Nightwing and Black Canary finished tying up criminal gang members.
"Well, we can go home." the woman began but was interrupted by their communicators going off.
"Nightwing?" came Black Bat's uncertain voice.
The 20 year old brought one hand to his ear while with the other he took the grappling hook and shot to the nearby rooftop as he climbed up, followed by his girlfriend. "Ehy sis." he greeted her warmly.
"We've got bad news, golden boy." although Red Hood's voice might have sounded casual, the elder noticed the tiny tinge of fear. An involuntary shiver ran through his body.
A frightened Red Hood never led to anything good.
"What happened?" asked Black Canary, who stared intently at his fiancé.
"You are aware of the case involving Christopher McCauley, right?" came the question from Batwoman.
He frowned, trying to remember. "The scientist who invented an unknown weapon, if I remember correctly."
"That's right. Well, we raided the abandoned lab and managed to find him." Spoiler began.
Green Arrow's ex girlfriend made a murmur of recognition as Red Robin continued. "He pointed this weapon of his at us and..." his voice suddenly died out.
Nightwing forced himself not to get anxious. "What happened?" he asked hiding his fear.
"The weapon hit Batman. Batman disappeared into thin air." uniformly reported Robin even though some anxiety, fear, and shock leaked from his voice.
Something incredible happened.
Nightwing stumbled over his own steps but quickly regained his balance.
He never stumbled; after all, he is the best acrobat in the world.
It was as if a bucket full of ice water had been thrown at him in the middle of winter.
His eyes hardened behind his mask as he ignored the twinge of panic that ran through him. "I'll meet you at the Batcave. Nightwing out."
Black Canary saw him press a button on his utility belt and tilted her head, looking at him questioningly. "Are we going to Gotham on the Wing-cycle?"
He nodded. "I have a very bad feeling."
She nodded.
Me too, beautiful. Me too.
The seven vigilantes returned to the Bacaverna with Alfred waiting patiently for them.
"I suppose it was a quiet night." he raised an eyebrow when they did not respond.
It seemed strange to him to see Miss Batwoman in the cave but he dismissed it thinking that she simply wanted to stay at the manor for the night.
But on a better look, he noticed how stiff, upset they were and how they dared not look him in the eye.
This, he decided, was more than strange.
Something was going on.
Something bad he added mentally.
The British butler looked once more at his kid whom he regarded as grandsons and noticed that an imposing figure was missing.
How had he not noticed this before?
"Can you please inform me where Master Batman is right now?"
"We'll explain it when Nightwing and Black Canary arrive." Black Bat spoke nervously.
Alfred raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised that Master Dick and Miss Dinah were coming but he did not object, even though a strange feeling was making its way into his stomach.
What on earth have you gotten yourself into this time, Master Bruce?
The big boulder placed at the main entrance to the Batcave opened and closed a few seconds later, allowing the Wing-Cycle to stop near the Batmobile and the motorcycles of Red Hood, Red Robin, and Spoiler.
Nightwing got off the bike and positioned himself in front of his family, Black Canary just behind him.
Before asking the fateful question, he decided to observe each member of the Bat Family.
Robin was stiff, very stiff, and Dick knew that inside was an emotional turmoil that risked exploding.
Spoiler was constantly looking away and nervously moving her right foot.
Black Bat was looking at a random spot in the cave but the major noticed that the girl was clenching her fists.
Red Robin was nervously biting his lip and not daring to look into anyone's face.
Red Hood was the only one who was outwardly calm and relaxed but Nightwing knew his brother very well to say that he was pissed off and afraid.
Batwoman was leaning against a cave wall although she was constantly opening and closing her right hand, as if trying to avoid hitting the wall.
Finally, Alfred was as stiff as usual, although he looked slightly confused and bewildered.
He sighed and asked the question that plagued him the entire trip from Bludhaven to Gotham from 2:30 to 3:15 in the early morning. "What happened?"
Immediately Red Robin stepped forward, locking up his emotions (as any Bat was capable of) and concisely explained what had happened, from the beginning of the mission to discover the purpose of the weapon to talking about Batman's disappearance and how he is untraceable.
The Bludhaven vigilante remained silent throughout the explanation and mentally thanked his girlfriend who was holding his hand in a gesture of comfort.
"Is the scientist in custody?" he asked once his little brother finished explaining.
"Yes but it is useless to question him. He's as much in the dark as we are about where Batman might be." stated Black Bat crossing her arms, a frown outlining her Asian features hidden behind the mask.
"And the weapon?" asked Black Canary.
Batwoman pulled the weapon from her suit and silently handed it to Nightwing.
Dick studied the weapon carefully, turning it over several times before a heavy sigh escaped his lips. "We'd better suspend the search until tomorrow."
"Do you really fucking expect us to go to sleep when the old man is who knows where?" irritated Red Hood asked his older brother.
He looked at his younger brother firmly but at the same time kindly. "Right now we're all shaken up, including me. I know we probably won't be able to fall asleep but it would be better if we took even two hours of sleep instead of searching in vain. In a few hours, while you're all at school, Dinah, Kate and I, if she'd like, will start investigating for some clues."
Batwoman nodded. "Of course I'll help." she declared, making Dick smile slightly.
"-tt. I think it's a waste of time to go to that futile educational institution when father could literally be anywhere." protested Robin stubbornly crossing his arms.
