Alpha Beta, But Never an Omega
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Chapter 18: Kiss, Don't Tell – Aye, Aye, Captain!
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Dick's body was electric as he woke to the sun finally hitting his face with a big cheesy grin. He thought he would be the first up. His calendar was marked with a big fat "X" that today, he was going to join his boys and women in blue.
"It had been the end of his term, and they'd be evaluated and trained according to what was in store for the cop of Bludhaven. Haven's hero by night, by day?
It was ultra cliché, yet detectives pulled it off all the time! Thing was, his sex had to be right. Every inch was beta, and he'd be doing desk work on day one. Maybe grunt work if that was provided.
Or depending on Blud's inclusive policy, something better than rotten old Gotham.
They didn't miss him, yet Slade had hinted on the ride back that he'd better watch his back. Thanksgiving was coming in another two weeks or less as Dick dragged on his suit and skipped over to locate a bowl from the cabinets. "Damn. Is there only health food, Slade?"
Dick called over his shoulder to see that the man was…
Not in the apartment?
He looked around, moving brisket from room to room. In the end, he scored a protein shake from Slade's health food stash on the top shelf. "That animal can't be on a contract." Dick scratched his chin, then headed for the bathroom door and swung it back.
"Shoot. Not this one."
He popped his head out the only window that he secretly knew how to unlock since this sick game had begun. Not a bad one. Slade didn't touch him since he was already willing to participate. The whole hormones thing was a no - brainer as Dick took real suppressants for his condition.
No drugged - up pups to worry about in this town.
Dick stomped over to the next room and shoved his face into the glass.
Not on the next building's roof. He really wasn't home?
Dick then was back in the kitchen, where he'd never checked it, a yellow post – it note was flagged to the fridge.
Bright yellow in black ink. He snatched it up and saw a time, abbreviations to someone's name.
"He was….shit…" Dick sighed and dropped his head, the coffee in his hand going cold.
Fumbling for his shoes, he found the keys and in the basket for them, another note and a large ass protein bar.
With a water bottle.
~ Don't be too lazy on your first day. See you at six, tonight. Be vigilant as always, blue bird. We'll discuss over supper the next steps to our plan then.~
He had fit all if that into one note. Dick crumpled the thing, got the bar in his back with his wallet which was still in his custody, and the keys in case he got locked out. Taking one look back at the well - made bed, the empty hallway and the dim lights from a day now waking up to the world over, he shut the door behind him and took the stairs with a solemn vow.
He was going to buy out his freedom and tell B and Slade off, as long as he had people that could back him up on a case they'd never seen coming.
Becoming a cop is just the next best way in knowing how to carry yourself against a mad man…
/
Slade had been out, hunting that early morning to trace the call back to the source of his original discontent. This person was going to stop at nothing. She made him nervous, just a little. Whoever she was.
He scanned his database for a match while Grayson was snoring away that night before. Will had pulled up a few ends, while his old buddy Squirrel had gotten even closer.
Her last name was Florez. Resident of Blud since birth. She had a murky history and her new job was working in the seediest spots to spot the person that took her life from her at a young age.
Her livelihood, he should clarify. Sge was alive, her father was her world and that. Was a common mode of one wanting to turn into a killer. She thought of justice, justice in what? Petty arguments with her past self?
That should be the least of Grayson's worries.
"I shouldn't have to ask."
Slade turned his head to see Damian Wayne standing as a roof away. "My abilities allow me to sense a person's heartbeat close to more off a mile. Are you sure you should be standing there, Wayne?"
"Where is he."
"Working, soon."
"Where."
Not much of a conversationalist.
"Playing truancy officer isn't my collective gig today. Where us daddy, kid?"
"This is my case, not his. He's not around to bother us."
"Go talk to a cop or something." Slade shrugged as he kept looking at his tech in his arm's suit for a match.
"This city has a hero now. Aren't you afraid he'll stop you? Or did you pay him off, take away his rights."
"I did for a trade, dear boy. Now, scat."
Damian grumbled as he moved across the lot to land sure footed. Right before the man. His cloak blowing off to the side, his hood up. "Birds chirp in the daytime, but you're no Robin. Go home –
"Where is my brother?"
"Don't know , go home."
"Not until you tell me what you've done to him. I saw him, he looked…all wrong. You did something –
"I did nothing. I'm working, brat. Go find your papa and leave –
"This city, is not yours to take. If Nightwing is aligning with you, then he is the Batman's enemy as well."
