Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N:

:D

So, to address an issue: some people have asked me why I didn't include the Raven/Trigon story arc here.

1. This story is already big enough as it is.

2. It would have changed the entire tone of this story.

3. I did think about it. A lot. But if I were to write something like that I would want it to be a separate AU story because of the change in tone and overall feel.

4. How much time has really passed between seasons 1 to 4? In my headcanon timeline Raven's birthday isn't for another few months.

5. I am interested in writing something like that, but not for a long, long while.

Oh, and the "holy nanobots" thing from the last chapter. Funnily enough, some of you cheered and some of you didn't like it. It wasn't meant to be funny, and I put it there to show that Dick's humor is a lot darker. I also wanted to show that he's gone somewhat back to his younger personality because he finally got some of his crap together.

Yes, Karana32 I am really leaving the country in June. Yes, I will be gone for an entire month. That's why I've been updating a lot because it would be terrible to leave this hanging for a month.

"Can you become a man without becoming your father?"

In the Country of Men, Hisham Mater. Pg. 149.

PART 4: VIGILANTE

Chapter 36: Halloween

-C-

Jump City, California

Titans Tower

Cyborg changed the channel to the news. Over the past week they hadn't heard anything from Dick, and that set them all on edge. The JLA or the Honorary Titans hadn't heard from him either. From Cyborg's understanding Batman was unable to track Dick down.

Batman…the world's greatest detective, Cyborg thought. He can't even find Dick.

He sat back on the couch, only paying half-attention to the news channel. The biggest thing on the news these days was the upcoming rise of a new hero in Bludhaven. If the Titans weren't so worried about Dick they would be following the story a lot more closely.

"Tonight's Halloween," Raven said, "we should be on patrol."

Oh yeah, Cyborg had almost forgotten that tonight was Halloween. It was just that they had been so preoccupied with other things that he forgot.

"…Meanwhile, footage of Bludhaven's new protector has surfaced…"

Casually, and just to stop himself from staring awkwardly at the others, Cyborg glanced up at the TV. His eyes widened as he recognized the kid on the screen. However, Beast Boy blurted out the obvious first.

"Nightwing?" Beast Boy asked out loud. "That's Dick!"

The Titans crowded around the TV. The press must have finally gotten footage of the hero Nightwing. As they watched Cyborg wondered what the hell Dick was doing. Why was he wearing a new costume? Why Bludhaven? What was he doing? The idiot, Bludhaven wasn't the friendliest neighborhood. It would be suicide to go there. Having any sort of hero go to Bludhaven was sure to get attention. Dick must really be off his rocker if he was picking fights with the local Mafia.

"Think he's still mentally unstable?" Cyborg asked Raven.

"Not sure," she replied. "I have to be near him to find out."

If the Titans noticed this then surely Batman had noticed as well. But was Batman still trying to look for him? Or had he given up to allow Dick to do this? Cyborg didn't think that Batman would approve of this at all.

"What's he doing?" Beast Boy asked. "He can kick bad guy butt here, so why is he in a new city?"

"He doesn't want us to get hurt," Raven said. "That's why he's over there."

That still didn't explain why he was in Bludhaven. Cyborg was under the impression that he left to form some revenge scheme against Slade. That was why he left, wasn't it? Even though Dick didn't say anything about it to them Cyborg knew that it must be what Dick left to do. The letters that Dick left the Titans left no explanation of where he was going or why. As always, Cyborg suspected that Batman was holding back some valuable information. He was the only one who didn't share the contents of his letters to the others during that meeting in the Watch Tower.

What if Dick told Batman where he was going? Or did he mistrust everyone and leave them all in the dark?

"I think we should go to Bludhaven and try to find him," Cyborg said. "He can't be alone to fight Slade. He's not Batman."

"He doesn't want to be alone," Raven said, "he allowed me to see his memories. Even if he insists on being alone for this, Dick really doesn't want to be alone."

"Well, if he didn't want to be alone then why did he leave?" Beast Boy asked hotly. "He didn't even tell us that he was leaving."

"But he left us the letters," Starfire said. "He does care."

