Dick raised his wrist and glanced at his watch. 8:58 PM. After tugging the knot of his tie loose, he yanked it down a few inches and unclasped the top two buttons of his uniform. He stretched his neck to release some of the tension and slumped down into a chair at his dining table. He slid his laptop closer to the edge of the table and flipped it open, pressing his right thumb into the letter 's' on the keyboard, and then his left ring finger into '7' to bypass the fingerprint locks. The camera at the top of the screen scanned his features and irises and, after recognizing him as a user, allowed him to enter his password.
"Gotta love B's security measures," he muttered under his breath, fingers flying over the keys as he completed the last step of the process.
Once he was granted access, he leaned farther back in his chair and counted down the seconds. The numbers in the top right corner of the screen blinked. 20:59:57, 20:59:58, 20:59:59...
The clock had barely just reached nine when Dick received the alert for the incoming call.
Right on time, he mused, hitting accept. Dinah Lance's face took a moment to fully focus, but once it had, she quirked her lip up in the form of a greeting.
"Dick," she nodded.
"Hey, Dinah," he replied, smiling tiredly at his old instructor and counselor.
He had forgone the mask and she had done the same, both knowing each other's true identities.
"He's stable," Dinah said immediately, addressing the purpose of the call, "He's been in and out of consciousness for the last couple of hours, but we're monitoring his vitals. He just needs time."
Dick breathed an audible sigh of relief, a fraction of the tension he'd been carrying around all day melting away.
"Did you get an ID?"
Dinah frowned minutely, but it was out of sadness, not frustration, and Dick knew she had news, but it wasn't going to be pretty.
"Kai Rivera, aged ten," she revealed, and Dick sucked in sharply, "He was placed in Haven Orphanage when he was about two after his parents passed and was sent to his first foster home when he was six. It looks like he was in and out of a couple of different homes for about two years. At his last one, it says they took him back to the orphanage after a month, but there's no record of him staying there, so I assume he's been on the streets since then."
Dinah's jaw ticked with anger, but she was careful not to show too much of it. Dick, however, did not attempt the same.
"They just kicked him out?" he ground out, his voice rising.
Dinah nodded solemnly but didn't reply, letting him express his anger.
"There's also no record of his meta-ability in the database, so we've given him one of our training collars for the time being," she said, after a beat.
She didn't need to explain further. Dick knew that collar was just a safety measure, in case the boy woke up, or panicked, or just accidentally triggered his powers in his sleep. And his abilities were proven to be worth Blockbuster's attention, so Dick wouldn't be surprised if they were destructive.
Dinah sighed, the weight of the situation affecting her, and Dick understood. Even with years of experience, situations like these never got easier to stomach.
"He's beyond malnourished and has various vitamin deficiencies. It's why he looks so much younger than he is," the blond superhero said softly, slumping her shoulders, "We're trying to re-introduce his body to, well, everything, but the doctors predict that he's going to have long term health issues. Almost definitely anemia, but there's also a chance for hypotension. It's a miracle he hasn't gone into hypovolemic shock."
Dick ran his hand through his hair, closing his eyes briefly. He was relieved that none of the effects were life-threatening, but he felt a little horrible anyways.
"We'll keep him here for as long as he needs," Dinah assured, crossing off one of the two concerns Dick had left, "He'll need to be watched for a while, but we won't start looking for long-term solutions at least until he wakes up."
"We have the resources for that, right? And he's not placed in the main medbay?" Dick pressed.
Black Canary nodded.
"We do. And don't worry, he's isolated for the time being. Only I and Dr. Helding have access."
Dick hummed in approval, recognizing the name as one of the top league employees. Then, he hesitated. He didn't want to address his second concern, for fear of being insensitive, but thankfully Dinah picked up on it.
"You won't be able to ask him anything for a while. Even during the times he's awake, he's not lucid enough to do anything but blink, much less talk. You'll have to wait, a few days at least," she warned.
"Alright," Dick agreed easily, "Thanks for everything Dinah."
"Anytime," his old friend replied, "I'll keep you updated."
With that, she ended the call, the screen going blank in front of him. He gently shut the laptop and returned it to his protective casing. Then, he rested his chin in his palm and, with the other hand, turned over the vial he had retrieved from the warehouse.
Between his fingers and from inside the glass, the purple liquid shimmered lightly on the cotton swab. He stared at it as if he could telepathically will the answers from it before sighing and placing it back onto the table.
He didn't have the lab equipment here to test it against the liquid in the guns. He was almost positive it was the same kind, but he'd have to go back to the manor to get Tim to verify it, just in case. Maybe his brother could even pull some other data from the sample that he was missing.
He glanced at his wrist again. 9:45 PM. At least he had time to eat before his rendezvous with Perseus.
...............
Percy leaped across the chasm that divided the previous building from her next one. She hit the concrete softly, barely pausing to adjust to the ground beneath her feet before taking off again. Her target location had a few extra stories and when she jumped once more, her fingers wrapped around the metal of a fire escape, and she scaled the side. The second she swung her body over the ledge, she heard a "You're late," come from the figure in front of her.
