Dick and Babs, A New Chapter In Life
"You're having a bad day boys," Nightwing said as he leapt into action. He had been watching the major drug shipment come in the harbor. He watched the seven men unload their "cargo" and reach the end of the pier before making his presence known. It was good to be making headway in his efforts to clean up the cesspool known as Bludhaven. "Make it easy on yourselves and give up now."
One well dressed man with sunglasses and an automatic weapon said, " Why would we give up to a Batman wannabe?" Shots rang out at the pier. An unbelievable display of acrobatics saved the hero from being hit by the mass array of bullets. "Be still damn you!"
"I am afraid you just bought yourself extra time at the hospital, pal!" Nightwing said as he hurled his Nightarang knocking the man's weapon away. Faster than he could reach for his 9mm from inside his jacket, Nightwing was on him. With a quick kick to the midsection and a hit in the face from an escrima stick, the thug was down. As if waking from a daze, the remaining six men came at Nightwing from different directions. At the last second Nightwing did an amazing somersault over two of them and gained some extra lift by kicking the two men in the back knocking them into the other four who had converged on Nightwing's former position. All six men stumbled to the ground. Escrima sticks immediately were zeroed in on the first two to be foolish enough to stand. As the remaining four who were fortunate, or unfortunate as the case may be, to still be awake surrounded Bludhaven's scourge of evil, a smile formed on the face of the hero. "I guess you guys are going to handle me, huh?" The smile turned to a grin which one hood swore was the scariest thing he had seen as the man in black jumped straight into the air and his legs split with ease to kick the two men on each of his sides and a blow to the head of a third sent all of his companions down. The man swallowed hard as he was the last of his associates standing. He was sweating with fear as he knew he could not take Nightwing alone. His only option left was to run. Before he could get 3 steps however he was caught in some kind of cable which seemed to wrap itself around him endlessly. With no maneuvering room available, the man fell to the ground. The man was totally struck with fear as he watched his friends being wrapped up in the same manner as he. The lone figure again approached the man.
"Please don't kill me!" the man cried with all the fear he could muster in his voice. The sound of sirens could be heard heading to the vicinity.
"I won't kill you, but I do have some strong advice, Nightwing said in "the voice" crouched over the man, "I would make a full confession when the boys in blue arrive. I would also tell them everything you know about the operation. If I find out you held back information, I WILL be back for you." One well placed punch later a jumpline was fired and Nightwing was gone.
"Batman wannabe.heh.. if he only knew," Nightwing said with a smile as he flew off into the night.
"I guess you think you are hotstuff, boy wonder," Dick's computer called out. Dick looked at the computer screen to find the face of the lovely and talented Oracle, otherwise known as Barbara Gordon. "Those guys are lucky I contacted the police."
"Yeah, Babs it was nice to let loose a little," Dick replied. "My schedule has been tight between the Titans and the PD. I have not had much time to patrol the 'Haven. Thanks for dispatching some good cops. Maybe these guys will be put away for a while."
"You seem to be making some progress in your mission down the shore," Barbara said with a playful smile on her face, "Not bad for a Batman wannabe!" Her smile turned to a snort and a small chuckle as she closed her connection. Dick knew she was totally pleased with herself and her parting shot.
