A/N: THE COLLAB I'VE BEEN HINTING AT ON TUMBLR FOREVER! THIS. OOOOOF, I'M SO EXCITED TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU GUYS! I WAS WORKING WITH….
DUN-DUN-DUNNNNN~
mahlia! She's an awesome writer here, on AO3, and on Tumblr! SHE ROCKS SO MUCHANDFBSGKEANASDKFXBREYNDRMDTS
WOAH, I KNOW RIGHT? FSBKDFSANMZCDS I AM SO SO SO HAPPY AND EXCITED TO BE SHARING THIS WITH YOU GUYS AND I REALLY HOPE YOU LIKE IT! :D
This is planned to be a string of connected one-shots, so there will definitely be more installments in this AU!
Warnings: Mentions of pedophilia, death, cussing, and that should be it!
Please review, and let us know what you thought! Find us on Tumblr at (with the at sign) nxttime (me) and mizmahlia (mahlia)!
Thanks so much guys! Enjoy, please!
One city Roy Harper would not be caught dead in was Blüdhaven. The city wasn't as dark or ominous-looking as Gotham was, but the danger levels were much higher. Blüdhaven's residents were, like, fucked in the head or something.
Well a majority were, anyway. But Roy was semi-obligated to think so only because one of his best friends lived in the terrible city.
He was up on the roof of an apartment building searching the skyline for any signs of where Dick might be. Wally was on the ground zipping around the places Roy couldn't see from his vantage point, rambling in his ear as he ran from alley to alley.
"How long has it been since the three of us hung out together?"
Roy winced at the noise in his earpiece, the wind rushing in his ear as Wally ran. Wally often forgot that his speed made using comms nearly impossible unless he was standing still.
"Longer than necessary," Roy muttered. He held the binoculars up again and zoomed in on a neighborhood a few blocks north. "I mean, this is a miserable city. You'd think he'd want to leave once in a while."
Wally picked up on the dig and chimed in, skidding to a stop before heading back toward Roy's location.
"Why would anyone want to stay here and fight crime? It's not like he makes a dent in it, anyway."
Roy grinned and lowered the binoculars when he spotted a figure appear on a building three blocks to the east. He swore he could see the person flip him the middle finger before disappearing again, dropping back to street-level. Sure enough, their teasing got a reaction and Dick's voice came over the comms only moments later.
"You guys realize I can hear you, right? That we're all on the same channel?"
"Now that we have your attention," Roy cheekily responded, "we can decide where we're meeting for pizza."
When Dick replied it came through slightly winded, like he was in the middle of something.
"Meet me at my location and we'll head back to my place."
Roy packed up his binoculars, bow, and quiver, and headed toward the fire escape.
"Roger that."
Wally immediately altered his course and arrived at the closest intersection to where Dick was, cautiously entering an alley toward the sounds of a fight. He could hear fists connecting with someone's face, followed by a gasp for air when a blow struck a diaphragm.
"You're out of prison for three days and this is where I find you? About to pounce on a twelve year-old girl?"
Wally stopped for a moment at the familiar voice. Yep, that's definitely Dick.
"Please, Nightwing," a male voice gasped, "just let me explain…"
There was a loud, metallic thud as whoever Dick was beating collided with a dumpster.
"I warned you," Dick's voice dropped to a pitch reserved only for times like this one. "The next time I found you within three blocks of a school or anywhere kids hang out, you wouldn't survive long enough to go back to prison."
There was another thud. Wally started moving again, turning the corner to see Nightwing yank the man to his feet and begin to dust his jacket off. Nightwing continued to talk to him, his earlier, tense posture visibly relaxing and his voice took on a lighter tone.
"But third chances can be a thing, right?"
The man sighed and closed his eyes. A loud exhale passed his lips and his shoulders hunched a bit.
"Thanks, Nightwing. You won't be disappointed," he promised. " I'll leave…"
He didn't get the chance to finish that sentence as Nightwing put one hand over his mouth and chin, the other gripping the back of the man's head. His eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen and he reached for Nightwing's arms but it was too late. Nightwing twisted as hard as he could, letting out a quiet grunt as the bones in the man's neck snapped. He released his grip and the man slid to the ground in a heap.
