When Bruce finally made it to Dick's room, he wasn't too surprised when he found the door was locked. "Dick..." he groaned and pressed his forehead against the wooden door, marveling at his own stupidity. What was he thinking, snapping at Dick like that?! He was a traumatized child, not someone who should be under the burning gaze of a bat-glare. "Dick, please open the door. I'm sorry for how I acted, and I promise that I would never hurt you."

There was no response. Bruce couldn't even hear the sound of feet shuffling. He wasn't going to open the door, was he? Bruce sighed and lifted his arm to the top of the door frame, his fingers ghosting over the ledge until he found the key. "It's a good thing Alfred thought ahead," he mumbled as he fit the key through the slot, turning it to the left until he heard it click. He then tucked the key back onto the small ledge of the door frame and turned the knob, pushing the door open. "Dick, I-"

The window was open.

Bruce froze in the doorway, his hand glued to the door knob behind him as he stared at the open window. Dick wouldn't jump out of a window on the second story, would he? Somewhat fearful of the answer, Bruce darted towards the open window and stuck his head outside, immediately angling his head down. He expected to see his ward laying on the grass with a broken arm, or a snapped neck at the most, but there was no one there. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved by that or not. On one hand, Dick didn't recklessly jump out the window but on the other hand, Bruce had no idea where he was.

"Under the bed?" He mumbled to himself and knelt on the carpet, peering at the shadows under the bed. But again, there was no child to be seen. Bruce glanced over at the window again, frowning deeply. If he wasn't under the bed, and he wasn't outside... where was he?

His phone decided to go off at that moment, and he begrudgingly answered when he saw the caller ID. "What is it, Alfred?" He asked, trying to keep his voice level. Unless he could not find Dick on his own in the next fifteen minutes, there was no need to worry Alfred about it.

"Why on Earth is Master Dick on the roof?!"

There went that idea...

"The roof?!" Bruce returned to the window and looked up this time, but Dick was not on the portion of the roof that he could see. "Dick and I had a misunderstanding, and he ran off. He must have somehow ended up on the roof..." He paused, blinking in confusion. How did Dick end up there when his door had been locked? "Hang on, I'll get him down in a minute. Make sure he doesn't..." he grimaced. "Jump, or anything."

"Of course," Alfred's voice had risen slightly, like just the thought of Dick doing anything like that was enough to nearly send him into hysterics. "Do hurry, Master Bruce. It's dangerous up there."

"I know. Don't worry, I'll be there in a minute." Bruce hung up the phone and left the room at once, moving further down the hallway where he could open up the attic and climb inside. Ignoring the dust and cobwebs that have developed over time, Bruce opened up the hatch that led out to the roof, and lifted himself up. His hands scraped against the roof tile as he rose, but he did not care. He was completely focused on the raven haired boy that was sitting not too far away, his feet dangling off the edge of the roof.

"Dick..." The sound of his name made Dick turn his body to face him, and his eyes widened when he saw who was approaching. Bruce felt another jab of guilt when he saw the apprehensive and fearful look he was given. He really messed up, didn't he? "I'm not mad at you, okay? I'm sorry for acting like that, I didn't mean to scare you." He carefully maneuvered himself closer to the cowering child, wincing when he started to cry. "Don't-"

He took another step forward, and Dick scooted back, and Bruce felt his heart hammer in his chest as Dick fell backwards, his arms reaching out with wide eyes as he realized his mistake. Bruce let out an unintelligible cry as he lunged forward and barely managed to grab the falling boy by his wrists. Dick gasped as his fall was suddenly brought to a halt, and he threw his arms around Bruce the second he was brought back up to safety. "I'm s-sorry," he sobbed, shaking uncontrollably as he clung to the front of his guardian's shirt. "I d-didn't mean to!"

