Thanks as always to Patty and Syl for their beta help. This is a short part but I hope you guys like it. Char :-)

COURT MARTIAL: PART 3:

Batman stormed off the teleporter and headed into the Hall of Justice. He moved past Wonder Woman and Aquaman as he beelined for the front of the room. "CLARK!" he yelled as he approached Superman. As Superman turned, Batman punched him in the face as hard as he could. On his gloved hand, he wore the Claw of Horus. The force of the blow sent Superman reeling to the floor. "WHERE THE HELL IS MY SON?"

Superman sat up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Nice to see you too Batman. I don't suppose I should ask how you got that from Hawkman?" The last time he had been hit with the Claw of Horus, Hawkman had been working for Luthor and was trying to arrest him and Batman. Now Batman was here, upset with him, and he did not even know that Superman had arrested Nightwing. Superman did not look forward to the conversation he knew was about to come.

"Don't be flippant with me! Not now! Where. Is. Nightwing?"

"He's safe," Superman said standing up. "Let's go to the Trophy Room and talk alone."

"No," Batman growled. "I don't want to talk to you. I don't need to talk to you. I need to talk to Nightwing. I have a right to know what's going on. You've kept me in the dark and that is not going to continue. So where is he? Because if you don't tell me I will turn this tower inside out."

Superman sighed. "I'm not your enemy, Bruce. I'm trying to help. Please ... come with me and I'll show you where Dick is."

Batman glared at him. That look alone had turned numerous criminals on the streets of Gotham into whimpering, crying cowards. The look had occasionally struck fear inside some of the world's greatest heroes. Superman just sighed and turned, heading toward the Monitor Room. Batman followed him, pulling his cape tightly around him. He was seething in anger. Superman had tried to keep this from him ... had cut out all the Bat-clan ... when they had more right than anyone to be involved. This was Nightwing. He was one of them, one of his. Superman had no right to call in the JLA.

Superman entered the monitor room. Flash turned to face him and stood when Batman entered the room. "Batman would like to see Nightwing. Can you please pull his location up on one of the monitors Flash?"

"Sure." Flash called up the image from the closed circuit camera that monitored the Watchtower's holding cell. He stepped aside and tried not to look at Batman. Wally West knew that he didn't want to see Batman's face when he first realized the League was keeping Dick a prisoner. He was sure he wouldn't have wanted to see his own face when he did. When the monitor brought up the cell, Wally moved to the other side of the huge room and started shuffling through the hourly reports.

Slowly, Batman drew closer to the screen. Conflicting emotions tore at his mind and heart. His mind said that Nightwing had been involved in Blockbuster's murder. Exactly what had happened he didn't know yet, but it was undeniable that had been there when Desmond was murdered. He had walked in his blood and ... "What was wrong with you?" he angrily asked the young man on the screen. He knew Nightwing couldn't hear him, but that didn't matter. Nightwing and the killer had sex on the roof after the murder. Batman couldn't comprehend how Nightwing had fallen so far.

This couldn't be his son. Could it? Dick couldn't kill ... but the evidence said he had ... or at least that he was involved. If he was involved in a murder then ... didn't justice say he had to be punished? Isn't that what he had taught Dick growing up? Moving closer to the monitor, his hand reached out slowly as if trying to capture the image. It was Dick in that cell. Not Nightwing. Dick. Batman took in the sight. The uniform was gone, Dick wore no mask. His hair was longer than normal, he hadn't shaved in a few days. Dick hadn't had a place to shave, his apartment was destroyed. "You should've come to Gotham."

He watched Dick lean his head back against the wall. Dick's hand ran through his hair pushing it from his face. Bruce remembered how hard it was to keep that one lock from falling in Dick's face. Even Alfred couldn't manage to find a solution. Dick's hair was stubborn, like the rest of him. "I never should've let you take that job. I should have stopped you." He remembered being hard on Dick the time he brought his gun to the cave. Dick should never have had a gun. He knew the pain that they caused. Dick didn't understand why he wanted him to drive all the way back to Bludhaven to get rid of it. Dick placed it in his trunk instead. "I should've made you take it back so you would learn ... but I didn't want you to leave. I was afraid you wouldn't come back."

Bruce knew this was his fault. He had failed Dick. He should have gone to Dick as soon as he heard about the fire at the circus. Together, he and Dick should have taken out Blockbuster. Bruce had failed Dick, failed because he didn't want Dick to think he was interfering. He closed his eyes, as the sight was too much to bear. Dick should not be in a cell, Bruce should be. He allowed his fear of angering Dick override his reason to provide the help and support his son needed. Dick was so bright when he came into Bruce's life. He was a ray of light that Bruce had not experienced since before his parents' murder. Now Dick had lost that light ... because Bruce had been too weak to help him, too weak to follow his heart instead of his head. Bruce's heart ached for his son. "I'm so sorry, Dick."

