"Dick," said Bruce's voice. Dick shot up out of bed, looking around. He glances at his clock…7 A.M. Sighing, he swings his legs over the bed and walks over to his "spare closet". He presses on the intercom next to the door.
"Yeah?" he says, his voice husky with sleep. He clears his throat.
"Where the hell were you last night?"
"Uhh, sleeping."
"I tried to contact you."
"Well you should've tried harder."
"There's something you need to see. Come down to the cave."
Without answering him, he opens the door, flips the switch and makes his way into the cave. Within seconds, he's walking down the large staircase. He walks toward the wing with the bat computer, assuming that's where Bruce would be.
Sure enough, he stands at the computer, staring up at the screens. As Dick approaches him, Bruce points up to a stilled photo. Dick looks, seeing three figures. He steps up closer to the computer. There's a guy with a red mask, completely covering his face. The other two stand in the shadows.
"I don't know this guy."
"Yeah, he's new," says Bruce. Dick notices a strange tone in his voice. He gives him a look. "Calls himself Red Hood. He was found beating the shit out of a few of the Joker's goons. The cops came, and he fought them as well. This guy…I don't know what his intentions are. He kidnapped one of Joker's guys, but the other two are in jail."
"For information?"
"That's what I'm thinking. But what does he need to know?"
"Should we talk to the other two?"
Bruce nods sharply. "I'm going down today. But look at this." He pulls up another video. "Look at the way he fights." Dick peers up at the screen; analyzing Red Hood's fighting style. He's so… angry. Relentless. It reminds him of…
"What am I looking for?"
"Don't play with me; you know who I'm talking about."
"Who? You think you know who this guy is?"
"I know who he seems to act like. Don't tell me that doesn't look like Jason to you." Dick shakes his head, sighing.
"Bruce, don't do this to yourself."
"What?" he says, feigning innocence. "I'm just inquiring."
"Sure you are. Don't go crazy over this."
"I don't take orders from kids."
"What is with you and Selina? I'm not a kid." Dick watches Bruce as he stares at the screen. Ever since Jason's death, Bruce hasn't been the same. He takes the blame for the incident, but really, there was nothing he could do. Oh God, that sounds like me…"So," says Dick, "Do I get some more time to sleep?" Bruce finally looks over at him, mouth open and about to say something. Then he gives him a look.
"Jesus, Dick. Put some clothes on." Dick looks down. All he has on is his boxers.
"Hey, you woke me up at 7. This is what you get."
"Well no, you can't go back to bed. I want you down here."
"And why?"
"You need to brush up on some skills as well."
"Aww, come on Bruce."
"I talked to Wally." Dick scowls.
"What a rat," he mumbles.
"Hey, he's just looking out for you. If it weren't for him, you'd probably be dead by now." Dick sighs, knowing he's not getting out of this.
"Fine."
"And you used to like training."
"Used to being the key phrase there."
After a few moments of silence, Bruce sighs.
"I have to look out for you. Kid or not, you're my son."
Dick closes his eyes tight, punching the bridge of his nose. While he understands, he hates it when Bruce plays this card. It makes him feel terrible.
"I'm not Jace, Dad," he says before going to change into his Nightwing uniform.
Nightwing takes a towel to his forehead. The Titans will be heading downstairs soon for training. He sits on the bench, taking a minute to relax and recuperate so he can be at his best for combat training.
He sighs. Combat training. Because that went so well yesterday. Truthfully, they all fought perfectly fine. It's just that after Starfire stormed out, the rest of them fought rather angrily. Which he understands. He hurt their sister. But no more, he thinks. He's not going to pester Starfire anymore.
Just then, the four Titans came walking into the training room. Raven and Beast Boy walk in together first, with Starfire behind them. It's almost as if she's hiding, or they're protecting her. Cyborg walks close behind Starfire, giving Nightwing his "stank eye". Yep, they're protecting her.
