Author's note: This fanfiction series is inspired by Batman: The Animated Series and functions within the same universe. To avoid continuity issues, I'm starting off by writing a set of stories that runs concurrently with The New Batman Adventures, or more specifically two months after Dick's intial appearance in "Sins of the Father".
A cool breeze wafted through Richard Grayson's dark hair as he entered his miniscule abode. He had been back home for a rather uneventful two months, and he was starting to slip back into his typical day-to-day routine. Not that he minded the monotony: he was one of those individuals who felt that the more consistent things became, the easier they were to accept. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, eat dinner, exercise, watch T.V., fight crime, and then go to sleep. His heart skipped a beat. Fight crime? Well, yeah, I guess that is a bit wierd if you think about it, but hey, he'd been doing it for over fifteen years and there was no reason to stop now. Dick knew that wasn't the real reason why he did it, but he'd rather not think about it. The more he did, the more he realized that he was becoming like Him. It wasn't intentional, but he could see how easy it was to get sucked into the physical and emotional rigors of his obsession. He could almost sympathize with the old man and feel sorry for everything that he'd been through. Almost.
Dick quickly realized that he was getting sentimental about the matter and decided to stop thinking about it completely. He quickly diverted his mind to the vast array of communications devices that he had installed in a room of his loft, which he lovingly dubbed "The Monitor Room" after a concept in one of his favorite pieces of fiction. A speaker in one corner was blaring police radio channel while multiple monitors were quickly scrolling the news and large volumes of information in the other. Books, computers, periodicals, newspapers, microscopes, and a wide variety of other media and instruments were strewn across his desk and the floor of the Monitor Room. There seemed to be little activity tonight, which was unusual. He decided to pop in the microwave dinner and watch the news. Dick was getting pretty frustrated with news reporting these days, especially with all of the sensationalized stories that seemed to be told for entertainment and shock value rather than to provide factual content, but it still helped him keep abreast of what was going on in a world that he otherwise almost completely isolated himself from.
"... and the Penguin once again was not found to be connected to the series of crimes, despite allegations to the contrary put forth by GCPD Commissioner James Gordon and other top-ranking police officials. In other news, the Gotham jobless rate has increased to 5.8%, which analyists attribute to the faltering economy due to the re- this just in, a hostage situation has arisen in downtown gotham where top executives at Vance Laboratories have been held captive inside their own forty-story building in downtown Gotham. Citizens are warned to stay away from the area, as several officers have already died attempting to approach the building. The criminals are demanding ten million dollars for the release of the executives, and threatened that they would kill them if they detected any breaches in the building's security system or were not paid by the following morning. Mayor Hamilton Hill offered the following comments on..."
Dick didn't linger to listen to the remainder of the report; he was already heading toward the enclosure that electronically analyzed his handprint before revealing his costume. As he leaped onto his motorcycle and revved the engine, he grinned. Tonight was going to be fun.
A cool breeze wafted through Richard Grayson's dark hair as he entered his miniscule abode. He had been back home for a rather uneventful two months, and he was starting to slip back into his typical day-to-day routine. Not that he minded the monotony: he was one of those individuals who felt that the more consistent things became, the easier they were to accept. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, eat dinner, exercise, watch T.V., fight crime, and then go to sleep. His heart skipped a beat. Fight crime? Well, yeah, I guess that is a bit wierd if you think about it, but hey, he'd been doing it for over fifteen years and there was no reason to stop now. Dick knew that wasn't the real reason why he did it, but he'd rather not think about it. The more he did, the more he realized that he was becoming like Him. It wasn't intentional, but he could see how easy it was to get sucked into the physical and emotional rigors of his obsession. He could almost sympathize with the old man and feel sorry for everything that he'd been through. Almost.
Dick quickly realized that he was getting sentimental about the matter and decided to stop thinking about it completely. He quickly diverted his mind to the vast array of communications devices that he had installed in a room of his loft, which he lovingly dubbed "The Monitor Room" after a concept in one of his favorite pieces of fiction. A speaker in one corner was blaring police radio channel while multiple monitors were quickly scrolling the news and large volumes of information in the other. Books, computers, periodicals, newspapers, microscopes, and a wide variety of other media and instruments were strewn across his desk and the floor of the Monitor Room. There seemed to be little activity tonight, which was unusual. He decided to pop in the microwave dinner and watch the news. Dick was getting pretty frustrated with news reporting these days, especially with all of the sensationalized stories that seemed to be told for entertainment and shock value rather than to provide factual content, but it still helped him keep abreast of what was going on in a world that he otherwise almost completely isolated himself from.
"... and the Penguin once again was not found to be connected to the series of crimes, despite allegations to the contrary put forth by GCPD Commissioner James Gordon and other top-ranking police officials. In other news, the Gotham jobless rate has increased to 5.8%, which analyists attribute to the faltering economy due to the re- this just in, a hostage situation has arisen in downtown gotham where top executives at Vance Laboratories have been held captive inside their own forty-story building in downtown Gotham. Citizens are warned to stay away from the area, as several officers have already died attempting to approach the building. The criminals are demanding ten million dollars for the release of the executives, and threatened that they would kill them if they detected any breaches in the building's security system or were not paid by the following morning. Mayor Hamilton Hill offered the following comments on..."
Dick didn't linger to listen to the remainder of the report; he was already heading toward the enclosure that electronically analyzed his handprint before revealing his costume. As he leaped onto his motorcycle and revved the engine, he grinned. Tonight was going to be fun.
