Chapter 4
3:23 PM September 20th 2003, Gotham Academy Nurse's Office
I lift the ice pack off Dick's face, examining the bruise forming around his eye. Examining the rest of his face, I see he has a cut lip but other than that and the developing black eye, Dick doesn't show any other injuries. Although I have a strong suspicion that Dick is hiding some bruises under his school uniform.
Carefully placing the ice pack back onto Dick's injury, I ask him "Dick, what happened?"
Dick only sniffles and stares at the ground, not wanting to respond. I sigh and continue, "Has this been going on since school started?"
The fragile looking boy shakes his head, "No. Well…not this bad."
"What do you mean 'not this bad?'"
"Before they only teased me. Today was the first time they…they…" Dick begins tearing up. I pick him up off the nurse's waiting table and hold him in my arms.
Poor boy; today marks the third week of school and he is already getting bullied this badly. I had expected Dick to have some trouble, being from the circus and three years younger than the children in his class. But I thought the teacher or school supervisors would intervene and could have been able to stop something like this from happening.
When the school had tested Dick's intelligence and comprehension, Gotham Academy decided to put him in fourth grade instead of first like most kids his age. Which is great, but still worried me. So every day when I got home, I would ask Dick a series of questions about how school was going and how the other kids were treating him. On the first day Dick had said the other children simply not paid him any attention. The second day a couple boys had given him a bit of trouble, so I had told Dick to just ignore the mean kids. After that Dick's only response to my questions was that he was doing just that. I had thought everything was going fine until I got a call from the school at work today.
Apparently a group of four boys ganged up on Dick and started teasing him during afternoon recess. When Dick yelled at them to stop, the boys started to get physical. The playground supervisors said they had noticed the group of boys picking on Dick before and told them to stop, once even notified one of the boy's parents. Today when they broke up the fight, they claim Richard was fighting back in defense, so the principle isn't punishing Dick. He is waiting for all four boy's parents to come to decide their punishment.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.
"I…I don't know" Dick sniffles. "I was embarrassed."
I brush away a few of his tears, "You don't need to be embarrassed Dick, about any of this. You know you can tell me anything. Right?"
Dick nods his head, "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry" I assure him. "Just from now on, come to me whenever you have a problem. No matter what it is, I will help you. Okay?"
"Okay" he mumbles.
I put a finger under Dicks chin, pushing his face up to look at me, "Promise?"
"Promise" he agrees.
I hold Dick to my chest, letting him settle down more. My phone buzzes in my pocket; I take it out and see it is a text from Selina. I had called her on the way to Dick's school and left a voice mail explaining what had happened.
I frown at the message. Picking Dick up, I head to the door.
"Where are we going?" Dick asks confused.
"The principal's office to stop Selina from killing your classmates."
Clark's POV
6:45 PM October 2nd, 2003 Mount Justice
"So when is Bats bringing the kid over?" Oliver inquires, looking over from his chair.
Oliver, Dinah, Diana, Barry, J'onn, Arthur, Hal and I are all sitting around the Watchtower's recreation room. Normally when we are all at the Watchtower, it is because we are having a meeting and everyone has to show up. But this time we are all here by choice.
Bruce had notified us a week ago that he was planning on bringing his newly adopted son to the Watchtower today for a tour since Alfred was going to be gone. None of us had met the boy yet, we are all curious about him. Hence why we are all here, to meet Richard.
"He said sometime around seven" Dinah answers with a hint of excitement.
Bruce has been pretty secretive about the child. Working for the press, I knew he had taken in a circus orphan many months ago. I had called Bruce to ask him about the rumors, to which he told me 'They are true and none of your concern' before hanging up. I decided not to bother him about it again, until it hit the Gotham papers that Bruce Wayne had adopted his foster child. That was in July. Since then, I along with the Justice League have been asking Bruce about meeting his new son. To which Bruce would growl at us to leave him alone.
After months of Bruce brushing off all of our questions, I decided to confront him in person without the League. Two weeks ago I flew to Gotham and knocked on Wayne Manor's door, determined not to leave until Bruce talks to me. Alfred answered the door and escorted me into the living room where Bruce and the child were watching a movie.
