Chapter 2

"91, 92, 93" each came out in slow breath. Allen gripped the metal bars he had drilled into his ceiling when he had begun working out. The ceiling was quite high but hanging from here by his hands was quite calming. Slowly he used the tips of his fingers pull himself up, despite the sweat running down his fingers he stayed strong. He pulled himself up long enough to flip the page of the magazine he was reading and humming amused at the title, "Green Arrow saves Capital City alongside Speedy." turn, "Martian Man hunters new hair gel?" turn, "Wonder Woman and Hawk girl secret lovers?" of course, this was just stupid gossip, he'd much rather be reading his manga, or the back of a cereal box. But this was the only way he was able to catch up with his friends with more….busy lifestyles.

It was odd, finding out all your family friends were heroes. This had several benefits but there was also a few drawbacks, Which included handing over his Wonder Woman posters to his Dad (but he assumed his father wanted them for himself, if the other rumors were true). He did skipped a few more pages till a title caught his eye.

"Superboy saves President, then eats Presiendtial steak."

This made him smile, "So like you Conner." He wasn't quite sure how old had been when he met Conner (but he did remember them getting into a Batman vs. Superman fight) but they had been best friends ever since. He shared things with Conner that would never be spoken to anyone else (then again his dad was the greatest detective of all time). There were obvious benefits to having a Superhuman Best friend, but there were obvious downsides, such as the schedule. It seemed like Allen only had time to see him when he donned his own costume.

"99, 100" he lifted himself one more time before dropping down on his feet. 3 sets and he was all done for today. He walked over to his bed and picked up a discarded towel to wipe off his sweaty chest and glanced out the window. A rare sunny day in Gotham, and because of the vacation, he had it all free .He pondered for a moment over what to do…..then it hit him.

Laura.

. He hurried out the door with a plain black t-shirt and leapt down the railing to the 1st floor and poking into the sitting room where Alfred was sitting at the coffee table, tea in one hand and newspaper in the other, oblivious to his presence. Allen grinned happily before leaping over the couch and landing with a cheery, "Morning!"

The startled butler sat straight up and dropped the paper, using his hand to balance the now splashing cup, "Allen! Blazes boy!" he got the cup of tea under control before glaring at the young boy with a knowing look, "what have I told you about that?"

"Tooooooo…"He searched his memories, "do it more?"

Alfred smiled folding up his paper properly and laying it across his lap, "you have your fathers face but you have your mothers…humor. And what do you plan on doing today?"

"Just…heading out." he didn't want Alfred to know who he was visiting, because then he'd tell Dick and Dad. Then he'd NEVER hear the end of it. So he flashed Alfred a happy smile.

Unfortunately Alfred was not born yesterday. He laid his newspaper on the table, "well then, if its such a beautiful day then perhaps I should go with you…" he glanced over at the boy, "Is that alright with you?"

'No,' "Of course!" seeing Laura would have to wait, he guessed.

^#^#^#^#^#^#^

Dick hummed happily, his greased hands running through the engine of the Batmobile. Sure the name was dated, but it full of charm. Funny, describing a high-tech high speed rocket as "full of charm."

But that's not what made him smile. Despite the fact he had his own city and his own title, he still enjoyed his visits to Gotham. It reminded him of the good old days, when he lived under the same roof as his adopted family.

But even now he could easily recall his first few weeks of living in the manor. It was hard enough adjusting to life as a sidekick, adjusting to life without his birth parents, and adjusting to a little brother.

Of course the little boy wouldn't leave him alone for two seconds. And ,to be honest, Dick had hated him…even told him so. But that eventually went away. Now he couldn't imagine life without his 'little brother,' he twisted the last bolt into place and grinned. Wiping his hands off on his dirty pants he hurried back up the metal stairs that ran down the cave wall from the main platform to the level that held the numerous bat "toys" His footsteps soared over the sparse steps that would give others vertigo with a hum top his step, calling up , "I finished with the engine, what's next?" He gripped a bar overhead and heaved himself up over the railing and landed on the main level. Bruce was in his normal spot, hunched over his master computer, sleeves rolled back over his arms. Except this time only one of the screens was lit up, close to his face from view. That wasn't good. Dick hurried on over, watching Bruce turn the screen away from his view, "Is everything ok Bruce?"

"I have a mission for you, a favor."

A favor? Bruce never asked for favors, he put the hum aside, "What is it?"

"Are you aware that Wildcat has taken on a new student?"

"Yeah, I've never seen her. We have the city split off in sections to protect and she stays in his territory. But I heard from one of the others, nothing spectacular."

"I need you to go and recon. Get some information."

