Hello guys! Thanks for your reviews! This first chapter focuses on Dick's early childhood at Haly's Circus! Enjoy!
I.- The Circus (Or A Place I Used To Call Home)
It looked like eternity, the feeling of levity. No time passed by, and yet, second and minutes rushed at hyper-speed. Echoes of the past, voices of the present, they all collided in the Vortex of Memories. The starting point of the mind where every little detail was stored, and every feeling was kept. The Vortex of Memories of a person was sacred, because it held the path to the reality of a person. If gone, then there would be nothing but an empty carcass.
And so the group of friends appeared in the Vortex. They all looked around and saw images in small frames that together formed a whole. They were in the place where it all resided.
"Woah," said Tim as he looked around, seeing the images pass by like frames of a movie. "I've never been inside someone's mind before…"
Artemis frowned. "I have, Kaldur's. It's not that pretty… you can feel the despair in a person, and it manifests in different ways. Kaldur's was Tula. And she… it… was angry…"
M´Gann looked around, trying to hold a shiver. "This is not right. Even inside someone's mind… I can usually tell right from wrong. But Dick's mind is all messed up."
"Ruins," said Kaldur, remembering his own state of loss inside his mind after Miss Martian brain blasted him.
The Martian nodded. "Yes, but this is different. While your ruins were caused by my mind breaking yours… this is something deeper. These are emotions… destroying every corner of our friend's heart. Eating away his… well, sanity…"
Conner looked around, the pieces of memories running through him. "Is this possible, M'Gann?"
"I've never seen something like this," admitted M'Gann and looked at the others. "I really don't know where to start. His mind… is a complete mess. I'm amazed Dick is still whole. With a mind like this… he could as well be insane. My Uncle J'onn told me once he encountered this… while trying to read the Joker's mind…"
Zatanna felt a chill down her spine. "Why do I feel we just opened a Pandora's Box?"
Tim looked around. "The question is… where do we start?"
Then, Roy and Barbara turned to their left, and they found someone looking at them at the end of the tunnel of memories.
It was a little boy, probably six years old, looking at them. He had piercing blue eyes, ebony hair, skin that gave up the heritage of a gypsy, and was wearing blue shorts and a red t-shirt. He looked at them and started sucking his thumb, as if waiting for them to notice him.
Barbara approached the little kid. "Hey, sweetie… are you… Dick?"
Little-Dick nodded, thumb still in his mouth. He gazed at them, looking deeply with innocent eyes.
Once everyone was looking at him, he got his thumb out of his mouth and started walking away.
He stopped and looked back at them.
"I guess he wants us to follow him," said Roy, and glanced at his friends. They all nodded and they walked forward, following Little-Dick.
And then, as they dug deep within the Tunnel, they were enveloped by a light that took them somewhere else.
They all felt the levity again as they landed.
"That felt weird," said Conner as he looked around.
They were in an open place, there were lots of people, and clowns and animals and colors. It was bountiful with life. They were in a circus, huge and magnificent, under the magic sun and the pale blue skies.
"Haly's Circus," said Roy, stating out the obvious. He knew about Dick's past as a circus acrobat. They all knew. He's all told them when the time came, so it came to no surprise they had appeared in the place where it all started. The place where Dick grew up.
Then, they heard a gleeful voice. "Raya, wait up!"
Turning around, the found a little girl with redhead and green eyes running around in an acrobat uniform. She looked happy. She was being chased by none other than a seven-year old Dick Grayson. He looked so happy, there was a light in his eyes that could match no flame. That boy they were seeing looked really happy, full and content.
"You can't catch me, Dickie!" said Raya as she tried to evade his touch. They were playing tag. "You might be the best kid acrobat in this place, but you just can't catch me!"
Seven year old Dick frowned and tried to jump, to catch his friend. He fell to the ground with a loud thump.
The girl, Raya, broke out laughing. "Wait till I tell Raymond!"
Dick groaned as he stood up. "Don't tell Raymond, he's going to mock me forever!"
