Gotham City Concerto
A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald
Opening notes: Sorry for the long delays between chapters of this story, folks, but the interlocking story lines are getting to be a bit much to juggle. I'm doing good though, so here's the new one. Short, yes, but still, it's up.
Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans, Batman or any other DCU characters.
Chapter Eight - Two Birds and a Bat
"I still do not think you should be out here, Sister."
Blackfire rolled her eyes at Star, "Kori, I'm barely a month along, and I feel fine. I've already agreed to not be down there in the action, and to just stay back and toss energy bolts at the baddies." she shrugged in an eloquent manner and tossed her hair back behind one shoulder, "I wont compromise any more."
The two Tameranians were seated on the ledge of the twenty fifth floor of one of Gotham's many sky scrapers. Looking down at the darkened street below them, Starfire sighed, "I just worry about you."
"Don't. I can take care of myself."
"I know that, Komi, but I think you have yet to start thinking of the fact that you will soon have a child. This baby will be yours. You will not be able to simply give the child back to it's parents when it starts crying, and you will not be able to-"
"Shut up, dear sister." Blackfire cut her off with a sigh, "I know all that... it's just... I don't want to start having to deal with it until I'm too fat to move any more."
"You cannot go into this stage of your life with thoughts such as those. You will only grow to resent your child."
"Because you're such an expert." Blackfire stuck out her tongue and Star rolled her eyes.
"If you two are done with the sisterly chat, do you think we could get this show on the road?" Oracle's voice came through their com units and they both laughed a little.
"Very well, Oracle. What is it you require of us?"
"The truck holding all of Galante's goons will be rolling right under your current location in about fifteen seconds. Just stop it, and make sure none of them get away."
"Sounds easy enough." Blackfire checked the building tops around them, "Where's Batman?"
"Batman is... busy at the moment."
"Which means he's doing something way more important than us, but doesn't trust us to help with it." the black haired beauty scowled.
"It's his town, Blackfire. His rules."
"Yeah, yeah." the two sister stood up and jumped off the ledge, flying down towards the street at a rapid speed. They could see the truck rolling up now, and both of them charged energy bolts on their hands.
"Aim for the street in front of them, do you think?" Star's eyes never left the truck.
"Yeah. Twenty feet ahead of our current location. That way we wont take out another fire hydrant." Blackfire grinned, and Star winced. It had been a rather large mess last time they had failed to aim correctly.
They waited until the truck was almost on top of their attack point before they let loose with a barrage of energy blasts that tore the street apart in front of the truck. The driver made a valiant effort to swerve, but ended up plowing directly into the ditch they had created, stopping the truck instantly.
"I am going in, Oracle. Blackfire will provide covering fire." Star shot a quick glare at her sister to make sure she would adhere to the plan, and was satisfied with the rolling eyes the other Tameranian gave her. Flying down quickly amid a barrage of purple energy bolts, she slammed into the side of the truck, and tore the top of it off. Tossing aside the mangled sheet metal, Star grinned down at the men inside with glowing green eyes.
They all stared back, some with fright etched on their faces, and others with looks of anger and rage. With a sigh, she noticed two of them couldn't seem to look away from her breasts. Maybe she should consider switching back to her old uniform...
"Star! Stop daydreaming!" came Oracle's voice, and she snapped out of her funk in time to dodge as the bullets started flying. Blackfire's energy barrage continued and bought her enough time to fly around the side of the truck and tip in over. The gunmen poured out into the street in a heap, leaving them dazed.
It only took her another five seconds to fly in and render all of them unconscious. She quickly checked on the driver to make sure the crash hadn't injured him too badly, then flew back up to Blackfire.
"You did very well, Sister. I thank you for staying up here and... Komand'r? What is wrong?"
Blackfire clutched her right arm, and grinned in a pained sort of way at her sister as blood seeped through her fingers, "Just a stray shot. Nothing too major."
"Sister!" Star flew to her and grabbed her out of the air as she passed out, "Oracle! Prepare a bed for Blackfire! She has been shot!"
Blackfire woke with a wince and a jerk. Strong arms held her down suddenly, and Starfire's soothing voice fell on her ears.
"Stay still, Sister. Barbara is mending your wound."
"It hurts." she lay back and winced again as Babs ran a needle through her skin, stitching up the gunshot wound.
"You're lucky it only hit your arm. Didn't go in too deep either." Babs dabbed at the wound with some gauze, mopping away some of the blood, "You passed out for a little while... I was afraid you had gone into shock for a moment."
"Great X'ahl!" Blackfire suddenly sat up on the cot, knocking Star away and grabbing Babs by the front of her shirt. She shook the human girl once, "The baby! Did you check to see... Oracle, if my child is hurt because of this... I don't... I can't..." she began to sob as she crumpled in on herself, "Is the baby okay?"
