Summary: Suggestion from pxaviercm. Takes place around October of this year (2012), so 10 months after Auld Acquaintance.
Disclaimer: I don't own DC
"Okay, enough is enough." Artemis looked to the others as the whole team, with the exception of one Boy Wonder, were seated on the couches, watching a boring movie. "I get that he works hard, but where the hell is Dick?"
"I must agree with Artemis. Our friend has not been seen for almost 2 weeks, aside from the few missions we have had. We have not gotten to spend any time with him. He even missed the Halloween party yesterday." Even Kaldur was getting frustrated, though it was clear he was more worried than annoyed. Raquel turned to the two closest to Dick.
"Wally, 'Tanna, can't one of you call him?" The entire team had tried calling Dick on various occasions, they even spammed him in the group chat, but he always said he was too busy with some big case to meet up. Zee sighed and shrugged.
"I did. He's...busy. I mean, he does usually have a lot on his plate." Wally nodded in agreement, but even he was getting frustrated. He and Dick hadn't had a bro's night in ages. Connor grunted.
"We all have work too, but we don't ditch each other."
"Yeah, what does bird-brain have that's so important, and why does he have it every freaking day? It's been almost 2 weeks since we last saw him outside of missions." Zatanna sadly nodded with the rest of them. She and Dick hadn't been on a real date in a while. Call her lovestruck, but she really missed Dick's constant company. When they were together, they were attached by the hip, but it'd been almost half a month since they last had any quality time together. An idea struck Zee, but she debated with herself. No, it's an invasion of privacy...buuuuut it has been a while… couldn't hurt to try, could it?
"I...I could try something. A spell...I could use it to see what he's been up to. Just so we could see where he is nowadays." Kaldur sighed.
"I am afraid that is an invasion of privacy we should not perform." M'gann softly spoke.
"Yeah, but I don't think he would be that mad about it."
"Yeah, plus I'm curious. What does he have that's keeping him away? Before yesterday, it was sorta understandable, but our school got dismissed for a long weekend lasting yesterday till Monday, so what does he have to do now?" Kaldur sighed again as the team was in agreement, and he nodded to Zatanna. She smirked a bit before chanting the spell.
"Wohs su tahw ym dneirfyob si pu ot!" The TV switched from the movie to a mystical replaying of Dick's past day.
Alfred walked into the room, pestering Dick to wake up. The clock read 6:03. Dick groaned.
"Nngh, 5 more minutes, Al."
"Master Dick, need I remind you of Master Bruce's strictness?" Dick groaned even louder before struggling to get out of bed, rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his messy hair. The team chuckled a bit at the interaction and at how tired Dick looked. Zee blushed as she noticed she was checking him out. Even right out of bed, his hair's perfect. God, stop it! I shouldn't think of that!
Dick went to the bathroom and washed his face. Zee realized he was about to change, and so she muttered an incantation to skip this part, to nobody's protest. As much as I would love to see that, I think that's a bit too far...
The scene skipped to Dick, wearing black joggers and a black, full sleeve, very form-fitting sweatshirt, walk down to the Batcave. The team, other than Wally and Zatanna, looked on in awe as the clock in the living room opened to reveal the elevator to the cave. Zee was more concerned with how tight that shirt looked on him, but she blushed again and caught herself staring. The elevator made its way down, and Dick walked into the mythical Batcave. Everyone's jaws dropped at the sight of the cave. Dick walked up to Bruce, wearing blue joggers and a grey tank top. Bruce grunted as he turned to him. "You're late."
"Sorry, tired. Let's get started." Bruce nodded and gestured for Dick to do his stretches, as he already had done his. The team all collectively scoffed at Bruce's strictness. Zatanna was particularly annoyed. It's 6 in the morning. Give the kid some slack.
Dick did the classic stretches that one would typically do before working out, but he then hopped on a pair of trapeze rings, performing extremely complicated maneuvers and flips, suspending himself in midair with perfect style and incredible ease. The team's collective jaws dropped as he continued his maneuvers on the pair of rings. Zatanna was absolutely gushing at his skill, but a part of her was extremely smug at how amazing her boyfriend was. Damn, that's hot. Artemis was the first to speak.
"Okay, I know he's an acrobat, but...holy shit. I can't do half of that." The team all nodded in agreement, and M'gann thought back to the circus mission where Dick was flipping around with incredible skill while she had to use her powers to even come close to him. Wow, I never realized just how...natural this was to him. The Boy Wonder yawned as he was suspended upside down, and Artemis scoffed. Okay, now he's just showing off.
