How Could You? Chapter Five
Disclaimer: Young Justice DC Comics
A/N at the end.
Dick's POV
At the very least you could say I'm frightened.
Frightened of how Artemis will deal.
Mostly frightened of Bruce going all Batman on me.
Artemis was not happy when I revealed that I hadn't told Bruce that she knows my secret identity. "Why not?" she'd exclaimed, anger lacing her voice. "Just throw me into the fire, why don't you? Do you want Batman to kill me?"
"Well, I was hoping we'd catch him while he was Bruce…"
Her face had screwed up in confusion. "There's a difference?"
When we pull up to the house, Alfred opens the door for us and ushers us out. I can't help but notice that Artemis is gaping as we walk up the marble staircase towards the towering double doors. I smirk. "Stop fangirling, Artemis. It's time for us to meet our fate." She gives me a fairly impressive glare. Not as good as one of Batman's Bat-glares, but pretty good. The glare is broken immediately when we enter the house. She spins in a circle, taking in the entire foyer, her mouth open in a small 'O' shape.
"Master Bruce, Master Richard and…Mistress Artemis have arrived." Alfred announces. I feel a lump form in my throat as a door on the second floor swings open and Bruce exits the room, adjusting his tie. His eyes scan over me before moving to Artemis. A scowl crosses his face as he descends the stairs. I can't help noticing that Artemis' jaw has become unhinged.
"Thank you, Alfred." Bruce says, clearly dismissing him from the room. Alfred dips into a quick bow before disappearing into the kitchen. My feet have suddenly become enthralling. He stops to stand directly in front of me. I can feel his eyes boring into my skull. My face is burning. "Dick, could you join me in my study? Would you join us as well, Artemis?" It's phrased like a question but both Artemis and I know that we have no choice: we were going to join him, whether we wanted to or not. Numbly, I nod, keeping my eyes focused on the marble floor beneath me and shuffle my feet to follow him. I take Artemis' hand and feel her squeeze back. She's shaking like a leaf. I wish we had a mental link right now: I really wanted to tell her that things were going to be okay, that Bruce wouldn't hurt us. Though at this moment, I wasn't confident that he wouldn't.
Bruce moves to sit behind his enormous oak desk. He steeples his fingers and glares at us as we stand awkwardly just inside the elaborate door. I'd been in this room so many times I'd practically memorized every detail. The floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lining every wall, each one filled with old, leather-bound volumes; the two plush, velvet chairs facing his desk that tried to make you feel comfortable as you were being studied by Bruce Wayne; the two small framed photographs on the corner of his desk that serve as the only personal embellishments in the room; and, finally, the ancient Grandfather clock that rested in the far right-hand corner from the door. He'd told me it had been passed down from each generation of the Wayne family. Now, it served as the secret passage to the Batcave. With a study like this, I could understand how no one would suspect that Bruce Wayne was Batman.
He inclines his head, motioning for us to take a seat. Quickly, I direct Artemis into one of the chairs, knowing better than to keep Bruce waiting. He was in one of his moods. Frankly, I couldn't blame him. "So," he said slowly. "Artemis. How long have you known Dick's identity?" I see her tense beside me. Her fingernails dig into the armrests of the chair. I mentally face-palm. Of course he knew. Who was I kidding? He's the freaking Batman. Nothing got past him. I was however, taken aback at the directness of the question. That was a Batman question, not a Bruce Wayne question.
"Bruce, don't put so much—"
"Dick, please be quiet."
I shut my mouth immediately. His voice is on the cusp of slipping into his Batman tone. I am not ready to deal with Batman. Artemis is quiet, her head down. I can see she is struggling mentally. She must've had quite the day. Not many people get to be picked up from school in the Wayne private limo, enter the Wayne household and meet Bruce Wayne, especially not teenagers. I could only imagine how intimidated she must be. Hell, I was feeling intimidated, and I'd lived with both him and Batman for almost six years. This confrontation felt a thousand times worse than the one that had happened with Wally.
Artemis jerks her head up abruptly and stares straight into Bruce's eyes. I freeze. He simply raises an eyebrow. Her jaw is set, her lips pressed together into a thin line. She was not going to back down. I almost sigh. Typical Artemis, trying to stand her ground even though one of the most powerful men in all of Gotham and the Batman was staring her down.
"I've known since yesterday, Mr. Wayne, but it wasn't Dick's fault. We were shopping and I just threw some sunglasses on his face as a joke and I recognized him immediately. He didn't have to confirm it. And he tried to keep his identity a secret, even though I started…" she pauses, choosing her next words with care. "…even though I started punching him in the middle of the store."
