A/N: Oh my gosh, you guys are awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to review and reassure me. I'm really glad you all liked the last chapter!
Requests: One of the requests I'm seeing a few variations on is people wanting to see the other batkids taking care of Dick. I probably shouldn't feel as giddy about the chapter I have written for that as I do, but it's one of the ones that I always planned when I started this story. So, expect post-resurrection Jason, angst-ridden Bruce, and the comics ending of Under the Red Hood (which was so much better than the movie ending….) as a starting point. That'll be the next chapter(s). J
Order of Chapters: The Doors We Open (Ch 9), How We Were (Ch 2 and 3), What We Say (Ch 5 and 7), When We Were (Ch 1), The Friends We Make (Ch 8 and 10), Question Words (Ch 4), The Stories We Tell (Ch 6)
Warnings: Nothing real; canon typical violence and language, un-beta'd chapter, schmoop and fluff (I'm so sorry).
Chapter 10: The Friends We Make, Part 2
"Kid Flash, Speedy, Aqualad," Wonder Girl took charge after a brief glance to Nightwing, "Go to the armory and find the lock-down panels."
Nightwing nodded his approval, they would need weapons and it was an obvious choice to send the less experienced three off together in a relatively safe task. There were only two ways on and off the Watchtower; the loading bay where the Javelin was stored and the Zeta terminal. Dick knew the slight shift of the giant space station when the airlock engaged well and had not felt it, so the path to the armory should be the one clearest of any danger.
"What are you two going to do?" Speedy challenged.
"Uh, yeah, are you sure it's a good idea to split up?" Aqualad wrapped his arms around his stomach.
Yes, now go. They didn't have time to coddle the others. Nightwing channeled a bit of the Talon-ness he typically kept under wraps around everyone save Bruce, it was a useful tool for making people do as he wished. Speedy stared at him for a long moment before he finally nodded.
"Come on, let's go," he muttered. Kid Flash disappeared in a blur of yellow while the others followed more cautiously. Dick hoped Kid Flash was acting as reconnaissance, otherwise his headlong rush might get the others killed.
Oh, tell them to get the comms from the yellow box. Wonder Girl yelled his command after the others. As soon as the door slid shut again Dick continued, You stay here. I'll be – he gestured vaguely upward with a small quirk of his lips. She nodded and shifted to a fighting stance. The conference room was clearly marked and served as a pass-through for many destinations in the tower making it a logical base of operations for an invading force.
Dick waited until Wonder Girl looked ready before using the grapnel line he had left hanging from the column to make his way to the top of the room.
"We play to skip red of bones," he whispered as he settled into place, "and hollow dell to sing the Knights."
Donna nodded below to show that she had heard despite the distance between them. Dick added another ability to his mental list of her skills; incredibly sensitive hearing. Then, she tensed and Dick knew they were about to have to fight.
He withdrew a few of the modified bat-a-rangs that Barbara jokingly called 'wing-dings' when her father showed her one they had found at a crime scene. The name was silly, but he liked the idea of having something that was his so he had been mentally thinking of them as wing-dings more and more. He had also been toying with the idea of creating a non-lethal weapon to call his own. He did like the feel of staff fighting and escrima when Bruce had him learning Asian disciplines….. The sound of the door sliding open and men's voices jerked him back into the present.
"See, like I said," a thick Brooklyn accent declared, "The place is deserted, no damn-"
He and the two men following close behind came to a stuttering stop when they saw Wonder Girl in the center of the room.
"Hiya boys!" she chirped, whirling her lasso is large loops next to her.
The lead man snarled. Nightwing drew back his left arm and released the wing-dings. They found their marks at the same moment as Wonder Girl's lasso. Both lackies were dazed by the blows and Dick raced around the room across the tops of the columns. By the time they were rising back to their feet and looking for their attacker Dick had dropped to the ground behind them and was creeping forward. The first fell without ever realizing that he had been there, sliding to the ground in a silent heap. Dick stepped over him and was approaching the second man when the leader glanced up from his fight with Donna and shouted a warning.
Nightwing dropped into a low crouch and launched himself at the man before he could turn around, slipping his claws around the arm that the man raised to protect his face. He ripped the arm down with his right hand and scored across the man's face with his left. He cried out as blood sprayed into the air from the deep slashes.
"You fucking brat!" The man screamed. He pulled his gun from his belt, but Dick was two steps ahead. He used the wrist he still held as leverage to twist around the man and wrap his other arm around his neck. Sharp pressure over the course of a few short seconds and the man was collapsing to the ground with a gurgle.
Nightwing smirked. He nudged the down body with his foot as he waited for Wonder Girl to beat her opponent into submission. It was good to stretch his muscles after a series of fairly boring patrols in Gotham the last few weeks.
