured. They were all tied up with chains suspended above a suspicious looking vat of chemicals. Beast Boy was wearing an inhibitor collar and looked like he had been knocked unconscious. Static was also sporting one of the collars but it looked like he put up more of a struggle. While he was still conscious he was sporting a nasty head wound with blood leaking down the side of his face. Both Guardian and Tigris had a collection of minor nicks and bruises but otherwise looked okay. Tigris was staring directly at the Joker but was trying not to engage him.

“Well this is definitely an interesting turn of events. Is someone playing a joke on me?” The mad clown laughed as he stood on a platform that put him within an arm’s reach of his captives. “I go through all the trouble of laying out clues for Batman to find and not only do I get interrupted early but it’s not even Batman!” He laughed again while slapping Mal in the face almost absentmindedly.

Artemis growled but didn’t dare engage him any further. Which was probably a good thing because suddenly the Joker went from hysterical laughing to scowling angrily.

“And why isn’t Batman here?” He said in a low deep threatening tone as he slowly turned around to face his captives. “Why would he dare send the junior Justice League after me ?!” He shouted as he took a hold of Artemis’s hair and yanked it back. “With not even another bat for me to play with?!” Artemis grunted in pain deciding she should at least try to defuse the situation.

“We didn’t know this had anything to do with you.” She bit back a cry as the Joker pulled her hair again pulling his face closer to hers. “We were just sent here to check out some suspicious paperwork and missing chemicals.” The Joker stared at her until suddenly he let her go and let out another high-pitched laugh.

“Now that is funny.” He continued to laugh while Artemis looked around trying to spot either Red Bat or Robin. Most of Alpha Team’s coms went dead shortly after they arrived in the building but there was a chance that their’s might still be working. They weren’t expecting such a big crew and most of them were knocked out pretty quick with a strange gas that was released around them.

“Either old Batsy is so good he’s one step ahead of me without even knowing it or I’ve been getting sloppy. I’ll have to remember to be extra sneaky next time.” Finally the Joker stopped as he turned around again to face his captives. “But now what do I do with you?”

“You could always let us go.” Virgil suggested. You never knew the man might just be crazy enough to do it. Smiling, the Joker walked up to the static charged hero.

“I like you kid, you're funny.” But suddenly he gripped the teens head placing his finger right in his head wound causing Virgil to give a sudden yelp of pain. “But I tell the jokes around here.” He let the boy go then took a step back as if he was seriously contemplating on what his next move should be.

“If you are here that means Batman knows you’re here so he might be coming after all!” The Joker explained before he stopped to think about it a little more. “But there aren’t any bats. Tall, dark and scary usually likes to send at least one of his brood to do his dirty work.” He paused again and looked back at Artemis, he seemed to have figured out that she was in charge.

“Why aren’t there any bats here?”

“Don’t know. They just weren’t assigned to this mission.” The clown came closer to look at her face as if trying to tell if she was lying or not.

“Well Miss Kitty, I hope for your sake that you’re lying.” He signaled for his henchmen to start searching the building. “Because if there are no bats or birds here for me to play with, then you four will have to do. It’s been a while since I’ve killed a sidekick, maybe it’s time I up my game.”

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Terry and Tim were in a tight spot; they had to get the others out of harm’s way before the Joker did something crazy, well crazier. Now they were being hunted and to make matters worse there was some kind of signal jammer that had just cut off their com frequencies. They must’ve been out of range when they were in the office hacking files because as soon as they entered the main manufacturing facility they went dead.

They needed an attack plan and they needed one quickly. Using hand singles Tim suggested that while Terry caused a distraction he would go around and free the rest of Alpha Team. Terry didn’t like it but the kid was right they couldn’t afford to wait for backup. Silently Tim slipped back into the shadows creeping his way into the main room.

In the meantime Terry was going to be playing cat and mouse with the Joker’s crew and trying to buy them some time.

Grabbing a couple smoke pellets the young hero prepared to make himself known. He needed to let the Joker know that someone was here but maybe he could get away with making him think that he was a different bat.

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Batman was racing to the car when he called Nightwing trying not to panic. “Batman to Nightwing, this is an emergency!”

“Nightwing here, I hope you don’t need any backup because we are in short supply right now.” Batman had heard about the earthquake but he was already halfway through his investigation at the time so he couldn’t just drop everything.

“I don’t need backup, I just need you to pull Alpha Team off the mission immediately.” Nightwing stiffened at the order, this night was just escalating so quickly.

“Radio contact was lost about five minutes ago.” Nightwing said as he tried to pull up Tim and Terry’s signal but now it seems their's had gone dead too. “Damn, Robin and Red Bat were still able to report but now I can’t bring them up either. What’s going on Batman? What did you learn?” But Batman was suspiciously silent the only noises he could make out was the Batmobile starting up. “Batman, answer me, I need to know what’s going on.” But before Batman could even grunt a response there was a loud bang in the background. “What was that?” Nightwing asked as he heard the door to the Batmobile open.

“The Joker was here and booby-trapped the road outside of his hideout. Right now there’s a large spiked juggling pin embedded in our back tire.”

“Can’t you send Batgirl to the chemical plant with the spare cycle in the trunk?”

“No can do Big Boy Wonder.” The girl said as Batman fiddled with the tire. “That stupid spike trap went right through the trunk and punctured a hole right through the bike. Batman is trying to pry it off and replace the tire, we won’t be getting to the chemical factory anytime soon.”

While no one said it aloud, Nightwing came to the startling realization that something bad was going down at the factory where half his friends were investigating. “He’s there isn’t he?” It was more of a statement than a question but they all knew who he was. Having double checked his monitors and frequencies trying to see if anybody could be spared to run down to the chemical plant but everyone was occupied and Batman was the closest person available.

“You’ve got to get down there now Batman!” The Dark Knight grunted in response.

“I know!” He yelled back, finally prying the tire away from the car. “I’ll be back on the road in five minutes and at the chemical plant in 15 minimum.” Then Batman was quiet again and Nightwing knew not to interrupt him any further. He just prayed that his team had another 15 minutes to spare.

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The joker’s goons worked quickly but Tim and Terry were even faster. Between the two of them they had at least half a dozen knocked out and tied up before the Joker made his first call-in to see if his henchmen had found anything.

“Nameless henchmen number one, have you found anything?” But all the Joker could make out was silence, he frowned and tried a different frequency. “Nameless henchmen number Q, tell me if you found anything and then shoot nameless henchmen number one for not answering.” But again there was only silence. One final time with a hint of frustration the Joker tried one more of his henchmen. “Nameless henchmen number Banana, why is no one answering me?” This time though he did get a response.

“Hey boss I found a bunch of our guys over here by they-ah!” Henchmen Banana yelped as his line went dead as well. But instead of getting angry a smile plastered itself across the Joker’s face.

“Oh goody!” The Joker exclaimed mindlessly tossing his walkie-talkie into the vat of chemicals just below the Team’s feet. “Bats!” He giggled as he grabbed a gun from his jacket pocket while going up to one of the henchmen that he had left to guard the team. The Team watched as the walkie-talkie seemed to bubble and dissolve in the acid like substance leaving behind nothing more than a foul smell. The teens looked at each other with dread.

Suddenly from seemingly every corner of the warehouse smoke started appearing making it very difficult for anyone to see. Using this as a distraction Artemis plucked a lock pick from her glove and started to pick at her chains as quickly as she could. They could hear in the background shouts from the henchmen as well as some gunshots.

“What’s going on I can’t see?”

“It’s the Bat! Shoot him!”

“Stop shooting you idiot or you’ll blow us all up with the Bat!”

“Banana is down, repeat banana is down!”

This went on for several more minutes when Virgil felt somebody gently tap the shoulder. “Stay still Static I need to get this collar off then I need you to use your powers to help get the rest of the team’s cuffs off.”

Virgil nodded slightly as Robin got to work. He was just about finished when something shocked him from behind. He let out an involuntary scream as he dropped to the ground. He looked up to see the man who had tortured him for three long days fully intending to drive him as insane as he was. He tried not to show fear but he was sure that he shuddered at least a little bit. The Joker and two other henchmen held guns on him as Tim weighed his options. Putting his hands up for now Tim put on his bravest face.

“What a pleasant surprise, it’s little J! Come here and give old daddy Joker a hug.” The clown stepped forward but as he did Tim held up his staff while still eyeing the Joker’s gun looking for a way to knock it out of his hand. “Now now Junior, just because you think you’re too big for hugs it doesn’t mean you’re too big for a spanking.”

“You’re a sick man Joker.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere son.”

“Let’s cut to the chase, it's Batman you want and we all know I’m the better hostage.”

“Too true, Robin always has made a mighty fine hostage just ask any Gotham villain.”

“So the only value the rest of the team has, is to let Batman know you’re here.”

“Oh I get it, this is the part where you try to convince me to let the hostages go. Well here’s a lesson for you Junior, repeating the same actions over and over again is the definition of insanity. Believe me I’ve spent my life chasing a man in a bat suit. HA HA HA!” His laughter echoed through the warehouse which was now almost devoid of smoke. “I realized this when Batman switched Robin’s on me. I thought to myself, ‘that wasn’t very nice’ so I killed the new one and finally I had Batman’s undivided attention. And he proved to be even more insane than I am because wouldn’t you know it, he goes and gets himself another Robin for me to torment. The point is, I had the right idea when I took you away from the big bad bat. Killing a sidekick, as fun as it was, was simply too quick. It’ll be much more fun when I finish twisting your mind and then we can torment Batman together over and over again. Won’t that be fun?” Before Robin could make a remark the Joker looked back at Alpha Team. “So I think we should just get rid of the excess before Bats shows up. They’ll be the perfect test subjects for my new and improved Joker toxin. Come on everyone. Smile!”

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If Nightwing had a chance to think about the danger Alpha Team was in he would have driven himself crazy, so instead he chose to focus on assisting both Beta Team as well as the Justice League trying to keep damages to a minimum and trying to save as many lives as they could. It was tricky but ironically due to the lack of any news from Alpha Team he could put all of his focus on the other two and give them more of his attention.

“Captain Atom, get to the nuclear reactor. It received some minor damage in the earthquake but you need to contain it before an aftershock cracks it open.”

“Roger.” Was all the response he got but he trusted that the Captain would be able to handle it. While trying to triangulate phone and text signals from survivors in Japan who were trapped he was also trying to find weaknesses for some of the villains the other team was fighting.

“Aquaman, take care of those fires before they start spreading. Black Canary there’s a family trapped in a house just three blocks from where you are. Green Lantern, stay on that apartment building. I'm still getting signals from survivors inside. Superman, continue to search for survivors in your area, the ones that are too injured to send signals. The rest of you continue where you are.” The rest of the League was doing pretty good coordinating themselves even without his help he was just directing some of them to some of the hotspots they may not have seen.

He turned his attention back to Beta Team as he rubbed his jaw. It was the same spot where the Joker had slugged him several weeks ago and it was still irritating him. He suspected the Joker might’ve knocked a crown loose or something but he’d have to worry about that later. It seemed his initial assessment about this cult leader was slightly incorrect. They weren’t trying to defeat Beta Team, they were trying to capture them to be added to this cult leader’s teenage army. They almost got their hands on Bumblebee but luckily her will was pretty strong and she was able to fight the mind control. They had most of the villains under control but three of them were still giving them a hard time. The big one named Mammoth was pretty much just duking it out with Superboy. There was a magic user whose powers seemed to be causing bad luck which was messing with most of The Team’s superpowers. And lastly there was a pint-size little tech wizard who was hacking into everything and using it as a weapon. Nightwing smirked as he did a little hacking of his own and after a few minutes the once arrogant little boy was now having his weapons turn on him causing him to curse like a sailor.

“Sorry guys, I got bored so I took out one of your villains for you. Don’t tell Batman.” He tried joking to alleviate the tension as well as his mood.

“The help is appreciated but we’ve still got that goth chic who keeps messing with our powers.” Cassie responded, keeping herself a good distance from the girl while trying to think of an attack plan.

“I have an idea if you don’t mind.” Nightwing quickly explained his plan and with the help of Kid Flash they lured the girl into a building that was on the verge of collapsing. With a coordinated attack the two were able to basically trick her into bringing the building down on herself.

With most of the major villains down Aqua lad was able to join Superboy and with the help of his water bearers they were able to trap and zap the behemoth. But just when they thought they were finished and Nightwing thought he might be able to have them assist Alpha Team the main villain showed up for one grand finale.

“You may have defeated my students but now Brother Blood shall teach you a lesson.” Nightwing groaned. This is going to be a long night. He just hoped that everyone would make it back in one piece.

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Just when it looked like Alpha Team was going to meet their end in a matter of five seconds the tables were turned. Artemis had managed to get her hands free and used her chains as a whip to knock the gun out of one of the henchman’s hands. Using that as a distraction Robin knocked the gun out of the other henchman’s hand and knocked them both out. An angry Joker was about to shoot the remaining teens but a batarang from seemingly out of nowhere knocked the last remaining gun out of the Joker’s hand.

“Oh it looks like a big brother is here too. I best not be rude and go say hello.” And with that he threw a switch releasing the rest of Alpha Team. Robin used his grappling hook and Artemis used the chain that was originally holding her and together they were able to snag the rest of their team members from certain doom. But they still had to get them up and onto the platform before anyone fell, giving the Joker plenty of time to run off. As Artemis helped pull Beast Boy up she called out to Robin.

“We’ve all got to get out of here quickly. I heard some of the henchmen talking and they said this place is wired to blow up.” Robin cursed as he pulled Virgil to the platform while both of them were still holding onto Mal. With their communicators down he had no way to warn Terry and he knew he was heading right for the clown.

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‘I swear the last thing I thought I’d be doing tonight is facing down the Joker again.’ Terry thought to himself as he looked around the corner trying to see where that madman had gone. “For a dead man he sure gets around.’ He thought ironically since the Joker was technically dead in his world and should’ve been dead in this world if Terry hadn’t interfered. That had been bothering him ever since he stopped Nightwing from killing the bastard and at times like these he was wondering if he made the right call.

Finally he saw the Joker running toward and exit. He took out his bolo whip and threw it at the clown only for the clown to pause just before the weapon could reach him and let it pass. “Nice try Nightwing but you’ll have to do better than that.” The Joker threw what looked like a handful of tiny little bombs in Terry’s direction which he had to jump to avoid. Luckily he was only a little winded and luckily bombs just missed a vat of chemicals that were only a few feet from him. This was getting even more dangerous; he had to get the Joker secured before he blew the place up with them in it.

“Sorry he’s on another mission, you'll have to deal with me instead.” The Joker looked up now able to see that it was Terry not Dick.

“You’re still here? Oh that’s too funny, let me guess you can’t go home after you saved my life. Thank you for that.” Terry grimaced at that last line, he really didn’t like being reminded of the fact that the Joker is still alive because of him.

“It doesn’t matter which Batman you’re dealing with because you’re going back to the Asylum.”

“But I was just there, boring doctors, lousy food, semi-entertaining roommates but the revolving door is nice.”

“Well too bad you’re going back anyway.” Terry said getting into a fighting position but trying to be cautious with the amount of chemicals that was so close by.

“Unfortunately I’m going to have to pass. This was supposed to be a special day for me and Batman. But I was also hoping to see Nightwing so it looks like tonight’s a total bust.”

Terry raised an eyebrow under his cowl. “What would you want with Nightwing?”

“I was not what I want, it’s what they want. While I still plan on twisting Robin to my will, I’m afraid Nightwing’s already been claimed. I just wanted to give him his second present before he leaves us.” Terry’s eyes narrowed at the new information he was getting. He lunged forward narrowly dodging one of the Joker’s knives. He then managed to slam him into the wall.

“Who wants to hurt Nightwing? Who are you working for?” The Joker just laughed.

“Oh my silly boy I can’t tell you that, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” And in a surprisingly quick motion the Joker jabs Terry with a small knife in the side that contained a sharp electrical current that bypassed the suit's insulation. Terry yelped in surprise as electricity flowed through his body. The suit protected him well enough but he was still knocked to the ground. The Joker laughed as he hovered over Terry with another long knife but just then an explosion went off in the background near the offices where Terry and Tim had hacked the computers.

“Oh right I set the bombs to go off since I couldn’t met up with old Batsy tonight. Oh well I’ll have something really special planned for next time. Catch you later, Bat Fake!” Terry tried to right himself to go after the Joker but then he realized that the rest of his team might still be in the building. As quickly as he could he raced back to where the team had been held captive. Fortunately everyone was untied and dragging henchmen out of the building while the explosion seemed to be going up around them. It was a close call but in the end they all made it out and got to a safe distance while the chemical factory went up in flames.

The whole group was battle weary and worn-out when at last the Batmobile finally pulled up. Terry stood up to greet Batman and give him a run down on the catastrophe that had just happened. He also wanted to know why the man was so late but then he looked at the Batmobile and noticed one of the tires looked a lot newer than the other three. Following his gaze Batman saw he was looking at the tire.

“The Batmobile?” Terry asked as Batman sighed.

“Lost a wheel. The Joker?” This time Terry sighed.

“Got away.”

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Despite the unexpected arrival of the Joker on what was supposed to be a simple mission the night really had not gone as bad as expected in fact in many ways it had turned out pretty good.

The earthquake in Tokyo was not as bad as originally assessed and thanks to the help of the Justice League a lot more lives were saved then were originally predicted. The wounded were being treated and the nation was rebuilding.

The incident with Brother Blood had ended successfully as well. The ringleader was in custody as well as all of his students who were to be evaluated to see if the brainwashing could be undone. For now they were being held as suspects until it could be determined if they were going to remain a threat or not. Dick suspected he was going to be getting some new members soon as well as some new headaches.

And despite the fact that the chemical factory went up in flames they were able to contain the chemical cloud that the Joker was originally planning on unleashing as a method to distribute his Joker toxin before it spread to a populated area. Not to mention the files that Tim was able to hack told Batman who else was involved in selling the chemicals to the Joker who were being apprehended at that moment.

For the first time all evening Nightwing let himself relax. Everyone was well-trained, everyone fought well, nobody panicked and everyone came home. He couldn’t ask for anything more. He was a little surprised over the amount of praise he was receiving for organizing and practically running three different teams at the same time. When Dick mentioned that he was just doing his job Artemis came up to him and threatened to smack him if he said one more time that he didn’t think he was a good leader because tonight absolutely proves that he was not only a good leader, he was a great one. And no one argued. And in the back of his head maybe Nightwing was starting to let himself off the hook a little bit but he also thought that maybe it was good that he wasn’t overconfident and took the job seriously. He supposed it was actually a good trait for a leader to have.

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After the group was dismissed Terry went to one of the labs to fix his suit. He could’ve waited until morning but he really didn’t like to leave it. Things tended to pop up out of the blue whether you’re not prepared. While Terry was fixing the circuitry that was damaged by the electrical current the Joker had stabbed him with he started thinking. Tonight was a good night but Terry couldn’t help thinking about what the Joker had said. Was he just bluffing or was he really in cahoots with somebody to hunt down Nightwing. Bart had said the Joker wasn’t a suspect but more and more Bart’s prediction about Dick suddenly disappearing was starting to look more real. Worse yet he didn’t have any clues to really go on. For a moment he thought about telling Batman what he knew, unfortunately that was still very little but he did remember one incident when he followed Batman back at the old Arkham Asylum building when the Joker whispered something in his ear. Again it could be nothing but the Joker did like to leave clues but he also liked to mess with people.

There was a small hiss when the door opened to reveal Nightwing. He casually walked over to the table watching as Terry was fixing the circuitry.

“Need any help but that?” Terry smiled but shook his head.

“No thanks, it only needs a little bit of patching tonight I’ll be finishing up soon.” He said as Dick pulled up a chair and sat down continuing to watch Terry work.

“You guys did a good job tonight.” Terry scoffed.

“If you call blowing up the place we were trying to investigate a good job then it was a raging success.” Dick smiled while handing him a pair of microscopic tweezers.

“Hey, explosions are part of the job.”

“I know I was originally making fun of you guys for that but now I think it actually might be true.”

“Or it could just be karma.”

“That too.” As Terry made one last stitch in his suit he held it up and stretched it making sure his work was going to hold. “That should do it.” Dick stood up as the pair headed to the door.

“You know you never really fully finished asking me that question before we were all sent on missions.” Dick said with a smirk. “While I think we missed dinner tonight I’d be up for going out tomorrow after my last session with Black Canary. If you’re still interested because if you’re not-“ Dick was suddenly silenced as Terry reached over grabbed the collar of his uniform and pulled him forward crushing their lips together. Dick was surprised at first but quickly started kissing back, reaching his hand around to grasp Terry’s arm. Eventually the two had to come up for air and reluctantly broke apart.

Never breaking eye contact with Dick Terry brushed a loose strand of hair on his face wishing the mask wasn’t in the way so he could see those big beautiful blue eyes. “Dinner and a movie sounds great.” Dick smiled back and put a gloved hand on Terry’s face.

“Pending any world threatening events or escaped lunatics, yeah, sounds like a plan.” The two laughed as they continued to look into each other’s eyes. Terry took a deep breath.

“I don’t know what the future has in store for us and I could go back any day but I’m tired of tiptoeing around this. I like you and I want to get to know you more. Even if I go back tomorrow it’s still going to hurt but I don’t think I want to waste anymore time wondering about what may or may not happen.” What was unspoken was that Dick could vanish at any time possibly even before Terry. But after spending some time with this handsome loving man and great hero he wanted nothing more than to protect him from that unknown fate. He vowed to do whatever he could to make sure that didn’t happen.

Nightwing smiled and took Terry’s hand in his own. “So we take it one day at a time?”

“Sounds good to me.” As they both leaned back in for what was to be their second kiss there was a loud bang right outside the lab. “What was that?” Terry groaned more irritated at being interrupted than concerned. The two stepped outside and were surprised to find a fist sized dent in the wall and could hear the sound of somebody running down the hallway.

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While Tim had gone home to rest Batman was still in the Watchtower waiting for Dick and Terry to return. He of course was watching the monitors and was not very happy with what he saw. He honestly thought that they would be smart enough not to get involved with each other but it seems once again he had underestimated both of his sons. He is going to have to do something about this, for their own good.

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Unknown Location:

“I warned you it was not wise to seek the assistance of an insane man like the Joker. He thinks this is a game and is too freely offering clues that may cause our intentions to be revealed.”

“He was the best we could get at the time and he did manage to fulfill the first part of his duty, but never fear, I have found someone else. Someone more professional to take care of the rest.”

“I hope it is someone competent.”

“Relax, I've managed to get our first choice, the one you originally wanted.”

“I still think we could have afforded to wait for him to become available instead of relying on the Joker.”

“Your objection is noted, regardless it will be done. Batman will pay for what he has done to us and we shall claim his first son, Richard Grayson, as penance.”

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

 

“He’s doing it again.” Terry said irritably as he sat down next to Dick in the Watchtower cafeteria getting some lunch. Dick was sitting there with his usual bowl of cereal, his favorite brand, Crocky Crunch. How a grown man as fit as Dick could live off of seemingly nothing but cereal was one of the many mysteries of the world Terry would probably never understand. But he wasn’t here to discuss Dick’s strange eating habits, he was here to talk about Batman.

“What’s he doing again?” Dick asked even though he didn’t ask who Terry was referring to. When Terry used that particular tone it always meant Bruce.

“He’s looking at me like I’ve done something unspeakably horrible but he can’t prove it and is just waiting for me to slip up.” He said angrily as slamming his tray straight down a little harder than he intended to, spilling his water over his sandwich. He grumbled to himself as he tried to salvage his meal. “He did the same thing just before he finally allowed me access to the Watchtower, and once again no reasonable explanation. Actually, no explanation whatsoever!” Dick took another bite of cereal and quietly scanned the room. Batman wasn’t there but no doubt he was watching from somewhere else.

“This might sound crazy but have you just tried asking him what’s on his mind?” Terry looked at Dick with that expression that practically shouted, ‘Are you kidding me?’

“Come on Terry, I know B’s a little hard to talk to but take it from somebody who’s lived with him more than half his life. Sometimes you need to be direct.” It was good advice but it was advised Terry didn’t want to take. He was getting tired of dealing with Batman’s roller coaster of emotions regarding him.

“Well since you have lived with him for most of your life you explain why he’s going through all these mood swings.” Dick thought for a moment and after analyzing the situation he came to an uncomfortable realization.

“Did this start shortly after your first mission?” Terry nodded, trying to think of something he did differently after the mission that would’ve caused Batman to go back to being suspicious around him.

“Yeah, pretty much right when I got back to the Manor now that I think about it.” Although the more he thought about it there was one thing that had been different since that night besides him working with The Team which Batman actually seemed rather pleased with. “You don’t think he has a problem with us dating do you?” Dick thought back for a moment while scratching his head.

“I can’t imagine why and we haven’t exactly tried to keep this a secret.” Terry thought back through his history of this time period. It was only about a year ago that gay couples were legally allowed to marry but even then gay couples weren’t exactly welcome everywhere they went. They had a number of stairs and one or two rude comments on their first date which they both ignored. That being said, the restaurant that Dick had suggested had much more open and friendly staff and they all seem to know Dick. In his time it really wasn’t that big a deal especially with cloning technology for couples who wanted kids. But again he had to remind himself this was a different dimension where the rules were slightly different.

“You don’t think it’s because his son is dating another guy do you?” Dick actually looked amused at that question.

“He’s known I’m bi since… probably before I even knew. Trust me I’ve had more than one of those infamous ‘talks’ with the big guy when I was younger.” So that theory was quickly thrown out but that left Terry with one other thing that might be causing Batman to be a little stressed. He thought about keeping it a secret but after hearing the Joker’s rant and thinking about Bart’s warning he decided to let Batman know what the Joker had told him. He couldn’t quite read the expression on his face. It was too well masked but he definitely took this information seriously and left immediately after Terry had given him his debriefing. But even so that didn’t make a lot of sense since he could tell Batman was focusing on him and not just Dick.

“Well, whatever his problem is I wish he would just come out and say it instead of trying to make me sweat about something when I have no idea what I’m supposed to be sweating about.”

“I still think you should just go and talk-“ but his thoughts were interrupted when he received a message on his com.

“Nightwing, Batman has assigned Young Justice a mission and he wishes you to accompany us.” Nightwing grinned at the news.

“Roger Kaldur, I’m heading to the briefing room as we speak.” Terry couldn’t help but smirk at his companion.

“Finally heading back out into the field?” Nightwing continued to smile as he quickly gathered up his tray.

“You bet.” He paused briefly thinking about his voluntary leave from the team. “I don’t think I realized how much I missed this.” Terry put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

“Good to have you back.” Terry quickly grabbed what was salvageable from his tray and shoved it in his mouth. “I’ll go with you. Maybe they needed an extra bat to help out.” Nightwing gave a mocking bow.

“Lead the way kind sir.”

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They arrived in the debriefing room and much to Terry’s dismay Batman was standing there waiting for them looking as imposing as ever. Without even saying ‘hi’ Batman got right to work assigning the team their new mission.

“Aqualad you and your team will be heading to a research facility in Arizona. There has been a rash of thefts in the surrounding states in each instance a different item was taken. We believe that they are planning to combine these parts into a bigger and more dangerous weapon. The last pieces are located here.” Batman said, pointing to an undisclosed building on the holographic map.

“Your job is to catch the thief in action. As a precaution the device in question has already been removed and replaced with a decoy. Nightwing, I’m downloading all the information we have on this thief to your wrist computer. Brief your teammates on the way there. Aqualad you’ll be taking Nightwing, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Tigris. Be prepared to leave in 10 minutes. That is all.” As Batman walked away Terry noticed that he had not been assigned to the mission.

“Hey Batman, I’m free and if they could use an extra hand I could-“ but Batman cut him off.

“I chose a small team for a reason you would be better waiting here as backup.” Batman said barely turning around which only made Terry angry.

“All right, back up it is. But can you at least tell me what-“ but once again he was cut off this time by a closing door. Terry threw up his hands in frustration and gestured to the door while looking at Nightwing as if to say, ‘you see?’ The other members of the team were looking around awkwardly until Aqualad cleared his throat.

“Team we have a mission we must prepare for, we will meet at the bioship in 10.” While Terry was grateful that Aqualad spared him from that awkward scene he still wished he could’ve gone. Something told him he should be there.

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Halfway to their destination in the bioship Nightwing had briefed them on the suspect and Aqualad had assigned the teams their jobs. The mission seems straightforward enough and the perpetrator didn’t seem like that big of a threat. But they have been through this too many times to let their guards down.

But while going over the mission in his head Nightwing still seemed more worried about Terry’s concerns about Batman. To him it almost looked like Bruce was trying to keep Terry away from Dick, but why? Batman always did things for a reason but when he wanted something done he was usually pretty straightforward about it. The fact that he wanted him and Terry separate was obvious but the reasoning was still a mystery. He was going to have to talk to Bruce about it himself later. He couldn’t afford to be wasting time focusing on Daddy Bat’s approval while he was on a mission. Just then the familiar pain in his jaw decided to rear up. He tried rubbing it to soothe the pain, it had been happening a lot lately. He was going to have to go to the dentist, and he hated going to the dentist. Not for the obvious reasons but because Batman went even more paranoid with background checks, and false identity for the visit, the works. He understood why but it was still a pain in the ass. Artemis noticed him clutching his jaw but he smiled and waved off, it didn’t really bother him that much he’d had much worse.

Aqualad announced that they were landing so Dick mentally blocked the pain and put all this focus on the mission.

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Back in the Watchtower Terry was trying to do something useful to keep himself from thinking about Batman the master of vagueness. He wound up hanging out with Mal who was monitoring Young Justice as well as a few other Justice League members. Mel was trying to give him a brief demonstration on some of the technology that they used, most of which Terry was familiar with but it was the little differences that tripped him up every time.

Robin had wandered in to ask for some information on a case he was working on when Green Arrow came in for a similar reason. But Mal was backed up a little bit so they would just have to wait for a few minutes. Terry took this opportunity to try to and ask somebody else if they knew what was bugging Batman. While Robin shrugged his shoulders clearly having no idea Green Arrow was starting to look little green around the gills.

“Is somebody going to tell me what’s going on or am I going to have Robin hack all the computers in the Watchtower?” Green Arrow rubbed the back of his neck a little sheepishly while Robin gave him a glare.

“Look kid,” Green Arrow stated, obviously trying to choose his words very carefully. “This is something you’re going to take up if Batman.”

“I would if he would stick around long enough for me to ask him one single question.” He said getting frustrated. Knowing Green Arrow wasn’t nearly as good at keeping secrets as Batman he tried a different tactic. “Is there some reason why Batman wouldn’t want me dating Dick?” Again Robin looked a little confused but now Green Arrow was looking very uncomfortable and looking around for an escape route. ‘Well,’ he thought to himself, ‘that answers the first part of the question. But what is it that the League knows that Young Justice doesn’t?’

“I don’t get it, why would Batman be upset about Terry and Dick dating? They’re both adults.” Tim asked, obviously picking up on Green Arrow’s body language. “Is it because he’s afraid that when Terry goes back Dick will be hurt again?” Hearing that Green Arrow relaxed slightly. He may not be as good as a bat with deception but what he was good at was bending the truth. And the truth was yes, Dick would be upset if he was seeing Terry and got attached only for Terry to have to return home. And yes it would upset Batman. So while he didn’t state outright that was the real reason his body language told Terry that it was in fact a true statement.

While this is something both him and Dick talked about he didn’t think about how this might be viewed by Bruce. At the end of the day he was a father who didn’t want to see his son upset especially after what happened to Wally.

“I suppose that could be it. I just wish he would have talked to me about this instead of making me guess.” Robin shrugged, accepting his own suggestion as a reasonable explanation.

“I’m sure he has his reasons, maybe he’s just trying to find a way to bring it up without upsetting both you and Nightwing.”

“Well he’s doing a bang up job there.” Terry remarks sarcastically.

“Batman’s always been a little overprotective according to Dick. Whether it’s school, dating, missions, or even doctors.” At the mention of doctors Terry remembered Dick nursing his mouth earlier.

“Speaking of which, did Batman ever find a new dentist?” While the question was clearly reasonable to Robin, Green Arrow was looking at the two young heroes like they were from another planet.

“Why does Batman have to find you guys a dentist?” Terry and Tim looked back at Green Arrow almost forgetting there was a non-bat in the room.

“Like I said, Batman’s always been overprotective as well as paranoid.” Robin explained. “We can’t keep going to the same doctor even if we’re using fake identities. Batman’s afraid that someone will pick up that one of us is Nightwing or Robin because of the pattern of injuries that we received.” Green Arrow still looked a little unsure.

“I can kind of understand that to a point, but a dentist?” This time it was Terry’s turn to explain.

“Anytime there is a risk that one of us is going under any kind of anesthesia Daddy Bats wants a thorough investigation to make sure that his kids aren’t going to get their throats cut or molested.” Green Arrow looks slightly horrified at the idea but still shook his head.