When Alfred announced my arrival, Bruce sent me one of his famous 'bat-glares' before telling Alfred to take Richard upstairs for a bath. The boy protested a bit, but eventually agreed and left with the butler. Even though the only light in the room was from the TV screen, I still got a good look at the child. Up until then I had little idea what the boy looked like; the press had only gotten a few pictures of the boy, but none of good quality. I'll admit he's pretty adorable. The boy almost looked like a mini Bruce in the batsuit looking pajamas he was wearing.
Obviously Bruce wasn't pleased with me 'barging into the manor' but did agree to talk to me. I didn't pester Bruce about his motives of adopting Richard, knowing about the boy's past from the papers. So I asked about how he plans to raise and care for the child, him not being the most affectionate person. Through much discussion, Bruce assured me that he would was prepared to take care of Richard. He would eventually introduce him to the League, but wanted Richard to get used to normal life before introducing the superhero side. But apparently Richard discovered the batcave his first month at the manor, so the child has been aware of his guardian's nightlife.
I didn't get much more information because after about twenty minutes the boy walked in asking if Bruce was going to tell him a bedtime story. Bruce quickly dismissed me and carried the boy upstairs, leaving me to show myself out.
"Wonder what the kid's like" Oliver says curiously. "Do you think he's anything like Bats?"
"Don't know, hope not. That'd be creepy" Barry comments. "Clark you said you met the boy, what do you think of him?"
"Well I just saw him. I didn't get the chance to talk to the boy" I explain. "He seemed like a good kid from what I observed. Looks a lot like Bruce."
"Oh Geez, we're going to have a mini Bat brooding around the place" Hal jokes.
"I'm sure he will be just fine" Dinah says.
"From what I've heard he is very smart" Diana says. "I read somewhere that he skipped three grades in school."
"I should introduce him to my nephew" Barry comments. "He just skipped a couple grades too. How old is Bats' kid? Richard right?"
"Yes" I answer. "He's six, turns seven in December."
"How do you know?" Oliver asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Perry keeps trying to get me to do an article on Richard" I grumble. "He knows that I am friends with Bruce, so he keeps pestering me to do an interview. Perry thinks Bruce is going to start a trend of playboys taking in children."
"Ha!" Barry laughs. "That means you're next Ollie!"
"Not in a million years" Oliver objects. "Could you picture me with a kid?"
"I can't picture Bruce with a kid" Diana reasons.
"Yeah Ollie. You never know" Dinah adds. "Maybe we'll have a mini green arrow running around soon."
"I highly doubt that" Oliver scoffs.
Our conversation is interrupted by the computer announcing "Recognizing Batman 02 and guest." We all slowly get up from our seats and make our way into the zeta tube chamber. As we travel down the hall, I hear a young voice talking a million words per second.
"This is so cool! Do you always travel through the zeta tubes? What other stuff is here? Do you have cool computers here like the batcave? Can I see them? Where are they? We're inside a mountain right? How did you get all this stuff in here?"
Because of my superhearing, I am the first to hear the babbling child. I look around and smirk as the other members of the group begin to hear the excited chatter. Everyone looks at each other surprised, not expecting such a bubbly kid. Diana is the first to reach the chamber and opens the door. The second she enters the chamber, the chatter is stopped by a gasp.
One by one, the League enters the quiet room. As I enter, I see the child from weeks ago staring at us with huge blue eyes and his mouth slightly agape. He is wearing a batman tee-shirt with a pair of dark blue jeans. Bruce is in his bat-suit. While the boy seems overjoyed at the sight of us. Bruce on the other hand is glaring at us through his mask. As if saying 'Really, you all had to come.'
When the last leaguer, J'onn, enters. Bruce says, "I see you all heard I was bringing a guest. This is Richard. Richard this…"
"OH MY GOSH!" the boy excitedly yells. He runs over to the group and exclaims "You're the Justice League! I've heard all about you!"
