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Dick was nursing a concussion.
There was no way to be sure, of course. He hadn’t had a CT scan done. In fact, he hadn’t been anywhere near an infirmary to get any of his wounds checked.
He just had enough concussions in his lifetime to recognize them easily enough. His vision was spotting white dots, and he felt so nauseous he barely landed his last jump. His head hurt every time he blinked. His body felt a thousand pounds heavier.
But Nightwing didn’t have the luxury of being concussed.
Not with a child missing.
“Nightwing,” Oracle’s voice pierced through his dizziness. Dick took a deep breath and tapped his comm, determined to not worry Babs any further.
It felt like a lifetime since she had called to tell him of Miles Hill’s abduction, but it had only been a few hours since his hunt for the kid had begun. His mother was a councilwoman, working for the city of Blüdhaven, which had been the main reason why the kidnappers targeted Miles—threatening to kill him unless ransom was paid.
Since then, he had blown out three different gangs’ hideouts, searching for any clues, until someone finally spilled the kid’s location. He also had at least one broken rib and a pounding headache to show for his efforts.
Dick pressed on his ear to tap into his com line. He stilled his voice as much as he could, ignoring the jolt of the pain that travelled from his raised arm down to his back. “I’m listening, Oracle.”
“You’re in the right place according to your tip, but I don’t have eyes inside. No working cameras or even computers for me to hack into. They seem to be communicating with this kid’s family only by burner phones and staying clear of any other technology.”
Dick took in the abandoned building and all its fifteen floors. There was no light he could see in any of them. He had no way of knowing which floor held Miles or how many people were guarding him.
Babs seemed to reach the same conclusion when she stated, “Nightwing, don’t engage. I’m sending backup your way and will continue trying to get better intel.”
He reached for the eskrimas on his back, locking his fingers around them. Their familiar weight on his hands eased his breath instantly. He readied himself for the jump he had to make.
“I can’t wait, Oracle. Miles could be dead by the time backup arrives,” he said. “I’m turning my coms off. Going in.”
He hated himself for hanging up on Babs and leaving her to worry about him, but he wouldn’t be able to get himself to leap if her voice was in his ear, reminding him of how much he had to lose if he messed this up.
Dick took a few steps back and then picked up a run, gaining momentum. He opened his arms to direct his fall, an echo of what he had done for countless nights back in the circus.
He landed.
It was the type of landing that put his family’s whole lineage of acrobats to shame, but at least it didn’t break any bones.
With what was left of his dignity, he pushed himself off the floor, ignoring his body’s painful protest. The roof's door was easy to crack open, and he started down the stairs, stopping at each floor to scan it for Miles.
He finally heard voices when he reached the eighth floor. Dick reached for the eskrimas at his back. They were a comforting weight on his hands while he carefully squeezed past the door to enter a dark hallway.
He followed the sounds into a mostly empty room, occupied by five men and Miles, tied to a chair in the middle of the open space. Dick swallowed the anger that arose within him when he noticed the tear streaks down the boy’s cheeks.
He took a deep breath and braced himself before throwing one of his eskrimas into a wall. The loud bang reverberated through the empty hallway, immediately attracting the attention of the man inside.
Dick easily caught the eskrima that ricocheted back to him. He took cover behind the door and waited for the men to come out of the room, drawn away from Miles by his distraction.
The moment the first one stepped out, Dick steadied his body and plunged forward. He knocked the man on the forehead hard enough to render him unconscious, jumping over the fallen body to kick the next thug on the chest, throwing him against the remaining three men.
When they stumbled back, Dick punched one in the stomach and electrocuted another with his eskrima. He threw an elbow to the face of the only other man still standing, who fell easily to the ground. The guy he had thrown over was back on his feet, even though he was staggering. Dick took advantage of his slow reaction to run towards him and hit his head against the wall.
Once he was sure all of them were down, he rushed into the room Miles was in. The boy was shaking, his whole body convulsing as he cried. He was clearly terrified, which probably wasn’t helped by the commotion Dick just caused in the hallway. He lifted both hands in an attempt to calm the kid, showing he was no threat to him.
“Hey, Miles, I’m here to help,” he said, kneeling down in front of the trembling boy. “I’m Nightwing.”
