Mount Justice

June 8 02:18

It was late. The moon had already risen high, and the stars were shining brightly in the night sky above the heights of the Cave.

Most of the Team had already gone to bed. They had faced a tough mission today locating more krolataen tech, and a few Team members had been taken down hard. Not that it wasn't to be expected, but bumps and bruises and scrapes and scars still hurt, so most of the teens had showered and hit the hay within the first fifteen minutes upon returning. Most, but not all.

Nightwing stood in the center of the Cave training area. A series of holographic screens surrounded him as he tapped away at the monitors. He pulled up several sub screens and hacked his way through the mainframe. Not that he needed to, but it was nice to brush up every once in a while. The Gothic Knight flexed his sore fingers and rubbed at his masked eyes as thousands of letters, numbers, and symbols scrolled across the screen as he bypassed the encrypted codes, pulling up for what felt like the millionth time the krolataen data they had gathered over time.

Nightwing ran a hand through his raven hair, looking over the translated data. Most of it was easy enough, but there was still this one word he couldn't get past. The system's database had found no match for it, and Nightwing had already cross referenced it with every available resource, including just looking it up on the Internet.

No success, though. There seemed to be no English word for it. The closest he had come to was "metagene", but that still didn't explain a whole lot. Nightwing sighed in frustration and went back to the beginning.

His tired mind didn't process the distant sound of boots echoing off the tiled floor, and it wasn't till a voice spoke up behind him that Nightwing jumped, jarred out of his determined daze.

"What are you still doing here?" a rugged voice asked.

Nightwing spun around and blinked at his previous mentor, his exhausted brain taking a few moments to process what the bat had said.

"Shouldn't you have headed back to Bludhaven by now?" the Dark Knight asked.

"Shouldn't you be back in Gotham by now?" Nightwing countered as the caped crusader chuckled, "That's exactly where I'm headed, as should you to Bludhaven."

Nightwing shook his head sloppily, "Not until I find a better word than metagene," he told the caped crusader still standing behind him

The Dark Knight had a hint of a smile on his face, "You always were stubborn. And, seeing as I can't convince you, and I can't make you anymore," he placed a gloved hand on his adoptive son's shoulder, "Go on and hack away. But do me a favor and get at least a few hours of sleep, whether it be here or back in Bludhaven."

The Gothic Knight said nothing, but nodded at his old mentor before Batman stalked over to the Zeta tubes, letting the system recognize him and disappearing in a burst of light. Nightwing looked up just in time to see Gotham's masked vigilante looking at him beneath the cowl before he was gone. A smile snuck its way across his mouth, and Nightwing returned his masked eyes to the screens before him and got back to work.

An hour had soon passed, and Nightwing was no closer to his goal than he had been earlier. His eyes were now struggling to keep open, and his body felt awkward from standing in the same position for so long. He kept pushing his long shaggy hair away from his eyes so he could focus, but it just seemed to fall right back into place. The process had become so frustrating that Dick had almost threatened to cut it all off with one of his gadgets if he had to, but he then realized just how tired he was. He recalled what Batman had asked of him. Perhaps it was time to fulfill that promise, he thought to himself. A few hours of sleep would probably do him good, and he could just crash here at the Cave, where his work would be waiting for him bright and early. Yeah, maybe it was time to go to bed.

Reluctantly, Nightwing set to the protocols for shutting down the system for the night; closing out screens and re-locking all sorts of databases within the system 's hard drive. The constant glow of the holographic screens faded to a dim light as the mainframe shut down, and Nightwing once again rubbed at his eyes, but was glad he had chosen to stop for the night. They felt dry behind the mask from staring at the bright light of the monitors for sometime, and his fingers slightly cramped from so much typing. Dick decided right then that he would from then on give more credit to secretaries. It was a lot of work, and Dick silently swore to himself that he would never go into that business.

His thoughts were interrupted when Dick heard a sudden noise. He glanced at the dim screens, but the system was still closing out, and this had sounded like something was being shut, maybe a door. Nightwing narrowed his eyes, his mind now on full alert, adrenaline pumping the sleep out of his body.

