Gotham City

April 8th, 2006

10:16 EST

"I'm sorry, Dick." Mr. Wayne said to him.

Dick didn't respond. His eyes were locked on the last remaining coffin as it was slowly lowered into the earth. He knew he should be grateful to Mr. Wayne. After all, he'd covered the cost of the funeral arrangements, let Dick stay with him and his butler in their large mansion, and gotten him to the hospital in time to say goodbye to Uncle Rick before he died.

But it was hard to feel anything but sad at the moment. The only family that he'd ever had was being buried right in front of him. Jack Haly and the other members of the Circus that he'd been born and raised in had come by to check on him, asked him how he was doing, but none of them understood.

He was alone.

If Mr. Wayne was offended by the lack of reaction, he didn't show it. He watched Dick for a moment, before joining him in gazing at the five graves in front of them. At Dick's own request, several workmen began to fill in the graves right then and there, rather than after he'd left.

He wanted to be there as his family was buried.

They worked quickly and efficiently, covering the coffins in dirt, filling in the five neat rectangles that had been excavated into the ground. Mr. Wayne and Alfred stayed with him. They all stood, silent and unmoving, as the burial was completed. It didn't take long.

Dick could have stayed longer. He wanted to, even after it was done, but Alfred stepped forward and took him gently by the hand after several minutes had passed. The butler's hand was warm and comforting, and Dick squeezed it tightly. Alfred smiled down at him.

"Come, Master Dick." He said gently, though there was no disguising the sadness that colored his voice. Alfred gently pulled him away from the graves, leading him back towards the road where the cars had been parked. "There's nothing left for you here."

Dick allowed himself to be led away, even as he cast a backward glance at the graves. Mr. Wayne was following behind them, leaving the graves still and silent. Even though he wanted to stay, Dick knew the old butler was right. Tears began to form in his eyes, but he wiped them away surreptitiously with the sleeve of his coat.

"Mr. Wayne?" Dick asked when he was done, finally looking up. Mr. Wayne quickened his pace so that he stood by Dick's side as they walked.

"Yes, Dick?" He replied. His face and voice were as stern as ever, but his eyes were sympathetic.

"What will… what will happen to me now?"

Mr. Wayne looked down at him, then glanced up at Alfred, before returning his gaze to the boy. "Alfred, would you get the car ready please?"

"Sir." Alfred gave a slight bow. He let go of Dick's hand and moved off ahead towards the car, waiting to take them back to the manor..

Dick found himself missing the gentle warmth of the butler's hand around his own, but before he could lament its absence too much, Mr. Wayne reached down and took the hand that Alfred had left free.

The grip was strong, much stronger than Alfred's had been. It felt like could have crushed his hand with the barest of effort, so the gentleness with which he gripped Dick's hand was strangely comforting. Despite the firmness, Mr. Wayne's hand was just as warm as Alfred's had been.

And like Alfred's, it was just as welcome.

He clutched to it tightly as they walked, though their pace slowed as spoke. "Before he died, your uncle asked me to take care of you." Mr. Wayne said, watching Dick's face for any reaction. Dick was slightly surprised, but in hindsight, it made sense. Uncle Rick had asked him to stand outside while he spoke to . Now he knew what they'd been discussing.

Mr. Wayne had returned his gaze to the path ahead of them. "I know what you're going through, Dick. It isn't easy."

Since they hadn't interacted much in the days since had picked him up off the circus floor, Dick couldn't say that he knew him all that well. From what he'd seen of his mysterious benefactor, Mr. Wayne's voice and face never changed that often. The only clue Dick had to the man's thoughts were his eyes, and from the distant look he had in them now, Dick could have sworn looked… sad.

As quickly as the look entered his eyes, it was gone.

Mr. Wayne lowered his gaze to meet Dick's once again. "But it will get better for you. I promise."

Alfred was holding the car door open for the both of them as they reached the surface of the road. As they reached the threshold of the car's interior, Mr. Wayne knelt down so that their eyes were level, and took him by the shoulders. "No matter how long it takes, you will always have a home, with us."

Dick crumpled forward, tears in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Mr. Wayne's torso.

Mr. Wayne stiffened in surprise, as if he hadn't been expecting the gesture from the young boy. After a moment's shock, his arms moved almost unconsciously, clutching the young boy tightly.

"You're going to be ok, Dick. You're going to be ok."

—

Gotham City

February 27th, 2017

14:20 EST

"Welcome back." Bruce said, a faint smile on his face as he held his arms outstretched in welcome.

"Thanks." Dick smiled as he stepped forward into the embrace, returning his adoptive father's gentle hug with a vigorous one of his own. "It's good to be back."

