Chpt. XLII: The League

Dick Grayson stepped up through the metallic steps, & walked into the chrome elevator shaft. He surveyed the futuristic elevator & swallowed his saliva. He was terrified.

After he had ensured that Mother Louise was alright & that Nolan Drake was apprehended, things sort of went back to normal in Gotham City. Dick was able to enroll in another school, studying alongside Barbara Gordon. Barbara had begun to feel more open with Dick, & Dick was able to be open with her as well. They had began to trust each other more, & he felt genuinely loved for once. He was in love with Barbara, & it was the best thing ever.

Dick knew that she probably had some idea that he was Robin at night, fighting crime alongside the Batman, but she never brought it up. It was never really something that they felt the need to acknowledge. Whenever he said that he would be busy for a night, however, Barbara would always have this sad look on her face. He knew that she knew that he was never with another girl, but the fact that he was sneaking out every night to put his life in danger was hard for her. Dick could see it in her eyes. But someone had to.

Dick had also established a respectful relationship with her father, Detective Jim Gordon. Jim had done his best to keep Dick's name out of the reports on Nolan Drake's crimes, & Dick made sure that Jim knew he was appreciative of that. He would send Jim food delivery at work without question, & he would drop his daughter off at home after school, & on nights where Barbara wanted to be with Dick, he would make sure that he & Barbara were at her house with Jim & spent quality time together. Sometimes, Dick would even leave during the evening to "run an errand," but really wanted Barbara & Jim to still spend their quality father/daughter time together.

For Dick & his own as the Robin, he felt that he was doing good work with Bruce. The two of them trained more, fought alongside each other more often, & together, they made Gotham a little bit safer since the attack on City Hall. Bruce had told Dick that he was ready.

That's when Dick was told to leave town. Bruce had only given him an address, which was somewhere out in Washington D.C. Bruce had left early that morning, leaving Dick a message that gave him directions to an air strip. At the air strip was a private jet that belonged to Wayne Industries. There, the pilot escorted Dick on the plane & flew him to D.C. rather quickly. After that, a black Lincoln, similar to the one that Dick first arrived in when meeting Bruce for the first time, was waiting for him again. Dick stepped inside, hoping to find Alfred at the wheel. Instead, it was a younger driver that he did not recognize. The driver drove Dick all the way through D.C., passing the White House. Dick wanted a brief moment to take in the scenery, but it seemed that he was supposed to be rushing.

Finally, the car dropped Dick off in front of an abandoned museum. It was deserted, but it seemed as though it was partially under construction. Dick was unsure by the mixture of debris, police tapings, & trash. Dick knew other than to question Bruce, though. This was most likely the right spot.

After walking up the steps of the abandoned museum, Dick stepped inside & was surprised of the scenery within.

The interior of the museum was entirely polished & constructed as a elegant exhibit. The hall was surrounded with large monuments & statues of men & women, but they were all armored & clothed in strange costumes with emblems stamped across their chests & masks over their eyes. They...looked like tacky versions of vigilantes. Sort of like…

A small metal orb floated towards Dick. It startled Dick, but after a brief moment, he realized that the orb was not hostile.

A red light began to glow within the orb, & a humming sound buzzed as it approached Dick. "Greetings, Robin," the robotic orb spoke in a monotone voice. "Please follow me."

Dick raised an eyebrow. The orb referred to him as Robin. Was he now getting acknowledged as the Batman's sidekick Robin? Dick disregarded the thought & followed the orb, which floated down the hall into a smaller corridor.

At the end of the corridor was the elevator that Dick had now entered. Dick had no idea where the elevator would take him, but he knew he had to.

Suddenly, chrome doors shut behind Dick & the elevator began to hum. Dick could feel the elevator rising upwards, but he was unsure how fast he actually was going. As Dick stared at the blank chrome wall, he felt a sudden warm sensation on his back. Dick turned around & saw space. He saw the Earth down below him, & he saw the bright Sun shining over the horizon of the edge of the world. Dick gasped at the sudden sensation of vertigo. The chrome elevator had been shooting up above the actual atmosphere of the world. He was actually traveling in space.

Dick suddenly felt as though he was running out of air. He lost the ability to breathe properly. What was happening? Was he being deprived of his oxygen? What the hell was going on?

Finally, the chrome elevator slowed its hum, & Dick felt a sort of ease in his body. The chrome doors in front of him started to open slowly, revealing a brightly lit hall leading down towards a doorway. In the middle of the white hall was Batman, standing between Dick & the door. In his hands was the Robin armor.

