A/N

And here's the long-awaited-adopted-story! I adopted this story from Glimare (so the plot and this chapter are both hers, I'm just borrowing it to play in ;)

Summary: They had their lot's in life. Tim was an Owl, and Dick was a Talon. Then aliens descend and the Court was destroyed, along with the Batman and the majority of the Justice League; what better than to adopt the kid as his brother? Next comes Nightwing (because Gotham was always in need of a hero). Of course, there's also this impostor who's pretending to be Batman, but since when would Dick let something like that stop him?

Disclaimer: I don't own this chapter (it belongs to Glimare) or the plot (that also belongs to Glimare). She's just letting me have some fun with it ;)

Earth 2 Batclan Prologue: Five years ago

"Get him out of here!"

The Owl's orders were absolute, no matter what he felt inside most days. This time he didn't debate. The building was collapsing and parademons were attacking everyone. Taking a child and running was one order he'd take in a heartbeat.

Picking up the small boy, the young Talon ran as fast as his legs could carry him. The child screamed after his father, much like he had once long ago; but despite the protests, he didn't stop. They kept running, moving, dodging, getting as far from the monsters as they could. They had to get to safety.

Twenty minutes later they were away from the warzone, but not safe. Not yet. The Talon tried to find something, some sign, that could be a safe haven. But if the Court of Owls was infiltrated, destroyed, what was the likelihood of their passages and protection being good anymore? Glaring in thought, the young assassin in training tried to figure this out. He still had a mind that could think for itself thankfully. If his training wasn't interrupted by the war going on outside, requiring every Talon to go out and fight, he might not have the individual will he somehow maintained all these years. And if it weren't for the shaking, crying child in his arms, he might be with the rest of them, dead fighting this never ending war.

"Daddy... Mommy..."

He looked down at the child he was holding as he caught his breath for the moment, and for that moment he saw himself. They were around the same age when they both lost their parents: one to the Court, and the other to Apokilips. This boy was just beginning his training to join the Court when the war started. It seemed like the war saved both of them from a different fate, but condemned them to a worse one.

The Court was exposed in the chaos. Majority of their members were hunted down and killed by those monsters. The remaining sent the Talons out to fight the invading horde, or as bodyguards for their remaining members. He was this boy's. And he had failed to protect his family.

"Shh..." He slid his back against a crumbling wall, crumbling to the ground as he tried to comfort the boy. He rubbed the young hatchling's back as he rocked him, mimicking the vague memories he had of his mother when she helped him through a nightmare. "It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay."

"But... Mommy and Daddy..." The boy sobbed, barely able to speak. He was terrified. A sweet boy who should have seen more happiness and sunlight instead of the darkness that came with the Owls and the war. Why did good children have to be dragged into the darkness like they were? "They're... they're..."

"I know..." His head drooped, lightly touching the kid's. Mask touched mask, but couldn't hide how they felt. "Mine are too. I miss them every day. But..." He looked the child in the eye as he tried to give him hope. The last rays of hope he still had from his childhood. "We have to live for them. For our parents. It's what they'd want. They want us to be happy, to live and to grow. We'll make it through this. We will. Remember Superman? He's out there somewhere, fighting the bad monsters and trying to save the world."

This made the boy look up at him for a moment too. "Batman too."

He blinked, vaguely remembering there were other heroes out there. Batman. He heard the name before and slightly resented it. If he was supposed to be the hero of Gotham, why hadn't he saved him as a boy? Saved him from the Court? But this child believed in him, so he nodded. "Batman too. They'll end this. They'll end this and..."

He stopped. If the war ended, what would happen next? What would they do? He was a Talon, made to serve the Court. Though he fought the programming in him at every turn, it didn't change the fact he was a slave, and this boy was supposed to become his master.

But if he killed his masters...

The roar of a parademon broke his thoughts, jerking his head around to find the source while a small face buried itself into his clothes, frightened. The Talon held on to him protectively, instinct taking over. He couldn't let this child be hurt. How could he even consider killing a scared kid? There had to be another way, a way they could both live. A way they could fly free. But only after this war was over.

He struggled to his feet and started running again amongst the ruins in that part of Gotham. He slid to a halt in front of a manhole with an owl on its cover, pulling it off and leaping down below. If he followed this line they could get to a bunker and-

The roar of three parademons surrounding them stopped him in his tracks. Three. He hadn't even managed to kill one! And with a kid in his arms... Quickly he threw a knife into the throat of the closest one then dived between the legs of next one, one arm around the kid the entire time. He managed to hamstring that one before running as fast as he could, going in the opposite direction of the bunker. He was running out of ideas and who knew how many more of these things were out there.

