A/N: Hey everyone! I am so sorry I haven't updated for a while. Life caught up with me and I completely blanked on updating anything. This chapter is a good sized one so I hope that makes up for the wait.
Also, In this chapter, it mentions that Dick has an accent. I did some research and Romanian accents sound a lot like Russian accents. I thought science did still lived with his family and they all had accents he would still speak in one.
I think that is everything so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own YJ.
"So what should we do for the show tonight?" Mary asked as all of them walked into the tent to practice their routine.
"Well he is a person like the rest of us just because he's a billionaire doesn't mean we should treat him any differently." Rick told them.
"I bet he gets that a lot." Karla thought.
"What?" John asked.
"Getting special treatment because of his status, he probably wants to be treated like an ordinary person right?" Karla said.
"So we should put on the most boring act ever?" Charlie lifted an eyebrow.
"No, I'm just saying we shouldn't overwork ourselves just to please one man." karla told her son.
"How about we do the same routine we did in Vegas the last time we were there, that one was pretty cool." Dick thought back to that performance and it certainly gave him an adrenaline rush just thinking about it.
"We were all pretty beat afterward. " Charlie thought back to how tired he was after they performed.
"I like it, Dick, it's been a long time since we did that routine. what do you say everyone want to do that one?" John asked the rest of the Grayson's.
"That would require a lot of fire." Rick crossed his arms.
"Were the best acrobats in the world aren't we?" Dick urged them.
"When you put it that way then I agree." Mary smiled.
"Alright, I'm on board too." Karla smiled.
"Sure why not?" Charlie shrugged.
"We better get everything prepped then." John began walking to the trapeze supplies.
Dick was happy that they had agreed with him on that Vegas Routine. that would certainly impress everyone in the audience tonight and like every finale since he was 12 he got the best move.
he followed his family to the trapeze when out of the corner of his eyes he saw a figure dressed in black and gold sitting on the bleachers of the audience. It took a moment for the image registered in his mind and he turned to the bleachers to get a better look only to see no one was there. he looked around the tent to see if anyone was dressed like that, but there were only a few other people practicing their routines.
Dick's brow furrowed.
"Dick are you alright?" Mary called him seeing the confused look on his face.
"Huh?" Dick turned to her. "Oh I'm fine mom." he smiled and continued to follow them. 'Must have been seeing things.'
Later that night the team arrived at the fairgrounds of Haley's Circus, Bruce had bought them all tickets. all of them were dressed in their civilian clothes so they wouldn't attract attention.
"So this is where Robin grew up?" Zatanna looked around seeing all of the balloons, Clowns, animals, children, and other festivities.
"Looks like a fun place to be." M'gann looked around at all the laughing and smiling people.
"the show starts in a few minutes." Kaldur looked at his watch.
"If Robin is here where do you think he would be?" Conner asked looking around for any teenagers that looked like his friend.
"Probably backstage with all the other performers." Raquel told him.
"Well, we should head to our seats anyway, by the time we get there we the show should be starting." Wally told them, and they all nodded.
the group walked into the big top and found their seats.
All the bleachers were filled with people. if you hadn't bought your tickets in advance you wouldn't be able to get in.
"they must be pretty good if all these people came." Zatanna thought aloud.
"yeah." Wally agreed.
The lights dimmed and everyone settled in their seats to watch.
then there was a flash of lights and smoke and the ringmaster appeared in the center ring. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Children of all ages. Welcome of Haley's International Traveling Circus, The grandest show on earth!"
the crowd cheered.
"Before we begin how's about a round of applause for tonight's generous benefactor, All the way from Gotham City give it up for Bruce Wayne!"
The team looked over when the spotlight came over Bruce Wayne sitting in one of the best seats in the house, he got up from his chair to wave to the people before sitting back down and the spotlight came back over Haley.
The entire show Bruce waited for the final act to come out which he knew was The Flying Grayson's, given that they were the best act of the circus. the acts were all very good like the time he had come to the circus the night of the accident. Sure Bruce had brought Dick back to the circus whenever they were in Gotham to visit his old family but they never stayed to watch the show.
Every so often during the show, Bruce looked over to the curtains leading backstage to see if Dick would come out just to watch the show himself before their act went on, but Dick didn't so much as even poke his head out.
But finally after what seemed like centuries the finale was here.