Slade snorted abd stood up a set taller, towering over the kid from his initial crouch on the rooftops.
"Kid, Dick Grayson isn't going to show his face any time soon. Because he has a plan, and I helped him to implement that plan."
"He can't do any of what you say. Father said –
"If you listen to daddy, child , you're just as guilty. This is your case, right? Take charge." Slade moved and dropped towards the fire escape, Damian zipping in on the man as he simply wasn't even there. Leaning over the edge, the crashed a fast into the brickwork angrily. His unit sounded in his mask as he touched on side. His father wasn't the one that answered, but Jason Todd.
~ Yo, got a sec? We're looking all over for you, Lil' D.~
"Don't call me that." Dami snipped. "That was Grayson…." He trailed off, biting his lip. "Deathstroke escaped. I'm going to wait for back up. Sending my coordinates."
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Jason heard the line disconnect as he looked over at Tim and one more person who had shown his face, looking rather miserable in all black.
"Midnighter. Why didn't you –
"Your bird boy intercepted the call. I had no idea Wayne wasn't in Gotham. Sue me."
"Or, did someone tell you to send it there."
"Your mama." MN snorted. "The cat lady told the kid, but I wasn't sure sge knew what was going on. My bad."
"Great, now the demon lord's fucking son is in on this…" Jason growled. "You know how bad that is? Talia will have us all hung!"
"Sorry, look. If it makes any difference, the kid's gonna find him. Slade didn't have to drop any info. It will just happen."
"How do you know all of that? Can you see the future, douche? My brother is in this city, not even able to figure out how to feed himself if he gets that deep in. You think Dick is gonna reveal his identity and fucking let that go?"
"Dick Grayson wanted to be a cop. He'll be coined a beta and by night, you'll see the other side to what he really is. I got a plan and Bruce will talk about it before we start."
"Why are you so close to him, MN?" Tim made sure to ask before the antihero was in his merry way.
"Because, he can stop what Deathstroke wants to take from this city. It ain't a perfect place, but we've fought for those who don't have what you guys got. More hope than you realize, at any cost of a little greed in us."
Tim nodded, not likely the secrets they had to keep from each other. The fact that Batman trusted this man to do as he expected without fighting back for the wrong home team.
He saw the look on Jason's face as they both swung off to go locate Damian. He had to be pissed that they'd be a few seconds off to get a verbal beating from the new boy wonder. Alpha always, just like his daddy.
/
Dick moved his posture upright to seem capable his first guess as he opened the doors to the building, was the mess.
Of paper, screaming phones and criminals shouting for their lawyers.
Yup. Just like Gotham.
He headed to the first desk he saw and saw that a man within uniform and his head in a book on global policies…was not caring that he would have something to say.
"Hi, new recruit, O'Hara. Reporting?"
He'd changed his hair today to have some red streaks in it, greener eyes as the small tweaks were somehow making Slade crazier than usual. He had even said that Dick looked like Grant before that interview.
Fondly.
Now, he looked like Jason before his hair went dark like Dick's. Minus the white strip of hair by his face from the pit.
Not anytime soon. Slade wouldn't, right?
Dick nodded to the man, his feet together as he waited to hear a response.
"Go back there; second door towards the toilets."
The lazy cop went back to his book, Dick – Ryan, moving with his intentions clear. Minus the hot coffee smell, the papers flying from hands unworthy and the yelling sex workers and evicted persons throwing riots…
Evidence enough that there was no bottom line. Everyone had seen enough of the old Blud. They wanted a fresh start.
He'd gone to the academy, acquired his four years, been as a Titan even off the field and he had status. Or, had it once…it stated falsely that his father, a hired cop was on the force with the records also forged to make the believable as livable as this shitty office setting. He was retired was what it also said.
The door was older, the building was nearly as wooden and just as vintage as the time he'd seen of Gordon's Victorian office on a few cases.
Dick moved across the floor and past a sea of callers to whatever county was bringing this much strife in one early - ass morning.
"Officer Rodriguez. You've got a call on line one."
"Patch me through to the district attorney's office. We have a witness to the Penelope Hunt abduction case."
"I thought I said black, not Americano! Go back and tell them I can't do this shit. Hey! Did I stutter?"
"The new guys are kind of scrawy. Should we tell them that omegas don't work in this line of fire?"
"Silvia, get your ass back to your paperwork. I don't wanna hear anything that doesn't involve filing those reports from last night. Hear me, girl?"
"We have a few citizens shot. Two wounded. Sending back up. Two omega are in critical condition. Requesting emergency services."
