I apologize know for the dialogue in the later half of the chapter. It's meant to explain what Wally brought to Bruce.

"I couldn't believe he came back." Wally admitted, zooming passed Bruce.

"Come in." Bruce sarcastically invited.

Wally's attention bounced around the main hallway. Seeing reports of Robin's sudden return were fresh in his mind.

"I don't know whether to be excited or anxious. How is he?"

"Fine, for the most part. What are you doing here?"

Wally set his attention on Bruce, his temperament a little calmer.

"I wanted to apologize for how I acted the other day. I know you were … are grieving about this whole thing. I also wanted to give you this."

He pulled out a few news clippings from his coat pocket. After unfolding them, he handed it to Bruce.

"I took the liberty of borrowing these when I was helping him with that genealogy report last year. You know, the one that we ended up using his mother's side for. The topics were something that I felt he didn't really need to look into while you were off world. I actually remembered that I had them two nights ago, and I thought that if you wanted to look into it, I'd return them to you."

Bruce skimmed through the articles as Wally rambled on. He could understand why Wally had taken them. Topics of the beloved acrobat disowned after choosing who he wanted to marry, rumors of an affair, and a drunken outburst after the Flying Grayson's show just months prior to Dick's birth, were all topics Bruce would have wanted to avoid unless Dick asked about them.

"I applaud the effort Wally, but I have to ask, why are you bringing this to me now?"

"Like I said the other day, something about this doesn't feel right. I don't know if it was because of these, or if there's more to this. Either way, it's worth checking out."

"Thank you. I'll look into it."

"Alright. Well, I've got to go. I'm going fishing with my uncle. I'll see you later."

Wally sped out the door. Bruce was slightly overwhelmed by Wally's spontaneous visit. He'd be lying if he said that he didn't appreciate the gesture, but the amount of energy he brought to the situation was unusual. Alfred, on the other hand, was impressed by the speedster's ambition.

"I'd call that a start." Alfred noted.

Bruce arrived at the grounds for Haly's circus reasonably quick. It was a stroke of luck that Gotham was the current stop on their tour. After explaining the current events, Bruce and Haly took a walk around the grounds to get some privacy.

"I'm sorry to hear about Dick." Haly apologized. "I don't keep contact with them, and had I known about George's whereabouts, I would have told you."

"It's not your fault." Bruce forgave. "I don't blame you for not mentioning anything about them."

"I just wish there was something I could do to help."

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about something."

Bruce pulled out the news clippings and held them out.

"I came across these the other day while looking through some of his belongings that he left behind, and I was a little curious."

Haly grabbed them and skimmed them over.

"I remember these. I think he actually tried to call me about them, something about a school project, but I was too busy with our show in Chicago and couldn't get back to him. I originally hid these so that, when he was old enough, I could give him some insight to his parents' history prior to his birth. This one," Haly held out the one about John being disowned, "had gotten out after John tried to get the approval of Fredrick, his father, to wed Mary. They had been dating for a few years and wanted to tie the knot. Unfortunately, Fredrick wasn't thrilled about the idea, having never really been too fond of Mary. Her past and the fact that she was the reason that John wanted to stay in the circus never settled well with Fredrick. And when John refused his denial, Fredrick disowned him. This one," He shifted the attention to the affair, "I hadn't planned to bring up, unless he ever got curious about his family. Fredrick had been married once before he got married to John's mother. They split up, but Fredrick kept in contact with her, wanting a relationship with George. It wasn't until about a few years before John's engagement to Mary that they met. And because the only person who was aware of Fredrick's previous marriage was me, news about this previously unknown child stirred rumors. Not that Fredrick was a part of the circus much at that point. Then there's this last one," Haly brought the attention to the remaining story, "was when Mary was about three months pregnant. As I mentioned, Fredrick hadn't liked Mary all that much, and some of that dislike had been passed onto George. However, Fredrick at least tried to get over it when the pregnancy was announced. George did not. He came to the show that John and Mary announced the pregnancy and Mary's hiatus because of it. He was drunk and volatile, cussing out John. George was arrested and we never saw him since."

Haly's explanation helped put some pieces together. It definitely explained George's snide attitude towards Dick's parents. However, it did not answer why he would invest the time in his scheme, or why he would even bother with taking Dick in in the first place.

"If he's so hateful towards John, why would he want Dick?"

"I don't know. Maybe he wants to make up for his behavior towards his brother. Or maybe he sees Dick as the only way to get back at John and Mary."

Bruce gave a nod, confirming that he had taken in what Haly had to say. Knowing that this was as much as he was going to get, Bruce had to make an exit.

"I want to thank you for your time." Bruce admitted. "Sadly, I have to get going."

"I understand." Haly accepted, handing Bruce the newspaper clippings. "I'm glad you came to visit, and I hope my information provided useful."

"It did."

Bruce and Haly parted ways. With the information that Bruce had just learned, he now had some evidence to use against them. If Batman couldn't get the point across, both Batman and Bruce had enough information to build a case. He had a motive now, and that was enough.

I toyed with this idea a little bit. I thought it would give more of a reason as to why George wouldn't have any qualms with disposing of DIck and a reason behind his statement in the previous chapter. Plus once Batman gets involved, I figured he'd need something more than just demanding that they give Dick back.