Cyborg wanted to believe that, but Dick's actions said otherwise. He didn't want to say or do anything that would set Dick off again, which might make him redouble his efforts to get away from people.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Beast Boy demanded. "Let Slade mess with him again?"

No, that wasn't going to happen. They had already left him alone to deal with Slade, and look where that got them. Cyborg didn't want to believe that Dick was unstable, that there was a method to his madness.

Tonight was Halloween. Should they fly out to Bludhaven and leave Jump City defenseless on a night like this? What would be the right thing to do?

"You know he'll do everything in our power to stop us," Raven said. "He left because he knew that being with us would put us in danger."

"That does not mean that we cannot try," Starfire said.

The last time he did something similar to this was during the Red X incident. Should they go, or should they stay here? Cyborg looked at them all as he tried to make a decision.

-DG-

Bludhaven

A Motel Room

Well, he sure made a lot of enemies in a few days.

Dick sat on the edge of the bed in his motel room, still in his Nightwing costume but with his mask off. He had been up for most of the night before, preparing for his inevitable confrontation with Slade. Dick was so tired that he didn't even bother taking off his costume. He just rolled over and wrapped himself in the bed sheets.

The blinds were all closed. The bright light peeking through the blinds gave him a slight headache after being out all night. Dick took a pillow and pressed it over his eyes.

Is this how Bruce feels all the time? He thought sleepily. Up all night and then sleep all day?

While a part of him was a bit paranoid that someone would find out where he was, he was too tired to care. If Slade was in town then Dick would know. He had already made plans to stop Slade from doing anything to attract attention. He knew that when Slade did arrive he would immediately try to get Dick out of hiding, and probably by pulling a petty crime. Dick did not intend to fall for that trick again.

Man, those nights alone in Titans Tower were nothing compared to this.

He knew that he would have to go back to Gotham. Dick knew that he couldn't afford to live by himself in Bludhaven. He was still a kid, and now he had a whole lot of new enemies to boot. The Mafia families got pissed that Nightwing started cleaning up the city. While they seemed to be wary of him because of his connection with Slade Dick knew that the Mafia would start sending out people to kill him.

Well, it's not like all of Arkham wants me dead as well as Jump City's criminal underground.

As he set his head on the pillow and tried to sleep he thought about many things. These past few days he had been acting far more aggressive than he normally would have. He found himself slipping back into his snarky old self, but his humor was a lot darker than he remembered. He wasn't afraid to intimidate people and then shove their defeat in their faces. In a way, it felt nice to do that after being controlled for so long. Dick groaned. He needed to stop thinking like that.

I told Bruce that he's my replacement father, Dick thought, but I can't deny that I picked up a lot of things from Slade. Who really shaped me into the person I am now?

Slade tried so hard to mold him into a cold-blooded killer. While Bruce was aggressive Dick knew that it was Slade who made him aggressive. It was Slade who really made him paranoid. When he trained under Bruce Dick could always be sure that he wouldn't get hurt…that Bruce would protect him. In a way, Slade was right about that. Slade had trained him to work in a place like Bludhaven.

Although he didn't want to admit it out loud, both of them helped shape him into the person he was now. Dick just had to accept the fact that both of these men had shaped his life in many ways whether he liked it or not. He couldn't be one or the other. While Dick wished that he could unlearn or forget some things, he knew that wasn't possible.

And there's also Dad, Dick thought, I can't forget about him. He and mom taught me everything I knew about acrobatics.

He never wanted to forget his circus days, but who would have guessed that he would grow up to become this? He was now a masked vigilante who trained under two of the most dangerous people in the business. No one could have guessed this.

He felt that he was at a crossroads. Dick could easily take over Bludhaven's crime lords and control crime that way. He had been trained to do that. But was that what he really wanted to do with his life? He was also trained to fight crime. Did he want to fight crime forever?

No, he thought, I don't want to do that. I want to do the things other kids get to do. I want to go to college, get a job, do something with my life other than fight crime…

Just because he had been trained to do all of these things didn't mean that he was obliged to follow that path. Although Dick wasn't sure if he would continue to fight crime after this, he knew that he couldn't stop now. He had gone this far to get Slade's attention, and tonight they were going to finally end this.

