"Shall we start with Batman?"
In response Dick Grayson got murmurs and he took a deep breath before typing the name of his adoptive father.
This Bruce is not my father. I did not beat my father to a pulp but a monster.
He repeated this in his mind as a kind of refrain as he banished from his mind the image of the blood on his own Nightwing suit from two days ago before he washed it.
Bruce's blood.
Eventually Dick stored the memory in the far corner of his mind as thousands of pages and photos about Bruce Thomas Wayne appeared on the screen. The acrobat clicked on the Wikipedia page, which opened in seconds.
They learned that this Bruce also lost his parents at the age of ten to a robbery gone wrong caused by the same robber Joe Chill, and the traumatized child was placed in the care of the Wayne family butler, Alfred Pennyworth.
During the last years of his teenage years nothing more was known about Bruce, as if he had disappeared from the face of the Earth, and the three quickly agreed that this was the period when Bruce traveled the world to train with the aim of becoming Batman.
What Dick read next stirred his stomach violently and he felt bile rise in his throat and he forced himself to send it back down.
A few months after Bruce returned to Gotham, around the age of twenty-one, Alfred Pennyworth was found dead near Wayne Manor.
The murderer was never found.
"What the hell." muttered a stunned Slade Wilson.
"Pennyworth's death does not, however, explain the behavior of the Batman we saw. At most he would start killing criminals, not innocent children!" spat Talia Al Ghul venomously.
"Talia is right." agreed Slade immediately. "When was Batman's first appearance?"
"A few months after Alfred's death." the first Robin answered him after scrolling down the page with his mouse. "Only this Batman is not called that but is called DarkBat."
"DarkBat." murmured Slade, repeating the name to prove it himself.
"And it didn't end there. Months before Bruce was spotted in Gotham after his years of training around the world Lucius Fox and Leslie Thompkins were also found dead." swallowed Dick, chasing the image of his two old friends lifeless from his view.
Behind him Slade and Talia exchanged a glance unbeknownst to the acrobat, and the mercenary beckoned her to comfort him. Talia twisted her lips but she let out a silent sigh of defeat and she awkwardly rested a hand on Richard's shoulder.
Initially Nightwing stiffened at the physical contact but soon she felt him relax and he rested his hand on hers for a few moments before quickly removing it and continuing to scroll the page with the mouse.
Talia in turn withdrew her hand, which fell limply to her side. The warmth of Richard's hand on hers surprisingly was not at all unpleasant.
She dared to say that it was even... pleasant.
She did not feel disgusted or outraged by Richard's physical gesture, and that was strange enough.
She missed Slade's smile but both were diverted from their thoughts when they heard the former Robin's voice again.
"It would seem that DarkBat is responsible for the deaths of innocents during the nights, which is why all citizens, criminal and innocent both, rarely come out of their homes during the night. The Gotham GCPD issued a warrant for the arrest of DarkBat after the first victim caused by him." Nightwing informed them in a stiff, barely controlled voice.
"Of course. GCPD does not have the resources to capture DarkBat." scoffed Talia bitterly, getting two murmurs of agreement.
"And-fucking hell!"
"What?"
Slade and Talia noticed how Dick's face lost color and began to seriously worry about him.
Not that they would admit it out loud of course.
The hero of Bludhaven shakily pointed a finger and Slade stretched his neck to mentally read the lines before silently cursing. At the confused and impatient look of the Demon Head's daughter Slade gave a brief summary. "Police Commissioner James Gordon was found hanged in his home along with his wife and daughter with several batarangs sticking out of their bodies."
Talia repressed the urge to swear loudly and instead just stared grimly at the computer screen.
"Are you all right Richard?" asked Deathstroke genuinely concerned and Talia turned to stare at the not-so-reassuring looking first Robin. "Shall we take a break?"
"I'm fine." he brushed off his former mentor's concern. "We can't afford to take a break. We still have so much to learn."
The last Flying Grayson took a deep breath, using one of the breathing techniques his Bruce, his real father, taught him, and within minutes the color returned to his face.
The vigilante was grateful that neither Talia nor Slade said anything during the silence.
The three later learned that DarkBat has hundreds and hundreds of deaths on his guilty conscience and that no one has ever been able to discover his identity. Instead, like Bruce Wayne he runs the multibillion-dollar company Wayne Enterprises and makes many generous donations with lots of charity events.
Talia curled her lips in disgust. "Organizing charity events to hide the fact that he killed so many innocent people. How deplorable."
Dick muttered in agreement with her before narrowing his eyes at a few lines in particular. "It says here that DarkBat is also responsible for the murder of Harvey Dent."
Talia raised her eyebrows. "Two Face?"
"No, just Harvey Dent. In these worlds Harvey never became Two Face and he was the best and most respected prosecutor in Gotham and he was fighting hard on the capture of DarkBat."
"Come to think of it, what does the Rogues Gallery look like in this world?" asked Slade. "I would think the Joker would pretty much become this Batman's best friend or something."