Nearly a minute passed before Wonder Girl slammed the final man into the ground with a sharp cry and a grunt. She straightened and brushed her hair out of her face.
"Erg, that's so annoying," she grumbled. She started tying up her hair with a leather tie that Dick had not noticed around her wrist. Once she was done she turned to him with a smile, "So, what now Nightwing? To the air ducts?"
Nightwing thought about it and then nodded, "That doubles far." He used zip-ties from the compartments in his boots to secure the invaders. "This gourd." He gestured upward. Since he had used his grapnel line he simply used his claws to scale the column back up to the top of the room. There was a small grate that lead to the ventilation system. They could take the ducts to the armory to meet up with the others.
The flood waters were finally contained and local search and rescue teams were starting to be effective when Batman's comm beeped. He paused from wrapping a recently set leg to glance at the indicator light. Blue; that meant Nightwing. He depressed the button and went to back to wrapping. A small holographic screen popped up from his wrist. At first there was no image, then it wavered and crackled and Nightwing appeared. The twelve year old looked disheveled and Batman dropped the dressings he had been holding.
"Superman, get everyone else and get your ass down here." He snapped to the sky. When they were on a mission Superman always listened for any utterance by any of the team so Bruce knew he would be heard despite the roar of the waters around them. "Nightwing, report."
Early into Nightwing's time as a vigilante they had decided that his sign usage needed to be completely different from that of Dick Grayson. To that end Nightwing would never speak in front of criminals and would use a blended language comprised of pieces from each of his most used sign languages with the sign redesigned to be recognizable on a single hand. Bruce had never seen Nightwing use anything but that blend when in costume.
Bruce! Can you see me? The image cracked and snapped. Nightwing looked edgy.
"Yes, report."
An hour after - left fifteen men used the Zeta to get - Tower. He glanced over his shoulder. Bruce heard a distant explosion from the comm. We're trying - take care - very well trained – Help would – great.
Bruce forced his more paternal feelings into the back of his mind. The video's wavering connection meant that he missed most of each sentence, but the picture that was forming in his mind turned his gut to ice. Their children were alone in the watchtower.
"Do not engage Nightwing, do you copy? Do not engage!" He started checking the status of the Zeta tube nearest to the flooded area. Superman and the Flash appeared at his shoulder. The connection to the tower wavered so badly Bruce couldn't tell if Nightwing had heard him or not.
"What's up Bats?" Flash asked.
"The Watchtower is under attack," he hissed, "Dammit! They've blocked the Zetas." A horrible thought occurred to him, if they could block the Zetas they could…. He pulled up his connection to the Tower computers. "Shit, they've locked up out entirely. Even if Superman were to fly up there, the shields are up, he couldn't get in."
His own protections has been turned against him and for the first time in a long time Bruce felt out of his league.
"Nightwing," he tried, but the connection had given out. The kids were on their own.
When the connection to Earth cut out Dick had to fight down a flare of panic, bright and choking.
No luck, he signed to Wonder Girl when he had his emotions under control. She sighed.
"Fine, we can do this on our own." He raised one eyebrow (a move that Babs had always envied). She copied him with a slight smile, "Don't give me that look Batboy."
Nightwing. He corrected. She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I think Batboy fits better. You're glaring just like him right now."
Dick decided not to continue that line of thought. It was bad enough that people were always saying how much he and Bruce looked alike without other heroes doing it too.
We should go, the others have probably reached the armory by now.
"We should probably also figure out what that explosion was," Wonder Girl noted.
Dick nodded, it had almost slipped his mind in the panic of the moment the connection to Earth disappeared, but they would need to ensure that nothing vital to the running of the space station had been damaged.
Though Aqualad felt better for having expressed his fears to the others and received their support he could still feel the panic rising in his throat. It took all he had not to whimper each time they turned a corner to find another empty hallway or when Kid Flash appeared without warning. Speedy did not seem bothered by either occurrence so Aqualad worked to put off the same air of calm competence. He wished he had a weapon to hold menacingly. Kaldur'ahm, his friend back in Atlantis, used water bearers with deadly accuracy but He had never gotten the hang of the devices. He sighed as they turned yet another corner (was the whole station corners!?) and thought about how calm Kaldur always was, no matter the task that their King threw at them.
But, Kaldur wasn't here, he hadn't wanted to leave the city unprotected. Aqualad was. He would have to show them what Atlanteans were made of. He squared his shoulders.
"The next few halls are clear," Kid Flash whispered as he skidded to a stop in front of them. Aqualad gave himself a mental pat that he did not jump.
"Good," Speedy nodded, "Map says we're almost there. Hopefully they don't know where it is."