"Morning Titans," says Nightwing, giving his best smile. Which none of them return.
"Morning Dick!" says a cheery voice. He looks at the group, and it's obvious none of them said it. Then Catwoman comes walking into the training room, giving him a devious smile.
"Uhh, hi Catwoman," he emphasizes. She would call him Dick when he's in uniform. She shrugs, not seeming to care. He watches as Catwoman crosses the room to stand by Starfire, linking arms with her. "Okay…" he says, "well, let's get started. Strength and agility." They all nod, Cyborg and Starfire head over to the weights, while Beast Boy follows Raven to the agility course. He watches Starfire as she lifts. She's so unbelievably strong. Her forehead crinkles in concentration as she lifts more than her and his weight combined. A movement catches my eye, and he sees Cyborg shaking his head at him. He flushes and looks away.
"Hey, kid," says Catwoman as she walks up next to him. Nightwing sighs, but doesn't correct her. "Beautiful, isn't she?" He clears his throat.
"Don't know what you're talking about."
She gives him a look. "I said give her space, not ignore her."
"I'm not ignoring her, I'm just… dealing."
"Well you'll never be able to deal with the fact that she's drop dead gorgeous." Nightwing smiles, but doesn't say anything.
"Sounds like you're batting for the other team, Selina." She smacks him, but laughs.
"Oh hush. Why aren't you working out?"
"Already did, besides, it's their 'team time'."
"And you don't consider yourself a part of it?"
"I work alone now."
"Mhmm," she says. "And that's why you have Flash?" He elbows her in the ribs. "Alright, alright, I'm done."
"Where's Bruce?"
"He went down to Arkham." Nightwing nods. He's talking to the Joker's goons. "He said he'd be back for combat practice."
Sure enough, after a few hours of strength and agility, Batman returned. The Titans gathered in the combat practice area while Nightwing approached Batman.
"We'll talk about it later," he says, stopping Nightwing before he could ask. "Alright Titans, Cyborg first. Catwoman, you can go ahead and take Starfire to the other end of the room and practice there." Catwoman nods, taking Starfire's arm.
"Wait, why?" asks Nightwing.
"Starfire will only be fighting with Catwoman."
"But you said they were all practicing with me, since I know their moves."
"Yes, but she refused and Catwoman insisted."
"Can't put up much of a fight when Selina's here, huh?"
"Don't be sour 'cause you pissed off an alien." Nightwing glowers at him before moving into the circle to practice with Cyborg. He watches Catwoman and Starfire out of the corner of his eye. He can seem them getting into battle stances. He always liked to watch Starfire fight.
"They ain't goin' to be too distracting for ya, are they?" Cyborg stands across from him in the circle, arms crossed, smirking at him.
"You wish."
Cyborg did well; even Batman had nothing to complain about. By the time Cyborg was done, Catwoman and Starfire seemed to be taking a break. They sat against the wall, talking. He wondered if they were talking about him.
He stepped away to wipe his forehead and get a drink before it was Ravens turn. She stood in the circle waiting for him. She watched as he walked up, keeping his eye contact. He noticed something…off about her eyes. When he stood across from her, she slowly lifted her hood up over her head, her face encompassed by a dark shadow. She looked almost menacing. Nightwing gulped.
"Okay, whenever you're ready," called Batman.
Well, Nightwing wasn't quite ready, because suddenly a chair was being launched right at him. He barely jumps up and out of the way in time, the leg of the chair almost grazing his chin as he back flipped. He looks up at Raven incredulously. He can see her white glowing eyes in the black of her face. He charges toward her, jumping and dodging as more various items come hurdling towards him. He slides under her legs, grabbing hold of her ankles as he does and twisting her around so she falls on her back. He flips around to brace her arms and hold her down, but turns to see her rising up.
