Author's Note: Thank you to spiderman1fan (Glad you're enjoying it!) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing.

My name is Richard Grayson. When I was ten my parents fell to their deaths and I was taken in by the Court. They taught me to kill by destroying everything that made me human. Batman saved me and, in order to repay him, I swore an oath to uphold justice. But every bird eventually has to leave the nest. Now is my time to step out from underneath Batman's wings and learn to fly.

Bludhaven, New Jersey. October 25, 5:58 AM

The drug dealers hung from the unloading equipment on the docks like flies trussed up for a spider's dinner. Officer Amy Rohrback shook her head at the sight and beside her crime scene tech Madeline Turner snorted with barely suppressed laughter. "That's a new way to deal with the local drug dealers," the younger woman said when Amy glanced at her.

The two women stepped past the crime scene tape and joined Cody Hamel, Maddy's partner. "Our new friend left us a message," the man said, motioning towards what looked like a spray painted blue bird.

"That's a message?" Maddy asked, eyebrows arching.

"Get to work Mads," Cody told her and she huffed, flipping her brown braid over her shoulder before hurrying past him with her kit. "The call came in an hour ago," Cody continued. "I'll have to do some testing but my best guess is that the only DNA we'll find will belong to our drug dealers. On the plus side, our new friend intercepted a huge shipment of ecstasy."

"Less drugs to sell to the school children," Amy murmured, hands on her hips. "That's not a bad thing." Cody hummed in agreement and walked around one of the swearing drug dealers towards where Maddy was working. Amy glanced up at the dangling and cursing drug dealers, wondering how exactly the police force were doing to safely get them down. She wasn't sure she wanted to bother. The mayor had a speech coming up on the twenty-seventh and the more criminals were off the streets by that evening, the smoother everything would go.

Episode Two: Whispers in the Dark

Gotham City, New Jersey. Eight Years Previously

The boy fell asleep sobbing, wrapped up in Raya's arms. The red head had refused to leave him even when the police asked for his story, holding him close like she was afraid he would simply vanish when she let go. Dick didn't protest. He felt as insubstantial as a ghost. His whole world was being torn away from him, leaving him drifting aimlessly and dreaming of happier times. The red head holding him kept watch despite her exhaustion, mind turning over and over the kiss she'd shared with Dick's cousin before he'd gone on. He'd claimed it was for good luck but his cheeks had been tomato red and he'd been unable to meet her eyes. That was when she'd begun to hope that he thought of her in the same way that she had thought of him. Then her dreams had plummeted from the sky to break on the heartless ground below, staining it with red blood.

Tears trickled down her cheeks and she pulled the small boy in her arms closer. He murmured a little and nuzzled his head into the crook of her arm, cheeks still damp from crying. "It'll be okay," she told him in a broken little whisper, not really believing the words. How could anything ever be okay again after the tragedy she had just witnessed?

The door of the caravan opened and her head snapped up only to freeze. There were two men standing in the doorway wearing white plaster masks that covered everything but their eyes. Raya squirmed back, pulling Dick roughly with her. The boy jolted awake and then let out a frightened cry when he registered the figures. "Get away," Raya stuttered as they approached. The pair exchanged quick glances and then moved forward in tandem. One ripped Dick from her arms and the other pulled her away. "No, NO!" Raya shrieked, thrashing against the grip holding her tight. "Help! SOMEBODY HELP!" A hand tightened around her throat then and Dick let out a little wail as her vision began to fade away to black.

Bludhaven, New Jersey. October 25, 1:00 PM

Dick stepped through the front door of Carolyne's, a local dive he and several other minors had managed to get a job at despite regulations. "Half a dozen drug dealers were found hanging upside down from unloading equipments at the local docks at just after four in the morning," a news reporter was saying, her voice bouncing off the cinder block walls of the mostly empty bar. "Along with them were around a dozen large crates of ecstasy shipped from somewhere in Europe to be distributed across the local streets. Whoever interrupted the exchange left behind a spray painted blue bird but no DNA on scene. Bludhaven police have shared no further information."

"What do you think of the 'Haven's newest crazy?" Colin, Dick's work partner for the afternoon, called from the across the bar where he was polishing glasses.

"What do you mean?" Dick asked, shutting the door and slipping quickly into the employee work room to drop his coat.

"Some guy went and beat up half a dozen dealers," Colin said with a roll of his eyes. "What kind of guy does that?"

