Dick yawned and stretched his arms out above his head. Letting his head thud softly back on the pillow he enjoyed the comfort for a moment longer before pulling himself up.
He had arrived at the manor late last night and had immediately thrown himself into his old bed. As nice as having his own place was, the high quality, expensive sheets Alfred picked out for the manor bedrooms were much nicer.
Pulling on a pair of socks, he padded down the hall and towards the kitchen. It was still fairly early, so he didn't expect anyone but Alfred and Damian to be up, a prediction that turned out to be true.
His youngest brother was sitting at the breakfast table, his phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. There was not a wrinkle to be found on his pinstripe pajama pants and Alfred the Cat was perched delicately on his knee.
"Morning Dami," Dick greeted cheerfully, fighting the urge to ruffle and mess up Damian's immaculately styled hair.
"Hello Grayson," his brother replied, his eyes not leaving the news article he was reading.
"Good morning, Master Richard," the real Alfred chimed in, entering the room with a tray. From it, he took and placed down in front of Dick a plate of eggs and several pieces of toast. Trust Alfred to know the exact moment he would wake up and come down for breakfast.
Thanking the man, Dick sat down and dug in and Damian glanced over just briefly to sniff at the speed at which Dick was eating.
"What brings you by?" Alfred asked, gathering the empty plates from Damian's meal.
"I need to run something by B," Dick replied, pausing between bites and Damian nodded absently, "Is Jay here?"
"Todd," his brother began disdainfully, "is still asleep, as per his usual schedule."
"Guess again, demon spawn," a gruff voice said.
Dick turned to the newcomer as Alfred greeted him, but Damian spitefully kept his eyes down, refusing to respond to the statement.
Dick's first brother was leaning in the doorway, a book in hand. He was clad only in sweatpants and the back of his hair was awkwardly plastered against his neck. He had clearly just woken up and he coughed to clear some of the sleep out of his throat.
"Can I get some coffee, Alfred?"
The other man nodded, before exiting the dining room.
Damian seemed to be seething and he still hadn't turned around.
"Put on a shirt," he growled and the fact that he didn't use an insulting nickname said a lot about his mood.
"In my own house?" Jason retorted, pulling up a chair next to Damian to annoy him, and sitting across Dick.
Damian gently picked up Alfred the Cat and stalked out of the dining room, leaving his coffee half unfinished. Dick watched him go and then looked pointedly at his other brother, who snorted.
"What, like it's my fault he's pissy," Jason said, rolling his eyes, but relented, "Fine. He went too far on one of the kiddie league outings so now he's benched from missions until his session with Dinah."
Dick winced. Damian had been working on his anger, but certain things still triggered his aggression.
"And he's mad at you because...?"
Jason grinned. "I'm the one who tattled."
Dick looked incredulously at him. "You told B that Dami was too violent?"
"Poetic, right?"
Dick pressed two fingers to his temple in exasperation, but he was smiling a little. Jason swiveled to the side and put his legs up where Damian was sitting moments ago. When Alfred returned with his coffee, he shifted to the front of his chair and leaned back, propping his elbow up on his stomach to read his book with one hand. They sat in silence comfortably for some time.
Dick was grateful for moments like these where they could just exist without being at each other's throats. It was nice, as close to a normal sibling relationship as they could get.
"Cass is usually up by now," Dick remarked, breaking the silence.
He had missed his youngest sister. She was the only one in the family, other than himself, that freely gave physical affection.
Jason glanced at him over the pages but didn't seem too annoyed by the interruption. Pissing off Damian seemed to have put him in a good mood.
"She and the others are at the mountain with the rest of the team," Jason said, then tilted his head thoughtfully and smirked, "Demon fucked up and replacement's paying the price with extra training sessions. It is a good morning, Alfie."
Jason winked at Alfred in the corner and got up, still reading his book as he walked out of the dining room with his coffee. Dick rolled his eyes.
"Do you need anything else, Master Richard?" Alfred asked.
"I'm good, Alfred, but thanks," Dick replied, getting up as well. He was done eating and there was really no point sitting at the table alone. "Do you know where Bruce is, though?"
"I believe he is downstairs," the man said, collecting the last of the plates.