A long hot shower later, Dick was standing in his kitchen eating a bowl of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. "Man, I have got to thank Wally for leaving this cereal here. I can't believe they don't sell it in Bludhaven," Dick thought to himself. Dick smiled at the thought of his best friend, Wally West, The Flash, The Fastest Man Alive. They had not seen each other much since the Scarlet Speedster resigned from the Titans. He had only joined the group to ensure Nightwing rejoined in his rightful place as the team's leader. Once that task was completed, Wally decided it was time to move on. The hyperactive speedster had come for the weekend while his wife, Linda was away at a journalism conference or at a "Slow agonizing decent into utter boredom" as Wally had put it. Good natured fun and hijinks ensued as the two friends received a much needed break. They each had a chance to catch up on current events and it gave Dick a chance to hear how Vic Stone was doing in Central City. Dick had not been close to Vic after his return as Cyberion to regain his family. Finding out that Cyborg "had" to stay a Titan because of Batman did not help their friendship any either. It all worked out in the end for Victor as he received a cloned body of himself and regained a lot of his humanity. Still, Vic left the Titans without so much as a goodbye to Nightwing, which saddened Dick as at one time the two men were very close. Dick blamed himself for not being able to help Vic after his near brain death during that dreary event they all referred to as "The Titans Hunt". All of the deaths that occurred during that dark time weighed heavily on Dick. The personal failure that Dick had put on himself had shaken him to the very core of his being. Nightwing became a shadow of his former confident and capable self. Deciding memory lane was too painful, Dick shifted his thoughts to Barbara Gordon. After his return to Gotham and subsequent relocation to Bludhaven, the two had renewed their friendship which stirred the romantic feelings that each of them had harbored for years. "At least I am past all of that doubt and self inflicted pain," Dick said to himself, "Babs was a big part of that." Dick had managed to break down some of the barriers Barbara had placed around herself after being confined to her wheelchair. "That damn chair," Dick thought, "She uses it to keep me away. Even with the steps we have taken in our relationship she still uses that damn chair. I would spend the rest of my life with her if I could just make her realize that it is the heart and soul of the woman that I love and not the use of her legs."
Finishing his bowl of Sugar Bombs, Dick led himself through the secret passage into his base of operations. "Gotta make sure Dr. Fledermaus pays his rent this month," he reminded himself. Going to the closet he opened a panel revealing his safe. Turning the knob to input the combination, Dick opened the safe. Carefully moving precious mementos of his days at the circus, Dick found the object of his search, a small jewelry box. He opened the box and removed the ring which was once his mother's. His father was not a rich man by any means, but travelling with a circus meant he did not have to pay rent, so when he proposed to Mary he bought a nice 1 ct. marquis cut diamond to give to his love. Dick closed his safe and polished the ring. Returning to his apartment and sitting on the couch staring at the ring his eyes began to close.
Barbara Gordon was sitting in her living room. Dick was there with a sheepish grin. Bruce Wayne was there and he was smiling! Tim and Cassandra, Dinah and her father, Jim Gordon were all there. "What is going on Dick? Why are all of you here?"
"I brought them here to tell them all how much I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Dick said as he got down on one knee. Pulling his mother's ring out he asked, "Barbara Gordon, Will you marry me?"
Through tears of joy the only response was, "Yes." Dick placed the ring on her finger and kissed her. They were both crying at this point. It was at this moment that Barbara stood from her wheelchair and said to a shocked Dick Grayson, "I love you Dick and your love for me has healed me."
"Dick!" his computer called out. "Hello Dickie? Anyone home?"
Dick jolted up from the couch and fell into the floor holding his mother's ring. He then had the sinking realization that it had all been a dream. Wobbling over to his computer he clumsily said, "Huh, Babs? Uh, what's up?
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" she asked.
"Umm, no. I was just sleeping and having one doozy of a dream."
"Dreaming of me again, boy wonder?"
Running his hands over his reddened face of embarassment and through his hair, he asked, "Babs, do you want to meet for breakfast in the morning? I finally got some vacation time with the PD and I want to see you."
"Hah! I knew you were dreaming about me. Breakfast sounds great, hunk wonder."
"Great, I will pick you up at 8:00!"
"Uh, listen Dick, I am going to be busy in the morning. Why don't we have breakfast here."
Knowing that she wasn't really busy but "the chair" kept her from wanting to go out he decided to hide his disappointment. With his patented Get-a- rise-out-of-Babs-grin he said, "Sounds good to me. I will have you all to myself!"
"See you then, don't-be-late-wonder," Barbara said as she signed off. Going back to the couch, Dick said to himself, "At least we are getting together." Dick picked the ring back up and stared at it. "If only Babs. If only it weren't a dream. Aw, c'mon Grayson.. stop feeling sorry for yourself. Between thinking of Vic and now Babs and your inability to help you are going to get all whiney and start talking to yourself." It was at this moment the idea hit Dick like a bolt of lightning. "OF COURSE!!! Why didn't I think of this a long time ago?" With renewed excitement he jumped up and ran to his phone with the scrambled line and dialed. With an impatience that would rival Wally's he waited for someone to answer.
"Jessie? Nightwing. Yes I know what time it is, sorry. Listen, I need a huge favor.."