"By like six minutes," she definitely did not whine.
She did roll her eyes though as she approached the other hero. Nightwing was already waiting for her, the bird insignia on his chest gleaming in the moonlight. He was leaning back against the door of a small structure.
"At least I didn't take the stairs," she snorted, gesturing to the door behind him, which probably connected to the rest of the building to allow for roof access.
"I didn't take—" Nightwing began, affronted, and looking like someone ruffled his metaphorical feathers before he realized she was just joking. He rolled his eyes back at her.
"These are the guns," he said, changing the subject and pointing at the dark duffel at his feet, "Not sure what they do yet, but there's a warehouse nearby, in an abandoned district. We can test them out."
"Sure," Percy replied because there wasn't much else to say.
As soon as he received her confirmation of the plan, Nightwing ran to the edge of the building and flipped away without warning.
"Oh, come on," she scowled, realizing that he had left the bag for her to bring.
Percy snatched it up, and followed him off the ledge, not wanting to be left in the dust. It was a little difficult to keep up with his maneuvering, she realized. He twisted his body into tricks that she definitely could not replicate, and she had to take her own path sometimes. At one point, he jumped with no indication of landing only to grab onto an outstretched piece of metal and launch himself upwards. Something familiar itched the back of her brain, but the thought fled her at the sight of another majestic flip.
"Damn," Percy muttered, equal parts impressed and jealous, as she took a flatter route instead.
The guns in the bag clunked uncomfortably against her thigh, but she only had to bear it for another minute before Nightwing came to a complete stop. She landed gently next to him, and dropped the duffel directly onto his feet, to show how unpleased she was at being shouldered with the responsibility of carrying it.
She ignored the mock offended look he sent her, and instead pushed the door to the warehouse open, wincing as the metal grated against the gravel. He wasn't kidding when he said it was abandoned. She could smell the air, musty and metallic. Water dripped from the ceiling, a product of the recent rains, and remnants of trash littered the ground, too dirty to even identify what it used to be.
"You bring all the girls here?" Percy snarked, nose scrunching in displeasure.
She kicked a broken bottle out of the way.
"Only the special ones," Nightwing replied, teasing.
He left the guns near the front and walked over to the opposite side of the large room, where large molding crates lined the walls. Percy huffed in amusement and followed him.
"Help me move these to the center?" the hero asked, standing beside one of the wooden boxes.
He placed his hands on the top edge and began to push it forward. Percy nodded and did the same with a second crate. She grimaced as her fingers pressed against a particularly soft and mushy spot, where the water has seeped through the wood, causing it to dent easily. She arranged her box to line up against the one Nightwing had moved.
As they walked back over to the other side, Percy smirked and dragged her fingers along the back of Nightwing's shoulders. The man stumbled slightly, craning his head to try to see where she had touched him.
"Did you just wipe that shit on me?" he yelped, reaching over and trying to brush it off.
Percy bit back a smile when it came out accusingly, but not angrily.
"There was a bug on your shoulder," she replied, shrugging.
The whites of his mask narrowed at her, and she looked back at him, perfectly innocent.
Percy broke the stare to reach down and unzip the duffel bag. She held one of the guns out in front of her for Nightwing to take.
"What, you don't wanna do the honors?" he asked, hands still at his sides.
Percy was kind of touched that he even offered, but flashes of memories at camp filled her head, drawing back the string of a bow, demigods running away in terror, Chiron letting out an actual neigh while trying to dodge. She resolutely shook her head, letting out a nervous laugh.
"Uh, no. My aim is shit."
Nightwing scoffed, not unkindly, and tilted his head.
"I just watched you throw a knife into a gun fifteen feet away," he retorted.
Percy shook her head again, furiously, when he didn't understand.
"I am not firing that gun. There isn't a hospital close enough to treat you if I do," she insisted, jerking the gun out farther to him.
"You're standing next to me," Nightwing argued, disbelieving.
Actually, he was facing toward her at the moment, but once one of them took the gun and turned to fire at the makeshift wooden targets, he would be right. Percy paled further.
"Exactly."
He finally seemed to sense the urgency in her voice, even if he didn't at all understand it. He shrugged and accepted the weapon, bringing it up to his right shoulder. Percy stepped farther out to the side, giving him some more space, but also maybe because she wanted to watch. Sue her.
He wrapped his finger around the trigger lightly, not hard enough to press, and steadied the gun. A muscle in his jaw ticked as he aimed carefully. Percy could tell that he was ever so slightly uncomfortable. His form was perfect, each limb stock still in anticipation, and she had no doubt that whatever came out would find its intended target, but his shoulders were tense.
"You good?" she asked, just to be sure.
"Yeah," he breathed softly.
He pulled the trigger.
A bright and deadly orange beam shot out, searing straight through the wooden crates and directly into the metal wall behind them. It would've been cool, except for the fact that it didn't stop.
"Oh my gods!" Percy screamed, forgetting to censor herself in the chaos, "Turn it off!"