"Robin," Bruce called in his low, hoarse disguise of a voice.

Dick scoffed. "What the hell is all this?"

Bruce shook his head. Dick was unable to read his stern, blank facial expressions underneath his Batman mask. "I'll explain soon. Please, suit up."

Dick scratched his head, then pointed at the door at the end of the hall. "What criminal mastermind is hiding behind that door in space?"

The Batman slowly approached Dick, extending the armor outward to him once more. He wasn't going to speak until Dick put the suit on.

Dick sighed & took the armor from Bruce, putting the tight padded bottoms on first, then placing the bulletproof armor over his chest, then adding the cape over his shoulders, then finally, placing the face mask over his face. Dick felt a slight sense of pride when he wore the suit. He was proud to be Robin.

Dick looked up at Batman. "Okay, I'm ready," he said.

Batman nodded & began walking towards the door, letting Dick follow behind him. The two walked through the doors at the end of the hall, opening up into a wide open space. At the center of this space was a large dashboard, almost as though it was Bruce's supercomputer in his Batcave. The only difference was the white color on the system.

All around the dashboard were glass walls, extending far out, away from the center. The glass walls allowed you to see out into the atmosphere of space. The entire room was spherical, curving all around them. Dick was in awe of the room.

"Whoa," Dick gasped. "Where...where are we?"

"You just came from the Hall of Justice," Bruce began. "It's a site dedicated to the heroes that have defended the world years ago. After they disappeared, & things began to change again in the world, I took the opportunity to start a new initiative with a team of metahumans. We operate here, in a private space station above Earth called the Watchtower."

"Metahumans," Dick murmured. He remembered reading about them in Bruce's computer in his Batcave.

Bruce nodded. "Yes. As of now, our unit has been slowly working together to cooperate & work in operations around the globe when necessary, but, we have not made ourselves public yet. That's something we're still debating amongst ourselves."

"Among...the metahumans?" Dick asked for clarification.

"Yes. The public may fear some of the members' abilities."

Dick began to think of the people he came across. Cheyenne Freemont's telekinesis, Rachel Roth's mysticism, Kori's alien origin, Logan's shapeshifting, Victor's robotic physiology, & Conner's super strength. Would...they be considered metahumans? Would they be feared by the public as well, after the night at City Hall?

Bruce glanced over Dick's shoulder, where a separate door was opening from across the Watchtower. A woman in golden gladiator armor began to approach Dick & Bruce.

"Whoa, okay, who is that?" Dick asked.

Bruce cleared his throat, & began to speak in his disguised voice, only this time, he forced it much deeper than necessary. "This is the Amazonian Princess Diana of Themyscira. She works alongside me, here at the Watchtower."

Dick glanced between the Batman & the woman standing before him. She had long, black hair that flowed over her shoulders. On her head, she wore a golden band with a red star branded on it. Her torso was covered with a metallic, almost golden armor that pressed her chest tight, revealing a lot of bust. Dick felt slightly uncomfortable. The tint was a mixture of a golden yellow with a rusted red. The armor almost came across as a design for a W. Underneath her plated armor, she wore a tight blue bottom that reminded Dick of a bikini bottom. Dick felt his heart beat fast. He wasn't sure if he was attracted to her or genuinely afraid of her.

Dick didn't know where to focus on the woman, so he looked up at her face. Her eyes were cold, but, for a split second, they seemed warm, as though she wanted to let out a laugh. But her eyes went back to a cold state that told Dick not to aggravate her.

The Princess looked at Dick with a raised eyebrow, then up at the Batman. "Does your ward speak?" she asked.

The Batman nodded his head. "He's fine."

Dick cleared his throat. He put his hand out forward, expecting to shake the Princess's hand. "Princess Diana," he said nervously, hearing his voice crack suddenly. "I, uh...it's a pleasure to meet a princess. Well, actually, I've met a princess before. Except she was an alien princess."

Princess Diana slowly shook Dick's hand, then glanced back at the Batman. "I adore this child," she said with a soft smile.

The Batman nodded. "Yeah, he's good."

The Princess let go of Dick's hand & placed her hand over her hip, where a long golden whip was coiled around her waist. Dick felt his throat dry up in fear. "So," he spoke, "what's the 'W' stand for?"

Princess Diana glanced down at Dick. "Beg pardon?"

Dick shrugged. "The W on your armor...is that...like...for 'Whip?'"

