James: Chapter 5

"And you have no idea where he came from? Tony Zucco just appeared on our front step as if it were magic?" James had had a long week and this night especially had tested the last of his nerves. Not only was the Batman out delivering his own brand of justice, but now he had some thief calling herself Catwoman running around stealing from nobles. Not that that kept James up at night, the nobles surely had the gold to replace whatever was lost. He just feared what changes Batman would bring to his city. All of Westoros seemed to be going mad, with two new masked marauders of the night, who knew what would come to his front door next. And now Anthony Zucco, a man James had been trying to arrest for over a year now, just appeared as a gift on his steps, shattered ankles and all. If this becomes a regular occurrence I may have to divert more attention to trying to catch this 'knight' of the night.

"Alright, bring him in, find a damn healer or someone to help try and mend those legs of his…and will someone get me a damn report on who Catwoman plundered tonight!" Gordon shouted as he returned to his private solar on the third floor. As he walked in through the doorway, he saw the window was open.

As he went to draw his blade he heard a familiar voice from the corner behind him, "No need." Gordon turned to face Batman as he stepped out of the shadows.

"Do you always need to do that?" Gordon went to his desk and poured himself a cup of ale. He looked up to his strange visitor, "You sure seem to be in great want of a shave. I'm assuming you don't want one?" Batman said nothing, so Gordon sat down and drank his whole mug in a few chugs.

He finished and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, "We got your present, thoughtful of you. Next time I hope it's in a better condition or I may have to start coming after you more seriously. I've already got ravens from both Casterly Rock and Highgarden wanting me to make you our main threat. Only a matter of time before Baratheon gets off his ass to tell me how to do my duty too."

"Do you think I am a threat?," he heard in Batman's typical grim voice.

"I think you're trying to help…but I've been wrong before. You leaving thugs around the city unable to walk again or with broken jaws or arms or whatever the hell else you've done, convinces me otherwise. I know Zucco did it in for the Grayson boy's parents, but you breaking the man's legs like that…I can't get behind that. You don't kill, that is the reason why I don't set my whole watch after you, but if you keep this up I will put you ahead of Falcone himself. You can't do whatever it is you are trying to do if even the innocent people of the city fear you," he told the stranger while pouring another cup for himself.

"I lost control…it won't happen again." That was not something James had expected to hear. He looked up at the man, seeing what looked close to regret in the masked stranger's eyes. Who is this man?

"How can I know for certain that it won't? With the ways I've heard you fight, the damn trinkets and toys and whatever else you have in that damn belt. How do I know you won't become something this city has more to fear than even the Others? How do you convince me of that, ser?" Gordon felt almost like he was scolding the Batman, as if he were his father slapping his wrist for doing wrong. Am I drunk already? He looked back to his mug, saw it full of ale, and concluded he was not.

Batman waited a moment before responding, his helmet making it impossible to read any sort of emotion on the man's face. "I became this, Batman, to try and save this city from devouring itself. King's Landing, Casterly Rock, none of them paid any mind to this city as it crumbled in on itself. If I could give someone for the criminals and other deviants to fear, someone that cast a darker and longer shadow than just an ordinary man…"

"Listen, I don't know who you are or what pushed you to take this all on yourself, but there's one thing I've learned in my years in this city. You cannot do it yourself, you need someone to, on occasion, pull you out of darkness you find yourself surrounded in. Because when you get in so deep, you cannot trust your own mind to pull yourself out of it. You need another set of hands to do it, believe me, that's a lesson I am reminded of every day." James hoped he was getting through to this strange man standing before him. Most of the city feared Batman, but here he was trying to teach him something. Maybe I'm not as far gone as I had feared either…

Batman looked out the window to the streets, "Whether you trust me or not from this point forward I cannot say, but I am here to stay. Whether you hunt me or help me, I will always be here, to prowl these streets by the darkness of night."

James smirked, "I know…and I think I could use all the friends I could get right about now. So I won't set my dogs on you, yet." He took a sip of ale before continuing, "Now that you have dealt with Zucco, whose next? Might I recommend this Catwoman? She's only stolen from nobles so far, but she could be…"

He turned to see Batman had already left, "Right…" He took another swig of ale before returning downstairs, a smirk still upon his lips.

Alfred: Chapter 6

"Good night Master Richard," he said gently as he tucked the boy into bed. The boy had fallen into slumber near half an hour ago, but he always read the stories to their completion whether they boy was awake or not. He had finally gotten the boy to sleep in his new bed. His new living chambers were right next to Alfred's so he could come to the boy at a moment's notice should he call.

Alfred enjoyed having some pleasant daily company in this dark castle for a change. He showed the boy around the grounds, how to prepare a delicious beef and onion stew, even took the boy out into the woods to climb the trees as he was so fond of. That had been the first time the boy had laughed since his parents' unfortunate deaths. Alfred had even thought of adding a pet to the castle to keep the boy company. Maybe a great big hound, or a horse to ride around the grounds, maybe something more exotic like a one of those small monkeys from across the narrow sea.

