-Thursday-
-April 15th, 2010-
-Morning-
What had to be the worst part of waking up in the Wayne Manor was how early in the morning reality kicked him in the gut. If he was still on the train with the rest of Haley's Circus he could pretend, for just a bit longer, that he wasn't an orphan. That his parents were still alive just down the hall with his dad stomping down in his usual early morning grump to make sure he was awake.
But he couldn't. Not with the too soft mattress under him and a thick blanket at his feet that all but strangled him during the night. He wasn't home, he wasn't home and, if he was going to be honest, Haley's just wasn't Haley's anymore.
He flipped out of bed, landing lightly as started some stretches. He wasn't in the mood for his usual routine but he still did some small exercises just to feel comfortable with himself, to make something feel a bit closer to being right.
He was just finishing up one set and moving swiftly into another when there was a knock on his door. "Master Grayson?" Pennyworth called from the other side, "Breakfast ready in the kitchen when you are ready. Master Wayne is already dining."
Wayne was actually there? After avoiding him for an entire day? After snatching him away from the only home he has ever known?
He decided to do a few more sets before getting ready.
Apparently a work out and a shower wasn't enough time for Wayne to finish his breakfast. The man set at the little table in the kitchen, papers in hand and sipping at a steaming cup of coffee.
Wayne looked different then he expected, despite what the well worn work out room Dick had still been expecting a pretty boy. A thin and over primped man was not what sat at the table. Instead there was a mountain of a man, broad shoulders and wide chest, occupied the kitchen. The man wore a simple black suit that even Dick could tell was expensive and his short black hair was gelled in the latest fashion.
Icy blue eyes regarded him as he entered the room and a square jaw burst into a smile, "Richard!" He said, standing and crossing the room in a handful of steps, "Good morning." There was a firm handshake and a slap to the shoulder that nearly made Dick stumble, "Bruce Wayne, it's good to finally meet you. I'm sorry I wasn't around last night but I had to wrap somethings up over at the family business. I hope you don't mind. "
"Uh, it's okay?" Dick questioned.
There was another pat to the shoulder, friendly and firm, "Still, I should have been here." He said, voice still friendly but softer as the pat ended with a grip, "Bah, first I don't greet you and now I'm stopping you from getting a good breakfast. Sit, sit, and get some food in you. Alfred?"
"Already prepared, sir." The butler said, loading the table with a fresh bowl of oatmeal along with fruit and eggs. It looked good, really good.
Dick didn't realize how hungry he was until the food was gone and another plate of eggs appeared in front of him. That was gone within moments too.
"So, let's talk schedule." Wayne said, back in his seat and still smiling, "For you, there's not much to do today. Not until the afternoon at least. Dean Hammer of Gotham Academy made some room for us later today to talk about getting you in. Shouldn't be too hard, just an interview and a test if I remember right. It's been a few years."
"That's it?"
"For the afternoon, yes." Wayne's smile started to wane, "Tomorrow is another story. A Detective Montoya called earlier today, she wants to talk to you about… that night."
"Oh." He couldn't say much more than that. He didn't know what else the police could want from them, he told them everything. From the scumbag threatening Mr. Haley to seeing him smiling off to the side of the stands as his parents fell. Red paste and a twisted smile.
He must have been quiet too long, "Detective Montoya understands that you need a little time to settle in before more questioning. If you want to reschedule we can."
"Nah, it's fine." He said, fork playing with the rinds of his fruit, "Tomorrow is fine."
"If you're sure."
An awkward air filled the rest of the meal.
-0-0-0-0-0-
-Thursday-
-April 15th, 2010-
-Afternoon-
Gotham Academy was a castle, there was no other way to describe it. It's stone wall larger than even Wayne Manor, yet even its imposing clock tower was still dwarfed by some nearby skyscrapers. Like Wayne Manor it had far more green then most everywhere else he'd seen in the city so far, high arched walkways framed by trees and bushes.
But just because a building seemed old didn't mean it wasn't modern or well maintained, because that certainly wasn't the case here. The donor money at this school was definitely well spent. Gargoyles and security cameras stared down at him as he walked onto the campus, stone and glass eyes not losing track of him for even a second. The inside was just as bad.
Stained glass windows, high polished wood floors, and cameras at every corner. They really didn't trust their students apparently.
Wayne gave everyone he passed a bright smile and even stopped a few to have a small chat. The man apparently knew most everyone there's parents and not just the ones from Gotham's high society. It seemed like half the students he bumped into were the sons and daughters of people who worked for him. And he knew each of them by name, who could remember all those name?
It was weird.
Another odd thing, at least to Dick, were the uniforms. He knew that some schools required them, he just never figured that he would go to one. Though the rules seemed pretty lax at the Academy, students adding their own little flair to each uniform but for the most part they were all the same. A dark blue plaid shirt with a black vest and grey jacket with plaid skirts for the girls and grey pants for the boys.