The Princess rolled her eyes with a small grin. She turned to the Batman. "Are the rest on their way?"

Bruce nodded, answering in Batman's hoarse voice. "Yes, they are. They'll be here shortly."

Princess Diana smiled. "Well, good. That means that we have time to introduce Robin to everyone."

"Wait, everyone?" Dick asked, looking between the Princess & Batman. "Who else is there?"

Suddenly, the doors where the Princess had emerged from opened again, & this time, more people came through the doors. First, was a green humanoid clothed in a dark blue & red armor, & a blue cape flowing down his back. He was bald & had glowing red eyes. After him was a large, muscular man with a chiseled chin, who wore a red body suit with a huge yellow lightning bolt going down his chest. He wore a white cape. He had a large grin on his face. After him, a man who wore an orange top with scales on it, & green skin tight pants walked behind them. As the three approached, a red streak flashed between the suited men, then shimmered in the space in front of Dick. The streak revealed a man, suited in a red suit with a lightning bolt on his chest, but instead of a cape, he wore a mask over his face. He had lightning bolts emerging from his ears.

Dick stood there, stunned. "Whoa," he gasped softly. "What…?"

The man standing before him outstretched his hand. "Hey there. Name's Barry Allen. You can call me the Flash. Welcome to the Watchtower. Pretty cool, huh? You're Robin, right? I heard a lot about you. It was pretty cool, what you did to take down that guy in Gotham the other day. You really know your stuff. Batman must be super proud to be training a kid like you. It's super awesome to have a guy like him as your mentor. You've got the best guy for the job."

"Flash," Princess Diana said, "you're doing it again."

The Flash glanced from Diana to Dick, then suddenly let out an awkward laugh. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I talk a lot. Sometimes I talk fast. Sometimes, it's both. It's hard to slow down."

Dick shrugged. "It's cool. You're fast. That's dope."

The Flash smiled cheesily, then turned to the remaining three men who followed suit. The green man approached Dick first. "I am J'onn J'onzz. I am one of the last remaining Martians left in the Universe. I am here to welcome you to our cause."

Dick stared at the man. He felt inclined to shake the man's hand, but he didn't offer. Plus...he was green. And a Martian. "I'm...sorry to hear about your kind, sir. But thank you. I am honored to be here, standing before you."

J'onn smiled faintly, then stepped back, allowing Dick to step towards the next two men. The orange scaled man & the chiseled chin man glanced at each other, as if having a conversation between themselves. The orange scaled man spoke first. "I am Arthur Curry. I am the current King of Atlantis. I look forward to working alongside you & your mentor."

Dick stared in awe at the man. "King of Atlantis? Like...under the sea?"

Arthur nodded with a grin. "The very same."

Dick raised an eyebrow. "Cool. That's cool. You can, like, breathe underwater?"

Arthur shrugged. "I'm their King. I have to."

Dick nodded. "Oh, duh." He glanced to the chiseled chin man with the large lightning bolt on his chest. "What's your deal?" he asked. "Are you, like, a knockoff of the Flash?"

The chiseled man's face went from a sly smirk to a genuinely offended frown. "No! I'm Billy Batson. I'm, like, really strong, & I can fly, & stuff."

Dick glanced at the man up & down. "Billy? You, uh...look a little old to be Billy."

Princess Diana placed a hand on Dick's shoulder & leaned in close to his ear. "Don't make him say his other name," she whispered. "You'll embarrass the poor boy."

Dick felt a sudden tingling sensation, feeling Diana's warm breathe by his neck. He totally disregarded the fact that she referred to Billy Batson as a boy.

Dick was started by the door behind him opening, revealing an older man dressed in a suit, with a bright yellow vest & a bowtie. He wore a large top hat, & a full mustache. He was followed by Zatanna Zatara, wearing her favorite blazer with her white button up & jeans, who was walking alongside Rachel Roth & Kori. Dick's face lit up a little, seeing them again.

The Batman approached the old man & shook his hand. "Giovanni, it's good to see you." The man nodded with a smile, then placed his hand behind Zatanna, who smiled softly. Dick suddenly noticed a striking resemblance between the two. It...was he her father?

Kori's eyes brightened up as she saw Dick looking over at her. "Dick!" she cried softly, running over to him. Somehow, she recognized him underneath his Robin suit. She leaped onto him, hugging him tightly. Dick held her tightly back, feeling a warmth of seeing a familiar face.

Rachel slowly approached the two. "Kori, would you knock it off?" she said, before noticing Dick underneath his mask. "Wait...holy shit, Dick? Is that you?" she asked.

