Summary: Damian's been working alone, though he doesn't realize it yet. Dick has been in a coma, but can't leave his little brother on his own. Damian will find out eventually that Dick was never "really" there. Pre-Reboot AU
Disclaimer: I'm a poor college grad with only debt to my name. You wanna take that off my hands? Feel free! All DC characters are property of their copyright holders.
The streets were clear, being that time of night. Normally, Dick had a clear view of them from several stories up, but tonight was different. He was enjoying being a normal person this time, having taken up an acquaintance from Hudson's offer for a weekend stay.
It was nice to be back in New Carthage for a little while… It was quiet, but without the worries of college work, or a case needing to be worked on, the town wasn't bad. A smile spread across the acrobat's lips as he caught sight of the old apartment building he had been a tenant in for a short time.
The squeal of tires behind him was ignored – he figured that it was just some of the more recent students at Hudson having a joy ride. The motor sounded much closer than it should be, even with distortion from the pulsing bass and raucous laughter. Eyes narrowed in suspicion, the acrobat turned his head to look over his shoulder – and Dick's world exploded in pain before quickly dissolving to unconsciousness.
One more dummy crashed to the floor, only to be kicked to the other side of the training area. It did not take a genius to realize that Damian was agitated beyond belief – he had been in such a mood since Grayson had left the manor on his trip.
"'I'll only be gone for a few days.' Hmph! His few days ran out yesterday..!" the angry boy scoffed. A throat was cleared from nearby, attracting his glare.
"Excuse me, Young Master, but breakfast is ready. Your father is already there, and I believe your training partners could use a rest." Alfred gave a small smile as Damian scowled and started towards the stairs. The butler fell in a couple steps behind the boy.
"-Tt- Let's hope you managed something decent for once."
"I do try."
Silence followed the two on their walk to the dining room. Normally, Damian would see no need to interrupt it, but today...
"... Has Grayson finally decided to phone in about his tardiness? Not that the idiot is of any of my concern."
"Unfortunately, we have received no word from Master Richard as of yet. However, if you like, I will inform you when we do." Alfred opened the hidden door to the study to allow Damian to exit first, then followed.
"Not like I care."
"Of course." Naturally, he would see to it that the youngest of their family stayed informed.
The inside of the clocktower had no lights on, but the sole occupant was illuminated by several screens giving her access to records, press releases, profiles, and various other samplings of information. Currently, most of the files were from New Carthage, with a radius of about 25 miles. It was official: Barbara, aka: Oracle, was worried about a certain former Boy Wonder.
"Come on... There has to be something," Barbara muttered to herself. "He was supposed to be back yesterday... If he got involved with something, he would've TOLD someone."
More useless information scrolled past as quickly as she could skim it. She had already been at it for hours, with nothing to show for it. Granted, she expected it to be hard to find evidence of a Bat anywhere, but if something had happened...
"Ah! An unidentified young man was admitted to the Kingston Hospital following what appears to be a mugging in New Carthage. Black hair, blue eyes, 5'10"... I think we found a winner here..." Barbara reached for the phone, just placing the call to Wayne Manor when her eyes caught on a detail in the report, "The John Doe is stable, but has been in a coma since arrival."
"Wayne Manor, may I help you?" Alfred, ever reliable, answered the phone on the second ring.
"Alfred, it's Barbara. I think... I think I may have found Dick."
AN: This is chapter one of what will be at LEAST a few. The next chapter actually starts things off with what has been going through my head… I just needed to establish what was going on, first. This entire story was spawned from one picture (that actually has a different meaning… but I saw the picture first, and this is what popped in my head…), the link (with spaces and quotes) added below:
"nightwing969. tumblr post/ 23110120624/ x"
Unlike my last stint at an author here, I'm not going to rely on certain amounts of reviews to post the next installment… I actually only started writing this because of a certain friend "begging me" (hahahaha). But I WOULD appreciate critiques or reviews. By the way… you have NO idea how much time I spent doing RESEARCH for just this small amount!
Wordcount of actual story: 647