"Why?" he tried to use the reflection off of Bruce's eye to see what was on the monitor but it was fuzzy. He was so focused on it he almost missed Bruce's face breaking into a smirk,

" I taught you that move, no reason for suspicion. There was recently a mission that involved WindRider, Soul-Stealer, and StormDancer. They were all tried to the point of mental destruction. I want you to go and make small talk with Wildcat, get a tell on the state of the young heroes mind. J'onn's orders. Mission briefing, usual questions, further in areas needed. Bring it to me when its done."

NightWing nodded, deciding to play along. But he knew better, he knew Bruce. And a Bruce with a smile was more dangerous then with a scowl.

He grabbed his coat off the back of one to the rolley chairs and walked down the stairs with a backwards wave at his mentor before stopping by his black and blue motorcycle ( Situated between the short lived Bat-Rocket and even shorter lived Bat-Helicopter). He pulled on his helmet and swung up on his motorcycle. He glanced up at the floor ( he could still hear him typing on his keyboard). As much as NightWing wanted to know his mentors motives, he also had faith in him.

All he had to do now is get back before Allen got too mad….sure he could take on the little ass. But he did promise a week to him. With a flick of his wrist, the motorcycle roared life and he shot off down the dark tunnel, the excess noise meaning nothing on his ears.

^#^#^#^#^#^#^#^

Allen paused for a moment outside the farmers market, the weight of carrying 12 bags of food made his arms strained. He stretched them out for a moment (wondering why they needed 2 pounds of steak). He liked to help Alfred, but this was a lot. He turned back to his elderly friend (who was happily looking at a row of heavy looking watermelon), "um, are we feeing a tribe of carnivores? Or …something." when he was tired he wasn't as witty

"don't be ridicules Master Allen. Half of this food is for the Soup Kitchen, you know how your father likes ot donate quite often.'

Allen flinched slightly, of course. And he was a butt hole as usual, "Well do we need anything else?" he tried not to look at his watch, but he felt a little impatient. He didn't have long before visiting hours were up. But he didn't want to tell Alfred, he just had to play it cool. It's not like it would get him in hot water, but he didn't' want to worry the old man. He opened the trunk to his car and started to load up the groceries, "I mean, I like helping you Alfred, and I will for as long as I can-"

"You're going to see Laura aren't you?"

Allen froze in shock, the eggs he was carrying tumbled out of his hands barely giving him a second to catch them all again and look back at the old man, laughing nervously, "Wh-what? Which Laura? I know A LOT of Laura's, ok I don't but maybe you're talking about Laurie? That guy from the Little Women books? That was a good book, I read it for class. Though allot of the guys were confused because of JO and Laurie, you see they thought Laurie was the girl and that Jo was the boy so when they found out Jo was a girl they got excited but then they realized Laurie was a boy-"

"Master Allen you're rambling."

Allen took a breath, his mouth dry from talking so fast. He wet his lips with his tongue before glancing back at Alfred again. He couldn't lie to him, even if it meant he'd tell his father , "Yeah…but its been awhile…I don't' want her getting lonely…"

"very Well Master Allen, I supposed we have time for a small break while I count our produce. It might take a while. " he glanced over at Allen with a small smile. It took him a little bit, then Allen realized what he was saying and hugged the elderly butler with both arms, lifting him high off his feet, "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"

"I do believe you are choking me, Master Allen.'

"Oh oh right!" he quickly set the man down, dusting off his coat, "thanks Alfred! I promise to pay you back!" he danced a few feet away, waved at Alfred then ran off. Expertly he bypassed the crowd and right into the dark alleys. Or ,as he liked to call them, Al's shortcut.

He leapt over a few trashcans, his shoes barely making a sound on the hard cement. Over his years in Gotham he had memorized the many routes to get around traffic, which included alleys, sewers, garages, malls, and a few manageable buildings. He made a right turn, bypassing a sinkhole. It helped keep him in shape, which is why he drove as little as possible.

A left here, and a right here, he grinned to himself as he went through the records in his mind again, this might be another one he broke-

When he made a right turn, a chain link fence jumped out at him, surprised HE slid to a stop, putting his hand up to cushion the blow. He looked it up and down before growling slightly, crouching down and jumping up, climbing it within a few reaches. At the top he grinned happily, "Too easy."

With in the minute he was climbing the steps of Saint Martha Hospital. With a quick signature at the desk he went up the stairs by memory. He had went by this path almost a thousand times, waving at familiar nurses, but careful not to look in the rooms. After all, he knew the horrors the lived in those rooms. Death and life.

Then room 4-4-d came up. Smiling he walked on in.