The friends watched the scene unfold with confused looks. Zatanna looked interested. "Who is that girl, Raya? And who is Raymond?"
Tim frowned. "I don't know. Dick has never mentioned them…"
They turned back to the image of a new person approaching them. It was a taller boy, black haired, looking a lot like Dick. "Hey squirt, better not hurt yourself…"
"Sowwy, John!" said the little boy with a mocking voice.
Raya laughed again.
John smiled at the little boy and picked him up. "You know the baby talk won't work on me. I've stopped thinking you're adorable when you turned six…"
"That was just last month!" said Dick with a laugh. "I bet I'm still cute…"
"Whatever you say squirt," said John with a smile as he started to carry Dick inside with Raya behind them. "Come on Raya, I'm going to teach you some neat tricks about the trapeze!"
"Coming!" exclaimed the red hair girl.
As they walked into a tent, Roy frowned. "That was John, Dick's cousin… the one who… died that night…"
Tim felt so much pain inside. His big brother had once been a kid, and loved. He had friends, a life, and a cousin. "He looks so happy…"
Suddenly, they scene changed magically and they found themselves in nighttime.
"This is officially freaky," said Barbara as she looked up.
M'Gann nodded. "Sorry guys, his mind keeps… shifting. Even with my power I can't control these movements."
Artemis pointed forward. "Look, it's a fire."
"Let's go," said Conner and they followed him, approaching a beautiful campfire. It was so real. As soon as they approached it they could feel the warmth, the beautiful feeling of family and love.
They saw the Grayson family by the fire, and three little kids huddled together on a log.
"Oh, aren't they cute?" said Mary Grayson, she was a redhead too. She was so beautiful, and had a smile that irradiated.
Then Barbara understood. Raya was redhead, she was a redhead, Wally and Roy were redheads… and his mother had been a redhead too. "Every important person at Dick's life's been a redhead… that's why he's attracted to them…"
Zatanna looked down, feeling nervous.
They turned back to the scene.
Rick Grayson and his son, John, were watching Raymond, Dick and Raya cuddled together. The older man smiled. "Now that's one cute act…"
"I wish I had a camera," said Karla, Dick's aunt.
It was a cute scene. There little kids, Raya, Dick and a brunette boy slightly taller, Raymond, were cuddled together, falling asleep by the fire.
John Sr., Dick's dad, ruffled their hairs. "They did a great job today. They will be amazing acrobats when they grow up…"
Then John Jr, Dick's cousin, approached them a kissed them each in the forehead. He placed extra care on Dick's head. "I love you squirt, have a good night…"
And so they slept there. Three little kids, best friends, surrounded by family and loving people.
And it ached inside the Team's hearts.
"Dick had a very loving family," said Roy and looked down. "More loving than mine ever was…"
"And losing them…" began Conner with pain in his voice. "It hurt him more. The closest the person, the bigger the attachment…"
"And the more sorrowful the loss," finished Zatanna, looked down.
Suddenly, there was another shift of the panorama. They were in a very crowded city, the night was so polluted it was hard to see the stars.
To Barbara, Artemis and Tim, it was awfully familiar. The blonde looked at her friends. "We're in Gotham…"
And then M'Gann spoke. "Guys, I sense we have fast forwarded two years…"
Roy's eyes widened. "Oh no. This is the night… the night Dick lost his family…"
I'm burning the bridges
There is no return
I'm trying to reach her
I feel that she yearns
Walk against the stream
Fight for what I believe in
Ran towards the end, trying not to give up
Help me, I'm buried alive...
Hai guys! Hope I earned my review!
So, little insight: In the comics, Raya and Raymond are Dick's best friends at Haly's Circus. Eventually, Dick leaves and that bond is broken. If you don't mind a little SPOILER: Raya and Raymond become lovers when grown up, Raymond dies and Dick returns. In reality, Raymond is kidnapped by the COurt of Owls to become Talon, in replacement of Dick. Buut that's not coming to play here... I think...
Thought it would be nice to add them, show what Dick truly lost.
Next time: The Fall (Or The Day I Lost Everything)