He sighed and stepped back, brushing a lock of hair off his forehead as he stared down at the man for a moment. He shook his head. Whether it was disappointment or sadness, Wally didn't know. Moments later he turned to Wally, who was waiting patiently, leaned against a fire escape ladder with his arms crossed over his chest.
Wally fought to keep a neutral expression on his face. Seeing Dick take a life wasn't new and he didn't necessarily disagree with the method, but he still wasn't used to being around dead people. Sometimes, he'd admit, he forgot the Bats resolved things this way. His team back in Central usually saved killing as a last resort, only if all else failed. That the Bats used it on a regular basis was a concept he wasn't quite acclimated to yet. His visits to Gotham or Blüdhaven were rare and no one blamed him for feeling that way. Dick reassured him of that on more than one occasion.
He swallowed and glanced down at the dead man one last time before looking back at Dick.
"So, you about done here, or…?"
Dick rolled his eyes and dusted his hands together, a hint of a smile on his face as he replied.
"As soon as a certain slowpoke archer arrives, we can go."
As if on cue, Roy rounded the corner and stopped next to Wally. His gaze went from Wally to Dick, his expression deadpan at Dick's teasing. He noticed the body at Dick's feet, but offered no reaction. He shrugged.
"I don't have a nifty grappling gun, so bite me." Changing the subject, he nodded in the opposite direction. "Let's get out of here. I'm starving."
The three of them turned and headed toward Dick's apartment in another section of town. They stuck to alleys and darkened streets since Dick was still dressed as Nightwing. Wally's suit was covered with looser clothes and his goggles were in Roy's backpack. All Roy had to do to blend in was put on a grey hoodie.
"So, are we going out anywhere, or are we staying at your place?" Wally asked, rubbing his stomach. "Either way, we're gonna need a ton of food."
Dick smiled and shook his head. But before he could reply, he noticed a small cloud of smoke rising a few blocks away, thick and billowing blue against the night sky. It wasn't uncommon for residents of Blüdhaven to use flares to attract his attention when they needed help. While Nightwing's lethal methods were frowned upon by the BPD, they still appreciated his help and tended to look the other way. The police answered the phone calls, Nightwing responded to the flares.
While Roy and Wally debated pizza toppings, desserts and whether takeout or delivery was the way to go, Dick figured it wouldn't hurt to check out the distress signal. He hung back for a moment and when Wally and Roy rounded the corner at the end of the block, he grappled up and sailed through the air toward the smoke.
He approached the smoke carefully, scanning the surrounding area for any signs of danger or a trap. Once he was satisfied it was safe enough to proceed, he entered a darkened apartment where the blue smoke was coming from. There was a flare burning on the fire escape and he heard crying coming from the living room. There was a boy, no more than eight or nine years old, kneeling next to a woman who lay unconscious in the middle of the room.
"Dick? Where the hell did you go?"
Roy's voice came over the channel sounding less than amused. Dick shrugged. He knew he'd be annoyed too if the roles were reversed. Addressing the assumed party responsible for the smoke and ignoring Roy, he announced his presence.
"Hey, kiddo. You called?"
The boy startled and turned around, relaxing when he saw it was Nightwing. He nodded.
"My mom won't wake up," he said, voice trembling. "She didn't take her medicine."
He held up a small device; a thing shaped like a marker with a needle on the end. Dick carefully took it from him, twisting it to read the label. It was insulin. He looked to the coffee table and saw a small glucose testing kit and the meter displayed a number way too high to be treatable at home. His eyes widened. No wonder she was unconscious.
"Tell you what, buddy." Dick kneeled beside the woman, eye-level with the kid and holding his gaze with the lenses of the domino. "You go get the phone and call 911. I'll stay with your mom and keep an eye on her, alright?"