"Fuck! I'm trying!" Nightwing yelled back, gripping the gun so hard his knuckles turned white.
He jerked the gun back and forth to distribute the damage as the impossibly concentrated light pierced through everything in its path. It was only a few more seconds before Nightwing managed to press something on the side of the gun with his thumb and the laser abruptly cut off, but it only took those few extra seconds to leave the other half of the warehouse a sliced-up mess of charred metal and wood.
She stared at Nightwing, absolutely horrified and he stared back. He was breathing heavily, the gun hanging loosely at his side. The smell of burnt building material filled both of their nostrils. The other hero broke out of his stupor and gingerly placed the gun onto the ground between them.
"That was..." he trailed off.
Percy could only nod, not having the right words.
"We're so screwed," Nightwing groaned then, bringing his hands up to his face.
At another time, Percy would have celebrated the fact that he was loosening up in her presence and being more comfortable to show emotion, but she couldn't bring herself to. Not under these circumstances. A weapon like this in the hands of a notorious crime lord...
Suddenly, something caught her eye. She squatted down on her toes, shifting her feet for support, to get a closer look.
"Maybe not," she whispered, peering into the container attached to the gun.
Nightwing uncovered his face.
"The liquid," she observed, pointing, "It was completely full before, right? It's at about seven eighths now."
"You're right," the other hero agreed, joining her at ground level to check it himself.
"At least we know now that it's not unlimited," Percy murmured.
It wasn't much, but the thought provided her a sliver of relief.
She picked her head up, only to find Nightwing's face mere inches away from hers.
Too close! Too close! Her brain screamed, and she willed all of her energy into not falling backward on her ass.
It did not work.
She closed her eyes, not wanting to see Nightwing's expression when her butt kissed the concrete. When she found the courage to look, Nightwing had straightened up and was now smirking down at her, holding out a hand to help her up. She grumbled, smacking it away, and stood up by herself, refusing to look him in the eye. She knew her ears were red.
"At least," Nightwing echoed, sighing, and plowing through her embarrassment, "But we don't know how many cartridges he was able to get."
Percy forced the blush down, and then wilted when she registered what he said.
"How is he?" she asked hesitantly, "The boy we found."
The worry had been on her mind since the moment the other hero had someone come pick him up.
"Unconscious, but stable," Nightwing reassured, sounding like he was relaying a message from someone, "We can't talk to him yet, but he's going to be okay."
"His name's Kai," he added as an afterthought, "Kai Rivera."
Something in her chest loosened at those words. She'd seen enough innocent kids, enough for a lifetime, die, and she was going to try like Hades to prevent it from happening more. She committed Kai's name to memory.
"Thank god," Percy slumped her shoulders, remembering at just the last second to leave the 's' off the end of the phrase, "What's our next move?"
Nightwing reached down and picked up the gun again, carefully avoiding the section near the trigger, and placed it back into the duffel bag, zipping it up.
"I can't believe I ran across rooftops with three of those things," Percy moaned, suddenly remembering how much they had jostled at her side.
Nightwing paled, wincing at that statement.
"Sorry about that," he apologized, looking genuinely worried, "I'll ask B—my sources to see if they can identify the other materials in them. They're custom made so the ratio of the metal alloy could be unique. It might be a stretch, but it's the only lead we have right now."
The slip-up was uncharacteristic of him, Percy thought. He must still be slightly shaken up over what happened. She attributed the same reason as to why she didn't stop the words that stumbled out of her next.
"You mean Batman?" she blurted.
Nightwing didn't turn his head sharply like she had expected. Instead, he tensed, ever so slightly.
"What makes you say that?"
Each word was carefully sounded out, and pointedly devoid of any emotion. Percy cursed the way her mouth moved faster than her brain.
"Uh..." she flailed, before giving up and shrugging, "When we were getting here, you kind of reminded me of Robin, with all your flips and stuff. I figured maybe you were both trained by Batman, or something."
Or something, she echoed in her head, the thoughts coming to her now faster than she could stop them. There had to be more than one Robin, there's no way that the hero had stayed that young for years. And Batman definitely wasn't known for his acrobat ability, so he couldn't have trained Robin in it. Which meant, or would make sense, that Nightwing was Robin. The first of multiple. The deduction only hit her when she finished speaking, and she clamped her mouth shut after, refusing to let this new knowledge slip.
"Or something," Nightwing also said, but aloud.
He wasn't denying it, but he wasn't confirming it either, which Percy expected. At least, she thought, he didn't look as guarded as before.
"So, you've met Robin, then?" he asked, fishing for information.
Percy hummed, her thoughts bringing her back to something long ago.
...............
Ten years ago:
"Come on, mom!" Thirteen-year-old Percy giggled, tugging on her mother's arm.
"Hold on, honey," Sally Jackson laughed along, resisting the pull for a second to grab her car keys from next to the gear shift, "You got everything?"
"Yup," Percy confirmed, cataloging all the items in her other arm.
Picnic basket, check, blanket, check, sunglasses, check, sunscreen—
"Oops," she chirped, letting go of her mom and darting back into the car.
