So, this is only about Dick Grayson's life with the circus, not very much Robin, big time skip, and Nightwing as well. This is a mix of the Young Justice comics origin for Dick Grayson, Batman the Animated series, and Nightwing the new 52 comic book series.


"Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages! Welcome to the Haly's International Traveling Circus!" The begins to play louder then quiets down. "John Haly, folks, ringmaster to this amazing circus!" Haly introduces himself. The dancers come out, dancing in circles. "For the first act of tonight, I would like to point you all to the trapeze! Introducing the youngest members of this circus ranging 9 to 12, the youngest and the star, Richard Dick Grayson, the lovely and wonderful Raya Vestra, and the oldest Raymond! The Act of the Prodigies!" The light points each of us out. "Also introducing the guest in our tent tonight, Gotham's billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne!"

I wear a blue leotard with a lighter blue belt wrapped around my waist, long enough to tie and hang down to my knee and a symbol on my chest that wraps aroung my shoulders, supposed to be the shape of a bird. I also have light blue boots that reach half way to my knees. It's a turtle neck and has no sleeves, my favorite uniform. It's an updated version of one of the Flying Grayson's older uniforms. I only wear it for this act with Raya and Raymond.

Raya wears a pink leotard with lighter link boots and a belt that doesn't hang down like mine. Raymond wears a dark green leotard with black boots and black long sleeves. They don't have families they perform with, they travel alone.

My name is Richard John Grayson, son of Mary Loydd and Fredrick John Grayson. I am 9 years old and I don't speak my much English, but I speak 12 other langauges, someone has to know one of them. I understand English though when it is spoken. I was born in Romania, I am of a rare culture called Roma, we speak Roma or rather Romany, and I am a Christian. I have many peaple to call family and many places to call home. I've been in olympic training since I could walk, performing in the cicus with my mom, dad, Uncle Richard (Rick), Aunt Karla, and Cousin John in the Haly's cricus as The Flying Graysons. When I was 8, my friends and I began a young trapeze group and we became the opening act. Raya Vestra, and Raymond. Then there is Zane, he's a young prodigy knife thrower. He's 12, so is Raymond. raya is 11. I'm the youngest member of the entire circus.

I have a future, I've been trained by the best and taught to be the best, to be great, to one day accomplish something big. Right now, we re is Gotham City, a city we've only visited twice before since I was born, it's danger paints the city red, thats what I've heard.

I'm first to go on. The light comes back up to me on the platform. I jump and grab the bar then I land. Raya comes out and swing to pick me up, raymond is next on. We swing, we fly like birds. My nickname is Robin, my mom started it when I became apart of the family act when I was 5. Some in the circus caught on to it as well. My friends call me Dickie Bird because I go by Rick, short for Richard.

The final to our prodigy act is me. I jump for the trapeze again and swing with much force and grace at the same time. I flip into the air, I perform the quadruple flip and Raymond grabs me. "Dick Grayson! The youngest member of this circus, a star quickly on the rise, folks! His signature quardruple flip! A staunt that even the most well known acrobats cannot perform! round of applause for the We land and Raymond is quick to grab the swing. I sit on it and he lets go. Raya is on the other end doing the same, Raymond jumps for the middle bar, he hangs upside down by his legs.

Once we are done for the crowd, I fall backwards to hang upside down and I swings to grab Raymond and we go back to the platform, Raya doing the same. We climb down the ladder as the rest of the circus continues.

I get changed into my next uniform and go out to play tag with Zane, Raya, and Raymond. Zane isn't performing till second to last. Haly doesn't go back out till the 20 minute break. After 10 minutes of playing, I hear yelling. I look around and don't see any of my friends. But I follow the voices and hide behind boxes. I see Haly fighting with some guy. "I ain't payin' you any damn protection money!"

"Then thats to bad for your performers."

"Get out of here Tony Zucco before I call the cops!"

"Fine, have it your way." As he's walking off, he sees me. i try to run away but he grabs my leotard and lifts me up in front of him. "What have we here, eh? A little snoop? No, I know who you are, Dick Grayson. Some talent you have there kid. It'd be a shame if you have to stop performing because of an accident."

"ZUCCO! Put the boy down! He's just a young child. He doesn't even know English. What your saying to him means nothing."

Zucco looks at me, I'm frightened. "If you tell anyone what you just saw, then I'll make sure you and your folks won't be performing again." Then he drops me and walks away. Haly throws a rock and he runs.

"Are you alright, Dick?"

