Thank you for the kind reviews :) As promised, here's the next chapter.

"Let me get this straight," Zatara began as Batman sighed internally. "You want me to take this date," he waved the piece of paper Batman had given him. "And you want me to somehow 'scan' for extreme energy surges?"

"I want you to take that date and scan the days before and after as well," Batman specified. Zatara crossed his arms, annoyed.

"And just how do you expect me to do that?" He waved his arms around, the paper flaying all over the place. "Do you know how much power it would take for me to pick a specific date in history, let alone a specific date and place and then proceed to use extra power, I might not even have by that point to 'scan' for any form of energy spikes?" Batman glared. "What the Hell am I supposed to classify as an 'energy spike' anyways in 19-"

"I just need you to try!" Batman growled, interrupting the magician. "Nightwing's life depends on you finding where and when he is so that you can bring him back."

"Oh! So now you think I can just rip him from a specific time and plop him in this specific time here?"

"It is magic, isn't it?" Batman retorted dryly. Zatara ground his teeth rigidly.

"Fine," he replied coolly. "But I will require my daughter for extra power." With that Zatara left to find Zatana.

Batman sighed externally this time. Magicians…

"So…" Bruce started as they walked back to the manor.

"Yeah, we don't have to talk about what happened, if that's cool with you," Dick said, predicting where the boy was going to take the conversation. Bruce huffed, but didn't press the issue. He must be used to not being allowed to talk about certain subjects. They walked back to the manor with the young Bruce excitedly recounting the events, except one, of the day and embellishing each with the child-like wonderment through which he saw them.

"Uh, oh…" Bruce stopped in his tracks starring down the road. Dick stopped and studied the kid.

"What…" he turned around to see a speeding Rolls Royce heading straight for them.

"I'm so dead," Bruce said, the color draining from his face.

"MASTER BRUCE!" Dick's heart stopped, knowing that tone all too well to find anything about the situation comical. A tall, lean British man in full suit with a full head of brown hair slammed the driver's side door of the Rolls shut vehemently. Dick glanced at Bruce who looked exactly like a deer caught in the headlights. The livid Alfred marched right up to Dick first, seeing him as the threat. Dick was stunned and backed away, quickly raising his hands to show his innocence. Alfred quickly invaded his personal space and jabbing a finger at him said, "And who the Hell are you, sir? I dare say, if you are some sort of kidnapper, you're doing a mighty horrendous job! Just where on Earth did you think you were taking my charge?"

Dick fumbled for words but managed to stammer out five, "back to the manor, sir!"

Alfred's eyes narrowed menacingly and Dick was taken aback upon discovering the origin of the infamous Bat-glare. "Is that right, sir?" Alfred didn't seem to want to believe the oddly dressed youth.

"Alfred!" Bruce tried to take the heat off of Dick, "He saved my life!"

Alfred clearly wanted to unload some sort of wrath upon Bruce but considered his words first. "Explain."

Bruce stammered, now under the full weight of Alfred's glare. "There were these guys and they were going to mug me, b- but, John came and beat them up! Then he took me to the circus-"

Alfred seemed impressed until the last sentence when he turned back to Dick, "The circus!? Just how is that a suitable place for the young lad!? Freaks and the like looking to loot him of all he's worth!" Dick, while intimidated by the younger butler, felt a sharp stab in the chest.

"Circus people aren't like that!" Dick defended himself, though meekly. He gestured to Bruce. "He's fine, isn't he?"

Alfred studied Dick's face and he knew he was being scanned for any falsehoods. Alfred was an incredible judge of character. "Very well." Alfred backed down, though clearly not off guard. "Come along, now Master Bruce, your mother is worried sick."

Bruce glanced at John and proceeded to enter the Rolls Royce. "Thanks John, I had a lot of fun." Bruce waved goodbye glumly.

Alfred looked Dick up and down once more before giving a curt nod and getting into the car, leaving Dick in the middle of Gotham, once again alone and without money. Damn.

"I have found the boy," Zatara stated dryly. He didn't want to boast for fear of the Dark Knight enjoying being right, but the magician was quite proud of himself. Magic is anything but 'specific' and Zatara knew that there could have been countless errors or even dangerous effects from trying to use magic with such precision. Magic, to Zatara, was like a feral dog. It had to be trained and subdued, but if you set it out, you really were at the mercy of the strength of your own will and whether or not you could contain its might.

Zatana sighed, satisfied. "We should be able to bring Nightwing home then?"

Zatara's lips set into a straight line as he thought. "There is no sure answer. It is possible, but I doubt we will have the magic to entirely rip him from this time and into ours." Zatara waved his arm, gesturing to the holographic map of Gotham where a pulsing red dot could be found directly in the heart of the city.

"Then we'll have to do it in small increments of time," Batman ordered, walking into the room. Zatara crossed his arms; a common habit around the Caped Crusader.

"You are asking an awful lot, Dark Knight," Zatara complained sourly.

Batman snapped his attention from the hologram to the magician. His voice was an even, menacing growl, "I'm asking you to save a member of the Justice League who has rescued yourself and your daughter more times than you've waved that ridiculous wand."