A few chuckles escape most of the League members, including me. Diana kneels down eye-level with the boy. "We have heard about you too Richard."
"You're Wonder Woman!" the child says awestruck.
"Yes I am" she laughs. "You can call me Diana though."
"Diana" Richard mumbles as if he's in a dream.
The League introduces themselves, each member getting an enthusiastic response. After Barry, Hal and Oliver finish introducing themselves to the boy, they make their way over to Bruce. I don't pay attention to what they're saying. But they must be teasing, because Bruce keeps glaring and rubbing his temple.
I am the last to greet Richard. Like Diana, I kneel down and shake the child's hand. "Hello" I say.
The boy is seemingly speechless for a few seconds before whispering, "Hello Superman."
I smile, "It's nice to meet you Richard; you can call me Clark."
"Okay, you can call me Dick" he says excitedly. Suddenly the boy's awe-struck expression turns to one of recognition. "Wait. Didn't you stop by the manor a couple weeks ago?"
"Yes, I did."
"Yeah! You interrupted Harry Potter!" he recalls.
I chuckle, "Well I'm sorry about that."
"It's okay" Dick says quickly. "You can come over and interrupt movies anytime."
The entire League, except Bruce, laughs.
"Hey Bats, looks like you have some competition" Hal jokes.
"Can it Jordan" Bruce snarls.
A red light flashes in the room followed by loud beeps. Bruce and Barry run to a computer to see what set off the alarm.
Bruce growls "I can't leave Gotham for two seconds."
"What is it?" Diana asks.
"Joker."
"You better go, do you want back up?" Barry asks.
"I don't need your help!" Bruce snaps. He has always been protective of Gotham, not wanting any of us hanging around there too much.
"Ok, sorry" Barry apologizes, putting his hands up in surrender.
"Do we have to leave already?" Dick whines.
"No need for that, we can watch Dick while you handle the Joker. We can give him a tour" I say picking up the boy.
Bruce hesitates. He goes back and forth between looking at Richard's sad face and slightly glaring at me. Another alarm goes off, indicating the Joker is causing more problems. Finally Bruce scoffs, "Fine!" He walks over to Dick and I. He looks at Dick and says "Listen to Clark, Diana, J'onn, Arthur and Dinah, got it. Ignore the other three."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Oliver exclaims sounding insulted.
Dick ignores the archer and answers his guardian, "Okay."
Satisfied, Bruce gives Dick a quick smile before heading to the Zeta tubes.
"Recognized, Batman 02" the computer says at the Bat's leave.
A couple quiet seconds pass before Arthur asks, "Did Bruce just smile?"
-Two hours later-
After Bruce had left, Arthur, Hal, Dinah, Diana and J'onn decided to go do some work. Leaving Oliver, Barry and I to give Dick a tour. It probably wouldn't have taken this long normally, but Dick asked about a hundred questions in each room. We are currently in the Hydroponics.
"So Dick, how do you like living with Bruce?" I ask him.
"I like it" he answers while observing an orange plant. "Bruce and Alfred are really nice and Selina comes over a lot."
Oliver whispers to Barry, "Bruce is nice?"
I ignore the comment and ask Richard, "So you've met Selina?"
The child nods his head, "Yeah she comes over a few times a week for dinner, games or a movie. Sometimes she even sleeps over, but she and Bruce just hang out in the Batcave."
"Oh really" Barry, Oliver and I give each other knowing looks. I redirect the conversation "So how do you like school?"
Dick's energy dwindles a bit. "Fine" he says. "It was hard at first because everyone is so much older, but it has gotten better."
"You should talk to my nephew Wally" Barry says, sensing the boy's discomfort. "He skipped a couple grades in school too. I think you two would get along."
"Really? How old is he?" Dick asks.
"He will turn ten in November."
Suddenly the computer says, "Recognizing, Batman 02"
"Bruce!" Dick exclaims, returning to his excited state. The boy dashes out of the room, heading towards the zeta tubes. Oliver, Barry and I follow behind the boy until we reach the chamber. The second I walk in, I know something is wrong. Bruce is hunched over, leaning on a computer panel and clutching his side. Richard runs over
"Bruce, you're back!"