When she reemerged, she had shifted all the supplies to a more comfortable arrangement. Sally smiled at her daughter, locked the car, and took the blanket out of Percy's arms.
"I know you're sad that Annabeth didn't want to come," Sally started, and quickly continued seeing the downcast look on her daughter's face, "But I'm excited to have you all to myself."
"Me too, mom," Percy mumbled, "And it's okay, I get it. She wants to be with Thalia."
And Percy really did get it. The daughter of Zeus had been brought back to life only a week ago and was still struggling to adjust. It only made sense that the one other person she knew at the camp—not including Grover who had taken to hiding from her out of guilt for the time being—would want to be at her side. Percy herself wouldn't have even come on this trip if her mom hadn't insisted on her getting out of camp for a day or two. Percy had resisted at first, but now that she was here, it was obvious how much she had needed the space, and the break. Besides, she and Thalia didn't seem to get along so far, so the distance between the two was probably for the best.
Percy and Sally walked from the parking lot to the edge of the green field and Percy's mouth dropped open.
"There's so many people," she gasped.
The sun was shining bright in the sky, warm but not overbearingly hot. Several families littered the large park and kids ran across the grass launching frisbees. A dog bounded over to Percy, out of nowhere, and jumped up to give her a slobbery lick before dashing away. When the dog's owner yelled out an apology before continuing to chase their runaway pet, Percy just giggled and waved.
"It is the fourth of July," Sally observed, dryly, "And this is nothing, sweetie, Central Park would've been much, much worse."
Suddenly it made sense to Percy why her mother had insisted on driving forty-five minutes out of their native city to picnic in Gotham's Robinson Park.
"Isn't Gotham, like, dangerous, though?" Percy asked.
"It's daytime, what could happen?" Sally shrugged, and it was clear that Percy didn't get her impulsive streak just from her father, "Besides, you'll protect me."
Percy snickered and caught up with her mom who had already begun to walk to the middle of the field.
"Can we sit under a tree?" the girl asked, sliding her sunglasses down onto her face, "It's hot."
"That's why we brought sunscreen."
Percy groaned lightly but didn't argue with her mother.
They found a perfect spot a few yards away from where a family of three was grilling burgers. Sally shook out the blanket, flapping it in the air twice before laying it out and smoothing out the corners. Percy dropped the basket on one side to keep the fabric from flipping over in the soft breeze. Then, she turned and waved brightly at the daughter from the nearby family. After she greeted her back, Percy plopped down next to her mom.
"I told you this would be fun," Sally teased, reaching into the basket to pull out the Tupperware of sandwiches.
Percy grabbed one immediately, happily munching down. She wasn't that young of a child anymore, but she had insisted that the crusts be cut off, for the picnic aesthetic.
"You 'ere 'ight," Percy conceded, mouth full of bread and cucumber.
Sally rolled her eyes.
"You wanna tell me about your latest adventure?" her mother asked, taking a much more delicate bite out of her own lunch.
Percy pushed away all negative thoughts about Luke and channeled her inner storytelling skills instead.
"So, it all started when I had a dream about Grover in a wedding dress..."
Percy trailed off, enjoying the way her mom's eyebrows shot upwards in amusement, but not surprise. They were way past that, at this point.
She took another bite of her sandwich, swallowed, and continued to babble about Tyson, and about Tantalus, and about sneaking off to join Clarisse in a quest she had no business participating in. She had just mentioned washing up on Circe's shore when her story was interrupted by a distant scream.
For a second, just a second, Percy was grateful that she might not have to rehash the guinea pig situation before her brain kicked in and she groaned instead. She stood up leisurely, brushing breadcrumbs off her pants.
"Sorry, mom," she scrunched her nose, looking apologetic, "I'll take care of it."
Sally only looked slightly worried, as Percy scanned her surroundings for whatever monster she had to deal with now. Probably hellhound, she frowned. She didn't see anything, but a couple of people ran by haphazardly, yelling in terror.
Percy looked over at the family near them. The two kids had run to their dad, hiding behind his legs. It was only then she noticed all the ice on the ledge overlooking them.
Before she could even try to rack her brain for ice-related monsters, an enormous figure emerged from over the ledge. He looked more machine than man, encased in a metal suit, with a glass dome over his head. The only skin Percy could see was on his face, disgustingly pale and grey.
"Enjoying family time?" the man sneered.
Without waiting for a reply, he raised a large clunky gun and fired it down at the family.
Percy watched in horror as the dad and his two kids were encased in a large block of ice. Her instincts finally kicked in. She jammed her hand down her pocket and took out her pen. She was a fraction of a second away from uncapping it, but her mom grabbed her arm, having stood up as well.
"Not a monster," Sally hissed, fearfully.
Percy had gathered that much, at least, but she realized with a start what her mom had meant.
Riptide would be useless.
"My family has other plans," the not-monster continued, now training his gun on the two of them.
Percy glanced over. The girl, the one to who she had waved, had her arm outstretched, mouth frozen open in terror. Sally's grip on her shook and it was like the minotaur all over again, except this time, she didn't have anything to fight with. Her legs felt like jelly. She couldn't do anything but watch as the man's finger pressed into the trigger.
