He leaned up in a small ball, tears slowly falling from his eyes. He didn't understand why, why they had to die. Why the world took them from him. Any amount of comfort was barely enough to keep him calm, nothing the other children did cheered him up. He, a five year old child, was left without his parents and now rested within the Gotham City Children's Orphanage. His uncle had died of a heart attack the year before, and the next closet thing he had an to uncle was the Circus master, Jack Haly, who was no in a state of shock that his circus had closed down. So, with now where to go, Dick Grayson had been left at the Orphanage with no hope of ever having a family again.
A knock upon his room door drew his attention towards one of the orphanage ladies.
"Richard, someone's here to take you home." She said calmly.
Dick made no attempt to move, but instead remained firmly planted upon his bed. The lady shook her head and walked in and placed a hand upon his shoulders.
"She's a lovely young woman Richard." She said.
Dick lifted his head slightly and nodded lightly. He began to move and pack what little he had. Still unable to comprehend how much he'd lost in a single night, he made his way down to the central lobby where the woman in question stood. She was tall and fair-skinned. Black hair tied back into a ponytail with blue eyes. She wore a black jacket with a brown shirt beneath it and dark blue jeans. She stood silently, watching Dick with interest as he walked forward.
"Richard, my name's Diana Prince. I'm adopting you." She introduced.
Dick nodded and followed her outside. The two were quick to approach a small red sportscar. Diana was quick to open the door for Dick who climbed in. Helping him strap in, she quickly got into the drivers seat and started the car. Driving forwards, she glanced up into the rearview mirror.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
Dick shrugged his shoulders and kept silent. Diana took that as sign that he wasn't ready and decided not to push to far. To let him recover from the shock of the deaths.
The drive onwards was filled with a tense silence for a good part of the hour. The only sound was that of the car and other cars around them. Gotham City had since then, become a blur in the distance behind them as they drove outwards. Dick had fallen asleep several hours ago, and Diana knew that things were going to be different for him when they reached Themyscira.
To say Dick was shocked when he awoke on a plane was an understatement. He was confused as hell. He had no idea where they were going, or why they were on a plane. So, with a deep breath, he spoke.
"Where are we going?" He asked.
Diana turned her head slightly and flashed a small smile at him. Dick could see the joy in her, and so, smiled back.
"To Themyscira, where I grew up." She replied. Not a single hint of her betraying her double life as Wonder Woman to Dick. For all intents and purposes, he was now her son. While not blood, she would still love him and care for him as if he was her own blood child.
Dick blinked before he slowly put together the bits of the puzzle when he noticed that the plane they were flying in was invisible on the outside.
"You're Wonder Woman!" He said with enthusiasm and a small amount of interest.
Diana smirked and chuckled. "Of course I am. And we're about to see my family, and where you'll be living for the next few years while I get some housing sorted out back in the world of man." She replied.
Dick realised suddenly, that this was going to be a good life.
Dick flipped backwards as he dodged another spear. A small smile upon his lips as he landed on both his feet and kicked back at his fellow student.
"Good Richard!" The instructor yelled out to him.
Dick smirked and quickly worked to take down his designated opponent. With a few well placed blows, he sent her to the ground.
"You were attempting to really harm me Donna." He said as he held his hand out to his best friend.
Donna Troy grabbed it and allowed Dick to help her to her feet. Her black hair was loose against her back. A black, sleeveless outfit covered her body. Her skin was fair and her eyes a bright blue.
"Well, how else was I going to take you down champion of the gods." She replied back with a chuckle, punching him in the shoulder.
Diana stood by the side, watching with her mother and the instructor at the friendly banter going on between the two friends. She held pride for how she'd raised Dick in the past five years. With a smile, she made her way over to the two.
"Dick, it's time." She said.
Donna blinked in confusion and looked at Dick. "What does she mean by 'it's time'?" She asked.
Dick sighed and looked at the ground. "I'm meeting the Justice League today, to get a good idea of them, and to see my room when Diana's off-world." He responded.
Donna nodded and smirked. "Good luck." She said with a smile and walked away.
"Recognised Wonder Woman 0-2, Dick Grayson A-0-4" The computerised female voice announced as the two walked out of the Zeta Tube.
Dick marveled at the Watchtower, his eyes taking in the view of Earth at once.
Diana stood back, watching with pride as Dick raced from one side of the central chamber to the other, taking in the view from orbit. She could see the joy in his face.
"Diana, who's this?" A rough voice asked from behind. Turning her head, she caught a glimpse of the man dressed in black and grey.
His black cape hanging behind him and his white eyes narrowed like always. The black bat-symbol on his chest stood out as he came to a stop by her side.
"Nice to see you too Bruce." She replied sarcastically.
The Dark Knight raised an eyebrow.
"Dick, come and meet Batman." Diana called out, letting out a laugh as he rushed over to meet The Dark Knight.
"Didn't know you were into taking in children Diana." The Dark Knight said.
Diana shook her head. "He's been with me for five years Bruce, just like you've had Tim." She said.
Bruce shook his head as Dick finished observing him. The rest of the League was quick to arrive. The three founding members stood together, watching as Dick interacted with the other members. Diana took note of who he got along well with, and who he didn't get along well with.