Miles’ mouth had fallen open when his eyes landed on Dick, his eyes blinking quickly as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“I… I know. I mean, I know you! You’re Nightwing. Oh, my god, you’re Nightwing! It’s really you!” He yelled, tilting his body forward so strongly that Dick had to catch the chair he was tied to before he could drop to the ground. He gasped in surprise when Dick carefully lowered the chair back to the ground, his cheek burning red. “But you said that already. I don’t know why I repeated it.”
Despite all odds, Dick found himself chuckling. “It’s okay, kid. Don’t worry.” He walked to the back of Miles’ chair and worked on undoing the knot that kept his hands tied behind his back. Then, he did the same to the rope that was binding his feet.
Carefully, Dick helped Miles stand up. His legs wobbled, weakened by the hours he spent without being able to move them, but eventually the boy straightened his posture, keeping himself up.
The first thing Miles did when he properly looked at him was gasp. “You’re bleeding,” he exclaimed, reaching to lay a tiny hand to his cheek. When he pulled away, it came back tainted red from a deep cut on Dick’s face that he hadn’t even registered. “You need a doctor!”
Dick couldn’t help the laugh he released. He was half worried about the danger they were in and half relieved that this kid hadn’t been severely traumatized by the mess he was currently caught up in.
“That’s the first thing I’ll do when we’re out of here, kid,” he joked, aiming for a light tone of voice. He barely managed to get the words out without grinding his teeth as the arm holding Miles ached.
“Listen, I need you to hold on to me really tight. And try not to make any noises, okay?”
The boy immediately winced. “Are we going out there? I don’t want to see them again.”
Dick laid a hand on the kid’s shoulder, trying to soothe him. “I know it’s scary, buddy, but I promise you have nothing to worry about. Do you know why?”
Miles shook his head, leaning further to hear the answer. Dick smiled at him and said, “Because you’re a friend of Nightwing. And no friend of mine ever gets hurt on my watch, okay?”
The smile Miles shot him didn’t belong in decrepit buildings and life-threatening danger. Nonetheless, it made every scrap of pain Dick endured tonight worth it.
Dick picked him up and carried Miles with one arm while he held an Eskrima with the other. Together, they made their way to the stairs. Every muscle on Dick’s body was screaming, but he didn’t stop for a moment to rest until they made it to the rooftop.
“Okay, kiddo, keep holding on tight and close your eyes. We need to make one last trip before I get you back to your mom.” Dick tried to keep his voice even as he spoke to Miles, despite the worry clawing at his insides as the exit plan formed inside his mind.
He analyzed the buildings surrounding the rooftop and located one that was closer than the others. If he wanted to get out without running into any more thugs, he needed to do it by leaping again.
He didn’t have much more energy left on him, but putting as much distance between Miles and his kidnappers was all that mattered now. When he took some distance to jump, he was surprised to find Miles wasn’t even shaking in fear, just completely comfortable trusting him with his life.
That was enough to make Dick sure he wouldn’t butcher this. There’s no world where he would let this kid get hurt.
He took off running and leaped, landing a bit more steadily than last time. He did it time and time again until he was satisfied. Dick counted about six blocks between the place he found Miles and the one he was in now.
It would do for a momentary reprieve before they kept going. Delicately, he placed Miles back on the ground. He was delighted to find him beaming with excitement, talking rapidly about how his friends would be so jealous they didn’t get to fly with Nightwing.
Dick had to bite back a laugh at that. Instead, he focused on checking Miles over and was relieved to find the kid completely unharmed from their landing. “You did really well, kid,” he complimented. “I’ll tell your mom how brave you were.”
He was rewarded with a toothy smile from Miles. He stuffed his chest with clear pride, grinning from ear to ear as if he hadn’t just been through a kidnapping. Dick was almost relaxed again when he heard the telltale sound of two booted feet grinding against the cement floor behind him.
He tensed, reaching for an eskrima instinctively, fearing they had been followed, but he quickly released it when the presence behind him spoke.
“Have you lost your goddamn mind?”
Dick knew that voice. And he certainly recognized that tone.
He released the weapon he reached for and turned around to face Batman. His dad had his arms crossed over his chest, and his cape was falling perfectly down his back in the effortless way Dick's Robin cape never quite managed to. Despite the cowl covering his upper face, the sneer he was wearing was as familiar to Dick as the rasp of his voice.
“Going offline like that? Not waiting for backup?” Bruce barked, getting closer with just two long strides. “Do you have any idea the type of danger you were in?”
“B, not now,” he pleaded. “We need to focus on getting this kid home.”
Dick looked back at Miles and softened his voice to say, “Miles, we’ll take you back to your family in no time. I promise.”
