Dick frowns. Hands nervous in a way they rarely were before.
"I don't..." He shifts around.
Bruce sits. He waits patiently. This isn't the time for him to be angry. This wasn't the time to be Batman.
Dick's eyes turn a bit wild, "I remember dying in Selina's arms and - and then there was Talia."
His fingers twitch, "I remember the dirt under my fingernails and the way it tasted."
Dick begins to shake, traveling up from his hands, "And the Lazarus Pit."
Thinking of the moment he woke up makes his stomach twist. He had been choking on dirt that had flooded into his busted coffin. It had felt sudden too, like being sleepy and then waking up to cold water splashing over his face.
He doesn't realize he's shaking until Bruce lays a hand on his shoulder.
No...
It was Bruce who was shaking.
He had a hollow expression on his face, one that resembled the look he would get when he thought about his parents.
"Bruce...?"
Bruce swallows, "Dick. Chum. I'm sorry."
Dick looks up at him. He's not sure he's ever heard Bruce apologize. Not like this at least.
Suddenly he's in a hug as Bruce envelops his arms around him.
"You'll be safe from now on."
Dick doesn't like the sound of that, but Bruce hasn't hugged him like this since he had first taken him into his home.
"Master Bruce -? Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt," Alfred speaks as he steps out into the entryway.
Bruce pulls away.
"I-it's okay. What is it Alfred?"
"There is a Dinah Lance at the door."
Bruce straightens, "Robin, to the cave. Now."
Dinah stands there, dressed in a button down and with a blazer and matching pants. It was professional yet expensive looking. While he didn't doubt that this was Black Canary visiting him, Bruce Wayne was being visited by the girlfriend of Oliver Queen.
"I hope you were discreet," he growls out.
"I did my best. You've blocked us out of the zeta tubes so I didn't really have a choice," she announces, stripping off the blazer.
"Paparazzi watch this place constantly. Wayne Enterprises can afford the hit a scandal would cause but I'd rather avoid it."
Dinah huffs out an unamused laugh, "Taken care of. You're not the only one with money Bruce."
"A scandal with a playboy looks bad for you. Dinah."
"Cut the crap, Bruce. You have bigger worries than a scandal," she leans against a wall arms crossed against her chest, "Where's the kid?"
"I don't know -"
"Where is Richard Grayson?"
Bruce doesn't bother to look surprised. His glare deepens to a glower.
"Who?"
Canary grits her teeth, "Your ward! Robin! I know everything Bruce! And guess what! So does the League! I'm the only thing standing between you and Superman coming to dragging your ass to stand trial."
Batman doesn't bother to respond. Canary remembers when she idolized this man. When she was a Gotham girl and Batman was Gotham's avenging angel. When she still smoked cigars and dreamed of a tumble in the sheets with a man who was going to be Gotham's saviour.
"You've changed, Bruce."
"Don't say that like you know me."
"No. I guess none of us really did. But we still trusted you. I... I still want to.
What happened, Bruce? What happened to Robin?"
"You know, Dinah."
She glares at him, "I know you might have had a partner. I know he might have been the boy we found. I know Dick Grayson's dead."
His gaze softens, but not for her.
He shakes his head, "Get out."
She storms up and slaps him, "Superman will have your head for this, Bruce! He's been on a warpath since you've left!"
"Just tell me," she begs.
"I'll tell you," a young voice says.
They turn and Dick Grayson stares back at them with bright blue eyes.
'Oh god,' she thinks, 'he's so small.'
Artemis bites her lip. Should she tell them? She hadn't told Ollie, although she hasn't seen him today. She thought about telling Black Canary but she's not here, and she's not sure how she feels about telling Red Tornado.
"Guys?"
M'gann perks up instantly, likely already picking up on her mental distress. Kid Flash makes a grunt of Acknoladgemt, and Kaldur and Superboy turn their attention to her, but Superboy's feels... Heavier somehow.
"Uh, well you know that kid we rescued? I saw him out with Catwoman. I-in Gotham."
Kid Flash gives her a weird look, "Why were you in Gotham? That's Bats. Territory."
Artemis looks away, "I-i've got family there. But anyway, not important Kid Doofus."
"Hey!"
"She's right," Kaldur'ahm interrupts.
"So what? He's actually the protege of a crime lord?" Kid Flash says, "That would explain why the League is so antsy about that."
"More importantly. He's not with the League anymore."
They all turn to look at Superboy.
Kaldur looks back at her, "Have you told anyone else?"
Artemis shakes her head, "No. Should I?"
Kaldur considers it, "I think it's best."
Selina retires to a penthouse she owns. She's been busy. Very busy. When she realized that hunting down Dick's killers would take more than a wanna be assassin like her she decided to take it up a notch. Tearing up Harley Quinn like a scratching post had been easy. Finding the Penguin was harder.
Selina had some ties to crime families. Meaning she was the rightful heir to one which gave her assets. And opportunities. Lots of opportunities. She pushed what was drug rings and human trafficking, (which she brought to a close) into rigged gambling casinos. And drugs, still. Then she worked into corrupt corporate. Not exceedingly hard in Gotham, but spreading it to where she needed eyes and ears, a bit more challenging. In the end though, she got her bird.
In more ways than one.
Selina lounges on her chaise.
She loves Bruce. Or she loved him. His inability to love her, to love Robin, more than the maggot infested city that was Gotham had crushed her too many times.
But her bird was back. The most precious jewel she had ever had the pleasure of holding. In the end she was just a cat burglar after all. Not a crime boss. Not a murder. Just a jewel thief.
Getting Dick from Bruce however was a monstrous feat in and of itself. He would follow her to the ends of the earth and raise hell while doing it if she took his little bird. Not to mention that snake Talia was no doubt hanging around the bend.
Selina smiles, head rolling back on her chaise as she looks over to a clip out cutting she had pinned to her mirror - a newspaper clipping of Dick Grayson. The only picture she had of him.
They say the best way to get to the kid was to make nice with the father.
Or was it the other way around?