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Chapter One: A minute after Nine

October 1989

Dick Grayson ran.

He ran down Lemmars Park Grove in Uptown Gotham.

He ran away.

Away from the corpses of his beloved parents.

Forty Hours Earlier

Jack Haly directed his employees, the workmen and performers of Haly's Circus, to sett up for the show that would begin in little over a day. Nearby, Dick Grayson, Son of John and Mary Grayson, no to mention the nephew of Rick and Kayla Grayson, of the Flying Graysons, sat on a storage box holding a water bottle. It was closed, as he didn't need it- his mom simply insisted on it after their exploration of Lemmars Park, site of the Gates Center, the current home of the Haly's Circus. She claimed he would get dehydrated if he didn't and he conceded.

He couldn't be even a little upset, nor could he act confrontational (for the same reasons), as Friday night was the first night the Flying Graysons were to perform in Gotham since the 70's. He had been performing ever since he turned 10, but that had all been in Europe, and his parents would not hesitate to cut him from the act, despite Jack Haly's opposition, as he loved flaunting the spectacle of a child acrobat trained since his whole life. Ignoring the immediate future, Dick rested his head on his chin and thought about his adult life. One day that'll be me, he thought, looking at Jack Haly, I'll run this circus, and it's gonna be just like this, but better. Well have the best Internationally Traveling Circus in the world, and we'll still be the greatest family anybody has ever seen.

John Grayson came by, and interrupted his son's daydreams , leading his presentation with, "Hey Dick, come check this out- you'll love it." Dick quickly got up, already excited- this was a circus, so anything that his dad would think was surprising would have to be great. John walked up the stone steps of the audience stands, and turned back- to see Dick back flipping up the steps to his position. John smiled, mockingly asking "Is it legal for a minor to show off that much?"

"I don't know- I'm a circus performer, I don't even like going underground."

"You know what I meant Dick. You know more than I did at your age."

Dick shrugged. "Something something Gypsies."

John looked shocked, but still clearly full of humor. "Hey! A young man needs to respect his ancestry, no matter the stereotypes. Don't tell me you're not proud of our family's beautiful black hair, granted only by the thickest of ancestral blood."

"I am proud, dad, but I'm just as proud of my exceptional sense of humor."

John chuckled, put his hands in the pockets of his favorite fleece jacket, and continued climbing the stairs. They reached the top, and John pulled a set of keys out of his pocket, and opened the door. Inside was the announcers' room, featuring wide glass windows with a perfect view of whatever performance was being done. In front of that, or behind, depending on perspective, was a table featuring four chairs and four microphones. Dick looked over the setup of Friday's performance, but was soon beckoned over by his father.

"That's not the surprise," he said, unlocking another door, "this is."

The door swung open to reveal a small soundmixing stage. Dick was visibly puzzled, so John took a seat as his son did the same, relaxing on swivel chairs. John reached into is right inner jacket pocket, and pulled out a cassette tape.

"Remember when we said there was a leak in one of the storage cars last night, and some equipment got wet?" John asked his son, who promptly nodded. You could practically feel the pumping adrenaline from Dick's sheer anticipation. "Well, this here is the tape holding the Flying Graysons intro music. Most of our soundtrack is intact, but the intro bit isn't. It only lasts a few seconds, so mom and I decided to let you do it."

Dick's eyes lit up. "Sweet!" he exclaimed, then upon realization, brought up a problem, "I- uh, I don't know how."

John chucked in a way that was very familiar to Dick. "Of course, Dick. Our one and only techie, Willis, will help," he said emphasizing the 'Willis' part.

Willis then came in. Haly's Circus' computer technician was thin, about 5'10", and had brown hair that was probably well-styled at some point, but now looked quite messy. 'Well, Richard John Grayson," he said, "How was dad's surprise?"

Dick simply grinned from ear to ear.

"Well, I'll leave you two to making an awesome intro theme," said John. He then closed the door, exited the announcer's room, and went back down the steps, whistling an Elton Britt song. He heard some yelling, but that didn't concern him, and continued whistling while stroking his black hair with a muscular arm, choosing to ignore what he feared was a receding hairline- it couldn't be, he was only 32. John's calm whistling was brought to a halt when he heard the yelling get louder, followed by a cry of "John!"The Grayson ran down the rest of the steps and used his acrobatic prowess to reach the point of yelling, where he met his wife, Jack Haly, and two men he had never seen before.