"We need to tell Momma and-"

"No, don't tell everyone. We'll pack up tonight and be out of here. Gotham is bad news every time he come here. Why don't you go find Raya, Raymond, and Zane." I glare at him, confused on why he would changed subject. Then I nod, get up and run off.

"Dickie Bird?!" Raya was trying to find me within the boundaries of out game.

"Raya!" I yell back.

"Dick? Where've you been?"

"I got lost."

"Then stay close, Dickie Bird."

"Actually, Raya. We should probably go in. We've got stage for during break tonight and Dickie has his act pretty soon." Raymond suggested.

"Raymond's right." Zane added.

"OK, lets go in then." Raya said and we all went into the tent. I found my family ready to go up next.

Every time the trapeze lines are used, they are checked before the next act goes on. The men were exiting. But there was still someone there with two other men. They weren't in uniform or anything. One was really fat, one was tall and skinny, the man standing though, watching the lines being "checked" he wasn't skinny, he wasn't out of average tall. He turns around. Tony Zucco...

"Come on, Dick. What are you staring at?" I must of zoned out. My dad was pulling at my arm.

"I... I-I don't t-th..."

"Dick, c'mon. Forcus, we have to perform now." My mom encouraged.

"We shouldn't."

"Why would you say that?" She kneels in front of me.

My cousin, aunt, and uncle were already heading for the trapeze. "We shouldn't."

"Hold on folks, seems like we're still missing half of the Grayson family." Haly announces. He always comes back in to introduce the trapeze acts, the favored acts of this circus.

My was trying to just pull me along. But I wouldn't. "Richard Grayson, I mean it. Nothing is going to happen. Same as every night. I promise, my little Robin."

"Please..."

"Dick, we can't just pull out last minute and you have an important role in the act." My dad says and finally just picks me up.

"Dick Grayson seems to have come to his senses and is back out with the wondeful Mary and John Grayson." Haly announces.

"John, maybe we should listen to Dick."

"It's alright, Mary. I'm sure it was just a misjudgement. He'll be fine once he's up there."

Dad puts me down. They go up their platform and I run to the other. We climb up. I'm with my cousin and aunt. "You alright, Robin?" She asks. I don't answer.

"We'll be fine, Dickie Bird." John reassures me. I still don't buy it.

My mom is first to go out. She comes to the other side, I stand on the edge waiting. I jump off and grab her hands. "See, your alright, my Robin."

I swing to the next and mom goes back to the other platform. Uncle Rick is next to go out and he takes Karla and John. Then my dad and go out with my mom once the other three out off.

The show goes on as normal. I do my usual quadruple flip and then I'm done till break. "Don't worry, kiddo, you'll be out in less than a year with all of us." I'm to young to be apart of the final to out act.

John is last to join onto the entire family in one act. I hear something. It sounds like a snap. My mom is looking at me, smiling like she always does. I look away to where the snap came from and see the bolt had come off. John jumps off. "no..." I whisper. mom gives a confused face. I hear another snap. This time she notices it. But it's to late. The swing unhooks completely. "NOO!" I scream, my eyes are wide and I watch as my family hits the ground. My mom was looking at me the whole time till she hit the ground. Tears begin to come down fast. But I'm quick to realize... I climb down the ladder, flipping off the last 5 steps. The tent was completely silent, some were leaving quickly, some were in shock. Some were covering the child's eyes. I fall to my knees next to my mom who is breathing very short and quickly. But quickly slowing down as well, getting very little air and oxygen. I saw my dad, he wasn't breathing.

Mom was staring off in shock till I get there. "M-Mom?"

"M-my l-lit-tle Robin." She looks at me and smiles.

"Mom, stay awake..."

"E-every-thing will b-be OK, my R-Robin. My favorite l-little b-bird. I d-don't f-feel... P-pain. B-because y-you g-give me strength." She takes my hand and puts a bracelet in it, the bracelet I gave her. "R-Richard G-Grayson... R-remember who y-you are. A b-boy of wonder. I love y-you... Robin..." Suddenly, she isn't breathing, her smile fades slightly, her eyes relax but stay open.

"Mom? M-mom?" I get no response. "MOM!" People around are leaving quickly, ordered by men in uniforms. I ignore it all. "PLEASE! MOM! Wake up!" I cry. I shake her, getting my hands bloody in the process. "MOM!" I yell again and again.

Bruce Wayne: I watch the boy. He's screaming, trying to get his mother to awake. "Mama! Mama!" He yells over and over again in short breaths, shaking her. "Vă rog! Vă Rog să te trezeşti!" I don't have a clue on what language he is speaking.