As he closed the boy's door, he heard something knock from inside Thomas Wayne's study. As Alfred cautiously opened the door, he found Master Bruce sitting in a chair looking solemnly through the floor. He was wearing black silken bed dressings, but his face seemed ghostly in its blank expression. He did not notice his faithful servant until he was within arm's reach.

"Oh, Alfred, how is the boy doing?" Whatever is troubling him, it's troubling him deeply.

"Master Richard is progressing well, he laughed today. He often asks what you're doing and why he's seen you all but twice since he moved in to stay with us. I tell him you had important lordly chores to complete, or that you were feeling ill. I highly doubt he believes any of it," he responded with a light smile.

"I found Zucco tonight Alfred…he was guarded, I must have broken at least one of each of their bones…and when I got to Zucco. Zucco…I…broke both of his ankles. I don't think he will ever walk again…He said he only turned to crime out of losing his lands and wife. What have I done Alfred? Am I losing myself so quickly in this monster I've created?" Bruce seemed on the verge of tears as he looked up at Alfred, looking for some sense of an answer.

Alfred kneeled down beside the young man, "No Master Bruce, you are not lost. I feared you were long ago, and often during your absence. But no my dear boy, you are not lost in the darkness. You have Lucius here to help you, and now young Master Richard too. The boy needs someone who has gone through this before Ser. He needs your wisdom, your guidance, your attention. Help the boy, and I think you will help yourself in turn. And me Master Bruce, you will always have me."

Bruce slumped forward and leaned his head on Alfred's shoulder, Alfred slowly wrapped his arms around the man as if he were a boy. "Bruce, we are the night, do you remember? What your father told you? You need to work in the darkness to help those in the light, but you can't lose yourself in it. Remember why you became Batman Ser, why you want to help people, and why you cannot give up on yourself. If you do that, then you will be lost Bruce."

Alfred helped Bruce sit back up, small tears in the corners of his master's eyes. "You caught Zucco Ser, now take a day for yourself. Take the boy out tomorrow, around the city, like your father used to do with you. Talk to the boy Ser, help him not to become lost in his own darkness. Buy the boy a pet! I was thinking a nice, large hound, or maybe a horse so he can ride it and feel the wind through his hair again. He could use the companionship, I do what I can, but I am still a stranger to the boy I fear. It will take him a while before he can trust me enough to let down his walls."

Bruce looked up to meet his gaze, I've won him over. "Alright Alfred, I'll spend the day with the boy, but this matter with Zucco is far from over. He was working for Carmine Falcone."

Alfred's eyes widened slightly. "No surprise there I believe Master Bruce, he is the ring master of the criminal circus in this city." He won't stop until he has brought Falcone before justice as well.

"No Alfred, I was not surprised, it was what he said next. He said Falcone has hired some man, the Half-Mask, to come to Gotham to deal with Batman…I have heard of no such man in my travels. I am weary of what is to come."

Alfred looked from the bust of Thomas Wayne to his son sitting before him, "I believe we all are Ser. In that you are also not alone."

Richard: Chapter 7

It was sunny and bright out for once in this usually gloomy city. Since Dick had arrived in Gotham it had been either raining, cloudy, or the sky was dark with both clouds and rain. But today the sun lit its rays down upon the Earth and warmed Dick's skin as he stepped out into the light. Bruce was taking him out and around the city today, the safer parts at least. As Bruce limped out of the door he said some parting errands to Alfred such as tending to the few complaints the citizens at the gate needed to say.

Alfred had said that usually lords of castles spent quite a few hours each day listening to city folk complain of this problem or that. In Gotham however, people rarely came to the castle to complain because there was little even a lord could do in a city as crime-ridden as this one.

"My late Master Thomas tried all that he could, but at the end of the day there was nothing more he could do than offering some silver pieces to those who had came to him wronged," Alfred told him one night. During Bruce's absence, he had been the one to listen to complaints, but those grew shorter and shorter as people started giving up and losing hope entirely. Now that Bruce had returned though, the people had hope again, and the Batman made people even more willing to believe this city had a brighter future.

"Come along Dick, I'm going to show you one of my favorite places in this city," Bruce said as he hobbled down the steps to the castle gate. He expects to walk for hours today?

Dick's question was answered as a black, roofless carriage pulled up on the street past the castle's outer wall pulled by two large horses which he did not know the breed of. The carriage had red leather seats and interior with a dark oak exterior. The seat was more than comfortable enough to sit on.

"So where are we going my lord?" Dick meekly asked. Bruce laughed a little as the carriage jolted forward as it began to go down the street.

"You may call me Bruce lad, and we're going to Gotham Bay. My father often took me there to look out at the salt-sea and feed the birds and fish. I figured you might like some time away from that dreary dungeon of a castle."

Dick scrunched his face in confusion, "But that's your home my lo…Bruce, how can you dislike your home?"