The child in his arms shook in fear, not able to even look up at the fighting. His tight grip on his protector made it easier for him to fight, but not to the fullest ability. If he was going to really take down these demons, he'd have to let go of the kid. But one look at him and he knew he couldn't. This boy needed him. Needed him more than anything right then. Abandoning him and running would save his own skin easily, but one thing the Court couldn't take from him was his humanity.

As they came to a truly dead end, he took a shaky breath and started to accept it. It was over. They were going to die. The youngest Talon and the youngest entry into the Court of Owls. If this was it, they may as well face death in the eye.

Turning around, he watched the angry monsters coming towards them. The child's strangled, fearful sobs, drove needles into his heart, far deeper than the fear of dying at the hands of these things. Quietly he tried to soothe the boy's last moments, rubbing his back and holding him closer as he crooned in his ear. "Shh... It'll be alright. We're going to be alright. We'll be seeing our parents soon. It'll all be over soon."

Slowly he closed his eyes as they came closer, waiting for the inevitable. "It'll be alright Timmy. I'm here. I won't leave you. We'll always be together."

'Because they'll never find us here,' he mentally added. A few tears dripped down his face as he mentally prayed it'd be quick. 'I'm sorry kid. I couldn't save you either.'

Slowly he opened his eyes again, watching them get closer to them. They roared menacingly, raising their weapons to strike the two down. Here it came.

But it didn't.

A high pitched screech filled the air for a moment, making him wince slightly but it was nothing in compare to what happened to the parademons. With only that warning, all three monsters collapsed before them. They shook for a moment, then... died.

They were dead.

The monsters hunting them were dead.

Dead.

The Talon gaped for a minute in shock, then fell to the ground, shaking in relief. They were alive. He and the boy were alive! The bad guys were down. By some miracle they survived! They could live for their parents' sakes.

They survived.

Relief flooded him as he sat in sewage, sparking a rise of giggles from his chest. They were alive! The good guys, Superman, Batman, and that Wonder Lady, they must have done something to save them all. The bad guys were dead. All dead. And they were alive.

"Timmy look." He eased his grip off the kid and prodded him to turn around and see what happened. "We won. They're dead. The bad guys are dead. We're safe now."

The boy looked at the monsters now laying in the sewage before them, dead as doornails. Despite the act being a sign of the bad being gone, he still shook and cried. After a moment the kid swayed and collapsed against the teen. One look at the boy and he smiled in compassion. All the fear and stress had exhausted him. And the kid was cute when he was sleeping.

Gently he held the boy close and picked himself off the ground. The Owl mask fell off the boy as he stood up, revealing a tear stained face of innocence, sleeping away. He caught the mask before it fell into the sewage and started moving forward. They had to get to that bunker and see what the damage was. Stepping on the monsters' corpses was very satisfying along the way. The idea they were safe from these monsters made him lighter, happier. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. He was smiling.

How long until that went away again?

All too soon they were at the bunker the Owls set up years ago. The Talon set the boy down on a cot in there, covered him with a blanket, then looked around as he peeled off his head gear. He never been in this bunker, just knew it had to be there. Every owl figure in the city was connected to the Court in one way or another and bunkers were typically accessible through the sewer system. The place had weapons on every wall and spare supplies in a closet to the side, both food and medical. When the war started, supplies for the Owls themselves were put in, just to be safe.

A computer terminal sat not too far away, one of the few that could connect to any and all networks around the globe. He hadn't had much time with computers, even before he was taken, but he did know how to read. Setting the masks aside, he pressed the on buttons to start it up. As soon as the contraption was up and running, he opened up a browser and looked through the favorite list for an active news network. It was already broadcasting what it could, mostly that parademons were dropping from the skies. The teen turned up the volume to hear the news.

"The towers are down!"

"Last reports see Superman and Wonder Woman outside the tower in Metropolis."

"Steppenwolf murdered Wonder Woman."

"Batman seen going into the Apokilips tower in Metropolis."

"Superman reported being ripped apart by parademons."

"Large explosions at every parademon control tower reported."

"Supergirl and the Batwing have disappeared into an opening boomtube."

"Multiple nuclear blasts at attacked bases of the World's Army."

"No signs of Batman exiting the tower before explosion."

"Looks like this is it people. The war is over! We've won! And all thanks to the sacrifice of our greatest heroes: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Robin. These five are the ones responsible for taking down the towers from Apokilips, ending the parademon horde's collective consciousness and control, and ending all boomtube activity. My fellow residents of Earth, we are now free. The war is over."

He listened to every report, let them go on repeat for hours. They all said the same thing. War over. Wonders dead. Heroes saved them all. They were free.

For a moment he looked over to the boy still asleep on the cot. The world was free, but was he? Were they? It'd be so easy for him to slip out then and let the kid fend for himself. He personally would probably do better alone, but the kid wouldn't. He was just nine years old. If the boy survived to reach adulthood, he'd rejoin the Owls and hunt him down. May even remake the Court and Talons just to take over and get his revenge. So many things could go wrong if he left then.