Laying on the hospital bed was a young woman around his age, her brown hair short and cut by hospital staff and numerous tubes going into her throats and necks. A heart monitor slowly giving of a beat. But it was the same as the last time., for the past 10 years he had been visiting, the scene was never different. He smiled anyway, sitting down next to her bed, "Hey Laura. I'm sorry its' been a while. My dad is still upset that I come here. I guess can't blame him, Dick wont even let me come when he finds out where I'm going. I guess he's living up to his name right?" as usual, no response, "But Alfred actually told me to come , you remember him right?" but he wasn't sure she did. For 10 years she laid in this bed, unresponsive, only the machines keeping her alive. But he always came here, as often as he could. To be by her side.

After all, she was his fiancé'.

^#^#^#^#^#^#^

NightWing walked down the streets of New York. Even though he had been one of this cities guardian for a while but he hadn't been in this part. After all, this was Wildcat's territory, but it wasn't exactly homey. No skyscrapers, and the streets seemed darker here. It almost looked as bad as Bludhaven. But he noticed small differences. Here, street vendors were actually on the street, and he had even seen a few kids running around. He supposed it didn't matter if the territory wasn't pretty if the citizens felt safe.

That's when he saw the stout building squished between a building for lease and a empty lot. The bright sign hanging off the side read, "Wildcat's Gym". Smiling behind the mask (seriously, no one had noticed) he walked on over and opened the door.

Now, NightWing had been here a lot as Batman's' apprentice, but not a inch of it had changed , but most of it was flat wood (except for the elevated boxing ring) but was blocked off by a beam that indicated working out area (boxing ring, lifting gear and a balance beam ((for the girls))). The living area was just a kitchen, a couch and a TV. A set of stairs ran down the side that lead put to the sleeping quarters.

Like Batman said, Wildcat lived, breathed, and ate boxing.

Speaking of Wildcat, who was out of uniform, he was back in the boxing area holding on to a newly sewn up punching bag for a teenage girl who was currently pummeling it . The blows soften by the bandages on her hands and even quieter next to Wildcat's yelling, "That's it kiddo! Right in the bulls eyes, now square up a little bit, don't forget you're trying to knock a villain out not give someone a love tap!" he glanced over at NightWing and smiled, "Hey there Nights," he turned to the student, "Give me a minutes, go work on the cherry punching bag." before heading on over.

NightWing took this small moment to make a assessment of the student (seeing as Wildcat only has one student right now.) she looked to be around 15-16. But she was short for her age, her black hair was tied back with a shoestring, her workout clothes were old and worn, her face framed with thick metal glasses whose eyes he couldn't see. She glanced back at him for a moment from under her bangs before returning to beat the cherry punching bag.

NightWing was about to conduct further investigation when Wildcat got to him, then he put on a smile, "Hey Wildcat, it's been a while. How's this part of New York?"

"Easier," he smiled, "you thirsty? Want a Wildcat smoothie?"

The sound of it made NightWings stomach twist with memory. Wildcat's smoothies were infamous for having all food groups, cooked in a unhealthy and blended in a unholy concoction of fish, eggs, and yogurt. He was sure even Superman's' stomach couldn't hold up to it, but he put on a polite smile, "Have any water?"

"give me a sec." As Wildcat hurried off to the fridge, NightWing went back to observing.

Judging by the girls stance and punches, she had been training for a while. But he didn't know if she actually enjoyed it.

He could also tell that she had been living off the streets for a while by her small frame. He was about to accept the water bottle from Wildcat when NightWing saw the girls feet.

Apparently the bandages weren't just on her hands, they covered her whole body, he could even see glimpse of her bandaged neck under her large hoody.

"You ok NightWing?"

The young man blinked and turned to the older hero and took the water, "thank you." he wasn't comfortable talking about people, even though the girl probably couldn't' hear them. But this was part of the investigation, "Um, Wildcat about your student-"

"Bruce sent you didn't' he.'

He blinked again,' How did you-"

"We've been in contact."

"OH." so he was right, this did go beyond today, "Um…ok…so the bandages..-"

"its not my place to say kid, teacher-student confidentiality. But they're from her old life.."

"OH." man he sounded stupid, so much for the law degree, but hisassumption was correct. She had been abused. But that wasn't uncommon, probably a runaway. "I'm sorry, Bruce sent me to ask, on J'onn's behalf. To see if there's any trauma from the mission."

"Ah." the old mans eyes glinted, whatever the thing was, he was in on it, The old man stood up and yelled on over, "Sam! Over here!"