"Azarath, metrion zinthos!" Suddenly, he was engulfed in blackness and lifted off the ground. He pounds on his containment as it slowly starts to shrink. He can see through the hazy black, watching as Raven loses control in front of him. Her hair flies up around her, things begin to shake, and the rest of them finally start to look concerned. He tries to yell for her, tell her to stop, but his voice is muffled. It feels like the amount of oxygen is decreasing.
"Raven!" shouts Beast Boy, and immediately Nightwing is released, dropping onto the floor with a thud. He gasps in air, looking up at Raven and Beast Boy. He has a hold on her shoulders as he speaks softly to her.
"I cannot help you if you can't control your anger!" shouts Bruce. "You are going to get yourself killed!" Nightwing looks up at him, recognizing these same words that were spoken two years ago. Words that Nightwing himself shouted. "Just… just stop! Everyone! Get out!" Catwoman and the Titans stare open-mouthed at the unraveling Batman. Nightwing gets up off the ground, herding Beast Boy and Raven out the door.
"It's not your fault," he whispers as they exit. Catwoman and Starfire follow close behind. They take the passage leading into the library. Soon after they entered the room, Raven, with Beast Boy in tow, flies out, nearly knocking over poor Alfred.
"Go up to your room and I'll be up there soon, okay?" Nightwing looks behind him to see Selina hugging Starfire before she goes back down to the cave. Starfire looks up, meeting eyes with him. She, too, walks away, Cyborg following behind. Nightwing catches up to him, placing an arm on his shoulder.
"Cy, I want to explain what happened down there with Bruce. Can you convince the others to come to my room after dinner?"
"Sure, I guess," says Cyborg, before shaking his head at him. Nightwing sighs, dropping into a nearby chair. He drops his head in his hands.
"What is the matter, Master Dick?" Nightwing mumbles something in his hands. "Pardon?"
"The Titans hate me," says Nightwing sharply. "We're never going to get past any of this. As soon as they're done training, they're never going to speak to me again."
"Dick, I do not know exactly how to put this. Perhaps you should try to be yourself."
"What? How am I not being myself?"
"What I mean is, your old self." Nightwing groans.
"Alfred, I haven't been him for a long time."
"And now that you're friends are back, it might come back to you if you open yourself up to it."
"Look, I'm trying-" Nightwing looks up to where Alfred's voice had been coming from, but he was no longer there. He drops his head back down, taking a few deep breaths. He wants to go talk to Raven. See what exactly happened there. But Beast Boy would probably turn into a T-Rex and eat him. He wanted to talk to Cyborg, his best friend… well, his old best friend. He wanted to be with Starfire, hold her in his arms and surround himself with the scent of her. There are so many things that he misses.
Starfire, Selina, and Bruce did not join them for dinner. It was another meal in silence. The only words that were spoken were confirming to meet him in his room after they'd eaten. He was relieved that they weren't putting up a fight. That they could be reasonable.
They followed him to his room, once again in silence. He opened the door and led them over to the seating area in front of his T.V.
"Holy shit!" whispered Beast Boy. Raven elbowed him in the ribs. "What? His rooms' huge!" Nightwing shook his head, trying not to laugh. He sat in the chair so they could all sit on the couch.
"Where's Starfire?" asked Nightwing.
"I am here," called her voice as she walked through the door. He kept his eyes glued to her as she took a seat in the chair across from him. He cleared his throat.
"Okay, first of all, I just want to apologize for Bruce. When he said those things, he wasn't actually talking to you."
"And that explains a lot," said Raven evenly.
"I'm working on it. Anyway, he was talking to… Jason." They stared at him, confused. "Who you've never heard of. Two years ago, before I made the move to Bludhaven, Bruce and I were training a new Robin. You see, one night, Bruce caught this kid trying to take the wheels off of the batmobile. He turned the kid in, but asked that he be sent to a center for trouble youth. Jason was recently orphaned. His mother died of an overdose, and his father left years before. Bruce thought he was doing the right thing, until he discovered that the head of the youth center was actually leading somewhat of a criminal training camp. So he pulled Jason out and set him up in the manor. Jace was my adopted brother."