Dick smiled. "Yeah. It's been a while. How are you two?"

Kori smiled back at Dick. "Fantastic. I am thrilled to be with you again!"

Rachel leaned close to Dick with her arms crossed over her chest. "I won't pretend to care about why you're dressed like a dork, so I'm just going to ask if you know what the hell we're doing here."

Dick shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

As soon as Dick said that, the doors opened once more to reveal another man emerging from the doors behind him. It was Victor Stone, walking in with a large leather jacket that he managed to pull over his robotic arms. His face, however, was still visible. Followed by him was Logan, who was wearing a baseball cap & a t-shirt & jeans. He was still green as ever, with the goofiest grin on his face. Alongside those two was Conner, who now wore a black t-shirt that had a small S emblem on the left breast, & blue jeans. He looked more nervous than ever before.

Dick glanced up between everyone, then back at the Batman. "Bruce, what's going on?" he asked softly.

The Batman looked down at Dick, then stepped away from the visitors, alongside the suited adults. "Everyone, welcome to the Watchtower. You have each been selected out of thousands of special individuals around the world for something big. With each of your abilities, you will all become valuable assets for us. We'll help train you all, & help you channel your abilities & gifts. You'll become stronger than you already are, & be able to help the entire world when called upon."

Victor glanced at Dick, then back at the Batman. "So, what, you're gonna make us into some superheroes?"

Logan scoffed. "No, dude, we're all too small. They're probably gonna make us into their grunt sidekicks."

Victor looked down at Logan. "Hah! I dunno about you, but I ain't no grunt, man."

"Boys!" Princess Diana called. Logan & Victor both suddenly stared at the Amazonian, both in slight fear. Dick grinned. He tried not to laugh.

Diana continued. "You all will work alongside us when we require it, but, in most cases, we would like to create a secondary unit similar to our own, only consisting of youths with great abilities. Within time, we'll have each of you working on secret operations across the world. In fact, we would like some of you to start now."

Zatanna raised her hand. "Wait, start WHAT now?"

The Flash threw his arms up. "Initiation!"

Everyone turned & stared at the Flash for his over enthusiastic exclamation. The Flash slowly let his arms hang & sighed. "Okay, I'll let you guys do that then," he said in a disappointed tone. He turned, then glanced back at the group. "Buzzkills," he grumbled, then sped off in a split second out of the room.

Dick scratched his head. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that, man."

Batman cleared his throat, & the group's murmuring died down to a silence. "For the incoming new members of our League, we are requiring you to keep your identities secret for your own safety, & that we assign you each with a codename that we will refer to you each by from now on."

The group of teenagers each glanced at each other. They were unsure of how to proceed. Rachel stepped forward. "Okay, I'll start," she murmured. "Um, I'm Raven."

Batman nodded. "Codename: Raven." He nodded towards his side, & she stepped away for a brief moment. Batman glanced at Zatanna, who stood beside her father. "Zatara, I know you & your daughter well already. I feel that a codename for her would be sort of redundant."

The old man, Giovanni, nodded. "I suppose," he responded in his British accent.

Batman nodded. "Zatanna, you & Raven will work on an assignment in the West coast. There's a supernatural dimensional breach near the coast of California. We would like you two to check it out."

Raven glanced at Zatanna, who stared right back in both annoyance & confusion.

Batman turned to the group of boys, & Victor stepped forward. "I guess you guys can just call me the Cyborg," he grunted. "No use getting creative, right?"

Batman nodded. "Alright. Codename: Cyborg."

Victor glanced down at Logan, who was caught off guard. "Oh, uh," Logan stammered. "I hadn't really had time to think this over," he whined.

"Nigga, would you come on?" Victor called, slapping Logan's shoulder.

"Beast Boy?" Logan cried.

The group stared at Logan, who suddenly blushed red in the face. "I dunno. Isn't it ok?"

Dick shrugged. "I was thinking Changeling," he suggested.

With that, Conner, Kori, Rachel & Victor all nodded in agreement.

Batman sighed. "Codename:...Changeling?" he asked questioningly.

Logan nodded with a smile. Batman continued in his hoarse voice. "You & Cyborg will be sent to Jump City to locate & eliminate an underground criminal syndicate group known as Hive."

Victor & Logan nodded with grins on their faces. "Jump City, baby!" Victor chanted.

Batman turned to Kori, who stood upright with a bright smile. "Starfire, sir!" she cheered.