"Dick" Bruce gasps. He looks up to Oliver, Barry and I, "Get him out of here."
"What?" Dick asks confused.
"Get him out of here!" Bruce says, collapsing on the ground, some blood falling from his armor.
"Daddy!" the boy screams. Barry runs over and has Dick out of the room in a second.
"Oliver, call the med bay, I'll get Bruce over there" I order. Oliver nods before rushing over to the computer.
I run over to Bruce and begin helping him up. "Where…where's Dick?" he asks, getting weaker by the second.
"He's fine" I assure. "Barry's got him."
Bruce nods before letting me take him to the med bay.
Bruce's POV
-Some time later-
I slowly open my eyes, still in a haze. The League must have put me on some pain meds, because I can barely feel the stab wound. What I do feel a familiar warm mass curled up on my side. I smile, knowing it must be Dick.
Looking over at the sleeping child, I brush some hair out of his face. The boy shift in his sleep, and groggily opens his eyes. Dick looks over at me and widens his eyes when he sees I'm awake.
"Bruce?" he says weakly.
"Yes chum, it's me."
"Are you okay?" he asks worried.
"I'll be fine. Sorry I scared you."
Dick doesn't respond; instead he cuddles closer to me. I rub his back and say, "How about we get some more sleep?"
"Okay" he agrees yawning.
"Love you Dick" I say.
"I love you too Dad" Dick says, already drifting off to sleep.
I smile, feeling better than I have in years.
6: 16 PM February 14th 2004, Mount Justice
"When are they going to get here?" Dick whines.
"I don't know Dick" I answer rubbing my temples. All day the boy has been incessantly asking about tonight.
Back in December, Barry had notified the League that his nephew Wally had replicated the experiment that had given Barry his powers. Apparently Barry had told Wally about being Flash a few months prior. Then the idiot left his notes lying around, and Wally used them to replicate the explosion in his parent's garage. Since then, Wally has shown to have gained his uncle's abilities. Now the boy has been spending a lot of time with Barry, learning to control his new powers.
But that isn't the only big news in the League. Last month a twelve year old boy confronted Oliver when he was on patrol as Green Arrow. The boy begged Green Arrow to mentor him, to which Oliver at first scoffed at. Then when a few criminals showed up, the twelve year old apparently proved himself when he pinned three of them to a wall with one arrow. So Oliver took the kid back to his hideout to check the boy's skills. Apparently the child was pretty good, because Green Arrow eventually agreed to train him. Every day after school the boy would go to the hideout and they would train. After about two weeks, Oliver began asking the child about his home life and why his parents never asked where he was. The boy just blew off the questions, making Oliver even more curious. That night Green Arrow followed his apprentice home, to discover the boy lived at an orphanage. The next day, Oliver Queen showed up at the same orphanage and took Roy Harper in as a ward. I did some digging, and apparently the said playboy had set an adoption hearing for April.
Since then, Barry has been pestering Oliver and me about introducing the kids. I'm still trying to convince Richard not to go into crime-fighting. I thought the stab wound scare might have swayed him, but now Richard wants to be a hero more than ever so 'that won't happen to anyone else.' So the idea of him meeting two kids who were obviously going to join their mentors as hero's one day, doesn't appeal to me. But Dick had heard about Wally and Roy from Clark, who has been stopping by the manor way to often after I asked him and Diana to be Dick's godparents.
After hearing about the two other children, Dick has been begging me to let him meet them. Barry told me Wally has been doing the same. According to Oliver, Roy couldn't care less, but Oliver wants the three to meet. When Valentine's Day came around, Wally's parents and I needed babysitters and decided that was the perfect time to introduce the two. Martian Manhunter volunteered to watch the kids, since he doesn't celebrate the holiday and was watching the monitors anyways. At first Roy was going to stay home alone, claiming to be old enough to take care of himself for a night. Then Oliver grounded him for who knows what, so he will be joining the Wally, Dick, and J'onn tonight.