"The baby is fine, Blackfire. It was the first thing I checked." Babs laid a hand on her shoulder. A sound from the other side of the room caught all of their attention and they looked over to see the shadows move.
Batman stepped from the darkness and stared impassionedly at Blackfire. She had only met him twice before, the first time he hadn't spoken to her at all, and the second time he'd told her to follow a different lead on a different case, since he was working the one she had stumbled upon. Now he had only a few words for her.
"You failed to inform me that you were with child, Blackfire, as did you, Oracle." he turned his stare on Babs briefly, then back to the black haired woman, "Risking your own life for this cause is one thing, but risking two lives is unacceptable. I... appreciate the help you've given me, Komand'r, but as of right now, you're fired. I don't want to see you back on the streets."
With that, he turned and left. Blackfire hung her head, and Star patted her shoulder in a comforting manner.
When Tim returned from his morning jog, he found an exhausted looking Babs sipping a mug of tea in the living room. He grinned at her, "Rough night?"
Babs looked over at him and nodded, "Blackfire took a stray round to her right bicep. Nothing too bad, but it had Star pretty shaken."
Tim paled, "She was shot? It wont cause any complications will it? I mean, the baby-"
"Aside from a little blood loss, she'll be fine. The one good thing that came out of it is that she's started to see her own mortality. She was so worried for the baby when she woke up that she was almost hysterical."
"How's Kori?"
"She's out right now buying mayo and gram crackers for Komi. Aliens..." Babs shook her head, "I mean, pregnancy cravings are one thing, but crackers covered in mayo is just..."
"Weird?" Dick asked as she stepped into the room. He was shirtless, and his well muscled chest glistened with early morning workout sweat.
"Growr." Babs arched an eyebrow, "Trying to make me hot and bothered Man Wonder?"
"Yep." Dick walked right up to her and gave her a big hug, making sure to drip sweat on her glasses.
"Ew! Jerk!" Babs beat him about the shoulders and head playfully until he let her go and walked over to Tim, "You ready grace and gymnastics, Little Brother?"
"After breakfast." Tim shook his head, "I'm starving."
"Sure." Dick nodded and Babs watched them fondly as they walked to the kitchen.
"Hey, Dick?"
"Yeah Babs?"
"Komi got shot last night."
"What?" he whirled back around, his eyes wide, "Is she... I mean, is the baby-"
"She's fine." Babs assured him, "Just a stray round to the arm. It's not even that bad, but Bruce stopped by last night and he found out about her being pregnant. He fired her. It's just Star and Batman again." she gave him a meaningful look.
He nodded slowly, "Right. Okay, well, that just moves the plan along a little bit faster."
"What plan?" Tim asked as he poked his head around the counter of the kitchen area.
"Are you sure? I mean, do you think...?" Babs gave Dick a quizzical glance.
"Yeah, we're good." Dick's eyes flicked to Tim, then to Babs once again, "We'll go forward with it tonight."
"Alright. I'm going to get some sleep, but you should talk to Kori soon."
"I'll do that. Thanks Babs."
"Just doing my job." she waved over her shoulder as she wheeled out of the room.
"What plan?" Tim asked again, looking agitated.
"Just cook the bacon." Dick commanded with a smile.
The sound of grunts and fists hitting the punching bag drew Tim to the training area of Babs' dwelling. Dick was off 'talking' to Kori, so he knew it wasn't either of them, and Babs didn't exactly go at the bag very often, so it wasn't much of a surprise to him when he found Blackfire pummeling the hell out of the poor defenseless bit of cow hide and stuffing.
"You're gonna break it." he said as he stepped into the room, "It's not meant for Tamaranian strength levels."
"Shut up, Tim." was her only reply as she threw another punch. Her fist dented the bag, but didn't break it. He could tell she was holding back, perfecting the strength needed to hurt a human, but not kill them.
"I... heard about your accident."
"Wasn't an accident. It was a wound. A simple wound." she threw another punch, this one a bit harder, "Nothing to get all worked up about." Stepping away from the bag, she grabbed a towel and dabbed at her forehead, "I've had worse from games of Kar'glarti."
"Still a wound. And Batman has a point... you shouldn't be risking your child."
"I don't need to hear all the logical reasons. I live by my emotions, not Batman's reasoning."
"In this city, we all live by Batman's reasoning."
"Dick doesn't."
"Dick is different."
"How?" she turned to him and he got a good look at her. She wore tight black bicycle shorts, and a black sports bra. Her feet were wrapped in workout tape to protect her skin as she threw kicks at the bag, and to brace her ankles so she wouldn't hurt them in an extra hard strike.
Like any man, young or old, he found his eyes drawn to her breasts. Shaking his head, he focused instead on her violet eyes, "Dick is... well, he's Batman's son in a lot of ways. Like any son, he rebels against his parents, and he learns to live on his own eventually."
She nodded, "I guess."