He was trying not to scare the boy too much, but the kid’s eyes weren’t on him anymore. Instead, they were transfixed by the dark figure roaming in front of them.
“You… You’re Batman,” he mumbled, his eyes bulging out in an expression of amazement.
B’s face relaxed minutely. He got down on one knee to be at Miles’ level, a kind smile on his lips that Dick had watched him dispense to countless terrified children over the years—Dick himself included.
“I am,” he confirmed. Miles lifted a hand, hovering near one of Batman’s pointy ears. He caught himself halfway through the motion, pulling it back before he could touch B’s cowl.
His dad laughed a bit hoarsely and said, “It’s okay. You can touch it if you want.”
Miles smiled back, still nervous. He grabbed hold of one of the ears, fascinated by the material and shape under his fingers. All the tension of that nightmarish day bled out of his tiny shoulders in a matter of seconds.
“Oh, this is so cool,” the kid mumbled before releasing the cowl.
“Thank you, Miles,” Bruce answered, amused. “I heard you were really brave tonight.”
Miles blushed profusely and looked down at his shoes. “Oh… I didn’t do anything. Nightwing saved me.”
Bruce’s eyes travelled to Dick’s, every bit as tempestuous as they were when he first arrived, but there was softness in them too.
“That he did,” Bruce conceded, looking back at Miles. “My son is a very brave man, but so are you.”
Miles beamed, pride radiating out of his every pore. “Thank you, Batman.”
B tapped Miles on the shoulder one last time before he got up. He turned to Dick and said, “The Blüdhven police will meet us here. They’re clearing up the scene and capturing Miles’ kidnappers. I've asked them to send a car to take Miles back to his mom.”
Miles reached for Dick’s hand without a second thought, holding on to it for dear life. Together, the two of them and Bruce leapt once again, landing in front of the commercial building Bruce had given as a meeting point for the police.
Dick didn’t let go of Miles’ hand until the sound of sirens approached.
Before going into the car, Miles threw himself at Dick, hugging him around the waist. “I’ll tell everyone at school how cool you are.”
Dick laughed, despite the pain it sparked through his ribs. “Thanks, Miles. Really appreciate it.”
With one last smile thrown his way, Miles disappeared into the car.
From the rooftop of a building across the street from the police precinct, Dick watched when Miles’ mom raced towards him and picked him up the moment he got out of the car, clutching him close to her chest. The tense line of her shoulders finally relaxed when she buried her nose into her son’s hair, inhaling in the scent that had to be unmistakably his. Bruce had opposed Dick’s resolution to follow the police car to watch said reunion, but Dick had stood his ground.
He needed that reassurance before he allowed himself to rest. His stubbornness had won out against Bruce’s for once.
For the first time in that godforsaken night, Dick let out a crooked sigh of relief. With the weight of Miles’ survival off his shoulders, his body seemed to finally catch up to the damage it had suffered.
As he watched Mile’s mom take him inside the precinct, his vision started to blur and his headache became much more pronounced. The effort it took to grapple his way to that building reaped the last of his energy.
He felt his body bending to his left, despite a brave attempt to stay upright. Before he could fall and hit the cement face-first, Bruce’s arms enveloped him, steadying his body.
“You pushed yourself too far today,” he complained. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“You’re one to talk,” Dick managed to mumble, despite the overwhelming pain.
Bruce sighed, clearly dissatisfied with Dick’s response, but said nothing else. B certainly didn’t have any right to criticize him, considering the stunts he normally pulled himself. Still, Dick had half a mind to feel guilty for worrying him and Babs so much, even if he could never regret what he did when it led Miles to safety.
Bruce supported Dick’s back with one arm and passed the other under his knees. His dad picked him up with just a slight grunt of effort, which hadn't always been there. Dick still remembered being picked up this same way as a child and feeling like he weighed nothing when Bruce’s arms held him.
With a startle, he realized Miles wasn’t the only son returned to his family tonight.
Bruce might be older, Dick might weigh more, and neither of them was who they used to be, but his father still carried him with the same single-minded focus that was so achingly familiar.
Dick laid his head against Bruce’s chest and listened to the heartbeat that had been the steering wheel of his whole life.
He didn’t think of the concussion he was bound to endure or of the argument he and Bruce would inevitably have about his reckless behavior, nor did he think of the pain, the nausea, and the misery that would follow.
B was here now. He would fix what Dick couldn’t.
It was all he needed to know.