"And now Ladies and Gentlemen, high above the center ring for a dazzling display of the world's most famous and talented aerialists. Tonight performing their death defying act without a safety net, The Fearless Flying Grayson's!" Haley announced his most famous act.
spotlights switched on drawing the audience's attention to the 6 people on the platforms.
the family of acrobats waved to the audience below, as the crowd cheered.
there were 3 Grayson's on each of the two platforms on both sides of the trapeze.
Bruce was finally able to see his adoptive son up on the platform of the trapeze. he saw Dick smiling with his family and waving to the crowd below.
He felt some relief wash over him to know that his son was alright it didn't seem that he was in any way injured or hurt.
He looked so happy up there with his family.
"they will be performing their death defying act above a flaming net of fire!"
once Haley said that a net that was about 30 feet below the trapeze lit up in flames, at the same time fire shot up out of various spots around the ring. and the crowd went wild.
The nets of fire below the trapeze unsettled Bruce a little bit, he knew Dick was a professional at his acrobatics and he had 6 more years under his belt that he didn't have before so he wouldn't fall. But if there was a chance that Dick could fall then he would likely not survive!
Like every performance, Dick felt a rush of excitement run through him as he waved to the crowds. he couldn't wait to get the show started! once they were done waving he turned to the bowl of chalk dust and put some on his hands. they had to put chalk dust on their hands to make sure their hands didn't become sweaty from the fire.
John and Rick went first onto the trapeze making sure to sit upside down holding the trapeze bars between their knees.
"introducing John and Rick Grayson, the original Grayson brothers!" Haley introduced.
as John and Rick swung back their wives jumped off the platforms and took their husband's hands.
"and here is Mary and Karla!"
The women let go mid swing and did a flip in the air to switch places. The crowd when the men caught the women from the air.
Once the women were back on the platforms it was Dick's and Charlie's turn. Dick backed up a little on the platform so he would be able to get a bit of a running start. He needs to make sure he jumped out far enough.
Dick and charlie prepped, waiting for their dad's to come back around.
Once Dick saw his father was close enough he ran to the edge of the platform and jumped off.
"And last but not least Charlie and Richard!"
Both boys did a somersault in the air before their dads caught them by the ankles.
Once again John and Rick let them go mid swing. The boys high-fived as they pass each other. The crowd cheered yet again.
Then their uncles caught them and they landed on the platform.
Now that all the introductions were done the real fun could start.
The team was impressed by the daredevil act of The Flying Grayson. They did their flips and catches with such grace there wasn't a single slip up that they could place.
"They're really good." Zatanna commented seeing the Grayson's flip from bar to bar.
"They are amazing!" Raquel shouted over the noise.
"This act has me so on edge." Kaldur thought "One slip up and they could fall to their deaths."
"Isn't that how they died in our reality?" Artemis asked.
That comment didn't help Kaldur.
"Yeah, it's sad really they are so talented I'm kind of jealous!" Raquel said.
"You could always ask Robin to teach you some of his moves once things are back to normal." Conner told her.
"Nah I'm not as flexible as he is."
"And now," Haley's voice brought their attention back to the act. "Richard, the youngest of the Grayson's, will perform the Quintuple somersault! That is five somersaults, ladies and gentlemen! And our very own Richard Grayson is the only person who can do it!"
"Did he say five?!" Wally asked. He had only ever seen robin do four in a row!
"And just to make this interesting" Haley continued. "In order to make it to the next bar he will have to flip through a ring of fire!"
"What!?" The team shouted at once.
And sure enough, a big ring lowered from the top of the ten and lit up in flames.
"I do not like this." Kaldur said and this time everyone agreed.
The spotlight shown on Richard. He stood on the platform with the bar in hand as he waved to the crowd.
He then gripped the bar in both hands took a deep breath and jumped. Mid swing he let go and went right into the somersaults.
"1… 2" Everyone counted and the team stood up in case they needed to jump in and save him.
"...3" He did the third one through the flaming ring and everyone held their breath.
"... 4… 5!"
"He did it!" Wally shouted.
Richard reached out with his right hand to grab the next bar but he wasn't as close as he had hoped. The end of his fingers just brushed the bar but he couldn't get a hold of it!
Someone screamed, and Bruce shot up out of his chair prepared to jump into the ring to catch Richard.
Wally was about to do just that when Connor put a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait."
Everyone looked up to see Richard shoot out his left hand and somehow grabbed the bar with his fingertips he swung to the other platform and landed gracefully. He turned around and put both arms up and bowed.