“You bats are just too paranoid for your own good.” Mal was pretty much finished with the information Robin needed when the computer announced there was a new arrival.

‘Recognized: Arsenal A13’

The room went quiet as the one armed archer entered the room. Terry didn’t know much about the original Roy Harper, just that in his world he was never cloned and retired fairly early from his career as a superhero. Robin looked a little nervous, Mal was obviously unhappy with the other hero being here, and Green Arrow was so green he practically matched his own costume. Terry knew a little bit about why Arsenal was kicked off the team but none of the details. Once he got a little color back into his face Green Arrow made an attempt to break the ice.

“Roy, it’s been a while.” He said awkwardly almost as if unsure how to speak with the boy he had once taken into his home. “How’ve you been?” But before the archer-turned-mercenary could reply Mal asked him another question.

“And why are you here?” Terry didn’t miss the resentment in Mal’s voice. As for the original Roy Harper it was easier to deal with an angry former teammate than an emotional ex-mentor. Ignoring Green Arrow he walked right up to Mal and crossed his arms.

“I have something for Batman, he's the one that gave me the authorization code.” The tension between those two was so heated that Terry was afraid somebody was going to start throwing punches. “If you have a problem with that, take it up with him, in fact, get him in here now so I can drop this off and not look at your ugly mug any longer than I have to.” At that Mal rose from his seat and Terry quickly jumped in to hold back Mal while Green Arrow tried to restrain Arsenal. Robin wisely chose to contact Batman himself to let him know that Arsenal was here.

More and more Terry was wishing he was on the mission.

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Dick could hardly believe his luck, the mission was done and over with so quickly it almost didn’t seem possible. Sure enough Batman’s Intel was right on the money. The perpetrator went right for the fake computer-chip which was when the team sprung into action. There wasn’t anything special to this robber except that he was fairly handy with a knife. While he did manage to lightly graze Nightwing’s cheeks during the fight there were no other injuries whatsoever. The cut was so light but barely even bled, Dick didn’t even think there would be a scar.

But despite the success of the mission Dick had the strangest feeling in his gut that something was wrong. Technically this is how missions should go in theory but in practice they almost never did. Dick rubbed his cheek which was on the same side as his toothache which was only getting worse.

Wonder Girl had the knocked out thief secure while Aqualad was talking to the authorities. Artemis was coming up to him first with a smile than with a frown of concern.

“Hey Nightwing, is that toothache of yours still bothering you?” She asked, seeing his obvious discomfort. He tried to smile sheepishly but grimaced.

“I guess I let this go a little too long, I’ll have someone look at it when we get back.” She nodded seemingly satisfied as she walked back towards the bioship while he followed her. All of a sudden it wasn’t just a pain in his tooth but a radiating agony that seeped through his entire body. He let out a strangled gasp and suddenly he could no longer stand on his own two feet.

Hearing his cries Artemis turned around to see her friend collapse on the ground.

“Nightwing what’s wrong?!” She asked as he brought himself to his knees clutching at his sides. Suddenly Bart raced around stopping just in front of the other hero.

“What happened? Was he hurt?” But while his friends were coming around him trying to figure out what was wrong he was desperately trying to tell them to stay away. Something was happening inside of him, something terribly wrong. He was starting to lose control, his body was trying to do things his mind didn’t want him to do and he was quickly losing it.

“S-stay b-back…” But unfortunately Artemis was not heeding his warnings but instead still trying to help him.

“Nightwing just hang in there, we're going to get some help.” She returned her attention to Bart. “Kid Flash, contact the Watchtower, tell them that Nightwing’s-“ but her words were cut off as Nightwing’s hand shot forward grabbing her around the throat. She looked back in horror while staring into the face of her old friend whose eyes were glowing bright yellow even through the mask.

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After the potential scuffle was quickly averted Robin informed them that Batman was in fact on his way. That seemed to calm down both Roy and Mal. No one wanted to be lectured by the Bat. Terry sighed in relief.

“Now more than ever I sincerely wish I had gotten assigned to the mission with Nightwing.” But as soon as he mentioned the name Nightwing Arsenal stiffened up again.

“You’re the new guy right? Well I’d be careful around Nightwing if I were you. Anyone who doesn’t meet up to his perfect expectations gets the ax.” Terry was about to retort when Mal jumped in.

“Now you listen and listen good. That man has always had the team’s best interests at heart. I know for a fact he gave you a lot more chances than he gave a lot of other people. The fact is you weren’t ready to work with a team and it nearly cost us our lives.” As expected Arsenal retaliated but thankfully not trying to throw any more punches.

“I helped save you there!’

“We wouldn’t have needed saving if you weren’t so reckless!”

“Enough!” Green Arrow shouted again this time putting himself between the two of them. “This is my fault, again.” He turned and looked straight at the young man he had failed so horribly. “Roy I should’ve stuck with my gut and got you more help after you were rescued. I pressured Nightwing to let you join the team because I thought it would help. But even after he came to me worried about your behavior I convinced him to let you stay on thinking you just needed a little more time to bond with the team and find your place in it.” He tried to put a hand on the young man's shoulder but he just brushed it off.

“I don’t need your help, I didn’t need it then, and I sure don’t need it now.” Mal snorted in disbelief. “What are you so smug about? I notice you’re not on the battlefield right now, what happened, Nightwing bench you and you’re just too soft to do anything about it?” Mal was quiet for a moment as if thinking over his words very carefully before he spoke.

“You’ve really been out of the loop haven’t you. Nightwing gave his spot as leader backed Kaldur. After the original Kid Flash died he was so distraught he benched himself afraid that he could be a danger in the field duty to his emotional state. This was his first mission back in quite some time.” Arsenal seemed generally surprised by the news.

“Wait, he kicks himself out? Why would he-“

“Like I said, he cares about this team more than you know. And if nothing else he doesn’t give an order unless he’s prepared to follow it himself. That’s why he gets my respect. He’s earned it.”

‘Couldn’t have said it better myself.’ Terry thought as he awkwardly watched this long-overdue exchange that he really had no business with. Arsenal didn’t have a proper response but Terry doubted he was going to simply back down, thankfully at that moment Batman came into the room. He stopped for a moment observing the people and how they were standing and Terry figured he could probably tell there had been a fight or a possible fight had just been averted.

“Arsenal, were you able to find anything?” The one armed man nodded, he seemed just as relieved to have Batman in the room breaking the tension as everyone else did. “Good, come with me while-''

“EMERGENCY!!!” Bart’s voice shouted from the computer Mal was using to monitor The Team’s mission.

“Kid Flash, what’s going on? I thought the mission was successful, what happened?” Terry could hear there was a struggle in the background and even some small explosions.

“I don’t know what happened, everything was fine and then suddenly Nightwing went on mode!” There was another small explosion and then there was some static with Bart’s voice barely getting through. “We need backup right away, Nightwing is-AHH!” And then the line went dead.

“What does he mean Nightwing went on mode?” Terry asked as the rest of the group paled.

“It’s Bart’s future slang, meaning that Nightwing’s been brainwashed.” Robin explained making Terry go just as pale.

“Guardian, contact the rest of the League and see if you can get us some additional help, we don’t know what set Nightwing off and we don’t know if it can happen to anybody else. The rest of you come with me.” ‘He must be really worried.’ Terry thought. Batman didn’t even try to make him stay back.

They took the Zeta tube’s down to an area close to the location. The team had originally taken the bioship to bring supplies or in case anyone was injured. The moment they had reached the research facility Terry’s heart nearly stopped beating. Just about every other team member that had joined Nightwing on the mission was unconscious, he hoped. The only one still standing was Aqualad and even he looked battered and bruised at the hands of his teammate. It looked like he was using his water bears to keep Nightwing away from his unconscious teammates, which in Terry’s eyes was a good sign. But they still had a major problem, they needed to subdue Nightwing and quickly before he did something that they would all regret.

Batman wasted no time as he threw a pellet of sleeping gas at Nightwing’s feet. Unfortunately the young man slipped on a rebreather then jumped aside as a batarang flowed through the smoke just missing him. Green Arrow tried to use one of his famous boxing glove arrows to knock the other man out but Nightwing quickly sped around the arrow, jumped, and kicked Oliver in the face. He would’ve done more damage if Arsenal hadn’t used the stun laser on his mechanical hand to force Nightwing back but again the young Acrobat dodged it expertly. What Arsenal was not aware of was that there was now a miniature explosive device attached to his metal arm which went off rendering him unconscious as well. Batman forces Robin to keep his distance even as the younger boy tries to plead to his older brother.

“Nightwing stop this, you’re hurting everybody.” After just a brief moment Nightwing seemed to pause but then threw a batarang right at the younger hero. Even while Robin dodged Batman quickly intercepted the batarang and threw it away before the other miniature explosive could go off. Terry quickly glanced aside and saw that Aqualad was succumbing to his injuries and so it was just him and Batman left to hold off this rogue hero. Batman gave him a signal behind his back so that Nightwing couldn’t see it. It meant that Batman was the one that was going to be doing the frontal assault while Terry was going to try to get around from the back. Then he attacked full force, not bothering to wait for Terry to respond. The battle was ferocious as both father and son traded blows Batman trying to render Nightwing unconscious but it was clear to Terry that Nightwing was going for the kill. Fortunately Batman’s attack had succeeded in distracting Nightwing long enough for Terry to sneak around. After a good kick had knocked Batman off feet and Nightwing’s attention was solely on Batman, Terry wasted no time and punched Nightwing right in the jaw.

“Sorry about this, you’ll thank me later.” Unfortunately the below failed to render Nightwing unconscious but it did seem to really daze him as he coughed and spat out something that looked like blood. But as Terry was ready to deliver a nerve pinch a force field appeared around the hero. Terry looked to the side relieved to see that Rocket had arrived along with Wonder Woman rope in hand ready to secure their fellow comrade. He fully expected Nightwing to start attacking the shield but surprisingly he looked up at them with a look of horror on his face.

“Dear God, what have I done?” Terry refused to let himself relax even if it sounded like Dick had come back to his senses. They still didn’t know what had triggered the attack and he had to also consider that this could still be a trick. Nightwing looked around at his fallen comrades with the realization that this was all done by his hands and literally shook with guilt.

“Whatever you do, don't let me out of this force field!” He called out trying to stop himself from crying. “I- I don’t know what happened… One minute I was fine and then the next…” As much as Terry was convinced in his own mind that the person speaking to him was in fact Dick Grayson and as much he wanted to run up and comfort the man that he was growing to love, he would respect the man’s wishes and keep him contained until they figured out what had caused him to go berserk.

Batman came up to the force field but Dick couldn’t meet his eyes. “Many need medical attention but all will survive.” Terry could see Dick visibly shuddered with guilt and relief at the same time. More than anything he wished he could go up and tell him everything was going to be okay but the truth was nobody knew what happened but they were determined to get to the bottom of it.

Once Dick was taken into custody Robin and Terry stayed behind to look for some clues around the area. Robin learned that Nightwing had been cut by a small knife the perpetrator had brought with him and bagged it as evidence. Terry didn’t find nearly as much but when he went back to the scene where the battle had taken place he cringed at what he saw on the ground. Apparently he had hit Dick hard enough to knock a tooth right out of his mouth. Not wanting to leave it at the crime scene Terry picked it up only to realize that this was not a real tooth, in fact it was hollow. Curiously he carefully opened the tooth and found something that was truly puzzling as well as very disturbing.

Inside the tooth was a small gold coin with an owl insignia in the center.

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“As you can see our tests proved to be a great success.” The tall man dressed head to toe in armor stated to the elderly woman who was bound to a wheelchair and wearing a large white owl mask over her face.

“If you call that a success your standards are incredibly low, he failed to kill any of his fellow comrades.”

“Perhaps so but it does prove that Richard Grayson has not been as lost to us as we once feared. The electrum in his blood is still coursing through his veins; it only took a very small sample of our new formula to set it off. A long-term treatment will bind him to us for eternity.”

“I still think that the old ways are best. But I must admit we do not have the time to properly train him. Not since Batman destroyed most the court and centuries of hard work practically dooming Gotham to fall. Very well William Cobb, our finest Talon, we will see to it that your great-grandson is brought into the fold. Batman has taken everything from us so we will take what is most valuable from him. Richard Grayson shall be our new Talon and he shall be the one to destroy Batman once and for all.

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Everything You Thought You Knew

 

Terry stared at the image of the strange gold coin that he had found in Dick’s false tooth. The image was plastered up onto the screen along with a plethora of information involving an organization known as the Court of Owls. Terry had no idea who this group was, they didn’t exist in his world, so he thought he should read up on it. Apparently they were an underground secret society that had been ruling Gotham from the shadows practically since it was founded. They used undead assassins as their warriors, known as Talons, which were insanely hard to fight. Two years ago they nearly brought down Batman and only with the help of his family was he able to discover the Talon’s weakness. They were highly susceptible to cold so when the court unleashed an army of Talons on the bats and the city of Gotham they were able to lure most of them into a trap and freeze them. They were currently being kept in a refrigerated containment cell in Black Gate prison. But despite their best efforts some of the court members were able to escape.

But that still didn’t explain what this coin was doing in one of Dick’s molars or why after knocking it out did he seem to break out of his brainwashed state. Right now Robin, Green Arrow and a few other League members were trying to trace the coin, test Dick’s blood work, testing the substance that was found on the blade that Dick was cut with and double checking to see if anyone had made any contact with the imprisoned Talons at Black Gate. Green Arrow looked up at the screen and shook his head.

“I will never call you bats paranoid ever again.” Terry felt like making a joke but the situation was too uncomfortable for him to follow through.

“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean someone’s not out to get you.” Terry said still trying to dig up any more information on the Court of Owls that might have been overlooked. All he knew for sure was that Batman’s face drained of color as soon as he saw the coin and Terry told him where he had found it. He ran off with the original coin and demanded to see Arsenal as soon as he woke up. Obviously Batman knew something they didn’t but at least Batman was feeding them bits and pieces of information as they were discovered, including details on the coin itself. But they didn’t have any information on Nightwing. While Batman assured them that Nightwing was still conscious and hadn't shown any signs of being brainwashed they were still keeping him under lock and key as a precaution. But despite Batman’s reassurances he wasn’t allowing anyone to see him. Terry was already planning on sneaking in for a visit and he could probably convince Robin to help him hack the door if they weren’t allowed to see him soon.

Just then Batman came into the room looking extremely edgy and walked over to the main computer.

“We were able to figure out what triggered Nightwing’s sudden attack.” He said in a slightly rushed tone as if he was eager to get back to something. “The chemical found on the blade reacted to the chemical that had already been introduced into Nightwing’s bloodstream.”

“You mean from the coin?” Green Arrow asked, making Batman’s face hardened.

“The first part of the chemical compound was introduced when the Joker stabbed Nightwing back at Arkham Asylum.” Robin looked up a little confused.

“I thought it was just the Joker toxin. He told me he got dosed but quickly took the antidote before it could affect him.”

“The Joker toxin was a cover for the first half of the chemical compound, which by itself would not only be hard to detect but would cause no adverse effects. The Joker is working for somebody who has been trying to target Dick for some time.” Suddenly Terry remembered the Joker’s cryptic message just before he escaped the chemical plant.

“That’s why he was asking about Nightwing before, he was probably trying to give him the other half of the compounds at the chemical plant but Young Justice showed up before he was ready.” Terry said also making a mental note that Batman seemed a little hesitant to talk about the coin but they’d get to that later.

“The thief that Young Justice had taken into custody was found dead in his cell an hour ago. He looked like he suffered a heart attack triggered by a slow acting poison in his blood. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get much information from him let alone who he was working for.” He went over to the video screen and pulled up several photos from the robberies the Justice League had been tracking. In each of the images the thief had the same dagger.

“We did a more comparative study on the thieves and each one is a different person. Whoever’s behind this has been patiently waiting for Nightwing to come out of hiding. If our last thief is any indication they have no qualms about sacrificing a few hired guns to stay in the dark.” That man’s words weighed heavily with the heroes in the room and Terry started to think that it might be time that Batman was told what Dick’s possible future could be. He wanted to run it by Bart just to be sure, in fact it probably would be better if the speedster was the one to tell Batman the bad news. Terry glanced back up at the image of the coin and then back at Batman.

“Dick snapped out of it as soon as I knocked the tooth from his mouth. Was that just a coincidence or did that coin act as some sort of conduit between the two chemicals? And for that matter how long has he had that coin in his tooth anyway?” Batman seemed to get more agitated at Terry’s questions.

“Right now the Court of Owls is our main suspect but we need further evidence. We’ve already neutralized the chemicals introduced in Nightwing’s bloodstream and he will be released after a short period of observation.”

“Are you sure it’s all gone?” Asked Green Arrow,who was subconsciously rubbing the wound Nightwing had given him. Batman hesitated for a moment before answering.

“There’s nothing in his blood that hasn’t been there since the Joker started this whole mess.” Terry raised an eyebrow, thinking that was a very interesting way of phrasing Dick’s condition. He glanced at Robin and saw that it had not escaped the other boy’s attention either. Batman turned around and began to walk out of the room.

“Before he is released there’s something I need to discuss with Nightwing.” He paused and turned around glancing at Robin. “In private.” Robin’s eyes widened but reluctantly shook his head in agreement. In other words Batman didn’t want Tim hacking into and listening to their conversation. After Batman had left Green Arrow looked back up at the screen scratching his chin.

“I don’t like the way he’s purposely avoiding talking about that coin.” None of them liked it, mostly because they were a little afraid of what it could mean. Someone had to have implanted that into Nightwing’s tooth and there’s no way he would’ve allowed that willingly. Terry glared at the screen furious that somebody had violated his boyfriend like that. He tried to pull up the analysis on the coin but found the information had been blocked. He had no doubt who blocked it.

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The dream started out as it always had. The snapping of the rope, the look of terror on his family’s faces as they all fell to their doom. The agonizing long climb down to the ground never taking his eyes off the fallen forms of his loved ones praying he’d see them move, but they never did. He stood alone now as the last of the flying Graysons. A figure appeared behind him; this was the part where Bruce put a comforting hand on his shoulder to turn away from the path of grief to the path of vengeance but something was different this time.

It wasn’t a human hand, it was a claw, like that of a bird. No, it was a Talon. He tried to move away but he was held fast, he tried to look to see who was holding him but his face was blurred in the shadows. A violent scream caught his attention. He turned around to see Bruce lying in place of his father. His throat was cut and his eyes were half opened, the light now gone from them. He tried to scream but no sound escaped his lip even when the bodies of Young Justice, Alfred, Tim, Terry, even Jason replaced his fallen family.

Dick tried to run to them only to find he could not move. He tried reaching out but that was when he noticed the blood. His hands were covered in blood as well as the dagger he was holding. Finally he was able to run, but as soon as he did he found himself in a large room with a giant white owl statue staring down at him.

Stay away from that.

A voice urgently whispered to him even as he found himself walking steadily towards it.

It’s dangerous, keep away.

Again he wanted to listen to the voice but it was like his mind and body were two separate entities. Now he could see the statue was on top of a fountain with cool clear water flowing from its beak.

Don’t drink the water!

He knew he shouldn’t but he was suddenly overcome by an overwhelming feeling of thirst.

It’s poison!

He knew that to be true but he couldn’t stop himself from cupping his hands and bringing the cool liquid to his parched throat.

Drink from their cup and you can never come back.

But drink he did, and instead of soothing his thirst his throat was now burning, He tried spitting it out but instead he regurgitated his own blood. A burning pain radiated throughout his entire system spreading through his veins and killing off everything he was, everything that made him human, everything that made him Dick Grayson.

After what seemed like an eternity Dick was able to pull himself up catching a glimpse of his reflection in the poisoned fountain. Staring back at him was a colorless face with chemically filled blue veins pushing their way to the surface. But what struck him the most was his eyes. Eyes that were once sky blue were now a sickening shade of yellow. He should have been more upset, he should have been terrified but he wasn’t. This was the real him, this was what he was meant to be, he just needed to rid himself of all those useless emotions. Yes, it was much better this way.

You can never come back.  

Dick bolted awake with a loud gasp and panted heavily as he tried to even out his breathing.

“What the hell was that?” he wondered as he sat up wiping the sweat from his forehead. He was alerted to the sound of someone entering the Watchtower’s holding area. He could tell by the heavy sound of his boots that it was Batman. Normally Batman could approach without making a sound at all but Nightwing figured that Bruce didn’t want to startle him. As Batman came into view Nightwing had a million questions he wanted to ask but wasn’t sure where to start. Surprisingly the first thing Batman did was open up the holding cell and stepped aside as if to let Nightwing out. Nightwing looked to the door then back at Batman.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea Batman? Do you know why I suddenly went berserk like that? What if it happens again? What-“ but Batman held up a hand silencing the young man. Seeing that Dick was in no rush to leave his cell Batman entered leaving the door wide opened.

“You’re not currently in any danger of harming your friends.” Initially that made Nightwing feel more at ease but after living with Batman for so long he could tell when the man was upset.

“But what happened?” Batman pushed a button on his utility belt which Nightwing knew would mute the sound and blind the cameras coming from the holding cell and he made no show of hiding it.

“We need to talk.” Batman reached into another compartment of his utility belt and pulled out what looked like a tooth. Remembering where Terry had hit him while he was out of control Dick felt around in his mouth with his tongue to confirm that this was the tooth that had been knocked out during the fight. But why was this important?

“Do you remember two years ago when Gotham was under siege by the Court of Owls?” Dick nodded.

“How could I forget, they nearly took out the entire family.” But why was Batman bringing this up now? “Are they behind this somehow? I know we weren’t able to get every single member but I thought they were in hiding.” Batman took a deep breath and looked directly into Nightwing’s eyes.

“While we were doing research on the organization as well as their assassins I discovered that all of their Talons were given a small coin made out of electrum. Along with other chemicals the electrum was the main component that kept the Talons from truly dying as well as increasing their healing capabilities. They placed this coin in a false tooth before they even began training.” Dick did not like where this conversation was going. His eyes were now locked on the tooth in Bruce’s hands as his foster father turned it over. Dick felt his stomach drop as he revealed the small coin inside the fake tooth that had once been in his mouth for God knows how long. Unconsciously Dick’s hands went to his jaw that had previously been a source of discomfort. He was now starting to understand the reality of this new information.

“Oh God.” He said quietly as his mind whirled. “But how did we never catch this? We both know how paranoid you are with doctors and dentists that’s why I’ve been delaying treatment for my toothache. I can’t think of the single time when I was unconscious long enough to notice a tooth had been replaced.“ Batman was still looking at him with an expression that was somewhere between apologetic and sad which was confusing to Dick.

“Dick, this coin has been in your tooth for a very long time now.” Batman forced the words out clearly not wanting to have this conversation even though he really needed to. For Dick this was just going from bad to worse.

“But how long? Was it there before the court declared war on the bat family? Were they planning on trying to recruit me or-“

“This has nothing to do with the family or me. You’ve had this since before I met you.” The weight of Bruce’s words were starting to sink in. If what Bruce said was true then it would mean- ‘No’ Dick thought, he didn’t want to think about it, it couldn’t be true.

“That’s not possible Bruce, before my parents died all I had ever known was the circus. Are you saying that someone infiltrated Haly’s?” Dick asked, hoping Bruce was not going to come to the same conclusion that he himself was trying to deny.

“Your attack was brought on by two different chemical compounds that the electrum helped to amplify. The first was given to you by the Joker mixed in with his usual Joker venom but the compound was too weak to work on its own or even be detected, that’s how we missed it after we rescued Tim. But while I was fighting the Joker he left hints that there was a connection between you and the Court of Owls. I started doing some research on my own and then later used Arsenal to help with my investigation. While on the surface Haly’s Circus looks clean, there have been a number of unexplained ‘deaths’ and accidents over the years. Most of which I believe were faked.” Nightwing jumped to his feet, tore off his mask and looked right into Batman’s face.

“That doesn’t prove anything, the circus has always been high risk even with the most seasoned performers! That’s why people come to the show!” Batman did not back away but instead removed his cowl looking back at Nightwing again with that sad apologetic expression on his face.

“Nearly all those who have supposedly died have been children.” Dick stepped back and the anger started to turn into shock. “In nearly all those cases the bodies were either never recovered or destroyed beyond recognition.” Dick shook his head still trying to find a way that this all made sense.

“I don’t care how bad this looks…you could be wrong. Everyone thought Haly was guilty of theft while he was traveling through Europe six years ago but I proved it was The Parasite trying to frame Haly while he got away.”

“While it was true Haly was innocent of the thefts in Europe, the records of all those dead children go back generations.” Batman took out a very old and worn notebook and handed it to Dick. “Arsenal found this when he was investigating Haly’s Circus. While we had one of their Talons in custody we learned that his name was William Cobb. He was a former employee at Haly’s Circus specializing in knife throwing and while he was here I took a DNA sample.” Dick’s hands shook as he opened the small notebook and saw page after page of names, nothing but names. Eventually he came to the name in question ‘William Cobb’ but as he flipped further he saw one of the last names in the book was in fact ”Richard Grayson”.

“I normally take any information from the Joker with a grain of salt but I just completed the DNA comparisons and William Cobb is in fact your great-grandfather.” Dick’s hands were shaking so badly that he dropped the book and the small resounding echo was the only sound in the room for the next few moments. Batman came up and put a hand on Dick’s shoulder trying his best to be comforting.

“Dick, I want you to know this doesn’t change anything. You’re still my son and even if the Court of Owls thinks they have a claim on you they’ll still have to get through me to do so.” Dick’s eyes were starting to turn red from tears he was trying so desperately not to shed.

“Doesn’t change anything? This changes everything!” He cried out angrily pushing Bruce back. “I was there too Bruce, I know what these Talons had to go through to be so perfectly deadly and now you’re trying to tell me that Pop Haly, the man I thought of as a grandfather, would willingly just sacrifice all these children to a life of torture and murder, that he would sacrifice me to those monsters?” He reached down and grabbed his domino mask from the floor and shoved it back onto his face hoping to hide the tears that he could no longer fight back.

Batman pulled his cowl back on, standing awkwardly in the room while Nightwing collapsed back onto his cot. He knew he couldn’t hide this information from Nightwing, not when the court was actively hunting him but he had been hoping to spare his son the pain of knowing that the family that he once thought loved him unconditionally might have been a façade.

“Could you give me a little time,” Nightwing said in a soft, utterly defeated whisper. “please.” He quietly pleaded, not looking up. Although Batman was reluctant to leave him alone he wanted to respect his son’s wishes.

“Of course.” He walked out leaving the cell door open. “Would you like me to send-“

“no one.” Dick interrupted once again not looking up. “I just need a little time alone before I can face… anyone.” Batman’s heart broke for his son. He hated seeing him so upset that he’d ask to be alone. Dick usually finds comfort in others unless he felt there was a burden that he needed to bear by himself. Bruce hoped this was not one of those times.

“Very well, just remain in the Watchtower until we come up with a strategy. I’ll send Agent A up with dinner if you feel like taking company later. Right now you’re the only one who knows all the details and I’ll leave it up to you if you wish me to inform anyone else.”

“Thank you.” Dick quietly whispered faintly pleading for his father and mentor to just leave him in peace.

As soon as the door to the detention wing closed and Dick was convinced that Batman was gone and out of earshot he grabbed the book and hurled it defiantly against the wall. He half shouted and half sobbed before finally breaking down in tears. How could this be true, how could any of this be true? He had known Pop Haly his entire life, he knew how much the man cared for him as well as the circus.

He looked up and saw that the notebook had fallen open to a random page. Not wanting the book to be found by anybody else Dick walked over and picked it up. As he glanced down there was another name on the page, a name after him and it was a name he knew. “Raymond McCreary?” Dick whispered looking at the name again and he remembered shortly after Bruce had taken him in he heard from some of his old circus friends that his childhood friend Raymond had died in a car accident. Dick didn’t get a chance to attend the funeral himself; he had just gotten out of Juvenile Hall where he had got stuck in the system. He did remember one of his other friends saying that the funeral was a close casket.

This caused a whole new set of emotions to rampage through his mind. Did Raymond really die or was he just a replacement Talon for Dick since Bruce had taken him in? Dick was upset and hurt and he needed answers, he needed them from the source itself. He felt a little bad leaving everybody else behind especially after Batman told him to stay here but he had to know for sure if any of this was actually true. He had to talk to Pop Haly.

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Batman was not the least bit surprised to see both Terry and Tim trying to sneak down the hallway to visit Dick. Tim looked a little sheepish at being caught but Terry was trying to stare down Batman unapologetically.

“Do you want to tell us what’s really going on with Nightwing or are we going to have to test our detective skills and find out for ourselves?” Batman met Terry’s gaze. It was obvious that Terry cared a great deal for Dick which made the situation all the more complicated. Realistically he knew he was going to have to tell Terry the truth about his heritage but he also knew that was going to be a big blow to the kid and right now Dick was the one who needed them.

“The issue with Nightwing being under mind control has been resolved; however recent events have uncovered something more… disturbing. While the matter is not confidential it is of a personal nature to Nightwing unless it becomes an issue for the League or Young Justice.” Both Terry and Tim looked at each other a little bit surprised but even more concerned than they were before. “He has requested some personal time to take in the information he has just learned. While I won’t stop you from going to visit I ask that you take his wishes into consideration.”

While still concerned both boys were torn. They wanted to make sure that Nightwing was okay but it didn’t seem like he was up for company at the moment. Tim agreed to give his brother some privacy but said he’d be back later before he had to go on patrol. Terry reluctantly agreed as well but said he would be staying in the Watchtower in case Dick wanted to talk to somebody who wasn’t a family member. Bruce bit the inside of his lips at the irony of that statement but again kept his thoughts to himself on that matter. ’One personal identity crisis at a time.’ But as Terry walked away Bruce felt compelled to stop him.

“Terry, a moment?” Terry stopped and turned back around hoping that Batman wasn’t going to give him another lecture for something that he didn’t know he did. But even so he should be grateful that Batman was talking to him at all.

“Terry, I want you to know that this is going to be a very trying period for Nightwing. And he’s going to need support from both his friends and family.” Terry raised an eyebrow a bit skeptical.

“Does that include me?” Batman couldn’t blame him for being a little snarky; he had been fairly aloof lately with no real explanation given to the boy. He was going to have to correct that soon.

“Personal feelings aside, I need to do what’s best for Nightwing right now. I know I haven’t been fair to you but there is a reason. Something’s been kept from you. At first I thought you were aware of it but now I know you are clearly ignorant of the situation.” Finally Terry was getting a taste of what this big mystery was but once again it felt like Batman was holding back.

“And you’re not going to tell me are you?” Terry said starting to get more annoyed but surprisingly Batman put a hand on his shoulder.

“Right now we all need to be here for Nightwing and as much as I want to tell you, this would be the wrong time. After things are settled however I’ll show you what the other Bruce has been keeping from you.” As Terry listened and he was torn, whatever this was sounded big, really big. But what could this Batman have discovered that his Bruce felt he didn’t need to know? And somehow this all tied back with him dating Nightwing. As eager as he was for the information now he was kind of dreading it.

“Alright, have it your way, we’ll deal with one crisis at a time. But if this big freakin secret turns out to be something stupid like my great-great-grandparents were clowns or something then so help me!” Batman let a small smile slip but it was gone so quickly a normal person would’ve missed it. But his happy thoughts were held back due to the fact that with all the secrets coming out a lot of people were bound to get hurt.

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It was almost too easy to sneak out of the Watchtower and change into some civilian clothes. Dick still felt a little guilty about going against Batman when he had been nothing but honest about what he found. But even so this was a personal matter that’s why he came as Dick Grayson and not as Nightwing. As he approached the circus grounds he was hit by an array of familiar smells and sounds that brought him all the way back to his childhood. The smell of stale popcorn, the music playing in the background while surely some of the performers were practicing and in the distance he can distinctly hear elephants crying out. He was tempted for a moment to go over and see if it was Zitka calling out to him sensing that he had come for a visit. But he couldn’t afford any distractions like that today.

As he made his way to Haly’s office Dick was trying to determine how to ask if the circus had been involved with the Court of Owls and how to do it discreetly. Maybe he should just be straightforward and catch him off guard but that might interfere with Batman’s investigation or scare off the real culprit. In the back of his head he knew he really shouldn’t be here but he just had to talk to Haly and he had to know the truth. There just had to be something Batman or Arsenal had missed in their investigation or maybe there was a reasonable explanation. For the life of him he couldn’t imagine what it could be but there was always a chance that Haly was being framed again. He just had to keep an open mind that’s all, just keep an open-

He was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of gunfire and people screaming. He looked up and saw several people running away from the big top and a few people running toward it. Out of the corner of his eye he could make out somebody running out of the back with another figure in quick pursuit. He quickly recognized the pursuer as Arsenal, Batman must have sent him back to continue the investigation. As much as he wanted to help the other vigilante he wasn’t in uniform, nor did he have any weapons on hand. So instead he ran into the tent, the one that the intruder had just run out of. What he saw made him stop in his tracks. Lying against one of the support poles was Pop Haly covered in blood clutching a vicious looking wound on his chest. All thoughts of his investigation came to a screeching halt as he ran forward to try and help his old friend.