The girl named Sam looked over and stopped the bag before hurrying over. Her old shoes carrying her over. It was now NightWing was able to see she had blue eyes, light.. They seemed trusting when they looked at Wildcat but suspicious when they looked at him. That confirmed his "former abused ,runaway, living on the streets" suspicions.

Wildcat ruffled his short gray hair, "Sam, this is NightWing, he helps with the city. He has a few questions for you about the incident with the villain known as, "he tried to remember the name, "Seth?"

The girls eyes widen with familiarity (fear too?) and she looked down at her hands and fingered the bandages slightly, a habit, then she spoke for the first time, "what about him? Why not look at the last interview?" her voice was small, but it had strength behind it.

But that's not what hit him, for the first time it occurred to him that she was in the Justice League. It was obvious , but now seeing it with his eyes, it made him feel a little sad. She was so young , and what the league went through on the simplest missions made his stomach even more upset, but he kept his face stoic, "Its just a routine thing sometimes we do it more then once," he reached into his pocket and drew out a small recorder that he always kept on him, "I'm going to record it for J'onn, ok?"

She nodded, so he pressed the red button , "NightWing, code Red 039, interviewer. Date, March 12. Subject, Operation Broken Wings.' once again, her eyes dimmed, more indication of bad memories, "Interviewee will now state their name." then he looked up at her, waiting patiently

The girl sighed, then spoke up , "StormDancer, name. Sam."

He waited for a last name, but it was obvious he wasn't going to get it, "In your own words, what happened?"

The girls head dipped sadly, but a hand of comfort on her shoulder from Wildcat made her raise her head , "hero Soul Stealer was taken by villains Hybrid, Seth and Spirit. They left a bomb that left damage to the Watchtower. I was sent alongside WindRider, and Dr. Fate. We went onboard a ship, and I searched for Soul Stealer while WindRider fought Seth. We were able to get her off the ship and onto a island owned by Cadmus. But Soul Stealer was.." she paused again, lowering her head, "dead. Seth caught up with us and WindRider went to go fight him again while I attempted to use Energy to restart her heart."

So she uses energy, interesting. He noted, but not before remembering Batman had lied to him about the interview.

"After 2 attempts she came back to life but was unresponsive to my attempts to wake her. So I took her inside Cadmus to get her medical attention. I thought I covered out tracks. That's when we were confronted with a man who claimed to be Rai, "she paused, "I mean WindRider, I didn't know it till we went through a robotic graveyard that he was a fraud. I animated the robots and was able to escape with Soul Stealer. But we were caught by Hybrid, and he knocked us out. When I woke up, I was onboard a jet and locked up. From what I could hear, Hybrid, Atticus, "another pause, of distaste, " had captured WindRider and Kite but that Seth had died in his confrontation with WindRider, "pause, "I mean Soul Stealer, Soul Stealer then preceded to knock out WindRider. I was locked up later in a Cadmus compound. Soul Stealer came to me later, and told me she didn't' remember anything. I helped her, but the trauma of memory was too much. But she came back again. I convinced her to let me send out a signal to the Justice League But we were caught, I tried to let her keep her cover by letting her attack me but it was futile. When I awoke, WindRider was out but he was under control of Atticus and Atticus had ordered him to drag me outside. It was then I realized Soul Stealer had escaped. But Atticus and Hybrid sent WindRider after them. It wasn't long after that the League began their rescue mission. Hybrid attempted to secure me , since I was the last hostage, but I was ale to escape. And by animating a few robots I was able to break down most of the building. But the robot failed. I attempted to take on Hybrid in confrontation but Soul Stealer took me away and we rejoined WindRider, recently liberated, and leaguer Superman, Wildcat and the former prisoner Zargo.

"But it was soon after that when we found out that Seth had come back to life after his body was transported to the Watchtower. He had taken down Martian Man hunter and had engaged Superboy in battle. I rescued him from space, but when I returned I found out that Superman and WindRider had attempted to confront Seth in combat again. WindRider was beaten, but Superman was still fighting." there was a pause, pain on her face, "he was….quite angry. But he was brought of it before any more damage could be done.'

NightWing knew that this was a lie, from what he had heard, she had electrocuted Seth in a attempt to help out, but he had thrown knives at her only to be pulled out of the way by WindRider, she had even jumped on Superman's arm when he almost killed Seth. I mean really, how many people jumped on Superman?!

"Afterwards, WindRider was healed by Soul Stealer and Seth was thrown in the Phantom Zone. After that WindRider disappeared and it was finally confirmed the amount of ….damage Seth had done to SoulStealer." with that she lowered her head slightly, the sadness was there even if she didn't show it. After, all, even he knew what that monster had done to SoulStealer…

NightWing took another note, she felt close to WindRider and Soul Stealer, "Question, who was Atticus?"

