Be Brotherly

*BUZZ BUZZ*

Groaning, Dick rolled over in bed to pick up his phone. Through his sleepy eyes, he looked over the quick alert. He rubbed his face to shake the drowsiness out of him as he carefully removed the covers and climbed out of bed. Just as he put on a pair of shorts, a tired but somehow still stern voice made itself known.

"Richard John Grayson. You better be getting out of bed to bring me back a glass of water," Zatanna scolded with her bare back turned.

"Uhhhh, yes, dear," he stuttered.

Sneaking away, he put on his Nightwing armor and leapt of the balcony towards the nearest Zeta tube. Rolling her eyes, Zatanna got out of bed and walked to the kitchen. Pocus stretched and followed her. She opened the fridge and poured herself and Pocus some water.

"Be safe, baby."

"WAAHHHH"

*CRASH*

Getting up from the rubble, Supergirl tried to rub the bruise on her head. Before her stood a towering creature made of pure energy. The blue light shimmered from his body and lightning sparks bounced off him. At the center was a single red circuit board that acted like an eye. The monster waved its hands in the air. Lightning bolts from every electronic on the street zapped and flowed into the creature as it drained the energy around him. It grew larger as Supergirl palmed her face.

"Where do these guys keep coming from," she groaned.

"Feed Overload!"

"Yea yea yah big lug. How about I feed you a knuckle sandwich!" she cried flying forward and punching Overload right in the eye.

Angered, he fired more bolts of energy at her shocking her to her core. Before Overload could deal a finishing blow, a pair of flashbangs blinded him.

"Raahhh," he cried taking several steps back.

Kara sat up to a black gloved hand in her face. Smiling, she took it and pulled herself up.

"Took you long enough," she quipped.

"You literally called me out of bed. The network isn't fully set up in Bludhaven or in National City. I had to take like two Zeta tubes to get here!" Dick fired back.

"Either way, I'm glad you're here Wing-ding."

"Uhh hello! It's Nightwing," he corrected while pointing at his chest, "You literally gave me the name."

"Yea, but you get all antsy whenever someone calls you the wrong name."

Before he could retort, Overload got his bearings and fired another electrical pulse at the heroes. They jumped out of the way as Nightwing threw another explosive at the monster.

"Well, Supergirl, care to fill me in?"

"Uhhh long story short some scientist created a fancy circuit board but now it keeps draining electrical energy and growing bigger and bigger."

"Wait….did you say electrical energy!?"

Suddenly, Overload wrapped his arm around Nightwing and starting feasting on his suit's electronics.

"Ahhhhhh!" he screamed.

"Mmmm big power. Big feed."

Overload grew exponentially larger before getting slammed by Supergirl in the back and caused him to drop Nightwing. Quickly, she rushed to Nightwing's side.

"You ok?"

"Ughhh I can see why folks are petitioning against shock therapy," he groaned, "Shit. My gear is totally fried. No heads-up-display, no communications, basically no tech."

"Uhhhh, sorry," she tried to apologize.

"Later. We'll have to do this old school."

He pulled out a pair of escrima sticks and charged at the creature with Kara. With his quick hops and leaps, he kept Overload focused on him and distracted while Supergirl delivered the big hits. At the latest hit, Overload stumbled back and crashed into an electronics store.

"Oh no," worried Nightwing.

"Oh shit…that's the last place he needed to land!" exclaimed Kara.

Sparks flew from the storefront as Overload kept draining all the power. Half the city block's lights were flickering and short circuited as he just kept growing and growing.

"Dammit! We're never gonna beat him at this rate," groaned Nightwing, "And he's waterproof too!"

"Huh?" Kara looked at him perplexed.

"He's waterproof right? You did try water on him?"

Blushing furiously, Kara looked away and tried to nonchalantly whistle. Nightwing stared incredulously at her with his mouth open.

"KARA!"

"Well, I mean. Y'know he's a big bad guy and I'm strong soooo punchy punch punch!" she meekly responded.

"Kara! It's about fighting smart! Not fighting strong! Ugh look, just stand ready at that fire hydrant," he ordered.

Nightwing jumped forward throwing a few more birdarangs to annoy the energy lug.

"Overload, huh? What, was Sparky taken?" he teased.

"Overload crush you!" he cried before shooting more bolts at him.

"Whoa now," Nightwing dodged, "That's not what crushing is. You're gonna have to get up close and personal to crush me!"

Blinded by rage, Overload charged at the chatty acrobat and pounded the street.

"That's more like it! But now you gotta catch me," Nightwing said.

The aerial avenger continued to flip and dodge Overload's attack. Unaware of his surroundings, Overload stepped right were Nightwing wanted him to.

"NOW!" he shouted.

Immediately, Kara ripped the hydrant from the street and directed the water towards Overload.