To be continued
"You're having a bad day boys," Nightwing said as he leapt into action. He had been watching the major drug shipment come in the harbor. He watched the seven men unload their "cargo" and reach the end of the pier before making his presence known. It was good to be making headway in his efforts to clean up the cesspool known as Bludhaven. "Make it easy on yourselves and give up now."
One well dressed man with sunglasses and an automatic weapon said, " Why would we give up to a Batman wannabe?" Shots rang out at the pier. An unbelievable display of acrobatics saved the hero from being hit by the mass array of bullets. "Be still damn you!"
"I am afraid you just bought yourself extra time at the hospital, pal!" Nightwing said as he hurled his Nightarang knocking the man's weapon away. Faster than he could reach for his 9mm from inside his jacket, Nightwing was on him. With a quick kick to the midsection and a hit in the face from an escrima stick, the thug was down. As if waking from a daze, the remaining six men came at Nightwing from different directions. At the last second Nightwing did an amazing somersault over two of them and gained some extra lift by kicking the two men in the back knocking them into the other four who had converged on Nightwing's former position. All six men stumbled to the ground. Escrima sticks immediately were zeroed in on the first two to be foolish enough to stand. As the remaining four who were fortunate, or unfortunate as the case may be, to still be awake surrounded Bludhaven's scourge of evil, a smile formed on the face of the hero. "I guess you guys are going to handle me, huh?" The smile turned to a grin which one hood swore was the scariest thing he had seen as the man in black jumped straight into the air and his legs split with ease to kick the two men on each of his sides and a blow to the head of a third sent all of his companions down. The man swallowed hard as he was the last of his associates standing. He was sweating with fear as he knew he could not take Nightwing alone. His only option left was to run. Before he could get 3 steps however he was caught in some kind of cable which seemed to wrap itself around him endlessly. With no maneuvering room available, the man fell to the ground. The man was totally struck with fear as he watched his friends being wrapped up in the same manner as he. The lone figure again approached the man.
"Please don't kill me!" the man cried with all the fear he could muster in his voice. The sound of sirens could be heard heading to the vicinity.
"I won't kill you, but I do have some strong advice, Nightwing said in "the voice" crouched over the man, "I would make a full confession when the boys in blue arrive. I would also tell them everything you know about the operation. If I find out you held back information, I WILL be back for you." One well placed punch later a jumpline was fired and Nightwing was gone.
"Batman wannabe.heh.. if he only knew," Nightwing said with a smile as he flew off into the night.
"I guess you think you are hotstuff, boy wonder," Dick's computer called out. Dick looked at the computer screen to find the face of the lovely and talented Oracle, otherwise known as Barbara Gordon. "Those guys are lucky I contacted the police."
"Yeah, Babs it was nice to let loose a little," Dick replied. "My schedule has been tight between the Titans and the PD. I have not had much time to patrol the 'Haven. Thanks for dispatching some good cops. Maybe these guys will be put away for a while."
"You seem to be making some progress in your mission down the shore," Barbara said with a playful smile on her face, "Not bad for a Batman wannabe!" Her smile turned to a snort and a small chuckle as she closed her connection. Dick knew she was totally pleased with herself and her parting shot.