StormDancer's face twisted slightly, as though remembering something unpleasant, " he was a scientist for Cadmus, responsible for Projects WindRider and Hybrid."

"Anything else?"

She hesitated again, but she kept a straight face, " HE is my adopted father sir. "

NightWing paused again, he had heard of Atticus. His methods of experiments were infamous, most didn't survive. He had created creatures of hell out of very little stuff. For 16 years it was thought he was in retirement (so many prayed) but this incident had proved that he had gotten bored with it," Please emphasis your relationship with your Father."

She glared at him, but then he realized it wasn't a glare. On some level she was pleading with him, or she was getting irritated. It was all in the eyes, "He and adopted mother were me until 3 years ago when he was arrested. I then lost my "Mom" a year ago."

NightWing looked at her expecting more detail. But he could tell that was as much she wanted to give, but he had to dig more, "Who were they to you?"

She looked up at him with slight resentment then looked back down for a sec before raising her head again, "They were my parents. I wasn't allowed to leave the house, so I learned everything from Atticus. It was all math and science, but they were the only parents I ever knew. My Mom was emotionally unstable."

He nodded, feeling guilty now, "And why was your uncle arrested?"

"My mom found out….his truth and had him arrested." with that she sat back in her seat. The sign that she was done answering questions.

But that was ok, he pressed the red button on the recorder and ended the session, "thank you StormDancer, that's all."

The girl nodded and stood up, hurrying out of the room, going up the stairs. NightWing could tell this had been hard on her. And he felt guilty for forcing her to relive it. He heard a scraping chair as Wildcat sat down, "I'm sorry Wildcat, I didn't mean-"

"I know kid, its nothing personal and she knows it. " he looked at him though, "But tell Bruce something for me ok?"

"But, this is for J'onn-"

"don't try that kid. I trained Bruce, I know his ways."

NightWing swallowed uncomfortably,

"Just tell him she's struggling a little bit but she's find, and to not worry. And that if he's' so worried to come here himself."

NightWing nodded, he picked up the recorder and the water bottle and stood up, holding a hand out to Wildcat, "Thanks' Wildcat, I should get going"

The older hero stood up and shook his hand back. With a nod he went back to his gym, back to his life. And NightWing left, one of his suspicions confirmed. This hadn't been for the Justice League, they already had one, but this was for Batman himself. But why? Why was he interested in this kid? The kid with the blue eyes?

^#^#^#^#^#^#^

Allen awoke to a gentle nurse's hand on his shoulder, his head resting on the back of his chair and his arms across his chest. He stretched his legs out before standing up, it was already dark out, but that didn't' concern him. He could call Alfred for a lift (after all Dad didn't like him to be out late). He walked out the door and hurried down the hall, luckily the nurses and doctors were used to him, he was here often. He didn't like leaving Laura here, but he had to.

He quickly called Alfred who promised to be there soon. Allen felt bad about Alfred having to come get him, but he knew Alfred would be unhappy if he tried leaving on his own. But Allen had his mask, he could easily disappear.

Allen stood outside the doors of the hospital, he already knew his dad was out on the prowl (hence the fact he was the only one out). But Allen was unafraid, this as his city after all. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see movement. But he kept a steady persona, no point in worrying if he kept his eye on him. But when the figure stepped out, Allen felt his patience dwindle.

"Hello Allen, mind if we have a talk?" none other then Harry Smith, reporter for Gotham Letter, the most popular newspaper. And this man was the very reason it was so popular. He knew no ends to get a scoop. He would do anything, he haunted most of Allen's' childhood with his questions and picture taking and always had a way of finding him.

"Not now Harry, why don't you go harass a widow, " and was his least favorite person in the world

"aw, Al you know I don't do that." he grinned, teeth yellow from years of smoking. His fat fingers gripping his notepad greedily, "Just a comment on your Dad's activities."

"OH yes, because my philanthropist Dad is so evil." he glared. Headlights shone down the street, as Alfred pulled up , "Later Harry-"

"So you have nothing to say about your old man being at a crime scene?"

Allen paused , then turned. Harry's face was grinning happily, like a demented fishermen., "What do you mean?"

"Your old man was spotted at a crime scene about 3 years ago, arrest of a kidnapper."

That had to be a mistake, "why do you think it was him? He's handsome, but not a lot of people know him."

"I have my resources. It was definitely him,"

"why the hell does it matter? It was 3 years ago-"

"It matters because no one has heard of this, he worked his rich ass off the prevent it from becoming public."

"then how did you find it?"

Harry's greasy face smiled, "I have my …connections. And a lucky picture."