He debated internally for a moment, then decided to ask, "You want to talk about the baby?"
"What?" she looked a little taken aback.
"Well, I know I'm not exactly old enough to understand all of it, but... sometimes it helps to have someone to talk to. Just... get all your fears out in the open."
"I'm not afraid of anythi-" she stopped when she saw his critical look, "Okay fine. I'm a little nervous."
"Why?" he asked, walking into the room and jumping up on the parallel bars. He swung up into a handstand, and held it.
"Well... I guess I worry about how good of a mother I'll be, where I'll raise the kid, how I'll afford it if I stay here on Earth, whether or not I'll tell Brian..."
Tim fell over.
Staring at her with an open mouth, he gasped out, "You're thinking about not telling him he has a child with you?"
"Well, I don't see why I should have to." she frowned at him and stuck a hand on one hip, "It was just a one night stand, not a long term relationship."
"But... don't you think he'll want to help?"
"Brian? Red-X?" she laughed, "He's a thief, Tim. Now, I may have conquered whole planets before, but those days are behind me. Brian... he's still at the top of his game. He's going to be stealing and getting in trouble for the rest of his life."
"You only knew him for one night! How can you be sure of all that?"
She shrugged, "Dick explained it to me."
"Oh, because Dick is such a reliable source to go to about bad guys he's faced in the past." he rolled his eyes, "Especially one that stole his super powered combat suit."
Her shoulders slumped, "Yeah, you're right. Maybe I should have a talk with that Raven chick out in jump... Kori says she gets on pretty well with old Red-X."
"Maybe." he stood up and walked over to her, "It'll be okay, Komi. You've got a lot of friends on this planet that are willing to help you."
She looked at him for a long moment, then ruffled his hair, "Smarter than you look. Thanks, kid."
"Sure. Now how about you show me that funky Corstar Prime arm lock again? I could use a few new tricks to help me get an upper hand against Dick next time we spar..."
Starfire stretched out in the bed she shared with Dick and turned over on her side to face her lover. He stared back at her with a silly post-lay grin and she had to smile fondly at him.
"You are cute, Richard."
"Aw, don't call me cute. I'd rather be ruggedly handsome."
"I am sorry. At the moment you are simply cute."
"Well, thanks anyway."
They flopped back down and cuddled their naked forms together. They lay in silence for several minutes, just enjoying one another's presence. After a short time, Star spoke,
"You heard about Komand'r?"
"Yeah... Babs told me." he sighed, "It's... moved things ahead a little bit."
"How far ahead?"
"Tim's ready. I'm going to introduce him tonight."
Star sat up again and looked down at him in a concerned manner, "Are you sure? He is still just a boy-"
"I was a year younger than he is now when I started." Dick shook his head, "I'm sure Batman will keep a close eye on him, and put him through even more training than we've been heaping on him..."
"If you are certain... I will trust your judgment."
"Thanks, Kori. I'm going out tonight too."
"Wonderful!" she fell down and hugged him, "We can finally patrol the city together!"
"Actually... I was hoping you could stay in tonight. At least at first." he quickly corrected himself, seeing the look she gave him, "I just want to do the meeting with Batman as just the three of us... Bruce, Tim, and myself."
Star frowned, but nodded anyway, "Very well. I will follow you after an hour or two."
"Good. Spend some time with Komi... I'm sure she'll appreciate it."
"Yes... I must endeavor to consol her... Richard... when will we return to Jump City?"
"Soon." he smiled at her and squeezed her once, "Things are moving along nicely, and if everything keeps going to plan, then we'll be out there by next week."
"Wonderful... and will we have the Tower back?"
"I'm still working on that, but yeah, I hope so."
"Then... may Komand'r live with us in the Tower?"
"Whoa... wait a sec." he held up his hand, "I don't know if we can have a baby at the Tower..."
"Raven will already have her foster child there." Star pointed out, "And Kylee will be able to help with the babysitting while we are out on missions, and I am sure Komi will want to sit some of the missions out to stay with her child-"
"Okay! Okay..." Dick relented, "I'll think about it. Ultimately though, that's up to the team."
"Thank you, Richard."
"Like I could ever say no to you."
"Will you allow me to attempt another massage of the Swedish verity?" she asked with a wicked grin.
Dick winced and felt his back start to ache at the very thought of it, "No."
Tim was going after the same bag that Blackfire had been beating up earlier in the day when Dick walked into the gym. The sun was setting, and the whole room was bathed in the golden glow of the Gotham City sunset that poured in through the skylights and windows.
"Hey Dick!" Tim called to him as he whirled into a roundhouse kick, "You skipped out on sparring today!"
"Yeah, I had some stuff to do."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Stuff." Dick stopped in the middle of the room, "Tim, chill out for a sec and come over here."
Tim stopped his kicking and wiped sweat from his brow as he walked over to his mentor, "This sounds serious... what's wrong man?"
