Chapter 7

Dick woke up with a gasp. His back was drenched in sweat and his chest was heaving. It was four am, and somehow, he didn't think he was going to be able to go back to sleep. Running a hand through his hair, Dick allowed himself a moment to pull himself together. He was okay. The nightmares that were so vivid in his mind were not real. Catalina Flores wasn't back. She was gone. She would never hurt him again. Tarantula was gone.

It was the damn serial killer case. James' brother running unwanted hands all over him and Dick couldn't do shit about it. It was bring back all of the memories that he had thought he had put behind him. Memories that he had shoved so far into a locked box in his mind. He had never even gotten around to telling Bruce about what happened. He had been too ashamed. Too guilty. Had felt like it was his fault.

There was no way that he was going to fall asleep again. It was stupid to even hope. So he did what Bruce did to cope with his constant insomnia. He put on his Nightwing uniform and jumped out of his window and into the cold night air. If there was one thing that would make him feel better guaranteed, it was flying.

###

Red Hood watched in concerned amusement as Nightwing jumped off the tallest building in Bludhaven again and again. Over and over he would dive off the building, waiting until the very last moment to deploy his grapple. Red Hood was worried about the behavior. It was almost if the man was testing how falling felt. Like jumpers who tested the way the wind felt on their skin as they stuck their legs through the safety bars.

Red Hood just waited. He knew that Nightwing saw him. That the man was well aware of his every movement in Bludhaven. Red Hood knew one thing, Batman was wrong to think that this man wasn't prepared to be a vigilante, he was just as prepared as any one of the Bats. He knew that that information would just increase his mentor's paranoia. For now, he his job was to determine whether or not Nightwing was a threat. Not only to Bludhaven, but to the world.

He had already made his decision on that front, the man was quite obviously had good intentions. But Red Hood was not ready to relay this information to his mentor. He liked Nightwing. Liked following him. Liked talking to him. Batman would recall him back to Gotham as soon as he determined that Nightwing was not a menace. So he would wait a little bit longer, pretend that he was doing a real thorough job, and perhaps, he would have the opportunity to talk to the man again. And if he was lucky, maybe they could beat the crap out of some douche together.

An hour later, Nightwing sat down next to him. The man tucked his knees up to his chin, hugging them close to him, as he watched the skyline. Dawn was coming soon, Red Hood wondered briefly if the man was planning on watching the sunrise, or if he was planning on getting sleep tonight.

When Nightwing didn't say anything, Red Hood let out a sigh. This was going nowhere. He didn't have the patience for this. Not at all. Red Robin would be a better choice for somebody to just sit there all morning in silence. "You practicing your swan dive?"

"I like to fly. This is the closest I get these days."

"Fly? Jet planes, helicopters, or something else."

"Or something."

Red Hood shook his was such a Batman response. It was almost like Nightwing had been the one to trained by the Bat and not him. "I know we aren't exactly friends, but is something the matter?"

Nightwing looked at him for a moment, his face usually so impassive, was covered in turmoil. "You're right. It is none of your damn business. But I will tell you this. Batman is an asshole."

"Not that I disagree with you, because I don't, but why is he an asshole?"

"I assume you know who my source inside the PD is?"

"Amy Rohrbach most recently, but formally it was Richard 'Dick' Grayson."

Nightwing didn't look surprised by the fact that Red Hood knew who his contacts were. In fact, he almost looked like he was expecting that answer. "You hear about what happened in Gotham? Or do you Bats not talk to each other about different missions?"

"I heard bits and pieces. Mostly how your boy had the balls to start rumors about Batman being in love with him."

"Did you hear how Batman allowed him to be drugged by the serial killer they were chasing? That he was almost raped and killed because Batman wanted to 'test' him."

"Sounds like Batman. You can see now why we don't always get along. He's a major douchebag."

"You are nowhere near as innocent as you make yourself out to be, so you can quit the act."

Clutching at his heart dramatically, because what fun was life without some form of theatrics, Red Hood proclaimed, "Just what in the world are you accusing me of? I won't have you sully my good name with these lies!"

Nightwing let out a startled laugh. "I think you might be suited to get a job in Hollywood."

"Oh, you think I could make it big as some hotshot actor? Emphasis on the hot part, cause I can assure you that under this helmet, my face is a work of art."

"I was thinking more along the lines of a star in some trashy reality show. And I won't even comment on your face."

"Fuck you. My face is amazing. Much better than Dick Grayson's. I don't get why everybody on the face of the planet takes one look and is instantly lusting after him. Wait, don't tell me, you have a thing for him too."