Clark watched his friend. He tried not to overhear Bruce's low conversation with the image of his son on the screen, but his super-hearing would not cooperate. He hurt for both of them. There was no way to know what was going to happen now, what the future held. Bruce did not do well with situations he couldn't control. Silently, Clark moved behind him and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Are you ready to go see him?"

Batman shrugged off the hand and turned. He allowed the Claw of Horus to fall from his hand with a resounding low thud that echoed through the chamber."Yes."

Silently, they walked through the corridors toward the secure area. The silence between them was uncomfortable. "He called me," Clark began.

"You didn't call me."

Rolling his eyes, the Man of Steel stopped and turned toward his friend. "I was planning to. I just wanted to have everything under control first. Dick was going to turn himself in to the Bludhaven authorities. Maybe he should have, I just ... I couldn't see him in jail."

"So you decided to become his jailer? Brilliant! You should've called me, and I would've ... "

"What? You would have done what? Yelled at him? He was scared to call you." Superman sighed in frustration.

"I wouldn't have done that. And for the record he's not scared of me," Bruce said pulling his cowl off. His jaw was set and his eyes narrowed on the man he spoke with.

"Really? Too bad your son doesn't know that! All that kid knows is he was there, thus he was involved. He didn't kill Blockbuster, but because of everything you've drilled in him, he thinks he's the only one responsible and that you will never forgive him. And to be honest, I can't say that I should've told him you wouldn't do that because I'm not sure you will forgive him. If you thought he was guilty of murder, you would take him down just like you'd take any of us down. It's who you are Bruce. Isn't that what your files were about? Are you going to tell me you don't have a file on how to take Dick down?"

"That is not the issue!" Bruce yelled back. "Dick did not kill that man. He knows who did and he will tell us, but he didn't do it and I don't believe he was part of any kind of conspiracy. I know him, the type of man he is, what makes up his soul and he is not a murderer."

Superman gave his friend a sad smile. "We're in agreement on that. Bruce, I'm sorry for not calling you, but I know how you can go off and blow up ... or clam up. Dick couldn't handle either at the time. I had to take care of Dick first and then worry about you. I'm sorry, but that was the way it had to be. You didn't see him on that roof. I was ... afraid ... for him."

Bruce leaned against the wall and watched his friend. Clark never lied to him. "How worried were you?"

"I wasn't sure what he was going to do, what state of mind he was in, or still is in for that matter. I had Dr. Mid-Nite examine him. He's a wreck, physically and mentally." He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "Bruce, when you talk to him, be his father."

"You don't have to tell me how to talk to Dick."

Clark held his hands up. "Don't get defensive with me. I'm just saying ... Dick's beating himself up enough. He needs a few of us in his corner."

Bruce remembered a year ago when he had been accused of murder. Even those closest to him ... Leslie, Barbara and Tim ... had questioned his innocence, but Dick never wavered. Not even when he gave Dick the most reason by declaring that only Batman existed and that Bruce Wayne was nothing more than a mask that had served its purpose. 'Then who's son am I?' Dick had shouted at him. Bruce shook his head trying to shake the image from his mind. 'Mine, Dick. You've always been mine, and you always will.' He looked at Clark, "What's going to happen to him?"

Clark shook his head, "I don't know. I wish I did. Your state attorney general and the Federal prosecutor in Bludhaven are discussing the matter now. They'll decide what, if anything, Dick will be charged with."

Bruce's gloved hand rubbed the bridge of his nose. His head was starting to pound like it did when he'd sit through a long board meeting. "If he's charged the JLA will turn him over to them?"

"Maybe ... maybe not. We've given them the opportunity to allow the JLA to conduct the trial."

Bruce's steel blue eyes stared at Clark. "We're not qualified to do that."

"We might not be qualified, but we do have the authority pursuant to the JLA Charter and the sanction of the U.N. However, since it is a state matter, the local authorities will have to agree to cede jurisdiction to the JLA."

"Which they already have of the criminal investigation," Bruce said remembering Ralph's control of the crime scene.

"Right."

"Where would we get a jury?"

"We ... wouldn't. If the JLA does this it'll be more of ... a Court Martial."

"And if Dick's convicted?" Bruce's jaw flexed as he waited for the answer.

"John Stewart suggested ... using a prison ... in the Andrarri system. The Corp uses for -- "

"NO! I will not allow it!"

"I'm sorry Bruce. If Dick's convicted, we won't have a choice. The decision's been taken out of our hands."

TO BE CONTINUED . . .