Jim Gordon, Barbara's father sat down in front of Dick. Barbara hovered near the doorway, but a hard look from her father, she left.

Dick could sense some sort of tension in the air, but he did not know from what.

"So, Barbara says you don't know anything about anything," Jim said.

"Well, I kind of do," Dick said.

"Where are you right now?" Jim challenged.

"I'm on Earth. Gotham City, my birthplace," Dick said.

"So you haven't been back here in a long time, I'm assuming. Where do you come from?" Jim asked.

Dick knew he certainly could not say the Palace of Death. So he just said, "I don't- I don't know."

Jim grunted. "What's your name? Your full name."

"Dick Grayson," Dick said, smiling. He knew this one.

Jim turned pale. "Grayson? Like John and Mary Grayson?"

"Er... don't know who they are, sorry." Dick made a wry face.

Jim's eyes narrowed, staring hard at Dick. "Dick Grayson... John and Mary's kid's name was Richard Grayson. Could it be?"

"Could what be?" Dick asked.

"Who are your parents?"

"I don't know," Dick admitted. "They died when I was like, ten. Don't remember much about them."

"Batman's bollucks, you are," Jim said. "How did you get here? Can you remember anything?"

Dick was feeling a bit more irritated now. He felt like he was being interrogated, which he probably was. "No, I don't! I don't know what you're talking about!"

Jim stared at him hard a little while longer. Then, he sighed. "Okay. You can take the guest room. Barbara, will you show Mr. Grayson to his room?"

Barbara slipped around the corner, a sheepish smile on her face. She had obviously been eavesdropping. "Sorry," she said. "C'mon, Dick. This way."

Dick followed Barbara through the rather large apartment. There were pictures of Barbara of all different ages on the walls. Some with her father, a couple younger ones with a woman who also had fiery red hair. The only picture that did not quite fit in was the picture with the most people.

Dick did a quick headcount. There were eleven people in total, and one of them was a large black dog. Dick found the phot quite amusing. Half of the people in the picture were scowling at the camera and the rest were beaming. Dick wondered what the story behind the picture was.

Barbara noticed him staring at the picture.

"Oh, that's my other family."

"Other family?" Dick asked.

Barbara nodded. "My best friends and such. They're like a family to me."

"Oh. That must be nice," Dick said.

Barbara gave him a slightly pitiful look. She touched his arm but said nothing. Dick did not know why she looked sympathetic. Dick did not mind that he did not have human friends. He was perfectly content with his life.

"Here," Barbara said. She gestured to the guest room. "I'm just down the hall, so you can come find me if you need anything. My father is across from mine. The bathroom is just across the hall from you."

"Thank you, Barbara," Dick said. "You're being very kind."

Barbara blushed slightly in the darkness. "What can I say?" Barbara said with a slightly embarrassed laugh. "My life's been taken over by dark haired, blue eyes people who have a pretty face."

Dick made a puzzled expression, but decided to take it as a compliment. "Thanks...?"

"Get some sleep, Dick," Barbara said as she walked down the hall towards her room. "We'll figure out what you're doing here tomorrow. I'll also show you around the city. You're right, you know. Gotham's beautiful in her own way."

Dick beamed and nodded. "Good night, Barbara."

"Night, Dick."


"I've never had ice cream before," Dick said, taking another long lick from his chocolate cone. "Though, I don't taste the ice. It should just be called frozen cream."

Barbara, taking bites of her mint chip, laughed. "Lots of things don't make sense around here, Dick."

"Indeed."

"So, tell me about yourself, Dick. What do you like? What do you want to do in your life?" Barbara sucked a large chunk of ice cream away from the scoop. A few drops of melted ice cream ran down her hand. She licked them away.

Dick looked thoughtfully up at the tall buildings. "I like Earth. It's a beautiful place."

"You keep saying that," Barbara said. "You say it like you're not from here. But you also said you were born in Gotham? And my dad seems to think you're the Dick Grayson that mysteriously disappeared fifteen years ago."

Dick shrugged.

Barbara sighed heavily. "Okay, no more talking about your past. How's that? We'll go grab burgers and talk about Earth's beauty."

Dick smiled. He followed Barbara into a nearby burger joint. Dick had heard about burgers from Life before. And it did look pretty appetizing. Barbara ordered for him and they sat down in a booth while waiting.

The little bells on the door jingled as it opened again. Barbara's face lit up as she waved at the new arrival.

"Jason!" Barbara called. Dick turned and looked to see who was heading their way.

A man in a bright red sweatshirt, his hands digging into his pockets slouched towards them. He wore black skinny jeans that hugged his legs perfectly. Dick remembered what Barbara had said last night, about dark haired, blue eyed people with a pretty face.

This man definitely had that look.

But he wore a dark expression, like Clark had refused to fly him a hundred feet into the air again because Bruce scolded him.

He sat down next to Barbara and stared at Dick.

"You're him," Dick said.

Both Barbara and Jason stiffened. "Who?" Jason asked. His voice had a colder tint to it.