"Ahhhh nooooooo," the energy being cried as the water cackled and fizzled around him.

Slowly but surely, Overload was shrinking. He tried to move but the water was everywhere. He could not escape it. In the end, his entire energy-based body dissipated and all that remained was the single red and black circuit board. Catching up to Supergirl, Nightwing smirked, raised an eyebrow, and crossed his arms. She glared at him as they engaged in a staring contest. Finally, she relented.

"Ok ok! Fight smarter not harder!"

Up on the rooftop, Dick and Kara sat on the ledge of National City tower each enjoying some late-night Big Belly Burger.

"Hey uh, thanks for coming to help," she said while sipping her soda, "and also for not ratting me out to Kal and the rest of the League."

"No worries. I got you. Although, I'm still confused that you called in an electronics-based hero for a villain that drains electricity," he teased.

"Alright already! I'm sorry. It's just…you were the only one I could call."

Sensing her distress, he bumped her shoulder gently urging her to continue her thought.

"Well," she said, "I just wanted to prove to everyone that I could handle this type of stuff. Kal still babies me and sometimes Conner does too. I moved out here to National City to show that I can handle being a solo hero. I can totally be on my own! But I guess I still need a little help here and there."

"Hey, I get it. You're growing older. You have all this power, but you want to show that you can wield it. That's normal."

"Yea but I don't want to be known as Superman's kid cousin! I want people to know who I am! I want to be my own hero…..kinda like what you're doing."

"Even so, Kara, these things take time. I've had years of experience. But even then, there are still things I need to learn. When I first joined the Team I was an insufferable hot head."

"You mean you're not now?"

"Hey now! Haha. But seriously, I thought I could take on the world and be a strong leader. But I was just dragging my friends down by not communicating. Now, I have that experience. That's just one of many hero lessons you'll learn. You're gonna fall every now and then. And that's ok. Just dust yourself off and learn from your mistakes. Just be patient with yourself. Like you said, you've got what it takes. Maybe some on-the-job learning will give you the much-needed experience to grow. As such, what did we learn today?"

"Sigh. Fight smarter not harder."

"By?"

"By trying out the opponent's obvious weakness before coming up with another plan."

"And?"

"Sigh, and by being ok with asking for help. You happy, Professor Grayson?"

"Yup. You're gonna do great, Kara. I'm sure of it."

Nearing 4 A.M. Dick tiptoed through his apartment and gently set a bag of Big Belly Burger on the kitchen counter. As he passed through the living room, he spotted his girlfriend wearing a robe and sleeping the couch. The TV screen was lit but the words "Are you still watching?" appeared brightly. Turning off the TV, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to bed. She stirred and burrowed into his chest more.

"I swear to God if it was Condiment King or some D-list villain, I'm shrinking you down and you're sleeping with Pocus tonight," she groggily warned.

"Not Condiment King. Some giant electro creature Kara needed help with."

"Hmmm, you should've let me come with."

"Nahh, you need your rest. We had it handled. I brought home Big Belly Burger," he reassured her as he gently placed her on the bed.

He tucked her in and pulled the covers over her.

"Is it a double patty?" she asked as he began taking off his armor.

"Mmmhmm," he replied.

"With extra cheese and bacon?"

"Yes."

"With no onions?"

"Yup. And exactly two slices of pickles."

"Did you replace the ketchup with the spicy sauce?"

"Yes, dear."

"And-"

"And I got the extra-large fries and I put the Oreo flurry in the fridge."

"Mmmmm I love you," she slurred as she drifted off to sleep.

Finally undressed, he climbed into bed with her and hugged her from behind.

"Love you, too, Zee."

Meanwhile, in Gotham, Batman slowly walked down an alley. Every year he walked down this alley as he tried to both forget and relive the worst night of his life. Approaching a lone lamppost, he looked up at the light and then at the cobblestone pathway. Kneeling down, he placed two white roses onto the ground. He put his hand on the ground and closed his eyes sinking deeper into thought. When he was finished, he stood up taking a deep breath. The caped crusader turned around making his way back to the batmobile. An odd sight was there to greet him. The car's two front tires were completely missing. However, he could still hear the soft clicking of a socket wrench. He circled around the car to see a young boy furiously working to get the tires off.

"Ahem," Batman cleared his throat.

Shocked, the boy turned and looked at the daunting figure. His clothes were torn and old. His arms and face were dirty with the smudge and filth of the city. Despite being caught in the act, the boy didn't show fear. He snarled at actually snapped back at the Dark Knight.

"Yea? And what do you want?" he growled.

Smirking, Batman crossed his arms.

"You hungry?"

AN: Sorry for this being on the shorter side. It feels like filler (because it is) but it's a set up for a minor arc (and of course a major character induction fufufu). Hope you all are still enjoying the story. I'll get the next chapter up soon!