“Mr. Haly what happened?” He asked as he tore off his jacket tearing it into strips to try and help stop the bleeding. Slowly Haly looked up and saw the face of someone he didn’t think he would ever see again.

“Dick… Dick Grayson?” Dick wasted no time in trying to wrap the old man’s wounds and wondering if he should risk using his COM in front of a civilian. He stupidly had left his cell phone back at the watchtower while trying to stay off the grid. The COM can be trackless when deactivated so he discreetly activated his emergency distress signal.

“Yes, yes it’s me Mr. Haly. Try to stay calm. I'm going to get you some help.” He looked up and gave Dick a sad smile.

“Don’t waste your energy on an old man like me.” Dick hated the fact that Haly sounded like he was ready to give up.

“Don’t talk like that Mr. Haly, you are not going to die please just stay with me!” Dick said frantically, the tears starting to moisten his eyes once again, but the old man just continued to smile his sad smile.

“And don’t waste your tears on someone like me. This is a kinder fate than I deserve.” Dick still didn’t slow his efforts as he continued to try and hold the man together. He could hear sirens in the distance thankfully somebody had called 911. He was trying to focus on that and not the words that were coming from the old circus master.

“Come on Mr. Haly, I need you to focus. We’ll talk later but first let’s get you to the hospital.” But there seemed to be no fight left in the old man which was only frustrating Dick even further.

“I know why you’re here Dick, eventually secrets come out and I have more than a few skeletons buried in my closet. Oh, all those poor children.” Dick shook his head, wanting Haly to at least attempt to make this horror just a dream, just a nightmare. “But you know already, the owls came for them and I let them. Faking their deaths was easy, they had all the right people in all the right places. They would have been better off dead.” Haly coughed spitting up a mouthful of blood as Dick saw his makeshift bandages were quickly being soaked up with blood not holding very much in. One thing was clear though, this was Haly dying confession and as much as Dick didn’t want to hear it he had to listen.

“But why did you do it, why didn’t you try to stop them?” Haly coughed again but with grim determination he took a deep breath to continue.

“It was just the way things have always been. The court kept the circus running and gave all of us a secure home for generations but in return they wanted new blood for their army, especially children. You don’t know the horrible things that the owls could do. I tried hiding one once when I was younger and in return they killed 5 more in front of me. They were everywhere, there was no one I could go to and no one I could trust. And I knew no one would believe me.” Haly coughed again Dick could sense it was getting to the end, it was almost time. Despite the man’s horrible confession Dick still felt compelled to hold onto him.

“They wanted me too, didn’t they?” It wasn’t a question but Dick was still trying to keep him talking and hoping that he would have enough strength to last until the ambulance got here. Even though he knew he was fooling himself.

“They wanted you more than any other. From the moment they saw you on Children’s Night you were marked as one of theirs. Maybe even before then.” Vaguely Dick’s remembered the odd special that the circus held every few years. Children’s Night was sort of the debutante ball of the circus kids who were coming of age and old enough to perform in the shows with their parents. Dick had been ever so eager to get up on stage performing with Raya and Raymond, his two oldest friends. While they were all spectacular everyone knew that he had outshined them all something that Raymond was incredibly jealous of.

“But what about Raymond was he…” Mr. Haly grimaced, still trying to catch his breath, still wanting to finish his confession.

“The owls always wanted you but when your parents died and Bruce took an interest in you they knew they couldn’t get to you while you were under his care. I know you must think badly of me but a part of me was grateful that the tragedy occurred because it spared you a life of pain and torment. The owls wanted you but they settled for Raymond but even I knew that Raymond was never going to be good enough for them and yet they still took him anyway. I do not know what became of him. I never see the children once they are taken except in my nightmares where they pleaded and begged me to help them.” Haly had a huge hacking cough and now his face was becoming nearly as white as the Joker’s. Even though Dick could hear the ambulance pulling up and the people coming towards the tent he knew they would be too late. But there is one more thing he needed to know, the one thing that only Haly could tell him.

“Mr. Haly I know it’s hard and I know it’s painful but I have to know, did my parents know about the owls and about Children’s Night?” Haly moved his lips but only gurgling sounds could be heard. With one final breath his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body slumped into Dick’s arms leaving the last and most important question unanswered.

The paramedics came but as expected there was nothing they could do even if they had gotten to him right after the attack he had just lost too much blood. Dick stood there numbly as they covered the body of the man he thought he knew, unsure how to feel about it. He had come here hoping for another explanation, some hope that his shiny, colorful and happy childhood wasn’t just an illusion. But that hope was shattered. He vaguely remember the police coming to question him about the murder but other members of the circus were better witnesses since they had been present for the attack.

The one thing that brought him back to reality was an oversized coat being drooped over his shoulders and a large callused hand holding him steady. Just like the first time his childhood came to a tragic end he knew the same man was standing right behind him offering his support without even needing to turn around.

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Caught in the Gray

 

Terry didn’t know exactly what had happened to Dick during the time he had slipped away from the Watchtower. Before he even realized that Dick was gone Batman had called both him and Tim to the manor where they found the young man curled up in a chair clutching what looked like one of Batman’s capes. They tried asking him if he was all right but the only answer they got back was a shake of the head and a quiet whisper, “no”

They got a similar answer when they asked if he wanted to talk about it. “Bruce will tell you.” He responded in a quiet voice as if he was afraid to speak any louder. “I-I just… I just can’t right now.” Fortunately when they asked if he wanted any company he nodded his head yes.

Tim went right up to his older brother and as soon as he was within arm’s reach Dick reached up and held onto him as if he was afraid to let go. Terry let them have a brotherly moment to themselves when he noticed that Dick was still shaking. While Batman’s cape was good for keeping the cold out it wasn’t a very comfortable blanket. He excused himself for a moment and went to find something warm to comfort Dick. He figured something familiar from his own bedroom would probably help but when he reached Dick’s bedroom his heart sank at the site before him. While the room wasn’t completely trash some things had been thrown around the room but what caught his attention was the poster on the wall. He remembered seeing a similar poster when he went to visit Dick Grayson in his time at the “Out of the Nest” aerials and gymnastics gym, which the former Nightwing owned and operated. But the poster he saw on the wall looked like somebody had tried to rip it from the walls before changing their minds midway through a hastily tried to repair it. He ran his fingers up the damaged lines in the poster wondering just what happened to upset Dick so badly. He was going to get answers one way or another from Bruce once he took care of Dick.

Terry returned with the blanket gently wrapping it around Dick slowly prying away Bruce’s Batman cape. It was as if he knew he needed to let it go but was afraid to. Eventually Dick let go and Tim took the cape saying he was going to give it back to Batman. Tim would be back but the kid was smart enough to know that Dick needed a little time alone with Terry as well.

Terry wasted no time and gathered Dick up in his arms and former Robin practically melted into his embrace, soaking up all the warmth and comfort that he could. Terry petted the top of Dick’s hair and kissed him on the forehead offering a silent support when Dick finally broke down. The tears were streaming from his eyes soaking Terry’s shirt and Terry just wished that he knew how to take away his pain. But for now this was enough, right now Dick needed him and he was going to be there as long as necessary.

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The following day when Dick had finally gone to sleep Bruce told both Tim and himself the entire story, and it made Terry just sick to his stomach.

“So all this time the circus had been planning to, what, sell Dick into slavery, and they’ve been doing this for generations?” Terry asked, still trying to wrap his head around this new information. Tim, who looked equally sick, was biting the bottom of his lip as the pieces to this gruesome puzzle were now coming together.

“We always did wonder where the court had been getting their talons from,” he frowned as he realized this actually did make logical sense. “They were all trained killers but they each had their own unique methods, knife throwing, unusual strength, wire work. These are all things you would find in a circus.” Tim kind of wished it wouldn’t make any sense just to spare his older brother from this awful truth. Tim had seen Dick in action both in the circus and as Robin and his first thought was that Dick was simply amazing and unusually talented and while that’s still might be true the scary truth is that those skills were being groomed into him to one day become a deadly assassin. It was no wonder that Deathstroke took an interest in the former Robin when he was a teenager.

“While Arsenal was too late to stop Haly’s assassination he was able to get a good look at the attacker. As we feared it seems like the Talons are coming out of hiding.” Batman said with a frown. “It also seems like they are specifically targeting Dick. And if that minor brainwashing incident is anything to go by I say their plan is to try and recruit him by force.” Batman then turned to Terry.

“How did the Batman in your world handle the Court of Owls?” Terry could only shrug.

“Sorry, I never saw anything in the archives about a secret society in Gotham that wore owl masks or anything about Talons. Either they didn’t exist in my world or my Bruce’s covering them up for some reason. Mr. Grayson did seem to still have a connection to the circus in my time so I doubt he knew anything. Either way I don’t have anything I can offer, sorry.” Bruce only seemed slightly disappointed. After all it was a long shot that the Court of Owls would’ve been the same in both universes since there were so many little differences between the worlds as it was.

“It doesn’t matter, if the Court of Owls are active again we need to find out where they’re located before they have a chance to strike again.” Batman announced forming out a strategy to try and track down the court. “I also think for the moment that Dick should be kept out of this.” Terry didn’t fully agree with this statement but before he could argue a voice came out from down the hall.

“I couldn’t agree less, boss.” They turned around and saw Dick sending in the shadows with a look of determination on his face.

“Dick what are you doing here you should be resting?” Batman asked as Dick strolled up to him.

“Not much chance of me getting any sleep tonight so we might as well plan.”

“We?”

“Yes we, look I know this whole Court of Owls thing took me by surprise and before you ask, no, I’m not alright. But I’m not going to sit here and wallow in self-pity while the rest of my family goes off to take on the very deadly opponent.”

“Dick be reasonable, you’re the target here.”

“And that’s exactly why I should be kept in the loop, the more knowledge I have the safer I’ll be.” Terry watched as the two argued back and forth in silence. Barbara had told him that the fights between Bruce and Dick were legendary when they were younger and he was just waiting for the inevitable explosion, but to his surprise it never came.

“Very well, you can help with the research and investigation but I think it should be taken off the roster again at least for a while.”

“Restricted duty.” Dick countered. “I won’t be assigned any current missions but I can be used as a backup. I’m not going to stop helping people just because the court has me on their hit list. I’m not going to let them win.” Terry expected Batman to argue and it looked like he wanted to but in the end he sighed.

“Very well, but you are not to leave the manor or the Watchtower without alerting me. If you do have to leave I want someone with you as backup.” Now Dick was the one who looked like he wanted to argue but just like his mentor he reluctantly agreed. Terry was once again struck by just how well-adjusted Dick and Bruce were here compared to the ones in his time. He certainly wasn’t complaining but this was still going to take some time to get used to.

After another all-night searching and planning session with maybe an hour or so of rest the bat clan headed to the Watchtower to inform the Justice League about the situation.

While Batman headed off to address his fellow League members Dick went in search of Kaldur to give him his report.

“Do you want me or Tim to come with you?” Terry asked but Nightwing gave him a sad smile.

“That’s okay. While I appreciate the help this is something I need to do on my own. Most of the team is in the training room. Why don’t you give them a very brief rundown on the situation but obviously without the details of my secret identity. I trust you to be discreet.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to inform them yourself?” Dick shook his head.

“I really don’t want to have to tell this story to too many people. At least with the older members who already know who I am I don’t have to dance around the details.” Terry seemed reluctant to leave but Dick gave him a smile that was supposed to be reassuring but he couldn’t quite pull it off. “Don’t worry I’m following Batman’s rules and I won’t be leaving the tower, but I really do need to inform Kaldur of the situation. I did sort of tried to kill him while I was brainwashed yesterday.” While Dick may have meant it as a joke Terry couldn’t muster up the energy to smile as Nightwing left the room.

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Kaldur was more than a little surprised to see Nightwing standing outside his room. He had been briefly informed that the younger man’s brainwashing had not held up after they had left the battlefield but he had heard rumors and there was a commotion last night which all added up to a number of unanswered questions. While he politely respected his elders to inform him when they were ready he was not expecting them to come from Nightwing himself.

“Hey Kaldur, do you have a minute?” Aqualad blinked but opened his door further.

“Of course Nightwing, I must admit I was not expecting to see you so soon after the… incident.” He didn’t miss how the younger man flinched at the mention of his attack on his fellow teammates. “I trust you are feeling… better?” The Atlantian asked as Nightwing closed the door.

“Actually, I’m not doing all that great.” Kaldur was more than a little surprised at his friend's sad tone. Something big must have happened yesterday after he had been freed of his brainwashing.

“Do you wish to talk about it?” Kaldur'ahm asked as he gestured to a simple sitting area in his room but Nightwing didn’t immediately go to sit down. “Or perhaps you would be more comfortable with Black Canary?”

“Actually I really did want to talk to you specifically.” Reluctantly he made himself sit down and encouraged his fellow teammate and leader to do the same. “Kaldur I’m so sorry for everything I put you through.”

“It is alright my friend. You were not yourself at the time. Many of us have had similar experiences with-“ but Kaldur was cut off.

“No, I’m not talking about yesterday although I am really, really sorry about that too.” Dick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I should never have let you go on that undercover mission after we discovered who your real father was.” Kaldor was a little taken back. While truly it was a very difficult time in his life, the knowledge that they had gained made it possible for them to defeat the light and save the world. They both understood sacrifice which is why they had both agreed to the plan in the first place.

“I do not understand, it was I who came to you with this idea after Black Manta had asked me to join him.”

“But I should’ve said no, I should’ve talked you out of it. I was the one who came up with all the details on how to sell it and make it look real.”

“I’m still uncertain why this is upsetting you so much, especially now that the mission is over and I am back with the team. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think I could handle it.”

“You’d just lost the love of your life and found out this horrible secret about your family. I thought I understood what I was asking of you but believe me I had no idea. If I had known…” Dick trailed off as Kaldor came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“What happened over the last few days?” Kaldor was no fool, he knew that something had to have set off the former Robin and he had a feeling it had with something similar to his own past. After all, Nightwing had recently lost the love of his life when Wally sacrificed himself to save the world but as far as he knew Dick’s family, at least his blood relatives were all dead…weren’t they?

Dick could see that Kaldur was putting the pieces together so he decided now was as good a time as any to say his peace. “A few years ago when Batman and I were investigating the Court of Owls we were able to capture one of them to try and study him to see why they were so difficult to take down. While he was in our custody Batman took a DNA sample from one of the Talons whose real name turned out to be William Cobb. After figuring out that it was the Court of Owls who had brainwashed me temporarily Batman ran a comparison DNA test and as it turns out William Cobb is my great-grandfather.” Dick paused to allow the information to sink in, Kaldur's eyes went wide, now everything made sense.

“Are you saying that William Cobb is trying to recruit you for the Court of Owls?” Dick nodded.

“I think that little brainwashing session was more of a field test in case they couldn’t “convince me”. And while that was disturbing enough Batman told me that he had been secretly investigating Haly’s Circus where I grew up and discovered that they had been supplying Talons to the court for literally generations…and I was on the list.” Kaldur knew there was nothing that he could really say to make this any easier for Dick but he knew to simply be there for his friend. For he was very sympathetic to his situation.

“I was to be the next Talon until Tony Zucco murdered my family and Bruce took me in. With all the media attention surrounding Bruce and the adoption the Court was forced to pick another in my place, an old friend of mine who wasn’t quite up to snuff. Now it seems they want me back and Batman wants everybody to keep an eye out for Talons.” Kaldor had stood up for a moment to get a glass of water for his young friend.

“I understand this is troubling for you.” And Dick took solace in the fact that Kaldur could understand what he was going through since he had been through it himself. “The circus is where you grew up, they were your family as much as the Flying Graysons. I know how it hurts to find out that you still have family remaining but they are not what you expected them to be.”

“I didn’t want to believe Batman, not even with all the evidence he shoved in my face. So I went to see Pop Haly and asked him myself but an assassin had gotten to him first. He was still alive but in my heart I knew he wasn’t going to make it. I was expecting him to deny the accusations but he just...confessed. It was like he was finally relieved to get it off his chest.” He laughed sadly to himself for a moment. “Is it bad that I wished he had lied.”

“It is sad my friend, but there were many times that I simply wished I did not know the truth either. That Black Manta and I would have remained enemies ignorant to the connection we shared, it would have been so much easier.” The young Athlantian put a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “But you and I do know the truth and it is not something we can hide from. However, blood does not always equal family. I believe you were the one who helped to teach many of us that lesson, not just myself.” Dick smiled a little bit at that.

“We really were just a ragtag band of misfits back in the day weren’t we?” It is almost ironic how many of them proved to have either a connection or family ties to villainy, who knows in another world maybe there was a team of young villains that was giving the Justice League a run for their money.

“That we were.”

While Dick was still nowhere near okay it was nice to talk to somebody who actually could understand what he was going through even if it still made him feel guilty that he had allowed Kaldur to go undercover in the first place. He left the young Atlantean’s room with the promise that he could return any time he wished to talk, and Dick and extended the same offer.

It was a testament to how distracted he was that he didn’t notice Superboy standing right outside the door as he left.

“Oh, sorry Connor, almost didn’t see you there.” Nightwing said after almost colliding with the other boy.

“That’s okay, you're obviously a little distracted.” Nightwing glanced suspiciously at the superhero clone.

“And you know this how?” Superboy rubbed the back of his neck looking a little sheepish.

“Alright, don’t get mad but I sort of overheard part of your conversation with Kaldur. I meant to tune it out and I did but not until after I heard what happened with the Court and the circus and…” But Dick took pity on him.

“It’s all right Connor I’m not mad, well maybe a little, but at least I have one less person to repeat the story to.”

“So are you okay?” Nightwing shot him a look.

“Sorry, stupid question. I know I didn’t take it well when I found out that Lex Luthor was my father.”

“Yeah, we were all a little surprised about that.”

“But you still accepted me for who I was despite knowing that.” Connor put a firm but gentle hand on Nightwing's shoulder. “That works both ways, you know. Just because one of your relatives happens to be an assassin it won’t make us feel any different about you.” Dick’s heart felt a little lighter as he realized what good friends that he had.

“Kaldur basically said the same thing.”

“Oh, that must have been after I managed to tune you guys out, sorry.” Nightwing gently pried Connor’s hand off of his shoulder.

“Thanks for your help Connor but I really should be getting back to Terry to see how he made out with the rest of the team.” Connor’s hands suddenly gripped Nightwing’s at the mention of the dimensional traveler.

“You really shouldn’t get involved with him, he could leave any time.” While Dick raised an eyebrow at the fact that Connor held him in place, some of the things that had happened lately were starting to make sense.

“I’m aware of that Connor now please let go of my hand.” Connor looked down at his hand almost surprised to see he had been keeping Nightwing in place and quickly let go.

“Sorry, I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“While I appreciate your concern Terry and I are going at our own pace.” Dick tried to reassure him but it seemed as if his words were only increasing his friends' concerns.

“So you’d be okay if a portal opened up to his world tomorrow and he just ran home.” Dick frowned at this. Yes it was something that both he and Terry had to consider but it was also something that neither one of them had any control over. That being said Dick no longer wished to worry about what may or may not happen which is why he was taking things with Terry one step at a time.

“No, I’d be upset, but I’d be equally upset if not more if he wound up staying here and I never took a chance.” That was both the right and the wrong thing to say. His words made the gears in Connor’s head turn as he contemplated his next move. He had been tiptoeing around the subject for a while now and he had two choices: he could remain quiet and let Dick try this fragile relationship with Terry or he could pluck up the courage and tell Dick how he really felt. After hearing how Dick would rather take a chance on a relationship they never know what could have been Connor made his move. Quickly but gently he placed his hands over Nightwing's shoulders and delved into a deep kiss. Even though he knew this was a decision that may affect their friendship and may lead to nothing, in those moments Connor couldn’t regret anything.

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Terry had finished briefing the younger members of the Young Justice team about the Court of Owls and how Nightwing was their prime target. He wished the other boy had come with him so he would know what parts to edit out and what parts to tell. Regardless he was fairly confident that he was able to get across the intended points without compromising Dick’s identity. Right now he just wanted to see the other boy make sure he was okay. He hoped that Dick was smart enough to talk things out with Kaldur and maybe a few of the other older members. The fact that Dick insisted on going to see Kaldur first was encouraging. He wished he knew more about what happened on the undercover mission but for what he can gather the Atlantean had gone through a similar experience that Dick was now going through. Hopefully they both could learn from each other.

He heard the muffled sounds of the conversation going on right outside of Kaldur’s room. The young man slowed not wanting to pop out and interrupt a potentially important conversation but as he rounded the corner he stopped in his tracks. Standing right in front of him he could see Dick and Connor kissing and holding each other close.

Anger flashed through Terry’s eyes but he quickly turned away not wanting anyone to see just how upset he was. As he marched over to the Zeta tube’s he had dozens of thoughts and emotions careening through his mind. Had Dick been seeing Connor on the side? Did he not want to get involved any further? Did this just start or had been going on for a while? Did he care about him at all or was this relationship not as serious as Terry thought?

So many questions just kept swarming around in his head to the point where he couldn’t think straight. He had to leave, he needed to leave right now before he did or said anything he’d regret. He vaguely thought he heard Bart asking where he was going as he entered the Zeta tubes. When he arrived at his destination, Gotham City, he took his communicator out and tossed it into the street where it was quickly smashed by an oncoming car. He wasn’t running away, he told himself, he just needed some air and he needed to think it’s not like anyone would miss him for a few hours.

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Caught by surprise it took the hero a full five seconds to react to Connor pulling him in for a passionate kiss. He took his hands and shoved the other boy away not noticing that someone had been watching them during those few brief seconds.

“Connor what the hell are you doing?” Nightwing yelled looking angry and flustered. Connor for his part didn’t look surprised or ashamed by Nightwing’s reaction.

“I care for you Nightwing, I have for a long time. It just took seeing you with another man to make me understand what that meant.” Nightwing had suspected that Connor had been developing a crush on him but he didn’t realize how far it actually went. He watched the clone carefully but Connor made no additional advances toward him. He was waiting for Nightwing to react.

“And I just got through explaining to you that I was in a relationship. This… That… That was not okay.” Connor looked slightly ashamed but didn’t look away.

“I know, and I think deep down I knew it wasn’t going to change anything but like you said I’d rather take a chance than never know.” Nightwing was still angry but he could still sympathize with Connor's situation. He had been in love with Wally for such a long time but he never told him how he felt. Now it’s too late and while he didn’t want to ruin his relationship with Artemis, there was still some part of him that would forever wonder what could’ve been. It was why he was willing to take a chance with Terry. Nightwing sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry Connor but I just don’t feel the same way you do. You’re still a good friend and I don’t want to lose that, but you need to understand that this can never happen again.” Connor looked a little sad but not very surprised.

“I understand, I’m sorry I stepped over the line. I don’t want to lose you as a friend either.” Nightwing looked relieved, giving Connor a small smile. It took every ounce of restraint he had for Connor not to reach out and caress that handsome face. It was always nicer when Nightwing smiled. “Just as long as you understand, I’m not ready to give up on you. I get that you’re in a relationship with Terry and while I may not approve I won’t interfere. I still think he’s going to break your heart one day and when he does I’ll be there for you one way or another. Even if it’s just a friend.”

And with that Connor turned around and quickly walked away not giving Nightwing a chance to respond. Nightwing sighed and leaned back against the wall slowly sliding down. He knew this wasn’t over but right now he didn’t know what to do. His instincts told him to let Terry know what happened before he found out on his own. Things like this had a way of coming back to bite you in the end. Unfortunately he wouldn’t have much time to dwell on his complicated love life. Dick got an alert from Guardian saying he was needed at the command center immediately.

Dick wasted no time in arriving, his anxiety starting to increase as he watched Guardian trying to program what looked like a screen of static. “What’s going on?” he asked frantically, seeking anybody else in the room. Guardian sighed and turned around with worry etched on his face.

“Not long ago we received several emergency calls all around the same time. Nothing major just helping out with evacuations, a fire and a minor hostage situation. The Beta Team was sent to inspect the strange energy reading out in Nevada but a few minutes ago communication was shut down altogether on them. I don’t know what happened but the last thing I heard was a scream.” Nightwing went into professional mode and looked at the dossier, seeing that this group was composed of Lagoon Boy, Beast Boy and Batgirl. It was a little concerning that Batgirl had not been able to get communications backup. She was either incapacitated or captured or worse.

“Give me their last known coordinates, I’ll Zeta in and update you on the situation.” But Guardian didn’t like that plan at all.

“Hold on, at least wait for backup. I'm still trying to get a hold of Red Bat and Superboy but I can’t get either one of their coms online.” Nightwing was sympathetic to Guardian, he had just been in that same situation not too long ago when he was in control of all the other teams and everything seemed to be going wrong at once and he couldn’t leave to help them. But this time he was available and he was going to do whatever he could for his teammates.

“I’ll just go down to update you on the situation. Hopefully by then you can get a hold of some backup. I won’t engage unless it is absolutely necessary.” Guardian still didn’t like the idea but he had no options left at this point. He gave Nightwing the cordanace and watched the younger man disappear from sight.

“Batman’s going to kill me.” He said quietly to himself as he continued to monitor the other groups still trying to pull up Beta.

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Nightwing quickly left the Zeta tube area and went to the hidden storage facility where he kept a spare bike. It was not unusual to have a vehicle or two around the Zeta areas in case you needed to get somewhere very quickly. Batman always did teach them to be prepared for anything. He radioed Guardian and managed to make sure that his communication device was working and it wasn’t some outside interference. He checked and it was just fine and made his way to the area where the strange energy signature was supposedly coming from. Half a mile away from the target he ditched the bike and went on foot not wanting to draw attention to himself.

He finally reached the area where the signal was the strongest. He found an old abandoned building surrounded by nothing more than a single road near the edge of the desert. Nightwing didn’t like this at all. There was nothing to cover him and if anybody was setting a trap they could plainly see him.

“Nightwing to Guardian, do you read me?” There was a moment of static before the armored hero responded. “I read you, what have you got?” Nightwing’s eyes darted all around looking for any sign that somebody was watching the building.

“The signals coming from an abandoned building, virtually no cover do you have any backup for me?”

“Batman’s wrapping up a case now but it’s going to take at least an hour to get to your location. I still can’t get a hold of Red Bat or Superboy.” Now Nightwing was starting to worry that something had happened to them as well. He figured Superboy might have taken off his communicator after that awkward conversation they had but where was Terry? He didn’t think the other boy had left the Watchtower so where could he have gone and why? But he had no time to worry about that now.

“I can’t wait an hour.” Nightwing said as he quickly made his way to the building trying to be as fast as he could. “I’m going in for a better look, send backup whenever it becomes available.” He could hear Guardian protesting on the sideline but tuned him out. The building looked like a simple store that had long been out of service with boarded up windows and an out of service sign over the gas station. Things were not what they seemed to be, however. He had found electrical wires that were still attached and powering the building. So much for it being abandoned.

He pried a few loose boards from a window in the back making more noise than he would’ve liked but at least he gave him a glimpse of what was inside. To his horror he saw that his three missing teammates were trapped inside a large see-through box and all but Batgirl were unconscious. There is a strange device in the middle of the box which Nightwing assumed was the cause of the strange energy signature. There was also some strange smoke coming out of the top which Batgirl was trying to plug up. The only thing that kept her conscious was her miniature gas mask from her utility belt but Nightwing knew from experience that wasn’t going to last very long. It looked like she had been trying to get out for quite some time he could see scorch marks from her mini bombs on the sides of the glass. Nightwing quickly radioed in and said he couldn’t wait for backup; he didn't know what that smoke was or how long Beast Boy or Lagoon Boy had been exposed.

Nightwing broke the window and entered the room. The sound caused Batgirl to look over in his direction. “Don’t worry I’ll get you guys out of here.” But Batgirl frantically made hand signals to let Nightwing know that this was a trap.

“I know it’s a trap Batgirl but I have to get you guys out of here.” And as he tried to find a weakness or a latch that was overlooked she kept frantically signaling that the trap is not meant for them but for him. Suddenly he heard a voice, a voice that to this day haunted his nightmares.

“Right on time Nightwing, but expected nothing less from my former apprentice.” Nightwing turned around to see Deathstroke the Terminator standing on a high ledge behind another sheet of glass.

“Deathstroke, what kind of game are you playing this time?” The old man behind the Orange and Black mask lightly chuckled.

“Come now Nightwing, you know very well that I don’t play games.”

“I don’t know, you’ve been on kind of a losing streak lately.” Even though he couldn’t see it, Nightwing could feel the assassin glaring at him.

“Ah yes, your little spies Aqua Lad and Artemis, infiltrating the light and humiliating me.” There was a long pause and Nightwing was sure that Deathstroke was going to start shooting at him soon. But the older man calmed and now looked more amused. “I really should be mad but I couldn’t be more proud of you my boy. It seems as if you put my training to good use.” Dick flinched and it was clearly visible but there was no point in hiding it. He’d only been with Deathstroke a short time before Batman and the team managed to get him out of his grip but he would never forget what he had experienced under the assassin’s thumb. Shaking his head slightly to clear it he focused on his companions two were unconscious and one was quickly running out of air.

“Stop stalling and let my friends go now.” He knew the man in the orange and black mass was not going to comply but he had to know what the man wanted so he could at least try to play along.

“It seems to me like you’re the one dodging the subject apprentice.” Nightwing gritted his teeth but didn’t rise to the bait. “While I still think you could have made a marvelous successor, old daddy bats proved to be a little too clingy. It was only after you and your team took out half the light and myself that I realized you would have been worth a little bat rage.” Nightwing tensed, did Deathstroke mean to take him back? Seriously, why did every super villain try to turn him evil? He was beginning to get a complex.

“So you’re forcing me to be your apprentice again?” Surprisingly Deathstroke sighed.

“Alas, I have waited too long. Turns out another has had a claim on you even before I did.” Nightwing’s eyes widened and he felt his blood run cold. “It is them I have a contract with. It seems as if your great-grandfather wishes his “gray son” of Gotham to return to the flock.” Nightwing was not ready for this but it seems they were. He looked back at his fallen companions and could see that Lagoon Boy was quickly dehydrating. There were several empty bottles of emergency water that Batgirl had used to try to keep him hydrated but it was not going to last.

“I think you can figure out the situation without me having to elaborate. Come with me or your friends die, it's that simple.” Nightwing was looking back and forth from his companions to Deathstroke and back. Batgirl was now looking a little unsteady, it looks like her gas mask was running low.

“And I’m just expected to trust you to let them go after I leave?” He said half try to formulate a new plan while pushing the emergency button in his COM. He wasn’t sure if the signal was getting through but he had to at least try.

“I have no contract for your little friends but if I need to give you a demonstration however, I can always kill one off now and then give you a few moments to reconsider.” Nightwing growled as he discreetly activated a few more tracking devices. One on his belt, one underneath his suit and one hidden in his hair. He knew that his belt, gloves and boots would be the first thing to be taken so he’d let them find the tracking device in his belt hoping they wouldn’t find the others. He wished he had more time to formulate a plan but the smoke had increased in the room. He could almost see Lagoon Boy starting to dry out with Beast Boy not doing much better.

“All right, fine I’ll, go just don’t hurt them.” At that moment Barbara who was still trying to signal him not to go passed out on the floor. A moment later the gas stopped. A hole opened in the floor right in front of him and Deathstroke looked at him expectantly.

“You know the drill boots, gloves and belt. And don’t forget those cute little batterangs that you have literally hidden up your sleeve.” Nightwing reluctantly complied but at least the gas did not reappear. By the time Deathstroke had come down to greet him he saw Barbara starting to twitch a little. “I’m sure your friends have locked onto the signal by now but we’ll be long gone by then. Without warning he struck Nightwing across the head with the butt of his gun knocking the vigilante to the ground. The last thing he heard before he fell unconscious was the sound of two other Talons joining Deathstroke.

“Come now, great-grandfather is waiting.”

 

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Blood from a Stone

Upon awakening the first thing he registered was a headache. A bad one. If Dick were to guess he’d say he was knocked out at some point. He tried to think and the last thing he remembered was…Deathstroke! That’s right, his team was in trouble and he had to surrender himself to the assassin to help them. But…what happened after that? Oh…that’s right. He had been knocked out. Deathstroke said he was taking him to his family, but not the bat family. His birth family or at least his great grandfather, the undead assassin known as Talon. 

 

“You can stop pretending to be asleep, Gray Son of Gotham.” An elderly male voice called out. “Come now, let us be properly introduced.” Giving up the pretense Dick opened his eyes. 

 

He could see what looked like a massive arena with seats high above him near the rafters. In those seats were a large group of men and women all wearing white expressionless owl masks. On the ground floor however he could see a number of talons standing still as statues but ready to attack at any moment. 

 

“It’s been a while, young Richard.” This time it was a woman's voice. “Our most talented prospect to date, it was such a travesty that Wayne stole you from us. But the important thing is that you’re here now.” As best he could tell it was the old lady in the wheelchair speaking.