"Uh no. Not my type."

"What is your type?"

Nightwing paused as if debating how to answer. Finally he settled on, "Redheads." Red Hood would stake his multibillion dollar inheritance that that wasn't what the man had originally wanted to say. But that was okay. He would get it out of him eventually. He would just have to be his annoyingly charming self. Not that many people described him as 'charming', but red Hood would argue that other vigilantes found his penchant for violence endearing.

Nightwing shifted, tilting his head up as if to absorb the first few beams of sunlight. Taking a deep breathe, Nightwing sagged, allowing the stress of the last week to leave his body. Glancing at Red Hood, he gave a ghost of a smile. "I should go. I won't be able to sleep, but maybe I can rest for an hour before I have to get up for work."

"Good luck with that. And I'd recommend taking a shower if you don't work as a garbage man."

"You trying to say something?"

"Yeah, you fucking stink."

"No you stink, I smell like fucking roses."

Red Hood snorted, and Nightwing sent a small wink before jumping off the building and disappearing into the morning light. Red Hood took off his helmet, simultaneously fishing a cigarette and lighter out of his pocket. Taking a deep inhale, he waited a brief moment before exhaling it like a pro. Nightwing was a man shrouded in mystery, and Red Hood planned on sticking around and figuring out every single one of them.

###

Tim narrowed his eyes as he stared at the email from the R&D department at Wayne Enterprises stating that they reached a standstill in their research into creating technology that could connect the brain to prosthetics. Apparently, they needed another one hundred grand before they can even consider the next steps.

Taking a load slurp of his third cup of coffee, Tim responded to the email, well aware that Damian was lurking behind him. Brat was probably going to attempt to stab him. Again. Oh well, if he didn't acknowledge the brat there was the possibility that the pest would walk away.

Apparently he was out of luck. The Son of Satan skulked closer before slamming his laptop closed. Tim looked up, lip curling in distaste. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was people mistreating his baby.

Damian didn't say anything. Just looked at him, his stare penetrating Tim's very soul. Tim took another sip of his coffee, slurping it extra loud just to annoy Damian. Sure enough, a muscle in the boy's cheek spasmed violently. Tim smirked internally. Well maybe it was external if Damian's hand reaching for the butter knife counted as evidence.

Finally the boy growled a frustrated noise. Apparently, he was angry that Tim was not a mind reader. That was okay, Damian was always mad about something. The boy seriously needed to see a therapist, or at the very least make a friend. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice whispered that Damian may act tough, but he was just a scared kid like the rest of them. Tim ignored it.

"Drake. Pennyworth has assured me that you are competent for the emergent task that I am grudgingly requesting that you assist me in."

"What?"

"Are you an imbecile as well as generally incompetent?"

"No, but people don't usually speak in tongues when they are asking for help."

Damian looked like he was ready to explode, and Tim belatedly wondered if he should yell for Alfred and Bruce before his younger brother attempted to murder him. Oh well, it's not like it mattered anyways. Heroes didn't tend to stay dead very long these days.

Finally, Damian pursed his lips in a manner that was so similar to Bruce, that it was obvious that they were related. "Fine. I will speak simply so that you can keep up. I require you to give me Richard Grayson's phone number. He is my friend, but I fear that he is angry with me."

"Considering your attitude, I'm not surprised that he figured out that you're more trouble than you're worth."

Tim regretted his words the second that he saw the hurt and insecurity flash across Damian's face. The boy looked down at his hands, and mumbled something that Tim could barely make out. "It's not my fault. Father angered him greatly and I did nothing to prevent it."

If Tim didn't already feel bad, he did now. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. His cell phone number is in the Batcomputer. Look under Police Contacts, Bludhaven, Grayson. If you can't find it, let me know. Sometimes Jason likes to hide files to see if I can recover them.

Damian sniffed, but he did not look nearly as violent as he did earlier in the day. "Thank you for your assistance. It has been most helpful."

Tim watched as Damian walked away. What was that? Did Damian just thank him? He was officially in the Twilight Zone. Tim took another sip of his coffee, shrugged, and opened his laptop back up. He needed to respond to that email.

###

Dick was sitting in the patrol car with Amy. The department had stuck Dick with Amy, something about having to unlearn all the awful traits he had picked up from Gotham. Dick didn't mind, he liked spending time with Amy. Right now they were enjoying coffee, and Dick was satisfying his sweet tooth by eating the most sugary pastry he had ever tasted. It almost made his his teeth hurt in the best way possible. Amy didn't seem to agree with his assessment if the incredulous look she sent his way was any indication.