Allen looked back at the car for a sec, on any normal day he'd leave and not look back. But this was too curious. He turned back to Harry, 'who was the kidnapper."

The man smiled even wilder, which doubled his chins, "Funny you should ask, it was your father's sister in law' Jonas Helvich."

Allen's eyes widen, Aunt Jonas? They hadn't heard from hear since his mother died, and she kidnapped someone?! Why didn't dad tell him?! Allen gave Harry one last glare before hurrying over to the car (Harry yelling after him). He locked himself in and leaned back, mind heavy. The car pulled away from the curb and away from the hospital.

His father had made him a promise, after he had discovered his real identity. That he would no longer keep secrets from him whenever necessary.

^#^#^#^#^#^#^

Allen stretched his arms over his head. Already the sleep was deep in his bones. Normally he wasn't up this early, but he had gotten inspiration for a drawing. And when he had gone to get his drawing pad from his pillow, it was gone,.

Of course that panic almost completely woke him up and send him out in the halls. His mind went over every place he had been today. He had left it here when he went out with Alfred. Dang it why wasn't he a detective?

He raised his head from under the table he had been searching and mentally slapped himself, "Oh , right." he glanced at his watch to ensure the time was right and hurried down the hall and into the Batcave

Bruce was in his zone, behind the desk of his supercomputer, mind at work and everything else irrelevant. Even now, with the night over, He could already feel the villains fear, for it was when he was in this state that he took down the most dangerous criminals. It was in this state he had stared down the kings of entire galaxies. It was in this state he had earned the name Batman.

Of course, it wasn't without price. He had missed a lot of Allen's' important moments because of the mask. Every time he missed it, he could see the guilt on his fathers' face. But he always smiled and said it wasn't that big of a deal.

Allen slowed his step, thinking carefully. It had become a short of game in the Wayne Family to see if you could sneak up on one another, Of course, he and NightWing could sneak up on each other easily. Alfred was a bit more difficult, but if it was achieved, the losers had to buy the winner anything under 45 dollars. Of course, the ultimate prize was sneaking up on Bruce. It was a challenge that had been going on for 5 years. And the stakes were, well meager. The prize was the fact the person snuck up on the Batman. Allen grinned, slowly he raised himself up on his hands, moving forward. He ignored the cold of the cave floor (and the occasional sticky spots) as he made his way over to his fathers desk. With each step, his heart rate rose, with each step, he could imagine laughing in his brothers face-

"Hello Allen."

Allen jumped out of his concentration, balance lost and swaying from side to side frantically and fell face first into the stone floor. A dull pain swelling up form his face, but not as much as from his pride, "ow…" he felt a hand grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him to his feet, he didn't' have to look to see it was his father. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his sleeve, "Dang, what did I do wrong this time?" Patting his sticky hands against each other

"If I told you then you wouldn't' improve, " his father wiped some of the dust off his shoulders before walking back over to the computer, "but next time you sneak up on someone, try not to 'giggle' so much." he glanced back, "Also, I'd clean your hands right now, I'm not sure how much of that stuff isn't skin activated acid."

Allen's' eyes widen as he ran over to the med corner (which was literally a corner) and yanked out a disinfectant towel and rubbed his hands quickly, careful to get every crease before dropping it down. When he looked up, he could see the smile on his fathers face and returned it with a bottom lip glare. But he also couldn't stop his own smile. After all, funny was funny.

He went forward and sat down in one of the rolley chairs by his desk, slowly turning his head to try and peer at the screen "What are you working on?"

With a click the screen was minimized and Bruce was glaring at him. A clear sign. Allen slowly leaned back into his seat, and Bruce's face cleared up, "Couldn't sleep son?"

"I had a idea for a drawing, and I was wondering where it was."

"You mean this?" Bruce pulled out a long dirty drawing pad, with numerous sketches over the cover and even more duct tape

"Yes!"

he leaned forward to take it, But his father pulled it back. A sudden curious look on his face as he turned it over in his hands, " You know its been a while since you've shown me your drawings, what have you been working on?"

Allen watched in horror as his father began to flip through pages of his sketchbook, "Um, nothing really, just a few ideas, a few assignments from my art class-"

Bruce's' eyes went over each drawing, amused. Then his eyes fell on a page and widen, "Allen-"

"It was a school assignment! I didn't even know what we were drawing till the lady and guy came in and took of their robes="

"Not THAT." Bruce folded up the pages and turned the book around, on the page was a simple sketch of a woman with shoulder length red hair scratched out carefully to show every beautiful details. The limited colors even mixed in some areas to show the waves in the color of her dress, even the chair she was sitting on was beautiful ,a flower in her hand and her face smiling brightly. Allen looked up at his father, " It was just something that came to me, why?"