Abandoning his post near the nearly dark screens, the masked hero crept away from the training area. Pulling out his escrima sticks, Nightwing made his way down the West corridor, where he had originally heard the noise. He kept his eyes peeled as he walked down the hallways, listening and looking for anything and everything. However, he made it to the end of the corridor, and he hadn't seen or heard anything. Nightwing looked around before rubbing at his eyes again. Maybe it was just his imagination. His mind was on overdrive right then, so it could happen that his brain was just playing tricks on him.

He was about to turn toward the North wing and his own room when Nightwing heard it again. The distant sound like a door was being opened, but he frowned when the sound was too faint to be coming from anywhere near him. He listened again, and he heard a jingling and clanking. The fridge perhaps?

Nightwing shook his head silently as he took off toward the kitchen, his feet not uttering a sound as he crept back to the open space from which he had just come. He slowed as he rounded the final corner, and Dick poked his head out, scanning the area.

Across the room, a bright light illuminated the kitchen. Dick had been right, it was coming from the refrigerator, but the open door blocked the browsing figure from his view. Silently, Nightwing edged his way toward the open door; his muscles were now tense with anticipation as he prepared himself to be ready to leap onto the being at a moment's notice. It wasn't until he was only inches from the door that Nightwing noticed a long, furry tail flick into his line of sight. Nightwing stared in confusion, and it wasn't until the light hit it that he noticed the tail was, well, green.

The Gothic Knight lowered his weapons, "...Gar?"

Dick's sudden voice made Beast Boy jump. With a large clatter, the refrigerator door fell shut, and standing before Nightwing was a tiny little field mouse scurrying about. The mouse's eyes widened as he realized who it was, and in the blink of an eye, Beast Boy was standing in front of his leader again.

"N-Nightwing," Gar stammered nervously before changing into a cheetah, then an elephant, then a turtle. He was pacing the small kitchen area, changing his form almost constantly before Nightwing spoke up, "Gar!" he said sternly, and the boy shifted back once more, his eyes on the leader.

That was when Nightwing took notice. Gar's eyes were opened wide, his pupils so small it seemed as if they almost weren't there. His cheeks were slightly puffy, and his occasional sniffle made it sound like he had been crying, and recently. It looked like his hands were shaking, but when Nightwing looked, he realized that the poor boy's whole body was shaken. Softening his voice, Nightwing asked, "Beast Boy, is everything okay?"

Garfield sniffled, but nodded his head mechanically, "Y-Yeah... just couldn't sleep is all," the younger one said unconvincingly.

Nightwing kneeled down to be level with the boy, "Nightmare?" he asked.

Beast Boy wouldn't look at him, but pawed at his puffy eyes as he stared at the ground. Slowly, the green toned boy nodded his head, and his eyes began to fill with tears.

"You wanna talk about it?" Nightwing asked gently. He knew from his own experience not to prod too much, but to let them come to you when they're ready.

Gar stared at Dick, and his eyes brimmed over. He shook his head, but he couldn't take it anymore, and his years began to fall once more as her shut his eyes, throwing himself onto the elder, clinging to him with all his might as he began to sob. And Nightwing kneeled there and held him, making sure his touch was firm but in a supportive way. He couldn't stand to see the boy like this. This wasn't Beast Boy; it wasn't the joking, confident, adventurous, almost Wally-like person that Nightwing had come to care for. Where was that cocky grin that was always slathered on his face? The mischievous light in his eyes that Nightwing had once known himself? He said nothing, but made sure his ears were open as he let Gar soak his uniform in his tears, and almost choke himself with racked sobs.

"I-It was my p-parents," he stammered between sobs, "I w-watched them die ag-gain."

Dick felt his heart lurch. He had experienced countless nightmares after his own parent's deaths. Even now, upon occasion, his dreams would be plagued with the awful memories from all those years ago. The pain was-is- extreme, and he deepened his hold as Gar tightened his arms around Dick's neck.

