—003
PHOTOGRAPH
𝘋𝘌𝘊𝘌𝘔𝘉𝘌𝘙 6𝘵𝘩, 2012
10:22 𝘗𝘔 𝘞𝘈𝘠𝘕𝘌 𝘔𝘈𝘕𝘖𝘙
𝘙𝘖𝘉𝘐𝘕 𝘚𝘈𝘛 𝘙𝘌𝘊𝘓𝘐𝘕𝘌𝘋 in his bedroom, analyzing the hologram screens that were depicted in front of him. A link reading "penitente" surfaced on the screen. There was a list of known members of a cartel under the same name. Another link was a file report, only accessible to certain individuals. And of course Dick Grayson would have access.
"Master Dick?" Alfred opened his bedroom door as Dick hurried to turn off the computers.
"Uhhh yes Alfred?" His eyes tried to show the innocence he lacked as he smiled at the old man.
Alfred raised a brow, setting a plate of cookies on the desk, "if I may ask, what interests you in Mexican gangs?"
"I'm trying to locate a member, well, assumed member. Just team duties you know," Dick put his arms behind his head, leaning back in the chair, playing it off cool.
"Hm. Well sir, I thought you should know Master Bruce is worried about you," Alfred ruffled his hair before walking out.
Robin scoffed before hurrying to reopen his link. In the list of names, one stuck out to him. Ángel Soliván. He'd been arrested a few times in México, and the United States. But he always ended up getting out. He was currently on the run; the cops were tracking him for some suspicious activity. Seems he was linked to a few assassinations. This could be huge. I should get involved.
The boy sat his Robin suit aside, and sported a blue hoodie with black jeans and a camera wrapped around his neck. For these nights, he was Dick Grayson. He was figuring himself out, who he was without Batman or a team by his side. He spent the next month out every night, hopping from building to building. He spied on drug deals, shipments, kidnappings, murders. He got footage of a lot of it. Some nights he would only see her for a split moment before she disappeared. He couldn't do much on his own. Traveling to Blüdhaven from Gotham was already enough work, and getting a whole team here would be even more difficult. And besides, Dick Grayson liked being alone. It gave him a sense of freedom he had never been offered before. A freedom he only started to yearn for once he met her.
.︻╦̵̵̿╤─ ҉~•
𝘋𝘌𝘊𝘌𝘔𝘉𝘌𝘙 30𝘵𝘩, 2012
8:56 𝘈𝘔 𝘔𝘖𝘜𝘕𝘛 𝘑𝘜𝘚𝘛𝘐𝘊𝘌
Dick Grayson was in a weird position in life. To understand the teenage male mind is like trying to understand why the universe was made. And it's worse when that teenage male happens to be a crime-fighting superhero with dead parents and an okay father figure. So when he is faced with the opportunity to take a case all on his own, without the guidance of his mentor or the complications of working with a team, of course he became obsessed with it. His life's work became the ability to discover who this girl was, and all these crimes that trailed throughout the abyss of Gotham's darkest nights.
Wally started worrying about him the moment he walked into the Watchtower and saw Robin passed out. "Uhh, Dick?" Wally whispered, tapping the boy's shoulder.
He woke up on high alert, motioning to punch Wally in the face before recognizing who he was.
"Woah woah dude it's just me," Wally sped a foot away from him, hands in the air.
"Agh, sorry. Rough night," Dick rubbed his temples, regaining consciousness.
"Yeah I can tell, you've barely left the base in days. When's the last time you slept in your own bed?" Wally sat down on the barstool next to him, giving the boy a concerned look.
"I don't even know, Batman's going to be on my ass. He has been. Every night I've been out he just stares at me and then goes and does his own shit. He's waiting for me to come home so he can lecture me," he laid his face on the table, about ready to sleep again.
"If you don't mind me asking, what's had you out so much?" Wally was hoping for a constructive conversation. Even in team meetings Dick had been suspiciously quiet. He also had not been as flirtatious as usual with the girls, and that always meant something was wrong. Or maybe Donna finally punched him in the arm enough times for him to get it.
"I..it's nothing."
"C'mon man. You know you can tell me anything," Wally gave him his boyish grin.
Dick sighed, "it's this girl."