She noted that Dick tended to hang around the girls and magicians more then he did the boys. But he did seem to have a long chat with Hal Jordan's protégé, Jessica Cruz. The two seemed to get along well. And she knew that one day, Dick will see her again.
"Recognised Wonder Woman 0-2, Phoenix B-0-9" The computerised female voice announced as the two similar outfitted heroes walked forward.
Phoenix wore a red sleeveless armour plate over his chest. Two silver bracelets rested upon his forearms with fingerless black gloves. His chest plate took inspiration from his mentor with a golden W upon his upper chest. He wore a smaller gold W down by his waist which was covered by a silver belt. He had two dark blue skirts resting upon each side of waist. He wore black pants with silver boots and gold knee pads. He wore a cape that was dark blue on the outside and white on the inside. He also had two gold shoulder pads. His mask was small and revealed much of his face to the outside world, but held enough to keep it different. His mask was outlined with gold and had mostly silver for the colour. It also only covered the front of his face.
Phoenix, aka Dick Grayson, glanced around the chamber of Mount Justice. He was now thirteen and was about to join The Team. The first thing his eyes set sights upon were the members. He quickly deduced who was who from their appearance, and who their mentor was.
He caught wind of Robin, dress in primarily red, he wore black pants with red sleeves. His cape was similar to Batman but had yellow on the inside while black remained on the outside. His gloves also resembled those worn by Batman, they were spiked and his R was stylised.
He eyed Kid Flash, dressed in yellow and red, protégé of Flash.
Aqualad dressed in a red sleeveless shirt with an almost blackish blue pants with two fins upon the back. He was the protégé of Aquaman.
He noticed Jessica Cruz and made a small node at her. She wore her Green Lantern ring and the outfit that came with it.
He then eye the male in a black T-shirt and grey pants with a red S upon his chest. Superboy, that was his name. The clone that Superman continued to pretend didn't exist.
Another Martian, Miss Martian, she dress in white with dark blue. He'd seen her briefly before, but that was all. She was Martian Manhunter's niece.
He then eyed the female archer dressed in green. Her belly was exposed and her outfit was sleeveless. Artemis, the latest protégé of Green Arrow.
He knew them all. He then eyed the League Members who stood by. Batman and Wonder Woman stood close to each other, Black Canary stood by Red Tornado and behind them stood Flash.
"Team, this is your newest member, Phoenix." Batman said as he eyed the team.
Kid Flash was quick to speak. "Phoenix, I've never heard of him before, are you sure he's even a hero?"
Dick narrowed his eyes and spoke. "Last I checked Flash Boy, I was helping Superman take down Metallo."
Superboy glanced at Dick. Annoyed that he wasn't able to help his "father". But he had done his research with Batman and knew that Metallo was powered by a Kryptonite core, so he wouldn't have done much.
"The name's Kid Flash, not Flash Boy." Kid Flash spat back.
Dick chuckled. "Oh, I know Flashy." He replied with a small smirk.
Kid Flash waved his arms in the air in annoyance and walked away, muttering under his breath.
Dick then turned to face the rest of the team. The others walked forward and introduced themselves by name and identity.
Jessica Cruz soon walked up and Dick smirked. "It's good to see you again Jessica." Dick greeted.
Jessica nodded. "You too Phoenix." She relied before walking out to find Miss Martian.
Dick then approached Artemis. "And you are?" He asked.
Artemis looked at him and her heart melted. She quickly shook away her thoughts. "Artemis." She replied.
Dick smiled. "Named after the Goddess Artemis?" Dick asked.
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm not named after the mythological Goddess." She answered.
Dick chuckled. "The Greek Gods aren't myth Artemis, but I do know another Artemis, though much older then." Dick said.
Artemis rolled her eyes and narrowed them when Wally spoke about her. Dick could immediately that Wally irritated her. Something that he was good at avoiding. And so, with a smirk, walked with her to see what Wally was up to. Leaving the League members to watch with interest.
A secondary story that I need to get out of my head. This is not related to Nightwing: Shadows of The Past, Present and Future, but set in another universe. This is based upon the idea that Dick Grayson was adopted by Wonder Woman instead of Bruce Wayne. Also, the Robin in this universe is Tim Drake. Jessica Cruz is an addition to The Team and is one of the four founding members alongside Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad, the latter two are still Wally West and Kaldur. Superboy and Miss Martian are still the same characters and so is Artemis.
There is both an Amazon and Greek Goddess named Artemis, thus the mention of the two. The Greek Goddess Artemis is the Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals and young girls, but is also associated with bows and arrows.
The reason behind the hero name of Phoenix for Dick has multiple meanings, first, it's still a bird, second, it ties into Greek Mythology, and third, the Phoenix can be reborn.
Dick relationship with the Greek Gods will be explored throughout the story while they contend with the antagonists of the story.
A trashed appearance of Dick as Phoenix was to include a helmet similar to Ares and a full set of armour that covered his arms. This was scrapped in favour of a more simplistic appearance. Any powers that Dick has will also be explored later on in the book, but they come with a twist. I wonder what they could be?