That is if they ever get here. We were all supposed to meet at six, but so far the others are late. I check my watch and growl at the time, Selina and I have reservations at seven and I still have to put on a suit and pick Selina up from her apartment .
The computer announces, "Recognizing Flash 04 and guest."
"Can we do that again!" a boy's voice echo's from the tube.
I hear Barry laugh, "We can when I pick you up later." He enters with a shorter red headed boy. The child has the biggest grin I have ever seen, which highlights the freckles scattered all over his cheeks. I had met Wally a few weeks after his 'accident.' He seems like a genuinely nice kid, but defiantly has his uncle's jokester personality. Said boy dashes over to Richard, sticks out his hand, and says eagerly "Hi, my names Wallace. But I don't like that name, it's too fancy, so you can call me Wally."
It takes Dick a second to register what just happened, since Wally used his superspeed when approaching. Dick recovers, smiles, and shakes the boys hand "Hi. I'm Richard, but you can call me Dick."
I look over at Barry, "How is it that you have superspeed, yet are always late?" I snap.
Barry gives me a confused look "Weren't we getting together at six thirty?"
"No, six" I growl.
"Oops" Barry says sheepishly.
"Recognizing Green Arrow 08 and guest" the computer speaks.
Oliver and who I assume to be Roy walk in. I haven't met Roy yet, only heard of him. Ever since Oliver took the boy in, I have received dozens of calls a day from him asking questions about childcare. Roy is a bit tall for a twelve year old and is pretty muscular for his age. Like Wally he has red hair, but no freckles. He has a scowl on his face, obviously not too happy with his current situation.
Dick and Wally run up to the older boy and introduce themselves. The two talk pretty quick and there is little break between each sentence they say.
"Hi I'm Dick"
"I'm Wally."
"You must be Roy. Uncle Ollie's son."
"Did you bring your bow? If you did, can I see it?"
"Me too! Did you bring it? If you didn't that's fine."
"Yeah, wanna play a game instead?"
"In the entertainment room they have monopoly."
"I love monopoly!"
"Me too."
I smirk at the small boys, happy Dick found a friend he clicked so well with. I can already tell the two will be close. Barry is beaming at his nephew and Dick, probably coming to the same conclusion I have.
Roy on the other hand doesn't look amused. He rolls his eyes and glares at his guardian, "You're really making me hang out with little kids all night."
"Yup" Oliver chuckles at his wards displeasure.
"C'mon I'm twelve, I can take care of myself for a few hours" Roy argues.
"I know you can" Oliver shrugs. "This is just what you get for sassing off to Dinah."
Roy groans, "So I have to play board games all night with kids."
"Aren't you a bit too young for the brooding teenager attitude?" Oliver says getting annoyed.
"Aren't you a bit too old to for dressing up like Robin Hood on a daily basis?"
Barry, Dick and Wally burst out laughing, even I crack a smile. Oliver doesn't find the comment funny, and snaps at Roy "Do you want to be grounded another week?"
Roy drops his grin and quickly says "No."
"Then watch your mouth."
"Sorry" the boy says, actually looking guilty.
Oliver sighs and says, "I'll be back around ten. Think you can survive until then?"
Roy nods his head, not wanting to upset his mentor more.
"I'll be back around ten also Dick" I add. "How about you Barry?"
"I was actually thinking ten too."
"Perfect." Oliver declares before noticing "Hey, where's J'onn? Isn't he supposed to be watching them?"
Dick answers the archer, "He's in the Monitor room. He said to only go in if we need him."
"So you're in charge Roy" Oliver orders. "Don't cause any problems okay." Oliver begins to head over to the zeta tube.
"Okay" the boy mumbles, still a bit upset about being yelled at earlier.
Oliver hesitates at the zeta tube, then walks back over to Roy and pulls him into a quick hug. "I'll see you later" he says before letting go and leaving.
"Recognized Green Arrow 08."
"I'm heading out too" I state.
Dick runs over and puts his hands in the air, wanting to be picked up. I swiftly scoop the boy up into my arms, and give him a hug. When I make a move to let go, Dick continues to cling onto me. "Don't go" he whispers.