Nightwing crouched at the same height as his little brother while taking off his mask looking at him with his understanding blue eyes.
"Believe me Damian when I say that I would like to take advantage of all the help I can immediately from the beginning but you guys will have to go to school not only because it is important to yourselves but also because it could create suspicion if all the Wayne kids were absent at the same time on the same day." although at first he was talking to the younger one by the end he was looking at all his siblings.
They exchanged a glance before they nodded reluctantly.
Dick turned to Alfred who was looking at him with a slight pride in how he was handling the delicate situation. "Alfie, could you please inform Lucius that Bruce is taking a few sick days?"
He nodded and gave a slight bow. "I will do so at once, Master Dick. I suppose you and Miss Dinah are spending the night here?"
"If it's not a problem certainly Alfred." Black Canary replied with a small smile.
"Not a problem at all, Miss Dinah. What about you, Miss Kate?" posed the question to the redhead.
She hesitated before nodding. "I also stay so that I can help Dick and Dinah right away without wasting time."
"Very well then. Excuse me." he made one last bow before going upstairs.
Dick sighed and turned to his family. "Come on, let's go to the locker room to change and we'll all go to bed."
A few minutes later they found themselves on the upper floor of the manor. They all said good night to each other even though Dick noticed how stiff Damian was.
Or at least stiffer than usual.
He probably had a great deal of guilt on his shoulders.
Richard made a mental note to talk to him to try to comfort him.
He let himself fall with little grace onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
His father had apparently disappeared into thin air.
Just the thought of it brought a knot to his throat.
But he would be damned if he did nothing about it.
He would have done anything to bring his father back.
He returned to the real world when he heard Dinah lying down beside him. He turned to look into her beautiful blue eyes. "Ehy." he muttered slightly distracted.
"Ehy beautiful." she murmured back as she snuggled into his side.
He murmured contentedly as he felt the warmth fill him.
"What a shitty start to the day." he muttered furiously. He turned to look at her and his face softened only slightly.
"Don't think about that now, Dick."
"It's a little difficult when you're informed that your father has literally disappeared into thin air." Dick stated dryly.
"I know it can be difficult-"
"Indeed it is."
"-but you are the world's best detective partners, so I'm pretty sure something will come of it when we start investigating. Besides, we could always ask the Justice League for help. "
"That will be our last option." he quickly got defensive before he sighed. "I just hope Gotham doesn't notice your absence otherwise there will be big trouble." he muttered more to himself than to her.
"Will you ask your commissioner for a few days off?" she asked after a moment of silence. He only nodded. "Good, because I was thinking of asking my superior for the same."
He murmured an acknowledgment, a sign that he was listening to her.
She kissed him softly on the lips before she rested her head on his chest, listening to his very soothing heartbeat. She closed her eyes. "As you said, we'll think about it tomorrow. Good night, Dick. I love you so much."
"Good night, Dinah. I love you so much too."
The five Wayne kids met outside school once classes were over. As soon as they got into the car Steph broke the silence.
"Did they find anything?" the girl asked the driver hopefully.
"I'm afraid not, Miss Stephanie." replied Alfred with a slow sigh. Through the rear-view mirror he looked directly at the second youngest. "Master Timothy, Master Dick would like to specifically request your assistance with the case after lunch and after homework is finished."
Tim frowned thoughtfully. "Did he say for what?"
The butler simply shook his head.
"Why Drake of all people?" asked Damian scornfully.
"Let's face it, he's the smartest guy in this family. He's probably as smart as Bruce himself." spoke Cassandra.
Tim blushed slightly at his sister's praise.
Both Jason and Damian made dismissive sounds but did not contradict.
The rest of the trip passed in silence.
After lunch Dick and Dinah returned immediately to the cave while Kate had to return home.
Half an hour later the remainder of the Wayne siblings had finished their homework (they were all geniuses, after all) and joined the eldest and Dinah in the cave.
They found Dick tapping furiously on the keyboard and Dinah looking intently at the screen.
"Anything new?" asked Cass.
Dick turned with the swivel chair and shook his head sadly.
"We have checked every single place on Earth with Barbara's help but nothing, there is no sign of him."
"So we can say that father is not on Earth." stated Damian bluntly, getting a slight affirmative nod from Dinah. "-tt. Great." he muttered in frustration.
"What did you want me for?" asked Timothy directly to the major.
He moved toward him as he signaled for him to approach. Dick handed him the weapon that created this problem.
"Since you are the smartest in the family I want you to analyze this weapon from top to bottom. Whatever you find, even if it might turn out to be seemingly insignificant, I want you to tell us." stated Dick. He placed a hand on his little brother's shoulder. "You're the only one who can do that." Dick said as he rose from his chair, leaving his seat vacant.
Tim was moved by the elder's words and threw himself on him, careful not to drop his weapon. "Thank you!" he muttered softly.
He gave him a brotherly pat on the head and the third Robin broke away. He took a deep breath and looked at each and every member of his family with renewed determination. "I will need all your help."
A few hours later
Everyone sat on the ground tired and slightly fatigued.
"When will the results come out on the damn gun, replacement?"
"Forty eight to seventy two hours." Tim replied after a few seconds to his older brother.
"What are we going to do in that time?" asked Stephanie to the eldest.
Dick looked first at her and then at everyone else.
"Simple, Steph. We will protect Gotham until Batman returns."