Suddenly there was a clang, and the gun veered to the side, blasting the ice away from Percy, but more importantly, away from Sally. Percy breathed a sigh of relief as the man's attention was pulled away from them.
"Batman," he murmured, "I was wondering when—"
A sharp cackle filled the air, and Percy found herself whirling around trying to identify it. The villain in front of her did the same.
Out of absolutely nowhere, a figure clad in black and red leaped, flipping once, then twice in the air and landing two feet firmly on the man's glass helmet. The villain fell to the ground as the figure springboarded off and launched forward two projectiles before he even landed. They connected harshly with the dome, and when it cracked, air hissed out softly.
"Oh, Boy Wonder," the villain observed, sounding disappointed, and he picked himself up off the ground, "The Bat sent you to drag me off to prison? Frankly, I'm underwhelmed."
From her place on the field, Percy and her mother were still dangerously close to the two squaring off, but it gave Percy a clear view of the figure that had saved them, cape fluttering softly and revealing its yellow underside.
Underwhelmed, Percy scoffed mentally.
Personally, she thought the way Robin slammed the man into the ground was cool.
The villain readied his gun again.
"Great," Robin huffed, raising his hands, "But I'm kinda in a hurry here."
Percy quietly snickered, even though her mom tried to shush her.
Robin glanced over at her briefly and she snapped her mouth shut.
"Kids..." the villain sneered, again, "Always in such a rush."
Robin was just standing there, casually, not in a fighting stance or reaching for a weapon, and that's how Percy knew what was going to happen.
"Not talking to you," Robin drawled, his turn to be unimpressed.
The ice villain finally realized and turned around, but it was too late. The Batman was already launching off the cliff he had just come from, his cape fully extending out behind him and blocking the sun. He swooped down and, in one powerful punch, cracked fully through the man's glass dome, rendering him unconscious.
Sally tugged on Percy's arm, trying to inch away from the Gotham's infamous vigilante. He had just saved them, yes, but, unlike her daughter, she had at least a shred of self-preservation. Percy's feet stayed glued to the ground as she watched Robin flit around his mentor, trying to get him to speed up the process of apprehending the criminal.
"That was awesome!" Percy exclaimed, smiling impossibly wide, and it was loud enough to catch both the heroes' attention.
"I'm so sorry about her," Sally pleaded, now pulling with full force, but, as a demigod, Percy was much stronger than a teenager should've been.
Seeing that the girl was staring very much at Robin and not at himself, Batman went back to handcuffing the villain, pulling him upright, and leaving his protégé to deal with her.
Robin's chest just puffed up with pride and he grinned back.
Percy took one last look at the kid who had saved them because he seemed to be her age, and finally, let her mom lead her away and back to their picnic.
"Best camp break ever!" she practically sang, twirling Riptide in her fingers.
She didn't even realize her sunglasses were still on until she bumped up against them while trying to shove another sandwich down her throat.
...............
That was you? Dick had to keep himself from blurting out unless he really did want to expose his identity.
It was a miracle he even remembered that time at the park, because that had been the day the Young Justice team had first formed, and all the real excitement had occurred much later, starting with the tour of the fake watchtower and ending with introducing Superboy to the League amongst their destruction of one of Cadmus's facilities. He had almost forgotten about the tussle with Mr. Freeze at Robinson Park, but the details came back to him as Perseus recounted her day at the park.
She had mentioned the presence of her mother, and Dick didn't know what to think of the way she easily shared that kind of personal information with him. It was about ten years ago so, of course, he wouldn't remember exactly what the woman looked like, but it didn't seem like that concern had even crossed Perseus's mind.
Oh, his mind supplied helpfully, she just thinks you and Robin were both trained by Batman, not that you're the same person.
Regardless, he did remember now. He remembered a tall girl his age narrowly missing a hit from Freeze's ray and laughing in excitement immediately after. He tried to bring the image to mind, and he could almost make out hazy details, like wild black hair, and eyes...covered by a pair of sunglasses.
Dick was almost disappointed but brushed that thought away, unsure why he, someone who greatly respected the need for a secret identity, would be interested in what Perseus looked like.
He realized, then, that he hadn't spoken in a few seconds, and moved to correct that.
"Well, it's a good thing Robin was there," he chose to say, careful to avoid suspicion.
Perseus's lips twitched like she found that particularly amusing.
"Yeah, pretty lucky," she hummed, "Anyways, whenever you have an update, there's a good chance I'll be at the docks. Come find me."
She gave him a sloppy salute, took one last foreboding look at the damage they did to the old building, and slipped out the door, sword glinting across her back, and leaving Dick wondering when he'd get to see her actually fight with it.
...............
This time, it wasn't Alfred who answered the door, it was Jason, who flung it open with no regard for preserving its hinges. A spoon dangled from his mouth, pressed firmly between his lips. He reached up to snatch it out.
"Again?" he groaned, "Your next family visit isn't due for another three weeks, Dickhead."