Dick said his goodbyes and made his way to the study, first stopping by his bedroom to grab a duffel bag. After he aligned the hands on the clock to the proper times, 10:48, the panel on the wall slid open and Dick stepped into the elevator.
"Bruce?" he called out into the dimly lit bat cave, once he had reached the bottom.
A distant grunt signaled that the man in question had heard, and Dick followed the sound. He stopped short of the main computer, placing a hand on Bruce's shoulder. The older man was in business attire and facing the large screen. Multiple opened files littered the desktop and Bruce seemed to be reading them all at once.
"Are the rogues planning something?" Dick asked, after taking a cursory glance at the contents of the files.
"Possibly. There's rumors that Fries and Cobblepot have been meeting consistently at a bar on fifth street, but nothing concrete," Bruce replied, his voice distant.
Dick hummed thoughtfully.
After a beat, Bruce paused his investigation and swiveled around in his chair.
"It's good to see you Dick," he said, his eyes looking just fractionally softer than usual, but the change in expression conveyed a lot.
Dick sent him a quick, small smile.
"You too, Bruce."
Bruce looked at him expectantly, knowing that his visit wasn't just an excuse to see his family, and Dick huffed.
"I got these off some no-name bank robbers a few days ago," he explained, holding up the duffel bag, "And I was hoping you might have an idea of what they were."
He gently dropped the bag in Bruce's lap, and the older man unzipped it. Gingerly pulling out one of the guns, he eyed the weapon. His gaze roamed critically over the muzzle, stopping at the strange liquid where the magazine clip was usually found.
"I can't say I've ever seen something like this before," Bruce said, finally breaking the silence, "Any information on the criminals?"
"Nope," Dick said, popping the 'p', "The guys had priors but nothing drastic."
"Have you fired it?"
"I have no idea what it does. I already checked it for trackers but firing it could send out a signal or something," Dick explained, and Bruce nodded in approval.
"This liquid looks organic," Bruce mused, looking at the glass from another angle.
"I thought the same," Dick agreed, "I was planning on asking M'gann to do a scan, but I wanted to check with you first."
"Good idea, kid," Bruce said, his lips ever so faintly twitching.
As Dick placed the gun back in the bag, Bruce spoke again.
"How is Bludhaven?"
"Not so bad," Dick mused, "I've been looking into the corruption, but Blockbuster and his contacts have been quiet for a while now."
Bruce simply stared at him, and Dick realized that's not what he was asking.
"I've been good," Dick assured.
Bruce seemed to be analyzing his answer before he finally accepted it.
"Damian just went to the mountain to join the others. When you go, will you check on him?" he asked, "He—"
"Jason told me what happened," Dick cut him off, "Yeah, I'll talk to him."
Bruce looked grateful and Dick leaned over to pat him on the shoulder again.
"Don't worry, he's already made a lot of progress and there's bound to be moments like these," he reassured.
With that, Dick walked back the way he came and to his room. After changing his clothing, he returned to the cave, bidding Bruce farewell and using the zeta tube to enter the Young Justice base of operations.
...............
"Recognized Nightwing B01."
The zeta tube called out Dick's arrival to Mount Justice, and he stepped off the platform, finding himself facing the training area where Damian and Superboy were pitted against each other in a fight. Damian knew better than to be distracted by his arrival, but when Conner looked over, the younger boy took the opportunity to charge. With his opponent's attention misplaced, Damian was able to momentarily knock over the half-Kryptonian with a few calculated blows.
Conner was only on the ground for a few seconds before standing up and readying himself once more.
"That's enough," Black Canary called out, and Conner instantly relaxed his stance.
Damian, however, stayed vigilant.
"I demand a rematch, one in which Superboy is putting forth his full effort," Damian demanded, but he was ignored.
"Relax, Robin," Dick soothed, walking over to the two of them, "In a real fight, taking advantage of your opponent's distracted state is a powerful tool."
Damian scoffed but didn't try to argue any more, and Canary shot Dick a grateful look.
Dick clapped Conner on the back. "Hey Supes."
"Don't call me that," Conner grunted, shrugging off Dick's arm, but it was said fondly.
The three of them stepped off the main training circle, and Canary called up Red Robin and Wondergirl to take their place. Dick fist bumped Tim as they passed each other.
