Disclaimer: Don't own characters. DC does. I just own the plot. Don't sue.

Chapter Thirty-Six

May 7, 2005

3:25 PM

Gotham Tech-Tennis Courts

Karen watched the two-on-two match from the bench just as she heard her someone's cell phone go off. She pulled her gym bag out from under the players bench just as her other teammates did.

She opened up the bag and pulled out her cell phone to find that it wasn't ringing. She carefully looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking when she quickly checked the PDA/Cell phone Barb had given her and Vic when Dick and Kory left. It was ringing.

"It's mine." She told her teammates on the bench before slipping it into her shorts pocket and getting up. She zipped up her gym bag and pulled it over her shoulder before walking over to her coach.

"Uh, Coach," She said as Coach Woods looked up, "Since I'm done with my matches for today, can I head home? I have a science project I have to get started on. It's due Monday and it is Saturday…"

"Sure Karen," Coach Woods said as she put down another point in her game book, "You played hard today and since it is school work you're leaving early for… I don't see why not."

"Great," Karen said with a smile, "I'll see ya at practice on Monday."

She quickly ran out of the courts and down off of the school grounds.

She pulled her PDA/Cell phone out of her shorts pocket and hit the redial button.

"What's up?" She said as soon as she heard someone pick up at the other end.

"Where's BG?" Came Dicks' voice from the other end of the line.

"She's with her dad today," Karen said as she kept walking down the street, "Gave S and I call duty. You got somethin interesting or what?"

"I hate being in different time zones," She heard Dick mutter before he got straight to business, "I need you and S to find out everything you can about a guy named Jim Malone. According to our lead he bought a 230 Laser-X not to long ago."

"No problem," Karen told him with a smirk, "I'll check out all the records on the guy. See if I can track 'im for ya."

"Thanks Bee," Dick replied, "Let me know if SF and I have to take another trip or not."

"I will," Karen replied as she walked into an empty alley. She checked around her before opening up the old manhole cover next to her. She climbed down and closed the cover before continuing, "You and Star have fun in Cairo."

She hung up as she turned on the lights of the empty sewer pipe and made her way back to the cave.

While she was walking she opened up the system search on her PDA and typed in Jim Malone. The file system on the phone was linked to the Bat computer so she found the man's file easily. She cross checked his alias' with recent records from airlines and ships going to and from Cairo within the last month.

By the time she got to the cave she had found the files and sent them to Dick and Kory.

When she got to the main room in the cave she saw Bruce hard at work on the Bat computer.

"Ya know," Karen said as she approached Bruce, "If ya don't get some sleep soon your gonna end up being useless."

"I won't stop until I find out who did this to Selina." Bruce said through clenched teeth.

"You really like her a lot, don't ya?" Karen said looking at the criminal files he was checking out.

When he didn't answer she continued.

"I remember when Selina was training us last summer," She started off as she turned her gaze to Bruce, "Gar asked her why you and she were such good detectives. She said that good detectives, no matter what the case, keep themselves unattached to it. You're not unattaching yourself from it. Dick and Kory did. They treated it like any other case and they found out who attacked Selina."

At her last sentence Bruce looked over at her. She finally got a good look at his face.

His royal blue eyes were bloodshot and had large circles under them from lack of sleep and he was slightly pale. He almost looked sick.

"She's right," He admitted to her in defeat, "Where is the person who attacked her?"

"He's still here in Gotham as far as my records go," She told him as she handed him the PDA, "You still got the afternoon to catch up on your sleep before you check on him."

He nodded before getting up and walking to the exit.

As he left Karen shook her head.

"He needs to learn some manners," She muttered as she walked to the Med Lab, "Can't even say 'Thanks'."

May 23, 2005

6:45 AM

A street in Gotham City

Vic and Karen walked down the street with their backpacks over their shoulders.

Karen was listening to music on her iPod while Vic was watching highlights from the baseball game from a few nights ago on his iPod. Suddenly he pulled one of the earphones out of his ear.

"Hope Dick and Kory will be okay today," He said looking at Karen. She lowered her headphones as a sign to let him know she was listening, "I mean, it is a pretty bad day for 'em."

"Your tellin me," Karen said in agreement, "I mean with today bein the fifth year anniversary of Dicks' parents death and the fourth year anniversary of Korys'…I don't know how they do it. How can they have the strength to…keep goin."

"According to Tim and Gar," Vic replied looking down for a bit, "It's because of their parent's deaths that they keep goin. Maybe it's the same with Dick and Kory."

"Yeah but Tim was older then both of 'em when his dad died," Karen said, thinking of the different situations, "And Gars' died when he was a little kid. He was adopted and grew up with a new family later. But Kory and Dick were different then both of them. They grew up on the streets and learned to deal with death on a daily basis. Tim may have grown up here on the streets in Gotham but, because of Batman, they aren't even close to what the streets are like in Rockwell and Citadel. Gar grew up in the jungle for a little while. He at least got to hang out with some nice people that didn't just think about taking care of themselves. Dick and Kory did. Their family was everything to them. We'll never completely understand how they felt when their rents were taken from them."

"That's for sure." Vic said as they approached the school.

Two Hours Later-Gotham City Cemetery

Dick sat down on the grass in front of his parents graves, he had been since early that morning. Just sitting and remembering.

Remembering the day they were taken from him. Remembering all the guilt he had when he told Bruce it was okay to adopt him. Remembering what it was like before he put on the suit. Before he became Nightwing. Before Robin.

Richard John Grayson was a happy kid. A kid that died the moment his parents did.

Across the cemetery Kory was also sitting in front of her parents graves, remembering.

She was remembering the moment everything was taken from her, just from two gunshots. The moment, not only when her parents lives were taken from her, but her life as well.

Korina Anders was a happy little girl. She had her mother and father and those were the only family she had needed. She died the moment her family died.

She spent four years knowing she wasn't Korina Anders anymore but also not knowing who had taken that persons place. Now she knew.

Starfire had.

They both remembered the service that followed the deaths. Where Nightwing and Starfire made a promise that they continue to keep to this day. A promise that will keep them going for years to come, no matter what changes occur.

They promised to do whatever they could, to try their best, to rid the world of the evil that had taken their parents and their childhood away from them.

That is what keeps them going.

A/N: The next update will be coming Monday and that will be the last chapter of Year 1. But fear not, the story will continue. Stay tuned for details in the next chapter, along with a preview of the next story in the series, The Wedding.

Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading. Please review.