CHAPTER THREE: DINNER
In the Watchtower, Dick Grayson sat on his bed, thinking about all the past events in his life. He attempted to get the bad ones out, such as the death of his parents, but it wasn't very easy.
Suddenly he heard a knock on the door. He opened it and found himself looking at a kid with red hair and freckles.
"Hi, I'm Wally West," he said. He held out his hand. "I'm one of the Flash's sidekicks."
Dick shook his hand. "I'm Dick Grayson," he said. "I'm one of Batman's sidekicks. Nightwing is my other name."
"No kidding?" Wally said. "That's really cool! I always wanted to meet Batman. Do you think I'll get the chance?"
"Maybe," said Dick. "Just to warn you, he's a little salty at the moment. I mean, it's sort of unfortunate."
"Why is that?"
"One of his other sidekicks, Batgirl, came on today, or so I've heard. He wasn't expecting her to do so, and it made him a little angry. I don't know if he's gotten over it, but knowing him, he won't be getting over it for quite some time," Dick explained. "I hold a little animosity towards him, you see. He, uh, kind of took her on as a sidekick without telling me, and it was sort of a problem."
"What, was she your girlfriend or something?" Wally taunted. Then his eyes widened a little. "Uh, sorry, I'm one of those types of people. I like to joke around a lot, and sometimes that gets me into a lot of trouble."
Dick laughed. "It's okay. I do that, too. I mean, I did a little more when I was younger. But yeah, she was my girlfriend, and I wanted her to always be safe. But when I found out he'd taken her on, I was a little angry. I forgave him about two weeks later, but some of the animosity is still there. So what about you?"
"Well, I'm actually the nephew of the Flash's girlfriend," said Wally. "I once went to the lab where Flash gained his powers, and the freak accident that gave him his powers happened again, this time hitting me. It was so weird, what had happened. The Flash was a little freaked out, and he blamed himself for that, but now I'm just like him, but I'm a little slower. Ah well, I guess you can't always get what you want."
Dick and Wally sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, and it was soon broken by the sound of knocking on the door. It opened, and Dick smiled brightly when he saw Tim Drake standing there.
"Hey Dick," he greeted. "It's been a couple of days."
He was wearing his normal brown jacket with a red shirt and blue jeans. On his shoulder was a green duffle bag.
"It sure has," Dick said. "I'm glad you're here. By the way, who allowed you to join the Justice League in the first place?"
Tim looked at him strangely. "I was told by Barbara that everyone allowed me," he explained. "Except for Bats. Of course he wouldn't."
"He didn't even know about your or Barbara coming," Dick explained. "It's the first time in probably forever that he didn't know something. It really surprises me. Ah well."
Another knock sounded on their door. It opened to show Batman standing there. He saw Tim, but did not smile, which neither Dick nor Tim were surprised by.
"Can we help you?" Dick asked.
"Dinner is in thirty minutes," he said. "You need to wear your suit and mask."
And he walked away without another word. When the door had closed again, Tim turned back to Dick. "Why in the heck is he so salty?" he asked.
"He never knew you or Barbara were going to be here. You know how he is. But let's go ahead and get ready. If we're going to be sitting by each other at the dinner table, I'm letting Barbara sit next to him."
"According to Flash, since we're new recruits, we'll be sitting together. He and Batman will most likely be with the other founding members of the Justice League. It's just normal, I guess."
Dick nodded and took out his Nightwing costume. He wondered what it would be like to be wearing it around so many other superheroes. Some of them, such as Superman and Wonder Woman, were his heroes. While he'd met Superman, as well as Supergirl, he'd never met Wonder Woman before.
There was another knock that sounded at the door, and when it opened, Dick found Barbara standing there, already wearing her Batgirl costume; but her mask was off. She suddenly saw Wally and her eyes widened, but Dick said to her, "Don't worry, you can trust him. He's my roommate anyway, so he'd find out sooner or later." He smiled at her. "It's real good to see you again, Babs."
Barbara smiled. "Call me 'Babs' again, and the first night we're out in the field, or even in training, you might find a yellow batarang up your butt. But otherwise, it's good to see you, too."
She kept smiling brightly. Dick looked behind her and saw Kara A.K.A. Supergirl, as well as another girl with blond hair. However, no one besides Kara and Barbara knew her.
"It's good to see you again, Kara," said Tim.
"You too, Tim," she said. "I can just guess how angry Batman was about learning you were going to be joining us, right?"
"Yeah, and as usual, it wasn't pretty," Tim said. "But the good news is, we're able to be together all the time. I wonder why he can't see that."
"Don't worry, Tim," Barbara assured him. "When I arrived, he did the same darn thing, and it annoyed me so darn much. But we'll have to deal with it. Now come on, let's get to dinner. It's almost time." She slipped her mask on. She then walked into their room to hug both Dick and Tim. "I've missed you guys a lot."
"It's only been three days since we last saw each other," Tim reminded her, although she already knew.
"Yes, but it felt like a whole lot longer, to be honest," she explained. "But I don't care now. We're together again, and even with Batman being a jerk, we can return to being a normal family. As long as my father does not realize my disappearance from Earth, I think I'm good."