"Batman," Dick replied immediately and Colin rolled his eyes again. "Superman too."

"Aside from your heroes, Gotham boy." Dick shrugged at him, unwilling to bring up the Court. Most people outside of Gotham hadn't heard of the Court of Owls and even people living in Gotham thought they were nothing more than a myth. That was probably for the best but sometimes the eighteen year old wished he would be able to tell everyone what exactly the court did to innocent children. "See what I mean? Whoever did this was crazy." Colin went back to polishing the glasses and Dick grabbed a wet rag to wipe down tables from the lunch rush, humming a lullaby his mother had sang to him. The day shift was normally quiet so Colin turned up the news and Dick kept one ear open to the reports, listening for any sign of trouble. The mayor of his new city was giving a speech in two days which meant it was Dick's job to take care of as much trouble as possible. After all, it wasn't as if he had Batman and Batgirl to back him up on this.

"In other news," the reporter continued after a brief weather report and commercial break. "Preparations continue for Mayor Peter Ford's State of the City address to come on the twenty-seventh. The address will be broadcasted from the steps of the town hall, a move that has been widely criticized by people across the nation. The mayor's office is working with the local police force to ensure that the avenue will be as safe as possible. Police Commissioner Delmore Redhorn promises that those attending the public speech will be kept completely safe."

Dick snorted softly at that and stepped behind the bar. Colin grinned at him and nodded slightly in agreement. The Bludhaven Police Department was one of the most corrupt departments in the country and, despite the fact that this was common knowledge, no one ever did anything about it. Like Gotham had been before Batman had emerged, good cops often got killed or seriously injured when trying to bring down the bad ones. Now Gotham had Commissioner Gordon but Bludhaven had Redhorn who, at least in Dick's opinion, was a younger Gillian Loeb.

The afternoon dragged on and on. Dick found himself restlessly wandering the bar while Colin watched him, looking bored and bemused. "Would it kill you to hold still?" the slightly older boy asked.

"Yes," Dick replied flatly. Colin sighed and rested his hand against his cheek, turning up the volume on the television. The lady on screen had cycled through everything local, including Gotham City's current chaos, and had moved on to national news. Superman had come to the rescue again in Metropolis, a mafia boss had been arrested in New York and was facing trial, and a guy in a hood had been spotted for several nights running around Starling City. The last bit of information caught Dick's attention as something to research later. Starling was closer to Bludhaven than Gotham City was and if the hood guy was dangerous then Nightwing would have to deal with it.

Court of the Owls, Beneath Gotham City, New Jersey. Eight Years Previously

Dick blinked open his eyes and tried to sit up only to find himself tied down. His body was completely bare, his wrists pinned at his sides, and his feet chained to the cool table he was lying on. A figure in a white mask loomed over him. Maybe it was one of the men that had stolen him from Raya or maybe it was someone else. The boy didn't know. "You are awake," the man stated, voice cold and empty. "Good. We can begin."

The man turned towards something Dick could not see and then brought a long, thin needle into view. "W-what are you doing?" the boy croaked as the man approached with the needle. "Stay away from me! Please, just leave me alone!" He cried out when the needle slipped deep into a vein on his neck. Tears of pain poured down his cheeks as he struggled to breathe. His vision began to fade and blur around him, the sounds of the crowd's roar of disbelief as his family fell before him. Then his eyes drifted shut and heard nothing as a strange substance filtered into his body.

Bludhaven, New Jersey. October 26, 3:10 AM

The city was quiet. In the short amount of time that Dick had lived here, he had learned that the city was never quiet. There was always, at the very least, petty thieves and con men scattered throughout the streets but tonight they seemed deserted. In Gotham this was a sign that something big was going on and Dick doubted it was any different in the 'Haven. He wanted to know what was going on. The problem was that he had no connections. Nightwing had not been in Bludhaven long enough to know where to begin looking. For that matter, he didn't even know the girl from the night before, Stephanie Brown, had gotten home.

Dick hesitated on the edge of a building, carefully pressing a clawed glove to his face. Part of him wanted to run back to Bruce, apologize, and beg, if necessary, for his help. Dick shook off that thought as best he could. He could do this by himself. The Court had trained him to kill and Batman had helped him use that knowledge to save people as well as teaching him to use his observational skills to solve crimes. The young man had all the tools he needed to figure this out. He just had to use them. He began to turn over what he knew about the 'Haven in his mind, searching for some kind of information source, but came up empty. Frustration sent him flying off the edge of the building into the open air, hoping the rushing wind and adrenalin would bring up an answer. Instead his mind turned back towards Stephanie Brown.

