A/N… This is obviously an AU story. One of my pet realities is one where everyone in the DC universe knows who all the superheroes are. But not through some Registration Act. Marvel Comics, you have lost your collective mind. I own no characters you recognize. And if you don't recognize Dick Grayson, then get down to a comic store, or a library. You're missing out on a lot!
Three friends sit at a table outside a café. The early morning air of Gotham is warm and pleasant, despite the ever-present smog blanketing the city. The women are relaxing from their respective jobs, and have been talking avidly about the recent unmaskings of most of the worlds superheroes. They find much to talk about concerning this earth-shaking phenomenon, but as they very rarely have time off, they are at a loss at what to do after a while.
"It is so boring today." complains Callie. "Despite all the super-hoopla."
"You better hope it stays boring." retorts her friend, Jenny, who gives the city in general a dark look.
The third woman, named Kristy, cocks her head curiously at Jenny. "Why do you say that?"
"All the nuts are back in Arkham, remember? At least, for the time being."
Kristy blanches. "Oh. Right. Yeah, bring on the boring."
Callie nods in whole-hearted agreement. She thinks about Gotham's vigilantes who have to deal with that nonsense every day. Bruce Wayne and Timothy Drake are working 24/7 at the moment, trying to bring Ra's Al Ghul to justice. She thought that Dick Grayson had gone with them too, even thought he had his hands full with the newly rehabilitated Bludhaven. Suddenly she sits bolt upright and gasps, staring at Jenny.
"Jenny." she says sharply.
Jenny looks startled. "What?" she answers semi-warily.
Callie leans forward across the table and looks excitedly at her two friends. "You both remember that "Alice Incident" in high-school, right?"
Kristy rolls eyes and makes a face. "Yeah, of course, seeing as how we were the "Alices". Freshman or junior year, wasn't it?"
Jenny nods in agreement. That had been the single most dangerous thing the three of them had gotten into. The girls had been part of a plot devised by the Mad Hatter and some foreign ambassador with less than honorable intentions. Fortunately, the then-teenage girls had been rescued and the Mad Hatter jailed. Unfortunately, the ambassador pulled some kind of political feint and slipped out of the charges. At any rate, it was an experience not soon forgotten.
"Well," continued Callie, "you also remember then, who got us out of that, right?"
"Robin." Jenny and Kristy answer in unison.
"Yeah." Callie said, her eyes sparkling for some reason. "The first Robin, Jenny. Who is now Nightwing? You know, first name: Dick. Last name: Grayson. Any bells ringing?"
Kristy shoots an extremely confused look at Jenny. "What's Callie getting at, Jenny?"
Jenny frowns. "I have no…" She trails off, shock coming over her face. "Oh. My. God."
"Ha! See?" Callie says triumphantly.
"What? See what?!" says Kristy exasperatedly.
Jenny whispers in a disbelieving tone, "I dated him. I dated him! In high-school! I went out with Dick in high-school!"
Kristy looks dumbstruck. "You have got to be kidding."
"She's not." Callie says, somewhat smugly.
"I'm not." repeats Jenny, still amazed. "Oh, my…, it was him! He knew I was in trouble, that's how he knew!"
"Wow." is all Kristy can say.
Jenny seems to pull herself together and starts to laugh. "Oh, that twit!"
Kristy and Callie both raise their eyebrows in a questioning manner.
"Whenever he was late, he told me, it was because of his job." Jenny looked at them through mirth-filled eyes. "And do you know what his job was?"
"Surprise us." says Callie.
"He was an apprentice, he said, to-get this- a night watchman."
All three women crack up, causing passerby to regard them as harmless lunatics.
"Twit indeed," says Callie, wiping at her eyes.
"Jeez, I still can't believe it." Kristy says, hiccupping slightly.
"Didn't I hear a rumor that he's finally getting married?" asks Jenny, retrieving her purse from the ground where it had fallen during the group laugh.
"Yeah. That rumor's true." answers Callie. "It was on the news a few weeks back." She pauses, as if contemplating whether or not to tell them the rest.
"Well?! To who, for gosh sakes!" says Kristy, bouncing in her chair.
"Barbara Gordon."
"Barbara Gordon? The first Batgirl? Oracle?" demands Jenny.
"Yep."
"Wow. Well, that was probably inevitable." Kristy says. "I mean, how long has he known her? Ten years?"
Callie nods. "Yeah, long time." She glances over at Jenny. "You know, Jenny, do you have any idea how far the piece of information could get? I mean, if you were good enough for a freaking super-hero, never mind that he was just a sidekick at the time, guys could be all over you!"
Jenny pales at that mental image. She's never been much of an attention sponge, and she's certainly not any kind of flirt. "Ah, I think I'll pass."
"Still," sighs Kristy. "You are so lucky. Hey, did you, you know, ever get to kiss him?"
Callie perks up, grinning. "Yeah, did you?"
Jenny turns pink now. "Oh, yes. Definitely." Seeing her friends's jealous expressions, she adds, "And he was good at it in high-school. Very good."
Callie and Kristy both moan in frustration.
"Just imagine what he's like now." says Kristy dreamily.
"I'm not imagining; I'll only be disappointed." says Callie. "Still, Jenny, you have the distinction of being one of the first- if not the first- girls ever to have dated Dick Grayson. Imagine the envy of the girls in Bludhaven."
"I can imagine quite a bit. And I'm not saying anything to anyone. I'd just end up as a target. Dick doesn't need another person to rescue on a regular basis."
Jenny gives Callie a firm look. "And you won't say anything either."
"All right, all right."
"She's right, you know." interjects Kristy seriously. "And I'd rather not have my friends get whacked by some mobster or maniac with a grudge."
"Yeah, I know." says Callie quietly. She had had an aunt that had gotten caught the crossfire of one the Joker's schemes.
Kristy glances at her watch. "Hey, we're going to be late for our movie."
Jenny starts. "I forgot all about it."
"Yeah, like you forgot that you used to date one of the hottest guys on the planet." needles Callie, playfully.
Jenny smiles ruefully. "Oh, stop it."
"Well," Kristy says, getting up from the table and collecting her things, "I don't know about you two, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to concentrate on the movie."
"We'll give it a shot." Callie says firmly, standing as well. "I've been waiting long enough to see this thing."
Jenny rises and links arms with the other two. "Shall we, ladies?"
"We're off to see the wizard." Callie laughs.
"The wonderful wizard of Chicago." adds Kristy, grinning.
The women set off down the street, toward a movie theater in the distance. The wind picks up, still warm, still smoggy, but now with a sort of excitement to it. Almost as if the wind is a portent of the extraordinary things in store for the new age that is just beginning.
A/N #2… For those of you who didn't get the 'Chicago wizard' reference, it refers to Harry Dresden of Jim Butcher's series, The Dresden Files. A series that is (in my opinion) begging to be put to the big screen.