The rest of their trip passed quickly; two more turns and they were entering the small room that acted as the armory. The League was a relatively small group and most still kept their weapons at their own base of operations. To his disappointment, Aqualad saw no devices of Atlantean origin.
"KF, search the boxes for comms," Speedy ordered. He climbed to the top of a large pile of crates and nocked a blunt arrow, "See if Green Arrow ever brought up any sharp arrows while you're at it."
Kid Flash nodded and Speedy turned to Aqualad. "I'm not sure where you can get water to do it, but can you make us a shield?"
Aqualad thought it over, technically he could turn water into ice. The spell was easy enough and he used it all the time to freeze opponents in place in battle, but to do it on the scale that would be needed to cover the doorway in a thick enough layer to stop bullets….Speedy was staring at him and so, forcing own on doubts to the back of his mind, Aqualad nodded.
"There are pipes in this wall," he patted the wall on the left side of the room, "Yes, I can do it."
"Good, do it."
The expected assault had not yet arrived when Nightwing appeared next to Aqualad. His hands moved rapidly.
"He says 'nice wall'," Speedy informed him from his perch, "Also, how the hell did you get in here?" Aqualad was wondering the same thing. In the ocean he could feel anyone approaching through the minute shifts in the water long before they reached him, the air did the same sort of thing, but not nearly as much and he felt partially blinded because of it.
"Air ducts," Wonder Girl floated from the ceiling with a smile on her face, "Good idea with the ice."
After Nightwing and Wonder Girl joined the others things moved rather quickly. Wonder Girl flew the most dangerous weapons up to the air ducts while Kid Flash passed out the earpieces he had found. They would be able to talk in case they were separated again. It was not ideal for Nightwing, but Wonder Girl would be able to translate for him to the others if they were not within eye-sight. Since he had finished reinforcing his ice barricade Aqualad joined Nightwing in pushing the crates to the most defensible positions the small room would allow. Speedy stayed in his perch, arrow knocked but bow string lax, watching the door for any sign of movement.
"Guys," Speedy hissed just as Nightwing was positioning the last stack of crates and Wonder Girl was securing the duct cover, "I think they're coming."
Nightwing ascended the stack of crates with far greater ease than Speedy had and peered at the door. The archer could not help but compare the boy next to him to a bird of prey as he leaned out over the empty space, seemingly without regard for such things as gravity and center of balance. Nightwing nodded sharply in agreement with Speedy's statement. He leapt from Speedy's stack to the one closest to the ice. Already Speedy could see the center of the barricade glowing red; whoever had invaded had some serious tech. Kid Flash moved to the farthest point in the room; they had left a clear path from there to the entrance so he could build up speed before hitting anyone. Aqualad was next to the pipes he had used to get water for the wall. He was allowing it to slowly stream from the crack in the pipes and form into sharp daggers of ice which floated in the air around him. For the first time Speedy thought the other boy looked dangerous. Finally, Wonder Girl positioned herself in the air between Nightwing and Speedy. She looked over their preparations with a satisfied smile.
"Let' show them why no one messes with the Justice League, yeah?"
Four identical determined looks met her own. They were ready.
The wall shattered and the fight began.
Later, Speedy would admit he quickly lost track of his compatriots when the fighting began. He had only been helping Green Arrow for six months and keeping track of one man clad in bright green was a lot easier than four people; one moving as the speed of sound, one flying, and one who he was convinced probably wasn't even human (because no human could melt into the shadows so effectively). The only person he was able to watch and defend was Aqualad who remained in his placed by the pipes using water as a projectile in the same way Speedy used his arrows.
Twelve men had entered through the melted hole in the barricade. Two were immediately tied up in Wonder Girl's lasso while another two fell victim to the whirlwind that was Kid Flash. Nightwing had vanished and every once in a while Speedy could hear the slither of sharp metal against guns. Speedy and Aqualad tried to defend the others as best they could but water and dull practice arrows were only so much use against armored chests and helmets. Eventually Speedy gave up using the arrows and dropped to the ground. His bow doubled as a staff when necessary and he was able to help the others far more by simply beaning the bad guys.
In the end the fight was over far quickly than any of them would have imagined it would be. Speedy found himself grinning wildly at the others and, to his surprise, they were grinning back. A full feeling was expanding in his chest as he looked between the downed thugs and the other heroes. Friends, this was what having friends was like. He vowed then and there to never do anything to lose this feeling.
Speedy clapped Aqualad on the shoulder. The other boy laughed sharply and shook his head. Speedy understood, this was all so surreal. Nightwing and Kid Flash were tying up the bodies as Wonder Girl brought them over to them.
"Good job, kid," Speedy whispered. "Told you it gets better."
Aqualad's smile was radiant.