Bruce narrows his eyes and glares at my bruised face. I quickly avert my gaze. "You…punched him?" The hard biceps under his suit tighten and his jaw grinds together. Absentmindedly, I touch one of my bruises. I know he's disappointed in me—I told him I got them during patrol.
Artemis freezes mid-sentence. Her lip quivers. In a quiet voice, she says, "Yes. I won't deny it. I punched Dick. But, he just sat there and took it! He didn't fight me back! Dick even rescued me later when some security guards tried to rape me—as Robin, of course. After all I'd done to him that day, he had still cared about me and had still been worried about my safety and well-being.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't be mad at Dick. I don't want him to—"
"I understand." Bruce says, nodding his head in agreement. I did a double take. What?
"—be in trouble because, wait what?"
He leans back slightly in his chair. He seems relaxed but I can tell inside he's still blazing with quiet white rage. "I understand your position. I'm not happy with your how you handled the situation, but I understand. It must have been quite a shock to suddenly realize Dick was Robin. Because you proved your point well, I will not be mad at Dick, even though he should've told me the truth. I respect all of Dick's decisions and he chose you to be one of his closest friends both in the Team and at Gotham Academy. I believe he had planned to tell you at some point but was unsure on how to do it. I guess you helped him out on that front.
"The only thing I wish to ask is that you promise to keep Dick's identity a secret, no matter what the cost. If anyone knew he was both protégé of Batman and the ward of Bruce Wayne, well, let's just say we'd have more and more villains knocking on our front door. In any case," Bruce's smile seems a little forced. "Thank you for wanting to protect my son, Artemis." With that, he pushes back his chair and moves towards the door. "Oh, and Dick?" I crane my neck to look at him. "I'm sure Artemis is curious about the Batcave. Feel free to show her around." He winks and exits the study, closing the door softly. I groan. I know that wink. That was a "we'll-talk-more-later-in-private" wink.
For a moment my body feels numb. I can't find the energy to push myself out of the chair. That was way too easy. I'd never seen Bruce let anyone off the hook that easily before. Wally had to go through several background checks and physical trials in order to determine that he would keep my secret, no matter what the cost. Though I knew he was a master of his emotions, I had still thought he would've reacted more drastically to her beating me up. The pads of my fingers brush against one of the bruises on my cheek again, making me wince.
Finally, I gather my bearings and stand, pulling Artemis up with me. She seems to be in shock. "C'mon, Artemis, I'll show you the Batcave."
We take a quick tour around the Batcave. Many times I have to yank Artemis back from touching the Batmobile or the Batcomputer, not wanting to face the wrath of Batman if he found something out of place, nor wanting Artemis to accidentally hurt herself. The hundreds of black bats hanging in the belfry were unusually quiet today. It unnerved me slightly, not used to the cave being so silent.
Later, I bring Artemis up to my room. She touches the Flying Grayson's advertisement poster gingerly, as if afraid to rip the thin paper. "Is this…" she whispers. I simply nod. I'd gotten over the emotional pain from seeing the poster a long time ago, but it still hurt when someone brought it up. Suddenly, Artemis throws herself into my arms. "Oh, Dick. I thought I had it bad. At least my family is still alive. I should be grateful, not sad." I gently pat her on the back, soothing her in my arms.
"Honestly Artemis?" I say, still patting her back. "I'm lucky. At least my parents died full of love and goodness. You have to walk around every day knowing that your entire family were or are villains. Truthfully, I feel worse for you."
The doorbell rings. We ignore it, still locked in an embrace. "Ah, Master W—" Alfred says, abruptly cutting off with a loud gasp and a muffled curse.
I briefly wonder who it was when Wally bursts through the door.
"Yo, Dick! Ready for our Friday hang session? I bought some new video games this week and thought we could play them. Prepare to get your ass—" He freezes, glaring and pointing at Artemis. "What is she doing here?"
A/N: Kon'nichiwa nakama no fan fikushon no dokusha! Hello fellow fanfiction readers! Leave it to Wally to ruin a moment! Sorry this chapter is a little short: I really don't like writing a chapter that doesn't have any action or deeper concepts in it. Please bear with me! I also hope that the confrontation with Bruce, Dick, and Artemis was alright: I hope I didn't shatter anyone's dreams for this chapter. The next chapter is going to be another somewhat lack of action but chapter seven is going to involve a mission with the team! Please review! Once again, I try to respond to all reviews and I really love reading them. I know saying that is really cliché, but it's true! Happy reading and stay astrous! ;)