"Grayson. What the hell are you eating?"

"Pastry. Duh."

"What kind of pastry? That thing does not look like anything I've seen before."

"Dunno. It tastes like pure sugar. Wanna have a bite?"

"No."

Dick shrugged and went back to eating and sipping at his coffee. When his phone buzzed in his pocket, Dick stuffed the remainder of the pastry in his mouth and wiped the sticky sugar off of his fingers and onto his pants. Alfred would've killed him if he had seen that. Too bad he wasn't here and therefore couldn't stare him into washing his hands and then washing and ironing his pants.

Dick frowned. He had a text from an undisclosed number, which was odd.

Unknown: I am disappointed that you moved back to Bludhaven. I must apologize for my behavior the other night.

Dick: Who is this?

Unknown: This is your friend Robin.

Dick raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. The numbers for the Batfam must have changed again. Too many people must have known the previous numbers. That, or one of them got compromised. Again.

Amy saw his look, and leaned over so that she could read over his shoulder. Dick smirked, and angeled the phone so that she could see better. Dick knew that she had read the conversation when she raised an eyebrow.

Dick: Oh? To what do I owe the pleasure of your conversation? And how did you get my number?

Robin: Red Robin gave it to me after some persuasion.

Dick: Huh. I hope you didn't hurt him to badly. And you didn't answer my original question

Robin: Do not concern yourself with Red Robin. I wanted to apologize.

Dick: I should apologize to you too. I shouldn't have talked to you like that.

Robin: Perhaps I deserved it

Dick: You didn't. And even if you did, I'm an adult and you aren't. I shouldn't have talked to you like that.

Robin: I am not a child.

Dick: But you aren't an adult yet either.

Robin: I have seen more horrors that any adult you know

Dick: You should not say stuff like that if you do not know other people's life stories

Robin: Will you tell me yours?

Dick: Not until the third date

Robin: ?

Dick: Joke. Ask me again when we know each other better.

Robin: I shall hold you to that. Unfortunately, I must leave this conversation as my father insists that I attend school, despite the fact that it is so mundane and I don't learn anything.

Dick: Goodbye Robin. Have a nice day at school.

Dick didn't receive another text, Damian had most likely gone to school. Or perhaps, Bruce had taken his phone away. Dick was just glad that Damian had dropped the asking about his past. He really didn't want to get into it, nor did he want to have to remember what lies, if any, he told the curious bugger. He loved his younger brother. He did, but sometimes he forgot what it was like to have the full force of the Batfam's curiosity directed his way.

Amy gave him a look that Dick didn't even want to try and interpret as he put his phone away. Dick just sniffed and took a long, final sip of his coffee. He wasn't in the mood to fight with her and her all too knowing eyes. And like the saint she secretly was, Amy let it go.

###

Nightwing was almost disappointed by the lack of Red Hood tonight. He definitely had Stockholm Syndrome. In a way it was refreshing. He went about his night acting like he did when he was the lone hero of Bludhaven. Apparently, even the residents of Bludhaven had noticed that they had managed to gain another vigilante.

It was nice to work alone again. Freeing, He didn't have to hold back, aware that his shadow would not only be reporting to Batman, but the Justice League. Licking his lips slightly, Dick ignored his loneliness, and jumped off of the rooftop he was currently residing on; swinging off into the night's sky.

###

Red Hood's lip curled as he leaned against a pillar and stared at the visage of Earth in front of him. He rather be in Bludhaven than here. Justice League meetings were the bane of his existence. He was the point and shoot guy, not the let's talk about our week and potentially a crisis of national security, Batman insisted, and as much as he liked to give the man the metaphorical and literal middle finger, today was not the day. He just hoped Nightwing wouldn't be too lonely without him. Who was he kidding, the guy was probably leaping off a building in joy to have finally lost his Bat shadow.

The League was talking about their cities and blah blah blah. Red Hood couldn't care less. They all lead boring lives. Gotham was were it's at. Well Gotham and Bludhaven. Red Hood tooned out the entire conversation, absentmindedly playing with one of his knives. It was only when he heard the magic words that he actually started paying attention. "Batman, I need your help."

It was Superdouche who uttered the magic words. Red Hood studied the man curiously. He seemed almost nervous. His brothers were also studying the man in front of him. Red Hood could feel their penetrative stares, and they weren't even directed his way.