Did she make it home safe? Was her home life any better than the streets? After all, Gotham was not in much better shape than Bludhaven. For all he knew, Stephanie's family could be worse than the men he'd saved her from. Realizing the worry about Stephanie wasn't going to fade, Dick gave in and headed back to his apartment. From there he could track down Stephanie Brown and check on her before grabbing a few hours sleep. He had an early shift at the bar the next morning so he couldn't afford to be out as long as he normally would have been. In fact, he should have been lying in his bed getting some sleep so he wouldn't snap somebody's wrist when the tapped him on the shoulder the next day. Still he knew that he was too worried about what might be going on in Bludhaven to rest properly.

The young man slipped into his apartment and headed for his laptop, the best money could buy as of a year ago. Searching for Stephanie Brown turned out to be harder than he had anticipated. Her family must have been a very recent transfer from Gotham to Bludhaven because he could find not mention of her in any local database. The clock ticked on towards four but Dick began searching for a birth certificate. Maybe by finding the names of her parents, he could discover their work place from there he could track them to their new home.

The work took another hour but at last he had the birth certificate of one Stephanie Elizabeth Brown. Her parents were listed as Arthur and Crystal Brown. Dick scribbled down the names and then glanced at the clock, exhaustion mixing with the need to know. It was a quarter til five in the morning. Dick had to be at work at seven which meant if he was going to get any sleep at all, he would have to go to bed now. The Court of Owls had taught him how to go days without sleep but he did so by tapping into deadly instincts that would put his coworkers at risk. He could not afford to stay awake. He shut the computer and slid out of his costume, tucking it away before sinking under the covers of his newly made bed, alarm set for six in the morning.

Court of Owls, Beneath Gotham City, New Jersey. Eight Years Previously

Dick woke as he was being lifted off the table. His head spun and his vision felt sharper than before. It was as if he could see every little detail on the clothing of the men dragging him along the corridor. He could see the texture of the stone on the walls, could feel it beneath his feet. He squirmed weakly against the grips on his arms but to no avail. His limbs felt as heavy as lead and his head throbbed. He was dragged to what looked like a stone coffin. Dick tried to fight but he couldn't muster the strength as he was shoved unceremoniously into the coffin. The cold from the stone seemed to sink into his very bones and freeze him where he lay. The men vanished from his sight only to return with what appeared to be a heavy stone lid. The lid loomed over him and a cry of fright got caught in his throat as it descended towards him, long thin needles protruding from the inside.

The lid slammed shut over him, the needles piercing his prone body and sinking deep into skin and bone. His heart pounded desperately in his chest this time the scream building in his chest escaped to echo off the stone above him and deafen him. The temperature in the already freezing coffin plummeted and his breath frosted in huge white clouds around his face, making it difficult to see. He wanted to shiver but his body would no longer obey him. His breathing slowed dramatically as his heart rate raced on towards its inevitable end. His new vision flickered and faded away to blackness. Richard Grayson pulled in his final breath and let it out in a soft huff as ice crystals began to spread across his already blue lips. His heart hammered twice more, trying to defy fate, and then fell silent.

Bludhaven, New Jersey. October 26, 7:00 AM

"Do you have the money?"

The man startled, swearing and pulling the blankets up to his chin. The woman beside him did not stir, her golden hair fanned across the pillow. She was ten years younger than the man she was in bed with but she had been paid lavishly for her services. "How did you get in here?" the man demanded, voice squeaking almost painfully high.

"It doesn't matter," came the low growl. "Do you have my payment?"

"I do, and I'll pay you as soon as this is over," came the irritated snarl. "As soon as Ford's out of my way. Now get out of my home." The man's voice broke at the end, fear silence any other words he might have spit out.

"Very well," came the cold reply. A shadow shifted like liquid and then the intruder was gone, leaving the shaken man alone underneath his silken sheets.

Four streets over, a very exhausted Dick Grayson stumbled into work. He had managed to get an hour of sleep before his alarm had roused him. He'd started the coffee maker and then stumbled into the shower, turning the water as warm as it would go. Most people would use cold water but after his experiences in the Court, cold affected his unconscious mind in strange ways. He could not risk exhaustion induced hallucinations. Not when he had to work.