"You say 'was'?" asks Starfire. Nightwing pauses at the sound of her voice, almost forgetting what he was saying. She nods at him encouragingly.
"Yeah… okay. Well, we trained him for six months before Bruce decided to bring him out on a mission. I told him that Jace wasn't ready. If you'd have seen this kid, you'd understand. He fought with such rage. He was merciless. Bruce took him on a couple of small missions… car jackings, petty theft… and he would just kick the living shit out of anyone. Bruce said if he just learned to channel his rage, he would do very well as Robin. Maybe that could have worked out, but Jason never learned to do that. He never tried. He had a different view on heroism. He thought that we were 'too soft'." Nightwing sighed, getting to the hard part. "Bruce never stopped to listen to me, and one night when we got a call on the Joker, he took Jace out with him. I was told to stay back and let them handle it. I didn't work in Gotham anymore. So I was surprised when I got a call from Bruce. He was frantic. I tracked them, searching for an hour, and when I finally found them it was too late. Jason was covered in black soot, and bleeding profusely…" Nightwing coughs, trying to eliminate the lump in his throat. "The Joker shot him, and set a time bomb in the warehouse where he left him to die."
"Man, I-" Nightwing lifted a hand to cut Cyborg off.
"So that's when things got bad for both of us. Bruce was MIA for days until Selina came around. And then, he was just more protective. More strict. And that's when I lost even more of myself."
"Why didn't you tell us?" asks Beast Boy.
Nightwing smiles sadly. "We hadn't talked in an entire year."
"That shouldn't have mattered," said Raven. "We would have come."
"I didn't want to put you guys in that position."
"We're your friends. We could have helped."
"Yeah well, I was past the point of help anyway."
"If you had just let us in, this all would have been easier. And I'm not just talking about your brother. Why couldn't you just-"
"It's the past, Raven," Nightwing snapped.
"And maybe if the past hadn't happened the way it did, if ya'll had just kept in contact with us, things would have worked out differently."
"Don't give me that, Cy, you left, too."
"Because our fearless leader gave up! I set my hopes on you after Starfire was gone. And you let us all down!"
"I'm sorry that I was grieving!"
"And what the hell do you think we were doing, throwing a fucking party?"
"Friends, please stop!" Their heads jerked to Starfire, who was now standing with tears in her eyes. "You must not act this way! We are all finally together again and you cannot even speak one kind word to one another? I have you, my only family left in the world, back in my life, but it doesn't feel like it. Nightwing, I am disappointed in you for pushing our friends away after I had gone. And the rest of you, I am disappointed now. You say that you missed the Titans. That you missed when we were all together. But now that we are, you do not act on it. Stop directing your anger at Nightwing when you are all at fault." Starfire walks over to Nightwing, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I am sorry for the loss of your brother, friend. I must retire to my room now." She goes to the door, saying "goodnight" before exiting.
"She's right," says Beast Boy. "We're acting like we're 15 again."
"I'm sorry that I didn't stay. That I didn't try," says Nightwing.
"I can understand why you left. Without her at the Tower, it was like we were all dead."
"I'm sorry that I left you, BB and Rae. And I'm sorry I didn't let you know when I came back to the Tower."
"We forgive you," says Beast Boy, clapping a hand on Cyborg's shoulder. "You too, Nightwing." And for the first time in years, Beast Boy genuinely smiles at him.
"Well alright!" exclaims Cyborg. "I don't know about ya'll, but I could definitely blow some steam on the game console right about now." He stands up from the couch, heading to the door.
"I'm in, if you don't mind getting your ass beat," says Beast Boy as he follows.
"Grass stain, do you know who you're talking to?"
"Uh yeah, a looooooser." Suddenly they stop talking.
"Night, you comin'?" Nightwing looks up.