I sigh, "I'll be back in a few hours Dick. Besides don't you want to hang out with Wally and Roy?"
Dick hesitates for a while, then finally releases my neck from his hug and allows me to place him on the ground. I see Roy is giving us a weird look. I explain
"It's been a while since I've left him to be watched by someone other than our butler."
Roy nods his head understandingly. Wally dashes to Dick's side and asks excitedly, "Hey Dick. Do you want to go play in the entertainment room? Uncle Barry said the League just got a pool table."
Dick's eyes light up, "Yeah!"
The two small boys sprint to the doors. When the reach the exit, Wally stops and calls back "Roy, you coming?"
Roy's shoulders slouch, obviously he is still not too fond of the idea of watching the two energetic boys. He gives Barry and me an exasperated look before following Dick and Wally out of the room.
"I don't think this is such a good idea" I tell Barry.
Barry shrugs, "They'll be fine. Besides if they get into any trouble, J'onn's in the monitor room."
That lightens my worry a bit. J'onn is one of the more responsible Justice League members, he should be able to handle the three kids. Somewhat satisfied with that knowledge, I enter the Zeta tubes.
-10:06 that night-
The Watchtower seems too quiet when I return. I half expected to come back and find complete chaos, so the silence is a surprise.
Oliver is sitting in a chair when I exit the tube. He doesn't seem to notice my presence when I walk up behind him, too lost in thought.
"Where are the kids?" I ask.
"Ah!" Oliver yells surprised. He turns around to face me, "Good God Bruce! Warn a guy, would you?"
I roll my eyes. "What has you so distracted?"
He sighs and stares at the wall for a while. Eventually he sighs, "I have no idea what I'm doing."
"Not surprising, do you ever?"
"I'm serious Bruce!" Oliver snaps agitatedly. "What was I thinking, I don't know anything about children. How am I supposed to raise one?"
"You've been doing fine" I state.
"Are you kidding!?" Oliver exclaims. "You should know better than anyone, I've called you so many times. I'm totally in the woods with this. If it weren't for you and Dinah I might have accidently killed the boy or something."
"That wouldn't have happened. Roy's a smart kid, it'll take more than some playboy to bring him down."
Oliver glares at me before returning to his rant. "He hates me Bruce. It's only been a couple weeks and he already can't stand me."
"That's not true."
"Yes it is! He is always smarting off to me and Dinah. He is constantly breaking stuff around the manor. All he seems to want is for me to teach him some archery or asks when dinner is."
I sigh, "Oliver he's almost a teenager. Of course he is going to smart off once in a while, all kids do. If I remember correctly, both of us were the same way."
"I guess" he agrees.
"He is breaking things around the manor because he is probably bored. It isn't on purpose, he is just looking for something to do and accidents happen. The same thing happened when Dick first moved in."
"Really?" Oliver asks, surprised.
"Yes." I continue, "Finally, Roy keeps bugging you to train him for a few reasons. One, that was the reason he came to you in the first place. Two, he's athletic, it keeps him interested. And three, he wants to spend time with you."
"What?" Oliver asks, shocked by the last part.
"How often do you spend time with the boy?"
"I don't know. We train for a couple hours a night and every once in a while we'll have dinner together."
I rub my temples, getting a headache from the archer's stupidity. "Your problem isn't that Roy doesn't like you Oliver. It's that for some reason he does and you are never around."
"Well I'm trying…" Oliver begins to argue.
"Try harder" I snap. "Look, I know it's tough. Being a hero and running a big business takes a lot, but you have to save some time for Roy."
Oliver thinks for a second before asking, "How do you manage it Bruce?"
"With difficulty," I explain. "Don't beat yourself up too much, it took me a long time to figure out how to balance everything."
"Any advice?" Oliver questions hopefully.
"Pull back on playboy events, have good management in Queen Industries, and start making a schedule for your time spent with the League." I also add, "Pick up a parenting book too, while you're at it."
Oliver raises an eyebrow at me, "You actually read those?"