You don't even live here anymore, is what Dick wanted to retort back, but if Jason remembered that he actually had his own apartment and decided to go back to it, Dick would be subjected to Bruce's sad eyes for the next month.
"Great to see you too, Jay," he said instead, flashing his younger brother a winning smile that only widened when he didn't dispute that.
Dick reached up and whipped the spoon back out from Jason's mouth—he had put it back after his greeting—and thankfully, Jason had the sense to retract his teeth before they grated against the metal.
"Don't let Alfred catch you with that," he scolded and entered the manor.
Jason followed, sock-clad feet padding along.
"Don't you have crimes to commit?" Dick snorted, at his shadow, but they both knew he was teasing.
"Nah," Jason drawled, saying nothing more as he continued to walk in Dick's footsteps as he made his way to the office.
Oh, so he just wanted to be annoying.
Fortunately, he only followed him as far as the grandfather clock, stopping outside, snatching back his spoon, and flipping him off as Dick descended in the elevator.
Dick couldn't even be irritated and just looked back with fondness.
When the cart settled softly on the floor of the cave and opened its doors, Dick lugged his duffel back over to the main computer. He was really getting sick of the thing, and he was glad to be handing it off to someone else, even if only temporarily.
"Hey Timmy," he greeted, ruffling his second brother's hair.
The boy didn't even tear his gaze away from the screen but muttered a soft hello back.
"Think you can run some tests on these? They're—"
"Unknown guns with unknown possibly organic ammunition from an unknown source. You want me to research the alloy used to make them. Did I get it all?" Tim fired off, eyes flitting over lines of evidence from a case file.
Dick sighed, not even surprised.
"How?"
"B mentioned the guns in passing," Tim explained, finally stopping his reading, and swiveling his chair to face Dick, "I figured you'd come to me eventually, I've been waiting."
Tim's eyes and smile were sharp. Dick laughed and leaned over to give him a proper hug. He was really too smart for his own good.
"Almost," he said, referencing the previous question, "The ammunition is not so unknown anymore."
"Oh?" Tim asked, eyes glinting.
Dick shook his head, "Just...don't fire it, okay? Check the metal, but don't do anything with the compound."
Tim frowned and opened his mouth to argue because he didn't like not knowing things, but Dick put a hand up to stop him.
"I'm serious, this stuff is powerful, and dangerous," he warned, "I almost brought down a building. Trust me, don't fire it."
Tim was his least impulsive brother, or least impulsive when it came to stuff like this, and Dick knew he could count on him to keep his word before the boy even nodded his head to agree. Jason would fire it in a heartbeat.
"I'll work my magic," Tim promised, swiveling back to the computer screen, "Just gotta finish my cases first, so shoo."
Dick smiled and ruffled his hair one more time for good measure, before leaving him to do his work.
When he emerged from the clock, Bruce was waiting for him in a nearby couch chair. The man stood up.
"Cass wants to have breakfast," he said, in place of a greeting, but Dick interpreted it as one.
He was hungry, he had driven over first thing in the morning. It was a miracle the precinct hadn't fired him yet with all days he had taken off recently for mask-related happenings.
When they arrived at the kitchen, his sister darted up from her seat at the dining table and fast as lightning, wrapped her arms around his midsection.
"Brother," she smiled, "Good to see you."
The words were still a little stilted but came more easily than they had a few months ago.
Dick dropped a kiss into her hair, and she let him go, sitting back down at the table, just in time for Alfred to return with a plate of still steaming quiche. Bruce cut them each a slice as Dick grabbed a piece of toast for him and his sister.
"How are things in Bludhaven?" Cass signed with her hands, as Bruce slid the plate over towards her.
Dick slumped backward, spin curving uncomfortably against the ninety-degree angle of the chair.
"Exhausting."
"If you need some help with—" Bruce started, frowning, but Dick cut him off.
"Not that," he waved his hand, "The traveling, that's what gets me."
Cass raised her eyebrows.
"It's only thirty-five minutes by car," she signed, unimpressed.
"That's without traffic," Dick moaned, cutting into his quiche, "With, it's almost forty-five, and I keep having to do it because I don't have a jet."
He looked pointedly at Bruce.
"You don't want a jet," the man replied, tiredly, taking a small bite from his plate.
"Don't be dramatic, brother," Cass signed, "You could just have father install a zeta beam outpost in your city."
Dick straightened immediately.
"That's going to cost me," Bruce commented, but both his kids ignored him.
"That's a really good idea, Cass," Dick exclaimed, and signed along with his hands, "I'm going to have to research possible locations."
"Brenda's Café," Cass signed suddenly, spelling out the letters of the name, "In the Fort Joseph district."
Dick blinked, startled at the mention of the place he got his regular caffeine fix.
Bruce hummed.
"Brenda Miller," the older man recalled, able to pull the name out of his memory, "That's the woman you asked me to give a grant to."
Cass nodded eagerly.
"Friend," she insisted with her voice.
"Yes, sorry," Bruce corrected, "Friend."
"Sorry, what's going on here?" Dick interrupted, looking between the two.