Dick Grayson: Suddenly I was grabbed. "No!" I pull away. "Lasă-mă în pace!" I'm grabbed again. This time I'm picked up. My back to whoever's stomach. "Lasă-mă în pace! Lasă-mă în pace!" I scream. It means "Leave me alone." In English. Scream, kick, and cry. I kick backwards at his knees and try to pull his arms away that are wrapped around my chest. "Lasă-mă în pace..." I don't scream this time, I just cry.

"Hey! He wants you to leave him alone!" I hear Raymond's voice.

"The kid has to stay away from the scene for a while, got it?"

"Vă rog!" I say. It means please.

"Put the kid down, officer Jeremy. He doesn't deserve to be treated with disrespect."

I'm put down, but he holds onto my arms. I fall, crying. "Te urasc... I hate you." I cry.

"Now whats he sayin'?"

"He says he hates you." Raya explains.

"Let him go, officer, he isn't going anywhere."

"Then you can catch the runt, Gordon if he runs off." I'm finally let go of. But I don't run off.

"Leave the scene, Jeremy. You've done nothing but scare the poor thing even more."

"Oh, c'mon. He doesn't even understand English!"

"Not spoken, understand well." I whisper. "I hate you..."

He leaves. Raya, Raymond, and Zane are at my side and they all hug me. "I'm sorry kids, but I want to bring him to calm down and I need him to answer questions."

"Why? You won't understand a word he says!" Zane fusses.

"Does he speak anything other than... Whatever he was just speaking? Like French or Spanish?" A woman asks this time.

"He knows 12 different langauges. Of course he'd know French and Spanish, idiot!" Zane snaps.

"Alright, alright. I'll leave the four of you kids alone. Keep him down till we get his family out of here and to a hospital."

That catches my attention. "Mama! Tata!" I yell and try to pull away from my friends a I watch my family be lifted onto beds. Raya gets up with me, hugging me to keep me from running again, but I don't take my eyes off my family being taken from me.

I listen though to whats going on. "Bruce Wayne? What are you still doing here?"

"How could I leave? I see though he's calming down. Whats going to happen to him?"
"Well, some of the other circus members offered to sign the papers to keep him in the circus... once papers and records are make that is... Tony Zucco threatened the owner of the circus. Richard witnessed it. I'm afraid that Zucco might come back to find his eye witness."

"So he has no one?"

"I'd take him in myself, but I'm never home and I have Barbara at the moment dealing with her mother and brother being gone. They haven't contacted us yet. I'm to caught up. And I don't have room."

"Maybe I can foster him for a while till you find Zucco."

"No, Bruce. You're a busy man. This boy needs someone to act as a parent."

"I can make time and I can help him get through this from experience."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm posative. Just give me a day or two. When is the circus leaving?"

"After the threat, they were going to leave tomorrow, but now they are going to hold out for a day, no more performances for a week. I need to ask the boy a few questions. I wonder if he'll be willing to speak spanish for a bit."

"What is he speaking?"

"No clue. Maybe Italian. Alright, I need to go over a few things with Richard."

The man who has so far defended me approached my friends and I. "Alright, kiddos. Can I speak to the three of you? Richard, can I ask you to talk to my detective?" I nod and get up. I walk with him. "I'm Commissioner Gordon. You can call me Gordon if you'd like, kiddo." At one point he stops and kneels down in front of me. Tears were still falling fown my cheeks. "Your going to be alright, Richard Grayson. Your going to grow up, go to school, get a cute girlfriend, make very great friends. Your going to fall in love and get married, have a job and kids. You'll make a best friend to stick by you in all of it, Richard." He smiles and rubs my shoulders. "Want some good news kiddo?" His thumb whipes the tears away below my eyes. I nod. "Your Uncle..."

"Oncle Rick."

"Uncle Rick, he has a good chance of life." I twitch a smile. "I can already tell, Richard. You are going to succeed with your bravery and strength." He leads me to the bench. "Richard, this is Detective McKenna. She'd just like to ask you a few simple questions. Do you speak spanish?" I nod. "If you could speak that to her, or if you know any English. It's hard for some to understand other langauges. If you feel like you just can't answer these questions yet then just say so. I'll be right back."

He leaves me with the woman. She looks kind, a smile on her face. "Hey Richard." She says in a sooth voice. "May I call you Richie or Rich?" I shake my head. "Richard?" I shake my head again. "Then what would you like me to call you, love?"

"Dick."

