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Dick knew he should feel guilty. Bruce hadn't sent him into Blüdhaven, not this time. He might even be expecting him to be in Gotham, and if they called for help, Dick would be too far away to do anything in time. He knew that. He just felt so out of place trying to fight beside Bruce and Jason, and he could tell the other boy was frustrated as well. Three was a crowd, and everyone knew it but Bruce. Dick accepted now that the hero thing was in his blood, something he couldn't quit, but he didn't know how to do it right now, not with the way things were.
He was feeling stifled and closed in again, and that reminded him too much of the mission gone wrong. At least out here in Blüdhaven he felt free. He wasn't likely to cross anyone's path or step on any toes. He'd just be able to watch a city the way he used to as Robin before everything got crazy.
He settled in on a perch above a park, amused to find a lone, random gargoyle on this roof when most of Blüdhaven seemed to be without them. This was like Gotham, familiar, so he figured it was good for now.
He frowned when he saw the group clustered on the outer edge of the park. No way was that a family or anyone that should be near a playground. None of them were children or dressed for play or even a party. He knew he shouldn't stereotype, but he read gang and drug dealers from them, and he didn't like this much, especially since there was a father pushing his young kids on the swingset not far from where the deal seemed to be happening.
As if aware of that same fact, the dad stopped the swings, talking first to his daughter and then to his son. Both kids looked over at the group of men, so in spite of him talking quietly, everyone knew what he'd been talking about. Dick smiled slightly, glad that the man was taking steps to get his kids out of there even if he was angry that they'd been forced to leave. What kind of world was it where playgrounds weren't safe? Not one he wanted to be a part of, that was for sure.
He was in motion before he realized it, his body building up to the right speed to make the jump to the other roof, taking him closer to the gang. He could drop down from here, though it would probably hurt. Maybe a line to the swing set would be better. He didn't even know that he should. The gang—if they were a gang—hadn't done anything yet.
“You got a problem, mister?”
The father with the kids shook his head. “Just time to go home. My car is right over there.”
“Oh, yeah?” the apparent leader of the gang looked back at the street. “Not a bad car. Say I want those keys to it. What you gonna do?”
Pulling both kids close to him, the father took out his keys. “If you want a car like that, you need to earn it. I did. Hard labor. Construction. Twelve hour days in the hot sun.”
“Ain't my idea of work.”
“Stealing is?” the father asked, holding back the girl who seemed a bit too brave for her own good. The younger boy buried his face in his father's pants, and Dick winced. Poor guy was scared. “Look, I just wanted a nice night in the park with my kids. Let us go to our car and we'll be out of your way.”
“Ain't your car. It's mine. And if you don't hand them keys over, you're gonna die. Right in front of your kids. Poor babies. Boo hoo.”
Dick unclenched his fist and prepped his line. He didn't care if these guys hadn't done anything yet. He wasn't going to let them do it.
“My wife is a cop. You want that coming down on your head?” the man asked. “She was supposed to meet us here, but if you let us go, then you can avoid all that hassle. Trust me, the car's not worth getting killed for.”
Dick liked this guy. He was brave and reminded him a bit of John Grayson. Pushing that thought out of his head, he used the line, dropping himself down on top of the swingset as lightly as he could. The little girl looked back at him, and he put a finger to his lips, motioning for her to stay quiet even as he hoped he'd be able to keep his balance.
“Take your own advice, buddy. All the cops here is crooked and we know it. We ain't scared of them.” The leader took a step forward. “How's about we take the kid instead? Don't need two, so bullet for the one now and then you'll cough up the keys real fast.”
“You're not touching my kids,” the father growled out, and Dick moved into action, swinging off the bar and onto one of the men, using him as both a shield and a support as he flipped around to take a man out. He landed and drop-kicked another one, wincing when he heard a gun go off and a cry from one of the kids. He didn't know that he could afford to look over and see what happened. He had to focus on the fight.
Getting up, he pulled out his eskrima and used them to knock guns out of the hands of two of the thugs, ducking a shot from a third and rolling forward to start the whole thing over again. He thought about making a remark about their skills, about how this wasn't a challenge after facing the Joker, but he couldn't help thinking about the kids and if they were hurt or their father was, and he didn't have it in him to make jokes right now.
“Blüdhaven police! Drop it!” A woman ordered, and Dick used her arrival and distraction against one of the other men.
“Lady, you don't scare me. This is Blüdhaven. Everyone knows you ain't no different from us.”
“Uh, actually, I'm thinking that's Mama bear, and you really don't want to ignore her warning because you already threatened her kids and you don't want to see her angry,” Dick said. The gang leader frowned, looking back at him. He waved from the pile of the guy's men he'd made. “Oh, and there's this.”
His fist connected with the guy's face, and he crumpled, gun and all, into a nice little pile.
“Hold it.”
Dick grimaced. That was the trouble with working in a city without Batman. People assumed he was the bad guy.
“Amy,” the father said, and Dick heard pain in his voice. He looked over to see a bit of red on the man's upper arm. He figured it for a flesh wound, but it was still probably Dick's fault. “He's not the bad guy.”
“No, Mommy, he's a hero just like you,” the girl said.
“Emma,” the mother warned, moving toward her husband. She winced when she saw the blood. “Those bas—they shot you?”
“They were going to take our car and kill Daddy, but Daddy wouldn't let them take the car and then he came out of the sky and helped us. He's a hero just like Superman.”
“Not really,” Dick said. “Superman can actually fly whereas I just jump. And I can't leap tall buildings in a single bound, either. I have friends who can, though. Pretty cool.”
The girl giggled and the boy peeked his head out from behind his father. Dick gave him a small wave. The policewoman shook her head as she looked over at Dick. “I suppose you're going to tell me I owe you one and shouldn't arrest you for any of this.”
“If I was in it for money or owing favors, I'd be in it for the wrong reason. Truth is, I just have a strong dislike for seeing parents hurt in front of their kids. I also hate people who threaten kids. Probably because I'm just a big kid myself,” Dick told her. “So, yes, you can try to arrest me, but I don't think it will work out well for you.”
She watched him. “That a threat?”
“No, just an observation and insider knowledge. See, I know I've got this,” Dick said, lifting up his grappling hook and firing it off. “Nice meeting you, Amy. It's good to know there are non-crooked cops in Blüdhaven.”
He swung onto the roof and found a good spot, trying to stay out of sight as he made sure they were okay. A part of him didn't like leaving like that, not when the men he'd incapacitated could still get up and cause trouble for the family, but he couldn't stay, either. He did know one thing—he'd be watching over this park every time he came to Blüdhaven. He wouldn't mind seeing that family again.
And if the cops in Blüdhaven weren't all corrupt, and Amy was one of the good ones, then she could use all the help she could get, even if she wouldn't want it from him. He smiled to himself. He had an idea. Bruce would hate it, but he had an idea.