"Nothing is wrong, but this is serious..." Dick looked him over, and saw almost no trace of the skinny kid he'd started training just three months before. Tim had filled out quite a bit, and he had even grown almost a full inch, "You're doing great, you know that?"
"Thanks." Tim smiled, "Now you gonna tell me what's up?"
"Yeah. After you get a shower." Dick wrinkled his nose, "Meet me in the living room after you do."
Tim walked into the living room as he pulled a shirt on over his head, "Hey, Dick! You in here?" he brushed his hair back a bit, "You gonna tell me what..." he trailed off as he found himself facing Dick, Babs, Starfire, Blackfire, and Black Canary. Dick was holding a box in his hands, and they all wore broad grins. "What's going on here?" Tim questioned with a suspicious tone.
"Tim... you're like a little brother to me." Dick stepped forward, and placed the box on the coffee table between himself and Tim, "When I started training you, I wasn't sure how far you'd actually go with this, but I've since seen that you're willing to go all the way. You want to defend this city, and that's why I've decided to declare you graduated." He grinned, "Congratulations."
"Wha... Dick... I don't know what to say... I mean, wow." Tim grinned, and looked around at everyone, "Thanks, every body. You all helped me so much..."
"Have you given any thought to an alias?" Babs asked.
"Not really... I just assumed I was a ways off yet, and I didn't have to worry about it..."
"Well," Dick handed him the box, "I think I have the perfect one for you."
Tim looked at him quizzically, then pulled open the top flap of the box. He stared for almost a full minute, then looked back up, "But... you..."
"I'm graduating too." Dick looked at him seriously, "I can't think of anyone better to carry on the name, Tim."
Tim sat the box down and ran his hand over the 'R' emblazoned on the breast of the outfit inside. "Wow..."
"It is a sacred trust." Babs told him in a serious voice.
"Honor it." Dick said.
"I... I will." Tim looked up at him, "I'll make you proud, Dick."
Dick finally grinned again, "Go put it on. We're going out tonight to meet Dad."
"Dad?" Tim's eyes widened, "Oh no... I don't know if I can meet Batman on my first night-"
"You have to. Get changed, and meet me out here in ten."
Tim swallowed hard, "Right."
Ten minutes later, Tim stepped out into the living room and saw Babs talking to Blackfire and Starfire. Black Canary stood a little ways away, waiting for him to emerge, and a dark figure that he assumed was Dick stood in the shadows near the large window the vigilantes used for entrance and exit.
Babs looked over at him and let out a low whistle, "Damn, Dick. He looks almost as good as you did in the tights."
Tim stood before them, cape dropping to his ankles and red and green outfit standing out in sharp, vivid color. He smiled, his mask bending with his eyes to match his expression.
"My opinion?" Dick stepped out of the shadows, "He looks better." The raven haired young man was dressed in a black body suit that a had a single blue stripe running along his chest, angled in the front. His mask was thin, and it ended at either side in duel points that ran up to his brow, and down towards his cheeks. His well muscled frame stood out in the tight suit, and his gauntlets sat on his wrists, bulky and streamlined at the same time.
"We're ready." he said after a minute of inspecting Tim.
"Then let's do this." Tim replied with a grin.
Dick nodded, the smile leaving his face, "Just like we planned then. Starfire, Canary, you two will come out in two hours, around 23:00. Oracle, we'll need your support, as usual, but we're not used to having a voice in our ear, so forgive us if we seem a little new at this." he turned to the other costumed vigilante in the room, "Robin," he said, "You're with me."
Tim's eyes widened, and he nodded. Dick had called him Robin. Him. "Let's go then... um..."
"Nightwing." Dick replied, and pulled a modified Bat-a-rang out of his utility belt. Attaching a dee-cel cable to it, he opened the window. "Just like we practiced it Robin. Jump line out."
Robin walked over and pulled out a grappler. As Nightwing hurled his out into the early Gotham night, Robin fired off his line, and tested it for tension.
With that, they both jumped out the window.
Batman prowled across the rooftops of Gotham City like a phantom. There had been no major breakouts at Arkam or Blackgate, the gangs were relatively quiet at the moment, and no super villains from other parts of the world had ventured into his domain in almost a month.
Things were quiet.
But that didn't mean that there wasn't still crime to stop. As the sounds of a loud brawl caught his attention, he moved quickly to the edge of a roof top and glared down into the yellow puddles of light being cast by the street lamps down below.
A gang of white supremacist, neo-nazi punks had been spaying graffiti all over the walls of a building. Had being the operative word, because they were now embroiled in a fierce battle with another young man.
It was the colors that the young man wore that made Batman pause.
It had to be some kind of sick joke. Who would be out impersonating his sidekick? But the moves the black haired young man was using were all so familiar. It was Dick's style. His signature acrobatics mixed with several different forms of martial arts.
