Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. DC Comics does. This is just a fun writing exercise.

Chapter Four

Dick Grayson stood beside the hospital bed. The bed's occupant, Wally West was sitting up, clutching his head. Dick didn't blame him. The whole concept of the Multiverse was nothing short of astounding. To suddenly remember it, to know that were countless other realities out there, was enough to give anyone a headache. The full truth of the Crisis had hit him like a ton of bricks just hours ago. From Dick's perspective the crisis had happened about four or five years ago, yet it was as new and as fresh in his mind as if it happened a day ago. An infinite number of worlds had died. The universe had been reborn. Just the thought of that sent Dick reeling. He was trying not to think of it. Some concepts were just too great for the human brain to grasp.

"How did this happen?" Wally asked, "Why? How can I remember two different versions of the past? There was Earth One. We were there. Then there's just the Earth."

"Don't think of Earth One too much," Dick said, "Its not our Earth. Ours is the blended one, the reborn Earth. For lack of a better term, the New Earth. For me at least, the Earth One memories are fragmented at best. It's as if they happened to someone else. It's like I'm watching video recordings of something."

"How are you staying so calm!" Wally yelled.

"Someone has to," Dick said.

"Bull!" Wally shouted, "Worlds died! People died!"

"A long time ago and never," Dick said, "It's tragic. It's statistics." The truth was if he didn't keep thinking of it that way, he thought was going to go crazy.

Wally gave a very fierce glare. "Roy was right! You are acting Bat-like! Too much so!"

"It's not like I want to!" Dick paced back and forth in the small space that the room allowed. "Someone has to be responsible."

"You're what? Ten?" Wally asked.

"Eleven," Dick said, "but only in body."

Wally's brows went up. "How do you know that?"

Dick stopped pacing. He sat on the bed beside Wally. He pressed a button on his left glove. "It's a computer with a holographic interface and wi fi access." The screen appeared floating above his glove. He typed one handed, the hunt and peck technique. Google appeared on the screen. He typed in 'Richard John Grayson.' In under a minute he had a old newspaper article on the screen.

"You googled yourself!" Wally said. He smirked.

Dick shook his head. "Not the point!" He pointed at the screen. "See this? The date on this article is 2007."

Wally read the writing on the screen. He looked surprised and upset. "Dick," he whispered, "This is about the night your parents died."

Once again Dick shook his head. "No, not me. The Dick Grayson of this Earth. He was eight years old when his parents died. That was 2007. This is 2010. Basic math revealed this body's age."

"This body?" Wally asked, "What do you mean this body!"

"I don't think it was simple deaging," Dick said, "This is a whole other Earth. If it's real then I think our minds took over the bodies of our counterparts here."

Wally looked at Dick as if he'd suddenly grown an extra head. "That's crazy!"

With the press of a button Dick turned off the computer. He tucked his fingers and thumb into a first. He held the pointing finger. "Alien invasion." He held up another finger. "Time travel." Another finger rose. "Clones." He held up another finger. "Magic." He stretched out his thumb. "And last but not least, psychic powers, including telepathy. Since when have our lives ever not been crazy?" Dick put his fingers on his forehead massaging his temples. "The life of a superhero is never normal."

"How do you know what's going on?" Wally asked.

"I don't," Dick said as, "It's all wild mass guessing. I've taken all the facts I've got and tried to make sense of them but I could be wrong. I could be very wrong."

"It's insane," Wally said as the door began to open, "The whole idea of the Multi-" He suddenly stopped speaking. Dick stared at Wally. The speedster looked upset. "I can't say it," Wally whispered, "Why can't I say it?"

That was interesting, Dick thought. He wondered if Roy was the same. It wouldn't surprise him at all. He turned his head back toward the door. Doctor Midnight walked into the room. He was wearing the costume of the second Doctor Mid-Nite. Dick was pretty certain this was the second Doctor Mid-Nite, or rather the version of him from this Earth. Dick hadn't met the one from the New Earth but maybe once or twice. Dick had never really spoken to him, not the point of actually carrying on a conversation.

"Are you a member of the Justice League?" Wally asked, acting all innocent. Dick wanted to hit him. There were exactly nine active member of this world's League. It was public knowledge that was all over the internet.

Doctor Mid-Nite just smiled. "Reserve member," he said, "I'm only called during emergency situations. More than not it's medical situations." Doctor Mid-Nate began checking Wally's vitals.

Barry Allen came into the room. His red cowl was back in place. He looked at Dick then gestured at the door. "If this were a hospital the visiting hours would be way past over, Robin. I think it's time you left the room and let the good doctor do his job." Dick didn't move from the bed. He wanted to protest that he wasn't Robin anymore, that he hadn't been for years, but he couldn't. The moment he tried to say that, he found couldn't speak. He couldn't move his lips to speak the words. He couldn't deliberately, knowingly speak of any related to his own Earth.