"Goddammit….the mayor has to be shitting us? More cuts to the budget? I'm gonna move and retire in a year here. This ain't the Blud my family grew up in. Its 'justice" isn't what any of us expected." The black, balding, senior officer put his head down, rubbing his face as he lifted it. The paper in hand had a headline that made everything worse.
His face, Nightwing was the cause of their strife as Dick's hands stayed clammy a second longer.
They needed him this badly.
Cuts meant less staff, security. All of those things came back to Gotham and its justice system. How at one time the government had left the city high and dry during an all-out crisis. Dick wouldn't do that. These people, they needed hope. A new, fresh –
The door pulled back as Ryan slipped his position to fall in line.
She was blonde, Caucasian and looked ex- military from what he could see by her build under the pant suit.
"New desk staff?"
"Just came from the academy. I'm O'Hara." Dick put out his hand to shake. Not until she let him. Not that kind of place, as she didn't take it. "Excuse the mess. Come in, step light."
Dick had the he honor of having her shut the door for him as she walked past to her desk, walking around him like some traffic come in the street. Or a wet floor sign.
The room resembled the thirties, not an extension entirely as some stained glass was genuinely Victorian. Home, even. She was not as sloppy with her paperwork as any space she military neat as a pin. As much as the space here could provide.
Shuttered blinds kept only small rays to peep through her window behind the desk as she didn't sit directly into it right away.
She had her hand over a folder. His.
"Says you grew up with your dad in Kingston. On the force, what made you wanna join?"
"Sort of. It was a major accomplishment fir my old man too…I'm proud to be a part of everything I've worked for. My dad was a cop. He'd be in that folder. As a teenager, my mom got wrapped into a case and, well…it's the least I could do when she wasn't around us anymore. My father basically raised me while she was in the hospital recovering once he solved the abduction case. That's when I knew what I wanted. To help. Like my father."
~ LIKE BATMAN.~ His ego echoed back.
The chief looked at the folder, skipping over to his age and weight as a plus.
And his autonomy.
Dick let her talk, for today. She could read his language quite well by how still he was being. Slade would have called that "being careless."
"Also it shows that you practiced martial arts. When was this?"
"As a kid, I had tournaments with my folks. And did it mention gymnastics too, by the way?"
"Was just about to ask you that." She brought up a finger to one part of him, not his skull. "About the last thing you should be aware. You came to this city as you are now, but do you know why we have such chaos on the streets at night, trooper?"
"Um, the rate of poverty, lack of funding and services provided by the –
"Unhealthy relationship between the police and the people. The government isn't very nice; especially to the law in place when it comes to who decided to define us. My job, is to both denounce and promote violence towards the right people."
Dick cringed at the thought, his eyes opening.
"We use brutal methods here so we don't have to try so hard. In Gotham, Why do you look so spooked? I know you're not a local. You scream Gotham or the Midwest. Sorry, my mother's family had a long line detectives. That's why I'm pairing you up with my co – captain. Detective Liu will set you right on the path to getting the hang of how we do here, O'Hara. I want those reports filed as soon as you clock in and take a piss. At lunch, hand me the stats on any changes and you get an extra five depending on how slow it is…"
She and Ryan peeped over to the door, hearing a crash and a yell before someone stopped a chair from toppling.
"Annd….Billy got a cup of coffee, spilled it on his tie while working the phone lines as a line up was being arranged – the guy in line A, being the first one they took, kicked the chair, throwing the coffee mug up, papers fell as Silvia went to go scoop them up to avoid any complaints and then. Billy, the slob, fell over." The chief pointed a manicured finger outwards, "The criminals in line A threw a fit bit were escorted to the back room for questioning. Any questions?"
Dick….Ryan, shook his head with wide green in disbelief at Valentine.
"No, no. That was….-
She opened the door to show just as predictable a place as this was. Slade could have done that, but wow…
This, was going to be the most fun he'd had in a decade.
"Welcome to the force. Remember. Six sharp. You stay until that file load is worked over as I see it. Overtime if necessary since you're no unpaid intern. As far as your Beta status?"
She grinned, pointing her thumb at her chest. "I'm you alpha, and Liu is under me with the rest of this skeleton crew. You're not the only one, Liu is a beta, so you'd better play nice when I'm not watching. Anything else before I send you to get those files –
"No, Chief Valentine." Dick – Ryan, replied quickly. "I'm all ears. Just point me to my desk if you'd be so kind."
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