Dick woke to whimpering in the night. Over the shudder of the air conditioner in his bedroom, he wasn't exactly sure where it was coming from at first.

Then it came again.

Dick sat up a little, his nude body exposed from the chest up. He gently shook Wally.

"Wally, Wally wake up," he cooed.

Wally awoke with a start, gasping for breath.

Dick reached his arm across the redhead's bare chest, "Shhh. It's alright. Was it that nightmare about your uncle again?"

"Yeah I-I couldn't save him."

"It's okay; he's happy where he is now. Everything's fine," Dick moved closer to Wally as he spoke. He lifted a leg over the speedster and rested on one of his shoulders. "You're alright."

He listened as Wally's heart slowed back down to a steady beat. The redhead drifted off again.


Dick awoke to empty space a few hours later. He sat up; noticing Wally wasn't in bed with him anymore. But he smelled eggs. With a grin, he stood up and took a shirt and a pair of shorts off the floor to wear temporarily. Then he exited the bedroom.

Wally was in his clothes from yesterday. He looked up from the griddle as Dick walked in. "Morning Sleeping Beauty," he teased lightly.

Dick smirked back, "It's only 7:45. And I have to go to work."

Wally laughed, "Well you're certainly dressed for it."

Dick walked over and elbowed him lightly, looking at the eggs as Wally used a spatula to take them off, "I gave up a lot of my night shifts for you. The least you can do is to show some appreciation."

Just then, a ding! Went off, signaling toast.

Wally walked across the kitchen to get them, "I do appreciate it. Now I don't have to worry about you getting mugged in the middle of the night."

"Blüdhaven isn't as bad as Gotham."

"Yeah but it's no Central," Wally looked back at him as he put cheese on the toast.

Dick frowned slightly, "Neither is the Middle East."

Wally put down the food and looked back at Dick, "We already discussed this. I have to go."

Dick put his hands up in submission, "I know, I just wish you didn't."

The raven-haired teen remembered last night when he heard Wally cry in his sleep. He remembered Superman taking him down in training.

/You aren't ready yet. Solo in Central is one thing; League affairs are a whole new level/.

"Dick, stop worrying. I can tell by your facial expression," Wally walked back and handed him a plate. It had an egg and cheese sandwiched between two pieces of toast on it.

"I'm not worrying," the blue-eyed boy lied, taking a bite.

Wally readied a plate for himself as well. A moment of silence passed before he spoke, "I have to go soon too. I bet Duncan is dying to pee."

Dick chuckled, "At least he's housebroken now."

"They say Dalmatians are harder to train," Wally looked back as he poured coffee into two mugs. "Because they like to run around a lot."

"Well you're a perfect match then."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

Still smirking, Dick walked over and opened the cabinet which led to the cream and sugars, "Here, let me get that."

Wally moved out of his way as the smaller teen wriggled his way through. He asked nonchalantly, "Cream and 37 sugars correct?"

The redhead grinned, "Yep."

"Go, go. Stop hovering over me and eat. I'll be right there," Dick shooed Wally away with his plate.

The speedster smirked a little but walked off to the kitchen counter.


Dick checked his watch; 11:00 – he was going to be late.

"I'm leaving early today Chief," he stated quickly as he swept past the security check-in at the police station. He signed himself out and returned his cuffs, gun, and taser.

"Alright Grayson, take care of yourself," the lady replied tersely as she walked by.

The man at the desk was storing Dick's items away as the raven-haired teen jogged briskly out.

Dick ran to the back parking lot. Glancing at a nearby camera, the young man took a sharp right where he knew the blind spot was.

He picked a remote control out of his pocket, and then he clicked a button on it.

Silently, a door in the back of the complex- a small building used for storing obsolete materials- opened wide. His motorcycle raced to his side.

Dick changed quickly into his suit and discarded his clothing in the warehouse for later pick-up.

Then he raced onto Blüdhaven's streets as Nightwing.


It was 11:58 am. Flash paced the paneled floors of Watchtower.

"Hey man, don't waste all your energy here. We have work to do," Green Lantern walked over, greeting him.

Flash didn't realize until GL put a hand to his shoulder that he had been in accelerated mode. The redhead gave a small smile and slowed back down to normal speed. But he could still feel his mind racing.

"Sorry. Is everyone almost ready?"

"Almost," GL looked back over his shoulder. "Hawkgirl misplaced her mace."

"How often has that happened?"

"Not a lot. Manhunter was having trouble finding the coordinates this morning too."

Flash frowned and looked at him quizzically, "How is that possible? I mean the place is on international news."

"Yeah. But either our equipment is failing us or Al Ghul was trying out some kind of cloaking device," GL shifted and looked suspiciously around himself. "I don't know. These are bad omens to me."

"We're ready," Superman's voice interrupted all conversation in the room.

The Man of Steel and Hawkgirl were walking out …the warrior had her mace.

"Great, the sooner we get this over with the better," Green Lantern left Flash's side as he started toward the transporter.

Flash looked to his side and spotted Batman turning away from the computer where Martian Manhunter stood. The Dark Knight paused, as if feeling someone watch him, before looking directly at the speedster.

The younger Leaguer couldn't help but bite his lip.

Ever since his uncle had died Batman had hardly spoken a word to him. He concluded it was because he wore his uncle's uniform, which must constantly remind him along with everyone else on The League that Barry Allen was dead.

"Come on Kid," GL called back to his teammate, making the speedster jump back to his senses.

Flash turned and saw everyone already standing there.

The red-clad hero darted over, making his way to the platform in a fraction of a second.

Batman narrowed his eyes and nodded to Martian Manhunter, "Take us down."