"Dick... are you back on the street?" he muttered. With his mouth hardening into a line, he pulled out a grappler and prepared to swoop down and find out. A voice from behind him froze him before he could fire it off though.
"Pretty good, isn't he?"
As the mysterious young man down below felled his third thug, making him fall into a line next to the first two, Batman glanced back at Nightwing as the former Boy Wonder stepped out of the shadows.
"Dick... what are you playing at?"
"It's Nightwing, Batman." the younger man shook his head, "And Tim down there... he's Robin now."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not going to stay in Gotham any more. I... I can't be your sidekick, Bruce." he motioned to the street below, where Tim dropped the fourth and fifth thugs in line in rapid succession, "But Robin doesn't have to die with me. You need a partner... Babs was fine before, and then Kori, but Babs is in a chair now, and Kori is coming with me back to Jump."
"You're going to try and re-form the Titans aren't you?"
Dick glared as Tim dropped the last neo-nazi in the line he'd been creating and picked up a discarded can of spry paint, "Yes."
"You know the Justice League won't let you-"
Dick's grin cut off his sentence. The young masked man shook his head, "Really, Batman? I'd like to see them try and stop us."
The hissing sound of spray paint redirected their attention to the street below. Tim walked along the row of thugs spraying over their bodies, faces, and a little on the sidewalk. After he was done, he walked away, tossing the almost empty can over his shoulder to bounce off one of the nazi punks heads.
Dick chuckled as he and Bruce both read the word, 'LOSERS' sprayed across the beaten and bloodied group.
"He's... quick precocious, isn't he?" Bruce asked, rubbing his chin.
"He needs more training, and guidance." Dick stepped back from the Batman, "He'll need a lot of help. It'll be like starting all over again with me."
"And if I say no?" Batman asked, turning his piercing glare on his former sidekick.
"Then he comes out to Jump with me." Dick shook his head, "Tim can do this, Batman. He can do it very, very well."
Bruce lowered his head for a moment, then looked back up, "Fine. I'll talk to him, and give him a chance. See how he does the next few nights. I'll give you my answer then."
"That's the best I can hope for I suppose, coming from you." Dick grinned, and watched as Batman fired off a grappler and swooped off after Robin. His grin faded and he swallowed hard, "Keep your cool, Tim. He's only as scary as you let him be." and then he too threw out a line, and flew off into the night.
Tim crouched on a building ledge overlooking the West side of Robinson Park. There was a band of thugs gathered in an ally way below him, prepared to mug the first hapless stranger that walked past their vantage.
Slowly and silently, he pulled out a bird-a-rang, and prepared to secure a grappler. Just as he aimed it and prepared to fire, a dark hand fell down over his mouth and pulled him up to the buildings rooftop.
Eyes wide with fear, Tim's mind reacted on instinct and went with what his training had taught him to do. He lashed out behind him with an elbow, and broke his attackers grip with his other hand. Spinning around, he prepared to jab the razor sharp thrown weapon in his hand into the first opening he saw.
What he saw wasn't an opening though. Looming before him, silhouetted by the moon, was none other than the Dark Knight himself.
"Dick trained you well." he said as he prowled around Tim, scrutinizing him, "But you still lack spatial awareness and speed. You need to be able to anticipate any situation, and be prepared to deal with anything that's thrown at you at a moments notice." he finally stopped and glared, "You're barely street worthy."
"Dick said you'd want to train me more before you let me out on my own very much. It's okay... I'm prepared to go all the way with this."
"Those men down there." Batman pointed to the small gang, "What are you going to do about them?"
"I was thinking of beating them senseless, then having Oracle call in the police." Tim furrowed his brow, "Is that not right?"
"Watch." Batman replied as he stepped to the edge of the roof, "Learn." and he dropped down, using his cape to slow his decent.
Tim leaned over the ledge, watching as the thugs turned about and saw the looming form of The Batman, and almost pissed themselves on the spot. Two words were uttered by the vigilante as he glared at them from the darkness.
"Go. Home."
They ran. Falling over each other and stumbling off into the night, they ran home.
Tim let out a low whistle, "Damn." he smirked. Batman joined him on the roof again a moment later, and Tim nodded to him, "I think I understand. Dick taught me how to not get killed out here, but what I really need to learn is the psychological edge. I need to cultivate a reputation, right?"
"Fortunately for you, that costume already comes with a well built reputation. All you have to do is make sure it gets around that the Boy Wonder is back in town."
"Boy Wonder..." Tim breathed, and blinked up at Batman, "You mean-"
"Let's go, Robin. We have work to do."
Tim felt a swelling of pride and honor in his chest, and he just nodded silently. The two of them stalked off to the shadows, and disappeared into the night.
"Way to go, Tim." Dick leaned back against the gargoyle he was sitting on and put the binoculars he'd been using back in their pouch on his thin belt. He smiled and looked up into the night.