But if the Court of Owls still existed... if they managed to survive like they had...

'It's a risk I'll have to take.' Taking a deep breath, the Talon settled in a chair next to the boy. Timothy. He had to remember. The child's name was Timothy. And his own name...

The teen kept a vigil next to the hatchling's side, waiting for the inevitable moment when he would awaken and cry for his parents; his parents who were surely dead. The hours past with only the continual reports on the computer screen and the boys breathing breaking the silence. While he waited, he tried to formulate plans. He didn't like planning too far ahead, and he hated manipulating people, but this was his chance. He only prayed this fledgling owl would change his nature before he too became like those controlling predators of the night.

Eventually the boy moaned in his sleep, nightmares taking control. His heart throbbing for him, the half-baked soldier picked him up and held him close to ease away his fears. Never could bear to see another suffer. Slowly the boy woke, tears in his eyes. The first thing he saw was the one who saved him from the monsters for so long, and he knew not everything was a dream.

"They're really gone, aren't they?" Timothy's small voice trembled as he asked, but he had to know the answer.

Slowly his soldier nodded. "Yes, they are."

Again the child trembled, traumatized to say the least. He curled further into the teen's chest, desperate for comfort. And the older boy eagerly gave it.

They sat in silence for a long time, strangled sobs and the news being the only sounds once again. The Talon could tell his charge was getting weaker by the minute and would need sustenance soon, but couldn't make himself leave the child for a moment. Eventually though, the boy spoke again.

"The monsters are all gone?"

"Seems that way." He looked back the way they came. "Those parademons coming after us just collapsed and died."

"You could take them."

He huffed out a weak laugh. "I doubt that."

"You can do anything. You can fly."

That made him blink, looking back down on the kid. "What?"

"I saw you fly. Years ago. You can do anything. I was so sad when they said you died..." He gripped his tunic even tighter, scared. "You came back. Will Mommy and Daddy come back too?"

Watching the innocent child for a moment, his mind started to reel. He knew him? Before he was taken by the Court? Though his mind strained to figure that out, he shook his head for the kid's sake. "No Timmy. I didn't die back then, they only made it look like I did. Your parents... they really..." He took a deep breath as he delivered the news once again. "They're gone. Really gone."

Hope left the kid's face. His eyes locked on the shirt he was grabbing before burying himself in it once again. "Are you going to leave me too?"

Again he shook his head, having already made his decision. "I won't. I'll stay with you, for as long as you need me." His head drooped a fraction as he admitted the truth. "I am your servant. I'll do whatever it is you need me to."

He couldn't say no to the boy, on so many levels. One because of his conditioning by the court, and two because he was just a child, one whose whole world was destroyed. Just like his was. He'd stay with him, for as long as he would have him. Being tied to a child was preferable to being back with the other Talons.

"I don't want a servant," the child murmured. He tugged on the guy's shirt a bit, making certain he was still there. "I just want my family back."

"I know." And he did know. It was all he wanted too. To go back to when life was good, back when it was him and his parents at the circus. He'd do anything to go back to happier days.

After a minute of silence, Timmy looked up at him pleadingly. "Will you be my family?"

He blinked, watching the kid again in surprise. Was he really asking? Watching his eyes for a moment, he relaxed and held him a little closer, running a hand through his hair. "Yes. I'll be your family, your big brother. Just promise me I'll never be a Talon, and I will always be your brother and never leave you."

"I promise," came the younger one's reply, and he knew he'd keep that promise. Hearing those words, knowing they had just changed fate, and would make it a happy life, warmed his heart more than anything.

They stayed like that for a while longer before he released his strong hold, smiling at his new brother comfortingly. He knew he'd be smiling more now, if not for his sake then for little Timmy. "Then I think it's time we were properly introduced. My name, the one my parents gave me, is Richard John Grayson. But everyone just called me Dick. And you are?"

"Timothy Jackson Drake. But you knew that." He blinked at the older owlishly. "Can brothers have different last names?"

"Don't know," Dick admitted. He inclined his head to the computer. "There's a lot I don't know. I'm supposed to be dead but I'm not. If we're going to make this work, we have a lot to learn before the dust settles. How good are you on a computer?"

A/N

This chapter was completely written by Glimare! I just borrowed it for the story :) Chapter 2 will hopefully come out soon! Still in the editing process...a little...that chapters mostly hers too, I just mixed things up a bit and added a little of my own stuff...REVIEWS=INPUT! And if there's anyone reading this who's also reading my other stories, I am so sorry about the delay! Marching band (though awesome, super fun, and spectacular) screwed things up. And school starts in like, a week...

Kisses!

Alyss