"The one in the picture. On Barbara's wall," Dick said. His eyebrows furrowed at the hint of hostility in Jason's voice.

Both Jason and Barbara relaxed. "Oh, yeah. He's one of my best friends. Jason, this is Dick Grayson. Dick, Jason."

Dick saw Jason mouth, Grayson? to Barbara, who shrugged. Dick was about to tell them he had no idea who John and Mary Grayson were, despite the fact they apparently they had the same last name and the two in question had had a kid named Richard.

But he was cut off as their food arrived, brought by a pretty blonde girl.

"Thank you!" Dick said. The girl blushed and gave him a little wink as she walked away. Dick smiled at her.

"Nuh uh," Jason said. He stole one of Barbara's fries. "That girl is bad news."

Dick blinked at him. "What do you mean? She seems nice."

"You're new," he said. "She plays every guy around here like a violin. She's got a pretty face, but she's no good."

Dick's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you instituting that she was flirting with me?"

Jason made an almost amused face as he snagged another fry. "Uh, yeah. Watch. She'll slip her number onto a napkin later."

Dick wanted to say that he did not know she was flirting because reapers were a lot less subtle when flirting. In fact, they usually just skipped over that step altogether. Dick's face burned a bit. He felt rather stupid because he thought he knew a lot about Earth, but apparently he knew close to nothing.

"So when someone winks at you, it means their flirting?" Dick asked, leaning in.

Jason took Barbara's drink as well, much to her dismay. "Generally."

Dick nodded solemnly.

"Dude, how do you not know this stuff?" Jason asked. "It's like you've never had human contact before," he joked.

Dick cracked a small smile, one that he hoped was convincing. "Heh."

"Oh, Jay," Barbara cut in. "Have you seen that new movie yet?"

Jason reached for another fry, but Barbara viciously slapped his hand away. So Jason went for Dick's fries instead. Dick pushed his plate towards Jason. Jason's eyebrows raised, but he took a couple fries. Dick smiled.

"Mm, haven't had time," Jason said. "D'you?"

"Nah. Thought we could go see it together?" Barbara smiled at Dick. "You like superhero movies?"

Dick beamed. "I love superheroes! I had a friend-" he snapped his mouth shut. He had been about to tell them about Clark, but he remember that Clark was supposed to be dead.

"Had a friend what?" Barbara asked.

"Ah, it's nothing," Dick said with a smile. "He's dead."

"Oh." Jason and Barbara exchanged glances. "Um, I'm sorry, Dick," Barbara said softly.

Dick grinned. "Oh, no, it's no big deal. It all worked out in the end."

They exchanged glances again. Jason laughed uneasily. "So you want to come watch that movie with us?"

"Sure!" Dick said. "I've never watched a movie before. Is it fun?"

Jason's expression was incredulous. He stared at Dick for a long time, as if trying to decipher the secret meaning behind Dick's words, which Dick did not understand because there was no hidden meaning. "Depends," he finally answered. "On the movie and the people sitting around you, I guess."

"Mkay," Dick said. He took a long slurp of his milkshake. Jason took another fry, still staring at Dick. Dick tipped his milkshake cup towards Jason. "Hm?" Jason's face became somewhat amused again. He slowly shook his head.

"No thanks."

Dick shrugged and slurped the rest of his drink. Barbara and Jason exchanged another look Dick did not understand. They waved the pretty blonde waitress over again. And sure enough, she slipped Dick a napkin.

Dick looked at it. Call me, handsome, it read. Dick frowned.

"What, don't want her number anymore?" Jason teased.

Dick shook his head slowly. "No, I don't have a phone. I can't call her if I don't have a phone, can I?"

"Wait, you're actually going to call her?"

"Wouldn't it be rude not to?" Dick asked.

Jason stared at him with wide eyes. "You're weird, man." He stood. "C'mon, let's just go." He snatched the napkin from Dick. "And don't call her." He tossed the paper into the trashcan on the way out.

They made their way down the street a couple more blocks until they came to a movie theater.

Barbara bought the tickets, Jason bought the popcorn and drinks and Dick marveled in the wonders of the theater. They settled in the back of the theater, which had few people, thankfully, since it was the middle of the day on a weekday.

"This is so exciting," Dick said loudly.

A few people turned around and glared at him. Jason explained why they had to be quiet in the theater. Dick looked mortified, and he shut himself up. The movie started, and Dick watched the entire thing with wide eyes. It was quite comical.

Both Barbara and Jason sat on either side of Dick, occasionally meeting each other's' eyes, looking at Dick, then back again. Jason had no idea what the movie was about, but Dick seemed to find it amazing.

As they walked out of the dark theater into the sunlit streets, the sun was hanging low in the sky now. Barbara and Jason had walked out behind Dick, talking in hushed voices.

"Hey, Dick," Jason called.

"Hm?" Dick turned around.

"Listen, so Barbara's got some business tonight, and she doesn't think her father would appreciate you staying at their apartment for another night-"

"Oh, that's totally okay," Dick said with a smile. "I'll just go find somewhere to watch the stars again."