"Um. The President asked me to investigate the satellite that fell into the ocean. Aquaman allowed me to visit the remnants, but I'll be honest they don't mean much to me. I was hoping to find something to link it to a country, but there wasn't any that I could find. The President wants to know where it came from, because it wasn't a registered satellite, he's afraid that it's an enemy nation's spy satellite."

Batman made a slight grunting noise, but otherwise said nothing, continuing to use his infamous glare on the all American Superhero.

"Bruce. You know the President does not like your methods. You cannot be offended that he asked me to investigate. Nor can you blame me for asking for help."

"Hmmm. Red Robin will investigate."

"You can't be serious. Is this because I used your first name and not your alias?"

Batman's lip curled. "No. Red Robin is more than capable of determining the origin of the satellite. His detective skills have been noted to be quite remarkable by both myself and Ra's al Ghul. If that weren't enough, Gotham has been quite busy lately, and I must focus on protecting my city. Robin and Red Robin do not work well together and Red Hood is currently in Bludhaven analyzing the threat level of the new vigilante. Something that is taking more time than I expected."

Red Hood was glad that his helmet covered his face. Batman would not easily see his unease, the lies that would otherwise be obviously dancing across his features. Maybe they wouldn't be obvious to the other members of the Justice League, but they certainly would be to his family. Hence the reason he chose to incorporate a helmet into his uniform. It provided head protection, face concealment, and a fucking awesome explosive.

Of course it was the Green Flashlight that broke the silence. "Well I don't blame Hood. Nightwing is either an asshole or an idiot. I mean only an asshole or an idiot would choose not to meet me. I'm amazing! Who doesn't want to meet me or be seen with me? Learn from me? I could've taught him how to be a real hero!"

Red Hood felt his lips twitch, and a chuckle escaped his lips. Once one escaped, the rest burst out of his mouth in an avalanche of roaring laughter. Next to him, Red Robin burst out laughing, and even Robin let out a stray chuckle. Batman's lips curved up slightly in the corners, which meant that he was laughing hysterically internally.

Or well, as close to laughing hysterically as Batman got. Green Flashlight looked terribly offended, which made the experience all the more hilarious. Shaking his head once, twice, three times, Red Hood attempted to reign in his laughter. "Man. I never knew you were so funny. You a role model? That's fucking gold!"

"I wasn't trying to be funny."

"Oh. It's still fucking hilarious. Besides, we weren't laughing with you, we were laughing at you."

"Batman, you need to teach your kid manners."

For the first time, Red Robin looked up from his computer. Red Hood would bet that if he had glasses on, he would've pushed them up his nose for nerdy effect. "Believe it or not, Red Hood actually has the best manners of the lot of us when he wants to. Pulls off the whole Shakespearean charm thing. Problem is, he never wants to."

"Damn straight I don't."

Wonder Babe opened her mouth and Robin growled. The kid really hated her. Funny thing was, he kinda reminded Red Hood of a Chiwawa that thought he was a Doberman. Wonder Babe sent a glare the Tater Tots' way, continuing as if she hadn't been interrupted. "I do believe that we are quite off topic."

The Replacement rolled his eyes dramatically behind his mask. "I'll look into the satellite. Aquaman, if you could have a few of your subjects take photos of the remains at every angle, it would be most helpful. I'll send you a few Wayne Tech High Pressure Underwater Cameras."

"That sounds like ego. I'm sure Star Tech would be just as qualified."

The Replacement snorted unattractively. "I could list reasons that the Wayne Tech camera was better all day. The short story is that the Wayne Tech cameras hold up better at high pressures and take higher resolution photos. They also mark exact longitude and latitude coordinates, as well as time, altitude, temperature, and a few other factors."

Wonder Woman sniffed, what it meant, Red Hood didn't know. She could have been dismissing his brother or accepting the facts. Either way, she was a bitch.

The Demon Brat murmured something under his breath, but Red Hood could swear he heard the word 'whore.'

The master of doom and gloom, the one and only Batman, expertly changed the topic, and continued on the meeting of death. God he was so bored. Maybe he could take a nap. Next time Batman requested his presence for a Justice League meeting, he was going to shove his fucking request up his ass and choke on it.

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A/N: So that took longer than expected to complete the chapter. Mostly just filler stuff to kind of set up the next few chapters. I gotta say that I am loving all the reviews that I've been receiving. I love the really articulate ones but I also love the ones that simply say "Please update" because it makes me happy that you guys are thinking about my story. I do have a lot of schoolwork right now, which is another reason that it took longer to update, so I'm not sure when exactly the next update will be.

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THE MORE REVIEWS I RECEIVE...THE MORE INSPIRED I FEEL...AND THE MORE I TYPE!