 

“You’re wasting your time. I don’t care how long you’ve waited for me, you don’t own me, no one does! And I’ll never join your sick little cult!” He sensed the blade coming and barely managed to dodge it before it struck his face. He could see the talon that threw it but they made no other move.

 

“A proper Talon does not speak unless spoken to. If at all.” It was the man again. He and the woman seem to be the ones in charge. None of the others ever spoke.

 

“It might be best if we removed his tongue.” The woman stated, putting a hand under her chin. “He’ll have no need for it once he’s been trained up.”

 

“We’ll see to that afterwards. In the meantime, first things first.” And with a small gesture the four Talons in the room attacked. Dick was immediately on the defencive ducking and dodging blades all aimed to kill. He managed to grab a few of the discarded blades and this time went on the offensive. 

 

He moved gracefully planting kicks and punches weaving through the undead assassin. He normally wouldn’t use blades but since the Talons couldn’t be killed he was forced to play a little dirty. He was holding his own for the most part until one of the Talons managed to slice him in the back. Sensing weakness the rest converged on him slowly chipping away from him bit by bit. He was weakening and they knew it. He wasn’t going down easy though. He had managed to break several arms, legs and ribs on his opponents but that only seemed to inconvenience them. 

 

One managed to get in a lucky punch and his guard was down just long enough for the others to grab him and pin him to the ground. The one who landed the blow stood above him, blade in hand ready to finish the job. Nightwing was running out of options but he still had a tick or two up his sleeve though. But before he could make a counter move…

 

“Stop! We’ve seen enough.” the man on the white owl mask shouted and the Talon above him instantly stopped. “What say you Cobb? Does your great grandson live up to expectations?” 

 

Dick looked up at the Talon above him, the one who had been giving him the most trouble and watched as he took off his cowl. Staring down at him was William Cobb, his last ‘living’ blood relative. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen the older man. He was Batman’s prisoner when they first fought the Court of Owls and used him to learn about the Talons.

 

“Training under Wayne has unfortunately conditioned him to avoid lethal attacks.” Dick couldn’t help but study his face unconsciously looking for traits that might be shared by himself or his father. As a child who lost his family at such a young age he normally would have been thrilled to discover he still had at least one family member left. Now, he felt disgusted knowing he was descended from his monster.

 

“We are not surprised.” commented the woman. “A shame, it’s always better to start them young.” And right now all the people in the room were monsters in his eyes.

 

“I was around his age when I began my training. I needed a little discipline and I’m sure he’ll benefit from it as well.” The Court above seemed to nod in agreement as the man spoke again.

 

“He’s certainly not unskilled. A little polishing is in order but in the end he’ll make a fine Talon. Already a Gray Son. Born poor, raised rich, fights on the side of light within the dark. Someone who knows the value of deception to mask the truth.” Dick cringed at that last one. It was a part of himself that he didn’t like but couldn’t deny.

 

“There is also lineage to consider.” The woman spoke, folding her hands together. “The Grayson bloodline belongs to the Court. Batman's theft will not be overlooked.” While the conversation was going on Dick had managed to break free of the Talon’s grip. 

 

“I am no one’s property! I’ll never-” but his words were cut when Cobb grabbed him by the throat

 

“His spirit will be one of the first things we crush but my great grandson will learn his place.” He smiled at the boy in his grip as if he was doing him a great service instead of damning him to hell. “In the end I feel he will one day surpass even me thus ensuring my legacy and our eternal service to the court. What say you masters?” 

 

As Dick struggled for air he caught the white masked members of the Court giving Talon a signal. Moments later he was released as the floor disappeared from under him. As he fell he could still make out one last taunt.

 

“To the Labyrinth with him!”

 

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After wandering around aimlessly for hours Terry realized he had found himself in Bludhaven. He guessed he shouldn’t be surprised, Dick’s been on his mind the entire time. Him and…Superboy. He growled in frustration. Sure he and Dick weren’t in a committed relationship and the threat of Terry leaving had been on both their minds but still. 

 

He kicked a can and as he watched in clattered down the street he realized he wasn’t far from Dick’s apartment. Dick had been staying at the manor recently but frequently came back to check on things in his newly adopted city. 

 

Terry had been gone long enough for the bats to start wondering where he went and since he smashed his communicator they were likely to come looking for him. As mad as he was at Dick and as much as he wanted to be left alone he couldn’t afford to be left out of the loop. Dick was still a target and Bart’s warning was still whispering in his ear.

 

He took the spare key Dick gave him intending to find a spare communicator but as he entered the apartment the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Something was wrong, someone was in there. He quickly looked around and grabbed a metal pipe from the hall before entering. He went in slow, trying to make as little noise as possible. If you didn’t know what to look for you’d never be able to tell someone had been there. Nothing seemed out of place but the whole place seemed…off. Terry was experienced enough to trust that feeling. He went from room to room looking for any clues that would tell him who was here. Anything to give him an edge. 

 

Finally, he came to Dick’s bedroom. He could smell something now, something very familiar. He flung open the door ready to fend off an attack but what was inside wasn’t going to attack him.

 

He stared almost dumbfounded at the scene before him. On Dick’s bed, in a pool of his own blood lay the Joker…DEAD! Terry let the pipe fall.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

 

Drowning in the Air

The three members of Young Justice had been recovered. Both Beastboy and Lagoon Boy didn’t remember much about the incident, just that they had walked into a trap. Batgirl had remained conscious long enough to remember that Deathstroke had been the one who set them up. He had definitely been there, and so had Nightwing. When she woke up, the trap had been deactivated and both men were gone. All attempts to find the first Boy Wonder were met with dead ends. No one spoke it aloud but it was very similar to the time when the one-eyed assassin kidnapped the young Robin and tried to make him his apprentice. 

 

Not only that but it would appear Terry had left the Watchtower and his communicator was down. Batman was silently fuming as he coordinated the search for the two young bats. Meanwhile Kid Flash was vibrating so much it was making the Flash dizzy. He clearly wanted to say something but was holding back for some reason. Barry was trying to coax an explanation out of him without stressing him out even more.

 

Batgirl had snuck out of the Med Bay in order to help with the search and no one seemed eager to argue with her. It was a good thing too because not long after she started searching she received an incoming call from one of Nightwing's coms. Only it wasn’t Nightwing on the other line.

 

“This is Red Bat calling the Justice League. I've got a situation here!”

 

“I read you Red Bat, this is Batgirl. Where have you been and why are you calling from Nightwing’s Com?” Terry paused for a moment.

 

“I just stepped out for some air and my com was damaged. So I went to his apartment for a replacement only to find the Joker instead.” Hearing this, many of the other Justice Leaguers came over to get the details.

 

“Wait, you caught the Joker? What was he doing at Dick’s place.”

 

“That’s the thing, I didn’t catch him, I found him here, dead!” At this Batman took over.

 

“Explain!”

 

“I sensed someone else was in the apartment when I arrived. The last place I searched was the bedroom and there was the Joker sitting on the bed, his throat ripped open. And yes, I checked it’s not an imposter and yes, he is very dead.”

 

“Any clues pointing to the killer?”

 

“Judging by the daggers he’s got lodged in several body parts I’d say this was the Court of Owls. I know the last thing you want to do is involve Dick but I think we should keep him in the loop.” Batman sat silently for a moment before answering.

 

“I need you to report back here immediately, we’ll send someone to thoroughly investigate the crime scene.” 

 

“Why, what’s wrong?”

 

“Nightwing’s been taken by Deathstroke. He, the Joker and the Court are all linked. If we want to get him back we’ll need to work fast. Report to me as soon as you get in. Batman out.”

 

Terry had just one moment of shock before bolting to the nearest Zeta tube.

 

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Dick had managed to break his fall after being dropped from level above him. After taking a quick assessment and only finding minor injuries he took a look at his surroundings. It looked like he was in a long hallway with multiple forks and branching paths to choose from. They did call this a labyrinth after all. He glanced back up only to see whatever he fell through was already blocked off so the only way was forward. 

 

He had been stripped of all his weapons but there was a slightly jagged rock on the floor. He used it to mark his starting point with his symbol. This wasn’t his first time navigating through a maze thanks to years dealing with the crazy Gotham villains and he knew how to avoid getting lost. The walls of the maze stretch all the way to a stone ceiling so no cheating and going over it. So the next best step was to follow the wall right and mark the way he went. But just as he started to progress he heard a low growling noise.

 

Again, not his first time in a maze, so a blood-thirsty beast hunting him down was not unexpected. As he moved he tried to keep an eye out for anything he could use as a weapon or tool, all the while trying to put some distance between him and the beast. By now he figured Batman knew about his abduction and was making rescue plans. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that the Court of Owls still had hidden areas the family hadn't been able to locate even after an extensive search. He was going to have to try and get himself out while buying Bruce enough time to find him. He just had to hold out until then.

 

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Terry arrived at the Watchtower just in time to see the Flash trying to keep a very angry Dark Knight from going after his future Grandson. 

 

“OK Bats, I know your upset but-”

 

“Upset! Kid Flash knew Nightwing was going to disappear and he’s kept his mouth shut this entire time!” 

 

Terry groaned, he knew it was only a matter of time before Bruce found out and now Bart was in trouble.

 

“But Batman, the past was already changed so much and things were happening out of order and Robin was taken too early. I just-”

 

“You knew about Robin too!?” At this point Terry felt the need to intervene.

 

“Easy Batman, your own protocol for time travelers is to not interfere with the past, remember?”

 

“He’s already altered the past.” He glanced at the Flash and a sad look crossed the man’s face. “And there have already been consequences.” Bart winched at the implication. Seeing the look in the young hero’s eye Terry put himself between Batman and Kid Flash.

 

“And there have been benefits. From my understanding the Reach was supposed to have taken over Earth, that didn’t happen. Anything else that was supposed to happen after that would be questionable at best.” Batman took his gaze off Bart and fixed them on Terry.

 

“You knew too, didn’t you?”

 

“I knew about Tim and I acted on it, yes, but Dick’s alive and well in my time. I told you all this already.”

 

“You knew because Kid Flash told you, didn't he?” Terry froze for a moment at the accusation.

 

“I…OK fine he mentioned something might happen to Nightwing and asked me to keep an eye on him.”

 

“And where were you when he was taken?” Bruce seethed practically breathing down Terry’s neck.

 

“I…I was…”

 

“ENOUGH! Both of you!” They turned to see Robin, bo staff in hand, looking like he was going to beat both of them senseless. “We’re wasting time with all these petty arguments. We need to find Nightwing’s trail before it gets cold. We know Deathstroke was the one who took Nightwing. We also know the Joker was working for the Court when he dosed Nightwing with the first part of the compound several weeks ago. Now the Joker’s dead, by the hands of the Court by the looks of it, so there’s a high chance Deathstroke is now the Court’s new errand boy. Let’s start from there.”

 

Many members of the League looked on in awe. Not many people could stand up to the Dark Knight much less an angry one. But Batman no longer looked angry. He slipped on his usual emotionless mask and refocused.

 

“Robin’s correct, let's get back to work.” It wasn’t an apology but it was a nod to Robin, who was right. They needed to focus on getting Dick back home. This wasn’t the situation Bart described after all. They knew who was involved and with no current alien invasion to distract them they could focus on the task at hand. They will bring Dick home, they just hoped he held out until then.

 

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Nightwing paused to catch his breath. The maze he was trapped in was much larger and more elaborate than he thought. It had already been several days with very little food or water and those creatures running around weren’t letting him get much rest either. He wasn’t sure just what they were exactly but if he had to guess he’d say they were what remained of the Court’s discarded Talons. They were all chalk white in skin color, disfigured clawed hands, fangs for teeth and blind eyes. It was a little hard to see within the walls of his prison; the light seemed to deplete the further he went from his entrance. And now he was following another light source.

 

He knew this must be a trap; everything in this place seemed to be leading him where the Court wanted him to go. But he had little choice. He could barely make out his markers and he was starting to go around in circles. Carefully following the light source he found himself in a large  open room with a dozen more doors all leading who knows where. In the center was a giant Owl statue on top of a white marble fountain with clear flowing water coming from the bird’s beak. 

 

The fountain seemed…familiar. It was like something out of a dream…or nightmare. A human can live for a surprisingly long time with little food, water on the other hand was a more needed resource. Every instinct was telling him this was a trap. The Labyrinth was designed to break him so why provide him with water unless there was something wrong with it. He took a small sample and tried to determine if it was laced with something but he only had his human senses to go off of and there was a lot that could be present that he couldn’t detect.

 

He heard the scratch of one of the maze creatures again and he didn’t want to get into another fight with one if he could help it. He was running on adrenaline and it was running low. He had to move but he didn’t know when or if he’d find water again. They could always shut this one off if they felt like it. He hesitantly took a small sip and when he didn’t get dizzy he took a little more. He took a piece of his uniform and soaked it as best he could. He didn’t have anything else to carry it with. Marking his exit he fled back into the halls hoping this time he’d find an exit.

 

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The Watchtower was tense as the League, Young Justice and the Bats all worked silently on any leads that might lead them to their lost bird. Terry had tried to reassure Bart and Barry that while Batman was out of line this was his second missing kid in only a few months and memories of Jason were sure to be rattling around in his brain. Barry understood and Bart just seemed eager to find Nightwing.

 

Currently Terry was pulling footage of Dick’s apartment and the surrounding area. He was able to spot the Joker going in but his killer remained unseen. He watched himself enter but didn’t see anyone fleeing. Either they knew just how to avoid the camera’s or it’s possible they were waiting there. He started to go back further to try and catch a glimpse or a shadow but he wasn’t having much luck. It was funny really, the Joker, who had made such an impact on Batman and Gotham, was dead and everyone's attention was elsewhere. A small part of Terry hoped the Clown Prince of Crime could see all this from whatever hellish pit he landed himself in. He’d properly be rage-laughing at the unexpected punchline.

 

His thoughts were interrupted when he sensed someone else coming up from behind him. Conner stood there with his head down looking sheepish. While Terry was still mad at him and a little at Dick he still wanted the other boy home safe and sound. 

 

“Is there something I can help you with?” Conner coughed into his hand.

 

“I-I need to check the footage from Dick’s apartment. Batman’s trying to track a Talon he spotted and thinks he might have been staking out his home.” The awkwardness of the situation was palatable on both their ends.

 

“I’ve gone through most of footage around the Joker’s murder but I wanted to go back a bit further. Dick hasn’t been to his apartment for a few weeks now.” Superboy nodded and watched as the footage played out on several screens. Both young men were quiet as they studied the footage. Conner kept glazing at Terry but he did his best to ignore it and concentrate. Connor didn’t seem to get the hint.

 

“Listen…Terry, about what happened between me and Dick. I-”

 

“Can this wait?” Terry said impatiently. “I’m kind of in the middle of something important. Aren’t you?” Conner stiffened at his words but stubbornly didn’t back down.

 

“I just wanted you to know it wasn’t his fault. I’m the one that-”

 

“It doesn't matter if you started it, he finished it!” Terry was trying not to raise his voice but with everything going on his emotions were caught in a whirlwind and it was taking everything he had to keep them in check.

 

“No, he didn’t.” Terry looked up in surprise.

 

“I knew he liked you, everyone knew but…I liked him too. But I also knew he didn’t like me, not like that. I know it was wrong but I just felt I had to try. I pushed too hard and he pushed back. That was just after you stormed off.”

 

“Wait, you knew I was right-” Superboy tapped his ears. “Of course you did.”

 

“Anyway, he rejected me, as expected. I knew it would happen but…it still hurt.” Terry sat there listening but he really didn’t know what to say. On the one hand he was glad Dick hadn’t been cheating on him behind his back. On the other hand he felt incredibly guilty for thinking so little of Dick in the first place. And then there was Superboy. Right now Terry felt justified at being mad at the other boy. He had kissed Dick against his will and Terry still considered him a rival for his affection. But now was not the time or place for such things. Dick was still missing and time was of the essence.

 

“We’ll all sort this out afterwards. In the meantime, truce?” Connor didn’t smile but nodded instead. It was time to get back to work. 

 

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Dick panted as he gripped his makeshift weapon in his hands. It wasn't his usual escrima sticks but it was all he could salvage. While trying to find a place to rest he stumbled across what looked like a disposal area for those creatures. Apparently he wasn’t the first human down here but from the look of the large pile of bones in the corner not everyone sent here became a Talon and some didn’t even make it out alive. Tired as he was, this only made him more determined to escape and have these horrible people pay for their crimes. 

 

He had managed to take a few of the more jagged bones and fashion a few blades out of them. Dick never did favor knives but right now it was all he had to work with beside he had another problem. The water he drank was starting to make him hallucinate. He was seeing and hearing the creatures everywhere, he kept misreading his own markings and kept ending up back in the multi-doored camber with the tainted fountain. He was also starting to lose track on how long he was down here. Surely it had only been a few days…or was that weeks. No it couldn’t have been that long there was no food down, just tainted water.

 

He held his head in his hands trying to sooth the massive pounding. It was getting harder and harder to think but the one thing he knew was that he had to hold on just a little bit longer. Someone was coming for him. He had family and friends looking for him and counting on him…just a little bit more. 

 

Suddenly he felt it, a warm breath just behind his ear. As if something was getting ready to take a bite. He quickly spun around blindly aiming his weapon at whatever was behind him. It landed right on the side of the creature’s neck. Only this creature looked a lot younger than the others. It was still pale as death with clawed hands but the face was still human, familiar even. Dick still gripped the bone blade, not daring to pull it out. Tears started to form in his eyes as he realized he knew this creature, or at least who he once was.

 

“Raymond?” He asked with a shaky voice. Surely this wasn’t the same boy he grew up with. It couldn’t be the boy he played with and trained with. The one who was always trying to best him, the one who was always trying to impress Rena. This just couldn’t be…

 

“Dick…” the creature gasped, reaching for Dick’s hand, the one still holding the blade. “It was al-always about y-you.” Dick tried to let go but the creature wouldn’t let him. “You always had to be the best, always had everyone’s attention, even theirs.”

 

“Raymond please, I thought you died but then Pop Haley said...God what happened to you?”

 

“I’LL TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED! They wanted you, the star of the show. But after your family died once again you caught someone's attention. Bruce Wayne took you away to live in a mansion while the court settled for me.” Dick struggled even harder but his grip was like iron.

 

“Raymond, let go and let me help you.” He just laughed.

 

“It’s too late for that Dick. Do you know what they’ve done to me for more than 10 years? Cruel unspeakable things and even after all that I wasn’t good enough. After all this time it’s still you they want. Well welcome home Dick, time to be the star of the show once more. I’m looking forward to their attention fading from me and back onto you.” Dick tugged even harder putting all his remaining straight into it. “From now on it’ll be just the way you like it…All Eyes On YOU!” 

 

Raymond yelled one final time as Dick finally wrenched himself free. But to his horror he was still holding onto the blade. Blood darker than anything else he had seen coming out of a living body erupted from Ryan’s neck showering them both.

 

“No no no!” Dick tried placing his hand over the wound but the bleeding wouldn’t stop. “No Raymond, please, I’m sorry. Just…just hang on.” But once again Raymond just laughed.

 

“You a real bastard, you know that. Someone 's finally ending my suffering just when I had something to look forward to.” Dick choked on a sob still fighting in vain to keep one of his oldest friends alive. “Guess I’ll have to enjoy the show from the other side. See you in Hell Dick, or not. Don’t look so sad, I’ll be in a better place than you.” And with that he was gone and Dick was once again alone.

 

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It had been a week since Nightwing had been taken and it was taking a toll on everyone involved. For many it felt like a betrayal to do anything else but the world stops for no man. Crime doesn’t stop, the world still needs saving and many of them did have families to worry about. Heaven help any criminals in Gotham who were distracting the Bats from their rescue mission. Word got around really quick that one of the heroes was missing and those who tried to take advantage…really regretted it.

 

Still there was always someone keeping an eye out. Many worked in shifts to allow others a break (or in the case of the Bats sedatives in their coffee). 

 

Finally, they had a break. Artemis had used some of her family's contacts to locate Deathstroke. All it cost her was babysitting duty for an extended period, not that she minded. She called in everyone she could get and as soon as Batman arrived a plan was formed and the rescue mission had officially begun.

 

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After Raymond’s death Dick could barely function. With the tainted water, lack of food and no rest topped with emotional trauma he was reaching the end of his rope. He had stopped marking his trail blindly wandering through the endless corridors. His body was bloodied and bruised from all the attacks and there was no end in sight.

 

He collapsed against a random wall not having the energy to get back up. Where was Bruce? Where was his family, where were his friends? He didn’t understand why he was alone. They should be here by now, did they get lost too? He hoped not. He wanted to go home, so much it hurt. He was so lost, hurt and lonely he didn’t think he could go on much longer. He just wished there was someone else here to talk to.

 

“There you are Dick!” His head spun in the direction of the voice. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” There standing before him was Mary Grayson, his mother. But that wasn’t possible she was dead wasn’t she?

 

“John! Over here dear, I’ve found him!” Rounding the corner was the tall dark haired John Grayson, his father.  Again this seemed wrong, he knew it.

 

“Dick, glad you’re OK but you shouldn’t run off son.” The man reached out a hand but Dick scurried back.

 

“Who are you people?” The two looked at each other and smiled.

 

“Funnyman.” Mary said affectionately. “That’s not going to get you out of trouble though. You know you’re not supposed to be down here without a guide.” Dick shook his head violently.

 

“No, You’re both dead. You can’t trick me, it's been years.” this time they looked concerned.

 

“Dick you’ve must’ve had a nightmare.” The man said, turning to his wife. “I know we had a scare with that Zucco character but thanks to that nice man Bruce Wayne who reported what he saw to the police we were all saved.” Dick hesitated. That…sounded right too, but than why-

 

“Come here sweetie.” His mother said bending down to hug him. Wait- bending down? His father knelt down to join in the embrace and that’s when he realized he was small. He was a child, not an adult. It seemed so silly to think that now, he was only eight after all.

 

“Feel better?” Mary asked and he nodded.

 

“Yeah, it was a really weird dream though. I dreamed that you died and Bruce Wayne took me in and together we fought crime.” His father laughed.

 

“You’re right, that was a weird dream.” he glanced down at his watch. “Oh dear, we’d better get going or we’re going to be late.” Together they took Dick’s hand and led him down the twisted coradors with practiced ease. There was a part of Dick, a small part that screamed, ‘This is wrong, they should be dead!’ and that he wasn’t really a child, but at the moment he didn’t care. He swung between their arms giggling remembering his happy days in the circus and the love he had for his family.

 

“Grandpa will be happy to see you too.” And at John’s words the happy feeling stopped. “He’s looking forward to you coming to live with him.” Dick stopped dead in his tracks but his parents dragged him along without stopping. 

 

“Aren’t you lucky. Out of all the kids at the circus they picked you!” Mary said cheerfully oblivious to her son’s distress. “I know you’ll make us so proud Dick, and because of you the circus can keep on thriving! Isn’t that wonderful?” Dick dug his heels into the ground trying to stop them or break free.

 

“NO NO NO STOP! I don’t wanna go! Don’t send me away.” The child Dick cried while the adult was fighting to wake up from whatever nightmare this was.

 

“Now now.” tutted John. “You’ll be fine, and it’s not like you’ll be alone, my grandfather will be there for you the entire time. He’s a great teacher, you know.” 

 

“No! He’s a monster! You don’t know what he’ll do to me. You can’t be OK with this!”

 

“Hush now.” John said sternly. “I taught you better than this, you need to respect your elders.” 

 

“Oh I’m sure we’ll find some mutual ground.” Dick’s blood ran cold as he recognized that voice. “Won’t we, my boy?” It was the voice of William Cobb.

 

“Well, tata Dick.” Dick turned around to see his father leaving with his mother. “We’ll miss you!” Dick tried running after them but a firm hand on his shoulder held him in place.

 

“Wait, please! He’s going to take me away and you’ll never see me again. Don’t you even care?” They paused and Mary turned back.

 

“Of course we care. We’re doing what’s best for our family.” She put a hand on her stomach and the implications were enough to make him go numb. “Good thing we have a replacement ready.” And then they left, laughing joyfully as if they didn’t just leave their young son in the hands of a sadist.

 

“Why are you so surprised?” Cobb said, still gripping his shoulder. “This is the way it’s always been done.” Cobb turned him around. In Dick’s frazzled mind he could barely tell what was real and what wasn’t. But this man, he was real, that was the only thing Dick was sure of. 

 

“It’s time for you to take your rightful place in this world, and there is no escape from destiny.”

To be continued…

Next time: The rescue, but is there anything left worth saving?

Chapter Text

Defying Gravity

    The Joker, as it turned out, was the hero of this story. While Artemis was able to locate Deathstroke, Terry and Conner came together and discovered that the Crown Prince of Crime had left clues to his killer. He was indeed killed by William Cobb, the Joker drew a little cartoon Corn Cob in his own blood as he lay dying. After a search they found his old hideout with a half sobbing half furious Harley Quinn who spilled the beans about the whole operation. The Joker was hired by the Court of Owls to drug Nightwing with two separate compounds and ultimately bring him to the court. The Joker normally wouldn’t take orders but the idea of messing with the original Boy Wonder and turning him against Batman was enough to make him giddy. 

 

However the court didn’t like that he was taking so long, leaving clues and attracting too much attention. So they hired Deathstroke to finish the job and sent Cobb to finish the Joker who had been staking out Dick’s apartment. While Harley didn’t know where they had taken Nightwing she was very helpful by providing the team with her boyfriend's messy notes and plans. Once they put everything together they were able to pinpoint where the court was most likely keeping Dick. And while Harley insisted on coming with them to avenge her puddin, they couldn’t risk her going off script and alerting them they were coming. So they left her tied up for the police with a promise to make note of her help at her court date. While she certainly wasn’t happy about this she at least told them to make the bastards pay for killin Mr. J. 

 

They chose a small team to go. Many of the other heroes were dealing with other emergencies but Batman didn’t want to leave Nightwing in those bastard’s sick hands any longer than absolutely necessary. Batman would lead with Red Wing, Superboy, Kid Flash, and Artemis with Batgirl as a lookout and remote hacker. Robin, Aqualad, Beast Boy and Wonder Girl were the backup group in case they got into trouble. 

 

The ride over was tense with everyone praying this wasn’t a final trap the Joker left for them beyond the grave. Once again Terry happened to be sitting next to Superboy. While he was hanging around Conner more than he’d like he did have to admit he could be professional when he needed to be. 

 

Kid Flash was on his other side tapping his foot so fast it might just drive a hole into the floor. He put a hand on the kid’s shoulder as if he was trying to reassure them both. For even though Bart’s timeline was altered a number of things he mentioned were still coming to pass. Robin had been kidnapped, the Joker had died and now Nightwing was missing. In his original timeline Dick was never seen again but they’ve already avoided several bad outcomes. Terry just hoped they had at least one more left in them. 

 

Finally they reached their destination: A shopping mall that was surprisingly, not abandoned. Batgirl fed them the schematics and while the mall was real on the surface there was a large underground structure honeycombed with secret passages and hidden tunnels. It was nothing short of a labyrinth. But with Batgirl’s map and Terry’s secret weapon they were ready. They just hoped Dick was still down there.

 

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Robin pulled up Batgirl's map on the overhead screen. His group was in a temporary base not far from target sight. They were the backup as well as the emergency medical unit. Tim remembered how he was after being in the hands of the Joker. That was only for a few days Dick had been gone for a whole week, the same amount of time it took his counterpart to go insane in Terry’s time. He hoped Dick was stronger than that. He was so lost in thought he nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

 

“My apologies, I did not intend to frighten you.” Kaldur said, taking a look at the intricate layout of Nightwing’s prison.

 

“Sorry just…thinking.” Aqualad had a pretty good idea of what was on Robin’s mind.

 

“You are worried he might not come out the same man you knew.”

 

“I don’t know but with Kid Flash's predictions and what happened in Terry’s time, there are no guarantees that things will turn out alright.” The Atlantian nodded.

 

“I wish I could alleviate your worries but we’ve already had losses. The best we can do is be ready to help, in whatever ways we are needed.” Robin nodded quietly. He needed to focus on the mission, thinking about all the whatif scenarios would only drive himself crazy. He’d like to avoid that this time around.

 

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Over the course of his lifetime Slade Wilson had become a master soldier and assassin. He took pride in being the best of the best and those who wanted the very best paid top dollar for his services. With a combination of the super soldier experiment and his own skills that earned his place in the trial, he was a match for just about any man, even the legendary Batman. And it was with those skills that he noticed a light flicker on the monitor he was watching. Most people wouldn’t notice such a small flaw but Deathstroke had used this same technique to loop the camera feed with a false timer showing real time.

 

“It seems we have visitors,” he said casually to his current employers. The man looked surprised while the woman just looked annoyed. 

 

“What! How did they find us so quickly?” The woman huffed in response.

 

“If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say Joker got sloppy and left a trail.” Deathstroke agreed with that.

 

“It’s possible he told Batman himself just to see his reaction.” The woman was growing aggravated.

 

“I knew we should never have agreed to work with him, so unprofessional. If you had just listened to me-”

 

“Alright already!” The man cut her off. “You’ve made your point but what’s done is done. We were always planning on confronting Batman again this is just a little sooner than expected. Our new Talon will make fast work out of him.” 

 

“He’s not ready.” Deathstroke said, strapping his sword to his belt. “He hasn’t even killed anyone yet and you expect him to strike down his father figure.” The man just scoffed at him.

 

“Nonsense, he thinks he has so we know he’s capable. You’ve worked with him down there he’s as formidable as any of our seasoned Talons.” 

 

It was the reason he hadn’t left yet. Part of his contract required him not only to kidnap Grayson but to assist in his training. He didn’t know what they gave the boy but for a while he couldn’t tell up from down and whatever he was seeing under that drugged haze was anything but pleasant. What he was now was an empty shell, one the court could mold however they wanted. But Slade knew Dick as well as his mentor. You don’t break a Bat that easily no matter what they have him on.

 

“Regardless, I think I should head them off and give my former apprentice a hand.” The man waved him off.

 

“It’s a waste of time but you’ll see. He only has a few more steps before the process is complete and once we get that electrum tooth put back in we’ll control him regardless.” The arrogance that was rolling off the man was enough to make him want to roll his eye. Nevertheless he’s had worse clients, at least they hadn’t tried to kill him yet. The keyword being yet.

 

“Still,” the woman spoke but with some hesitation. “With all the trouble we’ve had lately, especially with Batman, perhaps we should relocate until the process is complete.” 

 

Slade could tell even before this conversation she was the smart one. It was sometimes smarter to retreat than to show one's power too soon. But pride often gets in the way and in the end she conceded to the attack plan. Still they had been running Gotham for years without much trouble so he’d give the kid a shot. But as Deathstroke headed out he suspected the woman might not be here when this was all said and done.

 

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Terry followed Batman’s lead deeper into the labyrinth. The special contacts Batgirl gave them showed them which way to go. They could also pull up a copy of the map and see where they were if they got turned around. Once again Terry couldn’t help but marvel at the technology that was closer to his time period but well advanced for the current day. He wasn’t complaining though, this made things a whole lot easier. Still he was concerned, they hadn’t seen any Talons or henchmen or any other obstacles hindering their progress. Another thing that worried him was the fact that Kid Flash had run ahead to scope out the area and just stopped. He could see on his map where he was as well as Tigress and Superboy who were taking a different route. They were moving, Bart was not. The color of the blip showed a heat signature so he was still alive but probably being used as bait.

 

Just as they were nearing their destination however Terry was struck from behind. Batman turned around to help but was nearly hit as well. Before Terry could wonder why he didn’t see any heat signatures on the map he saw his opponent and understood. Talons, undead assassins that didn’t have any heat to give off. 

 

‘Well,’ he thought as he took a fighting stance. ‘At least we know we’re on the right track.’

 

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Unlike Terry and Batman, Artemis and Connor saw their enemy’s heat signature. Unfortunately it only gave them a moment's notice before they were attacked. This wasn’t their first time fighting Deathstroke but they knew they were in for a rough battle.

 

“Well well if it is my former apprentice.” the assassin kicked Superboy out of the way as he swung his sword at Artemis. “I see you’ve kept the persona, Tigress.” She raised her sword to block the blow.

 

“I was never your apprentice!” She tried kicking his feet out from under him. He jumped but she anticipated the move and aimed her foot at his groin. He evaded it but smirked behind his mask. “Weren’t you? I doubt you learned that move from Black Canary.” She gritted her teeth but tried to keep his attention on her. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Superboy was trying to sneak up behind him.

 

“So you taught me a few moves, I was the one playing you for a fool.” Her ploy work, Deathstroke didn’t notice the other hero. “You seem to have bad luck when it comes to training sidekicks, no one to pass on your legacy.” 

