Training
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used that you may be familiar with, they are all owned by DC comics. This fanfiction is for entertainment purposes rather than profit. I earn nothing from its creation or display.
If you want to display this anywhere but on Fanfiction.net please ask, I don't mind but it's nice to know.
This is my first attempt at fanfiction, I'd be grateful to any reviewer who posts a message or e-mails me, all constructive criticism is appreciated, I have a pretty thick skin, and I would like to improve my writing skills. Thank you. eclectic-adam.
From birth I've been shaped by circumstance just like everyone else, although my circumstances have been unique, and quite unlike anyone else's. Raised first in the circus and then in the home of Bruce Wayne and the heart of the Batman, I've managed to learn a lot of things, but managed to uncover only a handful of constants. One of the few rules that seem to transcend all walks of life is that leaving things go stale and unevolved always leads to decline. Decline in the circus meant dwindling audiences, in my current lines of work it could prove fatal.
As a result of this
I could feel the city becoming too quiet. A storm was on its way, but I could sense that it wouldn't arrive for some days yet. Maybe if Nightwing were not seen around for a while, the security that surrounded the upcoming event would decrease enough so that I could breach it. It was funny that while Batman ran his reputation on fear and being visible night after night, I was most effective when I kept a low profile. The less the enemy know about me and the slower that my legend grows, the more they underestimate me and lose time and time again.
This doesn't mean that I'm not out on the rooftops night after night working, it's just that I time my interaction with the criminal element differently. When the Batman goes out he has to fight every level of crime but most times the people he takes down are unconnected to each other, here in Bludhaven almost every criminal is linked together by a network. Whenever I take out a piece of this town's jigsaw of crime the piece is replaced by a new face, a face I have to get to know. Wherever I take out a one section another is built so that the super structure of this house of cards is never seriously damaged. Sometimes my fight seems like it will last forever, but it's not behind the mask where my greatest victories are made but when I'm in my more accepted uniform.
The need to lie low, the time I had off and some weaknesses that I was noticing in my fighting form, all combined to make training seem not only a viable option but a great opportunity to fend off any staleness in my style. My next problem was deciding how to train this time and with whom. Bruce could help me brush up on my karate, slow down, hit harder, what with his style being more based on strength than mine. Tim had trained with Batman's original mentors; his style was faster, sleeker, and lighter than Bruce's out of the necessity of his smaller size. As Robin he combined the best elements of both Batman's and my own style, it was a reflection of how well we had taught him. I could always train under the tutelage of an outsider, but it'd be hard to choose one, not only was it on short notice but I also had no firm ideas about which direction I wanted my training to take.
How to train was a question that always plagues me once I decide to learn, should I brush up old skills or learn new ones. This time I didn't think I'd find whatever I was looking for in the core of the family, and three days with an outsider might not be worth my time considering all the explanations they require. These conclusions led me to contact the angel, my blade skills were rusty, no pun intended, and our relationship could definitely withstand a sharpening.