A long hot shower later, Dick was standing in his kitchen eating a bowl of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. "Man, I have got to thank Wally for leaving this cereal here. I can't believe they don't sell it in Bludhaven," Dick thought to himself. Dick smiled at the thought of his best friend, Wally West, The Flash, The Fastest Man Alive. They had not seen each other much since the Scarlet Speedster resigned from the Titans. He had only joined the group to ensure Nightwing rejoined in his rightful place as the team's leader. Once that task was completed, Wally decided it was time to move on. The hyperactive speedster had come for the weekend while his wife, Linda was away at a journalism conference or at a "Slow agonizing decent into utter boredom" as Wally had put it. Good natured fun and hijinks ensued as the two friends received a much needed break. They each had a chance to catch up on current events and it gave Dick a chance to hear how Vic Stone was doing in Central City. Dick had not been close to Vic after his return as Cyberion to regain his family. Finding out that Cyborg "had" to stay a Titan because of Batman did not help their friendship any either. It all worked out in the end for Victor as he received a cloned body of himself and regained a lot of his humanity. Still, Vic left the Titans without so much as a goodbye to Nightwing, which saddened Dick as at one time the two men were very close. Dick blamed himself for not being able to help Vic after his near brain death during that dreary event they all referred to as "The Titans Hunt". All of the deaths that occurred during that dark time weighed heavily on Dick. The personal failure that Dick had put on himself had shaken him to the very core of his being. Nightwing became a shadow of his former confident and capable self. Deciding memory lane was too painful, Dick shifted his thoughts to Barbara Gordon. After his return to Gotham and subsequent relocation to Bludhaven, the two had renewed their friendship which stirred the romantic feelings that each of them had harbored for years. "At least I am past all of that doubt and self inflicted pain," Dick said to himself, "Babs was a big part of that." Dick had managed to break down some of the barriers Barbara had placed around herself after being confined to her wheelchair. "That damn chair," Dick thought, "She uses it to keep me away. Even with the steps we have taken in our relationship she still uses that damn chair. I would spend the rest of my life with her if I could just make her realize that it is the heart and soul of the woman that I love and not the use of her legs."
Finishing his bowl of Sugar Bombs, Dick led himself through the secret passage into his base of operations. "Gotta make sure Dr. Fledermaus pays his rent this month," he reminded himself. Going to the closet he opened a panel revealing his safe. Turning the knob to input the combination, Dick opened the safe. Carefully moving precious mementos of his days at the circus, Dick found the object of his search, a small jewelry box. He opened the box and removed the ring which was once his mother's. His father was not a rich man by any means, but travelling with a circus meant he did not have to pay rent, so when he proposed to Mary he bought a nice 1 ct. marquis cut diamond to give to his love. Dick closed his safe and polished the ring. Returning to his apartment and sitting on the couch staring at the ring his eyes began to close.
Barbara Gordon was sitting in her living room. Dick was there with a sheepish grin. Bruce Wayne was there and he was smiling! Tim and Cassandra, Dinah and her father, Jim Gordon were all there. "What is going on Dick? Why are all of you here?"
"I brought them here to tell them all how much I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Dick said as he got down on one knee. Pulling his mother's ring out he asked, "Barbara Gordon, Will you marry me?"
Through tears of joy the only response was, "Yes." Dick placed the ring on her finger and kissed her. They were both crying at this point. It was at this moment that Barbara stood from her wheelchair and said to a shocked Dick Grayson, "I love you Dick and your love for me has healed me."
"Dick!" his computer called out. "Hello Dickie? Anyone home?"
Dick jolted up from the couch and fell into the floor holding his mother's ring. He then had the sinking realization that it had all been a dream. Wobbling over to his computer he clumsily said, "Huh, Babs? Uh, what's up?
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" she asked.
"Umm, no. I was just sleeping and having one doozy of a dream."
"Dreaming of me again, boy wonder?"
Running his hands over his reddened face of embarassment and through his hair, he asked, "Babs, do you want to meet for breakfast in the morning? I finally got some vacation time with the PD and I want to see you."
"Hah! I knew you were dreaming about me. Breakfast sounds great, hunk wonder."
"Great, I will pick you up at 8:00!"
"Uh, listen Dick, I am going to be busy in the morning. Why don't we have breakfast here."
Knowing that she wasn't really busy but "the chair" kept her from wanting to go out he decided to hide his disappointment. With his patented Get-a- rise-out-of-Babs-grin he said, "Sounds good to me. I will have you all to myself!"
"See you then, don't-be-late-wonder," Barbara said as she signed off. Going back to the couch, Dick said to himself, "At least we are getting together." Dick picked the ring back up and stared at it. "If only Babs. If only it weren't a dream. Aw, c'mon Grayson.. stop feeling sorry for yourself. Between thinking of Vic and now Babs and your inability to help you are going to get all whiney and start talking to yourself." It was at this moment the idea hit Dick like a bolt of lightning. "OF COURSE!!! Why didn't I think of this a long time ago?" With renewed excitement he jumped up and ran to his phone with the scrambled line and dialed. With an impatience that would rival Wally's he waited for someone to answer.
"Jessie? Nightwing. Yes I know what time it is, sorry. Listen, I need a huge favor.."
To be continued