 

It was a low blow even if she didn’t know it. He had lost his older son trying to follow in his footsteps and his younger son to a mercenary looking for revenge. That was the last straw for his wife, she tried to kill him by shooting him in the head. It was how he lost his eye. Ever since then he had been subconsciously looking for a successor. First he took Richard hoping to condition the boy to his new life but it didn’t work out. Tigress on the other hand was already a villain with skills so he tried to teach her to hone them. He thought she saw him as a teacher and mentor after Aqualad was injured by Miss Martian. He was wrong, it was all a lie and in the end he was humiliated. 

 

He was so lost in thought he didn’t notice Superboy until he felt the blow to his jaw, knocking him to the ground. While his mask protected him, it still hurt like a bitch. He got back on his feet and pulled out his gun. Playtime was over and he was not going to be humiliated by mere sidekicks again!

 

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Getting past the Talons was surprisingly easy thanks to Terry’s secret weapon. Once he learned the Talon’s weakness was cold he told Batman how his Bruce had kept Mr. Freeze’s Freeze Ray and that he had been taught how to build it. While they only had enough time to build one they had used it to great success. They were coming to the center of the maze and while they couldn’t see if there were any extra Talons they could see two heat signatures waiting for them, one of them they knew was Kid Flash.

 

As they burst through the doorway they were immediately attacked by two more hidden Talons which Terry made quick work of. He spotted another Talon in the center of the room just in front of a giant owl statue adorning a fountain. This one was holding an injured Kid Flash who had a dagger lodged in his leg. Terry was about to take him out with the Freeze Ray but Batman stopped him. 

 

“Red Bat stop!” Terry paused wondering why until he saw that this Talon, unlike the others, had a heat signature. The Freeze Ray would only trap the Talons since they were already dead to begin with, but using it on a live person could have deadly consequences. And there was only one reason why a Talon would still be alive.

 

“Nightwing?” Terry asked in disbelief. Were they too late? He could see Kid Flash nodding confirming their fears. 

 

“Not any longer.” Said a voice echoing throughout the chamber. Suddenly Batman was assaulted with a large number of daggers, most of which he was able to dodge. Terry was then attacked with a single dagger knocking the Freeze Ray out of his hands and across the room. To his surprise it was Dick who threw that one. 

 

“Nightwing this isn’t you, remember who you are.” Batman said, wrenching a blade from his side. 

 

“Oh, I think you’ll find this is exactly who he was all along.” It was the same eerie voice from earlier. Another larger Talon came up to Dick and put a hand on his shoulder. “My Great Grandson and heir, Talon.” It was William Cobb, and this situation just got a lot more dangerous.

 

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Superboy was proud of the fact he had managed to get a solid hit on Deathstroke but the pride was quickly humbled when the assassin started firing at them. Even though he knew this was a dangerous situation he couldn’t help but feel annoyed. They were here to rescue Dick and this man was blocking their way. Tigress had backtracked to the tunnel they had just come out of but Superboy picked up a big rock nearby, used it as a shield and threw it at him.

 

Deathstroke must have been surprised because he only barely dodged it. In retaliation the assassin picked up a smaller rock and threw it at the Boy of Steel. Conner caught it with ease but when he started to feel a sharp pain in his hands that was quickly radiating throughout his entire body, he realized he’d made a mistake. The glowing green fragment embedded in the rock mocked him as he fell to his knees.

 

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Batman and Red Bat watched with bated breath as Cobb gave Dick an order. 

 

“You’ve done well so far my boy, you just need to finish the job. Finish him.” He whispered pointing to Kid Flash still clutched in his hands. Dick grabbed the blade and held it close to his neck but hesitated. “It’s time to put away childish beliefs Richard, end this now.” Again he hesitated. Terry was about to say something but Bart beat him to it.

 

“I never met you in my time, I only heard the legends. Robin, Nightwing, even Batman all did great things, but anyone who really knew you said that Dick Grayson was their hero. I’m glad I got to know you.” Cobb was getting irritated with the constant interruptions.

 

“A fitting tribute from one who is about to die to one who is already dead. Stop wasting time and finish the job!” His hands were shaking now, dripping with indecision.

 

“This is what happened in my time, wasn't it?” Kid Flash spoke as if unafraid of the knife pressed right against his neck. “One day you were leading the rebellion and next you were gone and no one knew what happened to you. But you were here, all alone and no one knew to save you.” The blade dropped slightly. “I’m sorry no one was there to help you and I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it from happening again. I know you don’t want to do this but if you do, just so you know, I forgive you.”

 

Dick actually lowered the knife but as William Cobb reached for his hand to force him to make the kill two different Batterangs flew from two different Batmen. One knocked William Cobb away while the other knocked the knife from Dick’s hand and ricocheted off his mask. Bart used the distraction to bolt to the other side of the room where the Bats were. He let out a pained gasp as he tore the dagger from his leg.

 

“You OK?” Terry asked while Bruce kept an eye on the two Talons. “Yeah, my speed’s already healing it.” Terry was glad but he also knew it was still going to take time even with speed healing. Cobb was back on his feet roughly pulling up Dick who had lost his mask in the struggle. Now that they could see his face they could see the dead look in his eyes, like the life had all but left them. It would have been devastating to see if not for the two tear tracks running down his face.

 

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Deathstroke looked down at the half Kryptonian with a smirk. All brawn and strength he even has a brain. He’d be dangerous if he took the time to use it. He had used a small piece of kryptonite to weaken the clone but he had a larger piece he’d fashioned into a dagger. He had been saving this for Superman but waist not want not. 

 

He saw Tigress coming for him so he was able to grab her before she was able to get a hit in. He smiled as he casually tossed her into a pile of bones in the corner.

 

“I thought you knew better Tigress, emotional attachments just make you weak.” But as weak as Superboy was he still tried to fight back. It was so pathetic it was almost cute.

 

He saw Tigress coming at him again but this time she fake left and used a long jagged bone to puncture the tiny window on his mask covering his only good eye. He howled in pain trying to tear out the bone that was now stuck in his mask. 

 

Artemis used the distraction to remove the kryptonite and help Conner to his feat. 

 

“Leave me behind, I'll be fine. I’ll just slow you down.” Connor insisted even as she continued to drag him.

 

“When I get my hands on you I’ll rip your eyes out myself after I’ve dismembered the rest of you!” Artemis cringed.

 

“And leave you here with that? Yeah, I don’t think so.” They made their way forward hoping they weren’t too late to help.

 

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William Cobb looked down at his heir disappointment radiating from him. Deathstroke had warned him Richard had too big a heart and a stubborn streak to match. This wouldn’t be a problem if they had finished his training and made him a true Talon but Batman and his brats just had to stop by unannounced. 

 

But no matter, Richard would finish his training and be severely punished for failing in his duties. They would return stronger than ever, and Batman's head will be mounted on their wall as a reminder of what they were. Death!

 

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Batman could see that Cobb was beyond disappointed and planning an escape with Dick in tow. Fortunately Tigress and Superboy had arrived on the other side blocking their escape. They could see the state Dick was in and calling out but it was unclear if he could even hear them. Terry and Bart were doing the same thing but no one wanted to get close for fear Cobb might just hurt Dick more. Bruce wasn’t known for being the most affectionate person in the room but over time he had let people in. He had let them in knowing they could still hurt him even if they did mean to. Jason’s death hurt so much for a while he didn’t want to feel anything ever again. Dick had been one of the ones who helped bring him back to reality even though he was hurting just as much. It was time he returned the favor.

 

“Come on son, let’s go home.” No demands, no orders, just a simple request from a father to a son. He saw Dick reacting and resisting. He moved toward the pair ready to put that glorified zombie back in the ground. Come hell or high water no one was taking any more of his children.

 

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Dick wasn’t sure how he got here or why. He was sitting on an edge but he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to climb or fall. He was so tired and more exhausted than he had ever been in his whole life. It would be easy to fall surely there was a net down there like when they practice before a show. It was often easier to fall into the net than it was to climb all the way down. Learning how to fall was one of the first things he learned as a child and it helped him to not be afraid. But he must be really high up if he couldn’t even see the ground even if there was a net. But climbing seemed so hard right now so he stayed where he was for the time being.

 

Before long he could hear voices but they seemed to be conflicting. One set, the one that sounded like his circus family, was encouraging him to come down and join them. Another set, a newer one was telling him to come up, come back to them. He was confused, which was he supposed to pick?

 

“Finish him.” Came a cold voice from down below as a slimy dark rope appeared and grabbed onto his arm almost knocking him off completely. 

 

“I’m sorry.” It was another voice, this one coming from above and with it a gold robe was lowered offering it to him if he wanted it. “I forgive you.” Why was he being forgiven? Was he doing something bad? He grabbed the robe and it kept him from being dragged down. 

 

And it happened again and again, one voice pulling him down the other pulling him up. 

 

“Dick you have to snap out of it, this isn’t you.”

 

“I know you Boy Wonder, you don’t let people push you around like this.”

 

“This is your destiny. You are my heir!”

 

“You’re not bound by destiny! I crashed it and so can you!

 

“I haven’t known you as long as the others but I want nothing more than to get to know you better.”

 

He wanted to join them. They felt nice and familiar but he didn’t know if he had any strength left to do it. And then there was one last voice.

 

“Come on son, let’s go home.” Home, yes he wanted to go home. It didn’t matter how tired he was, he was going home. And as he reached up the golden ropes changed colors and turned to hands. Each of them helping him up, helping him fly again. The dark slimy rope finally lost its grip.

 

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Dick blinked tiredly as if he was waking up from a long dream. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on but he was in a uniform he didn’t remember putting on. Artemis had pulled him to the side as he was being checked over by Terry. They were asking him questions but he wasn’t able to make out what they were saying. His head was still fuzzy like someone had stuffed it full of cotton. He was vaguely aware Batman and Superboy were fighting someone. Someone who was dressed a lot like he was. Wait…he knew that person. He clutched his head as the cotton turned to needles twisting around in his brain. He thought he heard someone ask if he was OK and he gave his automatic response of, “I’m fine.” but judging from their faces it wasn’t the answer they were looking for.

 

Suddenly the people around him who were trying to help him were pulled away and the other man in the uniform was standing above him with a dagger.

 

“If I can’t have him, no one will!”

 

‘Oh,’ he suddenly realized. This was William Cobb, his Great Grandfather. He claimed to be family but in reality he was just a monster trying to take him away from the one he had made for himself. He wasn’t going to let that happen.

 

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Artemis was worried for her old friend. It looked like some recognition was coming back but when she looked into his eyes she could see how blown out his pupils were. They definitely drugged him with something she just wished she knew what.

 

“Hey Dick, we need to get you treated but do you know what they gave you.” He was looking at her and responding to her voice but he didn’t seem to be comprehending her question. Terry took his hand and was grateful he didn’t pull away but he pretty much got the same response. 

 

“Dick can you tell us what happened, what do you remember?” He didn’t respond but he did glance in the direction where Batman and Superboy were fighting Cobb and there was a look of recognition on his face. Suddenly he started grabbing his head, moaning in pain. Artemis asked if he was OK but when she got the usual response of “I’m fine.” She looked relieved and ready to strangle him at the same time.

 

But because they were paying more attention to him they didn’t notice Cobb had broken free and nearly took their heads off trying to get to Dick.

 

“If I can’t have him, no one will!” Artemis felt her blood run cold as she saw the undead killer ready to take out her friend. But just as the fatal blow was about to be struck Dick rolled out of the way kicking the blade out for good measure. Batman was back in the battle with Conner not far behind. 

 

Just as she was about to jump in and help she heard the discharge of a weapon and Cobb was freezing on the spot. She turned to see that Terry had recovered the Freeze Ray and hit the man dead center. As his body froze he let out a strained chuckle. 

 

“You may have won the battle but the Court has many secrets not even I know about. We’ll be waiting in the shadows and one day we’ll take what’s ours and burn your world to the ground.” And finally his body froze and William Cobb was silent.

 

“About time he shut up.” Terry said, stowing the weapon. “At least there aren’t any of these nut jobs in my world.” Batman was taking no chances and started securing the Talons.

 

“That you know of.” Terry groaned.

 

“Now I have another thing to keep me up at night. Thanks, Bats.” 

 

Tigress was still checking over Dick. He was a little more lucid but he was mostly relying on muscle memory. They needed to get him some real medical attention as soon as possible.

 

“Tigress WATCH OUT!” Kid Flash shouted. She turned to see an engaged Deathstroke, his only eye red and bleeding aiming a gun directly at her. Before she had a chance to move he fired but the blow never came.

 

Dick had moved faster and stopped the bullet from hitting its target…by taking it himself, right in the head.

To be continued…

 

Chapter Text

 

The Hardest Truths

Terry sat in the waiting room just outside Dick’s door. The rescue had been a success. The Court of Owls had been taken down and many or their operations had been uncovered including kidnapping. Turns out they had a whole new batch of kids they were planning to raise as Talons once they were finished with Dick. A lot of very relieved parents welcome their kids home. And of course Dick had been shot, in the head, by Deathstroke who was currently in another high security hospital room. Most of them made sure he was not walking away from this anytime soon.

 

Dick had been in a coma for more than a week and a few days ago his diagnosis was reduced to just unconscious. No one but Batman had been allowed to see him yet. The good news was that he pretty much went through withdrawal while he was in a coma and the remaining drugs were flushed from his system. Turns out that fountain was laced with a virtual cocktail of mind altering drugs but it was also the only water source within the Labyrinth. 

 

They expected Dick to make an almost full recovery which was surprising considering he was shot in the head right in his eye. He had lost his eye altogether and would have permanent scarring around the area. He heard Bruce was already looking into plastic surgeons while Zatana was making him a glamor charm so at least Dick Grayson could walk around looking normal. 

 

It was ironic really. Kid Flash was worried about things that happened in his time and while they managed to avoid most of the awful ones it was something from Terry’s timeline that had now come to pass. While it didn’t happen the same way both Dick Graysons from two different worlds lost their eye in the line of duty. Artemis had practically been guarding his room alongside Terry and the Bats. She felt so guilty that he had saved her at such a cost while she had been there to save him.

 

It was another thing they were worried about. They didn’t know how he’d be mentally after this. Between the brainwashing and the possible mental problems he could be facing they weren’t sure what to expect.

 

But it would seem today was the day. Dick had been waking up for short periods on and off and the last time he was able to talk to the doctors. It was still too early to tell but at last he was on the road to recovery. The nurse said he was still asleep but he could start seeing visitors in small groups. Terry was eager to see him but Artemis seemed hesitant. She was probably still blaming herself even though it wasn’t her fault and no one blamed her, especially Dick.

 

“I just need a few more minutes to prepare myself. I’ll let everyone else know he’s awake and try to keep the crowd at bay.” Terry thanked her as he went in to see the boy he had grown to care about so much over such a short period of time.

 

As he entered the room he was witness to a rare sight. Bruce Wayne, unmasked, was sitting beside Dicks bed watching over him. He held his hand lightly and gently stroked his hair while Dick subconsciously leaned into the touch. As Terry silently watched he couldn’t help but wonder if this was how his own Bruce interacted with Dick without him knowing. Mr. Grayson said that Bruce never came to visit but with the guilt he must have been feeling maybe he felt it was best to just watch from the shadows. He had no way of knowing of course but it did give him a little hope.

 

“He’s been in and out most of the day.” Bruce said, getting up. “I’ll get out of your way if you want to visit for a while.” 

 

“You don’t need to leave because of me.” Terry assured him.

 

“I’ve been here a while now and there are some things I need to take care of.” It was then Terry understood what Bruce really meant. He didn’t want Dick to wake up alone.

 

“Terry, after you’ve seen Dick can you come to the manor? I have something I need to discuss with you.” Terry frowned, whatever it was it sounded serious.

 

“Something you can’t discuss here? Classified?”

 

“Personal.” This got Terry interested. Maybe he was finally going to get some answers after all. 

 

Bruce quietly left as Terry took his place in his chair. At last he could get a proper look at Dick. The last time he’d seen him he’d been shot in the face and bleeding out on the floor as Kid Flash and Superboy raced him out. He was still a little pale but much better than he had been in the labyrinth. There was a large gauze covering half his face hiding his missing eye. He knew there would be scars underneath but the rest of his face looked normal if not a little swollen. But Terry didn’t care. Dick could be scared head to toe and he’d still think he was the most beautiful man in the Multiverse.

 

He gently touched his face and Dick leaned into his touch as well. Slowly Terry watched as Dick opened his eye and smiled as he met Terry’s gaze.

 

“Hey beautiful.” Terry said and Dick reached up to take his other hand. “How are you holding up? And just so you know, ‘I’m fine’ is not an acceptable answer.” Dick chuckled but it did look like he seriously had to think about his response.

 

“Well my head’s killing me but that’s hardly a surprise. I can’t seem to remember too much after Deathstroke took me, just bits and pieces, but so far my memory seems to be mostly intact.”

 

“That’s a relief, I’m still surprised you’re recovering as fast as you are.”

 

“The doctors said it’s probably thanks to the electrum built up in my bloodstream. All those compounds they drugged me with along with whatever the hell was in that water was supposed to start the process of turning me into a Talon. Which included advance healing.”

 

“Sorry you had to give that up?”

 

“I’ll take a clear head and normal healing any day of the week. Besides, to make the process permanent I would have had to die.” Terry grimished.

 

“Yeah probably best most of it was purged from your system. So you’ll just be a temporary Meta-human in the meantime.” Dick laughed a little but then brought a hand to his face. “Did they tell you about…”

 

“My eye you mean? Yeah. I don’t think I’ve fully processed that though. I haven’t seen what's beneath the bandages yet.”

 

“Give it time, you only just woke up and I know it’s a lot to take in.” Dick let out a sigh.

 

“Well, I guess Bruce will be happy.” Terry raised an eyebrow.

 

“Why on Earth would Bruce be happy you’ve lost an eye.”

 

“Oh no, he wouldn’t be happy about that, it's just…I had planned to go to the police academy and become a cop in Bludhaven and Bruce was against it. But you can’t be a cop with only one eye.”

 

“Let me get this straight. You planned on becoming a cop to fight crime in the day while Nightwing fights crime in the night?” Dick shrugged.

 

“Bludhaven is even worse off than Gotham and the cops there are worse than some of the criminals.”

 

“Yes but when are you going to sleep? Dick I know you’ll do great things for that city but fighting crime 24/7 is going to burn you out.”

 

“Batman worked to get the Gotham Police force in line in his early days.”

 

“He also had Gorden on the inside to help. No one can do this alone, not even Batman.” Dick huffed and pouted a little.

 

“I suppose I could think of a different way to get inside the BPD, I do think that should be my first step.”

 

“You’ll have plenty of time to think about it while you’re recovering. And afterwards we’ll think up and implement a game plan.” Dick looked serious for a moment.

 

“We?”

 

“Yeah, it’s not like I’ll let you do this alone.” Dick said nothing. Had Terry forgotten this wasn’t his world and he might eventually leave? Or was he planning to stay? Dick wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer just yet.

 

“Anyway I wonder if Zee’s glamor charm would fool the medical examiner. I know my new cyber eye won’t.”

 

“You’re getting a cyber eye?”

 

“Courtesy of Batgirl, she’s promised me one with as many features as she can fit in.” Terry remembered the cyber contacts they used for their latest mission and they sure were helpful. Imagine having one at all…wait.

 

“When did you talk to Babs? I’ve been waiting to visit you for days.” Dick pointed to the TV monitor over his bed.

 

“She hacked the hospital monitor?”

 

“She hacked the hospital monitor.”

 

“You must be very proud.”

 

“Very much so yes.” As the two boys shared a laugh there was a knock on the door. Artemis stood outside peeking her head in.

 

“Sorry to interrupt but Dick has a few more visitors and we hoping to catch him before he falls asleep again.” As if on cue Dick let out a yawn before covering his mouth a little embarrassed.

 

“We can come back if you’re not feeling up to it. I know you just woke up.” But Dick shook his head. 

 

“No, it’s OK. You guys can come on in.” As Artemis let in most of the original Team, Terry felt it was time to step out.

 

“I’ll get out of your hair for a while.” Dick pulled the other boy closer and they shared a long overdue kiss.

 

“Don’t stay away too long.” Terry gave him a wicked smile.

 

“I won’t.”

 

As Terry leaves he sees Aqualad, Miss Martian and Superboy join Artemis in the room. Both he and Superboy flinched as they passed each other. No doubt Conner had seen the kiss but Terry really didn’t care. He knew he wasn’t going to try anything with the others there and he really wanted to catch up with Bruce. He still needed answers and he didn’t want to risk the vigilante changing his mind. 

 

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While he was starting to get tired again he was glad to see his friends even if it was for a short time. Artemis was ringing her hands as if she wanted to say something and the others were waiting for her to go first.

 

“Dick listen, about what happened back at the labyrinth. I should have secured Deathstroke and I should have been paying more attention. It's my fault you got hurt so bad when we were the ones sent there to rescue you. I just wanted you to know how sorry I am even though I-” but Dick stopped her.

 

“Artemis stop. I’m not blaming you for what happened, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. They said I just automatically moved to cover you.” Artemis looked up confused.

 

“Wait, how much of all that did you actually remember.”

 

“Admittedly not much after Deathstroke took me. And really I’m fi-” he paused seeing the looks he was getting. “I’m recovering and hope to be back on my feet soon.”

 

“That was close.” Teased M'gann. “Artemis recently opened a swear jar just for that word.”

 

“Oh come on, I don’t use it that often.”

 

“Dick,” M'gann said gently. “You were drugged out of your mind when we found you and the only thing we could get out of you was, ‘I’m fine.’” Dick looked genuinely surprised after hearing that.

 

“Really?” They nodded. “Well put me down for five then.” They all chuckled at that. Dick went on to explain the drugs they had him on were what probably kept him alive and were speeding up his healing minus his eye of course. I was still something he hadn't quite processed yet and they could tell he didn’t want to bring it up just yet so they didn’t push. 

 

“By the way M'gann, when did you get back, I thought you were training with your Uncle.”

 

“When we heard what happened I asked to come back a little early. I’m still working out some of my issues and getting help with my powers but I feel like I’m on the right track.”

 

“That’s good to hear. Sorry I made you come back early though.”

 

“It’s alright I sort of found out something rather unpleasant and I kinda wanted to be back around friends who would understand.” She had already discussed this with the others but wanted Dick to know as well. 

 

“Why, what happened?” She took a deep breath.

 

“I found out my little brother, who is also a white Martian, is running a terrorist group bent on eliminating all non white Martians including most of our own family.” Dick’s eyes widened as he looked around the room and realized why this was the group she’d want to seek comfort in.

 

“I guess now we all have family ties we’re not proud of.” It was true most of Artemis’ family was involved with crime, Connor found out his other father was Lex Lutor, Kaldur discovered his was Black Manta and Dick just discovered he had a surviving relative after all only for him to be an undead assassin. 

 

“Black Canary is going to be a very busy woman.” Connor shrugged.

 

“We have enough for a group session.” Kaldur put a hand beneath his chin as he thought.

 

“It would be nice to have a safe place to discuss such matters. I’m sure we’re not the only ones with…questionable branches in our family trees.” Artemis scoffed.

 

“Yours may have a questionable branch mine’s infested with termites.”

 

“Still it sounds like a good idea.” Megan said happy to be around others who understood. “I’ll talk to Black Canary about the group session, maybe we can include others as we go along.”

 

“I wonder who Black Canary goes to for advice.” Connor wondered. “I sometimes feel guilty laying all my problems on her.” 

 

“It’s not unusual for shrinks and therapists to see one themselves.” Dick said, trying to hide a yawn. “As long as they’re not from Gotham.”

 

“Agreed.” said Artemis. “100%” Now she noticed just how tired Dick was getting. “But for now, let's let our Boy Wonder, get some rest, you’ll need it.” Dick tried to protest but he was already in a losing battle with his eyelids.

 

“Can I ask one thing first?” They all nodded. “Can you stay with me just for a little while.” They agreed to that as well. The isolation in the labyrinth must have been really hard on a social butterfly like Dick. They just sat watching him and remembering their early years while he slept. There were no nightmares that night.

 

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It was getting dark by the time Terry got back to the manor. He was almost afraid Bruce had already gone on patrol and forgot about him. Imagine his surprise when he saw a light on in the study with the man in question sitting on a chair close to the grandfather clock.

 

“You wanted to talk to me about something?” Bruce nodded.

 

“Have a seat Terry.” Terry took a seat across from the older man now starting to get a little concerned. Bruce wasn't one to dance around a subject so his hesitation was concerning.

 

“Do you remember shortly after you helped us find Tim, how I suddenly became hostile to you?”

 

“How could I forget?” Bruce took a deep breath.

 

“We found out something and I honestly thought you knew and were hiding it from us. But when that proved to be incorrect I realized your Bruce Wayne was keeping this from you for some reason. I haven’t said anything up until now because I feared he might have a good reason for keeping this a secret. But secrets have hurt this family enough and even though it may be hard to hear you deserve to know the truth.”

 

Bruce handed Terry a slip of paper. As the young man looked down he saw what it was. It was a DNA analysis and it was his. He saw the results, he knew what they meant, he just couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

 

“This has to be a mistake.” He said as his hands started to tremble. “Warren McGinnis is my father, I never even met Bruce Wayne until about 2 years ago. This makes no sense, you must have contaminated the sample, do it over again you’ll see.”

 

“I’ve run it five time already.”

 

“THAN RUN IT AGAIN!” He screamed tears starting to form in his eyes. “This can’t be for real. I choose this life! I don’t care if that paper says I’m some replacement for Batman, like I’m an experiment, a weapon. I put on the Batsuit because my father, my real father, needed justice. Hell old Bruce tried to stop me at every turn. I was the one who convinced him that I could do the job. It couldn’t…” his voice was starting to waver. “It can’t be just some subconscious programming.” Bruce had let the boy rant this was something he needed.

 

“We know your DNA was manipulated but we don’t know if any programming was involved.”

 

“But it kicked in didn’t it! When my Dad was murdered it was like something in me needed to know the truth driving me to find the ones responsible. I’d never felt something like that before. Like a piece had snapped into place and I knew this was what I wanted for myself.” Terry had been pacing back and forth pulling at his hair trying to make sense out of this.

 

“How much of that was really me? Was any of it? Just who am I?” By this point Bruce had gotten up and tried to put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“You’re still Terry McGinniss. Warren McGinniss is still your father. DNA doesn’t change that.” Angrily Terry threw his hand off and stared at Bruce tears escaping his eyes. 

 

“AND WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS AND NOT HIM?!” Bruce withdrew his hand.

 

“I don’t have an answer for that.”

 

“I’ll tell you why, because he’s a heartless, bitter lonely old man who won’t let himself care about anyone because he knows they are the ones who can hurt him the most!” He was crying for real this time. He grabbed his coat and stalked towards the door.

 

“Terry, where are you going?” Bruce asked, seeing Terry take out his com.

 

“I-I need to go. I ne-need to think!”

 

“Terry.”

 

“I need to be alone. Please.” Terry left and Bruce didn’t stop him. He knew Terry would take this hard but it was for the best. This family had enough secrets.

To be continued…

In Terry’s world his friends are getting closer to finding him, but finding him in the multiverse might be easier than Old Bruce and Dick burying the hatchet.

Chapter Text

 

Say What You Need to Say

Richard Hawkins AKA Gear let out a woop as he jumped into the air. They haven't found Terry yet but they were able to determine he was on Earth 16. Unfortunately there were almost infinite versions of that sub branch alone but they had come this far, farther than most of them thought was possible. 

 

“OK,” said Gear as he went back to the machine to make some adjustments. “We’re on the right track. We know he’s in a version of Earth 16 now we just need to figure out which one that is.” 

 

Tim looked at the schematics with a thoughtful expression.

 

“What do we know about this Earth? A lot of them were so different and potentially dangerous.”

 

“Compared to most it’s pretty similar to our Earth.” Gear pulled up a visual map comparing the two. “There are a few major differences of course. They had a Justice Society way before the Justice League was founded. Most of the core members are the same but it also seems to have expanded gradually over time. There are a lot more Meta humans in the general population, not just the Heroes and Villains. There’s even their version of a Junior Justice League.”

 

“You mean like the Teen Titans?” Dick asked, curious about an alternate version of his old team.

 

“Well some of the original members are there, including you, but this one seems to be affiliated with the Justice League itself.”

 

Dick was surprised by that. It meant their Bruce had a hand in its formation or at least its operations. His Bruce never approved of the Titans in his day despite all the good work they did.

 

“That’s different. The Teen Titans being independent back in my day let the Justice League distance themselves from us. How does the public feel about the League using children to fight their battles?” Gear looked back at some of the data.

 

“They're more like a secret spy team. The general public doesn’t know about them.”

 

That confirmed it for Dick. This had to be Bruce’s idea, it was just the kind of team he would want if he had to use teenagers. He was curious as to how this team came to be but they could worry about that later. He just hoped Terry hooked up with them. Peers were sometimes more supportive than well meaning adults. He remembered that much when he was young.

 

“The biggest difference however is the fact that Mars was never wiped out.” That was more than a little shocking for the group. Most of the world they explored in the DC multiverse Mars’ destruction was nearly universal with few survivors. “J'onn J'onzz is still a part of their Justice League and the stealth team even has a Martian as one of its core members.”

 

The information was helpful. It proved that Timecode’s device was searching for a past that was similar to theirs but with all his poor calculations it jumped quite a bit. Suddenly Gear was struck with a brilliant idea.

 

“Bruce, I need you to research exactly when and where Timecode left the past to come to the future. I also need information on what events happened around that time. I suspect the program found a close enough world with a similar event.” Bruce nodded.

 

“It’s a good theory. Like you said, Earth 16 is similar to ours in many ways. Do you suspect the event was a normal part of their history or a variant?”

 

“A variant most likely. The rest of you should still continue the search like we have been in case my theory is way off.” 

 

Most of the people in the room knew Richie enough to know his hunches and theories were almost always correct. Still they wanted to cover all their bases and went back to work. 

 

Virgil couldn’t help but notice Dick was still staying as far away from Bruce as he could. He felt bad for the two of them. A lot of poor decisions and even poorer communication had all but severed their relationship long ago. 

 

Virgil considered himself lucky to have such a good relationship with his father but he knew Richie wasn’t so lucky. He also knew that even though Richie’s relationship with his father was beyond repair it was still a painful time in his life when he passed away without anything being resolved. He went over to the station next to Dick and nonchalantly resumed his search. He was quiet for a time thinking how to bring up such a rough subject when Dick broke the silence.

 

“What do you think the odds are that Terry’s ok?” It was a fair question from the data they saw that some versions of this universe ended with an invasion by a race of Aliens called the Reach. 

 

“Hopefully Rich’s theory is right and he’s in a safe spot. I fought Timecode when I was younger and there were only a few world ending events around that time.”

 

“I’m more concerned he got mixed up with the Batman of whatever universe he wound up in. Batman in his prime is a wonder to behold, he makes you forget he’s still just a man.” It felt like Dick wanted to say something harsher but refrained.

 

“Maybe this one’s nicer than old Bruce. It seems he’s letting his proteges run missions and in some worlds the Bat Family did seem to get bigger over time.” But Dick only frowned at that.

 

“That’s what I’m worried about. Kids shouldn’t be putting on costumes and beating up criminals.” 

 

While Dick and Virgil knew each other when they were younger they were never that close. Robin and later Nightwing hung out in either Jump city or Bludhaven while Static felt the need to protect his home in Dakoda. He suspected since Dick’s vigilante career had ended violently he might have a more jaded opinion than Virgil who’d pretty much been a hero since he was 14. He knew his opinion might be different had the situation been reversed. 

 

He also knew bad things can happen even if you're not out there flying through the city wearing tights. He lost his Mom due to a stray bullet when she was trying to help people. While he had always admired the big heroes a large part of helping people came from her. She wasn’t afraid to put her life on the line if someone needed help. While it hurt losing her some part of him felt he was honoring her by being Static and helping others when no one else could.

 

“In reality, we were probably both too young, but I don’t regret the good I did or the lives I’ve saved and I doubt you do either.” Dick sighed and rubbed his face looking tired.

 

“It’s one thing going off on your own but a parent should protect their kids and not leave them when they're of no use to them any more.” And there it was, the thing that was really bothering him.

 

“So Bruce never contacted you at all?” Dick shook his head, the bitterness creaking back into his brain.

 

“Have you tried reaching out? We all know the man’s terrible at communicating. And after something like that he might feel too guilty to make the first move.” Dick looked up, a tired and sad expression written all over his face.

 

“I’m tired of always being the one to reach out. I was the one that always tried even when it was his fault. But if he couldn’t even try after he let me get hurt so badly…” he paused, taking a deep breath. “It just means he never really cared for me like I did for him.”

 

With that he got back to work Virgil falling silent. He had given up on Bruce a long time ago but if he was really honest with himself he always hoped Bruce would reach out. But after all these years and too much false hope it just hurt too much. The sad thing was that if Bruce ever really apologized he’d probably forgive the stubborn old prick even if every other part of him knew it would only lead to heartbreak all over again.

