[ Mentions of abuse]
In Gotham, nobody spares you a glance. Tall buildings crowd the gray sky as it seems to drown you and say, "You are no one. Give up." Many did, which led to the bountiful population of homeless people. It's also the place to go if you want to disappear. And so the fateful connection was made between two young boys, and little do they know it would shape the rest of their lives.
Richard Grayson had run away shortly after his parent's deaths; he couldn't stand the idea of being adopted. Replacing the people that had raised him, it didn't feel right! So another joined the dreary streets of Gotham.
Wallace West had disappeared from Central City, but that's just what he wanted. His life has been going downhill for some time. His mother had left, he didn't know why, but he was left alone with his father. He didn't like it, the endless yelling and hitting. He never saw his uncle anymore, but that didn't stop him from finding Barry Allen's journal, notes, and equipment in the attic. Wally had always liked science! What's the worst that could happen? In the end, it was outing himself as a newly made metahuman to his father. The yelling was louder, and the hits wouldn't stop! So Wally ran. Faster then he ever had before, promising himself he'd never go back!
Wally only stopped when the smell of burning rubber hit his nose. He screeched to a halt in a dingy alleyway in a city of perpetual twilight. Not at all the the bright Central City. But he was scared out of his thoughts by a small sneeze. "Hello?" He called nervously from his standpoint in the middle of the narrow alley. He heard a sniffle, sounding like it came from a little farther in the alleyway. He hesitantly creeped closer to where the sound came from, but all thoughts of danger flew out of his mind when Wally saw him.
He looked about eight, but was so small he could've been taken for six. His onyx black hair was matted and full of dirt and Gotham City grime. His blue eyes looked pleadingly at him as they rolled with tears on his small, red face. His shirt was ripped in places and so we're the knees of his pants. Wally dropped to his knees in front of the huddled boy and slowly extended his hand, palm up. "Hey," he said softly, " My name is Wally. Wally West. What's yours? " The small boy sniffed and looked at Wally's freckled face, examining it for something that said the emerald eyed boy could be trusted. He put his dirty hand into Wally's and slightly unfurled from his hunched posistion.
"Dick. Dick Grayson."
" That's a cool name. Why are you out here? " Wally asked, hoping it wouldn't tip the boy over the edge. Wally may have been a very mature eleven, but he still counted himself as a kid. Well, maybe not anymore. How could anyone still be a kid after something like that? Dick sniffled and his grip on Wally's hand tightened.
"We are-were acrobats. We used to travel everywhere and then they said I could go on the trapeze with them! B-but they fell! And there was blood everywhere, and-and." He sobbed into his knees which were pulled by his chest. Wally felt his chest tighten. Guess Dick wasn't really a kid either. Wally couldn't take it anymore. With Dick's hand still in his he crawled over and pulled him into a tight hug. Dick sobbed into Wally's chest as he rocked back and forth. After several minutes, ( and Wally definitely wasn't used to staying still for that long) Dick pulled away from the boy but still stayed in Wally's lap. "The people that took me away from the circus wanted me to replace them! I didn't wanna replace my parents! So I ran away. I stayed out here where they couldn't find me. What about you? W-why are you out here?" Wally hesitated. What should be tell him? Dick seemed rather smart for someone of his age, but what about his powers? Dick might hate him, just like his dad! But Dick didn't seem like that kind of person...
"My dad was a bad guy. He yelled a lot and hit me sometimes too. Then I told him something about me that he didn't like and got really angry, so I ran away. Now I'm here." Dick nodded in thought.
" Did you tell him you liked boy's too? Because my parents said that sometimes adults get mad at people for liking people with the same parts as you. That just seems dumb, but some people didn't like that I came from a circus either, and circuses are the coolest! So liking boys must be cool too. " Dick nodded to himself and Wally filed that little tidbit away for later. Dick was gay too. But...
"That's not the reason I ran away. I like boy's too, but he still doesn't know that. He hates me because I have powers." Wally thought he would have felt nervous telling the eight year old this, but he was finding himself more and more comfortable around Dick; almost like they'd known each other for years! Wally was not proven wrong in his trust when Dick looked at him in awe.
" Like Superman!? " Dick inquired enthusiastically, but he looked a bit sheepish when his raised voice bounced around the alley.