No more murders, Dick thought, no more lies…I just want him to leave me alone.

Although he knew that Bruce probably disapproved of all this, Dick knew that this was one of the few ways that he could make Slade stop obsessing over him. While he couldn't be sure that he would win tonight, he knew that putting Slade in jail wasn't his primary reason for doing this. While it would be an added bonus if it happened, Dick mainly wanted Slade to stop obsessing over him.

He drifted off to sleep.

-SW-

Bludhaven

Downtown

Slade wasn't going to play fair. If he caught Dick off guard then all the better. He wasn't going to wait for Dick to prepare some trap for him (As if he could, anyway). And even if Dick had some plan Slade was confident that he would be able to see through it. Dick would try to do everything by himself. It was a fault that the kid found difficult to overcome.

Even when it was obvious that Dick needed help he withdrew within himself with the excuse that he didn't want to bother or hurt other people. Even when he knew that he needed to talk to someone in order not to go insane he kept to himself for a long while. Only after almost a year did Slade manage to connect with him. It was a bad habit that Slade could use to his advantage.

He went into a bar. Although he didn't want to drink so that he could have a clear head he wanted to badly. Once Slade got this mess straightened out then his plans would go smoothly again.

Damn it, kid, he thought, you're going to have hell to pay.

Well, Slade didn't want to waste any more time. Where would Dick be now? On his way into town Slade didn't notice anything unusual. He could pull a mugging just to attract Nightwing's attention, but that wouldn't be the best thing to do. Slade could do better than that.

"So," Slade asked a nearby man at the bar, "what's up with this Nightwing character?"

The man shot him a hard sidelong glance, obviously annoyed that Slade brought up the subject. Slade hoped that he would talk. Slade didn't want to have to bribe anybody to get information.

"Why do you ask?" the man demanded. "Think you can handle the kid? We all thought we could. Freakin' brat could break all of our necks if he wanted to."

Ah, so Dick was acting aggressively. Good. Slade also knew that Dick was perfectly capable of killing people, but the kid hadn't killed anyone here yet. If Slade played his cards right he could persuade Dick that killing people would be the best way to control the crime in this city. Slade didn't expect Dick to be mentally sound by that time he faced him. The kid was probably still unsure of himself. It was evident from the fact that he ran away from the Titans and the Justice League.

"I'm here to get rid of him," Slade replied, "without a price, mind you. I have a personal score to settle with the boy."

That was dangerously close to revealing his identity to the man, but Slade didn't care. He didn't even care if anyone paid him to take out Nightwing. Slade was only here to take down Dick. While he may want to take over Bludhaven in the future it wouldn't be today.

"Mr. Wilson?" Another man asked.

Slade's head snapped at the sound of his name. How did the man recognize him? Unperturbed, the man continued to speak.

"I have a message for you."

Slade grimaced as the man handed him a sealed envelope, however he took it without comment. Almost immediately he recognized the handwriting. He ripped the envelope open and quickly read the note.

11pm. Main Street.

Let's finish this.

That was it. No signature. Not even a name. But Slade didn't need any of that to understand who this was from. He crumpled the letter in his hand. He would destroy it later when he had the chance.

Wretched little brat.

Fine. While Slade would have preferred to choose the battlefield he knew that Dick held all of the strings now. Instead of endangering his friends he decided to go to a place where none of them lived. However, Slade knew that Dick wouldn't have Bludhaven completely under his control at this time.

Bludhaven has its own crime lords, Slade thought, some of them are just as dangerous as I am. There's no way Dick would be able to control the city by now.

However, Dick was still doing a good job of scaring the villains. Judging from the way Bludhaven's other criminals spoke about him, it was clear that Dick was acting much more aggressive than normal to control the crime. Even if Dick didn't have control of the city he still did a lot to control the petty crime rate. Blockbluster and the other villains here were probably spooked by the new vigilante in town.

Coming here to taunt me was a big mistake, Dick, Slade thought, I know you're trying to set me up. It's painfully obvious.