Dick flipped off the rings and cracked his jaw before walking back to Bruce, who had stepped onto a matted floor. The Dynamic Duo got into combat stances as they prepared to spar. Dick was the first to move, lunging at Bruce, who dodged with ease. He caught himself and jumped back, bombarding Bruce with punches. The two fought in perfect sync, moving without hesitation or the slightest bit of pause. The team was certain this was scripted, because the pair looked as if they were in an action movie at this point. Dick flip kicked Bruce, who caught the kick and tossed him aside. Dick landed on his feet and continued the fight, but Bruce didn't let him get a single hit in. Dick dodged Bruce's numerous punches until one connected and he was sent sprawling on the floor, panting as he struggled to catch his breath. Bruce stepped back a bit to cool off and crack his knuckles.
"You okay?" Dick raised a thumb before kicking up and landing on his feet, immediately getting into a stance.
"I can do this all day." Bruce smirked before starting round 2. They went on for another few minutes, Dick managing to land a few hits this time, but the round ended the same way as the first one. Dick and Bruce were both sweaty messes, but Dick flipped up yet again as he prepared for the final round. Bruce noticed his unsteady breaths and smirked a bit, panting himself.
"Getting tired?"
"Not even close, you? Sure you can go another round, old man?" Bruce chuckled before beginning round 3. The team watched in awe as the Dynamic Duo did not let on, moving with perfect form despite how sweaty and panty they were. Zatanna was staring solely at Dick as he carried on, his sweaty body and very toned form flipping around and fighting with the grace of a bird in midair. She believed "turned on" was an understatement for what she was feeling as she watched him move. Dick eventually fell to the floor as Bruce sighed. Both were drenched in sweat and were gasping for air as Dick lay on his back, too tired to get up, and Bruce wiped himself with a towel.
"Not bad. You lasted much longer this time."
"Y'know, out of context that sentence would be slightly worrisome to hear for an outsider." Bruce scoffed a bit, but couldn't deny the smirk as he watched Dick flip back to his feet, grab his own towel, and begin to dry off as he took a big gulp of water. The team laughed at their commentary as Dick walked out.
"Go shower and get ready." Dick waved without looking as he walked away. Zatanna once again used a spell to skip through his shower, and the team saw him, fully dressed after breakfast. Zee looked him over, eyeing his form in civvies with a dreamy look. "Can I go to the cave today?" Bruce shook his head.
"Sorry, I've got an errand for you. And then it's back to looking for Wrath and Scorn. They're just too dangerous to leave unchecked. I need you here and ready to engage the moment I get a lock on them." Dick groaned. Did they really have to deal with those knockoffs?
"Man, it's been 2 weeks! Can these two clowns just turn themselves in?"
"Don't worry, we're getting close. Not much longer. I just need a while to locate them."
"Okay, but why do I need to stay during the day? We don't do the whole Dynamic Duo thing until after the sun goes down usually."
"Well, I've got an errand for you to run, and after that I wanted to get a head start on finding Wrath and Scorn. I need you to go to check on Gordon's security measures for tomorrow night's gala. Don't worry, you won't have to attend, I just need a report on the security for safety reasons, and Alfred has to go pick up decorations and groceries, so you need to handle this. You may go with Batbara if you wish." Dick nodded before walking off to put on his jacket, shades, and shoes. "You're taking your shades?"
"Yeah, I started wearing them more. Keeps the fangirls and cameras away from me. It's actually not a bad disguise." The paparazzi didn't bug him as much when he was out without Bruce nowadays, probably because people had gotten used to seeing him around, which he appreciated. They did occasionally get some mileage out of stalking him when he went out with Barbara, going crazy with headlines staging that the billionaire playboy's heart had been stolen by the daughter of the police commissioner, but for the most part, the news reporters left him alone. He had never brought Zee with him in public for that very reason. The fangirls, however, were ruthless as ever, and they didn't care who he was with.
"Okay, just don't mess with your hair. Look too much like Robin and people may put two and two together." Dick groaned before leaving, his hair parted back in it's "Dick Grayson" form. He seriously hated the way his hair was always slicked back in his more formal look. He far preferred to have it in his "Robin" form with it hanging down more, but it was too risky when he was walking around in Gotham. Dick met up with Babs a few minutes after leaving the Manor, and together they walked to the precinct, which was not too far away. Dick's worst fears were realized as fangirls stormed him when the two were not too far from their destination. Barbara giggled a bit as they crowded around him and paid 0 attention to her. She stepped away to let him deal with the rabid girls. Dick chuckled nervously as he tried to squirm away, but they would not budge. Zatanna scowled and clenched her fist at the sight of the fangirls, and the others noticed this, snickering a bit. Dick eventually managed to escape, much to his relief, but he had to use his ninja skills to successfully get away. He glared at a snickering Barbara as they hid in an alley, waiting for the crowd of his admirers to dissipate. "Thanks for the help, Babs!" She shrugged.