"Really?" They nod in unison. "Sure," he rushes up from the couch to follow, but stops himself. "Actually, I'll meet you down there. I want to talk to Raven."
He turns back to the hooded girl. She didn't say anything when he said he wanted to talk to her, so she doesn't object. He takes a seat next to her on the couch.
"I'm guessing that you don't agree with Beast Boy?"
She sighs, pushing back her hood. "Gar doesn't have the same issues with you that I do."
"Well, talk to me."
"I tried. For years, I tried to talk to you."
"Still on that?" She narrows her eyes at him. "Look, I can't take it back. I wish that I could, but I know that if it happened all over again, I probably would've done the same thing. Yeah, that sounds terrible. But you know me."
"You probably would do it again. I know that's just how you are. But damn it, Dick, the team needed you. I needed you." Raven lowers her head. Nightwing places a comforting hand on her knee.
"I'm sorry, Raven. I'm so, so sorry that I didn't help you. You love her too. And don't think that I never thought about you. I was concerned for you; I just didn't do anything about it. "
"It was so hard," her voice breaks. "I couldn't handle it. Not even Gar could help me. And then I had a run-in with my father. It was my emotions…they were going crazy."
"Trigon?"
"Yeah, he tried to break through when I was weak. It was because I let myself feel and give love. But I wasn't afraid. And I took care of it. Spent a few weeks in Azarath." She sighs. "But Dick, I just…"
"What?" He squeezes her knee.
"I tried to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"That she was alive!" Dick reels back at her shout. "I told you that I could still feel her. That she was just far away. And you wouldn't listen to me! If you wouldn't have given up so easily, maybe we could've found her."
"You think I don't consider that constantly? That I don't regret it? But I lost hope, Raven. Imagine if that happened to Beast Boy."
"Then I would do everything in my power to be sure that he wasn't just missing."
"That's what you think! Until it actually happens, you can't judge me. You don't know what that was like, to have your heart ripped out and torn to pieces. To have the one thing that really, truly mattered be taken from you."
"Well I'd like to think that the team meant something to you as well. That it wasn't all for nothing."
"God, Raven, you know that's not what I meant. She was that glimmer of hope that meant something beyond being a hero. She could give me a life. I love the Titans too, but I just needed Starfire. You have to understand that."
Raven sighs. "I do. I really do. But I just…I think about what could've happened if you'd stayed with us. If we all could've just helped each other. I just- I missed you." Raven tosses her arms around a surprised Nightwing, hugging him tightly.
"Wow," he wheezes. "I'm really not used to lovey dovey Raven."
"Well get used to it."
"Are you still mad at me?" She suddenly leans back and hits him on the chest.
"Yes! But just because of the whole Babs thing."
"I'm trying Raven. I'm not going to be an ass anymore. I'm trying to open myself up to being me again," he smiles as he repeats Alfred's words.
"Good, because I gotta say, this new you is kind of hard to like. But I'll take what I can get."
"I'm sorry, Rae."
"I forgive you. Love you, brother."
"Love you, sister." He smiles as she places a kiss on the top of his head. "Can I ask you one thing?" She looks at him expectantly. "If Starfire decides to go on another date, will you let me know?"
"Ughh, Dick, are you going to stalk her?"
"Yes." She couldn't help but laugh at his bluntness.
""I'll tell you if it's Speedy. Just in case he tries to pull something again. But other than that, you'll just have to use your super duper detective skills and weasel the information out of someone else."
"Aww, c'mon Rae, be on my side!"
"I'm on her side. But I'm still rooting for the two of you." She gets up from the couch. "Lets go, the boys are waiting for you." Dick bounces up from the couch, finally happy now that he has his family back.
AN: So next chapter, there will be more Red Hood, more Babs, and maybe some more Red X. If you're waiting around for things to improve between Starfire and Richard, sorry to disappoint, but that's going to be a slow process. But look forward to the ending! Because I have some drama in store for you guys!
Reviews please! :)