Eventually they came to Headmaster Hammer's office, not Principal but Headmaster, where the man was waiting for them to arrive. Hammer was a severe old man with deep lines across his face and shockingly white hair on his head. He wore an old styled suit complete with a pocket watch chain dangling from his chest pocket and regarded his new guests with a hard frown.
"Mr. Wayne." He greeted formally outside his office door, his back straight and his frown deep. "A pleasure as always."
"Headmaster Hammer!" Wayne greeted with a bright smile and a hearty handshake. "It's good to see you again. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice."
"You made a compelling over the phone." He said with a ghost of a smile, "Now, we have much to discuss, you and I. I have taken the liberty of acquiring a tour guide for Mr. Grayson while we talk." He made a gesture with his hand and a girl Dick didn't notice earlier rose from her seat and greeted them with a bright smile.
She was a pretty girl Dick supposed, what with her wavy red hair and high cheekbones. She wore the school uniform with no modification, outside of forsaking the grey jacket, that showed hints of a very healthy and active body. Her eyes were a bright shade of blue green that shifted to the extremes depending on the light.
He would be lying to himself if he didn't say she was gorgeous. So, why didn't he feel the usual flash of heat he always felt when he saw a pretty girl?
"This is Barbara Gordon, a senior of our fine Academy and the valedictorian of her class." Headmaster Hammer patted her on the shoulder, pride obvious. "She has generously offered show young Mr. Grayson the school grounds while we finish the last of the paperwork."
"Hello." She said, eyes sparkling as she shook both their hands.
"Gordon? As in Commissioner Gordon?"
"Yes sir, my father." She said politely with a bare head bob.
"He's a good man, the city is lucky to have him and I'm sure he's just as lucky to have you." Wayne said with another smile that actually brought a blush to the girl's cheeks. Dick just rolled his eyes.
"Thank you."
"Now off with you two. Ms. Gordon, be sure to show him all the essentials of the facilities and Mr. Grayson…" Headmaster Hammer's harsh face actually softened for a moment, "My condolences."
"Thanks." He said, sounding far less sincere than Gordon had.
With that the two teens left the office and started their trek across the school. The halls were emptier now, the class bell had rung and the stragglers were all rushing towards various doors. Still looked like someone tried modernizing a medieval castle for a TV show.
"So, what should I call you?" Gordon asked as the walked, "Do you like Richard, Rich, or Ric?"
"Dick." He said and got a look of disgust in return. He held her stare for a moment and realization started to spread across her face.
"You're serious."
"Yep." He said, "People call me Dick, like those old Dick Tracy comics or that actor, Dick Van Dyke."
"That's... retro?" She half complemented, "Anyway, I'm Barbara but my friends call me Barb. So, nice to meet you Dick."
She gave him a smile that he returned half heartedly. Most conversation after that was awkward and stilted. She took him around the school, showing him the lecture halls and cafeteria and library. The later Dick didn't find himself all that impressed with, spoiled by the collection at Wayne Manor he supposed. Sure the school had a big collection and was certainly fancy in design it just lacked the grandness and age of the Wayne collection.
Though Barbara seemed had a deep school pried for it, bragging about certain books in the collection and how vast it was. Most of it went through one ear and out the other for Dick but he nodded his head as she chattered away.
"Over there," She started, "Is the Phys Ed building. We don't have a field yet but the Headmaster is working on it, for right now though we have the best facilities that donor money can buy. As well as one of the best Basketball and Tennis teams in the region."
She stopped just short of the buildings door, her nose twitching and a scowl forming on her lips. She turned away from the door and all but stomped around the side of the building. Curious Dick followed her, wondering what had her so upset.
She was already yelling at someone as he turned followed her around the bend of the building. Barbara was already yelling when he got there her pale face turning red as the other girl took a long drag of her cigarette, blowing it out with all the slow delberence of a snub.
The other girl was just the same height as Barbara or would have been if she wasn't wearing a set of heels that gave her an extra inch or two. Her eyes and hair were dark, her skin a creamy caramel, and her uniform was one of the more rebellious takes Dick had seen yet. She had her shirt untucked and partially unbuttoned at both ends, revealing much without her vest, with purple leggings underneath her skirt. She wore her school jacket around her waist, tied tight just below her displayed tummy, a very toned tummy.
She was the very image of a teenage rebel, the only thing missing was a set of hoop earrings and snapping bubble gum.
"You a hall monitor now Gordon?" The other girl asked, her voice snide as she leaned closer to the redhead. "Otherwise I don't see how this is any of your business."