"Hey, they weren't bugging me. Your problem, not mine. Plus, it's kinda fun to watch." Dick shuddered as he realized what his girlfriend would do if she saw this.
"Hey, uh, please don't EVER tell Zee about this, yeah?" The team looked to Zee, who blushed a bit and bashfully tucked hair behind her ear. Barbara smirked.
"No promises, Grayson." Dick groaned.
"You know she's the daughter of a Justice League magician, and she inherited his powers, meaning she can LITERALLY turn me into a frog if I piss her off?" Barbara laughed as she twirled her hair around her finger.
"That's what makes it more fun." Dick glared at her. "Oh relax. I'm sure your superhero girlfriend won't be THAT mad." Dick playfully punched her shoulder. Zatanna smirked a bit at Barbara teasing Dick.
"She's not a superhero, just has powers." The team had stayed in the shadows, never caught on camera, so nobody knew Zatanna was really a superhero. They just assumed she had the same powers as her father, which she did, and Dick needed to keep it that way.
"Okay, whatever. You get what I mean." They made their way to the precinct with little issue. Zatanna fast-forwarded through the replay, looking for something interesting. The team saw Dick doing work for his outside classes, training some more in the cave, and helping Alfred with preparations. Zee stopped the fast-forward once a scene with Dick entering the Batcave played.
Dick looked to Bruce, huddled around the Batcomputer. He finally managed to pinpoint Wrath and Scorn, who were preparing to hijack an armored truck delivery. Dick stepped up to the capsule holding his suit, using his handprint to unlock it and stepping into the container as it flipped around, letting him change in peace before flipping back to reveal the Boy Wonder. The team looked in awe at his transformation. Damn, that's cool. Where's mine, Ollie?! Artemis was quite jealous, considering her uniform didn't get a fancy case like that. He leapt off the railing and into the Batmobile as Batman followed. The Dynamic Duo sped off towards the truck.
The duo chased after the truck as Scorn boarded it, preparing to break into the trailer. Bruce opened the canopy of the Batmobile, letting Dick leap out of the car and onto the truck. He then chased after Wrath, who was in his own weaponized vehicle, as Robin and Scorn battled on top of the truck. Dick eventually used his grapple to drag himself and Andy off the truck and into a scrapyard. They both got up and pulled out their staffs as they went to battle. Meanwhile, Bruce had managed to drive William off the road, and the two of them leapt out of their vehicles and went to battle in the same scrapyard.
Robin and Scorn were rather evenly matched in combat, but Dick's superior acrobatic training gave him the edge he needed to take Andy down. He looked to Bruce, who was struggling a bit with Wrath, and leapt in to help him out. The Dynamic Duo, together, made short work of William, and they tied the two up as they awaited transport to Arkham. The entire team looked on as the Dynamic Duo emerged from the battle relatively unscathed, and Zee smirked at her boyfriend's victory.
"Remind me again why we aren't worried that they know our identities?" The team gaped for a second when they heard that. Zatanna's eyes widened as she realized that those two impostors knew their secrets, meaning they could be in constant danger of being ousted. So, why aren't they worried at all?
"Because, they won't tell anyone. They'll want to reserve that secret for themselves so that nobody else will get the honor of killing us." The team detensed a bit when they heard that.
"Wow. How thoughtful." The Dynamic Duo jumped in the Batmobile as they sped away from the crime scene. They arrived in the Batcave, and Dick hopped out of the car, hurrying over to change into civvies. The replay on the TV ended, and everyone looked at Zatanna for answers, who shrugged. Why'd it stop? Suddenly, the Zeta tubes announced Dick's arrival, and he walked over to the team, all frozen stiff at his sudden appearance. He hopped onto the couch next to his girlfriend and looked to the all.
"Sorry I'm late, but we FINALLY finished our case...what's up?" He looked around at everyone, who were all staring at him awkwardly, and he threw a nervous smile to try and break the tension. They all eventually dropped it and turned back to the TV. He kissed Zee on the cheek and wrapped an arm around her affectionately, pulling her closer to him. She smiled at the affection and snuggled up to him. "So, what movie we watching?"
Hope this is what you were looking for in the suggestion, sorry if it wasn't the best. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions. Next chapter up soon.