The crowd went wild!
When Haley announced the move Richard would be performing bruce was on alert. If he fell Bruce would have to catch him, and when he almost did fall Bruce felt like he would have a heart attack! But somehow Richard made it to the other side!
Bruce had to wonder if it were all part of the show.
"Whoa." Wally stared in awe at his best friend's final move on the trapeze. It made him feel a bit uneasy too because if dick didn't manage to grab onto the bar he would have fallen into the flaming nets!
"I've never seen Robin do something like that." Zatanna said in awe.
"There really isn't a reason for him too." Connor watched as the Grayson's began to climb down the long ladders.
"I guess you're right." M'gann said feeling like a weight lifted off her when the fire was put out.
"So should we go and try to sneak backstage like Batman told us?" Artemis asked.
"We need to wait for them to leave the ring first." Kaldur stopped her.
"Hopefully, he does remember." Raquel muttered.
"PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR THE FLYING GRAYSON'S!" Haley announced one last cheer once they had come back down to the ring. They all smiled and waved at the crowd.
"Thank you all for coming and have a wonderful night!"
People began to gather their things and leave the tent and the family of six acrobats made their way backstage.
"Now?" Artemis asked.
"Yes." Kaldur nodded.
Bruce was happy to see Dick again, but during the entire show, Dick hadn't even glanced over to him to give him a sign of recognition. Maybe what Warp said had been true.
'Dick must really not know who I am' He groaned.
Well, the team was still going to try and talk to Dick so maybe they could get something out of him.
He already knew that messing with the timeline could have some serious consequences and they needed to fix this before something happened to their reality. But he couldn't force Dick to come back to the cave against his will, he needed him to agree to it. They had already called in Doctor Fate to see if he could do anything to bring things back to they way they should be.
Fate had told them that the timeline was not going to end well if they did not put things back to normal.
Doctor Fate would help them find Warp, and have him set things right, but they needed Dick to agree to it first.
"Maybe some of us should have waited outside." Raquel whispered as they hid behind a curtain while some of the circus employees walked by.
"Well too late now." Conner muttered.
"M'ggan can you sense Rob-Richards mind anywhere in here or did he leave?" Wally asked.
M'ggan closed her eyes to concentrate and was able to feel Dick's presence. He was still in the tent.
"Yes he's around here somewhere." She said, then added. "I think his family has already left the tent."
"Wonder why?" Artemis wondered.
"Hey! What are you doing back here?" They turned to see one of the circus's security guards had found them.
"uh oh." wally breathed.
Dick was alone in the Flying Graysons kind of dressing room area of backstage. His family had left, but he stayed to talk to Miranda for a while, but now that she left as well he was alone. He had just finished changing into a white T-shirt and a pair of tan cargo pants.
He was putting his Flying Grayson costume away when the curtain to his family's part of the tent flung open.
He turned around to see a red haired boy with freckles a little older than him and a girl with black hair and blue eyes. Frantically the boy closed the curtains and both of them ducked behind one of the big wooden chests that were in the room. Neither of them realized Dick was there.
"What are you…" Dick lifted an eyebrow but then stopped.
They looked over at him realizing he was there. They held their fingers up to their mouths indicating for him to keep quiet.
The curtain opened again and Jeremy, one of their security guards, looked inside.
"Hey Dick, did you see a couple of kids run by here?"
Dick glanced over to the two hiding behind the chest, out of view from the security guard. They shook their heads pleading him not to give them away.
'I'm going to regret this' Dick thought.
"No. why? what happened?" Dick asked.
Wally and Zatanna looked at each other. Did Dick have an accent?
"Nothing you need to worry about." Jeremy said. he went to leave, but stopped and turned back to Dick.
"Hey, be careful, that was a close call tonight."
"I'll try." Dick nodded and Jeremy closed the curtain leaving Dick alone with the intruders.
As soon as the cost was clear Zatanna jumped up and hugged Dick.
"Dick I'm so glad your ok." Zatanna smiled.
Dick became even more confused.
"Umm…do I know you?" He really couldn't remember all the people he met on tour so if he had met her before he didn't remember.
"Come on Dick you don't have to act like that around us." Wally told him. "And you can drop the accent, it sounds ridiculous!"
"What do you mean it sounds ridiculous?" He asked, offended that he was insulting the accent of his people.
"I am Romanian, and this is what a Romanian accent sounds like!" He said, and Zatanna lets go of him backing up a bit.
