AN: Here's the new chapter and I'm sorry it's so late... As promised a bit of Supey bonding, beta-ed by SakuraTenchi36092. Enjoy and leave me a review if you can. :)
Blue Bird
Chapter 7
Nightwing was awake before anyone else the next morning and immediately registered that his memories had shifted around, which was not only annoying, but also gave him a headache the size of Ohio. Humming slightly, to ease his boredom more than anything, Nightwing pulled on his gloves and boots and left to find the kitchen and a jug of coffee. Not saying a word to Batman, who was standing by the counter, evidently waiting for him, as he did.
"Well?"
Nightwing jumped at the word, "Well, what?"
"Remember anything?" Batman asked.
"He's being dropped off, I don't know when or who by, but it'll be at the old Cadmus place, Deathstroke the Terminator's on guard duty."
"Slade Wilson."
"That's the one," Nightwing swigged his coffee, "He's more dangerous than he looks and has a daughter who's just about as cute as that T-Rex you've got in the Bat Cave."
"She's nearly eight," Batman commented.
"And trained by the most dangerous man on the planet," Nightwing pointed out, "If she came across the Joker she'd do considerably more than beat him in a laughing contest."
"Hardly your best idea," Batman said.
"I was nine, I won, you knocked him out and I lost my voice, between you and me I think Superman was actually glad," Nightwing smirked, "Speaking of which, how did it go?"
"He offered to be on standby for the team until Robin is found, and he said he'll train Superboy once every three weeks," Batman said, "I hoped for better."
"If things go on the way I remember Rose Wilson pops up in couple of years and persuades him," Nightwing said, "I wouldn't worry too much."
Batman nodded and turned to leave, abandoning Nightwing to find breakfast on his own. Which he did by way of stale toast and yet more coffee, something most other people might have found unappealing, but as a mid-level cop in his civilian identity Nightwing was used to it, there were some days when his caffeine count was higher than Batman's, and that was saying a lot given the amount of coffee the man inhaled.
He was on his sixth cup by the time the others entered, all seemingly more awake than the vigilante, although to be fair he had pulled two all-nighters and, although one of them had mostly been with Batman, whom had conveniently disappeared during his fight with Deathstroke and reappeared to inform him of an immediate trip to Europe, meaning he missed the fight with Warp entirely, that didn't make it any easier.
"Morning," he managed to stifle a yawn.
"Hey," was the only reply he gleaned, and surprisingly it was Superboy who spoke, "Is there a reason why the zeta room looks like it's been trashed?"
"Probably Batman breaking out the kryptonite," Nightwing failed to stifle this yawn as he replied, "He dropped the conventional approach and 'talked' to Superman the old fashioned way."
Five collective sets of eyebrows shot up; "Superman?" the clone asked,
Nightwing nodded and hopped off the stool he was sat on, "See you."
Behind his back the teenagers exchanged glances and Superboy set off after him, only catching up with the vigilante in the gym, where Nightwing was already going through a routine that only made sense to him.
"Superman was here?" Superboy called up, as Nightwing flipped twice, spun and landed,
"Yes, he was, Bats sent me to talk with him," Nightwing leapt into the air again.
"What about?" Superboy watched as Nightwing did another set of aerial twirls.
"You." Nightwing replied, bouncing off a wall, "I'm not too sure on the outcome but if it doesn't work out I've got back up coming in a couple of years to beat sense into him properly."
Silence fell as Nightwing continued to bounce off the walls, floor and ceiling while Superboy watched; "How did you get your name?"
Nightwing looked mildly surprised but kept his balance as he did yet another flip; "I needed something dark and broody, because I work in a city which is like Gotham only worse, and I work with Batman on occasion, so I couldn't mess up his dark and broodiness. But I wanted something personal, like my first persona, that was really personal, but I wanted to name myself something from a bit later in my life, so I thought about my early career. Thus, Nightwing was born!"
Nightwing cast a sideways glance at Superboy as he landed neatly on the floor; "What about you?"
Superboy shrugged, "Cadmus gave me my name, kind of ripped off Superman's though."
"And your civilian ID?" Nightwing asked, "And don't tell me you don't have one, Connor Kent."
"M'Gann and J'onn gave it to me," Superboy said, "J'onn was suggesting John as my first name, but it seemed too, normal."
"My dad was called John," Nightwing said, "He really wasn't normal, but it was in a good sort of way, but everyone expected him to be normal because of his name, that way he always surprised them."
Superboy raised an eyebrow, "I never really thought of it like that, but yeah, I didn't want to be normal, and with two other 'John's in the room I wanted something different. So when M'Gann suggested 'Connor' I took it, but it grew on me and now I feel more like Connor than I do Superboy. If that even makes sense."
"Trust me; it's better than feeling more like Nightwing than Richard." Nightwing said, "It's better to feel more human than hero. Anyway, what about 'Kent'? Who thought of that?"
"J'onn," Superboy replied, "In honour of Kent Nelson, apparently."
At this Nightwing laughed, and it was such a joyful sound that Superboy took a step back in shock, "What?"
Nightwing cough a few times then his laughter subsided, "I never actually found out how you got your name, and now I know, Ravager would probably get a kick out of that one."
"Ravager?" Superboy asked, confused.
"Teammate of mine," Nightwing clarified, "She has a kind of warped sense of humour."
He leapt into the air again and did several flips, Superboy still watching, perplexed.
"What's it like to fly?" the clone asked.
Nightwing fell to the floor and landed on his feet; "I wish I knew."
"But you-" Superboy gesture at the ceiling, "What was that, then?"
"Tricks," Nightwing said, "I might have known how to fly once, but if I ever did, I forgot when I turned nine."