"I'm like the Flash! I can run super quick! That's why I'm here, I'm actually from Central City which is like, a hundred miles away!" Wally felt his initial enthusiasm for his powers creep back in as he talked with Dick.
"How fast can you run? How did you get your powers? Can you do anything else? This is so cool! I wanna find out everything, no matter how long it takes!" Dick threw his hands on the air, barely avoiding smacking Wally in the face. Then a thought occurred to Dick and he deflated. " Sorry. You don't have to stick around with me. You should find the Flash so you two have find out together instead. " For some reason, Wally's heart just about broke at the tiny acrobat's statement.
"Nah, I'll stay here with you! I don't wanna be in Central anymore, and you're my friend now! And friends don't leave friends behind. Besides, I don't know if the Flash would want me. We can find out everything together!" Dick laughed at Wally's broad declaration and wrapped his arms around the red head's chest.
" From now on, let's do everything together. " Dick murmured into Wally's chest. Wally reciprocated the hug in kind.
*****************************Time skip 5 years ************************************
Another gray day in Gotham, another bank in Gotham, and another heist in Gotham. Hardly anyone was surprised when a costumed teen sauntered into the large white area teeming with people, and fired a shot into the air. "We all know the drill here!" The Small black haired villain declared. "On the ground, hands behind your heads, clerks stay standing. You hit the bat call and it will be the last thing you do." A large grin crept onto his features. It was a bluff, but what did they know? He had slightly oversized black gloves with various additions that did unknown things. The neck of the cape covered most of his neck, the outside of the cape black with a yellow underside. The red shirt was tightly held together by yellow clasps and at his waist was a yellow utility belt with the number of pouches and hidden mechanisms in it rivaling Batman's. A small yellow 'R' sat above his heart and had a black domino mask resting on his face. The rest was black leggings and short boots.
" So! " The thirteen projected to the hushed room of civilians in the floor. He pointed at a clerk who had her hands visibly trembling above her head. "Go in the back. You'll find my partner waiting in front of the vault. If I don't get confirmation that you're there and helping him as however he says, in let's call it ten seconds, Imma shoot someone. 'Kay? Go." Robin, as the villain was commonly known to the Gothamites, made a shooing motion with his free hand and the lady took off to the back. Many waited with bated breath. She must've arrived because a couple moments later he simply nodded his head. Then, to only half the rooms surprise, a taller red haired teenager was suddenly beside him with several large duffle bags stacked in his arms.
This was Finch, the well known partner in crime to Robin. He was wearing a slightly bulky yellow suit with red accents and a backwards Flash symbol on his chest, a style that mirrored Bizzaro's own style of emblem. As far as anyone could remember, the duo of birds showed up four years ago and easily made a name for themselves. "Hey babe. Got the stuff. She was really helpful opening up the vault." He grinned past the bags before both the teen villains attentions were drawn to a quiet sniffling. They exchanged glances before focusing back in on the five year old crying in his mother's arms.
"We have what we want now." Robin announced to the room. "So we'll be letting some of you go now. 12 and under, scooch." Robin jerked a thumb at the door. "The rest, call it collateral for our idiot police department. Go. " One brave eleven year old with brown hair reaching her shoulders stood up slowly after a couple moments. When the two teenagers did nothing to threaten her further, she grabbed a three year old into her arms and sprinted for the door. That resulted into a scramble from the youngers. Some adults passed their children off to the older children. Robin and Finch said nothing, and soon the children were out the door. The room was visibly less tense with the young ones gone. Robin turned to Finch.
" Come back for me? " Robin asked flirtatiously.
"Always." Finch replied. He pecked Robin on his cheek and zipped away. It was quiet for a moment before the now empty handed speedster returned. " Time to go? " Finch asked as the sound of police sirens came closer. Robin twirled the pistol in his hand and looked up at the green eyed speedster.
"I suppose we shall." Robin said with mock formality. He was swept into Finch's arms bridal style and made a passing comment to the now seemingly bored crowd. "Guess bats really are bad at catching birds. But then again, wrong time wrong place." And then they were gone. A few brave adults and older teenagers got to their feet as the sirens became their loudest, just moments past the duo's departure. All in all, not the worst heist hostage situation most had been in before. After all, Gotham's a dark place. But not to most's knowledge, there was more than one trying to make it better.