Bruce leaned back and allowed his daughter to tell the story.
"I went to your city once, when I was hurt," Cass switched over to sign language because of the volume of words, "You were on a mission, so I stopped at her store to rest. She helped me order food because she realized I couldn't read the menu, and she gave it to me for free because I didn't have money. When I came home, I asked father to help her café so that she could help other kids, like she helped me."
Bruce had a strange glint in his eyes that only the bat family could recognize as pride.
"Huh," Dick replied, tilting his head in thought at the new information, "I had no idea. She never said anything, even though I know she recognized me."
"Kind," Cass hummed, "Trust her."
"Scope it out," Bruce suggested, wiping a napkin to his lips, "Then let me know what you decide."
Dick hadn't even seen him finish his food. The older man got up from his place at the table, taking his used plate into the kitchen even though they all knew Alfred preferred to collect them.
"I want to come," his sister signed, "I haven't visited her in a while."
It was settled then, Dick decided.
"We'll go back after breakfast," he nodded, returning Cass's soft and pleased smile.
...............
The bell on the door dinged and Cass and Dick slid inside. His sister lit up with a smile when she saw Brenda at the counter and the woman didn't even complain as the young girl ducked around the counter to give her a hug.
With Cass still clutching her side like a koala, Brenda looked up to see Dick and raised her eyebrows in a silent question.
"Brother," Cass explained, simply.
"Oh, you're a Wayne," the woman realized, looking down at the teenager.
Brenda didn't say anything else, just squeezed her attacker softly before letting her go.
"This one's an angel," she huffed, looking over the counter to Dick, "What happened to you?"
Dick mock scowled at her as Cass darted back around to the customer side of the café and pointed to the menu. Brenda didn't miss a beat.
"I've got all the usuals, but I'm out of soy, sorry hun," Brenda frowned, knowing the kind of milk Cass preferred, "Specials are honey cinnamon and sweet coconut."
The younger girl held up the number two with her fingers, grinning in excitement, and Dick realized that Brenda didn't know sign language.
"Sweet coconut latte, iced, almond," Brenda punched in the order, already having Cass's second choice ready to go, "Decaf?"
Brenda almost sounded hopeful, but Cass folded her arms over her chest and the older woman sighed in defeat.
Cass dug a five-dollar bill out of her pocket and slid it onto the counter. Brenda slid it back.
"Your brother can pay," she jerked her head over to him, smirking, and Cass giggled and dropped the bill into the tip jar instead.
Dick was more impressed than before at how the woman was able to bond with his sister so well.
Something caught the corner of his eye, and he glanced over to see Percy stroll out of the bathroom, hands in her pockets. The green-eyed woman froze at the sight of him. Cass noticed the exchange, and in the blink of an eye, snuck from the counter to a spot in front of Dick, between him and Percy.
He was staring at Percy the whole time and saw how she followed Cass's movements. Nobody followed Cass's movements.
Percy whipped her head around to Brenda, excited.
"Brenda, look!" she gasped, "This one moves like Nico!"
The older woman fixed her with a deadpan.
"I'm not sure anyone moves like Nico, Perce."
Percy seemed to huff, not accepting the statement, whatever it meant. Cass didn't tear her eyes away from the newcomer, and Dick watched with bated breath. He had no idea what was happening.
"I'm Percy, what's your name?" she asked, holding out a hand to his sister.
Dick felt a bit of childish jealousy bubble up, Percy never introduced herself to him, or asked for his name. He had to figure it out, all on his own.
Cass reached out slowly, wrapping her fingers around a couple of Percy's, and studied her inquisitively. Percy didn't seem to be fazed by the exchange at all.
"Cass," the younger girl finally offered, before tilting her head up, "Loyal."
Brenda barked out a sharp laugh, and Percy flushed, both at a joke that Dick didn't understand.
"I'm keeping her," Percy announced, brushing her fingers briefly across Cass's cheek.
Percy's open attitude was jarring when compared to his own encounters with her which was why it took him a second too long to speak up.
"She's my sister," he finally said, affronted.
Percy glanced from Cass to Dick, grimaced, and looked back to Cass, who gave her a toothy smile.
Brenda watched the two of them, amused.
"Not anymore," she replied dryly, "Percy's always picking up kids, you can't stop her."
"I feel left out," Dick grumbled, feeling put out.
The three of them seemed to gravitate towards each other, and he had a feeling that this might've been a bad idea.
...............
Brenda lugged two plastic bags of trash out the back door and towards the dumpster. Before opening her café, she would've never thought that empty plastic cups and sugar packets could be heavy, but she should've known that the weight of the used coffee grinds piled up, fast.
She heard him before she saw him, the sound of two feet dropping to the ground, just barely staggered in timing.
"Excuse me, miss," he spoke, and Brenda turned around, a hand over her heart in mock surprise.
However, it became real when she noticed a second figure standing next to Nightwing, Bludhaven's resident vigilante. She hadn't even heard the girl touch down.