"Really? It sounds Russian." Wally said hoping his friend would drop the act.
"Who are you?" Dick asked again.
Batman had already warned them that Warp may have erased Dick's entire memory of his years with them but they had hoped he cared enough to remember some of his best friends!
"Ok, how about we start over." Zatanna said, choosing a different approach "Dick, does the name Bruce Wayne mean anything to you?"
Dick didn't understand what these two strangers wanted from him, he was about ready to call security back to take them away.
"Yes." he said and hope flickered in Wally and Zatanna's eyes.
"He was the VIP at tonight's show."
And the hope flickered out.
"Ok, dumb question." Zatanna muttered. "What about Batman?"
"I think he's one of those heroes my cousin Charlie is always talking about? I never really pay that much attention to the Justice League though." He shrugged.
"What?!" Wally yelled shocked.
"Sorry." Dick didn't understand what these questions had to do with anything or why this guy was so upset.
"I'm not much for all that violence and fighting, I'm more of a bookworm."
the two of them looked at him with shock.
"Dick, don't you remember what Warp did to you?" Wally asked getting a little desperate for some sign of recognition from his best friend.
"Warp?" Dick lifted an eyebrow. "Who on earth is that? Who on earth are you?!"
"Warp, the man who changed your past, the Asian man dressed in that black and gold uniform? Am I ringing any bells?" Wally asked.
Dick had no idea what he meant by changing the past, time travel hadn't even been invented yet!
...But the black and gold did remind him of the guy he saw this morning.
"Well the black and gold thing kinda does."
Zatanna smiled. Maybe the was hope.
"This morning during practice I thought I saw a man dressed in those colors, but I was probably just seeing things because he disappeared."
"What?" Wally began worrying for his friend. Warp had already done his job why did he come back? Was there a second part to this plan that they weren't aware of?
"It's nothing never mind." Dick said hurriedly.
"You two should go. I only covered for you so you wouldn't get in trouble. I have to go to, my family will start to worry if I don't get back."
Wally and Zatanna looked at each other. If Warp was here then they couldn't let him leave alone.
Wally grabbed Dick's arm before he could leave.
"What are you-?"
Wally cut him off.
"You are in danger and you have to come with us." He said.
"What?" Dick asked. "I don't know who you are! Why would I go with you?!"
"Because," Wally started, "You could die."
Dick looked at him. His expression was serious. He wasn't joking. These people were crazy!
Dick had enough of this.
"Security!" He yelled.
"Dick wai—" Zatanna tried to stop him.
"Secur-" Dick tried to yell again but was stopped when Wally clasped a hand over his mouth.
"Hmf!" Dick's muffled shout came from behind wally's hand.
The redhead had one arm wrapped around Dick's torso so he couldn't use his arms and the other hand stayed firmly over his mouth.
"Richard." Wally said sternly. "You need to be quiet and listen to us. There is someone out to-"
Before wally could finish his warning the curtain flew open to reveal two security guards. They growled when they saw a wide-eyed Richard struggling against the bigger teen holding him.
"Hey! what do you think you are doing?" One of the guards shouted as he lunged forward and grabbed Zatanna. The other guard grabbed wally, prying him off of the youngest Grayson, who fell to the floor.
"That's it." The guard holding Wally growled out. "You too are going to have to leave the circus grounds." He began pulling a struggling wally out of the tent.
The guard holding Zatanna hung back.
"Are you ok Richard?" He asked the young teen who was still on the floor.
He just gave a small nod but he eyes never left wally, who was being dragged out.
"Wait, Dick, you don't know it but you're in danger, you need to get help before something bad happens to you!" Wally yelled as he was pulled out of sight.
"That's enough, come on." And with that Zatanna was escorted out of the tent, leaving a wide-eyed Richard on the floor.
Warp watched from afar as Richard Grayson walked across the circus grounds towards his family's trailer. Warp had seen the security guards dragging two young people off the circus grounds only a few short moments ago. They were yelling about Richard being in danger. Which meant that they knew. How they knew Warp didn't know, but what he did know is that it meant he would have to get rid of the younger Grayson before his little friend convince him he is in the wrong timeline."I see I will have to put my plans into action sooner than I thought."
Well, there you go! I hope you all liked it! Thank you to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited. you guys are the reason I write!
Please review and let me know what you think! I will try to have another chapter out as soon as I can! =)