Jason blinked at him slowly before speaking again. "I was going to ask if you wanted to stay with me tonight instead. I live up in the hills. It's, erm, it also has a pretty good view of the stars. Less light pollution... if you want."

Dick gasped. "Really? You don't have to, Jason. I don't want to intrude or anything."

Jason shook his head. "You won't be, trust me. Could use the company. It gets... pretty boring up there."

"Okay then," Dick said.

With that figured out, Barbara excused herself and started back the way they had come. "Hey, I'm going to go now," she said. "Promised to run a couple errands for Dad before I go."

Jason gave her a wave, and Dick smiled and waved as well.

Jason led Dick further down the street, his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"So is Barbara your girlfriend?" Dick asked. "She's very nice."

"Oh, no," Jason said with an easy laugh. "We tried once. Did not work out. So we're just friends."

"Oh," Dick said. "So you said you lived up in the hills? There are hills in the city?"

"They're near the outskirts. The estates."

"Estates? Like a mansion?" Dick asked.

Jason chuckled, a little bitterly. "Not mine, necessarily. Belonged to my adoptive father." There was a slightly harder edge to the word "adoptive". Jason stared hard at the ground. "He's the billionaire. But... he's gone now. It's just me and my younger, also adopted brother. Oh, and our butler. We have lots of friends that stay at the manor on and off so they're kind of like family, I guess."

"Is that why you said it's boring?" Dick asked. "It actually sounds kind of nice. Away from the bustle of the city, great view of the stars."

Jason laughed. "Yeah, I'm not much of a star person. Here's my car. Hop in."

They got in the sports car and Jason roared off into the fading afternoon. Dick rolled the window all the way down, letting the wind hit his face and whip his hair around. It reminded Jason of a long haired dog. In other words, it was unfortunately endearing.

They pulled up in front of Wayne Manor, and Jason parked the car in a garage with at least a dozen other cars. As they made their way through the front door, they were greeted by an older man.

"Alfred!" Jason nodded at the man and smiled. "This is Dick, Dick Grayson. And Dick, this is the butler, Alfred. But he's more like a father. Practically raised everyone in this house."

Dick shook Alfred's hand. He followed Jason through the foyer and into the main hallway. He stared at the ornate décor and the beautiful designs. "It's amazing in here," Dick said. "It's- It's like a palace."

Jason shook his head. "Yeah, Bruce had rich tastes. But I think he just liked showing off."

Dick bristled and quickly cleared his throat. "Sorry, Bruce?"

"Yeah, that's my adoptive father."

Dick nearly choked. But he smiled and nodded like he understood.

"Why, did you know him?" Jason turned towards him with a calculating look.

Dick started to say no, but then, he looked through an open door and saw a large painting hanging on the opposite wall, over a fireplace. "Is that him?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah."

Flying.

Bright lights.

Screams.

His face in the crowd, rushing forward, quickly marred by tears.

Black.

Dick blinked and shook himself. He could have sworn he had seen that face somewhere before. The man in the painting did look kind of similar to Death's human form Bruce with black hair and blue eyes, but there were significant differences.

Death's human form was much paler, and he kept his hair longer. Death's blue eyes were also lighter. But for some reason, Dick could not shake the feeling he knew this Bruce too. At least he'd seen him before, which could not be possible.

Wait, did Clark not mention he once had a friend name Bruce? And he had died?

Dick's eyebrows furrowed. "When did he die?" He asked blatantly.

Jason gave him an odd look. "Uh, a couple years ago. Car... accident. What's wrong, Dick?"

Dick tried to tear his eyes away from the painting of the smiling man. Either the artist was really bad at capturing the essence of the man, or he was really good and the man just had a really fake smile.

"Clark's Bruce?" Dick muttered under his breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jason tense up.

"What did you say?" Jason barked.

"Nothing," Dick said, finally breaking away. He smiled. "My condolences."

Jason narrowed his eyes at him for a long time. "Yeah, well... I wasn't really close to him anyway. C'mon, let's go find Tim. He's the other resident in this forsaken place."

"Resident?" Dick asked with a laugh. "You sound like you don't like your brother much."

"Adopted," Jason said. "He's adopted. I'm adopted. Entire fucking family's adopted. But yeah. He's pretty irritating. But should he actually need help or something, I might help him." Jason gave Dick a sharp glare. "Don't tell him I said that."

"Promise," Dick said, grinning.

Just then, someone walked around the corner, yawning. He had a tablet in his hand, and he was staring intently at it.

"Ah, there's Tim," Jason said. "Hey, Timbo!"

"Morning, Jay," Tim mumbled before walking past them, not once looking up.

Jason rolled his eyes. "He's like this weird zombie kid," he explained to Dick. "Lives on coffee and seems dead to the world, but you say the right words and it's like someone flipped a switch in him. I don't bother with him much."

"He seems nice," Dick said, looking behind them. Tim walked into a closed door. He opened it and then tripped over the rug.

"You think everyone's nice, Dick," Jason snorted. "You're too nice."