Chapter 1-The Circus

"Hey, Dad, Look!" Joey squealed as he ran up to the window. "Can we go? Please?"

I looked at the poster he had taken down.

Haley's Circus featuring the death defying Flying Grayson's.

"Cool." Grant commented. "They don't even use a net."

"Pleeeeaaaaaaaaaaaase…" Joey begged.

"We didn't come to Gotham to go to the circus. We're here to visit Will." I said.

"Aw. Come on, Daddy," Addie mocked, "A little fun never killed anyone."

"Yeah, Dad…please! It'll be so much fun! They got elephants there!" He shouted excitedly. I smirked at his pronunciation of the word 'elephant.'

"I don't know, Joey…There are clowns at the circus." I teased.

"I'm not afraid of clowns!" He protested.

"Slade, stop it." Addie said with a chuckle.

"Joey, Look! It's the Joker!" Grant yelled.

"WHERE?!" He squealed as he ran and hid behind my legs.

"See, he is afraid."

"Am not."

"What time does the show start?" I asked as I kneeled down to my son. He pulled the poster back out.

"Um…8:00. Please, can we go Daddy?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Dad!" Grant chimed in.

"Come on, Slade. It'll be something fun for the boys to do before we go home. They've never been to a circus before." Addie said sweetly. I sighed.

"Alright, we better get going. We have 30 minutes to get there."

"YAY!" Joey squealed.

"Cool. Maybe they'll fall." Grant commented.

"That would be awful, Grant." Addie said. He only shrugged.

We arrived at the gates fifteen minutes before the sow started. The tickets cost me $100. Ten for Grant and Joey, forty for Addie and me.

"I should stop hanging out with you guys, you're too expensive." I teased the boys.

"Come on, Dad!" Joey said as he pulled mo to some empty seats about halfway to the top. The show started right on time with a parade of elephants walking around the floor.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls of all ages, welcome the world famous Haley's Circuuuuuuuuuus!" The ring master's voice boomed through the bi colored tent. The crowd went wild.

"Prepare yourself for never before seen performances by man eating lions, daring clowns, magic and the death defying Flying Grayson's!" Once again, the crowd erupted in cheers. Grant and Joey were on their feet watching attentively.

"Before we begin, the circus would like to thank Gotham's own Bruce Wayne for his benevolent donation. Tonight's show is brought to you by the Wayne Foundation, which donates millions of dollars each year to the countries orphanages. Please, make Mr. Wayne welcome tonight."

The crowd cheered for Wayne as he stood and gave a small bow to the crowd.

"Now, without further ado, let the show begin!" More earsplitting cheers rang through the tent. The elephants on the ground began a routine of standing on platforms, climbing, bowing, begging, spinning sitting and other various tricks invented for dogs. It wasn't too boring, but definitely not something I would want to sit through again. The boys, however, loved it. Once the elephants were done, the clowns came out and made a fool of themselves, then the death cage motorists, then the knife throwers, lion and tiger tamers, more foolish clowns, dancers, twirlers, the world's strongest man, the horse show, the flexible woman, the clowns again, the magic act, the wrestlers, the fat lady, and the wolf man followed by more clowns.

Finally, the ringmaster's voice boomed through the tent, the lights went wild.

"Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for, without the use of a safety net, the high flying, death defying, FLYING GRAYSONS!"

The lights settled on three waving figures was up at the top of the tent. The crowd screamed and clapped. Then, two of the gymnasts jumped out to the bars. There was a gasp and cheer as they grabbed onto each other and dangled sixty feet above the ground. The third jumped.

"Oh my god, Slade, That's just a little kid!" Addie screamed. Grant and Joey were going wild as they watched the mid air performance. They flipped and swung quickly and gracefully. They looked so natural. All three were holding onto each other as they swung. The kid was thrown up in the air and performed a quadruple flip. The crowd erupted. His mother caught him and threw him back to the platform. He landed safely and the two dropped down to a tightrope strung across the tent. The crowd sucked in their breath as they waited for them to land safely on the thin line. They soon began the next stage of their performance. It was breathtaking. Everyone was entranced. The Graysons jumped and flipped across the high wire. Everything went wrong when there was a great snap and the rope went slack. The Grayson's were falling….Grant was right. The crowd went deathly silent as they plummeted to the ground.

"MAMA! TATI!" Came a blood chilling scream. I looked up to the little boy. The two bodies hit the ground with a thud.

"NOOOO!" came the scream. The kid descended the ladder. The crowd still hadn't registered what happened until the blood began seeping out from under them.

"Addie, get the boys out of here." I said. The crowd began to panic. The little boy had made it to the floor and was running to hi dead parents. I got out of my seat and ran to the floor.

"Slade! Where are you going?!" Addie called after me.

"Get to the car. I'll meet you there!" I called back.

"Dick!" The ringmaster called to the kid.

He was kneeling in his parents' blood.

"Dick, come away! The Ring master said as he pulled the boy away.

"No! Go away! Mam! Tati, Wake up! Please!" He pleaded.

"Come on, Dick."

"NO!"

"What can I do?" I asked the ringmaster.

"Who are you?"

"I was in the stands…"

"Can you get Dick away from here?"

I nodded.

"Come on, Dick." The Ringmaster said again as he picked the child up.

"No!" he screamed.

"Thank you, sir."

I took Dick and moved to the edge of the ring.

"Let go! TATI!"

"Shhh…" I whispered. Dick struggled in my grasp. He was a strong kid. Granted, he wasn't getting away from me, but he still tried desperately hard. He finally gave into his tears. He collapsed into my chest and sobbed. His tears and the blood on his uniform soaked into my white shirt.

"Shhh… Look at me." I whispered. He turned his tear stained face to me. "What's your name?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"Richard, but everyone calls me Dick…" He said in a soft Russian accent through his tears.

"Ok, Dick. It's going to be ok, alright? You're fine." I said as I wiped the tears from his face fruitlessly.

"Mama…Tati…" he sobbed into my shirt.

"Shhh…" I whispered. What more could I say? I sat there for hours holding the sobbing boy while the cops took care of his parents. Dick fisted my bloody shirt and cried his heart out.

I was soon approached by an officer and the ringmaster. I stood with the sobbing boy in my arms.

"I'm Mr. Haley, thank you for taking care of Dick for us."

I shook his hand.

"You're welcome." Was all I could say? Haley took Dick from my arms. He was exhausted and somewhat unresponsive. Haley and the officer turned and walked off. I too, turned. I had to get back to my family. I walked down the block to our car and got in the driver's seat. Joey was asleep. Grant stayed quiet. I looked sadly at Addie.

"Are you guys ok?" I asked. Addie nodded silently.

"That was so cool." Grant whispered.

I let out a deep, exasperated breath and started the car. The ride back to our hotel was completely silent.