Notes: I'm probably not going to update this quickly on a regular basis. I just wanted to get the first chapter after the prologue up to establish the plot. I'll try not to take too long though.

The cover image used for this story is a public domain image. The artist is Daniel Olah from .

Gunfire erupted in the night. Someone fired several shots from a handgun, each shot sounding like an explosion in the night. The gun was small, but still loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. Three robbers fired back at a bank they had just hit. The security guards, who had thought to confront the robbers, were now ducking and covering. There was a running car waiting for the robbers right there, just as they had planned. They got inside and then their getaway driver quickly sped out of there before the car doors were even closed. Someone screamed for the police, but the cries just echoed into the night.

The car fled down the street. It moved above the speed limit, but not so fast that it seemed like they were desperate. More like they were on a joy ride. No cops pursued them, and other cars pulled to the sides to avoid the criminals. The armed men sat in the speeding car laughing, and counting the money they had just stolen. This sort of thing was not at all unusual in the city of Bludhaven. A corrupt city. A cruel city.

As the car drove along, one of the tires blew out. The men complained angrily, and the driver reluctantly stopped. The robbers got out to examine the tires. A front tire had blown. But it didn't appear to be an accident. There was something stuck in the tire. Something sharp, made of metal. And it was blue. As one man grabbed the dangerous looking thing to examine it, he was struck in the back of the head by something blunt. He fell over onto his face. The other men pulled out their guns and looked around. At first, they didn't see anything. But then one of them looked up and pointed. They saw someone standing on top of a small building nearby. Someone wearing a mask. He held two sticks in his hands, clenched tightly.

"It's a cape!" one of the robbers said. The two men started shooting, but the masked man leapt forward into the air, evading the gunfire. He grabbed onto the overhang of a streetlight, and flipped around like an acrobat, leaping again. The men continued to fire, only to find they had run out of bullets. Before they could reload, the masked man flew through the air and kicked one in the face, knocking him into the car. He then landed on the ground next to the remaining gunmen. The last robber swung his gun, attempting to bludgeon the man with it. But the hero ducked, grabbed the man's arm and twisted it. He threw the man to the ground, and then dislocated the man's arm. The robber reached for his gun on the ground with his other hand, but the masked man used one of his sticks to break the man's trigger finger. The robber screamed, and then lay on the ground trying to stifle screams of pain. The masked man picked up the gun and unloaded it, before throwing it away.

With the three of them taken out, the hero looked at the driver in the car. The man had been sitting there the whole time. He looked like a deer in the headlights. He held up his hands, showing he wasn't armed.

"Hey look, I'm just the driver." The man stammered. The masked man regarded him for a second.

"Good to know. I'm Nightwing." Nightwing then punched the man in the face, and the driver slumped. Nightwing then surveyed the others again, making sure they were all down. The city was corrupt, and cruel, but it was also Nightwing's city. He wanted to make sure everyone knew that.

As he looked over the fallen robbers, he heard sirens. Cop cars were coming. Nightwing wasn't sure if they had decided to show up because of the robbers, or him. Either way, he knew it was time to leave. He knelt down and retrieved his birdarang. The sirens came closer. By the time the cop cars came close, Nightwing had already left the scene. He had retreated into the shadows, just as he had been taught to do.

For a brief time, Nightwing stood on a rooftop looking out at the city. Bludhaven was a strange mix of grime and flash. He was still learning the layout. He had been patrolling for hours. He hadn't seen any other crimes since he foiled the robbers. That was a sign he was doing his job. At least, that's what he hoped. He still needed to set up a way of being alerted to crimes like the Titans had.

He was still getting used to being a solo hero. In the past, he had always been a leader. Or a sidekick. Now, the only person he was responsible for was himself. No, that wasn't true. He was responsible any time he got involved with these crimes. The criminals, the victims. The difference was, there was no one to watch his back now. But that was the way he wanted it. It was better this way.

"Isn't it?" Nightwing asked no one. It was barely a whisper. He stood there in the breeze for a moment, and decided it was time to head home.

Within half an hour Nightwing was back at his apartment. It was a penthouse, with large windows overlooking the city. The apartment looked more than livable, but not lived in. There were the essentials, like a couch, and a television, and refrigerator. But not a lot of personal touches. He had of course been sure to outfit the place with alarms and sensors, but so far he hadn't really needed them. That could always change though.

He walked into his apartment, and turned on the entrance light. He left the other lights off though, giving the place a dim look. Sometimes he liked it that way. He walked into his living room and turned the television on, wondering what would be said about his exploits earlier that night. He switched to the news station, instantly seeing the talking heads on screen.

"…The robbers were apparently stopped by the vigilante calling himself Nightwing." The female news anchor said. She delivered the news impassively, as news anchors so often do. "The police on the scene said, quote, 'Bludhaven doesn't need vigilantes, and that Nightwing's presence will not help the crime in the city'."

"I disagree." Nightwing said. He took out a slice of leftover pizza and put it in the microwave. He didn't feel like cooking. He turned back to the news as the food reheated.

"In related news, there has been a possible murder in Jump City." The news anchor continued with the same tone. Nightwing's ears pricked up at the mention of his old stomping grounds. "A local hero in Jump City has been slain. The young man known as Aqualad." The news displayed a blurry picture of Aqualad from when he was alive. "He was found dead this morning, and early reports suggest that he may have been murdered. Whether this was the work of a costumed villain, or gang related, or something else, is not clear at this time."

Nightwing stood there as they casually talked about the death of someone he had once known and fought beside. He heard the microwave chiming. He had lost his appetite.

He paced back and forth for a minute. He was still in the process of establishing himself here in Bludhaven. But he couldn't just ignore what happened to Aqualad. Could he? Nightwing shook his head. Never. Bludhaven could do without him for a short time. He needed to find out what happened to his old friend.

Nightwing walked over to the other side of his apartment. He turned the lights on to see better. He stood before a bookcase set into the wall. He reached out his hand and pulled on a few books in a certain order, and the shelves moved aside. It didn't open into a cave, but there was a secret compartment with some things he didn't want to leave out in the open. His old Robin costume. Some pictures. A few weapons (there were more elsewhere in the apartment). And his old Titans communicator. There was a layer of dust on it. He reached for it and picked it up. He turned it on, and put it to his mouth. As he was about to say something, he hesitated. It had been years since he'd seen his old team. He didn't know where most of them were, or what they were doing. But they would want to know about this. And yet…

The idea of seeing them again after so long, after the way they left things, made him feel uneasy. Besides, he could probably handle this investigation himself. There wasn't really any need to…

"Titans, come in." A voice on the communicator said. Nightwing didn't startle easily, but the sudden voice was so unexpected that he almost dropped the communicator.

"Titans, come in. If you're there, please respond." The voice said. Nightwing recognized the voice. A voice from the past, but still youthful. It was Raven.

"Is anyone there?" Raven said. Nightwing held the communicator in his hand for a few seconds, debating with himself whether or not to answer. Finally, he raised it to his mouth again.

"I'm here." He said.

End Notes: Regarding the timeline of this story, I thought it would be weird to have the story take place in the 2020s, considering the original show first aired in 2003. But I'm keeping the exact date of the events ambiguous. It simply takes place a few years after the show. I'm not sure if I should include smart phones and stuff. Similarly, I am keeping the characters' exact ages ambiguous as well. At least in part because the show never specified their exact ages, even though they were obviously high school age. In this story, let's say that the characters are roughly "college age".