If Slade wasn't so pissed at him he would have thought that Dick's tactics were cute. Right now, though, nothing about this was cute. Dick was determined to beat Slade, and his determination was evident in his tactics. However, Slade also had tricks up his sleeve.

If Dick wasn't going to show himself until the designated time, then Slade would wait until tonight. As Slade accepted the drink the bartender handed him he wondered whether Batman would show up. Even if Batman wasn't asked to come the vigilante would do it anyway.

If the Bat does show up, Slade thought, then I'll just go with my original plan and kill him. At least then he'll be out of the way.

-JH-

Gotham City

Wayne Manor

"Yeah…I know, I'll…" Jared paused as his listened to his aunt sob over the phone. "Look, the situation is a little complicated. I can't leave right now."

"But why?" his aunt asked. "You need to come back home now."

Home? What home? He knew that she meant well, but he didn't want to deal with this right now. Informing his immediate family about his father's death was one of the hardest things he had ever done. Telling them that his father was not only dead, but had been murdered almost reduced Jared to tears again. He was forbidden by the League to say who murdered his father, just so that the press wouldn't jump all over the murder, but he found it so difficult to hide the identity of his father's killer.

He sighed and hung up. Sorry, he thought, but I really can't go back now.

"Thanks for letting me use your phone, Mr. Pennyworth," he said, handing the phone back.

"No trouble at all, Mr. Holden," the butler replied.

"I…uh…don't call me that, please. Jared is fine."

People only called his father that or called Jared that when Jared was in trouble. Although he knew that the butler meant well Jared didn't want to be reminded of his father's death right now. Alfred nodded.

"Do you require anything else, Sir?"

"No. Thanks for the offer, though."

He wasn't comfortable being serviced to his needs like this. He didn't grow up with a butler or a lot of money. But maybe the butler wasn't just being a butler now. Perhaps he was just being kind to Jared out of the goodness of his heart.

"Are you sure you will be all right?" Alfred asked.

"I'll be fine."

"I'll be in the kitchen if you do need anything."

He watched the butler walk away. Jared was finally let down from the Watch Tower, but on the condition that he stayed at one of the homes of the JLA members. Since he already knew Batman's secret identity it was only logical that he take refuge at Wayne Manor. As a key witness he needed to be kept safe so that, if Slade's trial did come up, he would be able to help convict him.

However, Jared had no intention of staying here while everyone else panicked over Dick. Unbeknownst to the rest of the League and the Titans, Jared had also received a letter. However, Batman didn't think that Jared was important enough to call into the meeting.

As Alfred went away Jared crept up to the Grandfather Clock. Dick said that turning the hands to "10" would allow him access to the Bat Cave. After looking around he turned the hands and stepped back as the Bat Cave opened.

I've got to admit, Jared thought, this is pretty cool.

He was surprised that there weren't any other security measures locking him in a trap or whatever. Or perhaps Dick had disabled them ahead of time so that Jared would be able to get in. Whatever the case was, being in the Batcave was awesome.

He turned on the Bat computer and grinned goofily to himself. Having access to some of the best technology in the world made him giddy. However, as he began to type he became annoyed at the fact that he could only use one hand.

I hate this, Jared thought, glaring at the cast on his arm. I can't type fast enough.

Awkwardly, he twisted the communication earpiece into his ear and turned it on.

"Dick? You there?"

"You woke me up."

"It's five in the afternoon," Jared replied, "what are you, an insomniac?"

Dick mumbled something incoherent. Well, Jared must have woken him up. From what Jared could tell from the news Dick was working himself to death. Every night he beat bad guys to a pulp, just like Batman.

"I finally had the chance to get into the Batcave."

"Oh good, so you haven't been caught yet. Listen, I know you've done a lot for me, but I have another favor to ask of you."

Dick told Jared exactly what he wanted him to do. While he didn't explain any of the reasons why Jared simply accepted the instructions. Even though he knew that Dick could be mentally and emotionally unstable he didn't sound like that to Jared. Besides, he trusted that Dick knew what he was doing. As soon as Dick was finished speaking Jared spoke up.