Bruce pulled in the drawing, looking at it again, as though making sure, "This is your mother, Allen."

"It is?!" because his mother had died when eh was so young, he couldn't' really remember what she looked like. And his father had taken down all the pics of her afterwards. And he was sure it wasn't her, 'Are you sure-"

"I was married to her for 7 years. I think I'd know my own wife"

"OH." 7 years. Sometimes it was hard for him to believe his father had been married at one point. (then again, Allen got here Somehow). But he did remember one things…the darkness…how it had engulfed him….for months he didn't see his father. When his was a grade school, he remembered reading about Batman's "Rampage." Where, during the exact same time of his fathers "Ghost Days" Batman had gone on a spree, day and night across the globe he attacked all evil. Tearing down crime lords, initiating wars, taking down entire platefuls of crime syndicate. It wasn't till later that everything made sense to him. His mask became his face

That during those months, the pain of loosing Sarah and his unborn child had almost destroyed every trace of Bruce. During those months Bruce Wayne didn't exist. All there was, was the Batman and his desire for revenge. To take down all injustices. Allen felt a hand reach out and grip his wrist tightly. Looking up, he saw his father staring at him intently, eyes regretful, "I'm sorry, Allen…I'm sorry I never showed you any pictures of your mother. It was selfish of me."

"Its ok dad-"

"No its not, I feel like all I ever do is ask you for your forgiveness. All I ever do it let you down."

Allen was about to forgive him again but kept his mouth shut. Bruce suddenly stood up and walked over to the cave wall, several indents in the wall had been made into shelve that held small trophies from his battles. But it only held the most important accomplishes of his life, small gestures.

Bruce scowered the shelves, till he reached the middle one, set in the heart of all the rest and pulled something down and walked back towards Allen. Taking his seat again he held it out to Allen, on the lid was the initials S.M.H.F. and opened the lid slowly, laying inside were pics of the red haired woman. In various scenarios and different ages. But it was her, his mother. The woman who he couldn't' even remember. He looked up at his father, "dad-"

"this is the least I can do." the guilt was clear in his eyes. So Allen simply reached out and took it. He caught glimpse of a certain picture and pulled it out, handing it over to Dad, "I think, you'd want this one."

Bruce took it with a small smile., he reached out and places his hand on his sons wrist. It lasted for a little bit till he left go and handed him back his drawing book," I still think you should go into the Art program. You have the talent for It."

"Thanks Dad." the truth was, Business was miserable work, and it didn't' make him happy….and his dad never lied to him about art, he stood up, "I'm going back to bed, maybe get that picture out of the way." he stood up and walked back up the stairs, "night Dad." his mind went back to Harry. How that creep was going to publish that article. Now, Dad had stuff published about him all the time, but it was never like this. And his father had enough things to worry about.

Allen walked up to his room, tossing his drawing pad onto his bed, he walked over to the wall, pressing his hand into the wood paneling. A slab of the wall popped out and he reached in, pulling out a duffle bag, he zipped it open to make sure everything was inside. He poked his head out in the hall, he could see NightWings light on and hurried over, knocking on it quickly, "Dick, you there bro?"

"No, "came the irritate response, "it's the ghost of the last person that knocked on my door."

"Come on, Dick just a moment! Please!"

"Go away Ally, I just got back from patrol."

Allen twisted his mouth, looked down both sides of the hallway then started banging on the door with both fists, the sound echoing off every surface like machine gun fire,, and a million ties more annoying.

The door flew open, and a hand shot out of the dark, grabbed him by his earlobe and yanked on it with the strength of a runaway car. Allen went flying in, bouncing off the opposite wall head first and sliding down on the ground. Rubbing his head, he looked up and saw Dick standing in his sweatpants, eyes bloodshot and irritated, his teeth tight together, "What-do-you=want-Allen."

Already he could see this was a bad time, but he just put on a smile anyway, "Um, can I borrow your motorcycle?"

"Why the HELL would you want that?! You have your stupid car-" his eyes fell on Allen's' duffel. Bag Before he could react, Dick had grabbed it and yanked it open, "What are you doing with your Impel suit?"

"I just…couldn't sleep. I thought busting a few villains head's in would help burn some energy."

Dick looked at the bag then crossed his arms, glaring at him. Allen crossed his arms (and legs) to return the glare. But it only lasted a few seconds, "Look, remember Harry Smith?"

"Yeah, the guy crashed my prom, my graduation, and my appendicitis surgery just to get a scoop. What about him?"

