Dick sprawled himself on the couch over his younger brother with a faint giggle.

"Ughh, Grayson, you need to lay off the cookies. You're getting fat," Damian groaned with a laugh as he rolled his brother off and onto the floor.

"Oh, you wound me," Dick said with a mock pout from his place on the floor.

"Uh-huh," Damian grunted rolling his eyes. "What did you want anyway?"

"I was sent to tell you Bruce and I are going out on patrol. Want to come with us?" Dick asked jumping to his feet as he added his mask to complete his ensemble.

"Sure, why not?" Damian replied as he rolled off the couch. "You sure you're going to be able to keep up though, fatso?" Damian asked as he took off into the shadows with a mischievous cackle.

***Two hours later***

"Batman, check out the roof, ten o'clock," Nightwing said over the com as he was already swinging his way over to the lone figure on the roof. However, just as he was about to land on the roof, a flash of light lit up the roof and Kid Flash was slowly making his way to the girl.

"Everybody stay back!" Nightwing heard the girl scream when he landed on the rough. She took a step closer to the edge.

"Hey, hey, hey," Kid Flash started quietly, "No one's going to come near you without your permission, okay?"

"Not good enough! I just want to be left alone! Go away!" the girl cried quietly as Bruce and Damian now joined the group.

"Alright, but you have to understand, we'd be pretty bad superheroes if we left you completely alone. You wouldn't want us getting in trouble would you?" Kid Flash asked cracking a smile.

The girl hesitated and Kid Flash took a subtle step closer to her. "Would you feel more comfortable if it was just me here with you?" Kid Flash asked quietly.

The girl didn't answer for a long time, but no one pushed her to answer. "Y-yeah, that would be better," the girl finally answered.

"Okay, guys," Wally started as he turned part of his attention to the bats standing a ways behind him, "I got this, you can go help granny cross the road or whatever else it is you do when you're not admiring my beautiful physique."

Nightwing was impressed when the girl actually cracked a smile at the Kid's lame joke.

"You sure, Kid?" Batman asked.

"Aww, yeah, we're just going to chat for a bit and I'll meet you for breakfast in the morning.

Batman nodded and the bat family disappeared into the shadows. However, Kid Flash could make out Nightwing hiding in the shadows of the building across from them ready to swoop in if the girl jumped, and he knew Robin and Batman were somewhere below ready to save the girl if Kid Flash and Nightwing both failed. Kid Flash didn't intend to fail.

"Hi, I'm Kid Flash, what's your name?" the boy clad in yellow asked casually.

"Erica," the girl replied slightly more relaxed now that there were fewer prying eyes.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Erica. Now, I have a feeling I'm not going to convince you to step away from the ledge?" When the girl shook her head in the negative, Kid Flash continued. "Do you think maybe you'd be willing to sit with me on the edge then? I just need someone to talk to. What do you say?"

Kid Flash was actually surprised when the girl answered, "I suppose there wouldn't be any harm in that."

Moving very slowly, Kid Flash sat on the edge of the building next to Erica. "How'd you get the black eye?" Wally asked the same way he would ask what secret ingredient she'd used in her pie.

"My mom's new boyfriend is an asshole," the girl said cynically.

"Her boyfriends beat on you a lot?" Wally asked.

"I don't remember one who didn't like to hit kids," Erica answered.

"Adults are the worst, huh?" Wally asked as he laid down beside the girl starring up at the starry night sky.

"How would you know?" Erica asked skeptically.

"My dad was a mean drunk. My mom was too stoned to even notice," Wally answered honestly. He was surprised when Erica joined him in a lying position and starred up at the starry night sky above.

"What did you do?" Erica asked.

"Nothing, they died when I was twelve and I was adopted by my aunt and uncle. They're the absolute best. I never did tell them about it though. To this day they think my parents were loving, perfect people. Sometimes it makes me so angry I could punch a wall," Wally confessed.

"Well, I wish I had your luck," Erica mumbled.

"Yeah, I was lucky, but it doesn't have to be up to luck, you know?" Wally prompted.

"What do you mean?" Erica asked confused.

"I could walk you down to the police station. You could make a formal complaint. They'd probably take some pictures of your wounds as evidence. I can't promise you what exactly would happen next. They'd do their best to find you a safe and comfortable home. I mean, you could always give it a try. Trying can't make your situation any worse can it?" Kid Flash asked.

"You never told," Erica accused.

"No, and almost every single day I wish I had told someone. I'm always wondering if I had told someone sooner if I wouldn't have had to suffer for an entire twelve years. Maybe I wouldn't have had as many injuries. Maybe I would've gotten to move in with my aunt and uncle sooner. Maybe, just maybe...I would've been able to get help working through and processing what had happened to me and I wouldn't be struggling with it as much as I still am. Trust me, I might've been lucky, but I could've done so much more for myself. How old are you anyway?" Wally asked casually changing the subject at hand.

"Nine," Erica answered.

"What do you think is going on up there?" Nightwing asked over the com system.

"I have no idea. I can't make out any of their conversations. Can you get a read on their lips?" Batman asked.

"Nope, Wally got her to lay down next to him. A good step I suppose, but I can't get an angle without giving away my position," Nightwing answered.

"Fat and useless, Nightwing?" Robin snapped.

"Robin, not the time or the place for you jokes," Batman reprimanded.

"Do we really think Kid Flash can talk down this crazy chick?" Robin asked cynically.

"Wait, there's movement," Nightwing reported. "Ha, Robin, eat your words! Kid Flash is headed down, girl's coming with him willingly!" Nightwing crowed victoriously.

"Alright, donut king, you stay and watch over speed freak and his crazy train, we're going to continue patrol," Robin said saltily. Nightwing just rolled his eyes and slipped into the shadows to follow his friend and the girl. They disappeared into the police station for almost an hour before Kid Flash exited.

When Kid Flash turned into an alley, sunk down next to a wall, removed his mask, and dropped his face into his hands, Nightwing dropped down in front of him.

"Hey, Wallman, that was some great work with her. You okay?" Nightwing asked dropping next to his friend.

"She's nine. Nine, Dick. And she was going to jump," Wally said his voice shaking.

"It was good for you to be there. I'm not sure how you did it, but you did damn good. What brought you to Gotham anyway?" Nightwing asked.

"Oh, I was coming to see if you wanted to hang out tonight. Barry got called into work late and Iris is on a trip," Wally explained tiredly. "Barry asked if I could find someone to stay with. I said I'd check in with you guys. Alfred makes the best food. I have no idea how you guys aren't all 300 pounds living with his cooking all these years."

Nightwing chuckled half-heartedly and stood extending a hand to his friend. "Well, let's go then, I'm sure Alfred will have something waiting for you."

As the two masked friends made their way to Wayne Manor, all Wally could think about was his parents, and all Dick could think about was what excuse he could use to get out of dinner tonight. It was a good thing he still had every excuse in the book living in the back of his head from years ago.