"Yes, and it helped." I glare "If you picked one up every once in a while, maybe I wouldn't be getting a call ever hour."
The archer smirks, "Thanks Bruce."
"Recognizing, Flash 04" the computer announces.
"Hey guys! Where are the kids?"
"In the entertainment room." Oliver says still smirking, "Thought you two would like to see what they're doing, picture perfect moment."
Before Barry or I can inquire as to what he is talking about, Oliver is out of his chair and heading down the hall. We follow him, Barry asking
"Ol, what are you…"
"Shh" the archer hushes him. The three of us reach the entertainment room; I can hear the sound of a movie playing inside. Oliver whispers, "Stay quiet and follow me."
Oliver slowly opens the door, making sure it doesn't make any noise. We all make our way into the dark room. The television is playing some cartoon, and is giving off the only light in the room. It illuminates three smaller figures on the couch.
Getting a closer look, I see that the figures are indeed the kids. Roy is sitting on the couch with his head laid on the back, obviously unconscious. Wally is leaning on the older boy's left shoulder, also asleep. Nestled up in a ball, Dick is curled up next to Roy with his head resting on the twelve year olds leg.
I can't help but smile at the sight. Oliver is also grinning while Barry lets out a small chuckle. The speedster takes his phone out of his pocket and takes a picture, the flash causing Roy to stir.
"I'll send you two copies" Barry whispers, putting his phone away.
"When did you guys get back" Roy yawns from the couch.
"A few minutes ago" Oliver chuckles. "I see babysitting wasn't as bad as you thought."
"Yeah, they're alright" the twelve year old mumbles.
Wally begins to slowly open his eyes. He gives us a tired smile and says "Hey Uncle Barry."
"Hey kiddo, time to go" Barry smiles.
"Okay" Wally yawns, sluggishly getting off the couch.
I walk over and gently pick up Dick from Roy's lap, trying not to wake him. My attempt failed and the small boy begins to stir. He opens his eyes and whispers groggily, "Daddy?"
"Hey chum, how was your night?"
"Good" he smiles. "Wally and Roy are super fun."
"What did you three do?" Barry asks.
Wally, having gained a bit of energy back, goes on a rant. "First we played monopoly, but then got bored so we played hide and seek. It took Roy and I a long time to find Dick though, he is really good at hiding. Then we were going to play a prank on J'onn, but it didn't work."
"What!" Oliver exclaims, giving Roy a look.
Roy rolls his eyes, "We were going to put a whoopee cushion on his chair. It was harmless." Oliver backs down.
"Where did you get a whoopee cushion?" I ask.
"Uncle Barry's room" Wally exclaims. Barry smiles sheepishly at Oliver and me. Wally continues with his story, "J'onn didn't fall for it though. So we came in here and found some paper and pens, so we started coloring our superhero costumes. Then we watched Lilo and Stich!"
"Superhero costumes?" Oliver asks, sitting next to Roy on the couch.
"Yeah, we designed our outfits and came up with names" Wally says excitedly.
"Oh really" I say, not liking the sound of that.
"Uh huh. My name is going to be KidFlash."I hear Oliver whisper under his breath "original." But Wally doesn't seem to notice as he continues, "Roy's is Speedy."
"Speedy?" Oliver gives Roy an amused smirk.
"Wally came up with it" the boy mumbles.
"Mine is Robin" Dick sleepily whispers on my shoulder.
"Robin?" I ask. How did he come up with that?
Dick nods his head, "My mom used to call me that."
I rub the boy's back and whisper, "I like it." Dick smiles at me.
"Well, your parents are waiting for you" Barry picks up the energetic Wally and throws him over his shoulder. "We'll see you all again sometime" Barry says before leaving with Wally.
"Bye Dick! Bye Roy!" the redheaded boy yells from down the hall.
"We're heading out too" I say.
"Bye Roy" Dick yawns.
Roy smiles, "See ya later Dicky."
As I head out the door, I overhear Oliver teasing Roy.
"See ya later?"
"They're fun kids, okay."