Damian broke away and started walking towards the locker rooms, but Canary stopped him.
"This is group training, Robin. Stay and watch. You may learn something," she said, raising her eyebrows.
Damian glared at her but complied and Dick watched the interaction amusedly, before turning to Conner.
"Is M'gann here? I need her expertise on something," he asked his long-time friend.
"I think she's in the kitchen making cookies for the team," Conner replied, looking hesitant.
"It's been a while," Dick said, sharing the sentiment, "Does she remember the recipe?"
Conner shrugged.
"She felt bad about the training. I think she's trying to cheer them up."
"I just hope it doesn't make their mood worse," Dick joked, and Conner snorted.
M'gann was good at a lot of things, and one of the most considerate people they knew, but she was also somewhat incapable of making baked goods.
Dick let Conner go back to helping with the training and left in search of his other friend. True to his word, he found her frantically blowing smoke off a floating baking tray. The lumps that remained could have been mistaken for coal. Dick greeted her, smartly avoiding bringing up the cookies.
M'gann telekinetically set the tray down on the top of the stove and floated over to hug him.
"'Wing, it's been too long," she said, enthusiastically. Although she had grown out of the bubbly personality she had adopted when she first came to Earth, she still retained her caring side when it came to her close friends.
Dick embraced her back before pulling away.
"I came to ask you a favor," he started, holding up the bag he was getting tired of lugging around.
M'gann used her powers to float the bag out of his hands and remove its contents. The guns hung suspended between them.
"Something about these, I'm guessing?"
Dick nodded.
"Can you tell me what they're made of?"
"Of course."
M'gann closed her eyes and when she opened them again, they shone with a pale green light. Holding up her hand, she slowly cast her powers over the guns from left to right.
"There's nothing special about the gun metal, mostly steel alloy with some aluminum," she revealed.
"But this liquid," she paused, furrowing her brow, "It's organic."
Dick nodded as she confirmed his suspicions.
"Can you tell me anything else?"
"It contains human DNA," she said, her eyes glowing a little greener, "I think it's blood."
"Human blood?" Dick echoed, a chill going up his spine.
M'gann's eyes returned back to their normal state, and she set her feet back on the ground.
"Yes, at least part of it is. I'm sorry, that's all I can gather," she replied. A few years ago she might have felt actually guilty for being unable to do more, but she had grown from that, gaining more confidence in her powers as well as her limitations.
"Thanks M'gann, that really helps," Dick told her, shooting her a smile which she returned, "I should go now, I promised Batman I would talk to Robin."
"I think he would appreciate that," M'gann confirmed, and when Dick turned around to return to the training area, she called out, "Be careful!"
"Always am," Dick responded cheerfully, but he was lying through his teeth and they both knew it.
Behind him, M'gann shook her head in amusement, before realizing that she still needed to tend to the cookies that were burnt beyond repair.
Dick arrived back to the training room just in time to hear Black Canary finally letting Damian go, and he followed his brother into the mountain's locker rooms. Once he caught up, he slung an arm around the shorter boy's shoulders earning a deadly glare.
"So, about that mission..." he began.
"I am not in need of your advice, Nightwing," Damian said shortly.
Dick turned the boy around to face him directly.
"I'm sure you had your reasons, little bird," he said soothingly, and Damian stopped to listen when he realized Dick wasn't there to scold him, "But just remember that what you can do isn't always what you should do."
Damian stared at him for a few seconds before giving a curt nod. He broke away from the conversation and Dick took that signal to head back. When it came to Damian, that was as successful as conversations like those would go. Hopefully, it gave him something to reflect on.
Dick walked back to the training room where La'gaan and Jaime were engaged in battle. The rest of the team watched from the sidelines. After quietly walking up to them in order to not disturb the current fight, Dick hugged Cassie and waved to Stephanie. Black Canary shot him a glance, trying to tell him to not distract her students and Dick held up his hands in apology.
He snuck around the middle circle, ducking to avoid a blast of energy from Blue Beetle. After entering the zeta tube, he beamed back to the cave.
...............
Perched on top of one of Bludhaven's tall office buildings, Dick surveyed the streets below him. He'd only left the city for a few days, but he still felt uneasy about leaving it unprotected. He was currently the only hero operating in Bludhaven, which at times could be both a blessing and a curse.