Bruce shook his head and pulled Dick further away from the ledge, his blood was still roaring in his veins, a new kind of adrenaline rush that he had not experienced before. He had been terrified for his own life plenty of times, but never had he felt this kind of pure terror. Not even the Joker managed to stir up this kind of reaction from him. "Dick, it's okay," he said quietly, but he sounded distant. "Let's get you back inside." He realized that Dick was too shaken up from his experience, so he decided to scoop him up while he climbed up to his feet. Dick sniffled and pressed his face against his shoulder, mumbling apologies like the world depended on it. Bruce only hugged him tighter in response, carefully maneuvering them into the attic and then down the steps into the hallway.

Dick didn't stop crying once, and Bruce didn't know how to calm him down, so he awkwardly rubbed his back as he carried him downstairs to the living room. There, he set the child on the nearest sofa and ruffled his hair. "It's okay now, you don't have to cry," he said softly, kneeling down in front of him. "I know that must have scared you, but you're safe now..."

"I almost f-fell..." Dick choked out, tears streaming down his face. "J-just like them."

Bruce didn't have to ask who 'they' were. It was obvious that he meant his parents... They died right in front of his eyes, of course he automatically thought of that after he nearly had a similar accident. "I'm sorry..." he breathed, now realizing that Dick wasn't as bothered by his own near death experience than the memories that it had brought him. "Do you want to talk about it?" He pressed gently.

"N-no..." he hiccupped, wiping away the tears on his cheek. "...I'm in a lot of trouble, aren't I?" He whispered, lip trembling.

Bruce shook his head. "For going onto the roof without telling me, but not for what happened earlier." He put both of his hands on Dick's shoulders, making sure he was paying close attention when he spoke. "What happened earlier was not your fault, it was mine... I became frustrated when you showed an interest in the Bat Cave because I don't want you to get involved in that. Batman had terrible enemies and if you get involved in my work, they become your enemies too. I just don't want you to get hurt." He sighed. "But that didn't mean I should have treated you like that. Will you forgive me?"

"..." Dick nodded, but still refused to meet his gaze. "I still don't understand..."

"Understand what?" Bruce echoed.

Dick fidgeted slightly. "Tony was my enemy and then he became yours... Why can't your enemies be mine too?" He looked frustrated. "You helped me, so I want to help you. A-And I want to help people who are like me and Wally. You do that, don't you? Why can't I?"

Bruce was taken aback by the explanation. He honestly should have seen this coming; Dick obviously would have wanted to do something to help people who have been in situations similar to his. This wasn't just hero worship for Batman, Dick sincerely wanted to make a difference. And if Bruce completely distanced him from the hero community, he would not take it well. With or without Bruce's help, he would find a way to be involved, wouldn't he? If Bruce simply allowed him to do some minor tasks in the Bat Cave, would that be enough to make him feel useful?

"I think I understand." He gave Dick a serious look, but made sure to keep it away from bordering a bat-glare. "If you want to be involved with this, then I will let you." Dick's eyes lit up, but Bruce quickly continued before he could get the wrong idea. "While you are in the Bat Cave at any time, you have to listen to what I say, and under no circumstances will you ever go into the field. Got it?"

Dick nodded, positively beaming at him. "Got it," he repeated, eyes shining happily. Bruce was relieved at the sight, glad that he finally managed to do something right. Taking care of Dick seemed to be one emotional roller coaster after another. It was somewhat exhausting... but he was glad to have him around. "Er, Bruce..."

"What is it?" Bruce asked at once, frowning slightly. He thought he had cheered him up, so what could have possibly changed in the past five seconds?

"I was just wondering what my punishment is," Dick mumbled, looking down at his feet. "F-for going onto the roof, I mean..."

Bruce paused. He did say that he was in trouble for that, didn't he? He couldn't go back on his word now, Dick needed to know that he was serious about not doing dangerous stunts. But what would be a fair enough punishment? Definitely not something Zucco would do, that was for sure. "I can understand why you went onto the roof, so I'm not going to take anything away. I'll just send you to bed early for the next three days, okay?

"...That's it?" Dick slowly looked up at him, looking somewhat awed. "But I did something without your permission. Tony would have-"

"I'm not Zucco," Bruce reminded him before he could continue, not wanting to know what Zucco would have done in this situation. "I need you to understand this, Zucco was a bad man. He shouldn't have laid a single finger on you at any point. He wasn't your guardian and even if he was, the punishments he gave you were cruel and would have landed him in prison anyways. I will never repeat his past actions, okay?"