 

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Both Bruce and Richie were busy with their research. It was easy to find Timecode but figuring when a Time Traveler was last seen was a bit tricky. Still this was easier than combing every multiverse with a fine tooth comb so they would have to make due. Suddenly Bruce’s hands froze over his keyboard and an unreadable expression appeared on his face.

 

“I…I think I found what we’re looking for.” Richie looked over and instantly understood why Bruce froze. Timecode disappeared for the last time right before Tim Drake AKA Robin went missing. This was what they were looking for, this was an anomaly that often appeared in version of Earth 12 but it wasn’t as common in other worlds. There must be an Earth 16 where this scenario played out and that’s what Timecode’s program latched onto. This was good news, great even except for the fact that they were going to have to bring this up to everyone in the room and this incident was already causing tension just being in the background.

 

“We could just try running this scenario ourselves and just call in the other if we need help.” Richie offered and for Bruce it was tempting, but Bruce was never one to take the easy way out even if it hurt him.

 

“Bring them up to speed, we still don’t know if the timelines are going faster or slower where he is. He’s been gone just over a week here, who knows how long it’s been for him on the other side.” Gear had to agree as he started gathering the data to disperse it to the others. He glanced at Bruce and saw just how broken he was despite his attempts to hide it. Thinking back to his own father he knew he had to say something.

 

“Bruce listen, I know you and Tim are talking and working things out but it seems like you and Dick are-”

 

“None of your business!” He snapped while working on compiling his own data.

 

“Maybe not,” Richie stated gathering up his courage. “But I know from experience if you two don’t at least try to talk things out some day it’ll be too late and you’ll both regret it.” Bruce was quiet for a moment, so many things on his mind.

 

“It’s already too late.”

 

“No it’s not!” He loudly whispered not wanting anyone else to hear right now. “My father was…not always a good man. He was a bigot and a racist most of his life. We fought more times than I can count but at one point he actually seemed to be trying to turn things around. Questioning belief that he thought to be true and it was good for a while…until I came out that is.

 

“I’m glad my kids can grow up and love whoever they want without fear but back in my youth admitting who I really was was terrifying. And in the end it was more than my Dad could tolerate. I had already moved out by then but while he never said it I knew I was no longer welcome in his house. My mom eventually left and told me just how guilty she felt for not telling my dad how she really felt about his attitude and not sticking up for me. Even though it still hurt I forgave her and after a while we were on better terms.

 

“My Dad and I barely spoke to each other, and he stopped altogether when I told him I was marrying Virgil. For years we just avoided each other too afraid of what the others might say. Then one day I got the call that he had passed away from a heart attack. He was found two days after he died by a neighbor, he was all alone. And you know the worst part? When we were going through his things we found that he had a whole box of photos, old school papers and more recent things like my first published paper…and my wedding announcement.” Richie had to take a deep breath so he wouldn’t start tearing up again.

 

“I never made up with my Dad and I was disappointed he never really tried but seeing all that made me wonder if maybe he had changed, even just a little. But now I’ll never know.” He turned to the man who was once Batman who had remained silent this whole time. “It’s only too late if you decide it is Bruce. I can’t force you two to do anything but I hope you’ll consider it.”

 

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Bruce sympathized with Richie, he really did, but how do you apologize to someone for hurting them the way he had. When Dick was shot and taken to the hospital he was tempted to go in many times, but he couldn’t face him. He didn’t deserve to try and comfort the child he raised into a man. The only thing he allowed himself to do was to silently guard Dick room from outside so that nothing else could harm him. And even that he failed at when Cadmus stole his DNA right out from under him.

 

He took him in after his parents were killed hoping to give the boy a home. But a boy needs more than a house to call it a home. He never officially adopted Dick or Tim; he didn't want them to feel like he was trying to replace their families, but in hindsight that may have been a mistake. Like maybe it showed that he was only a temporary guardian and not a permanent part of their family. 

 

So many mistakes and he honestly wasn't sure how to go about correcting them. He wanted to make up with Dick he truly did but it was clear he didn’t want anything to do with him. He had hurt him enough, why cause him more pain?

 

And then Terry came into his life. Of course he ran a DNA test the first time Terry found his way into his home. It was why he tried to keep him away from the Batsuit, he thought he was being manipulated. A long chat with Amanda Waller revealed the truth. He thought about revealing what he knew to Terry but he wasn’t an orphan, he had a family who loved him. And with all the screw ups he made the last thing he wanted to do was to tear that family apart, he couldn’t do that to him. No, some things were best kept in the dark.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Who I Am, Who I’m Supposed To Be And Who I Decide Is Really Me

The news had gotten out that after meeting with Batman Terry had run off. And while Bruce tried to reassure everyone he just needed some time Dick was understandably angry. He accused Bruce of chasing him off and was even more frustrated when he simply said that it was personal and not his secret to share. Dick had wanted to get up and look for him immediately but the other Bats gave him a little something to calm down. While the Talon serum was working wonders he was still recovering from a head injury and no one wanted him to have a relapse.

 

Two days later Conner Kent was visiting Clark's parents for the weekend in Smallville. The trip had been planned for earlier but it got pushed back when Dick had been taken captive. He liked the Kents a lot. With all the craziness in his life it was nice to be around people who knew the importance of taking it slow sometimes. He admitted it was nice to be treated like a normal boy instead of a superhero or science experiment. It was easy to see how their influence helped Clark become the hero he was today. They also apparently gave him one heck of a lecture when he first discovered Superboy was his clone and kept ignoring him. Really, there wasn’t anything he didn’t like about them. He wished he could stay a little longer but he had to leave in the morning. He did promise to visit again soon though.

 

He was nearly ready for bed when there was a knock on the door.

 

“Come in.” He called as Martha opened the door with a light smile on her face.

 

“Hope I didn’t catch you sleeping Sweety.”

 

“No, it’s OK. Do you need help with anything?”

 

“That’s nice of you to offer Dear but it’s not me who needs help.” she stepped aside to reveal a very haggard looking Terry McGuiness. 

 

“Terry, what are you doing here?” Martha closed the door as she left.

 

“I’ll just let you boys talk while I fix up Clark’s room if you need to stay the night Terry OK.” 

 

“She’s really nice,” Terry said, shifting his backpack around. “I just showed up at her door asking for you and she offered me dinner.” but this only confused Conner more.

 

“Wait, you came all the way to Smallville, just to see me?” Terry nodded the fake smile slipping from his face. “How did you even get here unnoticed, they've been watching the Zeta tubes ever since you ran off.”

 

Terry held up a little black Credit Card with a fake name.

 

“Bruce lets me use this for expenses.” 

 

“OK, that explains the non Zeta tube travel and why Batman didn’t seem worried when you left but I’m still waiting to hear what happened and why you came to me of all people. Also I do have a cell phone you know.”

 

Terry’s smile dropped completely and he started to pace the room.

 

“This wasn’t something I could talk about over the phone.” Terry looked at Connor and took a deep breath. “Apparently there was a secret being kept from me by my Batman. Bruce, this world’s Bruce, decided to tell me and…I wasn’t prepared for what he said.” Conner waited patiently seeing how stressed the other boy was. “Turns out my father, the man who raised me, wasn’t my father at all. They tested my DNA when I got here and guess what? Bruce Wayne is my biological father!” Conner stood up shocked by what he just heard.

 

“Bruce is your…Well, that explains the weird way he was acting around you, especially when you and Dick started dating.” Terry continued to pace running his hands through his hair practically pulling it out.

 

“That’s not even the worst of it. Turns out you and me have another thing in common beside liking Dick.” Conner was going to comment about his phrasing but let the other boy continue instead. “It seems we’re both Cadmus projects designed to replace our mentors if need be.”

 

“You’re,” Conner couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re a clone, like me?”

 

“Not exactly a clone, but they did mess with my Dad’s reproductive DNA to make sure Bruce had an heir since all of his prodigies had left the hero life behind them.”

 

“So they’re the ones who made you Batman?”

 

“Yes-No…I don’t know!” Terry was actually pulling out his hair now. “That’s the part that’s driving me crazy! I became Batman in a way so similar to Bruce I can help but think that this was either planned or I have some unconscious programming. I’m questioning every decision I made since my Dad died and I don’t know if any of that was really me or if I’ve activated my primary function and become some sort of Batman Beyond.”

 

Terry collapsed onto Connor’s bed emotionally exhausted from his outburst. Meanwhile Connor was feeling a little strange about all this. He wasn’t someone people usually came to for advice but he did understand why Terry would come to him. The two of them had never gotten along mostly because of a mutual affection for Nightwing but he could see the other boy was hurting and fate had somehow made him the best person to come to. Conner sat down besides Terry, not completely looking at him.

 

“I do get that, not knowing what part is you and what part is the program.” Terry turned to him, his eyes red from unshed tears. “For me though it’s like…like everyone is encouraging me to go against what I know is programmed in but some parts are good though. I was grown in a lab and that programming was all I knew. I was programmed to be Superman but a Superman the Light wanted. I had to learn what it was to be my own person. I'm still working on that. But the more I learn the more I discover what works for me and what works for Superman.

 

“Oh course there was that hidden programing that Luthor triggered with a code word but in that state I had no control. Have you ever felt that?” Terry shook his head. “You’re lucky then. I had it removed but that feeling of no control was really scary.”

 

“So you had the hidden commands removed but not the subconscious programming?”

 

“The programming was the base for my entire being. I can shape it or add to it but it is a part of me.” Terry was thoughtful for a moment.

 

“I…wasn’t always a good person…before becoming Batman. I was in Juvi for a while. I lashed out and was an all around angry teenager. Now I’m wondering if the program corrected something when I thought I was improving myself.”

 

“You should join our new support group: Heroes with Evil Family Members.”

 

“That’s a horrible name.”

 

“Creativity has never been a strong suit for me.”

 

“And I don’t think I’d fit in with that group. My Bruce is a cold lonely old man but he’s not evil.”

 

“Cadmus was part of your creation so I think it counts.” Terry thought  for a moment and then burst out laughing.

 

“You’re more creative than you think.” He wasn’t quite sure what he said to make Terry laugh but he figured he was doing something right.

 

“It sounds like you’re less upset that Bruce is your father and more scared that the life you choose wasn’t a choice at all.”

 

“Warren McGuiness was my father. Bruce was just the DNA donor.”

 

“Do you think he knew?”

 

“My Bruce Wayne is 10 time more paranoid than the one here, there's no way he didn’t know. He knew, he just…didn’t tell me.”

 

“Maybe he knew you’d react badly. I mean you did run off when you found out here.” Terry grabbed a pillow and screamed into it. “Case and point.” Terry just glared back.

 

“Regardless, I’m glad this Bruce told me the truth even if I ‘reacted badly’ If I had found out on my own…” Just the thought was making him mad but they were getting nowhere fast.

 

“Alright back to the programming thing.” Conner said, trying to put them back on track. “Knowing what you know now, would you go back and stop yourself from being Batman and helping everyone you did?” Terry hugged the pillow to his chest as he gave this some serious thought.

 

“Well, that’s not an easy question. There were some things that happened that only Batman could solve. And in true Batman Style some of the villains I’m fighting are an indirect result of my actions.”

 

“Are you the only hero out there?” 

 

“No the Justice League is still active, as well as Superman. But they usually handle the big cases you know. And while I convinced commissioner Barbra Gorden to not arrest me, she still thinks Batman isn’t needed or is at least a crutch. But now you’ve got me thinking of all the small stuff I handle. Stopping mugging that could escalate into murder, pulling people out of a burning building or solving a crime left to the backburner. It’s not always the big thing I’ve felt I’ve made an impact on.”

 

“But would Terry Mcguiness want to do these things if he wasn’t Batman?” Conner said, rephrasing the question. And that’s when Terry realized the answer was a clear yes. He had stood up to the Jokerz on the train when they were harassing that woman when others just looked on or tried to ignore it. His actions weren’t without consequence but…

 

“Yes, Terry McGuiness would.” And at last some progress had been made. Terry still had a long way to go but it was a start.

 

“I still think you should have a conversation with Black Canary about this. We all talk to her and she is good at getting people to a better place mentally.”

 

“I still think it’s a little weird, I’ve never met Black Canary in my world but I know she wasn’t a Psychiatrist. That and Batman says never to trust a shrink.”

 

“I think it’s fine as long as they’re not from Gotham.” Terry laughed out loud at the remark but Conner frond.

 

“OK, there’s a joke I’m not getting here.” Terry smiled and patted the other boy on the back.

 

“To answer your question a large percent of shrinks end up going crazy or become super villains but only in Gotham though. Harley Quinn and Hugo Strange for example.”

 

“Oh, now I get it. What is up with Gotham anyway?”

 

“I wish I knew.” 

 

The two of them relaxed for a bit after Terry’s initial panic attack, but not completely. While they realized they had more in common than they thought there was still the elephant in the room.

 

“I suppose I just have one more question.” Terry said, slightly uncomfortable. “Why did you kiss Dick when you knew we were already together?” Connor frowned but took a deep breath and answered the best he could.

 

“In a strange way it relates back to what we were talking about earlier, about programing.” Terry was confused but didn’t interrupt. “I explained how my core programming was to basically become Superman as much as possible. But that conflicts when I do or feel something different. Clark is straight so I thought I had to be straight as well. But straight guys aren’t attracted to other guys as well as girls. Clark was understanding but to me it felt like this was another defect like how I can’t fly or have heat vision. So I buried it down even if no one else seemed bothered by it. I was in love with Megan but she changed and I didn’t like the person she was becoming. Even so I stuck around longer than I should have and then it became a real problem. I’m glad she’s getting help but we’ve both moved on.

 

“With Dick it wasn’t an instant attraction. He was just 13 when we met but as we got older I noticed he was becoming more and more attractive. He’s always been caring, smart and is always looking out for everyone. It’d be hard not to be attracted. Still he was usually with a girl and there was still that part of me that said this wasn’t someone Superman would be attracted to. 

 

“And then out of the blue you show up, cheer him up after Wally died and pretty much sweep him off his feet. I just felt so cheated. Not by you but by myself. My stupid internal conflict told me it wasn’t right and I couldn’t have him. Seeing you two together was like a slap in the face. I felt like I missed my chance because I wouldn’t let myself be happy just because I was different.” 

 

Terry was not expecting this and he didn’t think Connor planned to reveal this much either. But this seemed like this was something he needed to get out of his system and he just let Terry rant and rave so he happily returned the favor.

 

“I know it was wrong and I still have feelings for him but I shouldn’t have tried to interfere. If I’m being honest I was more mad at myself then angry at you. I know you care about him and in the end I really do want to see him happy.”

 

Terry stood back up and looked Superboy in the eye. 

 

“While I’m not happy with what you did, I don't hate you for it. Dick means a lot to both of us so I’m willing to bury the hatchet if you are.” The taller boy smiled.

 

“I’d like that.” They shook on it and both felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulder.

To be continued…

Chapter Text

Too Good to be True

The next morning Terry and Conner made their way to Dick’s room just in time to prevent an escape attempt. Dick grabbed Terry in a tight hug while yelling at him at the same time.

 

“Terry where have you been?! I wake up and you're not here and no one would tell me anything! I had to pry the information out of Tim that you’d run off!”

 

“It’s alright Dick, I’m OK. I just had a talk with Bruce.”

 

“Oh no, what did he say to you?”

 

“Clam down.” Terry paused as he guided Dick back to his bed. “It wasn’t Bruce’s fault.” (Not your Bruce’s anyway.) he mumbled under his breath. He went on to explain how his father’s DNA was altered by Cadmus making him a secret replacement for Batman. He also explained how he had a bit of an identity crisis and ran to Connor for guidance. 

 

Conner also used this as an opportunity to properly apologize to Dick and in the end they were all emotionally exhausted but on the road toward self improvement.

 

“Canary is going to have her hands full with us.” Dick said, settling back down ready for another nap.

 

“Think she might need help carrying all our baggage?” Terry joked as Conner jumped in.

 

“I hear Harley Quinn’s getting out for good behavior.” It took the others a few moments before they realized Superboy had just made a joke and burst out laughing.

 

“Congrats Connor, that was a good one.” complimented Dick as they all laughed together feeling more at ease than they had in a long time.

 

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It was another few weeks before Nightwing left the hospital with a clean bill of health. It was another two weeks after that before he was cleared to resume hero duty one again. (Secretly he had been sneaking out since night 2 but don’t tell Batman.)

 

The League was so impressed by the healing properties of the electrum they were having it analyzed by Silas Stone, a trusted ally of the League at Star Labs. Dick voiced his concerns but he was assured it wouldn’t be used on anyone until they were able to safely remove all of the mind altering chemicals.

 

Black Canary was indeed very busy seeing to all the traumatized heroes but assured them she had her own therapist who was helping her deal as well. And no, it was not Harley Quinn.

 

The Heroes With Evil Family Members, or “HWEFM”, support group was now in full swing and the name stuck.

 

They also had a long talk with Bart and the boy was honestly relieved he didn’t know what else to expect in the future. He had been carrying that around for a long time and was excited to get to take things one day at a time and let the chips fall where they may.

 

It was Terry and Dick’s last night in the manor, they were heading for a new apartment in the morning. Dick was going to just go back to his old one until he found out that the Joker had been killed there and promptly decided to relocate. He didn’t trust that some of his crazier fanboys wouldn’t try to break in and resurrect him. 

 

Everyone seemed to be getting back to a somewhat normal routine and Terry seems to have found himself a place on the Team. But that had brought up another problem. He had been here for some time and it looked like there was no going home. This would be easier to deal with if he knew for sure this was permanent but he still felt like he was betraying his family by being happy here. 

 

“Hey Terry, you ready!” Dick broke him out of his thoughts as he ran to meet him. They had a special training session with Bruce and Tim that night and Dick seemed excited.

 

“I’m curious to see what this training is all about. You look much too happy for it to be a normal one.” Dick smiled, the moonlight reflecting off his artificial eye. Terry had to admit Barbra did a great job with it. Dick was showing him all of the cool features it had…until he overworked it and it froze. She had warned him it was still a work in progress after all. There was still some visible scarring around his eye socket but Terry just thought that made him look more badass. He used the glamor charm from Zatana most of the time but around the family he left it off.

 

“You’ll see, let's get going.” Dick took Terry by the hand and led him to the back yard. To Terry’s surprise he could see Bruce and Tim waiting for them on the basketball court.

 

“Wait, this is training? A basketball game?” He reflexively caught the ball Bruce tossed him

 

“Teamwork and hand eye coordination” He saw Dick grinning from ear to ear.

 

“While you could use a little more team practice, I’m still adjusting to my new eye.”

 

“Makes logical sense to me.” Commented Tim practicing dribbling a second ball. Terry’s smile matched Dick’s as he threw the ball at the net. Only to be blocked by Tim throwing his ball in the way.

 

“Hey!”

 

“We’re playing Bat rules.” Tim said proudly earning a pat from Bruce. “Current Batman and Robin VS. Future Batman and former Robin.”

 

“OK I see how it is.” Terry picked up the ball and passed it to Dick. “The big guy’s just a distraction. You’re the one I have to watch out for.” Terry teased as Tim played along trying to look as innocent as possible.

 

And so the game began. Well, it started as a game but it wasn’t long before they resorted to showing off and trying to outdo each other. They played for hours, no one was keeping score anymore. Alfred came out to offer them refreshments and sports drinks while he sat back and enjoyed watching his family play together in a rare moment of innocence.

 

By the end of the night they were all pleasantly tired and Terry had come to a conclusion. He wasn’t going to feel guilty over something he had no control over. He was happy here, and he was no longer afraid to admit it.

 

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Time passed quickly for everyone. More than a year had passed since Terry fell into their lives and he had adjusted well all things considered. He had been going to school online trying out a few different things to see what he wanted to concentrate on. He and Dick were still dating and living together as well. 

 

While Dick couldn’t enter the Police Academy he was able to find an alternative solution. He was working towards becoming a crime scene consultant. Someone who could be hired or sent in to investigate tougher cases. This would give him access to the police force he wanted and the hours were more flexible meaning he could actually get some sleep every now and again. He still had a lot of studying and tests to pass but he had a solid plan and was working towards it.

 

Terry still missed his family and friends but he had accepted the reality that this was his home now and he chose to accept it. 

 

Tonight he and Dick had a date, one that had been postponed several times due to one emergency after another. Terry was starting to realize this must be what Dana felt like with all his excuses. The difference was both him and Dick had the same lifestyle and they knew this was a part of it. He still felt bad though. He would have liked to properly apologize to her in person.

 

He picked Dick up at the lab he was training in and after a quick change they hit the town. All of their previous plans had all fizzled out so they decided to just wing it. They found one of the best street vendors in town and traded their chosen dishes back and forth to each other. They wandered into a street performance and danced along with the music helping to hype up the crowd. After that they held hands as they walked through the park, the full moon up above lighting their path. Someone had tried to mug them but to them that was just another amusing part of their night. As they sat near the edge of the pond, the gagged struggling mugger tied up in the background, they looked into each other’s eyes and began to move closer.

 

Their coms going off set off a string of curses and groans. Nightwing answered as soon as they were out of sight.

 

“This had better be good. This is the third date we’ve had interrupted this past month.” Dick said into his com more than a little annoyed.

 

“Sorry Nightwing,” Green Arrow said from the Watch Tower. “But we need Red Bat up here as soon as possible.” Terry had been listening in and was surprised that it was him specifically they were trying to get a hold of.

 

“This is Red Bat, what’s the situation?” There was a moment of silence on the other end.

 

“Red Bat…Terry, I don’t know how to tell you this but Bruce is calling trying to find you.” Terry was even more confused.

 

“He has access to the coms. Why didn’t he just call me himself?”

 

“No, not our Bruce. YOUR Bruce.” And that’s when it clicked.

 

“You’re going home kid.”

To be continued…

 

Chapter Text

 

Departures

Green Arrow stood to the side of the large monitor trying to hide the fact that he was sweating bullets. Beside him was his Batman who was currently glaring at the screen that showed an older grizzly Batman who somehow looked even scarier than him. Oliver had worked with Batman for years but the man was still terrifying especially when his kids were involved. Right now both of them were here for Terry and it was clear neither of them wanted to let him go. He couldn’t blame either of them really. The older one had lost his and must have been going crazy trying to find him. But the younger one had taken him in as one of his own and considered him a part of the family. He wasn’t sure how Terry was going to take the news, the young man had been rather shocked when he was informed that his Bruce had finally found him. Terry was making a life here and while being uprooted again might be tough he was now leaving behind someone close to him. That was going to be hard.

 

He was relieved when he heard the Zeta tube announcing an arrival but that relief was short lived when he heard it was Nightwing and Red Bat. Terry walked over to the monitor with an unreadable expression on his face. Green Arrow could feel the tension in the air and really wished he had an excuse to leave.

 

“Hey old man.” Some of the tension in the older Bruce's face let up ever so slightly upon seeing his missing prodigy.

 

“Terry, are you alright?” He was trying to subtly inspect him for any hidden damage he couldn’t see. 

 

“I’m fine Bruce, I landed with the good guys here. No evil duplicates so far.” Terry was trying to keep things light but on the inside he was a ball of nerves. He’d fought with Bruce before he left and he didn’t even know what his family must be thinking being gone this long. And then there was that whole, “Bruce was really his father thing”. 

 

“They’ve been treating you OK kid?” A new voice came from behind and he saw Mr. Grayson step out of the shadows.

 

“They’ve been great, especially your counterpart.” As anxious as he felt he couldn’t resist seeing the expressions on the faces of everyone in the room as he took Dick’s hand in his. Old Bruce stiffened, Mr. Grayson’s one eye widened in surprise, while Terry looked back between the two and his boyfriend waved sheepishly. 

 

“Yeah, it must be weird seeing your younger/older self. Young Bruce threw me for a loop.” It was probably weird for his Bruce and Mr. Grayson seeing their younger self standing so close together and not about to start a fist fight.

 

“In any case now that we’ve located you we can see about getting you home.”

 

“That’s…great Bruce.” He tried to hide his hesitation but no doubt they saw through it. So he tried to cover it up in a different way. “But what have you been telling my family since I’ve been gone?”

 

“Don’t worry, we have a cover story in place. You’re doing an educational study in Metropolis.”

 

“For more than a year?” There was a heavy pause from the future side and then there was another voice in the background.

 

“I was afraid of this.” A tall blond man, probably a little younger than Mr. Grayson, stepped in front of the screen. “Hello Terry, my name’s Richard Hawkins but you might know me as Gear.” Terry recognized the name instantly. One of the long time heroes who started their careers in their youth.

 

“Who’s Gear?” asked Green Arrow, curious about the new hero on screen. 

 

“Judging by the age of the League it’s possible my counterpart isn’t active yet. He usually hangs out around Virgil.”

 

“Virgil’s active.” Terry responded as Dick snapped his fingers.

 

“Wasn’t that kid who tried to hack the Watchtower a few months ago named Richie? He was looking for his friend Virgil who went missing during the Reach invasion.”

 

“Yeah that sounds like a mini me.”

 

“Batman was so impressed he gave him a job.” Dick responded, finding all of this strange but amusing.

 

“My Virgil will be amused when I tell him-”

 

“Focus Gear!” Old Bruce snapped.

 

“Right right, sorry. Anyway Terry, Timecode’s machine was so broken and incomplete it sent you not just to another dimension but a different section of the DCU altogether.” Some of these terms were going over his head but he let the man continue.

 

“Not all dimensions run at the same rate, the one you're in is going much faster than ours. You’ve only been gone for about 9 days.” Terry jolted from the news. “I was able to sync us up but it’s not going to last very long. I can have the portal ready in about…24 hours your time. After that it’s going to be difficult to sync us up long enough to open a door.” As if on cue the screen started to become staticky.

 

24 hours, that was all the time he had left here. Just 24 hours to say goodbye to everyone he’d met here. He was so lost in thought he barely noticed his Bruce had started talking again.

 

“Be sure you’re in this exact location in under 24 hours and don’t be late.” And with that the video cut off and Terry became aware everyone was staring at him.

 

“Hear that guys, I’m going home! Isn’t it great.” He wanted to be happy. He was going to see his family again, something he’d been longing for for a long time.

 

“And it seems I’ve been gone for just over a week so I don't have to worry about my Mom being stressed or worried. My little brother will barely notice I was even gone.”

 

“Terry.”

 

“And I’m not that far behind in school since I started taking classes here, shame the credits won’t transfer though.”

 

“Terry!”

 

“Although, History and Geography are going to be a pain in the butt. I had to relearn the differences from this world and now I’ll have to forget-”

 

“TERRY!” Dick shouted, gripping onto his shoulder. “Breath OK.” Terry took a deep breath and matched his breathing to Dick’s who couldn't help looking at him with a sad expression.

 

“I’ll miss you too.” Dick said quietly and Terry allowed himself to let out a frustrated shout. The others had left the room to give the two some privacy and to prepare for tomorrow.

 

“I had already said my goodbyes to them and now I’ll have to say them to you.” Dick pulled him into a big hug trying his best to comfort the one he loved.

 

“We’ve still got 24 hours. We’ll spend them however you want.” A sly smile crossed his face.

 

“We never got to finish our date.”

 

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Alone in their apartment the two just held each other for a long time. The night was coming to an end and the first rays of sun were peeking over the buildings in the distance. The embrace turned into a kiss and the kiss went deeper. A desperate and sad frenzy overcame them knowing this would be the last time they would be together this way. But before things got too heated Dick reluctantly pulled away.

 

“Wait.” he said, grabbing a sock off the floor. “So we’re not interrupted again.” He opened his front door and hung it on the door knob.

 

“Good idea.” Terry said, grabbing another sock and some duct tape and attached it to the window.

 

“Better idea!” Dick commented, closing the curtains and turning off their coms.

 

They weren’t interrupted this time.

 

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They had already used a portion of their 24 hours but sleep was for the weak. They doubted Alfred would mind this time. Word spread fast and The Team managed to organize a quick but awesome farewell party which most were able to attend.

 

Just about everyone said their goodbyes but tried to keep the mood upbeat. They all knew this was hard for both Terry and Dick.

 

The entire Batfamily had come to the control room with him to see him off. They asked if there was anything else he wanted to do but he told them he already did everything he wanted.

 

The staticky monitor turned on with the same people staring back at them. Terry figured it was only a few hours on their side and not a full day like here. His brain was too tired to do the math.

 

“Oh good, you’re here.” Gear said adjusting something off to the side. “We should be ready to go any minute now.” 

 

Terry looked back at the makeshift family that had taken him in. Barbra gave him the first hug.

 

“Take care of yourself, OK.” Tim was next. They didn’t hug but they did fist bump.

 

“Thanks for saving me and risking everything to change my fate.” Terry smiled and ran a hand over Tim’s hair, messing it up to perfection.

 

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” Alfred came up to him and handed him a bag.

 

“Provided it’s safe to transport baked goods across dimensional borders I’ve provided a little something to remember us by.” Terry took the bag and shook his hand.

 

“Like I could ever forget.” Batman put a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

 

“You’ve done a lot to help this family. I know you’ll do great things wherever you go.”

 

“Thanks Bruce.” It had been a strange experience working with a Batman in his prime and even though they were too different people Terry felt he could understand his Bruce a little better now. To a point.

 

And then there was young Dick Grayson. This was by far the hardest; he felt like he had been saying goodbye to him all day. This was the one thing he really didn’t want to leave.

 

“Whatever happens,” Dick started. “I want you to be happy. I want you to let yourself be happy.” Terry couldn’t help the tears that were forming in his eyes.

 

“You’re asking a lot…but I only will if you promise the same.” Dick tried to reassure him but he had been keeping it together all day and this was finally becoming real.

 

“You’re right…that is a lot.” One last time the two kissed patiently, not caring who was in the room. Barbra tried to cover Tim’s eyes despite his protest. On the other side of the scream an older Dick Grayson’s eye widened so big he looked like a cartoon. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so heartbreaking. They finally broke apart hearing Gear clear his throat.

 

“Ah, if you’re ready we kind of need to get this started right away.” Gear said awkwardly his eyes darting back and forth between the pair and something off screen. 

 

“I’ll miss you and I’ll never forget you.” Terry said as a light started forming in the background. “I love you.” He started to walk away, not taking his eyes off the other man.

 

“I love you too.” Terry stepped through the portal.

 

“Goodbye.” the both said and the next instance he was gone.

 

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And just like that Terry McGuiness was back home. Max was the first person to run up and give him the biggest hug she could muster.

 

“Lord Terry, I can’t believe your back.” It only took a moment for him to hug her back. “We were worried sick. When Gear told us you could have ended up anywhere in the multiverse I thought we’d never see you again. And when we started looking for you and saw all those twisted versions of reality-” Terry cut her off with a smile. He missed his best friend and he was glad to see her too.

 

“It’s OK Max, I got lucky. It was a good one.” She raised an eyebrow remembering his exit scene.

 

“I saw, how good was it?” It was meant to be playful but Terry's downcast expression told her it was more serious than just a passing fling. “Sorry he must have meant a lot to you.” 

 

“I…I’m not ready to talk about that just yet.” She understood and dropped the subject.

 

Gear was super excited that not only had they managed to find Terry in what was essentially a needle in a multiverse of haystacks but with the knowledge he had learned he was going to revolutionize the field of science…again. He couldn’t wait to tell Virgil when he got home. Hearing all that just made Terry realize that them just finding him was a miracle and he couldn’t help feeling grateful for everyone's hard work.

 

It was a little weird seeing Tim again, it made him wonder what the other Tim would grow up to be since he had managed to spare him from the trauma. Mr. Grayson was still in the room but clearly uncomfortable. Terry couldn’t really blame him; he did kind of put on a show with the man’s younger counterpart. That had to be at least a little awkward for him.

 

And then there was Bruce. His Bruce, his mentor and father. He played it cool until everyone else left. He needed to talk to the man alone anyway.

 

“You’re more quiet than expected.” Bruce commented, studying the boy. “Did something happen there I should be aware of?” It was at times like these Terry wondered how the man could be so observant and oblivious at the same time.

 

“Oh you could say that.” Terry stood up and slowly walked towards him. “I had a little trouble when I first got there because they thought I was some type of cloned spy.” He kept his gaze on Bruce. “Turns out, my DNA doesn’t match Waren McGuiniss, but it does match Bruce Wayne.”

 

“Are cloned spies a common problem for them?”

 

“Yes actually!” He snapped, getting angry at Bruce’s response. “And stop trying to deflect this conversation! I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt but I need an honest answer. Did you know.” Terry didn’t elaborate Bruce should know what he was trying to get him to say.

 

“Yes, I did.”

 

“Than why didn’t you tell me?! I had to find out from a virtual stranger who, at first, didn’t believe I didn’t know. Why? Because Batman is paranoid in almost any multiverse but too often is proven right.” Terry hated that he was still angry over this but he didn't think he was ever going to get this confrontation so he put it on the back burner in his mind. And now here it was, ready to boil over.

 

“Because you have a family.” Bruce admitted. “Your DNA doesn’t change that.”