"This is Orphan," he gestured to the girl beside him, who took a few steps closer to her, "And I'm—"
"Nightwing," she cut him off, "I know how you are."
She briefly glanced over to the new one, Orphan. The only reason she had registered her as a girl, not a woman, was because of her height, but honestly, there was no way to tell her real age. She was in a full black and grey suit, with a short black cape over her shoulders. A matching mask covered her entire face, eyes, lips, and nose, and a hood extended from the cape, to over her head, obscuring her ears and hair. It was a little eerie, and Brenda could imagine her intimidating criminals with just her presence.
"What do you want?" Brenda continued, resting the trash bags on the ground but not letting go just yet.
If Nightwing was bothered by the harshness in her voice, he didn't show it.
"We're scoping out possible locations for the installation of a Justice League transportation device. I can't reveal any more about the technology because it's classified, but essentially, it is a convenient way for heroes to access their base," Nightwing revealed, voice dropping although no one was present besides the three of them.
Brenda furrowed her brows, not at the reason but at the hero's forthcomingness.
"Why are you telling me this?" she all but demanded.
Nightwing's lips quirked up.
"We have sources informing us that you're trustworthy."
On another day, Brenda might not have believed him. But Cassandra Wayne visited her today. A girl she had taken a liking to and befriended, the minute she laid eyes on her. Cass was the reason she had a debt-free business now, all because she had given a free bagel to a hungry girl. She hadn't known exactly who the girl was before today, but the dots started to connect themselves in her head, the Athena in her blood rearing its head.
Brenda knew that Bruce Wayne was a major benefactor of the Justice League. It wasn't common knowledge, but it was public, for anyone that looked hard enough. And Brenda had done extremely thorough research before accepting the Wayne Foundation grant that seemed to come out of nowhere. She understood now, but the offer had been surprising back then and she hadn't wanted to get sucked into a shady business deal. In any case, Wayne helped fund the league, and if the league wanted some technology to be installed here, Cass must've passed the message along to her father, who must've informed the league.
That, at least, made sense to her, but she frowned again.
"Okay. But why are you telling me this?" she pressed, making sure she got the distinction across, and Orphan placed a small hand on Nightwing's forearm, tilting her hooded head.
Nightwing blinked, realizing he probably didn't make his intentions clear enough.
"We would like to install that tech here," he explained, "At the back of your cafe."
The words "Absolutely not," fell from her lips before she even got the chance to soften the tone prior to sending them out, her hands letting go of the bags to cross her arms.
But she had more than a reason to refuse. A demigod portal in her store, and a superhero one right behind? Yeah, right. That was practically asking for her little establishment to be blown to smithereens. Or burned to a crisp. Or shot up. Any method of destruction, really, was equally possible, and probable.
Nightwing raised his eyebrows at the insistent 'no', and Brenda scrambled mentally to think of a valid reason, one that she could share with them.
"My café is a special place," she began, because all good lies began with the truth, "A safe space for local kids, and for others who need it. I don't want to draw attention to it. Putting a league teleporter, or whatever it is, is just going to attract trouble, and my café won't be able to serve its purpose."
Brenda held her breath as Nightwing contemplated her explanation. Orphan was looking at her curiously like she could see right through all her lies, and Brenda realized that she was the one she should be wary of. Her arms were still crossed and Brenda shifted her hand slightly to rub at the spiderweb tattoo that decorated her left elbow, an old grounding technique of hers.
"I understand," Nightwing finally accepted, glancing over to his partner, "We'll find somewhere else. Thank you for your consideration. I trust you won't tell anyone about this?"
Brenda shook her head, relieved.
"I won't," she promised.
Nightwing nodded and impressively flipped up and away into the maze of Bludhaven's buildings, leaving Orphan behind for a moment.
"Stay safe," Brenda told her because she couldn't help it.
The vigilante could've been forty, for all she knew, but that didn't stop the protective feeling in her chest. Orphan tilted her head at Brenda, shifting, and the woman realized this was the first time the vigilante had directly faced her. Every other time, she had been turned slightly off-center. Brenda recognized this as a defense tactic, from the weekends she had been spending at camp. It was much easier to move to dodge if your body was already in motion.
But as Orphan stood stock still for that brief moment, shoulders squared, Brenda could've sworn she was smiling softly under her mask.
Then, darting into a particularly dark patch of the alley, she, too, disappeared from sight.
Notes:
I'm finally back on my shit after a long ass semester so please accept my apology in the form of this long ass chapter.
Obligatory childhood flashback meeting scene, check.
Dick thinks Perseus doesn't realize who she's telling personal shit to, but Percy just kinda trusts Nightwing like that.
Brenda is not an oc, she's actually a dc character and most of the non-demigod stuff I wrote about her is accurate, which is so funny because when I decided to make her a legacy of Athena, I genuinely did not know that she canonically has both a spider and spiderweb tattoo, the irony
The idea that demigods and heroes would have their respective portals at the same place is so funny and would lead to so many funny encounters but Brenda is too smart to let that happen, so she said no, sorry guys :(
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm so sorry again for the long break! And let me know if you guys liked it!