"Okay," he said timidly. "Does this mean I can see the Bat Cave?" He asked, looking hopeful. Bruce inwardly winced at that expression; if Dick kept giving him that look, would he ever be able to say no to him?

"I don't see why not..." Bruce agreed, and Dick all but jumped out of his seat in his excitement. That managed to make Bruce smile just a bit. "I still have to call some Leaguers. I don't suppose you would like to meet them in person instead?"

"Yes!" Dick said immediately, pulling at Bruce's sleeve to make him stand up faster. Bruce chuckled lightly, amused by the childish antics. For a ten year old, Dick sure liked acting like he was eight. But that was probably because of the lack of opportunity to act like his age during the past two years...

Bruce's smile faltered, but he didn't let Dick notice. "Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Green Arrow are the only ones who know my identity. Who do you want to meet first?"

Dick's excitement simmered down. "What about Superman?" He asked, frowning. "Doesn't he know your identity too?"

He had to bring up Superman, didn't he? "He does know my identity. I must have forgotten to put him in the list," he lied, holding back an irritated scowl. Why Superman out of all people? "I guess that's who you want to meet, huh?"

"Yes please!" Dick chirped, grinning at him. "I saw him on the news while I lived with Tony. It was so cool that he could fly and shoot lasers out of his eyes!" His smile fell. "I knew he had super hearing so I used to call his name sometimes, s-so he could hear me and come save me..." His eyes filled with tears again, much to Bruce's alarm. "Tony heard me once, and said that Superman wouldn't save me because he doesn't like me, so I stopped trying."

At that moment, Bruce shoved away all of his bias against Superman. "He couldn't hear you because he was too far away. Even he has his limits." He pulled Dick into a one armed hug. "But now that he will finally meet you, I know that he'll like you. He would be stupid if he didn't. Black Canary and Flash liked you, didn't they?"

Dick nodded, blinking back the water in his eyes. "Yeah..." he trailed off, peering up at Bruce with an unreadable expression. "Do you like me too?"

"Of course I do." Bruce poked his side, earning himself a giggle. "Why wouldn't I? While I would love it if you opened up to me more, I like having you around regardless. I don't regret adopting you, Dick. That was probably the best thing I have ever done."

"Really?" Dick beamed. "I-I like it here too. I'm glad you adopted me," he smiled shyly. "And I'll try to open up more... I-I can tell you about what happened to my parents, if you want."

"Only if you want to," Bruce told him, ruffling his hair. "But why don't we introduce you to Superman first? I think that will cheer you up."

Dick nodded. "It would." Before Bruce knew it, Dick attacked him with another hug. "Thank you..."

Bruce returned the hug without a second thought. "You don't have to thank me," he told him. "I feel like I should be the one thanking him. Why do I feel so happy? I don't remember ever feeling this cheerful, not since before my parents died." He looked down at Dick, and suddenly understood. "I guess all I needed was a child in my life to make it seem less dark..."

Maybe that's how his father had felt, a long time ago.

xXx (Later, Bat Cave) xXx

"Recognized: Superman, 01."

Clark practically stumbled out of the Bat Cave's Zeta Tube, eyes wide as he searched for the Dark Knight. "Bruce, is everything okay?! I received your emergency notification-" he finally saw his teammate standing near the Bat Computer, and he sighed in relief. "You had me worry there, I thought you were dying or something." His gaze moved downwards until it landed on the small boy hidden behind Bruce, and he paused. "Um?"

"This is Dick Grayson," Bruce told him, tone flat. He took a step to the left so that the child had a better view of the other hero. "Dick, this is Superman, but the civilian world knows him as Clark Kent."

"Erm, hi?" Superman gave the kid a small wave, which was shyly returned before he returned to his hiding spot behind Bruce. "Uh... So I'm guessing this is the kid the media is so worked up about," he said awkwardly, not taking his eyes off of the child. He never would have imagined that the rumors were true; who would? It wasn't like Bruce had shown any sign of liking children before, so what changed? And why would Bruce ever tell some kid that he was secretly Batman? It made no sense.