Zatara had half a mind to remove the magically conjured hologram and to let fate take its course. Of course he didn't as, yet again, Batman was right and Zatara would never let his foolish pride put anyone in danger, especially not Dick.

"You're right," Zatara admitted sheepishly. "I just… am concerned about what might happen should we fail."

Batman regarded the man before him before turning back to the projection. "This is Nightwing?" Zatara nodded. He always found it odd how Batman could never refer to his family by their civilian names while in uniform.

"It should be," Zatara said, his demeanor relaxing. "It's the only object in the world around the time you gave me to be emitting residual energy close to that of Darkseid's portal."

Batman nodded, it seemed logical that Nightwing would be chalk full of background radiation from the teleportation. He grimaced internally, the rest of the League didn't seem to have been affected by Darkseid's energy powers, so Dick should be fine.

"Can you pull him forward, say, a few weeks from where he is?" Batman asked, regarding both Zatana and Zatara.

Zatana looked hopeful, yet afraid and Batman was painfully reminded of her romantic relationship with Nightwing just a couple years prior. She can't be feeling too much better about this situation than I am. Dick always had a way of keeping his exes close; something Bruce never seemed to be able to do. Zatara rubbed his chin with his white-gloved hand and seemed deep in thought.

"It is possible," he began. "I can think of a few spells that could potentially do what you're asking." Batman felt a small weight lifted from his shoulders. "However," and then the weight came crashing back down again. "I honestly cannot think of any way that I can move him multiple times in one sitting. The energy it will require to do this, will bleed me dry. That is when Zatana will take over in keeping this tracker in operation." He gestured to the hologram and Batman realized it was a conscious magical effort on Zatara's part to keep it up. "When I am rested, I will be able to try again."

Wonder Woman had been in the doorway for the last part of the conversation and decided to enter the room as she thought of something. "What if this affects Dick's brain damage? We have no idea what sort of injuries he may have sustained when he was flung to this time." Batman frowned.

"Bring J'onn here so that if anything goes wrong, Zatara can stop the process and we can think of a different approach," Batman ordered. He wasn't not going to go through with this plan based on a single concern that may not even be validated, but he wasn't going to take the risk of losing both Nightwing and Martian Man-Hunter.

Wonder Woman nodded and left the meeting room to fetch the Martian. She returned moments later with The Flash who was carrying the in trance J'onn. Zatana jumped to her feet to pull a chair into the center of the room for J'onn. Batman gave her a small smile. It's a shame it didn't work out between them.

Zatara looked around, "Are we ready to begin?"

Dick stretched out on the rooftop under the stars. He rolled his denim jacket under his head as a pillow and thumbed the utility belt under his jeans absently. Now he knew how Bruce must've felt went Darkseid sent him back in time, though Bruce was sent much further back and didn't run into his would-be mentor with a pension for denim. Dick laughed to himself thinking about how Bruce was as a child. So energetic and curious about the world around him. He thought about when they had gone into the McDonald's, an event Dick was happy the boy didn't mention to his butler, and how in awe he was of the grease and processed, chemical filled meat. Bruce had ripped apart his burger, inspecting every component before inhaling it almost in one bite. Always the detective, Dick smiled.

His smile faltered as he looked up at the stars and realized he could see more now than he could in his time. There was less noise pollution as well and the blimps, so readily associated with the city's sky, were nowhere to be seen. He had hoped Bruce would be Batman here but with no Batcave and no Justice League, there was no way to get back. Maybe I'm not supposed to get back. Batman had never been a believer in fate or destiny, but Dick tended to lay on the side of, 'everything happens for a reason'. He had been sent to this specific time in history in this specific city for some purpose. It couldn't just be a coincidence that he had met the seven-year-old Bruce Wayne just months before his parents' murder. He could stop Batman from ever happening and with no Batman, there would be no reason for a Robin. Dick could save Bruce's parents and his own. That had to be the reason why he was sent here. Dick never believed in a sentient deity with a long beard wielding lightning bolts, but the Universe definitely had something in mind when it chose him out of the entire League to be trapped in time.

As Dick drifted off to sleep, he was suddenly startled by a dull roar from behind his right ear and a churning in his stomach. His head began to fog and swirl violently, forcing him to vomit and collapse, clutching at his head. Soon it was his entire body flooded with the sensation of drowning. A blinding light enveloped him and human sounds of screaming, laughter and undefinable chatter filled his ears. Then suddenly, as his body became overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information, everything was still.

Dick was on his hands and knees, gagging for breath, his entire body shaking with cold chills. Sweat dampened his hair as it stuck to his face. His Nightwing uniform beneath his red polo and jeans was soaked through and his hands and feet tingled sporadically. Dick heaved himself to his feet but stumbled when blood rushed too quickly to his brain. He blinked wildly and swallowed, testing all his senses at once. The first thing Dick noticed was the sky. The Sun was setting as dark thunder clouds were rolling in over the city. It had been dark and clear before he had fallen asleep. Time change? He thought while his head stopped swirling long enough for him to think. His heart stopped while he was checking for any breaks or physical damage. I can barely clench my left fist. Then it hit him.