Barry walked over to Dick and grabbed him by the arm. He gently pulled Dick out of the bed. It was as if Dick weighed nothing. It wasn't that Dick weighed nothing. It was that he was somewhere under a hundred pounds. Somewhere under slightly seventy pounds if he was guessing right. Dick hated being physically eleven. He didn't remember being quite this small when he was really was this age.

Dick found himself being guided out of the room. The door was closed behind him and Dick was soon standing alone in a hallway in the infirmary of the Watchtower. Dick randomly walked the halls of the Watchtower. It was a good way to get lost but he didn't really care. He always seemed to think best when moving. He wished he knew where this Watchtower's gym was.

The fact that he couldn't willingly say anything about his world to anyone but Wally and maybe Roy implied something. He couldn't even talk to Wally about Earth One until Wally remembered it. Something had been done to them. Something more than the apparent mind transfer. Was it magic? Was it telepathy? Or was it something else?

Dick moved on down through the hallways until he found himself in an large open area. In front of him and to his right were large floor length windows looking out into space. To his left were the large cicrclur teleportation devices, Zeta Beam tech. Zeta Beams here did not seem to work the same as they did in the universe of the New Earth.

Dick stopped in front of one of the windows. He stared out into space. The Earth of this reality was down below. From space it didn't look any different from the one in his home reality. Back home he had seen the view from space before. He had seen it many times. He had stood on a Tamaranean starship when he was nineteen. When he was twenty he had been aboard a very odd orb-like ship created by the Titans of Myth. Just last year when his world's Justice League went missing, he had led a new temporary Justice League until the old one was found. He had stood on a Watchtower on the moon staring out into space, just as he stood here. No matter how many times he saw it, the sight of the Earth from space was still breathtaking. Even if this wasn't his Earth, the effect was the same.

Dick punched the button on his glove. The holographic screen appeared. He searched through current news stories. He checked for the kind activities only the superheroes could deal. The first cities he looked up were this Earth's versions of his home cities, Gotham and Bludhaven. Nothing was happing in Bludhaven. Gotham City was a different matter. The Arkham Asylum's worst had broken out about four hours ago. The Joker, Two Face, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, the Riddler and Poison Ivy were all loose.

The next city Dick checked on was New York. It was a city that was almost much a home to him in its way as Gotham or Bludhaven. For the longest time it was New York where the Titans had their headquarters. Vandal Savage, Icicle, Geomancer, Sportsmaster, Solomon Grundy, and others Dick was unfamiliar with, were on the attack somewhere in Manhattan. It sounded an awful lot like a version of the Injustice Society. According to eyewitness accounts and pictures, it was not the Justice Society who were fighting back. Dick had already read up on this Earth's JSA. The JSA here was currently retired. Instead the team defending New York City was Infinity Incorporated. Dick looked up the team. The lineup surprised him. It was a team with costumes and appearances very close to their recent counterparts who were mostly members or foes of the Justice Society on the New Earth. They were not the decade or so younger that Dick had been expecting. This didn't seem all that relevant so Dick barely glanced at the images of Infinity Incorporated before going back to the news.

In Superman's city, Metropolis, several unknown nut jobs were running around with Kryptonite powered battle suits stolen from Lexcorp. Over in California in Star City home of Green Arrow, a mysterious black dome had appeared over the city trapping everyone who was there. In Middleton, Colorado, a city that Martian Manhunter sometimes called home, a super-powered pyromaniac was attacking the downtown area. In Boston, Wonder Woman was fighting the Silver Swan.

All those different attacks going on explained why most of the league's big guns had not been involved in finding Dick, Wally, and Roy. All those attacks were too much of a coincidence. There was something here but Dick didn't know what.

He wasn't even sure if his Multiverse theories were correct. The only reason he seemed to know about the Multiverse was because of idle thoughts. He had been thinking about the original Teen Titans who weren't present. When he thought of Donna, he remembered helping her find out about her real parents, only the details of what was said and done back then weren't right. There were contradictions. These troubling thoughts quickly led to other wrong or doubled memories. In very short order that had led to remembering the Crisis in vivid detail. Memories of Earth One was still cloudy and murky, mostly dreamlike. The older the Earth One memories it seemed, the more vague they were.

Dick pressed the button on the glove turning the computer off. He stood there staring out into space for a few more minutes. He paced back and forth a little. Then from somewhere behind him the Watchtower's computer announced, "Recognized 02 Batman," Dick froze. He went utterly still. Here was a moment he had not been looking forward to. In less than a minute a hand in a black glove rested on his shoulder.