"WHAT? You're with a girl and you didn't tell me?! That's messed up man. What about bro code?" Wally leaned back in shock.
"No it's not like that. She's a member of a cartel," Robin rubbed his temple, regretting his split second decision to tell his best friend.
"Even better, she's spicy," Wally smirked and nudged Robin.
"That's not the point, the point is that I can't find anything on her, or even her for that matter," Robin pressed his forehead against the marble slab.
Wally cocked his head a bit, "and why's that important if you have information on every other person in said cartel?"
"Because...because it's her. I met her patrolling one night-"
"SEE I KNEW THERE WAS MORE TO IT!" Wally slammed his hand onto the counter, pointing a finger at Dick, accusingly.
"Could you quiet down?! Batman has ears e v e r y w h e r e," Robin, being dramatic, motioned to the air around them "and just, she's linked to crimes that could be solved and things that have happened and if I just knew who she was I could draw it all back to her."
"Your mind is like one of those detective investigation boards, isn't it?" Wally played with a toothpick that had mysteriously appeared from nowhere.
"You could say that," Robin smiled at the analogy. His mind flashed to a night he walked in on a Bruce Wayne running on no sleep, sweating, staring at a peg board with newspaper clippings and photos. The world's greatest detective running his hands through his hair, his eyes bloodshot.
Wally had gotten up to prepare some eggs and coffee for him. He grabbed a Batman mug out of the cupboard, "you know. Maybe you should let some of us help you."
"I can't put your guys' lives in danger. I'm already risking my own. This isn't aliens or magic or anything, but it's real people and real lives that I've witnessed be taken away," Robin's consciousness was flooded with more than just Batman's scowl. Murder does a lot to the mind.
Wally frowned, his gut sinking, "maybe you should leave it alone for a bit, Dick. I don't think it's doing you any good."
"But I'm so close-" Dick ran his fingers through his hair, looking up at Wally from his slouched position at the counter.
Wally sat the Batman mug down in front of him, pouring cream into it as he made eye contact with Dick, "let Artemis and I deal with it for a night. You know she can deal with it, and I'm prepared for anything. You can stay at my place if you'd like if you really wanna stay out of Bats' hair."
The two sat in silence for a moment as Dick drank his coffee, thinking to himself. He gave Wally a serious glance, "as long as you can promise me you guys won't do anything stupid."
"Promise, just tell me what we need to look for."
The two finished breakfast and took the zeta-tube to Gotham. They arrived at Wayne Manor just a few moments later. Bruce was out of the house, to no one's surprise. Dick knew he would see him from the cameras, but he didn't care. Alfred met the two teen boys at the entrance, "morning, Master Dick and Master Wally."
"Morning Alfred. When's Bruce supposed to be home?"
"Ten after twelve, sir. May I ask where you've been?"
Wally was messing around with whatever he could as the two talked. "Patrolling, sorry I haven't been home," Dick scratched the back of his head, feeling guilt as he met the eyes of the man
"That's all good and well as long as you're home now, sir. I'll prepare breakfast," Alfred smiled at the boy, causing a pang of regret to stab Dick in the heart.
He smiled in return, "that sounds great. Wally's eggs were ass."
"Hey at least I made you breakfast," Wally sped and smacked Dick in the back of the head before speeding upstairs.
Dick laughed nervously, "I'll be down in a second, Alfred."
Dick followed up the stairs to his bedroom, where Wally was already laying on the bed chowing on some leftover chips. Dick sat his sunglasses on his desk before sitting down and opening up all the past links.
"Holy shit that's a lot," Wally walked up behind him, still eating the chips.
The screens filled with recordings, photos, files, and catalogs of individuals. A picture of a masked girl with an eye covering and long braids is what caught Wally's attention; or, the bodies in the background of the photo as she fled the scene. It was a lot for him to take in. For a moment, worry overcame him; not for himself, but for his friend. His obsession was unhealthy. Wally gulped, "sooo what exactly am I looking for?"
Robin clicked a few buttons as another link popped up, "tonight this guy is supposed to be meeting up with an outside source to discuss some business. But a few of my other sources have me thinking it is actually a plan to kill the said business partner."
"Alright, anything I should be looking for?"
"Someone with a gun. Scout the area. Buildings nearby. She'll be there."