Nearly an hour after the invaders had been tied up and left in a cell Wonder Girl found herself collapsing in the pile the boys had made. Its base was comprised of every blanket they could find in the tower, with a few pillows thrown in for good measure. On the left side Nightwing and Speedy were curled up, their left shoulders and knees touching, gesturing animatedly to one another. On the right, Kid Flash and Aqualad were debating the relative merits of salmon and tuna. Wonder Girl smiled and settled into the blank space in the middle. Slowly, the others' conversations petered off and they were left in a silence far more comfortable than the one just three hours previous.
"My real name is Donna," she had not planned to reveal that, though her sister had said she could if she wanted to, but as the words left her mouth she decided they felt right. She felt the others shift around her and the silence stretch for another few moments before;
"I'm Garth," Aqualad whispered, "It's nice to meet you Donna."
She smiled, "The honor is mine, Gar-"
"Wally! I'm Wally," the words burst forth from the eager speedster in a blurred rush. He blushed violently and pulled off his cowl to reveal freckles and copper hair and eyes.
Speedy stared at the three of them as they giggled. He slowly reached up and removed his domino mask and hat.
"Roy," he introduced, "Don't tell G.A. I told. He sorta specifically said not to…." They all nodded in agreement and his shoulder relaxed.
Donna noticed that Nightwing seemed to be struggling with something. He stared at all them and then down at his hands and then back up at them.
"It's okay if you can't," she hastened to assure him.
Roy nodded, "Yeah, Batman's a lot scarier than Green Arrow."
Nightwing snorted. Donna realized that in no way was the young hero afraid of his mentor's wrath, even the parental wrath the others might fear from their own mentors. As she watched he seemed to steel himself against whatever he had been thinking. He reached up and slowly finger spelled: D – I – C – K.
Roy immediately sniggered. Dick glared at him, but there was no real heat to it.
It's short for Richard you ass.
"Sure it is," Roy laughed, "Dick." The younger boy punched him in the shoulder hard enough to bruise. Then, after a short pause began laughing as well. The others did not know it, but it was the first time he had laughed with anyone save Bruce or Babs since his parents fell. It felt surprisingly good.
Batman's tension increased the closer they got to the spacestation. Of course this was not a truly natural disaster, there had been no warning signs and the earthquake that registered was nowhere near strong enough to cause a tsunami that large. He knew the other Justice League members could see his worry, but for once did not care. They were each just as worried about their own protégé. However, Batman's worry was slightly different than his colleagues'; he was far more concerned about Nightwing blowing his chances at friendship by killing the invaders in front of the other children. They had talked about killing and Nightwing had worked very hard to quell those instincts in the last four years, but there would always be slips and those claws were incredibly sharp.
They raced through the tower. Communications had never come back up and the mentors were frantic. What had happened here? The tower showed signs of a struggle, scuffs and broken places on the walls and two sections were locked down due to hull breaches.
The door to the conference room they last saw the children in slid open. Bruce immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The kids sat in a small circle on top of the table, playing cards in their hands and large grins on their faces. They were a little worse for the wear; Bruce could see that Dick was going to have a rather spectacular bruise on the left side of his face and even from the door it was obvious that Speedy had some bruised ribs. But, they had escaped the attack with no major injuries and Bruce counted that as a win. Next time they would be more prepared, next time he would be more prepared, and they would emerge injury-free. Already training scenarios and simulations were spinning through his mind. Bruce knew he would not be sleeping for the next few days.
"Jog Trucks!" Dick declared, jerking Bruce from his thoughts. The others laughed. Speedy reached over and poked him.
"No! It's Go Fish."
"Go Fish!" Dick parroted. Kid Flash groaned and drew a card.
Bruce felt a hand on his shoulder, "Come on," Diana whispered, "Let's go before they notice us." He followed her with only a nod, she had no need to know that Dick would have known they were there since right before the door opened. As soon as her back was turned Bruce allowed himself a small smile. It was more than he had hoped for when he arranged this 'play-date' to see Dick interacting with other young heroes so freely. Then, remembering his own security measures, he made a mental note to delete the video footage of his lapse.
He also reminded himself to ask about the large pile of blankets on the ground. Had they been used as a weapon? The idea was intriguing….
A/N: I feel like I sort of glossed over the fight scenes, but really those weren't the point of this chapter so…. Don't worry, a chapter with Nightwing fighting as the focus is in the works for those of you asking about that.
Translations:
We play to skip red of bones and hollow dell to sing the Knights. - We need to get out of here and find a safe place to call the league.
That doubles far – That sounds good.
This gourd – This way.
From the last chapter because I forgot to put it; 'scramble' means 'hell'; Dick misspoke and simply said 'fuck hell' instead of the more typically 'fucking hell' curse. This is why both words were replaced by nouns rather than a gerund and a noun as it should have been.