"HE has a piece on dad, and my Aunt."

Dick raised his eyebrows, sitting down on the ground too, "I didn't know you had a aunt."

"on my mother's side. My aunt disappeared after my mom died. Apparently she was charged with kidnapping. And my dad was there.'

"he was? He didn't say anything to me.'

"Or me. I'm tired of this bag always trying to get dirt on my dad. I just want to help him out for once.'

Dick looked at the bag again, before tossing it in his lap, "You can't borrow the motorcycle."

"Bro-"

But he was already across the room, taking out his black and blue costume, "Just get dressed and let's go, I have a Night-Car that'll fit us both." he glanced back at him, "After all Bruce is my God-Father."

^#^#^#^#^#^#^

Allen slid through the halls of the Gotham Letter headquarters, the walls were lined with headlines (most of them dealt with celebrities rather then with heroes). He didn't have to look up to know the camera's were already disabled. Just like he didn't have to hear anything behind him to know that NightWing was on his heels. He tugged on his leather hood and touched his face for a sec to ensure his face was hidden. But his masks' leather strip around his eyes were safe.

His eyes fell on the doorway and the numbers above them. When they were in the security room, they had discovered Harry Smith's office was 23-4f. Allen mouthed the letters to himself as he read each one till he spotted the door (which was decorated with scuff marks from where people kicked it) He slid around to watch the hallway as NightWing picked the lock (.3 seconds) and they were in.

It was as Allen suspected it would be ,right in plain sight (hidden in a hollow space in his desk). He took out a small wire and moved around in a sec and popped it open, he caught NightWing looking at him with a amused face

, "What?"

"You've been practicing, I'm simply impressed."

"Yeah, well, be impressed on the computer and get the files off." he pried the box open. Notepads and scraps of paper filled to the rim. He went through the papers, each one was completely filled with tiny writing and diagrams. Most of them depicted small stick people and diagrams. But he tossed those aside till he found Harry's notepad and picked it up, flipping through till he found a page marked "Wayne" and pulled it out. It was also covered with scratched out words, it looked as though Harry had been trying to get a story on Bruce for a while now. He pulled out all the notes with his dad's name on it and climbed back up to the desk, where NightWing was typing away on the computer, "what do you got NightWing?"

"Just A LOT of dating websites, apparently he's trying to get away with being a 25 year old body builder."

"anything on the situation?"

"Give me a minute. What did you get?"

Allen felt uncomfortable," I don't really think we should."

"Look, this way we can help HIM . We can find out who wrote it, and get the real facts. I don't want to as much as you do but we have to."

Allen growled then sat back down, he didn't want to read it, but he felt like he had to, "It just says that Jonas was apparently living in Jump City with the victim for almost a year, that she was caught when the girl made a phone call to police after discovering the truth."

"Does it say anything about your uncle?"

"nothing, he probably died." it was weird how he didn't have feelings towards it, he didn't really remember him. But he did know his dad didn't like him. He turned the paper over and saw a name scribbled in a corner, "Um, I think this is the girls name?"

"And?"

"Samantha Helvicha Gibson." he paused, "that was my Uncles middle and last name, except it was just Helvich."

"No previous name?"

"Undiscovered at this point. It looks like its just Sam."

NightWing suddenly leaned over, "Did you say Sam?"

"yeah why?"

But he didn't say anything, he just shook his head and went back to the computer, typing frantically. Every once in a while he'd shake his head in disbelief. Finally he stopped and slid back in his seat, the whites of his mask were wide, "no way…."

"What is it?" Allen sat up on his knees and looked over at the computer screen, where a picture sat on the screen.

The black and white picture seemed to come from a street corner, which had been digitally fixed and zoomed in to someone in a phone booth. The girl looked to be around 15=16, and she had glasses and light eyes. Allen didn't understand though, "NightWing-"

'That's the girl that Batman sent me to interview today."

"it is?'

"She's younger in this picture, but its definitely her.'"

Allen looked at him, "why did Batman want you to interview her?"

"he said it was for J'onn on a analysis on her mind. Even though she claimed to have already of been interviewed

….but now that I know THIS…"

There was silence. What did this all mean? Allen sat back down for a sec, then spoke up, "Maybe…maybe Bruce felt bad about what happened to her felt responsible, and wanted to make sure she was ok. That's' the way he works."

"Yeah." but NightWing didn't' sound very sure.

The two brothers packed up and hurried out. All proof of the kidnapping in their packs, but even though Allen didn't' worry so much about the whole thing. He could tell that NightWing wasn't satisfied. But that didn't' matter. And it didn't even matter his dad didn't tell him himself.

After all, he had to trust his father.