︻╦̵̵̿╤─ ҉~•
Rio picked at the peeling paint of the room she was in. She had approximately ten minutes till, outside this building, two men would be standing together, and she was instructed to kill one of them. And if it doesn't go as planned, she kills both. Though that could end up with her name on a hit list in Gotham's underground. She messed with the gadgets she had in the bag next to her, fixing them and attaching some to her gun.
Checking the time, she adjusted her black face mask and eye-covering. She moved her two braids behind her back, using binoculars to scout the area. Her attention was hitched onto two random figures running into an alley. All the sudden, a flash of yellow passed down the whole street, causing Rio to prop her sniper up. The yellow zoomed by once again, causing Rio to focus her gun, expecting a third return of the mysterious color. Instead, she heard the door slam against the wall behind her.
"What the..." she turned around, finding a tall, blonde girl dressed in all green standing behind her.
"You know, maybe don't prop your gun out a window when a superhero is running by," the girl grabbed an arrow from her back, quickly aligning it with the bow. But not quickly enough to not be distracted by the knife thrown in her direction as she shot the arrow through the air. She dropped to the ground, elegantly regaining her composure before being once again fought off by the girl in all-black. Rio jumped, wrapping her legs around Artemis' neck, attempting to strangle her.
"You...fucking...bitch!" Artemis threw Rio over her shoulders and against the floor, a crack echoing. This gave her only a few seconds to take a breath before Rio was kicking her from her spot on the floor. Rio pulled her gun out of its holster, aiming for Artemis' shoulder before Artemis kicked the gun out of her hand. Rio took the moment as an opportunity to full force kick Artemis with both her feet. Aiming for her stomach, the blonde was propelled against the wall.
Rio took out one of her knives, walking up to the girl against the wall. She grabbed her wrists and lifted them up, pinning her against it. She stood on one of Artemis' legs, it was a nerve she knew hurt like hell to put relentless pressure on. The blonde looked up at her, seething, "who the hell are you?"
"I could ask you the same question," Rio said in Spanish, not caring if the blonde understood her. She put the knife to Artemis' throat, "get the fuck out."
Artemis knew enough Spanish to get the message, and even without that, the angry crevices between Rio's brows were a clear message. Rio dragged her up by her arm, continuing to hold the knife to her throat. She opened the door to the room before throwing Artemis out of it. Rio mumbled a few things to herself, adjusting her mask and gloves. She marched to the window, looking out and noticing her targets were gone. But besides her targets, there did remain a short figure dressed in yellow standing out the alleyway down the street. Without thinking, she grabbed the sniper and placed half her body out the window. The figure distracted, she pulled the trigger.
︻╦̵̵̿╤─ ҉~•
It was New Years Eve. Bruce Wayne sat at one end of his long dining room table, checking the time on his watch, taking a long sip of wine before his eyes pierced the boy sitting at the other end of the table. Dick sat patiently, his face not showing the worry that was corrupting him. Bruce sat the glass down, closing his eyes in thought before looking back up at Dick, "so, anything you have to tell me?"
Dick gulped, "I've been doing my own night patrols."
"Anything else?" Bruce sat with his elbows on the table and his hands clasped together, pressing against his lips.
Dick stabbed at the steak in front of him, "not that I know of."
"Let me answer that question for you, correctly," Bruce's glare did not cease, "you involved yourself in the monitoring of violent crime, then dragged two teenage individuals from your team into it, endangering them both. So much so that, when they went to carry out your plan, they ended up risking their lives. That sound about right?"
Dick saw the photos of Wally in the cave's med-bay, the photos of the bullet wound in his left arm. He also saw the photos of the bruises on Artemis. He could only nod. The guilt that rotted inside the sixteen year old was comparable to the frustrated disappointment of the man who sat across from him.
"You are relieved of team duties until further notice," Bruce got up from the table, leaving Dick there alone with no further comment.
That night, all of Robin's gear was folded neatly in the Batcave. And it was the last time Dick Grayson would touch it.
sorry for the late update, life is hard
I wanted to dive a little more into Dick's mindset and character
because he deserves it
and WALLYYYYY
I started watching season 4 of young justice while editing the next chapter,
it's not as bad as everyone acts like it is.
but ofc I still would watch the first season for a sixth time.
anyway, support is always appreciate!!