"Batman's gone to Bludhaven to find you," Jared said.

"I suspected as much," Dick replied. "When did he leave?"

"A few hours ago."

"Thanks for telling me. I didn't want to have to deal with him, but I guess that I have no other choice."

In that moment Jared wasn't sure what Dick meant by that. Although Dick had trusted him with more information than the rest of the cape community Jared was still in the dark about Dick's true intentions. Did Dick not want to talk to his mentor? If so, how come he didn't trust Batman?

"I'm surprised you're doing this for me," Dick said. "You don't have to."

"And you didn't have to save me," Jared said. "People just do things for each other. I want your plan to work because I want to see Slade brought to justice."

And for Dick's plan to work Jared needed to do something to catch Batman's attention because Batman couldn't get involved in this. That much Jared understood. Sooner or later the man was going to realize that there was someone else in the Bat Cave.

Unless, of course, Jared thought, Batman realizes what we're trying to do. If he does then he'll be forced to step back.

"A-hem."

Jared froze as he heard a voice. He spun around in his seat to find a young red-haired woman standing a few feet away from him, her hips cocked to the side as she glared at him. She wore a Gotham University tee shirt.

Who…? He thought, becoming flustered as her frowned deepened. Oh my God, it's Batgirl.

"I…uh…" he stammered, his words tumbling over each other. She was pretty attractive, and that didn't do anything to help him come up with an explanation. "Sorry."

"Well, thanks for testing out my new security features," she said. "You're not supposed to be here."

"Jared?" Dick's voice asked. "Who's that?"

The young woman nearly shoved Jared out of the way as she picked up the communication piece. When she spoke, her voice was a mixture of anger and worry.

"Dick, you better have a good reason for ditching me at school," she spat, "where the hell are you?"

"I…uh…I'll call you later, Babs."

Dick hung up.

"Scoot over," Babs said.

Jared quickly stood up and allowed her to sit in the chair. She would be able to type faster anyway. As she typed she turned her head to look at him.

"What did he ask you to do?" Babs demanded, pulling on her communication headphones. "And why you?"

"I…he asked me to help him," Jared replied. "He asked me to get into the Bat Cave. He didn't want to ask you because he felt as though you would try to bring him back to Gotham."

She placed her hands over her face and sighed. In his letter Dick did warn Jared not to get any of the other heroes involved. The JLA would try to stop him and would take down Slade themselves. Dick didn't want to be robbed of that victory.

"I helped him contact Slade through the Watch Tower's main computer," Jared said, "all I did was connect him to Jump City. He did the rest."

Babs studied him. Her harsh glare made Jared uncomfortable, but he held his ground. Although she didn't shoo him out he still felt uncomfortable being in the Bat Cave while she was there. Barbara kept trying to pinpoint his location in Bludhaven, but Dick had cut off all contact for now.

"He knows that he can't do this alone," she muttered. "Even though he doesn't say it, that's how he feels. Whatever the hell he's doing, he doesn't want to do it alone."

-BW-

Bludhaven

Downtown

Even though he knew that Dick probably didn't want them to follow him, Batman couldn't help but do it. He had waited long enough. Now that he knew where Dick was he could hunt him down and talk some sense into him.

Batman wasn't sure what Dick was trying to do here. From what Bruce managed to gather from the news he could deduce that Dick was cleaning up Bludhaven. Bruce didn't want Dick to become like him: a constant protector of a dark city. That wasn't the kind of life he wanted Dick to lead because Bruce understood how lonely and difficult it was. Besides, picking fights with people in Bludhaven wasn't the smartest thing to do, although Bruce understood that cleaning up Bludhaven wasn't Dick's main goal.

He wants attention, Bruce thought, and this is a pretty elaborate way to get it.

There were so many questions he wanted to ask him. Why Bludhaven? Why Nightwing? Why do this at all? Bruce suspected that, if this was for attention, then Dick certainly achieved that objective. The question was: whose attention was he trying to get?

"Crap!" someone muttered from the shadows. "The Bat's in town!"

