Nightwing: Heartache

Part 61: Gone

March 30, 1:30am
Gotham City

The thing about being a hero that no one talks about is the amount of paperwork. And when an almost world-ending event like the Justice League vs. Granny Goode happens on Darkseid's spaceship while most of the Justice League is under mind control, that leaves a lot of paperwork for Nightwing.

He sighed, he wasn't in the Justice League, or the Team, or the Outsides, but somehow he was the one saddled with all these reports.

He didn't really mind though, he couldn't sleep right now even if he wanted to. At least mission reports distracted him from his thoughts about Wally West and the fever dream that hijacked the Team's psychic link. Thoughts about his best friend who should have been up there fighting with them.

He shook his head, focusing on typing on the iPad propped up on his leg. Willa was asleep against his shoulder, tucked neatly against him. He held her close with the arm she was laying on and typed with the other hand.

She was wearing one of his old t-shirts and a Wonder Woman eye mask because of the blue light from Dick's iPad, and the sight made Dick smile whenever he looked over. He loved when she fell asleep against him, selfishly, because he could feel her breathing. Most of the time he was grateful she didn't snore, but sometimes he woke up just to make sure she was still here, still alive. When she was all cuddled up, he could feel her chest moving, feel her breathing against his neck. It calmed him.

He heard a small noise from the living room, the sound of the patio door opening and familiar footsteps. Jason was home. Dick hadn't seen the second Robin since getting back to Earth. Most of the heroes on Granny's asteroid base took some time to recover, which left a lot of ground to cover for the heroes that remained on Earth, including Jason.

A minute later, as Dick expected, Jason poked his head into Dick's room. He was still dressed in his black body armor with the red bat symbol on his chest, but he wore no mask. From the open doorway, Jason took in the sight of Dick still up and Willa asleep against him. A small smirk crossed his face at the Wonder Woman eye mask.

"How'd it go?" Jason asked.

"Everyone made it out," Dick whispered. "Successful mission."

Jason nodded. He leaned against the doorway, arms crossed.

"How was your night?" Dick asked.

"A couple of attempted muggings, a bike theft, and an ATM robbery. No big deal."

"And how did you handle it?" Dick kept his tone light but they both knew what he was asking. How badly did Jason leave the criminals? They had worked through Jason's urge to straight up murder people, but his violent tendencies were worse since his time with the Shadows.

Jason scowled. "They're fine." He didn't say anything for a minute, just watched Dick fill out some more of the report he was working on. "You would finish that faster with two hands."

Dick smirked, his thumb absentmindedly stroking Willa's upper arm. "Probably."

Jason shook his head, looking away, but Dick could see he wasn't really mad. He looked up at his younger brother, aware Jason was waiting to tell him something. "Everything alright?" Dick asked Jason.

Jason hesitated, looking at Willa again, "it can wait."

"It's okay." Dick sat up, gently rolling Willa off his arm. She sighed and turned over in her sleep. Dick tucked the blanket up then followed Jason out of his room. "What's up?"

"You look happy." Jason said it almost wistfully, his eyes focused across the room. Dick was sure that for someone like Jason, who had seen as much cruelty as Jason, the idea of someday being happy, despite everything that had happened to him, was odd.

Dick smiled slightly, "I am."

Jason nodded, "good. Good." A beat. "I'm sure this can wait-"

"Jason," Dick squeezed his shoulder, "it's alright. What's going on?"

Jason sighed, "I can't find Bruce."

Dick froze. "What?"

"I thought I would see him on patrol tonight but he wasn't there. Babs said his comm wasn't on. He wasn't out."

"Maybe he's been recovering. It was a hard mission; everyone needed rest."

Jason nodded again, "that's what I thought too, but he's not at the manor. Alfred hasn't seen him. Alfred thought he was out with you or me."

"What about the Watchtower?" Dick tried to calm the rising feeling of anxiety.

"Tim's been there since the mission. No sign of Bruce."

Dick nodded, thinking it all over. Batman couldn't just disappear. Bruce Wayne couldn't just disappear. A thought squirmed its way into his head, about what a great opportunity it would be for someone to nab Batman after a monumental mission, when Bruce was weak, tired, a time when no one would think to look for him for at least a few days.

"Let me scan for sightings of Batman or Bruce Wayne since the battle," Dick said after a minute, pushing the more sinister thoughts from his head. "And I'll check with Selina. It's not abnormal for Bruce to disappear every once in a while."

"But we can usually find him if we need to," Jason countered.

"I know."

Jason studied him, "you think something bad happened, don't you?"

"We don't know that."

Jason scoffed, "you sound like Bruce."

Dick didn't know whether to be offended or flattered. Before he could decide, Jason turned to go back to the patio. "Where are you going?" Dick called after him.

"Selina's," Jason answered, already perched on the edge of the balcony. "Run the scan then go back to bed, Dick."

"I'll come with you," Dick started walking back to his room to grab some gear. He heard Jason chuckle.

"You don't really want to come with me, bro."

Despite the heaviness of the situation, Jason cracked a smile, lightly teasing Dick. Dick returned the smile, "if you're asking if I would rather go back to the pretty girl in my bed, I'd say yes, but this is important."

"Go back to bed. I can handle this." Then Jason leaped off the balcony, ending the discussion. Dick shook his head, maybe the kid was still impulsive, but maybe he was learning how to use those impulses for good. Dick programmed a scan over internet activities for sightings of Batman or Bruce Wayne, then sent messages to Clark and Diana, just in case they were off the grid together. Then, convinced there was nothing else he could do, he followed Jason's orders and went back to bed.