Two green eyes looked back at him, "Hey Star." he reached up and she put her hand in his. Floating down in front of him, she smiled.
"Timothy did very well. He did not let Bruce intimidate him overly much."
"Hopefully, he'll keep standing up for himself through his entire training process. Bruce will try to mold him into the perfect Robin... one who wont disobey him like I did." Dick smiled, "Fourtunetly, I know how to help."
"The next phase in your plan?"
Dick nodded, "The final one. They we'll be headed back West."
Star smiled happily and hugged him, "Good. I miss our friends back home."
"Home..." Dick smiled a little wider and hugged her back, "I guess Gotham isn't really home for me anymore, is it?"
"Your home is always where your friends and family are." Star nodded, "Our home is in Jump City."
"Definetly." Dick nodded back and they grinned at each other.
"So then, Nightwing..." Star floated back from him with a saucy grin, "I will bet you that I can stop more crime this night than you can."
Dick arched an eyebrow, "What do I get if I beat you?"
"Oh..." she winked, "I'm sure you will think of something."
"Blarg." came Babs' voice over the com link they both wore, "I picked a bad time to start listening."
"What have you got, Oracle?" Dick stood up on his gargoyle.
"Hot spots in the Hill, and down in the Bowery. Take your pick."
"I'll go for the Bowery. I know that area pretty well. Starfire will take the Hill."
"Alright. Make a splash, Nightwing."
"Right on. Nightwing out."
Star grinned, "I can smell my victory already."
"Well see." Dick grinned back, "Let's go!" and he jumped from the building he was on as Star zoomed off into the night.
Tim crouched in the shadows of the ally way, next to Batman, watching as two young men made an exchange of drugs and money. As they seperated and moved off, Batman whispered to him, "You go after the buyer. Take away his stash, and put the fear of God into him. Then come to my signal and provide back up for the dealers bust."
"You think you'll need it?" Tim arched an eyebrow.
"I've been keeping tabs on this guy. He's part of a ring. Twelve dealers strong, plus the supplier and his thugs. We can capture them all if we work fast."
"Should we call in Nightwing?" Tim sounded nervous.
"Don't be afraid, Tim." Batman looked down at him with emotionless eyes, but there was a hint of some feeling in his next words that eased Tim's anxiety, "As long as you're out here with myself or Dick, you'll be safe. I promise."
"Right." Tim nodded with a serious expression, "I'm off."
The buyer was easy enough to track, and even easier to get the jump on. The man put himself in the perfect ambush position on a narrow street with tall buildings all around. As he walked down the sidewalk, a shadowy figure dropped down in front of him, landing in a crouch and letting it's cape pool on the ground around it.
"You've been a very bad boy, haven't you Mr. Hamton?" the shadowy figure uttered in a young, but serious voice.
"How the hell do you know my name?" the man demanded, backing up a few steps, "Who are you, kid?"
"Me? Oh, I'm just a little bird that happened to spy you buying several ounces of weed. That's enough to nail you with intent to distribute, Mr. Hamton."
"Stop saying my name! Who the fuck are you?" the buyer was starting to get freaked out by the twin points of light that were obviously the strange creatures eyes.
"You should be careful what you do on these streets, Mr. Hamton..."
"I told you to stop saying my-"
"The Batman stalks these streets at night." the shadow drew up from the ground, standing at it's full height, which really wasn't all that much, "And he and his agents don't like it when idiots like you run around dealing in illegal narcotics."
"Who the fuck are you?"
The figure stepped forward into the weak light being cast by a street lamp, and revealed the red, green, yellow and black costume. He narrowed his eyes and made a fist slightly in front of himself and at waist level, "I'm Robin, and I'm back in town."
The man looked at him for a moment, then snorted. Pulling out a knife, he charged, shouting, "Kids shouldn't be out playing at this time of night, punk!"
Robin sighed in a put-upon kind of way, then sidestepped the knife thrust and delivered a vicious chop to the man's neck, sending him to the ground. A steel rimmed boot slammed down into his hand, breaking bones and sending the knife skittering across the street.
As Mr. Hamton screamed and clutched at his hand, Tim reached down and hefted him to his feet, slamming him into the side of the building they stood next to, "Listen up, Hamton... clean up your act, or you'll be getting another visit from me... and next time I'll bring my partner. You'll end up with a lot worse than a couple of broken bones and a little less weed." Tossing the quaking man back to the ground, Robin held up the bag he had just bought and grinned evilly, "I'll just be taking this."
"No way! I'm gonna-"
He was cut off as Robin's boot found it's way to his ear, blasting him into the wall, then slumped down to the street.
"Go. Home." he uttered in the scariest voice he could muster, and Hamton scrambled to his feet, and ran.