"Screw this," another man said in a lowered voice, "both Nightwing and Batman in town? I'd sooner kill myself than fight those two."

Batman didn't even care about stopping the two criminals. On any ordinary night he would go out of his way to stop them, but tonight he had more important things on his mind. Tonight he was going to find Dick and convince him to stop doing this to go back to Gotham.

If he's looking for stabilization then he'll never find it here, Bruce thought, why didn't you just come back home?

Batman stopped as he saw another figure at the end of the street. One of the nearby streetlamps began to flicker. Even with the dim light Batman recognized the man even though he had never met him before. He recognized him from the newspapers, the television…and of course, from the many heated discussions the two men had through a webcam. Batman's hands curled into fists.

"Slade," Batman growled, "we finally meet."

"Ah…good evening, Wayne," Slade said, stepping closer. "I was wondering when we would have a confrontation."

As Slade took out his bo-staff Batman allowed two batarangs to fall into his hands. Here was the man who caused all of this trouble, finally here in front of him. The man who hid behind the shadows and manipulated the entire superhero community through threatening to hurt Dick and the Titans. The two of them warily stepped closer to each other. Batman's eyes narrowed, although he didn't move to strike. He had never fought Slade before, and it took most of his self-control for him to remain still.

"I must thank you for giving the boy basic training," Slade said, "but really, I'm the one who's going to finish his training."

"That's not going to happen."

Slade's eye narrowed. "Don't be so sure of yourself."

"I won't let it happen."

"I'll take that as a challenge."

Without another word they rushed towards each other and began to fight furiously. Batman flung his batarangs towards Slade, who knocked them out of the way with his bo-staff. Batman avoided Slade's bo-staff as he sought to find an opportunity to strike back.

"You're not going to finish anything," Batman growled. "I want you to stay away from him."

"The kid practically invited me other here. You're the one who's deluded, Batman. He called me to tell me that he's in Bludhaven. Did he do anything like that for you?"

Dick called Slade?

Bruce wanted to say that Slade was lying, but he could believe that. As Batman stayed silent Slade continued to speak in a smirking voice as he tried to punch Batman.

"He doesn't want your help—"

"So what makes you believe that he wants yours?" Batman demanded, blocking Slade's fist. "Leave him alone."

At that moment Batman didn't care what Dick thought about Slade. Nothing would ever excuse the man for his actions. Slade had taken Dick away from his team. He had taken Dick away from his friends and cut off all communication from the people who loved him.

"He's an investment I can't afford to lose."

When the Titans accused Slade of cowardice Bruce couldn't help but agree. Slade didn't fight anyone except when it suited him. He held Dick in his control for almost a year, control that he was sure to keep because he was a grown man beating down a teenager. Nothing was fair about that. Nothing was right about that.

"You're twisted," Batman said, "you can't do that to a child, and especially not mine."

"Why? Because you wanted to give him the childhood that you never had? Don't make me laugh. You trained him to be your soldier."

My soldier?

Many times Bruce asked himself whether or not allowing a child to fight by his side was right. Even so, Bruce made sure that Dick was never hurt while on patrol. And if he did get hurt then Bruce would ask himself over and over what he did wrong. He would always fix it. The fact that he couldn't be there for Dick, couldn't help him make the right decision or help him escape, made Bruce angry. Slade tried to kick Batman's legs out from underneath him.

"It was his choice," Batman said, "I didn't make him do anything. You—you forced him to work for you."

"He chose to work for me."

"He chose to save lives."

This wasn't like fighting the Joker. This man was now Dick's arch-nemesis. The Joker was crazy enough to do anything, but Slade was a different kind of dangerous. He was one of the most brilliant tacticians in the world. A talented mercenary. A freaking sadist.

"I once said to one of the Titans that I was proud of him for making that decision," Batman said, punching Slade. "To give up his freedom for the lives of others instead of stepping down to allow them to die is a decision worthy of a hero."

It may not have been right for Dick to make such a decision, but it at least proved something. He may have pushed his friends away, but the decision to give up his freedom said enough. He didn't want to lose the people he loved again, just as he lost his parents over six years ago, and he was willing do to anything not to lose the people he loved again.

