Sorry for the wait, but it's going up now! I really have no excuse, it was written and everything, and I just didn't put it up. Sorry!

...I have nothing else to say. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Can we just take it as implied that we don't own anything? Do we really need this in every chapter?

After they ate, Slade showed Nightwing around the base. "This was actually one of my first bases." He explained. "I used this when I was still based in Gotham. The Titans won't know about it."

"The Titans won't know I've been kidnapped." Nightwing pointed out. "I'm not due to return for another few weeks. They don't know where I am-was. The only reason they'll think something wrong is because I won't answer my comm." And because Batman will tell them.

Slade smirked. "All the better then."

As Nightwing had noticed before, the base was constructed in pretty much the same way as all the others. Based on what Slade had told him, however, he was inclined to believe that this was the archetype rather than a copy. In addition, it contained one room that none of the others had. Nightwing had pushed open the door before Slade could protest and had been confronted with an unexpected site.

It was a child's room.

There were books and some toys strewn around the floor. A guitar leant against a corner. Green seemed to be the dominant color. There was an open door in the side wall, connecting the room to what looked like another child's room- albeit an older one. This one was blue and had more weapons than toys. Nightwing stared in silence for a moment. "This was Joey's room, wasn't it." He said quietly. "And the other one's Grant's."

Slade's gaze snapped towards him. "How did you…"

"The guitar. Joey plays it, but Grant was more about fighting."

Slade looked at him in shock. "I didn't tell you that."

"No. You didn't. I found another source… sources, actually."

Slade raised a clearly questioning eyebrow beneath his mask. "And those would be?"

Nightwing grinned. "One's classified. The other one… Joey says hi."

Slade was speechless. "J.. Joey?" Nightwing nodded. "He's on the Titans now. Jericho? He's an honorary, but he and I keep pretty regular contact. He wanted me to tell you that he wants to see you again, no matter what Addie said. You're still his dad."

Slade nodded slowly. "I think… I think that I would like that."

Nightwing smiled slightly. "I'll set it up after all of this. While we're on the subject of your sons, did you really first take interest in me because of my startling similarities to Grant?"

"Where did you learn all of this?!"

"Like I said, classified. I'll tell you eventually, somewhere in between you learning about my past as a hero and my secret ID. Not necessarily in that order. But seriously, the resemblance in the description struck me a mile away; I can only imagine how bad it was for you."

Slade shook his head slowly. "Yes, it did factor into the decision. I honestly didn't think anyone had information like that about me anymore."

"Oh, your file was huge. It took me almost an hour to read through."

After this round of bomb-dropping, sort-of-mentor and I-am-NOT-his-apprentice continued on the tour. They ended back up in the kitchen, where Wintergreen was washing the dishes. Nightwing immediately moved to help, grabbing a dishtowel to dry the dishes as Wintergreen washed. He shrugged at Slade's look. "Habit. If I don't do the dishes in the tower, the pile of dirty dishes eats someone. I used to do the dishes with my mom all the time."

"You're giving out a lot more information about yourself this time." Wintergreen remarked. "Last time, you hardly told us anything, even though you clearly were starting to trust us."

"I don't have so much to lose, I guess. The Titans learned so many of my secrets lately I got out of the habit of keeping so many secrets about my past. I've been with people who know practically everything about me. I'm not running away from my past anymore."

Wintergreen and Slade stared at him like he was insane. Unbidden, the conversation from the rooftop a few weeks ago rose to the forefront of Slade's mind.

"Does this have anything to do with those heroes?"

"It has everything to do with them." Sadness flickered over his face for a second. "I only got a few weeks with them." He said softly. "But I can't leave them behind again."

"You're being mysterious and cryptic again." Wintergreen teased. Nightwing snorted. "Please. I used to live with the king of mysterious and cryptic. I was trained to be mysterious and cryptic. It was inevitable that it would resurface."

Obviously, this 'kidnapping' would be much more interesting than the last ones. Nightwing was starting to open up to them, and apparently knew much more about Slade than he was letting on.

Nightwing ducked under Slade's punch and retaliated with a kick of his own. The two had been sparring for nearly an hour now, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that they were evenly matched, and that Nightwing was bringing some new moves to the fight. Some of his moves were downright acrobatic in nature, which Slade thought was almost impossible. Nightwing wasn't an acrobat; his style of fighting had never betrayed any sort of acrobatic prowess. Now, thought, Nightwing was flipping around and dodging his attacks with effortless grace. It was almost an entirely different style of fighting.

The two took a break, Nightwing immediately going for a water bottle, while Slade opted to sit down first. "Impressive." He remarked. "You've improved. It seemed like you'd developed a new style of fighting."

"Oh, I did." Nightwing smirked, sitting next to him. "That's the one you're used to."

Slade sighed. "Fine, I'll bite. What on earth are you talking about?"

Nightwing rolled his eyes, sitting back. "When I became Nightwing, I had to change my fighting style, or else anyone close to me would recognize it. So, I started fighting differently, the style I used fighting you. What I just did was more like my old fighting style. More acrobatics, focused more on dodging attacks than countering them, waiting for just the right moment to strike. It's more instinctive for me. I'm trying to combine the two now."

Slade nodded, digesting this new information. It raised so many questions; why didn't he want to be recognized, why had he already developed a distinctive fighting style before he became Nightwing, why he hid his acrobatics. It was this last point he decided to focus on- or at least, something similar.

"You know some acrobatics?"

Nightwing's smirk grew. "I know more than some. Show me a piece of acrobatic equipment, I guarantee that I can use it."

"You're awfully confident." Slade remarked. Nightwing's confidence didn't waver. "I know."

Slade stood up, stretching. "I believe I'm going to contest your claim." He drawled. "Follow me."

Nightwing followed, curious. Where was Slade bringing him?

Slade stopped at a door that he hadn't shown Nightwing during the tour. "I haven't opened this door in years." Slade mused. "I don't use it. I made it for Grant, but…" The silent he died before he could really use it was clear as day.

He pushed open the door. Nightwing stepped past him, gazing around the room, wide eyed. There was a set of parallel bars, some rings, and some mats in the corner for floor work. Even better, the roof was criss-crossed by narrow beams- perfect for flipping and running over. The only real shortcoming it had was that there was no trapeze.

Nightwing's face split into a wide grin. "Asterous." He whispered. He turned towards Slade. "Well, it's more than I could have hoped." He told him. "I thought I was doomed to no acrobatics while I was here- and major fidgets. It doesn't compare to my gym, but it'll do."

Slade raised an eyebrow. "I've been everywhere in that tower of yours. There was no acrobatic equipment."

"Secret gym underneath the Tower." Nightwing said offhandedly, wandering further into the room. "It's not on the blueprints, the Titans didn't even know it was there until that day when the League came. I'm good at keeping secrets when I need to."

"I can tell that." Slade really could. With every word that came out of the young man's mouth, he was learning of a different side of Nightwing, one that he hadn't seen up 'till now. What had happened, to change him like this?

Yeah, I just love acrobatic Nightwing/Robin- for me, that's one of Dick's major points. He needed some acrobatic stuff.

One more Nightwing chapter after this.

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