Chapter 1: Visiting Hours

Another cloud billowed over the barrage of tall buildings. The air was cold, damp and sour.

Conner looked up at his destination; an apartment building on the East side of Büldhaven. The prickly feeling of uncertainty grew in the pit of his stomach as he stared up at the complex.

Taking a deep breath, he urged himself forward. The doors were old, he could feel the buildup of grime that settled around the edges, and the well worn sheen of metal past its prime. There was no receptionist, no phone to call up to the residents. That didn't matter though. He knew where to go. With only a moments hesitation, Conner started up the stairs. It was only four flights, yet for some reason it seemed to wind him. It's okay, He told himself.

He wouldn't send me off if I'm already here.

Not Dick.

It had been over three months since he saw his friend last. Three years since he left the team. Three years since the invasion.

The stairs were slightly sunken, the building was old after all and had seen many occupants. Conner winced at the loud creak that rang out in response to the newfound weight on the floorboards.

So much for stealth.

He stepped carefully to the right, scanning the apartment numbers as he went.

Room 418, this was the place. The place were he first played monopoly with his surrogate family till four in the morning. The place where he first got completely smashed.

It held a lot of good memories. A smile crept onto his face without permission as he silently reminisced.

Slowly, he drew in a deep breath, knocking on the wooden door before him.

One, Two, Three... He counted the seconds in his head, waiting.

At the count of eighteen, the handle turned, revealing a brush of unruly black hair, blue eyes, and a smile the average person would believe to be genuine without a doubt. The smile melted into cheerful confusion, "Conner? Didn't expect to see you here."

The boy of steel suddenly couldn't quite live up to his title. His eyes grew warm and playful, a good natured smirk accompanying it. "What? I'm not allowed to visit my friends?"

Humour flashed across Dick's face, "Correct, it's illegal. I'm afraid you're breaking the law, Mr. Kent."

The realness of his smile bloomed beneath the surface as he leaned casually against his doorframe.

They spoke as they always had. It was meaningless banter, semantics lost in a sea of uncertainty from both sides. They asked how the other had been. What the team had been up to. The occasional tease or snarky comment about one another's love life. It only lasted a few minutes, but it felt like hours.

Like they were back at the mountain, before things had gone south. At least, thats how it felt before their train of quips slowed.

"So," The vigilante started, bringing up his gaze to meet Conners, "Did you want to hang out tonight or just dropping by?"

He blinked, "I-"

And then he noticed it. All of it.

Everything wrong with the image before him.

Split knuckles and the reddish undertones of hastily covered bruises. There was a bottle sitting on the living room table, the top unscrewed and half emptied of its contents. His shoulders were ridged, and the purple beneath his eyes was far to dark to be normal, and he was squinting ever so slightly. Like someone who had lost their glasses. He hadn't heard the lock turn when the door was opened.

It all hit him at once in a blur. A split second to take it all in. "No, I was just in the area. Wanted to see if you're alright."

Dick gave a soft laugh, "I'm fine Con," Liar. "Just a little tired is all." His heart sped up. "It's been a busy week." No it hasn't. He'd been watching the stats.

Conner watched him carefully, studying for any warning signs.

Anything to clue him in on what might be eating at the boy he'd come to think of as a brother.

"It was good to see you though, if you want I can give you a ring when my schedule clears up?"

Ice formed at the back of his neck. He won't call.

"Sure,"

"Cool. I'll uh... catch you later then."

"Right,"

He gave a bright smile, a fake one. Conner turned from the door and started towards the stairs. The cold sensation crept down his spine. By the second floor he felt a small shiver pass through him.

He hadn't just been in the area. He wanted to get Dick out of the apartment for a couple hours to do something that wasn't work related, it was infuriating how addicted to his job that boy was.

But, the scene he was confronted with was... overwhelming. Something was wrong but Conner just didn't know how to proceed without accidentally landing an emotional blow.

The souls of his shoes pressed down on the blackened snow that carpeted the sidewalk, as he stared ahead at the gray cacophony of darkness that passed for a city.

Maybe someone else would have an easier time talking to him? They'd all be willing, that was for sure. Everyone had been worried since he left the team. Crime in Büldhaven had spiked in the past few years, and it didn't help that Dick's day job was rookie extraordinaire Officer Grayson.

Conner stuffed his hands into his pockets with a huff, his brow wrinkled in concentration.

Maybe Artemis knows if something happens. She lived closer to him the the rest of them. She saw him more often, relatively. I'll invite her out for lunch sometime and we can talk, Conner thought, pulling out a pen and scribbling a reminder on the inside of his wrist. Who ever needed paper anyways? This was much easier.

The people who passed him could not see the fear and frustration in his eyes, nor the tightly clenched fists hidden in his jacket. He had missed his opening to finally confront Dick.

He had so many questions, so many concerns. Why haven't you called? Is there anything I can help with? You look thinner. You look tired. It wasn't your fault. Come back.

The agitation blazed through his eyes, if he had head vision there would most definitely be a few smouldering holes in the ground.

Why was this so hard?! He could take down some of the most dangerous people in the world but a simple discussion with someone he'd known his whole life was terrifying.

This sucks.