That roar in his ear wasn't from the time travel, it was from J'onn! The Martian was still connected with his mind! Though the difference in time zones was probably making repairs to his brain somewhat difficult as he felt numb on several parts of his left side. Dick grimaced. That is the last thing I need right now. He sat down, regaining his composure and focused on contacting J'onn. Dick wasn't quite sure how telepathy worked, but anytime he wanted to communicate with J'onn or M'gann, he would just think really loudly. He smiled thinking about how childish that might seem to them. J'ONN! MARTIAN MAN-HUNTER! I'M HERE! Dick hoped that their separation hadn't damaged J'onn's mind.

Dick started to get up after several minutes of waiting for a response when a low murmur echoed in his head. He sat back down and tried to concentrate on the sound, but he couldn't make out the words. He was definitely sure that J'onn had heard him though. Dick sighed, unable to communicate with J'onn, but satisfied with letting him know he was still alive, Dick headed down to the street to see when he was now.

Putting his jacket back on, Dick walked up to a newspaper stand and read the date at the top of the paper. He froze. The 26th of June… "What time is it?" Dick ordered the man behind the stand. After receiving a rude look, Dick hoped over the stand and pushed the man against the brick wall of the building behind and repeated, "What time is it?" The man, obviously frightened, lifted his arm to reveal a watch.

"It's 9:30!"

Just over an hour, Dick thought, citing the password used on the grandfather clock to enter the Batcave. "Thanks," Dick dropped the man and grappled to the rooftop before anyone else noticed him. He was ripping off his clothes, revealing his Nightwing uniform beneath as he sprinted from rooftop to rooftop. He returned his mask to his face with a grunt, grappling to a nearby building. If this is what I'm supposed to do then this is my chance.

"There," Zatara sighed, whipping sweat from his brow. "I pulled him forward three weeks." Zatana was at her father's said, holding him by the arm to keep him steady. He hadn't exaggerated. Wielding magic in such a precise way was draining.

Batman nodded and turned his attention to the red blip on the hologram. The Dark Knight frowned as the blip flew across the map in one specific direction. Batman followed the path and froze. "When is he?" Batman flung around to Zatara, but the magician was exhausted. Zatana noted the strain in Batman's voice and focused her attention on the hologram.

"He's in June… the… 26th, 19-"

"MOVE HIM." Batman ordered, agitated.

Zatana was caught off guard by the sudden change in Batman's tone and composure. She would've flinched were she not so used to his mood swings. "I- I can't…"

"NOW!" Batman ordered again, "Just move him a day! Any day! Just not that day!"

Zatara was frowning and made to defend his daughter but before he could open his mouth, Zatana sat him in a chair and lifted her arms wide. She took a deep breath, remembering the words and emphasis her father had used only minutes before.

"Do it!" Batman could only imagine what was going on inside Nightwing's head and as he watched the red blip make a bee line for the Monarch Theatre, he felt a pang of grief and pride. But this just doesn't happen.

Nightwing leaped from building to building, pushing his tired and ailing body forward. Despite his handicaps, Nightwing was making good time. He could almost see the lights of the Monarch Theatre. The Sun was gone now, replaced by somber shades of blue. The clouds now had taken precedent in the sky and opened up over the young hero as he launched himself up and over a water tower.

Nightwing skidded to a halt, splashing the rain over his legs. He listened carefully, "Hand over the money."

Nightwing bolted to the other side of the Monarch Theatre but just as he hauled himself over the roof to stop the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, he felt his body surge with pain and nausea. Not now! He willed his body to stay in the present, he was in the air! Right behind the murderer! He could kick the gun from his hand if he were given just a moment more! Just one moment more…

A blinding, searing hot light enveloped Nightwing as he fell through time. A gunshot rang in his ear, splitting his head with the sheer volume. His body wracked with pain, fell right where the murderer stood. Had stood… Nightwing looked around. There was no rain. There were no Waynes. The gun had been fired.

Nightwing fell to his knees, ignoring the sensations from the time travel and focusing on one single thought. I failed… Police tape lay strewn across the alley, carelessly cluttering the brick. A dark stain absorbed Nightwing's attention. He kneeled there in silence, digesting everything that had just happened, before hurling his body to the floor.

"SEND ME BACK! SEND ME BACK!" He beat his fists into the bricks pleading with the Universe for a second chance. He owed Bruce so much more than this failure. His face became wet with tears of rage and desperation. He had been so close. Now a boy who needed him the most, was alone. Torn from everything he had ever known and thrown into a world of anger and revenge. Nightwing's chest panged with grief, realizing that it wasn't only Thomas and Martha Wayne he had failed to save, but that innocent, carefree boy he had taken to the circus was dead now too. Nightwing wailed in the stain of his greatest failure.

"Send me back," J'onn murmured. "Send me back. Please," J'onn's cool repetition of Nightwing's pleas forced Batman to shut his eyes tight under his cowl. The Flash started to ask why Batman had been so adamant in moving Nightwing, but Batman couldn't answer. He couldn't be in the room anymore. Batman walked briskly from the room, leaving questioning faces in his wake.