Morning in Metropolis

by Rosepixie

A series of very short stories about characters from the DC Comics universe in the morning (not all are in Metropolis). There is very little plot, but it is safe to assume that the stories all take place on the same morning, so small connections may become evident. I have no current plans to expand any of these, but may continue to add more of them over time.

2. Nightwing

The alarm began buzzing loudly. Dick groan and rolled over onto his back, still mostly asleep. He reached out blindly to stop it, but there was nothing where he expected the little clock to be. With an even louder groan, he remembered that it was across the room. He was home, in Wayne Manor. Bruce wanted him to go on some business trip today, so he'd ridden his bike down yesterday afternoon. He couldn't remember what Alfred had told him made this business trip special and he hadn't gotten the chance to ask Bruce before Batman had left on patrol.

As he rolled out of bed to track down the still-screaming alarm clock, Dick could feel a whole new set of bruises that he was pretty sure he hadn't had yesterday. Party favors from patrolling in Gotham last night. Stumbling across the room, he finally got the obnoxious buzzing to stop.

He stood blinking at the sunlight streaming into the room. Alfred always opened the curtains wide before he woke up. A suitcase sat on a wooden folding frame next to his dresser, already mostly full with meticulously pressed and folded clothing. That was one thing he missed from living in the manor - Alfred always did most of the packing for him (apparently because Bruce was hopeless at it). He and Tim had always been responsible for their own school bags and such, but Alfred took care of suitcases.

Dick made his way over to his private bathroom and turned on the water in the shower to get it nice and hot. A very hot shower usually helped sooth some of the aches of patrol and it felt like he needed it now. Especially if he was going to be stuck on a airplane with Bruce for a while.

He turned to the mirror while waiting for the shower water to warm up. A cursory examination showed an assortment of bruises on his arms and chest, most of them still the sort of yellowy-orange coloring that meant they would certainly darken into a deep brownish-purple by tomorrow. There was one low on the left side of his ribcage that was about the size of a fifty-cent piece and already an almost pretty swirl of rainbow colors. One of the goons last night had gotten a lucky shot, but it hadn't payed off for him in the long run. With a sigh, Dick dug around in the cabinet under the sink until he found an adhesive cold pack. He set it on the counter so he could apply it to the bruise after his shower.

The water had finally gotten hot and steam was beginning to fill the bathroom, so Dick slipped out of his shorts and stepped under the stream of water. The heat felt great and he sighed, just enjoying the feeling for a minute. This was definitely a good way to start the day.