Dick and Tim laughed. Barbara laughed with them, and then walked over to Wally. "Your name is?" she asked.
"Wally West," he said. Dick and the others saw that he was looking her over, but Barbara herself did not notice such a thing. "I am the Flash's sidekick."
"I'm Barbara Gordon," she replied. Then she turned again to Dick and Tim. "Get your costumes on and meet us in the dining hall. If you get lost, then wait for Superman. He said he'll escort you. Kara already knows the way, so we're good." She looked over to where Cassie stood. "Oh, and by the way, this is Cassie. She's Wonder Woman's sidekick Wonder Girl."
Cassie nervously waved at them. Dick noticed her costume was a red top with long sleeves that bore the same "W" symbol as he knew Wonder Woman had on her costume and exposed her midriff, with bracelets that resembled Wonder Woman's, and a red skirt. She wore red boots.
Barbara, Kara, and Cassie left to make their way to the dinner hall. Dick and Tim hurried to the bathroom in their room and changed into their respective Nightwing and Robin costumes.
Once done, they found Wally in their room dressed in his Kid Flash costume. Seeing this, they decided to start on their way to the dinner hall. When they were about to leave their room, there was yet another knock on the door, and when it opened once more, Superman was standing there.
"It's been a while, Tim," were the first words out of his mouth. "It's been a while since I last saw you, Wally," he added to Kid Flash. "If you want, we can start on our way to the dinner hall." When he saw the young men nod, he told them, "Then let's go."
As they made their way down the hall, they began talking about how their training would be going.
"Knowing Batman's idea of training, it's probably going to be real hard. But if anyone else on the team is a training leader, then we'll take it easy at first, and then attempt to follow up on that later on," he explained. "Do you understand?"
They all replied with, "Yes," and finished speaking of it, they continued on toward the dinner hall.
When they entered the dinner hall, Dick, Tim, and Wally couldn't help but let their mouths drop open.
The room was huge—they guessed it was to accomodate all the superheroes—with many different tables pointing parallel toward the main table, which had seven seats: one for each founding member of the Justice League.
The other six founding members were already there, including Batman: Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman.
Superman showed Nightwing, Robin, and Kid Flash to the table where Batgirl, Supergirl, and Wonder Girl sat.
Once they were seated, Nightwing noticed there was already food in front of him. He wondered if he should eat it or not. It was roast beef with chicken soup, and water to drink.
As soon as Superman arrived at the main table with the other founding members, he said out loud, "I am sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, but now I am here, and as all of you know, it is time to eat. But before I do so, I would like to let you know that tonight is a very special night. We have new recruits. I will announce their names later, but for now, let us eat!"
For close to an hour, everyone spoke and ate. Nightwing kept taking glances over to Batgirl, as well as Batman. He also noticed he and the other new initiates were being glanced at by the other League members.
It feels so weird to be here, surrounded by so many of the Earth's mightiest heroes—no, that sounds like something someone's already said—the universe's greatest heroes! I can't wait to be one of them!
He looked over to Batgirl, who seemed very nervous, and he couldn't blame her. He was sure it had to do with Batman, or even possibly with her father. But he let it slide, then returned to eating.
After at least an hour had passed, Superman stood up once more and began to speak to the Justice League once more. "Now, could I please have everyone's attention?" he said. The whole dinner hall quieted down. "Thank you. Now, as I said before, we have new recruits for the team. The first is my own cousin, Supergirl." Supergirl got to her feet and went to join him. "Then we have Nightwing, one of Batman's sidekicks." Nightwing did the same as Supergirl. And then Robin was called up. And then Kid Flash, leaving Batgirl and Wonder Girl. Finally, Wonder Girl was called up, leaving only Batgirl. Nightwing could tell she was very nervous. "And last, but most certainly not least, we have Batgirl. All of these recruits have trained with their respective mentors, and now they will train together to join us as new members of the League. Do not ask for their identities before we reveal them to you, please. Now, if you wish, you can remain where you are and eat, or if you wish, you may leave. This dinner is now adjourned. Thank you." He smiled.
Now that they were allowed to leave, some of the League did so, but many stayed to congratulate Nightwing and the others. Soon after, Batman got up and went to Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin. "Follow me," he said. They listened and did so.
Looking back, Batgirl gave Supergirl an apologetic look. Supergirl just smiled and nodded.
"So what do you want?" asked Nightwing.
"We need to talk," Batman said.
"About what?" Batgirl asked. "Does it have to do with me and Tim?"
"Yes," he answered gruffly. "I didn't want either of you on this team for a reason. But you went against that."
"I did it for a reason!" Batgirl exclaimed. "I said this before, and I'll say it again! I want us to be closer! It sucks not being near your family all the time! You guys are my main family, and I just wanted to be by you guys! Is that so wrong, Batman?"
He was about to answer when there was a sudden ringing sound. Batgirl reached into her utility belt and took out her phone. She answered it with a simple, "Hello?" After listening for a minute, she handed it to Batman and said, "It's for you."