 

“But did it make me want to become Batman? They check for programming but what if there was something at an unconscious level.” The former Batman knew he had messed up again. By trying to protect Terry it only served to make things worse. Now he had a choice to make and he hoped he wasn’t making another one.

 

“After your first visit when you found the Batcave I did run a DNA test. That was the real reason I tried to stop you when you took the suit.” Terry shook his head in disbelief. He had known that long?

 

“I went to see an old friend/enemy. She had connections to Cadmus and when I confronted her she told me everything. Besides cloning Dick she wanted to make a Batman not with brainwashing but with trauma. She found your parents were psychologically as close to mine as she could find. She then had your father’s reproductive DNA altered to match mine. Then came the traumatic part.”

 

“So she arranged for my father to be killed?”

 

“No, she intended for both your parrots to be killed coming home from a movie. Same psychology, same event all to birth a new Batman.” Terry’s blood ran cold. He remembered going to an old fashioned movie house when he was a kid, he had no idea he came so close to becoming an orphan.

 

“I…I remember that night but nothing happened. We made it home just fine.”

 

“The assassin she hired had a change of heart. Turns out she was also an old friend of mine. She managed to talk Waller out of trying again, how I was never sure, Waller was always stubborn when she wanted something.” Terry covered his face with his hands. This was unreal.

 

“There was no hidden programming that made you become Batman. Were you predisposed to it? Yes, but in the end it was your choice.” Terry felt both relieved but still angry.

 

“This wasn’t something you should have kept from me Bruce.”

 

“I didn’t want it to color your judgment. I-”

 

“I had an identity crisis Bruce! I was lucky there were other Cadmus projects out there who understood what I was going through. I was questioning everything in my life, questioning if any decision I made was my own.”

 

“The other Batman didn’t have all the details. He never should have-”

 

“Do you even know why I’m so angry with you?!” Terry screamed, waving his arms in the air.

 

“I know you think I should have told you but-”

 

“See! There it is right there. We’ve worked together for a long time and you still don’t trust me. You say it was for my own good but-” Terry suddenly stopped, and became quiet.

 

“I need to leave.” He quickly started heading for the door. 

 

“Terry wait!” But he was gone before Bruce could get across the room.

 

Bruce went over to where Terry was previously sitting. Everyone he touches he taints, and pushes until they all eventually leave him. He was once the world’s greatest detective and he couldn’t figure out how to fix himself. He noticed Terry had forgotten the bag he came here with. As he picked it up the smell sent a flood of emotion directly to his brain. Alfred’s cookies. 

 

The smell of them baking while he was allowed to lick the batter from the spoon, sharing one with his parents. A warm plate of comfort after the funeral. Tempting him while he studied and trained eventually giving in. A little hand sneaking one when he thought no one was looking and offering it to him when he was caught. Another set of small hands passing them around while everyone just sat there and enjoyed themselves.

 

Then there was that cold musty smell from a kitchen barley used and the lonely feeling that followed. 

 

Seeing that younger Bat Clan reminded him of happier times before he threw it all away. But he could lock those feelings away like so may others…until that smell. He collapsed onto the chair and allowed himself to do something he hadn’t let himself do in years. He wept.

 

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Terry shouldn’t feel nervous about knocking on the door to his own house but he had no choice, he lost his keys long ago. Taking a deep breath he knocked: each one sounding louder and louder to his ears. He didn’t have long to wait before his mother answered the door.

 

“Terry, you’re back already.” He had to keep reminding his brain this has been just over a week for her and not a full year since she had seen him. “How was the educational seminar?” He didn’t realize just how much he missed her until now. It took everything in him not to break down in front of her.

 

“It was great, it’s amazing how they can cram about a year's worth of knowledge into such a short period of time.” At least it wasn’t a total lie this time. “Not sure the history portion was all that successful though.”

 

“Well you’re just in time for dinner, go wash up. I’ll get-” But Terry couldn’t hold it in any longer. He hugged his mother as if he hadn’t seen her in ages. “Goodness Terry, where did that come from?” He hated that he couldn’t tell him the truth. One day perhaps.

 

“Sorry, one of the kids lost their Mom while we were there and I left you without saying goodbye, and-”

 

“Oh that poor dear. I hope they're alright.”

 

“They have a supportive family so they won’t be alone.”

 

“That’s good. And while I wish you told me about this trip earlier instead of last minute, it good to see you back.” He hugged her again trying not to think of the assassin that was just out of sight all those years ago.

 

As expected Matt barely noticed he had gone he just grumbled about how the dessert portions were going to be small now that he was back. Terry quietly slipped him his and Matt said nothing further. 

 

He did wish he had stuck around for Bruce’s debriefing, he was a little lost on what the program was supposed to be about but he got by with showing some of the things he learned while he was away. It seemed to please her. That night he didn’t go out at all, just spent some time with his family, playing vid games with Matt and helping his mom do the dishes. 

 

He went to his room for the night intending to go to sleep, he’d been up for at least a day and a half, but he was having trouble sleeping. He tried putting on some music but every song he pulled up was about heartbreak or loss. He left it running. It must have been too loud though since his mother came knocking on his door.

 

“Terry, could you turn it down? Matt says he can’t sleep with, what was it he called it? Emo music?”

 

“Sorry, I’ll turn it down.” His mother peek through the door.

 

“Terry, are you OK?” The lights were all off and here he was listening to depressing music. She was probably right to worry.

 

“I’ll be fine, just getting over a broken heart is all.”

 

“Did you and Dana break up?” He was glad the lights were off so she couldn’t see the panicked look in his eyes. He had meant Dick but he had broken up with Dana just before he got flung through the multiverse.

 

“Yeah, she ended it just before I left. It was actually why I left last minute. I needed some time to think.” He had to watch that. His break up with Dana was a long time ago for him but it would still be a recent event here wouldn’t it.

 

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

 

“It’s my fault really, I’ve been a real jerk lately. I think I need to apologize.”

 

“That sounds like a good idea to me but for now get some sleep.”  She quietly left the room. Now Terry at least had something else to focus on. He just hoped she’d be willing to hear him out.

 

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The next day, true to his word he went to find Dana. She was at the mall with some of her friends who signaled to her he was coming. He was afraid she would take off but she stayed crossing her arms glaring at him.

 

“What do you want, Terry? I told you we were done.”

 

“I’m just here to apologize.”

 

“If you expect me to take you back just because-”

 

“No this isn’t a, “will you forgive me” speech this is a, “I’m a jerk and you deserve better” speech.” She paused and sat back down.

 

“Alright, I’m listening.” 

 

“You have the patience of a saint to put up with everything I put you through. You’re a great person and anyone would be lucky to have you in their lives. I wasted my chance and I don’t blame you for dumping me. I still care for you but I know now I’m not right for you. I hope you find someone who’ll treat you like a queen because that's what you deserve.”

 

Dana had to admit she was surprised Terry was making a sincere apology without asking to be taken back. She still cared for him as well but he was right they weren’t right for each other. She was at least glad he was trying to end things on a positive note and she told him so. 

 

Perhaps they could be friends again someday but for now it seems like they both were ready to move on.

 

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Terry was still going out as Batman; he just wasn’t reporting to Bruce at the moment. He didn’t like the way he left things with the old man but he was starting to see why Mr. Grayson was so frustrated with him.

 

After the former Nightwing had gotten over his shock he contacted Terry himself, offering him some guidance that wasn’t Bruce. While he appreciated the offer he was still not over losing his Dick Grayson. There was just too much of a reminder every time he looked at the other man. He said he understood but also said his door was always open.

 

Terry thought long and hard about how he could fix things and finally came to a conclusion. But he’d need help. He contacted Tim Drake and Max for help with his crazy plan and while they were reluctant they both agreed. He called Mr. Grayson back and managed to convince him to come to the manor with them.

 

Once they were all together Terry let them in and went to find Bruce. He was in the Batcave working on something when the whole crew came down.

 

“To what do I owe this visit?” He was expecting the old man to be defensive but that wasn’t going to stop him from at least trying to communicate with the former Batman.

“We need to talk Bruce, we all do.”

 

“So talk.” Bruce said without looking up from his screen. 

 

“None of us here are the best at communication without violence getting involved. One of the things that helped me back in the other world was seeing a psychiatrist.” Bruce stopped typing and turned around.

 

“You can’t be serious.”

 

“I know you’ve had bad experiences with…a lot of them. And I know David Wheeler was just pure evil but that’s why I asked Tim and Max to help compile a list of the ones we can freely talk to.” Tim stepped up.

 

“I’ve done an extensive search and managed to find a number of suitable doctors. I’ve of course excluded anyone with ties to any criminals, victims or relatives of victims from supervillains. Anyone with a past criminal record, possible mental condition, extortionist and of course anyone from Gotham.” Bruce did look amused and Mr. Grayson looked skeptical.

 

“Is that it?” Tim rolled his eyes, putting the list back into his folder.

 

“Of course not, there are another 82 criteria we used to narrow things down but-” Max jumped in.

 

“Let’s face it, you'd just do the search again yourself with about 100 more.”

 

“I’m not doing the search at all. This is a waste of time at best and dangerous at worst. Just because the Justice League of that world carelessly let a stranger-”

 

“It was Black Canary.” That was a surprise to Mr. Grayson.

 

“Wait, Black Canary was a psychiatrist in that world, not a hero?”

 

“She was both, and even she needed someone to help her with a few things mentally.” Tim took the list out again.

 

“There are a few qualified psychiatrists on the list that are heroes or retired heroes as well. Honestly they’d be idea for us.” Bruce still wasn’t convinced. “After the Joker Junior incident I needed help. Do you think any less of me for needing one?”

 

“No of course not. But that was different. You needed specialized care.” Terry took the list from Tim. 

 

“I know you hate asking for help but it’s not going to be you alone.” He handed the list to Bruce. “We not asking you for a commitment we just asking you to try.” The words rang in his head remembering what Gear had said about never settling things with his father. He recognized some of the names on the list. A few of them even knew his identity already but still.

 

“I…I still don’t think this is a good idea.” Mr. Grayson looked like he was going to say something but Bruce wasn’t finished. “However, I know I’m a large part…the main part why this…group keeps falling apart. I’m…willing to give this a try, if everyone else is.”

 

They all looked at Mr. Grayson. Of all the people here Terry was worried he’d be the hold out if Bruce said yes. The man looked thoughtful for a few moments before finally looking directly at his old mentor.

 

“I’ll admit I didn’t think you’d even consider this crazy plan of Terry’s but…this is the first real effort I’ve seen on your part Bruce. I’m willing to give this a try. We’ll see what comes of it.” And that’s what finally sold Bruce on the idea. He was still going to run the list himself but they expected nothing less. 

 

Nothing was resolved at the moment but this felt like a step in the right direction. 

 

“Terry,” Bruce called. “You left something behind when you left last time. It’s in the freezer.” Terry wasn’t sure what Bruce meant at first but when he opened the freezer he found the cookie Alfred gave him. He quickly heated them up and brought them out to the group. The older members immediately perked up once they got a whiff of that familiar smell.

 

“Is that?” Tim said, eyeing the plate of cookies Terry was bringing out. 

 

“It couldn’t be!” Mr. Grayson exclaimed, moving in for a closer look. 

 

“I feel like this is an inside joke I’m not getting,” Max said, taking one of the cookies and trying it for herself. “Mmm, but whatever it is, it tastes divine!” 

 

“It was a gift,” Terry explained. “From an old friend.” As they all partook in the nostalgic treat Terry couldn't help but think maybe this was just what Alfred had in mind when he gave them to Terry. 

 

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Time marches on. The Bat Clan started seeing a psychiatrist, one that Batman approved of and things were indeed improving. There were some ups and downs of course and a few setbacks but everyone including Bruce was making an effort and for some that was the biggest step he could make. Some things were settled and some just couldn’t be fixed. But with time and communication some things could be patched. And they could start to heal.

 

Max had reopened the idea of being Terry’s partner in the field. Not too long ago he would have been dead set against it but after working for The Team, AKA Young Justice he admitted he missed working with a partner. Bruce was still reluctant but with Mr. Grayson helping with her training he was learning to let go of his control issues…somewhat. 

 

They were more of a group now rather than the scattered remains of the old Bat Clan. Barbra even joined in on occasion. 

 

Terry often wondered what would have happened if he chose to stay with Dick in his world. He still missed him after all this time but it was hurting less and less as time went on. Would this family still be fractured or would they have come together in his absence. But he had made his choice and he was going to make the best of it.

 

“Ready for your first night as a hero Bat Noir?” Max had just landed beside him eager to get to work.

 

“You know it! And before you say anything, I promise to follow your lead, you’re the boss.”

 

“Is he now?” Bruce said in their coms.

 

“We’ll be fine Bruce, we're just going to take it slow for her first night. Some mugging, break ins-

 

“Change of plans. There's a building on fire about ten blocks from you.” Bruce said, sending them the address. “My scanners show there’s still people in the building.” Terry shrugged.

 

“Lesson one, things change on a dime. Be ready to adapt.”

 

“Looks like I’m getting a trial by fire, literally.”

 

The pair flew off into the night preparing to face a burning inferno. And with his best friends by his side Terry was finally able to keep his promise to Dick. He let himself be happy.

The END 

 

Chapter Text

 

Epilogue: Dick

Dick watched as the last flickering light from the portal was extinguished and then Terry was gone. Back home with his family, his older moodier Bruce and even an older more jaded version of himself. It was bitter sweet. Part of him wanted Terry to say, ‘Screw it!’ and stay with him and The Team. But he knew that was asking a lot more than he already had. 

 

He would never forget the young man from another world who helped save him and his family. He only wished he could have done more in return. Even as the years went by he still had a place in Dick’s heart. He didn’t date as much as he used to. Nothing serious at least. Babs told him he was still pining for the rouge bat and maybe it was a little true. It didn’t help that their busy lives just seemed to keep getting busier.

 

For one thing his little brother Jason had come back to life. Yeah, that was a thing. Turns out Ra's al Ghul had stolen his body and brought him back using the lazarus pits. He was back but majorly pissed at Batman for not being the one who killed the Joker. Nightwing had his hands full keeping his brothers from killing each other and Jason from killing anyone else. Eventually an uneasy truce was made. One that could come apart at any time and often did.

 

Over time the Bat Family and The Team only got bigger. Spoiler joined up inspired by Red Robin. Something his girlfriend Cassie was not impressed with. Batwoman, Batwing, Single and Orphan all became part of the Batfamily. But what threw everyone for a loop, including Batman, was the arrival of Bruce’s other biological son, Damian.

 

The boy somehow managed to piss off nearly everyone he came across. Even Batman had no idea how to handle this little demon child. But Nightwing saw what so many others missed due to his abysmal attitude: he was a child. A child with no childhood thanks to Talia raising him to be a weapon. It took a lot of time and a truck-load of patience but Damian was slowly starting to become less violent and at least listen to other people’s opinions. Not a lot, and he was still not easy to work with but Dick he was becoming less intolerable.

 

About six years after Terry left it happened. It was an all out battle for the fate of the planets with Batman and Superman leading the charge. In the final battle against Darkseide Batman was able thwart his plans at the last minute but at a cost. The Dark Knight was seriously injured to the point where he would no longer be able to walk again. That didn’t stop him from trying of course. He tried multiple risky surgeries, a suit of armor that gave the illusion he could still walk, even multiple Batman robots. All dangerous and all failures. Especially since the robots were hacked and the rogues took them out for a joy ride.

 

The only thing that finally stopped him was Dick himself reluctantly taking up the mantle. It wasn’t a happy day for either of them. Bruce finally admitting his time as Batman was over and giving it to his oldest son was something he wished didn’t need to happen. But that wasn’t the end of Bruce’s crime fighting career. He took up the mantle of Oracle and was now an adviser to many heroes around the world, not just the Justice League and his clan.

 

Bruce’s departure from the cowl was not only a rough transition for him but for Damian as well. He had left his mother’s side to train and learn from the man he heard so much about growing up. Now that man was broken in body but not in spirit. He was left unsure where he stood, still feeling like he had so much more to learn. By right the cowl should have gone to him seeing as he was the rightful heir so he fought for the title. Much to his amazement, he lost. He lost to Grayson and he was not happy about it. However seeing how both his father and Grayson treated it like a heavy burden instead of the honor he always thought it was made him think.

 

They had all said he wasn’t ready and if he lost to Grayson of all people then perhaps he wasn’t. So the only logical solution was to follow in Grayson’s footsteps and become Robin. There he would train on the job where he would become stronger and claim his birthright once he defeated Grayson. His very practical solution was met with mixed opinions and loud arguments. Ultimately it was Grayson who convinced his father and most of the family this was a good idea. Not for the reasons Damian had suggested but as a way to teach him that there was another path than that of an assassin.

 

Damian was pleased even if he thought Grayson’s ideals were skewed. At least his training would continue and with Grayson’s encouragement his father was more receptive to teach him in other areas.

 

Of course, not everyone was happy with this decision. Tim was forcibly promoted to Red Robin, something he saw as a slap in the face from his older brother. Dick had tried to explain that it was time he took up his own mantle and that he was more than capable of becoming his own hero. He chose the name Red Robin out of spite. Damian did not help by gloating that Drake was being replaced. And Jason’s only comment was, “Like Father, like son.” and he was not referring to Damian. 

 

Right now their relationship is strained at best. But Dick would keep trying. After averting a horrible future and seeing another depressing one he was going to do whatever it took to make sure they made the best of it. He had a minor success with Tim when he agreed to go to a therapy session with Black Canary together. It wasn’t going to be pretty but it was something they both needed.

 

They had another session next week but right now Dick was getting off a long night of patrol. He was pleased though. Robin had been making slow progress but he had been learning. He even let the boy turn the crooks they caught into the police by himself as a sign of trust. He knew Bruce was keeping an eye on him but he had no control over Bruce. Once everything was secure and filed he was ready for a nice long rest. Of course that’s when his phone rang. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes he answered.

 

“Hey Dick, did I catch you at a bad time?” Dick smiled tiredly into the phone.

 

“In this family, anytime is a bad time. But now is as good as any. What can I do for you, Conner?” 

 

“We’ve barely seen you since you took over the family business. I  also heard that you and Tim were fighting, how are you holding up?” Dick sighed.

 

“It’s…been an adjustment. Tim and I sat down with Black Canary and talked about the whole Robin/Red Robin fiasco. There was some progress and I’ll admit I didn’t handle the partner thing very well but I also had a lot on my plate, I still do. I never meant to hurt Tim. I honestly thought him getting out on his own would be good for him.”

 

“He told me that you pretty much forced him out.” Dick rubbed his head feeling a headache coming on.

 

“Encouraging someone to spread their wings is not the same as…He got the wrong…damn it, I really did push him away didn’t I.”

 

“Sounds like you just made a breakthrough. Don’t beat yourself up too hard, I’m sure you two will patch things up sooner or later.”

 

“How can I not, I'm already screwing things up left and right?” He sighed deeply. “How did Terry pull this off? He went in with barely any training and went straight to being Batman. I’ve been a vigilante most of my life and I still haven’t got the hang of it.” There were a few moments of silence before Superboy answered.

 

“You know what I think? I think you’re so hung up on doing things Bruce’s way when you should be making it your own. That’s what Terry did. He learned what his Bruce could teach him but in the end he was his own Batman.” Dick took a moment to think about what Connor said and it was true. He was going against the grain to try and be someone he’s not.

 

“You have a point. Ever since the failed simulation I’ve been so against the idea of being Batman I never stopped to think that maybe there was another way to carry on the legacy.” He couldn’t see it but he sensed the boy on the other end was smiling as well.

 

“Don’t forget you’ve got a bunch of friends who would drop everything if you needed a hand. You do for us so it’s only fair.”

 

“But Batman’s rule about metas-”

 

“You’re Batman now, remember? He had rules that worked for him but you need to figure out what will work better for you. And sure, you’re going to make some mistakes. I’m sure he did when he was first starting out as well. Whatever happens, we’ve got you back Boy Wonder.”

 

“I know you do but thanks for reminding this idiot. By the way, when did you get so good at psychology?”

 

“Former boyfriend was a psych major. And after years of talking things out with Black Canary it got me interested in taking some courses. I continued even after we broke up.”

 

“Sorry to hear that.”

 

“It’s fine. It just didn’t work out.”

 

“Even so I can sympathize. Relationships aren’t easy in this line of work.”

 

“That’s true. Whether it’s family, friends, or romance it takes a lot of work. And now you’ve got a kid to boot. That I don’t envy.” Dick sat straight up in bed shocked by what his friend was saying.

 

“I don’t have a kid, Damian is Bruce's son!”

 

“By blood maybe, but who’s the one who gave him a chance when everyone else wanted to write him off?”

 

“He just made a bad first impression and Bruce was blindsided we all were but-”

 

“Who worked with him to become a better person and helped unbrainwash him from his assassin upbringing?”

 

“Bruce tried but he responded to me better so we just-”

 

“Who attended his parent teacher conference?”

 

“Bruce was off-world!”

 

“And who does he go to for advice?”

 

“Bruce mostly, he only comes to me for little things like: trying to make allies/friends in school, acting to fool enemies (so he says) or just simple American customs like making homemade Father’s Day Cards.”

 

“You helped him make a Father’s Day Card for Bruce?”

 

“Yes, and he was pretty proud of it too. He even let me keep his practice one.”

 

“So…he gave you a Father’s Day card as well?”

 

“Yeah but it wasn’t a real one just…I mean it would have been rude to throw it away after…OK sure it’s still on my dresser but…Holy Smokes he gave me a Father’s Day card!”

 

“And you kept it.”

 

“And I kept it… I really did subconsciously adopt him, didn't I?”

 

“I must say, I did not expect those classes to work this well on you. But I think Black Canary would probably be better equipped to help you through this new revelation of yours.” Dick flopped back onto his bed dramatically.

 

“Well after that bombshell of self realization I’m not getting any sleep tonight-er, today.” Conner chuckled on the other end.

 

“Sorry, sounds like I helped with one problem and gave you another. But at least you’re aware of it now.” Dick just groaned and shouted into his pillow. “Listen I’ll let you try and get some sleep but let's meet up sometime. Nothing big or fancy, just coffee at a shop close to a zeta tube to just chat, no shop talk.” Dick took the pillow away and looked at the phone. It has been a while since he’d seen any of his friends outside Gotham. 

 

“You know, that sounds like a great idea. This new Batman is not going to let his social life dry up just because he works nights.”

 

“Sounds like a plan. Let me know the time and place and I’ll be there.” 

 

“You got it. I wanna know what’s been going on with you this time. I feel like this was just about me.”

 

“Oh don’t worry I’ve got plenty to share. But I’ll let you get some rest in the meantime. Later Dick.”

 

“See you Conner.” The call ended and Dick couldn’t help thinking back to a time when Conner was full of anger and barely spoke. A lot had changed and so had they. There was even a time when Conner had a crush on him. He had been dating Terry at the time so the timing was…not great. He backed off when he said he wasn’t interested and after Terry had to leave Dick was in no mood to start anything up anytime soon. But why was he thinking about this now? 

 

Both Connor and him had moved on to the point where it was no longer awkward to be around each other. But that didn’t matter. They were just two friends getting a cup of coffee. That’s all it was. Right?

 

THE END 

 

Chapter Text

 

What If…

Terry had thought about this long and hard. He had thought the choice was out of his hands and now that it was back he felt conflicted. He missed his family but he was so happy here, with Dick and the others. But he couldn’t have both and it was time to make a choice.

 

“Bruce I know you’ve been looking for me and I really appreciate it but…I’ve decided to stay.” Bruce’s eyes widen behind the screen.

 

“Terry what are you saying?” Terry took Dicks hand, the other boy looking just as shocked as Bruce for a few moments then smiled.

 

“I’ve made a life here Bruce, I’m a part of a team and…I’ve fallen in love.” While the younger Batman didn’t say anything there was a hint of a smile on his face. 

 

“Terry, think about what you’re saying. You have a family here and friends who’ll miss you.”

 

“I‘ve been here more than a year and I had already accepted the fact that I was here for good. In my mind I’ve already said my goodbyes.” He could hear chattering from the other people in the room. His best friend Max pushed her way to the front.

 

“Did I hear right? You said you were staying?” Terry nodded and that’s when she saw the look of peace on his face. She had known him for a long time and she thought she knew what he looked like when he was happy. She didn’t, she had never seen him so happy as she did then and she had a strong suspicion it was due to the boy next to him.

 

“Terry, are you…are you happy there. Really happy I mean.” Terry looked back at Dick and she didn’t need confirmation.

 

“Yeah, I really am.” With a heavy heart Max smiled back.

 

“Then you should stay.” Old Bruce tried to pull her out of the way but the older Dick held him back.

 

“You’re my best friend Max and I’m glad I got to say goodbye to you. Please tell my family what happened and I mean everything that’s happened. They deserve to know.” As Max assured him she would do her best Bruce was still going on about Gotham and Batman but Mr. Grayson once again stepped in.

 

“Just because you refuse to be happy doesn’t mean no one around you gets to be!” Bruce looked hurt but Mr. Grayson turned away. “This is your decision right kid? No one put you up to this?” He didn’t blame him for thinking that. They didn’t know these people like he did.

 

“This was all me.”

 

“Then I wish you good luck kid. Be better than us and let yourself live.” In his head these were two very different people. But he just caught a glimpse of his Dick Grayson and if he turned out a little like this he wouldn’t mind in the slightest.

 

Bruce had finally wrestled his way to the front.

 

“Terry, there something I need to tell you, I should have said something sooner but-”

 

“If this is about my DNA and the Cadmus involvement I already know.” Bruce looked white as a sheet. In the background Mr. Grayson looked surprised at the news. Knowing Cadmus’ theft of his own DNA it was understandable.

 

“How did..?” Old Bruce looked at the younger one. “You told him didn’t you!”

 

“Someone had to.” The younger Bruce said with a hint of spite.

 

“Enough!” Terry said taking control of the situation. The screens were starting to flicker; they didn’t have much time left.

 

“I can’t say I'm not mad at you for keeping this from me Bruce but I don’t want this to be the last thing we say to each other. So I’ll just say, Thank you. Thank you for helping me bring my Dad justice, thank you for helping me become a better Batman and thank you for helping me see I could be a better person.” Bruce was flickering on and off but he still had one last thing to say.

 

“I just made the suit, you were the one who made it your own. I can honestly say that you were a better Batman than me.” the screen was almost out. “Goodbye…son.”

 

“Goodbye…Father.” and the connection was lost.

 

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Terry often thought about his family and the world he left behind. Part of him felt it was selfish but the city had survived without Batman years before he came along it could again. He wished he could have said goodbye to his mother and little brother though. Then again, if he had they might have convinced him to go back and he had already made up his mind. But any second thoughts were quelled when he felt the warm embrace of the one he loved.

 

“You gave up your whole world for me.” Dick said cuddling up to him on the couch in their living room. 

 

“I did it for us.” Terry wrapped the blanket around both of them. “Whatever happens next we’re in this together.”

 

“Until the end.” Dick agreed. 

 

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The only thing predictable about life was its unpredictability. Jason Todd coming back from the dead was a shock to them all. A very angry former Robin went on a rampage when he learned that Batman wasn’t the one who killed the Joker. Terry couldn’t help but see a little bit of himself in the angry young man. Turns out Ra's al Ghul had swapped out the body and used the lazarus pit to resurrect him. Terry always found it strange how Ra’s could be an ally to Bruce one minute and be scheming against him the next. It was a weird love, hate, respect relationship he didn’t even try to comprehend.

 

But as everyone tried to help/stop Jason it was Terry who got him to listen. Jason was fascinated by his stories of another world as well as another Batman. It took a while but he eventually gained his trust and started getting him some real help. It was far from perfect. Jason was still angry at Bruce but a tentative truce was made. Over time the Bat family grew. Batwoman, Spoiler, Batwing, Orphan and Signal were added one by one each adding their own flavor to the symbol.

 

For Terry, life was going great. He made a new friend, and his relationship with Dick was still going strong. But like in many relationships: Children. Ruin. Everything.

 

Enter Damian Wayne, the illegitimate son of Talia and Bruce. A nine year old with too big an ego, a superiority complex and a trained killer, because people think Batman’s no kill rule is something he’ll just let slide. Terry hated the kid. Dick loved the kid. Terry was convinced someone up there hated him. 

 

To make matters even worse word had gotten out that Terry was also Bruce’s biological child and since he was older than Damian that somehow made him Batman’s heir. Nevermind the fact that Dick was Bruce’s eldest or that Terry never wanted to be recognized as Bruce’s kid in the first place. This did not sit well with Talia who became, as Spoiler put it, a grown woman throwing a temper tantrum and suddenly he was number one on the League of Shadows’ hit list. Damian went from annoying to actually trying to kill him to secure his place at the top.

 

Dick was the only one who seemed to be able to calm the little brat down. God bless his boyfriend and his saint like patience. Even so this was starting to create a strain in their relationship. Dick was convinced the little Demon Spawn had good in him and just needed some tender loving care to help bring it out. Terry was convinced he was being punished.

 

As for Bruce…he was trying, he really was. The problem was he and Damian were both so similar and different that it was hard for them to relate to each other. Terry was reminded of Connor and Superman's early relationship but wisely decided not to bring it up. 

 

And then it happened. Four years after Terry had landed in this strange dimension there was an all out war for the planets with Darkseid bent on unleashing his anti-life equation. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman all fought bravely but one of them never made it home. Bruce was struck down with Darkseid’s Omega Beams but in a move that was pure Batman, took down the Lord of Apokolips with him by blinding him with his own weapon.

 

It was a very hard time for everyone, especially the Batfamilly. Dick spent most of time keeping the family together and Terry spent most of his time consoling his boyfriend who had just lost a father for the second time. Alone with Terry was the only time he let himself break down. Terry just wished he could do more.

 

In Bruce’s will he gave custody of Damian to Dick which was a surprise to no one. What was surprising was that not only didn’t Talia fight the will she up and disowned her own son. While he wasn’t thrilled to know Damian was now a permanent part of their lives Terry was starting to see what Dick had been trying to show them all this time. Damian was a child, a child with no childhood who had just lost his father. Before, all he saw was a demon child and even though the kid tried to put on a brave face all Terry could see was his little brother Matt after they had lost theirs.

 

This didn’t make the kid any easier to deal with but Terry was trying to be more patient with him.

 

He wasn’t the only one of Bruce’s kids suffering however. Tim was driving himself crazy, convinced Bruce wasn’t really killed that night and had been sent to another dimension. And while it did sound crazy Terry was living proof that not only was it possible but finding him, while slim, was possible as well. 

 

Dick was skeptical but didn’t want to write off Tim’s theory so quickly. He agreed to help and assigned Signal and Spoiler as his assistant. Also to report back to him if it looked like Tim was getting himself in too deep.

 

But in the meantime, Batman was dead and the Rogues were starting to catch on. They needed a new Batman and quickly. While Dick seemed to be the best choice to take up his father’s mantal it was clear he had no desire to don the cowl. That's when Terry decided it was time to become Batman again.

 

Terry had to admit it felt good to take back the mantle he had left behind in his old world. He just wished it didn’t come at Bruce’s expense. The Rogues weren't fooled though, clearly this wasn’t the same Batman but they quickly learned this new one was no push over. He fought dirty too.

 

But the change was not welcomed by everyone. Talia had sent nearly the entire League of Shadows after him and her new mutant son after Damian. Seems he had failed to kill his older brother and was now a failure in his mother’s eyes so she sent the Heretic out to kill both of them.

 

They caught Terry and Damian unaware and they were forced into the Labyrinth to try and evade the legion. Terry was also trying to keep the kid alive while they waited for reinforcements.

 

“Let me go, you coward!” Damian bellowed as he tried to run back to the waiting army. “If I must die I shall die facing my enemies not running from them.” It was times like these when he wanted to hug/strangle this kid. No one this young should be, “ready to die”.

 

“Well I’m not ready to just give up but there are too many, we need to fight smarter.” The child scoffed.

 

“These are some of the best trained assassins the world has ever seen you’re either better or dead.”  Terry rolled his eyes.

 

“The Batfamily has fought them before and won.”

 

“It’s no victory if you let your enemies live.”

 

“You’re wrong about that,” he said in a softer voice. “There is no victory in death. Bruce believed that with his entire being.”

 

“And where did that get him?” Terry didn’t rise to the bait. The kid was hurting and lashing out. He could understand that to a point. “Besides, I barely even knew my father. Nothing he could teach me now.”

 

“That’s not true. Look, I know it’s not fair. It’s not fair you lost your father before really getting to know him. It’s not fair your mother’s written you off or that you never got to be a kid.” He tried placing a hand on his shoulder but Damian shoved it away.

 

“Don’t patronize me and don’t treat me like some weak little child.” He turned around avoiding Terry’s gaze. “You don’t know me at all.” Terry sighed.

 

“You’re right, I don’t have the patience Dick has. I haven’t given you a fair chance either. But if he sees something good in you then maybe I should look harder.” Damian scoffed again.