"Are you okay?" Karen asked the instant he walked into the bar, pushing a strand of her grey streaked brown hair out of her face.

"I'm fine," Dick said with a wan smile. Karen frowned at him but didn't press as he slipped into the employee break room to dump a coat on the back of a chair. He returned and tried to focus his attention on the tasks he was given. He could feel Karen's eyes on him the entire time, the feeling making the muscles between his shoulders tense up. He knew she was just trying to make sure he didn't pass out in the middle of the job but previous experience with the Court had long ingrained in his mind the fact that it was better to remain unnoticed.

His three hour shift dragged on, the worried tension in his muscles and the lingering exhaustion making every smile and conversation more forced than they normally would have been. By the time Andrew came in to take Dick's place, the eighteen year old was ready to collapse. He clocked out, grabbed his coat, and left the bar with nothing more than a farewell wave for Karen. The cool air smacked him in the face, helping him to shake off some of the disorientation that came with exhaustion. His senses sharpened, reaching outwards almost automatically to search for any signs of danger. After a year of being part of the Court and further years spent fighting crime in Gotham he had learned that not even empty streets were safe. There was always someone or something lurking in the shadows just waiting to strike.

He remained tense and ready during his entire walk back to his apartment, his paranoia acting up worse than usual due to his exhaustion. It was with a sigh of relief that he bolted his apartment door shut and collapsed on his ratty couch, still in his coat. Calmed by the knowledge that no one could get into his apartment without him knowing, he drifted off to sleep.

Court of the Owls, Beneath Gotham City, New Jersey. Eight Years Previously

He woke in increments, life slowly coming back into his limbs as he began to warm. His skin was covered in a thin layer of frost and there were holes in his arms, legs, and chest where the needles on the inside of the lid had pierced him. Slowly Dick pushed himself into a sitting position,blinking away the frost as his vision sharpened. Two men wearing white masks that covered all but their eyes were standing over him like silent sentinels. Their gaze did not waver from the boy, making him feel as if they were watching for some kind of reaction. After a moment he glanced down at his legs, searching for whatever they were looking for.

What he saw when he looked down made him gasp. The wounds from the needles were sealing shut without spilling a single drop of blood. "What's happening to me?" he whimpered. He looked up at the two men watching him but neither one respond. He began to shake and tried to crawl out from the stone coffin only to be pushed back in. "No," the boy yelped, struggling against the hands. "Let me out of here! Let me go!"

A massive shadow loomed over the small figure and his next protest died in his throat. "Richard Grayson," a cold voice said, making the boy's stomach twist. "You have been chosen.

Bludhaven, New Jersey. October 26, 8:15 PM

Dick jolted awake, gasping for breath. His hands frantically patted across his chest and legs, hunting for any sign of healing puncture wounds, before reality sank in. He was safe in his apartment in Bludhaven, far away from the currently weakened Court of Owls. It took several minutes to calm his pounding heart in the shadows of his apartment, advanced vision seeking out anything that moved. When he finally calmed, he slid smoothly to his feet and headed for the closet, hand pressing against the hidden sensor to open the false back and remove his uniform. In a matter of minutes he was slipping out the window and into the cool night, searching for answers.

He still hadn't discovered where Stephanie Brown lived or where her parents worked but perhaps tonight there would be thugs out unloading their latest shipment. Businesses, even ones as underhanded as drug and arms dealing, had to keep up a consistent flow of product to continue making money. Sooner or later, someone would have to come out into the night.

Dick hesitated on the edge of a rooftop, hearing a distant whisper below him. He tilted his head, allowing his eyes to drift shut as he tried to locate the speaker. With Bruce, he hadn't utilized the skills that the Court had taught him, allowing himself to become softer. He had needed to balance out the harshness Batman in Gotham but in Bludhaven he was free to act more inhumanly. Here he was free to be more like a Talon than a human being.

It was his senses that saved him. He heard the hiss of the bullet through the air and twisted, launching himself off the building. He felt an impact in his shoulder, a brief flash of pain, and then began fall. The wind rushed by him as a choke sound of pain escaped his throat. His body crashed into a rusted fire escape, the metal shrieking at the impact. His head slammed into something hard and, despite his best efforts, his eyes drifted closed.