"Correct, this is the boy I have decided to adopt as my ward," Bruce continuing staring at him with that steely gaze of his, but something about it seemed more intense than what Clark was used to. What did he do wrong this time?! "I called you here because he expressed that he wanted to meet you."

Clark was again taken aback by his actions. "You used the emergency alert system just so that I could meet your ward?"

"He wanted to meet you, and I arranged to introduce you at the earliest opportunity. The emergency system was the quickest way to gain your attention," he said plainly, as though he was simply stating facts.

Wow... that was admittedly adorable. Bruce did all of that just so that his kid got what he wanted? That must have been some kid if Bruce spoiled him that much. "You certainly did get my attention, but I wish you had told me to wear civilian clothes." He smiled at Dick warmly. "It's a little awkward meeting people while you're in your hero uniform."

"I think it's c-cool," Dick stuttered, smiling nervously. Clark's gaze softened at this, remembering what he had read in the papers. This was the child that had been kidnapped and abused by his parents' killer, wasn't he? No wonder Bruce seemed oddly protective of him, the kid must be completely terrified right now.

"Thank you." Clark pointed at the symbol on his chest. "This symbol is my family crest, and it means a lot to me. It's a symbol of hope."

Dick nodded. "I know, Bruce told me a lot about you." He slowly came out of his hiding spot, peering up at him. "Your from the planet of Krypton, you have super strength, speed, hearing, heat vision, x-ray vision, and the power of flight." He grinned. "And Bruce told me that your weakness is Kryptonite!"

Clark mentally face palmed at that; of course Bruce would tell his ward that. Dick would end up knowing how to take down the entire Justice League if Bruce had anything to say about it, wouldn't he? The world didn't need another generation of paranoid bats... but Dick's obvious admiration for his guardian was admittedly cute. "That is right, I become very weak if I'm exposed to Kryptonite. So, um, don't try waving any in front of my face like Flash did."

Surprisingly, Dick's face became serious. "I can't promise anything; Bruce said that anything can happen and I need to be prepared." He cheered up a little. "He gave me some Kryptonite just in case."

Bruce saw the look Clark threw at him, and shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't need anything happening to him." His gaze seemed to darken. "But you would know better than to try anything, wouldn't you?"

Clark could barely stutter out an affirmative response. What did Bruce think he would do, kidnap his kid? He understood that he wasn't Bruce's favorite person, but what would possess him to think that he was a threat to his ward?

Well, one thing was for sure... If anyone ever dared to mess with Dick, they were not going to have a good time. Bruce would make sure of that.

"Sorry to cut this meeting short, but I have to visit my mother soon," Clark smiled apologetically, throwing a hand out in Dick's direction. The child paused momentarily, but eventually came over to where he stood and shook his hand, beaming all the while. "It was nice to meet you, Dick. If it's okay with your guardian, maybe I can babysit you sometime. You know, to give Bruce and Alfred a break every once in a while?" He looked over at Bruce as he said this, who scowled at him.

"We'll see," he said shortly.

"Er, right." Clark quickly removed his hand, getting the memo. "I'll see you later then. Give me a call if you can."

"Actually, I need to talk to you about something. It will only take a second." Bruce looked at Dick. "Go upstairs and see if Alfred has any snacks for you. I'll be right up."

Dick nodded at once. "Okay." He gave Clark a short, cheerful wave before leaving, the sound of the clock door shutting echoing after him

"W-What did you want to talk to me about?" Clark asked, feeling somewhat nervous. Was it just him, or did Bruce seem pissed at him for some reason? Did he do something wrong while he was talking to Dick?

"On a scale of one to ten..." Bruce stepped closer to him, and Clark tensed up, prepared for some form of an attack. "...How much did I scare you?"

Clark stopped short, blinking. "What?" His brain finally processed what he had said, and he gave him one of his own half-glares. "You mean that you were acting like a dick this entire time just to scare me?!"