"That was my father's home Dick, not mine. If it were up to me, I'd have the damn thing torn down and rebuilt. It's only a crypt for my parents' spirits now, it has not been my home since I was eight."

"Well whether your parents lived there or not, it's my home now," Dick determinedly stated. Bruce met his gaze and smiled. This man is as confusing as the mysteries beyond The Wall.

"Perhaps you're right lad, maybe it is time to rebuild the place in a way. Let us start that today shall we?" Bruce said still smiling. They rode the rest of the way in mostly silence, both of them gazing around the city as it passed to watch it spring to life from the welcomed change in weather. Women were walking with their children, street performers were playing music or performing tricks for coin, even a few of the city guards were joining into the celebrations.

Once they arrived at the bay, Bruce and Dick slowly proceeded down to the sandy shore. "I'll tell you Dick, I have missed this place. The smell of the salty water, the feeling of stepping on sand, even hearing the damn gulls and their screeches, this is what I remember from youth. What do you remember Dick?"

Dick slowly answered, "M-my father lifting me up into his arms to fly me around above him like a bird. The smell of my mother's hair, the sound of my father' laugh…Is it true they caught my parent's killer?"

"Bruce looked out to the sea as they approached where the water's edge kissed the sand. "Yes Dick, it is. Last night Batman caught him it would seem, and delivered him to Ser Gordon and the city guard. How does that make you feel?"

Dick looked out to the sea as Bruce was doing, "Not very much different I suppose. Whether Batman caught him or not doesn't change anything, but I am glad that he is paying for what he did. They're still gone, the circus has left without me, and I'm still here. So there is nothing to make me feel any differently truly."

He remembered the day of his parents' funeral near a week ago, with both Gotham city folk and his circus family all standing and watching his parents be lowered into the earth. That was the first time he had seen Bruce since moving into his castle, and he looked as stoic as one of the gargoyles standing guard over it. Dick did not cry though, not when his parents were buried, or when he said goodbye to his former family as they left the city behind them. He cried at night, into Alfred's chest, before falling asleep to one of the man's stories. It is time to make new memories…I suppose.

As they walked along the water they talked about where they had gone in their travels, the fantastical things they had seen that others could only dream of, and about simpler things like stories and what they each thought Alfred did when he had no one to wait on. "I think he practices how to look like he's made of stone. So he can stand with the other shells of armor in the hall of the Waynes and scare the other servants as they walk past!" Bruce jested making Dick cry out in laughter. Dick forgot how good it felt to laugh like this; he realized he missed it incredibly.

"If he tried scaring me like that I'd just pull on his mustache and run away as quick as my feet could carry me!" Dick replied giggling.

"Haha! Ahh, well the old dog actually suggested something that might be a grand idea. What say you we get a pet for the castle? Make it a little less dark and lonesome eh? We could get a big hound, or cats, maybe some hors…" Bruce was cut off as Dick saw something a few yards ahead in the sand and ran out to it.

As Bruce slowly caught up to the boy he looked at what was lying in the bed of yellowish sand. It was a young hawk, no more than a year old, wriggling around flapping its wings trying to take flight. Dick noticed one of the wings was bleeding, and the hawk screeched in pain.

"A larger one probably, must have gotten into a squabble for territory like most lords do eh?" Bruce jested as he stood over the kneeling boy beside the injured bird.

Dick carefully picked the bird up, making sure to get both hands wrapped around the wings and body so it did not attempt to flail. "Do you think we can help it?"

"I don't know Dick. Alfred might be capable to, but he has only ever aided people back to health, never animals, much less a young hawk. We best leave it here and let nature take its course."

Dick did not want to leave the bird here to suffer, "You said we could get a pet, I want this one." He held the bird up to Bruce's face, the sunlight glaring off the bird's shiny, golden beak.

Bruce was not convinced, "Dick if you want a hawk, let us buy one from Highgarden. I hear Ser Wilmas trains and raises the best hawks in all of Westoros. You can go hawking with it, and it will surely be a beautiful bird."

Dick looked up stubbornly, "I don't want some rich lordling's hobby bird. I want this one."

Bruce sighed, then smirked, "Alright, I suppose we can cut our day short to bring Alfred back our present. Let's head back then."

As they rode in the carriage back to Wayne Castle Dick inspected the wounded creature in his arms. It had light brown feathers coating its body with cream colored ones over its belly. It had dark brown, piercing eyes that constantly looked from one place to the next restlessly, occasionally staring up at Dick. It had black tipped wings and beak with long dark talons on each foot.

"It won't die, but I know not whether it will ever fly again," Bruce said after riding silently for a while.

"It will fly again, I'll help it." If I can learn to fly again after falling, it can too.

Bruce smirked again, "What are you going to name it? Every sword or horse or ship has a name, so I imagine a hawk as beautiful as this one should too."

Dick had known the name he wanted for the hawk the moment he found it, "Nightwing."