"Robin," a familiar voice said behind him. Dick turned around to face Batman, or rather to look up at his face. Batman was six feet two. Dick was currently somewhere under five feet. Dick swallowed nervously. He smiled feeling incredibly awkward. The Batman in front of him was younger than the one he knew. Dick had looked up Bruce Wayne on the computer. He was fairly sure that this Batman was twenty seven years old. That was only three years older than Dick was supposed to be. His Bruce, his Batman was almost forty. Unless one was very experienced in dealing with him, it was hard to read Batman. The cowl was not the only reason. Batman was not an extremely expressive person. This Batman, Dick found almost suspiciously easy to read. There was relief, exhaustion and something else…

This Batman did something unexpected. He dropped down to one knee and hugged Dick. "I've been so worried about you, chum," he whispered.

Chum? Dick hadn't heard his Batman call him that in years. He wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't tell this Batman that he wasn't his Robin. It wasn't that he didn't want to. He literally couldn't. "I'm okay!" Dick said speaking the first words to appear in his mind, "Really! All this hugging is overwhelming, not whelming, definitely overwhelming! Heavily so!" A second after the words came out of his mouth, Dick found himself thinking what the heck? Those words…That word play…He never spoke like that!

Batman pulled away and stood up. There was the slightest hint of a smile on his face. His face turned more serious. "I'd have gotten here sooner," Batman said, "I wanted to be there when they found you but-"

"I know," Dick said, "A major Arkham breakout. I read about it on the web."

"Have you been checked out?" Batman asked.

"Paranoid much?" Dick found himself saying, "Doctor Mid-Nite already looked me over. A clean bill of health."

"What about a mind scan?" Batman

"No way!" Dick shouted, "That's not going to happen. If it was, it couldn't right now. I'm somewhat happy to say that Martian Manhunter is busy. All the stuff going on. It like of America has been turned into a disaster zone, heavy on the dis." Once again the word play coming out of Dick's mouth startled him. He tried not to visibly react.

"What disasters?" Batman asked his voice so flat so void of emotion, that to anyone not Bat Family it probably would have been scary. Without thinking Dick answered the question as readily as he would have answered his Batman. But there was a difference. "The Kryptonite powered goons in Metropolis. The Injustice Society Revival in New York. The winged cyberkinetic lady in Boston," Dick rattled off a list, "Last but not least my personal favorite in all this, the Martian Manhunter is fighting someone with flame control powers in Middleton, Colorado." Dick was again surprised at himself. The words had come so naturally so easily but it wasn't his normal speech patterns.

Dick pressed the button on his glove. The screen appeared. He typed fast. An recording of the Martian Manhunter fighting the pryokinetic villain appeared.

This Batman didn't seem at all suspicious of Dick. He just sighed. His shoulders slumped ever so slightly as if he were extremely weary. The old expression about the weight of the world on one's shoulders seemed to Dick to be very apt.

Dick pressed the button on his glove. The screen appeared. He typed fast. A recording of the Martain Manhunter fighting the pryokinetic villain appeared. Dick typed again and a image appeared of Superman fighting five men who were wearing green and purple powered armor. "This footage is live or close to live," Dick said, "Though who'd be stupid enough to stand and watch I don't know. Now that I see both of them, I wonder why they don't just switch foes. After all, Superman isn't vulnerable to fire. And Kryptonite doesn't do a thing to the Manhunter."

"Out of the mouth of babes," Batman said.

"I'm not a baby!" Dick protested, "I'm not just some kid! I'm-" He broke off in mid-sentence. He'd been about to say that he was a man, that he was twenty four years old. He found he couldn't even form the words. His mouth clamped shut.

Batman didn't seem to notice anything odd. His only response was a shake of his head. He then pulled out a small electronic device from his utility belt. As soon as Dick saw the writing, 'JLA' on the device he knew what it was, a comlink, a communicator.

"Batman to Superman," Batman said into the device.

"I'm kind of busy right now," Superman responded back, his voice coming out loud and clear through the comlink.

"Fighting men armed with kryptonite?" Batman said.

"How did you know that?" Superman asked.

"The internet," Batman said dryly, "You'd be amazed how fast information fast information travels these days."

"Oh!" Superman sounded startled.

Under his breath Batman seemed to mutter the words, "Idiot farm boy. A trained reporter and he doesn't even think of the obvious."

Dick couldn't help the laughter that his escaped, a short burst of cackling. The very sound of that creepy laugh shut him up fast.

Batman gave Dick an irritated look then went back to speaking into the comlink. "Superman, you're not the only one fighting right now. Martian Manhunter is in Middleton Colorado fighting someone with flame manipulation abilities." "I know that!" Superman snapped. "Did it ever occur to you to trade places?" Batman asked.

"Um, no?" Superman said.