Tim grinned as he checked his locator for Batman's signal. Running across a roof top, and jumping to the next building, he smiled wider as laughter filled his ear piece.
"Way to go, Kid! We caught that whole thing from the security camera at the comic shop across the street. You scared the piss out of that jerk!"
"Oracle letting you play with the com system, Blackfire?"
"I'm doing assistant operating tonight. With so many of you out there, I wouldn't want poor Babsy to go crazy keeping track of all of you."
"She just walked in and sat down Robin. Sorry." Babs sounded amused.
"Not a problem. Can't ever have enough sexy single girls on the line, that's what I say."
"You've been hanging out with Nightwing too much." Babs replied.
"You can't say that kind of stuff to me anymore, Kid. I'm going to be someone's mother soon." came Blackfire's voice.
"I'm coming up on Batman's location now, girls, so let's quiet the chatter." Tim slunk across the rooftop and looked down through a large skylight into an abandoned automotive repair shop.
Batman was beating the daylights out of at least ten men, and more were coming in as he watched. The new comers had guns though, and Tim knew Batman would be in a sore spot soon if his backup didn't make it's big entrance.
"Down we go, then." Tim pulled out a flash-bang granade and prepared to toss it at the skylight.
"And Robin's flare for dramatic entrances continues with the next generation..." Babs drawled. Tim grinned and tossed the bomb.
"I've got one fire rescue, two muggings, and a heroin dealer down, Star. How're you doing?" Nightwing grinned as he spoke into his com, swinging over the streets of Gotham.
Starfire replied, "One high speed chase stopped, three prostitutes banished from the streets, and a car thief detained."
Babs chuckled over the link, "She's up on you by a hooker, Nightwing."
"Well, I see a car jacking in progress, so I'm about to pull ahead!" Nightwing grinned wider as he swooped down and landed on the hood of the car in question with a solid thump!
The car was stopped at a red light, and two armed men were attempting to get the driver our of the vehicle and steal it. A quick right kick sent the man trying to jerk open the drivers side door into oblivion, and Nightwing whirled back to face the other would be felon.
"Step off, punk!" the man pumped his sawed-off shotgun and pointed it at the vigilante's head.
Nightwing reached out faster than the man could react and pushed the baral of the gun up to the sky. He grinned in the car jacker's face, "Saw that in a movie I bet. Pumping this stubby really sets the mood, doesn't it?" he pumped it again while it was still in the confused man's hands, "Thing is, you just keep ejecting perfectly good shells, and a short piece like this can't hold too many..." he pumped it once more and the gun was out of ammo, "Oops! My bad."
His fist slammed into the man's jaw a second later, and his follow up kick knocked him out.
Dusting off his hands, Nightwing walked over and leaned down in the drivers side window of the car, "You okay?" he asked the nervous looking man within.
"Y-yeah... think I'll just drive home now..."
"Whoa! No can do, buddy!" he leaned in the rest of the way and put a hand on the steering wheel, "It's the duty of every citizen to stay at the scene of a crime until..." he trailed off as he noticed the back seat. A lumpy package lay across it, and a limp, blood spattered female hand hung out of it, "Oh, hell..." Nightwing had time to say before the man slammed on the gas and rolled up the automatic window all at once.
Suddenly, the blue and black clad hero was being dragged down the road, his neck caught in the window of a speeding sedan.
"I know what you're thinking!" the man screamed in a hysterical manner, "I do! You're thinking, 'Why didn't he just stash Lola in the trunk and be done with it?' Well I'll tell 'ya why! Cause her mother's in the trunk! Her big FAT MOTHER!"
"Umph!" Nightwing grabbed the wheel and steered them towards a street sign, but the homicidally crazy man jerked them back on course.
"I wanted the SUV! 'The space!' I said! 'The mileage!' she said!"
"You need to chill out, pal!" Nightwing struggled for a moment more before the front right tire suddenly blew out and jerked the car that way. The hero grabbed wheel again and steered them into a light post, jerking his hand back and slamming the crazed driver across the jaw as he did so.
As the car crashed, Nightwing braced himself, only suffering minor bruises as the vehicle came to a stop with an unconscious driver. Hitting the down button for the window, he extracted himself and stood up, rubbing his head.
As he looked up, Black Canary strolled into view and winked, "I get the assist on that one."
"Right on, Dinah." he grinned weakly, "I think I left my street sense back in that warehouse when the Joker blew me up."
"No kidding." Canary stepped up to him and inspected his neck, which was showing signs of bruising already, "You should be more aware."
"Thanks, mother. I'll keep that in mind."
"You do that." Canary chuckled, "You'll live. Now let's move. Oracle just handed us a case over by the park."
Batman didn't even glance up as the skylight exploded, raining glass down on the thugs within. It did give him the distraction he needed to render the two men he was currently engaging unconscious, and as Robin descended into the melee, he shot a glance over at the gunman who had just entered the building.