Batman let out a soft chuckle. "Codename: Starfire. You'll travel out with J'onn J'onzz in order to help locate a fellow Martian named M'gann M'orzz."

Starfire nodded with a soft smile & walked towards the green man. She almost walked past Dick until he grabbed her by her arm suddenly. She turned back to look at him. "Dick," she gasped.

Dick felt a sudden tug in his chest. "Kori, I don't know what's going to happen from here on now," he whispered. "I may not be around to take care of you a lot. I don't know if Rachel with, either."

Kori smiled. "I will be alright, will I not?"

Dick fought tears. "Seriously. I need you to be careful, okay?" He looked deep into her big, bright green eyes. He knew he wouldn't forget those eyes. "Never let them take the light from behind your eyes, okay?"

Kori's smile faded, & suddenly she was looking deep in Dick's eyes as well. She nodded softly, then wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Dick felt onto her even tighter. Space. She was going into space, where she was from. He wanted to make sure she was alright, one last time.

J'onn J'onzz & Bruce both cleared their throats awkwardly, then Dick & Kori parted ways. Kori began walking with the Martian, & Dick watched her leave.

Dick felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He looked up to find the Batman, glancing down at him. "It's okay," he said softly. "They'll all be okay."

Dick nodded. Before Bruce could even open his mouth, Dick began to speak. "Codename: Robin," he spat out with enthusiasm.

"Alright," Batman said. "Codename: Robin."

With that, the group began to clap & dispersed among themselves, each conversing nonchalantly, & some tending to serious matters at the center of the station. Bruce turned to leave with Dick with he saw Conner, standing awkwardly by the door.

Bruce leaned towards Dick. "Which one was he?" he asked.

Dick sighed. "Conner. We rescued him from Cadmus. He had no memory of his time there. He's got super strength."

Batman nodded. He glanced around in the station. "Dammit, where's Kal-El when yu need him?" Bruce grunted.

Just as he asked that, the doors behind them opened & a man emerged. He wore a dark blue suit with a large red symbol across his chest. It resembled an S. He wore a large red cape over his shoulders & had slicked back black hair, except one curl hung over his forehead. His jawline was exquisite. The suit was form fitting, revealing his large biceps & pectoral muscles. He was an incredibly good looking man. Something about him made Dick suddenly reevaluate his idea of what it meant to be a superhero.

"Sorry I'm late," the man said. "Got caught up in some turbulance on my way here."

"No time for jokes, Kal," Bruce grunted. "Just as I asked where you were, you decided to show up late to this urgent meeting?"

Kal-El nodded. "You're right. I apologize," he said. He glanced between Conner & Dick. "And just who you two might be?"

Bruce nodded at Dick. "This is Robin, my ward. I'm training him to work alongside the League."

Dick stared at the man. Something about him struck as familiar to Dick. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Dick asked.

Kal-El stared down at Dick. "Um...not that I know of. You may have seen me on the news."

Dick struggled really hard. "S...Superman, right?"

Kal-El nodded, raising his eyebrow at Bruce. "Yes, that's what the 'S' is for."

Finally, Dick remembered seeing the file on Bruce's computer. "Clark!" Dick called out.

Kal-El's eyes widened opened as Bruce suddenly smacked the back of Dick's head. "Dick!" Bruce hissed.

"Wait," Kal-El said. "Dick...Dick Grayson?" Kal-El glanced at Batman. "Bruce," he whispered, "you told me you were adopting a kid, but I had no idea you managed to adopt Dick freaking Grayson! I was trying to interview him for so long for work!"

Bruce cleared his throat & whispered in a normal voice. "Clark, I found him at your apartment."

Suddenly, the pieces were coming together. Dick could see Kal-El with a pair of glasses & a tie, & he was Clark Kent. Clark looked down at Dick, & it seemed as though he was looking right through Dick's mask & could see the person he met that night on the bus. "John…" Clark mumbled. "It was you."

Dick nodded softly. "Nice to see you again, Clark," Dick said, holding his hand out.

Clark let out a soft smile. "Nice to see you too as well," Clark responded, gripping Dick's hand tightly & shaking it as well. Dick glanced behind Clark's shoulder, where Conner stood, still unsure where to look. Clark turned around to find Conner staring down at the ground. He nodded to Conner. "Hi. I'm Clark. You can call me Superman."

Conner looked up at Superman & smiled softly. "Hey."

Dick smiled at the two, then felt Bruce place his arm around his shoulder. "Welcome to the Justice League," Bruce said.