The boy nodded and hurried into the kitchen. Dick glanced over his shoulder and scanned the room to make sure he was alone before tapping at the communications device in his ear.
"Hey, guys?"
Wally was the one to answer.
"Where are you?"
Glancing to the doorway for the kitchen he said, "Doesn't matter. You guys head to my place and I'll be there as fast as I can. The security code hasn't changed."
"You need any help?" Roy asked.
Dick twisted the pen in his hand until he found a safe dosage of insulin and leaned over to inject the woman with it as he answered.
"Nah, we're good. Shouldn't be much longer."
"Got it."
Dick touched his finger to the comm, turning it off, before checking the woman's pulse to find it alarmingly high.
"You okay in there?" he called out, lifting his head to look where the boy had gone. The kid promptly returned, holding a smartphone to his ear.
"There's a lady on the phone who wants to talk to you," he murmured, eyes glued to his mom.
Dick smiled, trying to keep the boy calm. "Can you put it on speaker for me?"
He nodded, tapping the screen, and soon Dick could hear the dispatcher's voice.
"—ir? Can you tell me what's going on? I have paramedics en-route to your location, but they need to know what to expect."
"I'm here with a woman and her son," he immediately informed. "The mother is a diabetic and her last glucose reading was extremely high. She's unconscious and I administered a dose of insulin a few minutes ago."
He heard keys clicking rapidly before the dispatcher's voice came through the phone again.
"Thank you. Stay with her until the paramedics arrive. Their ETA is three minutes."
"Will do," Dick said. The boy was staring at his mother, eyes wide and frightened, the phone in his hand forgotten. "Hey," Dick said, getting his attention. "She'll be okay. You did the right thing."
The boy slowly nodded, taking a seat on the floor beside his mom. Two and a half minutes later Dick could hear the paramedics in the hallway. He stood up and tousled the kid's hair, heading toward the window.
"I'll come by the hospital to check on you guys later, okay?"
The boy turned and looked at him.
"Promise?"
Dick grinned and held up his hand in a wave.
"I promise."
He turned and headed back toward his place, stomach growling loudly along the way.
The trip was maybe ten minutes and by the time Dick was actually inside his apartment, he walked in on Roy and Wally still debating toppings. He waltzed into the room and ignored the bickering pair as he made his way to the shower. Patrol always left him feeling so gross.
Roy cursed when Wally threw his arms in the air and hit the archer in the face, a hand going to his nose. He noticed the whole reason they'd come to this stinking city as he walked by.
"Yo, Dick! How'd the situation go?"
Dick stretched, popping his back as he did so, before replying. "Went fine. A woman's glucose was too high and her kid panicked. Paramedics got there just as I left." He stopped in the hallway, looking back at them and grinning.
"Have you two seriously not decided on food yet? I leave you alone for twenty minutes and all you do is fight."
"You sound like my mother," Wally muttered. He was scrolling through something on his phone. He leaned over and showed it to Roy. Roy smirked and nodded.
"That looks good. You order it and I'll pay for it when it gets here."
Dick looked between the two of them, suddenly unnerved with how quickly they agreed.
"Should I be nervous about the food that's coming, or…?"
Roy's smirk melted into a shit-eating grin.
"Let's just hope you don't order from this place often."
Dick narrowed his eyes.
"What place is it and what did you do?"
"Nothing scandalous. But the amount of food we ordered on account of this bottomless pit here," Roy said, elbowing Wally, "is pretty embarrassing."
"It's not my fault my metabolism is ridiculous," Wally said, his cheeks turning pink. "That's nothing new."
Dick sighed and headed into his room for a change of clothes.
"Whatever." Roy shrugged. "At this point all I want is food and some bad movies."
"Roy's an expert at terrible movie choices. He's in charge."
Wally cackled and Dick heard some commotion as he reached to turn on the shower. He turned his head and hollered over the running water.
"You two better not break anything! Last time you were here I had to buy a new coffee table!"
He sighed when they quieted down and smiled, stripping and stepping under the hot water. After a night like this one, listening to those two bicker and fight was exactly what he needed.