The man who seemed to be in charge was 5'9", and quite overweight. He had balding brown hair and a strong nose. He wore an obviously expensive black suit with a custom blue tie. Down at his wrist, John noticed his gold trimmed wristcuffs as he shook the man's hand.

"My name, is Tony Zucco" began the man, quietly and threateningly. "I have been trying to strike up a... respectable and useful deal with your Circus and its stay in Gotham."

"What do you mean, Mr. Zucco? And why on earth would it distress my wife and my employer, not to mention my best friend."

"First off, ahh..?"

"John. John Grayson."

"John. You can call me Tony. I'm not here to hurt anybody, there is no reason for nothin' but casual conversation." Zucco began to pace around the three performers. "You see, John, Haly and the Mrs. here were distressed, and perhaps for good reason."

John now crossed is arms, but wasn't visibly agitated.

"Your wife and boss-slash-friend didn't want to face the harsh truth, and I mean no disrespect, as these truths are, of course, harsh. I'm sure at least one of you have heard about Gotham's less-than stellar reputation when it comes to a peaceful populous."

John nodded.

"Well, Gotham City does indeed got a massively high crime rate, and if there is one thing I hate to see, it's visitors being hurt in my fair city. That is why I have worked hard for years to get roots in Gotham's criminal underworld, and if I simply pay them enough, they will leave everybody alone. So, I am here not just to collect a fair price for you and your audience's safety, but to do a service for the city that you have so kindly decided to perform in."

John scoffed. "Protection money? You want us to pay protection money? No wonder they were agitated, this is ridiculous. First off, we've performed worldwide, in the home of some of the world's worst politically turmoiled places, and second of all, Haly's Circus doesn't deal with criminals, even indirectly," He said, each word becoming slowly harsher and harsher.

"John here said it as well as I could have. Nobody in this circus- my circus- will pay you money. Leave, Zucco. Leave." Haly demanded.

"Come on, Garfield, we're leaving," Zucco grumbled to his assistant, who wore all grey with a red winter cap and dark sunglasses. The part of his face that was exposed was badly burned on the left side.

Seven Thirty PM, Friday Night, outside the Gate Center

Bruce Wayne enjoyed the light of the moon much more than the light of paparazzi cameras. And much more than the light of gunshots.

He was waiting outside the Gate Center, named for an old Gotham architect, in line for the famous Haly's Circus Gotham premier. In his arm was Ukrainian pianist and his current girlfriend, Natalya Trusevich, who gained fame for her harsh comments of the Soviet Union after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Around him were Gotham's rich and powerful, here for VIP seating at the Haly's Circus, often called the greatest spectacle on earth. He counted mostly mob folks- Oswald Cobblepot, Anthony Zucco, Carlton Duquense, but their king, Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone, who wasn't one to be seen in public.

"So Bruce, 'ave you seen a Haly's performance before?" asked Nat in her thick accent that he knew she tried to repress.

"No, Nat, I haven't. But what I have heard is that it is incredible. Unfortunately, we may never see it if Cobblepot's men stop holding up our line."

"Hmm. I hope tzey get avrested."

"Agreed."

Eight Fifty-Seven PM, Haly's Circus Backstage

"Graysons, you five are up in 3 minutes!" Boomed Jack Haly from the makeup booth.

"Got it, Jack! Tights are on!" replied Kayla Grayson, Rick's wife.

Rick's brother, John, was stretching with his wife and son, Mary and Dick. After Mary decided they were ready, the others got up, knowing that Mary was better at time management than both combined. All five Flying Graysons met up, exchanged a few words, and got water.

"Hey Dad," piped up Dick as Jack went out to introduce the headlining act of the Flying Graysons.

"Yeah son? Make it quick, we're going on in a minute."

"I saw you, mom, and Mr. Jack arguing with some guy a few minutes after Willis and I started to do the new intro music. I've been meaning to ask, but I forgot, who was he?"

John sighed, "His name was Tony Zucco. He wanted us to pay money so that Gotham criminals wouldn't attack our Circus, but he refused."

"Why? Shouldn't we stay safe?"

