Chapter 9: New Digs
The day had come for Dick Grayson to move into Wayne Manor after Bruce had offered to give him a place to live after his parents' deaths. Harvey was driving Dick to Wayne Manor while Bruce and Alfred were getting things prepared for their guest. Once Harvey was parked, both he and Dick got out of the car and knocked on the door. Alfred opened the door and greeted both Harvey and Dick. "Hello, Harvey. Good to see you.", Alfred said. "Hey, Alfred. This is Dick. I brought him up upon Bruce's request.", Harvey said as he introduced the quiet acrobat who still was traumatized over witnessing his parents' deaths. "Welcome, Master Grayson. I'm Alfred, I'll look after your day-to-day needs.", Alfred. "How you doing, Al?", Dick replied. "Master Bruce! Master Dick and Harvey are here.", Alfred called to Bruce who came down immediately after to greet his guest. He shook both Harvey's and Dick's hands upon seeing them again. "Thanks for bringing him over, Harvey.", Bruce said. 'Don't mention it. I would stay longer, but things are always hectic at the DA's office. So, I'll leave you to it. Thanks again for looking after him, Bruce. It's really generous of you.", Harvey said right before he left the manor. "There's a room prepared for you upstairs, but maybe you'd like to get something to eat first. Alfred's an excellent cook.", Bruce said. "It's true. I can make whatever you wish.", Alfred said. "That does sound tempting. How about BLTs?", Dick asked. "I'll gladly fix that up for you.", Alfred said. "Thanks, Al. Let me just put my stuff upstairs and get settled in a bit.", Dick said. Dick stopped to look at Bruce and said, "Thanks again for this, Bruce. I really appreciate it.". "No need to thank me. Just happy to help you through this difficult time you're going through.", Bruce assured him. Dick took his stuff upstairs leaving just Bruce and Alfred to talk. "Poor lad. I sense the same sorrow I sensed in you after your parents were killed.", Alfred said. "That's why I wanted to take him in. It's my fault his parents were killed. If I had made sure Zucco was down for the count right away, he would still have his family.", Bruce said. "It's not your fault, Master Bruce. I know you did everything you could to make sure no one was hurt. Sometimes, you can't keep these things from happening no matter how hard you try.", Alfred told him. Later on, Bruce and Dick were having some of Alfred's homemade BLTs while getting to know each other more. "So, yeah. I cared for that bird for about almost a months before its wing was healed up. I kept it in an old shoebox where I gave it as many worms I could find. My dad gave me the nickname Robin since the bird was a robin.", Dick said. "Sounds like you did a good thing by helping a hurt bird. Your dad must've been proud of you for taking the time to do that.", Bruce said. "What about you? Any stories from your childhood?", Dick asked. "Not much to tell. I didn't have too many exciting things going on for me as a kid other than the typical rich kid stuff. If anything, I fell down into a cave under the mansion where I got attacked by bunch of bats when I was 8.", Bruce said. "Wow! That must've been scary.", Dick said. "It was.", Bruce said. Another knock came at the door while they were talking. Alfred made his way to get the door and saw that it was Lucius Fox. "Hi, Alfred. Is Bruce home?", Lucius asked. "Master Bruce, Mr. Fox is here.", Alfred announced. "Okay. Keep Dick company in the meantime.", Bruce said. "Who's here?", Dick asked. "The head of my company's applied sciences division. Sorry to cut out. I'll be right back.", Bruce said as he left to meet with Mr. Fox. "Hey, Lucius. What's up?", Bruce asked. "Not much, Mr. Wayne. I heard you were going to have some company. I heard about what happened at the circus. I'm so sorry.", Lucius said. "I felt like it's the least I could do for him since I failed to save his family.", Bruce said. "Don't blame yourself, Mr. Wayne. It's not your fault that happened.", Fox said. "So, what's up?", Bruce asked. "I thought it would be more fitting to go over some more ideas I have for your personal escapades here rather than in the office,", Fox said. "Oh, like what?", Bruce asked sounding intrigued. Lucius got out a sketchpad and showed him some of his new gadget ideas. "I've been working on a boost to your grapnel gun which should give you a boost in the air. As well as a grenade which dispenses a glue-like substance so you can subdue your enemies. I also am developing a line launcher device which will allow you to shoot a strong cable to get across safely say if there's a large gap in between where you are and where you want to go.", Lucius said. "I like the sound of these. Let's talk about it more in the study. I don't want Dick to hear any of this. While unbeknownst to them, Dick could make out some of what they were saying as he was eavesdropping on their conversation while Alfred was babbling about his life in London. He couldn't make out everything they were saying, but made out enough to make Dick suspect that Bruce was the Batman who stopped those criminals at the circus.