Dick snorted a laugh as he foxed quickly before stopping abruptly, his eyebrows almost reaching his hair. "This... I never thought it was possible."
"Don't keep us on our toes, kiddo."
"It would seem that the Rogues Gallery of our Gotham never existed here."
This very important detail shocked both assassins. "So there is no Joker, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, etc. in this world?" asked Talia, her eyes strangely never leaving the figure of Richard staring concentratedly at the bright computer screen.
"Exactly. There is little information about them, however. Harleen Quinzel is a world-renowned psychiatrist, Jonathan Crane is a psychologist and teacher of psychology at Gotham University, Pamela Isley is a very famous botanist and has won several awards for her discoveries, Victor Fries never became Mr. Frieza since his wife Nora never contracted the terminal disease and he devoted himself to cryogenic studies, about Bane I can't find anything. They have not been spotted in Gotham in recent years. Whereas the others like Oswald Cobblepot, Edward Nigma, Roman Sionis, Waylon Jones were also supervillains here."
"Were?" Talia pointed out the use of verbal tense.
Dick nodded somberly as he continued reading. "They were brutally killed by DarkBat. For example, Killer Croc's head was found in front of the police station."
A stunned silence filled the room. "None of us will have to face him alone." Deathstroke firmly decided.
Nightwing smiled but his smile did not reach the mercenary's one eye. "I beat him once and I can do it again."
"I'm not questioning that." Slade declared sincerely. "But that doesn't mean you have to play the hero again and risk getting yourself killed."
"Don't be protective of us, old man."
Slade huffed but did not correct him.
"What about the Joker?" at the confused look on Richard's face Talia continued. "You didn't mention him on your list."
"I can assure you that there is no Joker in this world, however, I cannot say what he does. You don't happen to know his civilian identity?" Dick sighed when they both shook their heads. "At least, whoever he is, he never became a homicidal psychopath."
"We are dealing with a psychopathic madman who dresses up as a Bat and kills at night, though." Slade said in a flat tone.
Dick swallowed the sarcastic retort in defense of his mentor at the last moment knowing reluctantly that the mercenary was right. He continued typing and scowled. "There isn't even a Justice League."
"Fucking perfect! Our best chance to return to our world does not exist here!" barked Slade sarcastically, restraining himself from punching the wall.
Before Talia could say anything the acrobat cursed sonorously. "Fuck!"
"What?" she asked.
Apparently Richard did not hear her and instead continued to rail incessantly, which worried the two assassins who never heard him swear so openly.
Who knew Dick Grayson had such a big, dirty mouth?
"We're screwed."
Slade raised an eyebrow, not believing his former student's words in the slightest, believing that he was just exaggerating as usual.
Instead Talia found herself giving credence to his words, for one reason or another.
Eventually Dick calmed down through deep breaths and began to explain in a mechanical, robotic voice. "We've ended up in a world where much of our Justice League are evil."
"WHAT?"
Dick ignored their outbursts and continued. "Ka-El landed on this Earth already in his adult stage and claimed Metropolis as his city to destroy as Kryptonman. Lex Luthor is his most bitter enemy, the only one who fights steadfastly to eliminate Cla-Kryptonman once and for all to free Metropolis from his rule."
Uncle Clark…
"Are you telling me that fucking Luthor here is a good person?" asked Slade shocked, his tone tinged with a hint of incredulous amusement.
"Yes." snorted the acrobat briefly before continuing to read. "Diana Prince is known as The Amazon, she killed her mother Hippolyta to claim the title of Queen of Themyscira but has often been spotted in our world killing a great many innocents."
Aunt Diana…
"Hal Jordan was chosen as a Green Lantern but in the end he abused the power of his ring and together with Kryptoman, The Amazon and others killed the Green Lantern Corps and anyone else who was a threat to his Green Lantern status. He is known by the name GreenDark."
Uncle Hal…
"Barry Allen aka KillerFaster had an accident in the chemistry lab that not only made him the fastest man in the world but also drove him to madness, first killing Iris West-Allen and the rest of his family. He operates mainly in Central City where he strikes terror."
Uncle Barry…
"Arthur Curry, known here as BlackWater, king of Atlantis, killed the queen and his wife Mera in the public square and enslaved the entire Atlantean people. He seems to care little for life on land, but he still killed human people."
Uncle Arthur…
"Next we have J'onn J'onnz aka Martian Hunterman," Dick ignored Slade's snort. "And he seems to be the only Martian left alive in the entire universe and he has decided to let off steam on Earth, violently destroying the minds of the innocent by killing them or making them empty shells."
Uncle J'onn…
"Last we have Oliver Queen and his girlfriend Dinah Lance, Deadly Arrow and Dark Canary respectively, killing innocents in Star City."
Uncle Ollie...
Aunt Dinah...
Dick took a deep breath and turned in his chair, finding himself staring directly at the surprised, shocked and slightly frightened looks of Talia and Slade.
"They form the so-called Injustice League and hold the whole world under their iron fist."