 

“Grayson may be trained by Father but he is too sentimental. It’s no surprise you took the cowl from him.” At this Terry had to respond.

 

“I didn’t take the cowl from him, I took it for him.” Damian didn’t seem to believe him.

 

“Yet you seemed pleased when you donned the cowl. I heard you took it from our Father in your world as well.”

 

“I took the suit to avenge MY Father. It didn’t have anything to do with legacies or battling for the title. But Like Bruce and Dick I just wanted to do something right.” Damian still didn’t believe him. “This was also a way I could prove to myself that I wasn’t just some troubled kid, and that I could do some good in the world.”

 

“And yet you gave up that world just to be with Grayson. I take it back, your emotions make you both weak.” But Terry just smiled. He was starting to see through the kid’s angry mask.

 

“That’s something you’ll understand when you’re older.” Damian blushed but Terry didn’t comment. “But you know, it’s not weak to show someone you care about them.” Damian was about to comment when a portion of the assassins caught up to them. 

 

Hiding in the Labyrinth was a good idea; it made their enemy split up to find them and now they didn’t have a whole army to deal with. Thank God they kept the map.

 

As they fought the smaller group Damian may or may not have relented and said Terry’s battle strategy was a good one. 

 

They ran into a bit of trouble when the Heretic found them. It was a tough battle but for a while it looked like they were winning. That is until the Heretic found an opening and aimed to run his sword directly through Damian. But instead of facing an honorable death in battle he found himself pushed out of the way. A pained groan caught his attention. He looked up to see Terry, while avoiding being impaled, had received a nasty gash in his side and was bleeding profusely.

 

The Heretic stood up and pointed toward Damian. “Mother is giving you one last chance, little brother. Finish off our older sibling so I may take the mantle of the Batman. Only then will you be granted mercy and be allowed to work for her favor again.”

 

The sword was lying at his feet. He picked it up and looked back at Terry. Months ago he would have killed the boy no question but knowing what he meant to Grayson was giving him pause. It shouldn't matter what Grayson would think, it shouldn’t matter that he had taken him in when his own mother had disowned him. Because that could change, he could regain his mother’s favor; he just had to kill his older brother who wasn’t even really his brother. So why was he hesitating?

 

Terry saw the boy was conflicted and a spark of hope blossomed. Not for his sake but for Damian’s. Looks like Dick was onto something. “You want to know what being Batman really means? It’s this. Protecting the lives of not only your friends and family but also strangers and even your enemies. That is the legacy your Father left behind. So, are you going to honor it or let it die here?”

 

The Heretic was getting impatient with Damian’s indecision. “I knew you were weak, brother. Even after Mother offered you mercy!”

 

“A parent’s love…shouldn’t come with strings.” Terry argued back, his breathing becoming labored. “If you have to be perfect to keep her happy then…you never will.” Damian still didn’t move.

 

“So be it.” The Heretic said, turning towards Terry. “If you can’t finish the simplest of tasks then I shall!” Terry braced himself but he knew he wasn’t going to be able to dodge the blow in time. However, the blow never came. When he looked up he saw Damian blocking the Heretic's sword with his own.

 

“Traitor!” The monster screamed now focusing all his energy on the young boy.

 

“She betrayed me first. She should be begging for my favor!” The two exchanged blows back and forth but it was clear Damian was at a disadvantage. Before long he was knocked off his feet and at the mercy of the behemoth. 

 

“Farewell brother-” but before he could land the finishing blow a small stick threw through the air and struck his head with such precision that he instantly fell to the ground knocked out cold. For a moment Damian thought Terry had taken advantage of the distraction until he saw Dick running up to them from the entryway.

 

“Damian! Terry, are you two OK?” He suit was shredded in places with nicks and cuts all over his body. It was clear he had fought his way here but there were dozens of other assassins behind them surely he didn’t take them all out.

 

Dick saw that Damian was relatively OK but Terry had a nasty gash in his side. He tore off parts of his suit to try and tie off the wound but he was quickly running out of fabric. Wordlessly Damian offered Dick his cloak. When Dick smiled at him he felt a weird warming sensation in his chest he only ever got from his mother and only when he had surpassed her expectations. Why was something so simple generating that same feeling he wondered?

 

“Thanks Damian,” Terry said as Dick dressed his wounds. “Nightwing was running out of clothes.” He looked back to his boyfriend. “We almost went from doctoring to playing doctor.” Damian cocked his head.

 

“Why would he be playing, you are in serious need of medical attention?” Dick gently slapped Terry on the side of his head.

 

“I’m trying to uncorrupt him, not corrupt him more.” Terry just smiled as Damian tied up the Heretic to avoid any nasty surprises. Nightwing contacted Batgirl who found them a quicker way out. She also said Red Hood and Batwoman were finishing up that last of the assassins while Batwing made sure they could get Terry medical help as quickly as possible.

 

As they made their way back Damian was struck by the shere number of assassins defeated and unconscious. True, Grayson did look like had run the gambit but…

 

“How is it Grayson that in all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never shown this amount of skill or tenacity?” Dick just smiled.

 

“I had no choice, my boys were in trouble.” Damian looked again, still seeing more and more defeated opponents.

 

“So that's it, you’ve been playing the fool to lower your enemies into a false sense of security.” Terry rolled his eyes but smiled as well. “It seems I may have something to learn from you after all, Grayson.”

 

Just before the group made their way outside their path was blocked by a man. A man named Ra's al Ghul. Terry swore as Dick readied himself to defend his family but Ra’s held out a hand.

 

“I do not come with the intention of fighting. I am merely here to clean up my daughter’s mess.” Terry raised an eyebrow.

 

“So she just went off the rails with Daddy’s credit card? You had no say in any of this?” Terry was more than skeptical. Ra’s was one of the few villains from Bruce’s era he had the privilege of fighting. He was not a fan.

 

“The loss of the Detective affected me deeply. I was in a state of mourning. As such I offer my condolences to you and your family.” Terry was about to say something a little less polite but Dick gave him a look that told him to keep his mouth shut. “I’m afraid Talia’s grief was more severe than I realized. Even so her actions were unbecoming of an Al Ghul. She will be reprimanded accordingly.” Terry didn’t know what that meant but was a little afraid to ask.

 

“That being said, well done to you three and the rest of your clan. I can see the Detective’s legacy is in good hands.” Again there was that friend/enemy thing Bruce and Ra’s always seemed to have. Terry wasn’t sure keeping it up would be a good thing in the long run though.

 

“As for you young Damian, it seems you have made your choice. Learn well from your father’s sons and become an even stronger Al Ghul.” and just like that he disappeared and the medical team arrived to take care of Terry.

 

Terry’s wound was not as severe as it looked. The technology in the suit had sped up his healing before he even got to the treatment center. A few days later Terry was allowed to leave. He and Dick were staying at the manor with Damian while also trying to keep up with Gotham. Terry was supposed to be resting but Dick was not surprised to see him chomping at the bit ready to bolt.

 

“I know I know,” Dick said, bringing him some soup. “But give it a few more days before you ignore the Doctor's order. We’ve got you covered so please don’t pop a stitch.” Terry sighed and flopped back into bed.

 

“I know you do but it’s just so…” Dick pushed a few strands of hair out of Terry’s face.

 

“I know.” Deciding to distract his boyfriend Dick changed the subject. “So what happened between you and Damian down there? He’s been…”

 

“Less terrible?” Dick frowned at him. “Kidding. I just figured out what you had already known since he got here. He’s a kid, one who really needs someone in his corner.” Dick grinned ear to ear.

 

“See, I told you I was right.”

 

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s still terrible but…maybe he’s not the spawn of a demon like we thought.”

 

“Wait, we?”

 

“Meaning everyone but you.” Dick stuck out his tongue.

 

“Speaking of which, I’ve been giving it some thought and I think he would benefit with some on the job training.”

 

“You mean, adding him to the Batfamily?” Terry asked hesitantly. “I don’t know.”

 

“I’d be the main one training him.”

 

“What, like your own little Robin?” Dick paused. Tim was still on his crusade to find Bruce. It didn’t feel right to just make him give up the title while he was still vulnerable.

 

“Not Robin. I was thinking more like-” suddenly there came a loud disgusted yelp from Damian’s room.

 

“AAHGH!” Dick looked confused but Terry looked a little sheepish.

 

“What was that about?” Terry rubbed the back of his neck.

 

“I think he just looked up what, “Playing Doctor” meant.”

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Back in Terry’s original world a very tired Dick Grayson shuffled into his apartment above the “Out of the Nest” Aerials training center. When Tim had called him over a week ago asking for help finding Terry he never expected this would be the outcome. They had pulled off a number of miracles in his time but finding the boy in an infinite number of alternate dimensions was still a tall order. They had pulled it off only for Terry to choose to remain where he was. His decision had shocked pretty much everyone there, Bruce especially. 

 

The comments about father and son did not go unnoticed by Dick or Tim. After a bit of prying they learned Terry was Bruce’s biological son via a Cadmus experiment. Dick wasn’t sure who he was more angry at those bastards at Cadmus for screwing with people’s lives, again, or Bruce for not telling the kid in person. He had to leave after hearing that.

 

Once again he was impressed that the kid had decided to stay in the other dimension where he was happy. True, it was a little weird that he fell in love with his younger counterpart but he wasn’t one to judge. More than once he put his own happiness on hold for the sake of the mission and where did that leave him? Props to Terry for making a choice for himself and sticking to it. It was about time one of them had a happy ending.

 

Max told them she was going to inform his family. Apparently Terry had made a farewell Vid in case there was ever a mission he didn’t come back from. Part of him wanted to go with her but every time he gets involved with stuff like this it ends in disaster.

 

As he passed the kitchen he debated if he should try to eat something or just collapse into bed when his phone went off. He was tempted to ignore it but as he glanced down he saw who it was.

 

“Barbara?” Why was she calling him? They haven’t spoken in years save for the Hush investigation and that was all business.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey Dick, sorry to call you so late.”

 

“It’s fine Commissioner, how can I help you?” There was a pause on the other end. Was Commissioner too formal? He honestly wasn't sure how to act around her after all this time.

 

“I…have a favor to ask. I know you just got done helping Bruce but…” Dick pinched the bridge of his nose. So, this was about Bruce again. Old friend or not he was done cleaning up Bruce’s messes.

 

“If you’ve been briefed then you know that yes we found Terry and the kid decided to stay where he landed. I have no intention of dragging him back-”

 

“It’s not about Terry or Bruce. It’s about you.” That was a surprise. What could she possibly want from him?

 

“Just spit it out Babs.” He said slipping back to her old nickname without noticing. 

 

“Alright, are you alone?” Sure he was alone, he’s been alone for a really long time now.

 

“Yes, the whole building is closed for renovation.”

 

“You remember the Hush incident?”

 

“Oh Lord, don’t tell me he’s back.”

 

“No, he’s still missing presumed dead.” They both knew what that meant. “We were following a lead and found a facility presumably belonging to Cadmus. Unfortunately they must have been tipped off just about everything in there was destroyed.”

 

“And what did you find?” There was another pause. He wished she would stop beating around the bush. Whatever this was was big and he was getting nervous.

 

“I don’t know how to tell you this but we found another clone…of you.” Dick slammed his fist down on the counter cracking the surface.

 

“WHAT!”

 

“There was only one survivor, looks like there were dozens of them to start with but they initiated a kill command.” Dick felt like he was going to be sick.

 

“So Waller just committed mass murder just to keep her hands clean?”

 

“Looks that way, of course proving it is going to be a little tough.” Dick wasn’t surprised at all. Waller always did think she was the hero of her own story. Even if she tended to cause more harm than good.

 

“What about the one that survived? Is he capable of testifying?”

 

“That’s why I called you, I haven’t included him in my report yet.” Dick was starting to get that sinking feeling.

 

“May I ask why?”

 

“Dick, this…being has very little programming, just your memories. If I put him in my report he’ll be shunted off to a lab and knowing Waller, he’ll be reclaimed or lost. I…I can’t do that to him. It would be like if you woke up and told you weren’t the real Dick Grayson and…” Dick understood how she felt, while Hush had been psychotic he was literally made that way. If what she said was true then this new clone was just another innocent victim. He had a feeling he knew what she was going to ask him.

 

“Alright, we need to meet up face to face. You might as well bring him with you, I know you’re going to ask if he can stay…You’re already on the roof aren’t you.” He could swear he felt her smile through the phone.

 

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She was indeed on the roof with the clone and one other officer she swore could be trusted. The clone was dressed in a spare police academy shirt and track pants, with no shoes. He felt like he was looking at an old photo album as his younger face stared back at him with a nervous expression. The poor kid looked like his whole world had been turned upside down and it was pretty much the truth. He held out his hand trying to appear friendly.

 

“Nice to meet you, my name’s Dick Grayson.” The clone shuttered as he realized this was indeed the real Dick Grayson.

 

“God it’s true…you’re really…then I’m really...” sensing he was on the verge of a panic attack he backed away giving him some space. He encouraged the clone to try and match his breathing and he began to calm down. After another few minutes they all went inside with the officer staying on the roof acting as lookout.

 

Dick gave everyone a cup of coffee (sleep would have to wait) and he gave the clone a bowl of Crocky Crunch cereal.

 

“For the love of Pete!” Barbara exclaimed, giving Dick an annoyed look. “You still eat like a 10 year old.” Dick shrugged as the clone took an experimental bite.

 

“Just the cereal and it’s not like I have it everyday.” The clone seemed to recognize the familiar taste and started to dig in. “Well, at least not most days.” Barbara rolled her eyes as the clone finished the bowl and cautiously held it out asking for seconds. Dick was smirking now more than he had in years.

 

After the clone was fed they told him the whole story. How Cadmus had stolen Dick’s DNA and used it to try and set up another Batman should Gotham ever needed one. They also explained how Hush had escaped and nearly destroyed the city trying to become said Batman. And while it was hard to hear they told him about him being the sole survivor of the Cadmus clone massacre. It was a lot to take in but neither one wanted hidden secrets to come to the surface without context. 

 

“So,” the clone began. “Are you sure that was the only facility with…beings like me?” Barbara hummed.

 

“We’re still investigating that. Hush was in a different facility than the rest of you. Knowing Cadmus and Waller it wouldn’t surprise me if there were more.” The clone was quiet for a moment.

 

“And…what if they left me…on purpose?” Dick admitted he’d been thinking the same thing. With Terry being gone it was possible Waller was setting them up for a new Batman but…

 

“While it’s possible, Waller wouldn’t know that Terry isn’t coming back.” Barbara nodded.

 

“The way we found you…it looked like the automatic kill switch was supposed to kill anything organic in the room. One of the other pods broke off and landed in front of yours blocking you from the worst of it. It truly does look like an accident.” Both Dick and the clone were willing to accept Barbara's detective work.

 

“With that being said we need to find a cover story for you, as well as a new name.” Barbara said. The clone seemed to bristle at that but remained quiet. Dick sighed, he knew where this was going after all.

 

“Not much choice, you look too much like me for no one not to notice. For the time being you’ll stay here posing as my long lost son.”

 

“You don’t think that’s a little far fetched?” the clone asked as Barbara smiled.

 

“With the way Dick gets around I’m surprised he hasn’t already had a few kids knocking at his door.” Dick gave her a scandalous look while the clone blushed.

 

“I don’t sleep around that much. Besides, I’m always careful.” Barbara was going to retort but the clone was clearly getting uncomfortable.

 

“OK OK! Long lost son it is! Can we please not talk about…our sex life?” It was easy to forget the clone had the same memories as Dick although this one seemed a little on the shy side. Dick was many things but not shy. Interesting.

 

“As for my name can’t I just be Dick Jr.” but Dick shook his head.

 

“There has to be a reason I never mentioned you to anyone before now. If your mother named you after me it would be weird that she didn’t tell me.” Dick thought for a moment. “Why don’t you pick a name?” The clone thought for a few moments before answering.

 

“How about…Thomas? Maybe Tommy for short.” Dick raised an eyebrow.

 

“Any reason why?”

 

“Well, I was going to pick John after my-I mean your dad but I guess I can’t for the same reason I can’t be Dick. Thomas…just feels right for some reason.” Dick smiled.

 

“Thomas it is then.”

 

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Thomas had been living with Dick for about a week when he got the call. He knew it was only a matter of time before Bruce stuck his nose in where it wasn’t wanted. Dick tried to ignore him but after the third time Thomas picked up the phone.

 

“Hello?” Dick slapped a hand against his head.

 

“...Dick?”

 

“No, this is his son Thomas. Dad’s…busy at the moment.” Bruce was quite on the other end and Thomas was starting to think he’d hung up.

 

“You’re the one Commissioner Gordon brought it aren’t you?” Thomas felt weird hearing Bruce sounding so old, so broken. He knows he never really met the man but he still feels sorry for him.

 

“Yes, she was the one who helped me find my father after my mom passed away.” He stuck to the cover story over the phone. Bat paranoia was permanently drilled in.

 

“Nice to meet you Thomas, perhaps we could meet n person one day.” Dick was frantically waving his arms to try and discourage the boy. “But right now I really need to talk to Dick.” Dick was shaking his head no. “Tell him it’s about his suit, the one he left here.” Before Dick could leave Thomas shoved the phone in his face giving him a look.

 

Dick sighed and took the phone. The kid would have to learn the hard way about Bruce, he certainly did. 

 

“What is it, old man?” He didn’t bother asking how Bruce knew about Thomas and Barbara’s involvement. It would be more of a surprise if he didn’t know.

 

“It’s about your suit, the one you left behind.”

 

“I left it behind for a reason, do what you want with it I have no intentions of-”

 

“It’s been stolen.” Dick swore startling Thomas a little. 

 

“You really need better security. Why didn’t Ace stop them?”

 

“Ace knew them.” Suddenly Dick knew just who it was who stole his suit.

 

“Son of a-!” He sprinted to the door, Thomas hot on his heels.

 

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Max raced to the exit of the burning building, a child held protectively in her arms. She had gotten turned around a few times but there was the door. Suddenly a steel beam fell through the ceiling blocking her path. She swore as she tried to find another way out.

 

“Max!” Some called from her left. “Can you get to the window over here?” She saw it but it was surrounded by flames. She quickly covered the child with the wet blanket she found and ran towards the window. To her surprise a large set of hands grabbed her and helped her out before she could even reach it.

 

He took the child from her and rushed them over to the waiting paramedics. Once they were out of sight he rounded on her. 

 

“What in the nine hells were you thinking Max!” She was weaning his old Nightwing costume or rather the one Bruce had made for him after he’d been shot. “You and that kid almost died!”

 

“Someone has to help now that Terry’s gone. You’re all retired so-”

 

“Putting on a suit with no training doesn't make you an instant hero!”

 

“Really, because that’s pretty much how Terry did it.” Dick threw his hands up in frustration.

 

“That suit is an older model; it doesn't have half the protection the current Batsuit does.” Max raised an eyebrow.

 

“You sure this was your suit because this thing is so armored yet lightweight I could pretty much take a hit from a tank and be perfectly fine.” Dick paused as he got a good look at the suit. It was different from the ones he used to wear. Max was right, this thing was way ahead of its time, it may have even been the prototype for Terry’s suit. 

 

And this was the one Bruce wanted him to have even before he upgraded himself. Damn it Bruce! Suddenly he realized someone was missing.

 

“Wait, where's Thomas?”

 

“Who?”

 

Suddenly the second floor of the building exploded but just before the explosion a masked figure carrying a man leaped from the window spinning and gracefully flying through the air landing perfectly in front of the stunned paramedics. He placed the man on the gurney before disappearing into the night. 

 

Max watched in awe as Grayson watched with a hint of nostalgia and sadness. That was him in his prime. It was one thing to watch it on old Vid footage, it was another to see it in person. Thomas appeared behind them a moment later.

 

“And what were you thinking?” Dick said, now rounding on Thomas as he took the wet rag off his face.

 

“Saving that man, what does it look like?” The frustrating part was he couldn’t really argue with…himself. He would have done the same if he was still physically able. But now he had two young potential vigilantes and Bruce had been calling him for the last 5 minutes. Sighing, he answered the phone.

 

“Don’t say it. We’ll be right over.”

 

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For years he had managed to avoid Bruce and all of his Batman nonsense. Ever since Terry rekindled the mantle however, he kept finding himself getting dragged in. That’s why he was here now to put an end to all this nonsense. But before he could say anything Max spoke up.

 

“You can take the suit away if you want. I’ve studied it enough to make one of my own. With some cool upgrades if I do say so myself.” Dick felt a headache coming on.

 

“Out of the question.” said Bruce and as much as he hated to admit it Bruce was right.

 

“You can’t really stop me, you know.” Bruce disagreed.

 

“We could turn you over to the police.”

 

“And I can out you as Batman.”

 

“I have a contingency plan for that.”

 

“Please I can hack-”

 

“Enough!” Dick shouted, his headache becoming more noticeable. “Look Max, you’re right. We can’t stop you but this job is dangerous even if you are trained. You almost got yourself killed tonight.”

 

“It didn’t stop Terry from risking his life every night.” she paused for a moment, her voice becoming quieter. “He did so much for this city and only a handful of people will ever know about it. I’m not mad that he chose to be with the one he loved but I’m a little sad to know I’ll never see him again. His Mom…just be glad you weren’t there. She was more upset that she didn’t piece together that her son was Batman. I don’t think she approved but she was proud. Matt was just…really quiet the whole time.” She walked over to the suit wall where Terry’s suit was now back in its case. “He’s earned a happy life but someone else needs to take over for him.” Bruce had gone quiet wanting to object but not sure what to say.

 

“I can do it.” Thomas’s voice spoke out, breaking through the silence. Dick snapped his head back to look at his clone. He was so quiet most of the time he would often blend into the background. “I’ll be the new Batman.” Bruce was still quiet but Dick had something to say.

 

“We talked about this, remember Thomas? You are your own person, you don’t have to follow Cadmus’ programming.” They had briefed Max about the new Dick Grayson clone on the way. Dick had been trying to determine just how much programming was involved to avoid another Hush scenario. As it turns out he seemed to be missing the last few years of Dick’s Nightwing career. He wasn’t mad at Bruce in fact he seemed confused why the older one was. Dick had explained as best he could even showing him his old bullet ridden suit but he wasn’t sure how much the clone understood of this complicated situation.

 

“I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and programming or not Gotham does need a Batman. When I saw the fire and realized there was someone still inside I just knew I had to save him. When I did it felt…right. Maybe that’s the programming, maybe it’s your instinct and maybe it’s me. I can't say for sure but are you telling me these instincts are wrong?” Dick didn’t have anything to say to that. Thomas, despite being a clone, was showing that he did have his own personality. It was an encouraging sign, at least to Dick.

 

“I still don’t know.” 

 

“Then retrain me.” Thomas said, then pointed to Max. “You could train her too.” Now all eyes were on Max as she looked back, her jaw dropping open. “After all Batman should have a partner and she seems to want to help people as much as I do.” Max seemed touched by Thomas' words but Bruce finally found his voice.

 

“No, the reign of Batman is over. I’m not putting any more lives on the line for the sake of the mission.” While Dick still agreed he could see that was the wrong thing to say.

 

“Well then, we’ll make new hero identities.” Thomas said with a straight face challenging the former Batman. Bruce clenched his jaw but Dick relented and put a hand on his former mentor’s shoulder. 

 

“Bruce, I don’t like this any more than you do but we both know how stubborn I can be.” Thomas crossed his arms with a satisfying smirk. “The way I see it we could either guide them like you did with Terry or let them go off on their own like the Teen Titans.”

 

Bruce did not look happy with either option. Trying to defuse the situation Max compromised.

 

“A trial period. Pass or fail and I’ll back down if you really think I can’t handle it.” Thomas was quick to agree but Bruce still felt  like he was being manipulated.

 

“I’ll handle the training Bruce.” Dick offered surprising his old mentor. “Three months and we’ll report back.” Maybe it was a little selfish but agreeing meant Dick would come back. He did have a point though. He didn’t want either of these two out on the streets untrained or with old intel.

 

“Fine.” Bruce said through clenched teeth. “Three months training and you’ll be tested. If you fail and still decide to go out on your own I’ll wash my hand of you.” The other three agreed and left shortly their after. Bruce sat alone in the cave wondering why the hell does he keep torturing himself by doing this again and again. He agreed to the three months because he was not yet ready. It was too soon after Terry. 

 

He should be happy for him but was he so miserable that he’d rather stay in another world than with him? That wasn’t fair and he knew it. He himself might not have even become Batman if things had worked out with Andrea. He looked up expecting to see Terry's suit hanging in the case only to see a blank spot where it was supposed to be. Bruce didn’t know whether to be upset or impressed that Thomas had managed to swipe it without him noticing. The kid might make a good Batman yet.

 

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Three month came and went and Bruce had to admit Dick did a good job training the new Batman and Nightwing. Thomas was especially impressive but it was obvious his fighting style was different from Terry’s. Others were bound to notice this wasn’t the same Batman. Thomas didn’t seem worried, he said it was good for the criminal to realize even if Batman is taken out then they’ll be another to replace him. Bruce wasn’t comfortable with that line of thinking.

 

As for Max she could use a little more work but she worked well with Thomas and they were becoming fast friends. And so they made their debut as the new Batman and Nightwing. Dick was in the Batcave with Bruce as they monitored their proteges' progress. He had been waiting for an opportunity to talk to his wayward son but now that he was here he didn’t know what to say. So he kept it business related hoping for a response.

 

“So, did you reprimand Thomas for stealing the suit?” Dick laughed softly.

 

“Yeah, gave him the whole, “Stealing is wrong.” speech. Then complimented him for getting it past you.” Bruce gave him a weak smile back.

 

“I see Max updated your old suit.” Dick’s eye was fixed on the screen not looking at Bruce.

 

“It was never my suit. I never went back to claim it.” Bruce waited for him to continue but when he didn’t he figured Dick didn’t want to talk any further.

 

“Damn it Bruce, why do you always have to make things so difficult for everyone including yourself?” Bruce tried to think of a way to respond but he was drawing a blank.

 

“For months I waited in that hospital room for you to visit and all I got was my old suit and an invasion to come back and play soldiers again! Do you have any idea how much that hurt?”

 

“I didn’t think you’d want to see me after what my actions caused. I was hoping the new suit would encourage you to get better.” Dick closed his eye trying to fight back the tears he had long since spent. “I did come to see you though.” Dick’s eye snapped open but didn’t leave the monitor. “I was worried the security wouldn’t be enough so I kept watch outside every night.” Dick covered his face with his hands.

 

“Bruce you’re an idiot.”

 

“I know.”

 

“Why can’t you be like a normal person and just tell me. Yes I would have been mad, justifiably so, but it would have been better than the heartbreak of thinking I meant nothing to you.”

 

“You mean the world to me I just…never know how to express it.”

 

“Some people talk it out, some people make them bulletproof suits.” He wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time. But he had been here before. “You always do this. You show a little bit of humanity then back away and let the other person think they're not worth your time.” He started pacing the room more frustrated than ever before.

 

“I can’t keep doing this Bruce. We just keep hurting each other and neither of us want that.” Bruce took a deep breath. During those three months he had done some research and come to a conclusion. I was one he wasn’t comfortable with but Dick was right they did just keep hurting each other and it needed to stop.

 

“What if…we got someone to help us.”

 

“Are you thinking of expanding the roster again?”

 

“No, not for Batman, for us.” Dick still looked confused so Bruce elaborated. “What if we saw a psychiatrist?” Dick was sure he heard wrong. Bruce never liked asking anyone for help and his hatred of psychiatrists was well known.

 

“You can be serious. The Bruce I know would never go to one to save his own life.”

 

“My life no, what’s left of our relationship…yes” Dick blinked and looked back at Bruce trying to find any hints of a joke.

 

“You really mean that? I’m not going to show up only to find you’ve got something better to do?” Bruce sighed.

 

“I can’t make you do anything. If you don’t think this will help then maybe-” but Dick stopped him.

“Wait, if you’re serious about this then…I’m willing to give it a try. I don’t know what good will come of it but the fact that you’re putting in an effort…”      

 

They were interrupted by the sound of the Batplane docking in its station. Bruce looked back at Dick with a sad smile on his face. 

 

“A week ago I dreamed I saw Terry again. It didn’t make much sense but he did tell me to get off my ass and get some real help.” Dick laughed as Thomas and Max climbed out of the jet hi-fiving each other.

 

“Think maybe Terry was sending you a message across dimensions?”

 

“I doubt it, Black Canary was the psychiatrist.”

 

“Then maybe it was your brain telling you to get a clue.”

 

“Perhaps” 

 

The new Batman and Nightwing exchanged stories of their first adventure together while Bruce and Dick pointed out all the ways they could improve. They took the criticism with dignity but also with a few eye rolls when they thought they weren’t being watched.

 

Thomas was also asking Dick what he should do about work since he technically had no paperwork. They had spent much of their last 3 months training but didn’t like the idea of being a freeloader. Dick offered him a job helping around his newly reopened gym until Bruce could fudge a few things. Max offered to take Terry’s old job as Bruce’s assistant. She said it would look great on her resume.

 

With the business all settled the two new heroes went home for some well earned rest. Dick stayed behind when he noticed Bruce staring at the empty case where Terry’s old suit was.

 

“Leave it empty.” Dick said from the doorway. “Terry’s still wearing the suit just in another dimension.” 

 

“It still feels strange seeing it empty.” Dick sighed.

 

“When we have our first appointment I’ll bring you his picture in a frame to hang there.” He continued walking up the stairs. “If that’s not too normal for you.” Bruce couldn’t help but smile.

 

The next day Matt McGinnis knocked on Bruce Wayne’s door. He had a sinking feeling he knew where this was going.

 

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Back in Terry’s new home a month had passed since Talia’s little temper tantrum. Most of the assassins were arrested but the Heretic was noticeably absent. It looked like Ra’s had taken him from the labyrinth but they couldn’t be sure. Terry was back as Batman and quickly making a name for himself. They had even started calling him Batman Beyond because he seemingly came out of nowhere. Dick liked the name, Terry hoped it wouldn’t stick.

 

Robin, Signal and Spoiler had been searching for some trace of Bruce for sometime now. After many fruitless searches they had come up empty and Tim seemed to be getting more and more desperate. After a long session with Black Canary Tim agreed to follow his one last lead and if nothing came of it he would properly mourn Bruce. He trusted that if he was lost out there somewhere he’d find his way home. They were following that lead now. 

 

Meanwhile Nighwing officially made Damian his partner. Now known as Flamebird, Damian was learning how to be a hero and leader. He also said that this was training so he could defeat Terry and take his rightful place as Batman. Terry was learning to be more patient with him.

 

Right now though they had a mission, one that Terry wasn’t looking forward to. He called Dick to tell him the specifics. 

 

“Nightwing you are not going to believe this but we have a very strange case on our hands.”

 

“I’ve had a lot of strange cases in my career, including another Batman that got lost in the time stream. What do you have that could top that.”

 

“Well I doubt this will have as good of an outcome as that but it is a doozy. You know your old apartment back in Bludhaven?”

 

“...don’t tell me.”

 

“Seems like some Joker cultists are trying to resurrect the old bastard.”

 

“I WAS KIDDING!” Terry laughed at the irony.

 

“You’ve worked more with magic users than I have. What are the odds they’ll actually succeed?”

 

“Um…”

 

“Forget I asked.”

 

“Let’s just get over there before Jason does.”

 

“Too late, he’s already on his way.” He could hear Dick swearing on the other end and Damian mockingly calling out.

 

“Language.” Terry had to admit while it was a rocky start the kid was on his way to becoming a hero. He was even visiting Black Canary on occasion. They couldn’t get him to go on a regular basis but they’ll take a victory where they could. 

 

Although Alfred wasn’t very happy with the amount of animals he kept trying to bring home. Some of his training led to them taking down a dog fighting ring and now they have Ace Prime. He wasn’t sure where Alfred the Cat came from but after his assassin upbringing Black Canary saw his wanting to care for animals as a very good sign. So they were now his support animal. Dick drew the line at the cow though.

 

“I’ll meet you there Dick, I’ll try to stop Jason from maiming anyone.”

 

“Will do. Good Luck!” Dick hung up as Terry directed his course to Bludhaven. When he decided to stay with Dick he had no idea his crazy family would get this big and even crazier. But he didn’t regret it. He still missed his Mother and Matt and wished he’d be able to say a proper goodbye to them. He also thought about Old Bruce. He hoped things were OK with him. Despite all their disagreements he still cared about him. Maybe his absence would bring him and Mr. Grayson together, perhaps not. All he could do was hope.

 

He glanced down at his shoulder bag for the hundredth time that day. There was something important inside, something for Dick. There was a question he had been trying to ask for ages but it never seemed to be the right time. He had come to the conclusion that there would never be a perfect time. Neither of them were perfect, they were chaotic and messy and that was just the way they were. The timing didn’t matter just the answer and he doubted it was a “no”.

 

After this mission it would be time for him to buckle down…and Make a Move.

The End