"I told Dick that everyone was terrified of Batman, and he didn't believe me when I said you were as well." He smirked, pleased with himself. "This exercise was just a way to prove that I was right. You should have seen your expression when I told not to hurt Dick. Priceless."

Clark could only gape at him. Bruce being pissed off at him for no reason wasn't uncommon, but now he was okay with joking around? What kind of drugs was Alfred slipping into his coffee? "You must be serious about keeping this kid, huh? I've never seen you act like this."

"I wouldn't have adopted him if I wasn't serious about it," Bruce told him, his expression changing. "...And I was being serious when I warned you not to harm him. If there is ever a day where you turn on me and you try hurting Dick as a way to get to me, there will be severe consequences." He narrowed his eyes. "And that threat extends to the entire JLA."

"Understood." Clark said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "But uh, you know I would never turn against you, right? And even if we did fight, I would never bring Dick into it."

Bruce rose his eyebrows. "I'll keep that in mind if the time ever comes where we battle." He reached an arm out to shake his hand, and Clark shook in firmly.

"I'm happy for you, by the way," he said, trying to change the subject to a happier one. "This kid brought out a side of you that I've never seen before." He smiled awkwardly. "And it's probably hard for you both, especially what's going on with Tony Zucco right now. I'm glad to see you aren't letting it bring you two down."

"...What's going on with Tony Zucco?" Bruce asked suddenly, eyes narrowing. "He's behind bars."

Clark's eyes widened when he realized; they didn't know. "I, um, thought you would have been the first to know. I mean it was only announced this morning, but I figured you would have been keeping track of what's going on in his case."

"I was preoccupied this morning," Bruce growled out, eyes flashing dangerously. "Now skip the stuttering and tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Tony Zucco has been approved for a retrial," Clark blurted out, not wanting to be a victim of another Kryptonite attack. "I-It's all over the news! The media is having a field day because of how the case is connected to you. I'm surprised the press hasn't swarmed your house yet!"

Bruce stared at him for a long moment, his expression slowly darkening. "How is this possible?!" He hissed, grabbing Clark by the front of his uniform. "How the hell did he manage to get approved for a retrial?!"

"I don't know!" Clark said quickly, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him away before he completely snapped. "The press hasn't been told why he was approved, but several journalists have theorized that there wasn't enough evidence to land him in prison for anything-"

"Not enough evidence?!" Bruce snapped, teeth bared in a ferocious manner. "Dick had enough scars, burns, and cuts to send that bastard behind bars for decades. Add the murder charge on top of that, and he should be in prison for life!"

"I understand why you're angry, but screaming at me isn't going to do anything," Clark said calmly, trying to make Bruce see reason before he did anything he would regret. "Look, let me do some investigating, I can always see my mother another time."

"I can investigate this by myself, Kent," Bruce growled, stomping towards the case that held his suit and gear. "I don't need any metas trying to boss me around."

The word 'meta' was spat with such a distasteful tone, but Clark knew he didn't mean it. "You're emotionally compromised, and I don't want you running out there to do something reckless." He put a hand on his shoulder, hiding his relief when it wasn't automatically shrugged away. "You need to talk to Dick and tell him what's going on, or he'll end up finding it on the news on his own and he'll probably panic. Dick is your priority, right?"

Bruce's nostrils flared as he finally yanked himself free of Clark's grasp. "I want you to report what you find as soon as you learn anything, understand?"

"Understood," Clark said softly, and began to hover over the ground as he prepared to take flight. "I'm sorry you had to find out about Zucco like this, I didn't know that you weren't already aware of the situation."

"Just go, Clark," Bruce said tiredly, waving a dismissive hand. "Come into the Manor in your civilian clothes when you decide to come back. I have a feeling that Dick won't be leaving my side anytime soon, and he'll want to hear what you've found."

"Right... Good luck, Bruce." Clark gave him a fleeting smile before taking off, flying out of the exit that was designed for the Batmobile so that it would take less time to enter Gotham City. "That poor kid," he mumbled as he navigated through the air, wondering why the universe seemed to be out to get Dick Grayson.

xXx

AN: Thanks for your amazing reviews from last chapter! See you next time (if finals don't kill me before then). Later!