"Alfred, good to see you." He said after he'd finished hugging Bruce, moving to wrap his arms around the ever faithful butler.

Alfred smiled as Dick squeezed. "Likewise, Master Dick."

"Thanks for coming to meet me." Dick said, as they all piled into the car. He was genuinely touched by the gesture, but he wasn't surprised: it was the small things that showed Bruce cared.

Alfred stepped on the gas, gently guiding the Rolls-Royce off the tarmac and onto the highway that led to Gotham City and Wayne Manor.

It had taken him two days to recover from his ordeal, during which time he'd called Bruce to tell him he was on his way back, and said his goodbyes to Lama Norbu and the rest of the monks he'd befriended at Nanda Parbat.

Another three days were spent hiking to a relatively flat area where a helicopter could pick him up and take him back to Kathmandu. One more in order to get his things together and board the private plane Bruce had chartered for him back to Gotham.

"Does anyone else know I'm back?" Dick asked.

"No." Bruce said. "I figured you'd want to tell them yourself."

Bruce knew him well. It was true. He did want to tell them himself.

"Tim at school?"

Bruce nodded, expecting the question. "Alfred will drop me off at the office before picking him up from school and taking the two of you home."

Home. The thought brought a smile to Dick's face.

He and Bruce spoke for a while, discussing what had happened in their respective lives during Dick's absence, though both of them refrained from delving too deep into any single topic. It wasn't a question of reticence on either of their parts: they both knew the real catch up session would come later in the evening, at dinner.

It was only once the car arrived at Wayne Tower that Bruce gave voice to the question that Dick knew had been on his mentor's mind since he'd called a few days ago. "Dick, are you sure you're ready to come back? It hasn't even been a year yet. You barely had any time to be you."

Dick shrugged. "I'm meant to be here, Bruce. Here to stop the bad guys. Here for you, my friends, and anyone else who needs me. That's who I am. That's who you helped me become. There will be good days, and there will be bad days, but I'll deal with them either way."

The smile on Dick's face was slightly sad, but no less genuine for it. "I'm all in. And I always will be."

Their eyes met, the contact lasting no more than a second. Dick could see the silent determinations being made in Bruce's mind, trying to figure out if his son really was ready to join the fight again.

Bruce nodded, judgment made. "I'll see you tonight." He moved to exit the car.

"Bruce." Dick said, stopping his mentor short. Bruce looked back over his shoulder, one foot already out the door. "I know I tried to show it over the years, but I can't remember if I've ever actually said it to you."

Bruce's expression was as puzzled as he'd ever seen it. "Said what?" He asked.

"Thank you." Dick said simply. "For everything."

Bruce smiled. The expression stayed on his face as he stepped outside and closed the door.

Dick watched his mentor step inside Wayne Tower before the car pulled away, heading towards Gotham Academy. "Thank you too, Alfred."

Alfred spared him a a quick glance in the car's rear view mirror. "It's been my honor and privilege to help raise you sir." The old butler smiled faintly as he concentrated on maneuvering the car through Gotham's streets. "This should be a pleasant surprise for Master Tim."

Dick sat back, smiling. "Yeah."

It was indeed a pleasant surprise for Tim, when they arrived at Gotham Academy almost 20 minutes later.

Tim had just finished waving goodbye to a couple of his classmates by the main gate when he caught sight of Dick and Alfred standing in front of the car, which was parked by the curb.

Alfred, as always, was the very picture of English refinement and poise, standing with his back ramrod straight, hands clasped in front of him as he waited for Tim to make his way over.

In contrast, Dick leaned back against the car casually, one arm braced against the roof as he watched Tim with an amused smile.

"Dick!" Tim exclaimed, prompting a few puzzled stares from his fellow GA students as he ran forward to the car.

"Hey Tim." Dick's reply was quieter, but his smile was just as big as Tim came to a stop in front of him. "C'mere." He said as he pulled Tim into a tight hug, squeezing as tightly as he could.

Tim couldn't escape from the bear hug, at least not without causing a scene by using some advanced martial arts, and so he was forced to endure it.

Dick laughed and ruffled his little brother's hair as he let go, only to frown as he realized that something about the action felt different from what his muscle memory remembered. It took less than a second for him to realize what the difference was as he mentally compared the little brother he remembered to the slightly less little brother in front of him. "Did you get taller?"

Tim's only reply was a small smirk.

Dick smiled back before hopping into the back of the car, where Tim joined him. "Alfred! Take us home!" Dick called to the front of the car. "I need to see if the little squirt has picked up anything while I've been gone."

