A/N: Hey guys. This is the first chapter of my new fic. Enjoy! ~velvie
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or any Batman characters.
"Nightwing, behind you!" Robin yelled. Nightwing turned just in time to see the Joker bring down a knife into his chest. He let out a gasp of pain as the knife sank deep into his lower chest and tore through his torso. The last thing he saw was the Joker's menacing smile.
"Nightwing! Get up you jerk!" the words of his youngest brother resonated in his ears as everything faded away. The unbearable pain suddenly lifted and the world stopped.
"Calm down Damian, he's gonna be fine." Barbara sighed into the phone for the 5th time. The early morning wind blew her hair gently into her face. She had been at the hospital with Dick all night waiting for him to get out of surgery. The Joker's knife had severely wounded him but not quite killed him, and his chances of recovery had improved slightly as the surgery was a success. They just needed him to wake up.
"Miss Gordon, could we speak with you a moment?" a young assistant peered round the main doorway and spoke quietly so she didn't disturb the call.
"Yeah sure, one sec. Okay Damian, I'll call you later. I've got to go now." She pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up, worrying about Damian now as well as Dick. She followed the assistant inside and was led to a small room marked private. The assistant gestured for Barbara to sit down. She slumped into the nearest chair and waited for the girl to sit opposite.
"We've been trying to contact Mr. Wayne to let him know of his son's condition. So far we have been unable to contact him, and we have no other record of any family. Do you know of anyone we could contact in the meantime?" the female assistant said, her quiet voice barely sounding in Barbara's ears. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She had no idea that Bruce was missing. She had just assumed he was on a business trip or something. Her thoughts then went back to Damian. He shouldn't be left alone in the manor, and Tim and Stephanie weren't really supposed to be either. She'd have to call somebody after this. In the meantime, she thought of who the assistant could call for Dick.
"You could try Alfred Pennyworth. He's Bruce Wayne's butler and he's kind of like Dick's adoptive grandfather." Barbara said, shrugging. The assistant pushed a pen and paper towards Barbara and asked for Alfred's details. He was currently visiting family in England so she had to flick through her emergency contacts to find his details. She scribbled them down quickly and stood up to leave.
"Thank you, Miss Gordon." The girl said, smiling. Barbara smiled back then quickly left the room, dialling the manor's number.
"Damian, who's there with you?" Barbara almost yelled as soon as he picked up.
"Only Drake and Brown. Why?" he said quite innocently. For once he was trying not to cause trouble. He was worried about his favourite brother, but he wouldn't admit it to anyone but himself.
"You're too young to be alone! I've gotta make a call." Barbara replied before hanging up. She scrolled through her contacts until she found the one she needed.
"Hello?" a sleepy voice mumbled down the phone.
"Hey Artemis, it's Barbara. I need a favour."
"At 5am?!" Artemis complained.
"Yes. Listen, I need you to get down to Gotham as fast as you can and go to Wayne Manor. I need you to babysit for a little while." Barbara instructed.
"Why do you need me to do it?" Artemis whined, still half asleep. Barbara wondered whether she should trouble Artemis with the news. She sighed and began to explain.
"Dick was badly hurt last night and I need to be here at the hospital with him." Artemis sat upright in her bed, wide awake.
"Dick was hurt? How badly?" she asked, worrying about her friend.
"You can come see for yourself later." Barbara replied quietly.
"So why do you need me to babysit?" Artemis queried. She had already gotten out of bed and begun to pull on some clothes.
"Bruce has disappeared and Alfred is in England. You were the first person I thought to call. I guess I could have called someone else, but you're well known by the family and they all like you and I trust you and please." Barbara said in one breath.
"I'll be there as soon as I can." Artemis said before cutting the line. Barbara sighed once again before heading back into the hospital to sit by Dick's bed again.
Artemis was still shocked at the news. She stumbled around the room, pulling on clothes and dragging a brush through her hair. She then ran across to Wally's room to wake him.
"Wally! Get up. We need to go to Gotham." She whispered urgently. Wally groaned and tried to push her away.
"Can't it wait? It's 5am." He muttered.
"No, it can't wait. We're needed. Now." She replied, pushing off the other side of the bed. Wally landed with a thud and sat up on the floor.
"Ow! What's so important in Gotham right now?" he asked, rubbing his head where it had hit the ground.
"Barbara needs us to babysit at Dick's house. I'll explain the rest later." She told him. He sighed as he pushed himself off of the floor and shuffled over to find some clothes. Once he was dressed they grabbed a few items of clothing and bathroom necessities and shoved them in an overnight bag. They had no idea how long they'd be there, but Artemis had a hunch they'd be staying a little while. The pair headed into town to find their nearest zeta beam station.
"So why is this so urgent?" Wally asked.
"Dick got hurt and Barbara needs us to babysit while she stays at the hospital with Dick." Artemis sighed. Wally stopped in the street.
"Woah, hold on. Dick got hurt? Why didn't you tell me this before!" he had to stop himself from yelling and waking the whole street.
"I would have told you at the apartment but we needed to get moving and you were being slow." She countered. Wally narrowed his eyes and doubled his walking speed. Artemis jogged to keep up. They arrived at the zeta tube and entered the coordinates for Gotham.
"Hey Dick" Barbara said quietly as she entered her friend's hospital room. She didn't think he could hear her, but she needed to talk to stop the tears. "If only you knew what kind of mess you'd left everyone in. Damian is worried about you. I'll bring him up here to visit one day when you're a little better. I'm sure Tim and Steph are worried too. I asked Artemis to babysit while I stay here with you. No doubt she brought Wally along, so maybe they'll come visit too. Alfred might come too when he gets back from England. Bruce⦠well I'm sure if Bruce knew you were hurt he'd be here right now. I won't give up trying to contact him, though." She just let the words pour out of her mouth. Silent tears trickled down her face as she spoke, but she refused to cry in front of Dick. Even if he was comatose.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. The second one will be up soon. If you have any ideas or suggestions for this story, don't hesitate to let me know. Review! ~velvie