Turning and pulling out two bat-a-rangs, the Dark Knight let fly and took the guns out of two their hands. That left only two armed men, and Robin between him and them.
"Damn." he started over, knocking a thug out of his way as he did.
The two gunman had recovered from the shock of the skylight explosion by then, and they immediately drew beads on Robin, who was thrashing two of the drug dealers who he had dropped down on. "I can't get a shot!" one of them yelled to the other, pointing his pistol again, "Damnit!"
"Get out of the way, guys!" shouted the other gunman. Half a second later he was taken off his feet by the hulking form of Batman as the large vigilante plowed him off his feet. The other man turned to fire with wide eyes, but the black boot of Gotham's protector found his nose, slamming him off his feet as well, and knocking him out in the same blow.
Robin finished with his two thugs, and whirled around. Eyes narrowing, he pulled out a bird-a-rang and hurled it at Batman's head. The caped man ducked, and the razor sharp thrown weapon took the gun out of the hand of one of the men who had recovered his weapon while Batman was busy with the other two gunman.
A quick punch later and that man joined his comrades. Batman turned and he and Robin locked eyes for a moment, before nodding to each other and charging back into combat.
Batman and Robin stood on a building in Tri-Corner, just a half block from the Clock Tower. Their capes fluttered in the breeze as they basked in the glow of a night well spent.
"That last guy was a nut." Robin shook his head with a grin, "What'd he keep yelling? Boo-Doo people murder people?"
"Something like that."
"Crazy."
Batman looked down at him with a grudging look of respect, "You did very good. Dick trained you well."
"Thanks."
"Don't think that means you're in any way ready for the street. Just because you did well tonight, doesn't mean you wont go through the training of your life soon." Batman turned away from him, "It's almost three. Pack it in for the night, then meet me right here tomarrow. We'll go out again, and maybe if you do this well then, I'll show you the Cave."
"Right." Robin nodded and pulled out a grappler. He fired it off, and swooped off towards the Clock Tower.
Batman stood in the same spot and watched him go, then turned to the shadows of the stairwell behind him, "Go ahead. Say it."
Nightwing stepped into the moonlight and grinned, "I told you so."
Batman sighed, "Are you sure you wont consider staying?"
"Yes." the younger man nodded firmly, "Gotham has a Robin again, and Jump is going to need the Titans before too long. We're going back."
Batman stepped forward and held out his hand, "Good luck then, Dick."
Nightwing smiled and stepped forward as well, grabbing the offered hand and pulling Batman into a hug, "I'll be back to check up on Tim, and to see how you and Alf and Babs are doing too, Bruce. Thanks for taking him."
Batman pulled away from his former sidekick and a half smile lit his face, "I'll look forward to it."
The next day, Tim was standing at the entrance to Dick and Star's room, frowning, "I can't believe you're taking off so quickly. I just met him last night... he didn't even show me where the Cave is."
"He will." Dick finished stuffing the last of his clothes into a suitcase, "Don't sweat it, Tim. You impressed him last night. Just keep your chin up, and don't let him intimidate you."
"Easy for you to say. He practically raised you."
"So?"
"So he's almost like your dad! There's more love there than hate."
"Bruce and I still have things to work out." Dick shook his head, "I have something for you. I think it'll help."
Tim perked up, "What?"
Dick walked over to him and grabbed his wrist. Pulling his arm up, he deposited a shiny yellow communication device emblazoned with a broad 'T'. Tim looked up at him in awe.
"When we get out to the West coast, we're reforming the Titans. You're a member now, Tim, so if you ever need help, don't hesitate to call. Titans East is right up the coast, and if it's not an immediate thing, I can be out here to help you in a day or less."
Tim stared at the device for a moment, then looked up, "Thanks, Dick." Tim closed his hand around the T-Comp, then threw his arms around his mentors shoulders, "For everything."
Dick smiled and hugged him back briefly, "Don't mention it. Now come on. I want you to help me pack up all the weapons."
"Sure thing." Tim glanced past Dick at the calendar up on the wall of the room. The days were crossed off for the month, and it looked like the current day was marked off as well. Written in the newly crossed off of August 5th in Starfire's neat scrawl was 'Going home!'
Tim smiled and turned to follow Dick, slipping the T-Comp into his pocket as he did so, already feeling like a Teen Titan.
Closing Notes: The scene with Dick and the car jackers and the crazy driver are taken from Nightwing: Year One, Part Four. The title was Night and the City, and it was written by Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon. I thought it'd be neat to put that in, cause it was actually Dick's first real action as Nightwing, ever, according to the comics. Neat, huh?
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Twenty points if you know where Boo Doo People Murder People comes from.
Preview!
We back track a little ways as we join Raven for her adventures in the police academy. As the gothic half-demon goes through her training, the rest of the gang goes through their own ordeals.
Next Time: Trials and Tribulations