Slade would never do that for other people.

"You know, it's exactly that kind of talk that I tried to stamp out of him," Slade replied. "Morality is relative, Batman."

As they fought several thoughts flew through Batman's mind. While he did consider Slade a villain, the man was still outside of both the villain and cape communities. He could work for both sides so long as they suited his needs. Only a person like Slade would say something like that. It was, perhaps, this ambiguity that confused Dick so much.

"You're only saying that to justify your actions."

"We all do that, Bats. It's a fact of life."

But I have a better reason for doing the things that I do, Batman thought, I had the choice of being a silly playboy billionaire. I could have chosen not to do anything about Gotham's crime, but I did. You do the things you do for money and personal gain.

"You're stalking him."

"Well, so are you."

"Both of us are guilty of chasing him down," Batman replied, "but you've done nothing to help him."

"I've done so much more to help him than you have."

"You're psychotic!" Batman spat. "You're delusional. It's only help if he wants it."

In the end it was Dick's decision. That's what Slade didn't understand: even Bruce Wayne couldn't control what Dick Grayson would do with his life. If Dick had decided to stay with Slade then Bruce would have been disappointed, for sure, but if that's who Dick wanted to be…

Batman lunged forward and began to pummel Slade, his fists knocking the mercenary backwards. He wanted to beat Slade to a pulp for doing this to Dick. Just as he beat the Joker to express his anger over this, Batman began to beat Slade. The mercenary cut him off guard with a swift uppercut to the chin.

"You're dead, Wayne," Slade snarled. "Once you're dead and out of the way then I can bring him back to work for me."

Batman's head snapped to the side as Slade hit him across the face. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth as he tried to hit Slade back. The two men continued to fight, their fists and kicks just barely missing each other.

I can't lose this battle, Bruce thought, I have to help Dick. I have to…

Smoke filled the air as someone threw smoke pellets to the ground. Batman backed away and held his cape up to his face. That hadn't been Slade. Batman heard someone leap to the ground. He turned his head, trying to find the source of the noise. He tensed as someone emerged from the smoke and approached him. It was Dick in his new Nightwing uniform. Batman relaxed somewhat.

"Come on," Batman said, holding out his hand, "let's finish him together."

Nightwing didn't move. He didn't even smile at the sight of Batman. Why didn't Dick say anything? What was he waiting for? As Nightwing looked up his face twisted in regret.

"Sorry."

Before Batman could ask what was going on Nightwing kicked him hard in the stomach. Batman grunted, but the kick didn't knock him off of his feet.

"What are you—?"

Unperturbed, Nightwing kneed him in the gut. Batman was so surprised by this that he didn't move to defend himself. Nightwing punched Batman in the face. Black spots exploded in front of his eyes as his head began to swim. As Batman fell to the ground he saw Nightwing lean over him.

"Do me a favor, Bruce," he said in a quiet voice, "and stay down."

Nightwing kicked Batman in the stomach again. As the smoke cleared away he watched Nightwing sprint away from him. The young vigilante turned to look back at Slade, who was just getting his bearings from the smoke.

Dick…Bruce thought. He tried to push himself to his knees, but Nightwing had done a number on him. Batman knew that Dick had hit him hard enough to be knocked unconscious. He wasn't going to be able to follow. Even though he didn't want this to happen, he regretfully admitted to himself that Dick didn't want him to get involved. Batman allowed himself to fall back to the ground. Beat him, Dick. Prove me wrong. Prove him wrong.

"Let's finish this, Slade!" Nightwing shouted. "Right here! Right now!"

He couldn't hear Slade's angry response as Batman slipped into unconsciousness. The JLA had been listening in. Someone would come by to pick him up once he regained consciousness, but by then it would be too late. Dick and Slade would already be fighting, and Batman wouldn't be able to help him.

A/N: I think Dick would have a big identity crisis of sorts after all of this. I mean, by now he's had three men in his life who have really affected his world-view (John Grayson, Bruce Wayne and Slade), so I think he would be a little confused. I might go back and edit this a little.
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