A soft shuffle of footsteps grabbed his attention and he peered into the alley they came from. A teenager was standing in a barely lit street glancing around nervously. He was clutching something tightly inside his pocket. Dick watched as another, older man walked up.
"Are you Bigsby?" the boy asked, in a hushed tone.
The older man snorted. "Yeah, kid. My payment?"
The teen pulled out the wad of bills that he had been holding tightly to and the man snatched it, wetting two fingers to count the notes better.
"Are you sure this is safe?" the boy asked, "What if Nightwing shows up? Or that new one?"
Dick froze. New hero?
"Doubt it," Bigsby muttered, "I don't think a couple of g's is worth their attention."
Dick crept closer to hear their conversation more clearly.
After confirming the amount of cash, Bigsby reached into his jacket and produced a plastic bag with a small amount of white powder. He held it out to the boy, who ignored it.
"Do you think Nightwing got turned into a girl?" the teen asked, still whispering, "I mean, there's been no word on him since Monday and then she showed up."
Both Bigsby and Dick stared at him incredulously. The dealer rubbed his nose with his free hand.
"No, kid," he sighed, thrusting the plastic out further, "Just take it and go. I'm pretty sure Nightwing never had a sword."
From above the two, Dick actually gaped in costume. He was only gone a few days and now this? The idea that this new hero supposedly wielded a blade made him extremely uneasy.
As soon as the kid grabbed the bag, Dick wasted no time in hopping down into the street. He ignored the yelps of surprise, sweeping his leg under Bigsby to knock him to the ground. The kid was still frozen in fear, and Dick snatched the powder from his grip and pocketed it.
"Get out of here," he ordered, and the boy immediately scurried away and into the main street.
The hero then turned to the dealer, picking him up by the front of his shirt and pushing him against the side of the building.
"Female Nightwing, huh?" he asked, "Tell me about her."
Once Bigsby processed that fact that he had been caught, he went limp, knowing that he wouldn't be able to escape Nightwing's clutch. He held his breath for a second before complying to Dick's demand.
"I swear, I don't know much. A buddy of mine told me he saw her stop a mugging the other night. Dark suit, like yours, and some green or blue on the chest."
"And the sword?" Dick pressed, putting more pressure into his grip.
"She has one?" Bigsby replied, asking more than saying, "He said it was strapped across her back, but she didn't use it. Seriously man, I really don't know anything else."
Dick narrowed his eyes at him, wondering if he was withholding any more information.
"Did your buddy get a name?" he asked.
Bigsby shook his head as best he could without scraping it on the brick wall behind him.
"Listen, since I've been cooperative, do you think you'll let me off easy?" he asked Dick, looking hopeful.
Dick stared.
"You were selling cocaine to a sixteen-year-old," he deadpanned, "Not a chance."
Bigsby groaned in disappointment and Dick let go of his shirt to knock him out. After the man crumpled to the ground, Dick bent over, gripped his wrists, and zip tied them together. Then, he paused for a moment to think.
He didn't know how much of the information that he had gathered from Bigsby was accurate, but apparently there was a new female hero running around with a sword on her back. Unlike his mentor, Dick wasn't immediately suspicious of an unknown in his city. He knew that some people could simply be inherently good, but the sword gave him pause.
He could count on one hand the number of heroes that carried around a blade, Damian being one of them. And his brother didn't exactly set the best precedent, no offense to him. What Dick did have in common with Batman was the strict no-killing rule, and he hoped this new hero followed the same code. Otherwise, she could pose a major problem.
"Damn," a voice sounded from above him, interrupting his musings.
Dick whirled around, eyes scanning the tops of the buildings around him. He stopped when he caught sight of a female figure, shrouded by shadows, clutching the railings of a fire escape. Something behind her gleamed under the moonlight and Dick withdrew his escrima sticks, shifting his left foot back to ready himself. Without warning, she launched herself off the building, landing gracefully in front of him and as she stood up straight, the loose gravel crunched under her boots.
"Maybe I should've chosen a different city."
A.N. Finally they meet! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and sorry for the cliffhanger...
And Happy New Years!