"Yes, but we don't deal with criminals.. If anybody demands money for your protection, never oblige, it will always be a scam. That's why we have cops all around, watching us- we told the police, and they are the ones who protect you. I'll tell more later. Come on, get in line. I'm excited to hear what music you and Willis made."

at exactly 8:59, Jack Haly, up on the center ring, finished his introductory speech with a rousing yell of; "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CHILDREN OF ALL AGES, I PRESENT OUR STAR PERFORMERS, THE WORLD'S GREATEST ACROBATS, TRAPEZE ARTISTS WHO TRULY NEED NO NET- THE FLYING GRRRRAYSONS!"

"First out is Rick Grayson!" He boomed as Rick came out and began to climb the tall trapeze. "Next, His lovely wife, Kayla Grayson!" He cheerfully yelled into the mic. Kayla hopped out right on cue.

Before being called out, Mary turned to her son behind her, leaned down, and whispered, "I love the intro. Ready for the best night of your life?"

Dick grinned and turned to face Willis, who was equally satisfied.

John was called out then Mary. Dick then stepped up, his eagerly up pointing chin just barley in the wide door-frame, heart pounding,and most of all ready to meet a brand new audience, as Jack Haly began to boom:

"And now, a surprise young acrobat for you lovely audience members, the son of the very proud John and Mary Grayson, the world's only ten-year-old trapeze artist, Dick Grrrayyson!"

Dick's rapidly pumping blood, filled with thick adrenaline, subsided, and he heard nothing but a distant cheer from the crowd. He ran up the steel rungs on the trapeze's tower, almost monkey-like, before jumping over his family's heads and performing a Grayson signature quadruple somersault, sticking the landing effortlessly.

"No way tzat kid is only ten," muttered Nat in Bruce's ear.

A moment stretched into an hour as the Graysons' act mesmerized the audience, but merely two feet above the uppermost height of Kayla Grayson's foot during the zenith of her backflip from Rick to Mary's arms, was an cluster of incendiary bombs, custom-made by Garfield Lynns to resemble fastening screws on the trapeze.

Silently, they were ignited by from the VIP stands.

There was no boom, no bravado, nothing terrible like other violent crimes, and certainly nothing extravagant like was expected in such a circus as Haly's, but instead a sizzle as the bombs loosened other screws, and soon the entire structure was unstable.

The first fall was when Rick was swinging from the trapeze when the support gave way. Kayla was hanging to his feet, and they both headed straight towards the tower holding the platform up. Rick crushed Kayla between his high momentum and the steel tower. Before he even realized what was happening he already fell to the ground on his back.

The second was when the melted screws caused a massive shift to the bar John and Mary were on. She fell first, joining Rick and Kayla.

Mary was conscious when she hit the ground- it felt like every bone of hers was broken, but she was alive. She looked up in horror through tears of both pain and fear has she saw John precariously hanging over her and Dick clutching to the tower in abject terror. She saw her husband try to grab the bar to get a better handhold, but it only shifted the collapsing structure more, and a large steel bar fell on her. Her perception of time nearly stopped as she felt every drop of blood fly from her face as the cold steel crushed her. Her blood-soaked vision soon went black.

John new this was the end. He wanted to go on, especially when he say Dick's face drenched in tears, but the structure was too unstable.

'D-Dad, jump! Please d-d-dad, come ah-on."

"Son, son! listen I can't. Go, be safe, you can't die, not..not like this."

"Da-D-Dad, I can't! I'll help you! J-Just please! I don't.. I don't w-want you to die."

"I know son, but if you love me.. You'll climb down."

Dick just kept crying.

"Son- Son!" John began to raise his voice, not wanting a single word to be wasted. "Go. Be strong. I Love you."

Dick sat down on the platform, his head in his hands. They were drenched from a cold sweat and his tears.

"I- I love you too dad," whimpered Dick as he turned around and began down the stairs, feeling as pathetic and helpless and cowardly as a a newborn mouse.

John looked up, pray to God that his son would be alright. As he looked up, he saw the bombs light up as the tension was released from his arms. He was falling.

John Grayson died felling a crushing pain coming up his legs, then his spine, and finally as a pain engulfing his neck as his vision darkened.

He landed on his feet.