"It's all might fault," he whispered, "I could've saved them. I could have-"

"It is not your fault," Nightwing cut him off, pulling him off to face him, "None of that was your fault, and don't you ever think that. There was nothing you could have done, don't try to put the blame on yourself. Believe me, it only makes it hurt more."

Beast Boy sniffled, his eyes dropping, "I miss them," he said.

"I know," Nightwing replied

Garfield tore away from the Dark Knight, wrapping his arms around himself, "No you don't! ...No one does, no one understands. Not Megan, or Blue, or you," he sobbed.

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two, then Nightwing spoke up quietly, "Yes, I do."

The Gothic Knight had now risen, and walked himself over to be level with Gar again, "My family was murdered right in front of my eyes. I watched the life literally be crushed from them, while I stood there and did nothing," he said without hesitation. He knew Garfield needed to know he wasn't alone, and if revealing some of past was what it took to get the real Beast Boy back, then so be it, "I blamed myself for what seemed like forever. 'It was my fault. I could have stopped them. If only I had done something-anything- they might still be alive...'" Nightwing looked hard into Gar's eyes, the whites of his mask creased, "But then I realized, no, it wasn't my fault. No matter how much I wished it, I couldn't have changed fate. There was nothing I could've done. What happened, it was tragic, but it wasn't my fault," Nightwing said sternly, as if trying to bore the moral into the shape shifter's head, "The same rules apply here; no matter how much you think it is, you couldn't prevent that accident. None of it was your fault.

"I know, it hurts. You feel like you're about to explode, and your body just aches, and your heart feels as though it's got a gaping hole in it the size of Alaska. But it gets better," Nightwing shook the boy by the shoulders gently, "You move on, you find a new family. You build up strong friendships with people that really care for you and the hole slowly pieces itself back together, you just have to give it time."

By this point, Gar found himself hanging intently onto every word pouring out his leader's mouth. He nodded numbly, wiping away at his tears. Maybe Nightwing was right; maybe it really wasn't his fault.

"I promise the pain goes away, and I know you miss them. But even though they're gone, their spirits live on through you. Just remember all of the good time's you had, they'd want to remember the good things about them, not to dwell on the bad or the painful," Nightwing smiled gently at Beast Boy, "They will always be with you, in your mind and in your heart."

As silence fell, the Garfield said nothing, and Nightwing was afraid that his whole speech had done absolutely nothing to help. But then, the shape shifter sniffled, a small smile dawning his face; "Noted," he said lightly, and Nightwing's smile broadened.

He clapped a hand on Gar's shoulder, "Now there's the Beast Boy I know and I guess come to love," Garfield rolled his eyes as Dick emphasized the middle part, his smile growing back into more of his cocky grin, "Psh, you know you love me. I'm hilarious, and adorable!"

Now it was Nightwing's turn to roll his eyes, the tips of his domino mask raising as he arched an eyebrow, "Adorable my foot," he scoffed.

"Oh really?" Beast Boy laughed, before transforming in the blink of an eye. Dick lowered his head to stare down at a tiny little kitten, and Gar meowed up comically at him as if to say, "How 'bout now?"

Dick chuckled as Garfield changed back, "Still in your dreams kiddo," he ruffled Gar's hair as he stood. "So, you think you're going to be able to sleep now?" he asked.

Beast Boy nodded with a smile, but it dropped before he rushed over to the fridge, jumbling around until he reemerged with a mound of food in his grasp, he smiled a toothy grin, "Well, maybe after a midnight snack of tofu!"

Nightwing shook his head as he began to walk, "You and tofu..." he laughed.

"Hey, don't go dissin' the tofu," Beast Boy said defensively.

Nightwing just chuckled, "Wouldn't dream of it."

Okay, I really hope it's alright. I'm not too happy with this first chapter, but I'm hoping it'll get better as I go. Please, leave me your comments. Let me know who you'd like to see next! And/or a particular nightmare they'd have, I'm open to just about anything!

I'm gonna try to update soon, but unfortunately I'm extremely busy this summer –of course -_-;- So, it might be awhile, but I swear! I'm not giving up on it, just be patient with me, please?

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