"As both you are capable of super speed and your enemies do not appear to be," Batman said, "I suggest that you do switch places. When you're finished with the fight I want to see both of you on the Watchtower. Batman out." Batman put away the communicator.

"So," Dick said, "What are we doing now?"

"Waiting, my young Robin," Batman said, "We're waiting."

For a moment Dick felt too comfortable with this unknown Batman. He gazed up at the Batman. He felt almost as if he was this Batman's Robin. This wasn't so. He knew it wasn't. He was supposed to be a grown man, not a kid in a Robin costume! His mind protested fiercely but he couldn't speak the thoughts aloud. Dick looked at his glove. He watched the computer footage of Superman suddenly fighting the pyromaniac. He switched it over, and in under a minute watched as the Manhunter was fighting the men in the Kryptonite powered armor. He kept switching back and forth between the two fights. Both superheroes made short work of their new foes. Both cameras stopped. Dick turned off the computer.

"Recognized 01. Superman," the computer announced.

A light flashed and Superman appeared in one the circular teleportation device. There was wear and tear from recent battle but he looked otherwise the same as his New Earth counterpart.

About four second later, the computer called out, "Recognized 07. Martian Manhunter." The Martian Manhunter appeared. His costume was different. The red harness over his chest was the same but everything else was not. There was no blue shorts. Instead there was black clothing covering him from his legs up to his chest, and his arms. There was a red belt around his waist. Even the blue cape was changed, a more practical, less flaring, design.

Both Superman and the Martian Manhunter walked forward toward Batman. Dick stood beside Batman, silently refusing to call himself Robin. He was not Robin! He was Nightwing! But he couldn't say it aloud, not with anyone around besides Wally and Roy.

Superman's costume was badly torn in places. Kryptonite always did a bad number on his invulnerability. Any wounds he had sustained were already beginning to heal. If it were daylight in the U.S. right now, Dick knew that Superman wouldn't have any wounds at all. Dick knew more than he wanted to about Superman's powers because his Batman was extremely paranoid. When you lived in a world where cyber kinetic, mystical, and telepathic mind control were all possibilities maybe it wasn't that paranoid. There was an old phrase that Dick had heard more than once that sort of applied, 'It wasn't paranoia if they were actually out to get you.'

Superman looked at Batman kind of sheepishly. Dick knew the Superman from his Earth and more vaguely the Superman of Earth One. While they in many ways the same man, there were some distinct differences. On New Earth the Clark Kent identify was closer to the truth of the man. On Earth One it had been the reverse. This Superman seemed to be like the one Dick knew best. It was subtle things, hard to be certain of, but this Superman seemed to be far more the farmer's son from Kansas than from than the alien from Krypton. There was the slightest hint of a Midwestern accent as he spoke. "I don't why I didn't think of it. Switching opponents was a bright idea." "Don't look at me," Batman said. He gestured at Dick. "It was his suggestion."

Superman grinned at Dick. Dick smiled back then looked the Martian Manhunter who was standing quietly next to Superman. Dick felt more nervous than ever. If anyone could figure the truth it was the Martian Manhunter.

"I see that the boy is safe and sound," the Manhunter said.

"Physically yes," Batman said, "I've keeping in contact with the Watchtower for the past few hours. According to Green Lantern all three boys were found in a tunnel somewhere under Coast City. The problem is that finding them was too easy. We were guided. And we still don't know who took them in the first place. We all know that mind control and implanted suggestions are a possibility. To be safe J'onn, I think you should scan Robin's mind."

"NO!" Dick shouted. He panicked. Even though he knew there was no place to go, he tried to back away. Batman grabbed him holding him firmly in place.

Dick felt the Martian Manhunter enter his mind. Images flashed through Dick's mind. They were memories but not Dick's memories. A couple that looked like his parents, wearing the wrong costumes, fell to their deaths. A Batcave that was just as wrong but an oath that seemed almost right. A Wayne Manor that was not the quite the one he knew. Training and school, only not the exact training he received and not the school he went to. The touch of the Martian Manhunter's mind left Dick and the wrong memories became a weak echo. An echo, a fading dream that was much more vague than the knowledge he had of Earth One.

"His mind appears to be that of a normal preteen boy," the Manhunter said, "I see nothing strange."

Batman seemed to relax. Dick however did not. What? What? What? His mind repeated the word like a badly skipping CD. Dick almost fell from shock. He couldn't explain why, not even to himself but he believed the Martian Manhunter. He believed that the Martian Manhunter hadn't more than traces of the mind that really belonged in this body. Somehow the Manhunter hadn't actually seen Dick's mind but something else instead.. Something really wasn't right here. Dick kept thinking that and the facts kept proving it. Was anything Dick saw here real? Dick knew if he pinched himself he would hurt but was anything here real?