I just want to say: I don't own Batman, or Bruce Wayne, or Nightwing, or Dick Greyson - or any of the comic/cartoon/movie related characters !
Prologue: New Homes
Batman watched the smoke rise from the west of Gotham City. The lower class was burning. There was nothing he could do. Nightwing landed beside him and wanted to jump up straight away, but Batman stopped him. They had done all they could, now the only ones who could do something now were the firefighters. Two thousand families lost their home that day. More than ten thousand people lost heir lives. Thousands of children became infants. And Bruce Wayne could not stop thinking that he could have prevented it all.
'Sir, you have a letter from the town-hall,' Alfred said. Bruce stood up from behind his weights he had been lifting. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a white towel.
'Read it to me,' he said, still catching his breath. Alfred opened the letter and quickly read the letter. He blinked his eyes a few times then closed the letter again.
'What does it say?' Bruce asked. He could hear Dick train with the still rings in the other room.
'Since the fire destroyed so many homes and took so many parents with it, the municipality decided every family that can afford it takes one of more children in their home to take care of,' Alfred summarized.
'We cannot,' Bruce immediately said.
'I'll try to arrange something.'
'Sir,' Alfred knocked on the door and walked in. Bruce was reading the newspaper in his study.
'Alfred, did you arrange something?' he immediately asked. It was not possible to have someone in his house, not with his secret.
'Almost,' Alfred said a bit doubtful, 'at first they wanted to put four children here, three of them were very young.'
'And now?'
'We are getting one.'
'We can't,' Bruce immediately objected.
'We have to, sir,' Alfred told him, 'It is an order. Everyone has to. You should be happy I was able to arrange an seventeen year old girl.'
'You're right, thank you,' Bruce said.
'You're welcome, sir,' Alfred smiled.
'When is she coming?'
'Who's coming?' Dick walked into the room.
'Next week, sir,' Alfred said and turned around, 'A girl is coming to join the house.'
'Which means we have to be careful even in our own house,' Bruce sighed.