"It's my business because this is a smoke free campus!" Barbara snapped, "Because we have students here with asthma. Because those things are healthy to everyone around them and not just the smoker."
"A little smoke isn't going to kill anyone." The other girl said with all the dismissal of a queen as her eyes slid off the redhead and towards their spectator, "Who's this? New boyfriend?"
"He's a new student," Barbara said, arms crossed with a renewed glare, "One that you're setting a horrible example for, Bertinelli"
She just snorted, "Like that matters, he's like what? Fourteen? "
"Sixteen," Dick interjected, feeling a bit offended.
"Whatever," She said with another wave, "Point is he's probably seen people smoke before."
"And I've never seen YOU smoke before. You've always been a health freak so what ups with inhaling that crap?"
The two continued to argue, quickly forgetting about him as they seemed to dig into an old argument. Dick was just starting to think he should just walk away from whatever was going on when something caught his attention, a glitching movement in the corner of his eye.
Looking up he saw the eye of a camera looking down at them, zooming in with robotic precision. Dick's first thought was that someone in security was checking in on a possible fight but reality seemed to disagree. In fact, reality seemed to tint as the camera took view of them and waves of static flowed from the lens.
Blue and off colored the world twisted, becoming the same but ever so different. The air felt chilled and muggy but neither of the girls seemed to notice, they kept snipping and snapping at each other. The more Dick looked around the odder his surroundings seemed.
It wasn't just the gym area that looked different but the entire school and even the sky. But the sky wasn't blue, not even tinted like most of the school, but a stained glass collage of various colors the cut into each other without blending.
Was he hallucinating again?
Was he going crazy?
"What's going on?" He muttered to himself, still staring at the shattered colorscape stretched out above him. But his quiet words were just enough to gain the girls' attention.
"Did you sa-" Barbara started, eyes widening as she finally took in the world around her. She took a few steps back and twisting about, unable to process what she was seeing.
"The hell?" Rebel girl said out loud, saying what each of them were thinking. Her cigarette falling from limp fingers and stomped out by the startled teen.
"So, I'm guessing this isn't supposed to happen?" Dick half joked, shock dragging out a bit of his old humor.
"We don't live in Metropolis," The girl snapped, "Weird shit like this doesn't happen here. We got a cyborg vampire monster that beats the shit out of plant ladies and dudes with ice guns, we don't deal with crazy light shows here."
"Batman is not a vampire monster." Barbara absently defended, hand digging into her pocket for her phone. "No signal. Something must be jamming our phones."
"Or we got dragged into some alien snow globe like Metropolis."
"Would you shut up and not jump to the worst?"
"Could you not pretend the world is all sunshine and rainbows?"
Barbara threw up her hands and started to turn away, "Whatever. Look, let's just get in the building and find a landline. Those might still be working if the cells are down."
"Whatever." The girl mocked back but followed all the same, leaving Dick to trail behind. The girl looked back at him as they walked, "So, what's your name pretty boy?"
'Pretty boy' He mouthed before shaking his head, "Dick."
She snorted, "Seriously?" He nodded, "God, you're parents must have hated you."
"Helena!" Barbara barked in a twirl.
"What?"
"His parents…" She stopped and looked at him, all sympathetic and unsure. "His parents…"
Maybe that was enough for the girl to know or maybe there was something about his face when she looked back at him. Either way, the girl seemed to shrink for a second and only let out a little "Oh" before they all continued in silence.
Inside the PhyEd building was just as strange as the outside. The blue tint was still present but there were swaths of space, from lockers to the very air, that were just a different color. Some were bright hyper vivid colors while others were dull and almost pixelated in appearance.
"Nice to see that the inside is just as messed up as the outside." Helena said, earning herself a glare from Barbara, "What? It's disproving my alien snow globe theory, thought you'd be happy about that."
Barbara just rolled her eyes, "There should be a faculty office down the hall." Was all she said as she led them down the hall.
But her confident stride stopped short at the staircase, her eyes going wide as she stared at the top of the stairs. Her breath hitched and she froze where she stood.
"What's got you so shook?" Helena asked as she and Dick came up next to her.
Dick heard the growling before he saw it. It was a deep gurgling sound, like stones grinding and tumbling against each other. It echoed and bounced off the walls and only grew in sound as glowing red eyes took them in.
At the top of the stairs was a stone monster, a gargoyle brought to life. It's sharp claws dug into the steps as it leaned forward, a long tongue lashing at the air as its neck rose. It's broad chest stretching as it took in air, unblinking red eyes never leaving them as its wings spread wider and wider.
Then it roared.
And they ran.
AN:
And done, for now. Next chapter comes the good part which, if life is willing, I'll have by the end of the month. This story was supposed to posted a few days ago (to synch up with Joker's release on Super Smash Brothers) but my job sometimes has mandatory overtime