"Alright, Dick. These questions will be simple, I just need to get a good description of the man you saw. What color hair did he have?"

"Dark brown."

"Eyes?"

How will I ever forget his eyes... the nonmerciful eyes... "Green"

"Was he tall?" I nod. "And, Dick. What did he say to you?"

"He said if I told he'd go after my family. But, he was going to do it anyways."

"And what did you say?"

"Nothing to him... I tried to warn them though... But I wouldn't speak up." The tears begun again. "I could've saved them, my mom, my dad... I should have told the truth." I began to cry again.

"No, Dick. There was nothing you could have done, love." She hugs me, hiding my head into her shoulder. "Nothing you would've done would've done anything because the future is set in stone. Everything happens for a reason, Dick. You'll be alright."

"No one knows."

"Thats the gift to life, is that no one knows everything." She hugs me for a bit longer, rocking me a bit. "Alright, I'm done torturing you with questions, love." She concludes.

The Gordon takes me again. "I'll be back in two days, alright? Your going to back up and I'm going to bring you to where you will be staying." I look up confused. "It's for your own protection, Richard. His name is Bruce Wayne, he'll foster you till..."

"NO!" I yell and pull away.

"Richard, please."

"Lasă-mă în pace!" I run off and end up sitting on my knees next to the pole holding up the tent and trapeze.

I sit there, they let me be for a few minutes. Raya, Raymond, and Zane were told to give me my space. But I hear footsteps approaching behind me. "So your the-"

"Lasă-mă în pace." I say once again. I hit his hand away from my shoulder. "Te rog, vreau doar să fiu lăsat în pace, du-te departe."

I feel his presence, he doesn't leave. He just stands behind me. "Do you understand English?" He asks.

"Da." I nod.

"Richard, I'm Bruce Wayne, but your welcome to call me Bruce. In two days, your going to come home with me and you can be apart of my family."

"Nici nu vreu să." No, I don't want to.

"I don't understand what you are saying."

"Oh bine." Oh well, Bruce.

Finally, he drops it and leaves. I turn around. I can tell from his body language, I can read him like an open book. He has a headache, he's bringing his teeth, his eyes are twitching ever so slightly. For a playboy, whats he know about difficulties in life besides when is the next company is he going to buy out?

I'm sent to bed, Raymond, Raya, and Zane stay in the trailer with me. I don't sleep at all. Neither does Raya. I just stare off, tears coming down every now and then, I just lay there all night.

In the morning, Haly comes in, he takes me outside to walk around and talk to me. He talks about family, how I can deal with the loss, how I'm going to succeed and how I always hold a spot in the circus. I can always come back. But it will never be the same.

I go back to the trailer and pack what I need or want. I only get to back two suite cases full. I pack both of my uniforms, some clothes, pictures, the bracelet I clean off and put in a box along with my mom's favorite necklace and earings just for sentimental reasons. The earings were birds, the necklace had a bird with it's wings spread apart. I packed pictures of my family. One was my dad and I, one was my mom, dad, and I. One was the Grayson family, all of us in our older blue uniforms. Then one with my friends as well as one with the entire circus. I also took the poster down. Tomorrow, the circus is putting the funeral together with the help of Bruce Wayne. After that, I'm gone.

The next day, after everyone leaves, I stare at my family's grave stones for hours probably, crying silently. Haly stuck with me. Afterwards, I get dressed in a red t-shirt and baggy blue jeans. I say good bye to the circus. Raya, Raymond, and Zane keep me in a hug for what seems like forever, I wish. Sitka, the elephant, she taps my shoulder. I turn around and she picks me up. "I know, Sitka. I'll miss you too." I spread my arms around her head, where she has me leveled. She puts me down. "I'll miss you girl." I say one last time.

Haly hugs me. "If you ever want to come back, you don't even have to ask. This will always be your family and your home. The circus is your home, Dick. Don't forget that." I nod.

The strong man, Bruno puts his arm around me. "I'll miss ya, kid."

"So will I." The assistant, the woman who gets knives thrown at her for a living also says. Her name is Connie. Jimmy the clown hugs me too, Pete joins in as well. He is an older knife thrower. Miranda Kane, a girl who doesn't talk to much to others. Her parents train the animals as well as her. She doesn't hang out with my friends and I, she's sorta a brat. But she hugs me too.

"See ya, Dickie. You better visit. I'll miss you."

Gordon takes me away to his car. I put my stuff in the back and I sit in the front. When we arrive, I glare at the big mansion. "Wow..." Thats all I can say. And this is my life... So I think.