Alfred smiled to himself softly, content with the world, and his place in it as he pulled the car away from the curb and started heading back towards Wayne Manor.

"I have two questions for you." Dick said, turning to face Tim. "First, how's school? And second…" he added, anticipatory amusement twinkling in his eyes. "How's your love life?"

—

Wayne Manor

17:25 EST

"Any clue what Tim wants?" Artemis asked as they followed the footpath towards Wayne Manor, examining the text that she'd received on her phone again.

"No idea." Barbara shrugged as she walked alongside Artemis.

They'd both gotten the same strange text from the current boy wonder, asking them to come have dinner at the manor, but stressing that the invitation was unimportant, and that they could bail if they had other plans.

The fact that they'd received their messages from Tim was not in itself unusual. Bruce usually used Tim to communicate with both Barbara and Artemis while they were in Gotham, much to Tim's chagrin. Barb would never openly try and pry Dick's location out of Bruce, but the same couldn't be said for her efforts towards his young protege.

"Maybe Bruce wants us to cover Gotham while he goes off on a solo mission somewhere." Artemis mused, tucking her phone away into her pants pocket as they reached the front entrance of the Manor.

"Wouldn't he have just told us in a Watchtower briefing?" Barbara replied as she rang the doorbell. "Why invite us for dinner?"

Their discussion was interrupted as the front door opened.

"Miss Gordon. Miss Crock. Welcome." Alfred said, bowing as he stepped aside to let them into the Manor. "May I take your coats?"

"Thanks Alfred." They said in unison.

Both girls passed their heavy winter jackets over to the butler, who indicated that they should proceed with a wave of his arm. "Master Tim awaits you in the main gymnasium."

They made their way towards the aforementioned wing of the Manor as Alfred hung their coats in the foyer's closet. Having visited the Manor several times over the years in order to utilize its training facilities, which Bruce had made clear they were welcome to use, both knew the way by heart.

There were actually three gyms present on the Wayne estate: a strength/free-weights training gym, a open gymnastics/sparring gym, and an indoor area that could be turned configured into anything from a volleyball to a basketball court. All of that was in addition to the actual basketball court and tennis courts that were outside the house.

They found Tim in the third gym, dripping with sweat as he tried to rush towards the basket with the ball.

He wasn't alone. As Tim leapt for a shot, a familiar figure jumped up to block him, snatching the ball away from the 15 year old with a triumphant grunt of exertion.

"Dick!" Artemis cried in surprise, rushing forward to embrace her dear friend. Barbara followed along in her wake, a mix of surprise, happiness, and hesitance on her face.

"Hey Artemis!" Dick said happily. He passed the ball to Tim as Artemis ran at him. "I'd give you a hug, but I'm all sweaty. I was gonna shower before you guys got here, but I lost track of time."

Artemis' face scrunched slightly in disgust, but then she shrugged. "It's worth it." She said, encircling his torso with her arms. His arms followed her example, wrapping around her shoulders.

"Are you back?" She asked, face pressed against his chest, still holding tightly. They both knew that she didn't just mean back in Gotham.

"I'm back." He reassured her.

Artemis smiled as she gave him one final squeeze before letting go. Her smile turned into a frown as she realized she was covered in his sweat. There were several dark splotches on her sweater where it had been soaked through. "Ugh."

She looked around for one of the towels that she knew Alfred stocked the gym with, but Barbara saved her the effort, tossing the archer one of the three that she'd snagged. She tossed the other two to Dick and Tim.

Dick wiped himself off quickly as Barbara stepped towards him. He realized that she was looking at him expectantly. It was her cool, calculating expression, the one that had always made him nervous, even when they'd been back in junior high together.

They stood apart a few steps from each other, gazes locked, each waiting for the other to break the silence. Dick broke first. "Hey Barb. I'm sorry that things ended the way they did." He said sheepishly, not meeting her eyes.

He fidgeted with the towel that she'd tossed him. "Do you think we could start over? Go back to being friends again?"

Barbara didn't respond immediately.

Slowly, her expression unchanged, she crossed the distance between them, standing so close that their chests were almost touching. Dick was forced to meet her eyes again. He braced himself for the slap to the face he knew was coming…

And was surprised when she hugged him instead.

"Did you really think we couldn't?" She whispered, tears of joy forming in her eyes as she clutched one of her dearest and oldest friends to herself. "I'm so happy you're back."

—

The Watchtower

20:08 PM EST

Zatanna ran down the Watchtower's corridors as fast as she could. Artemis had only texted her two words, but those words were laden with meaning: He's back.

She'd gotten the text the same instant that Batgirl had spoken over the Watchtower PA system, requesting that any members of the Team present gather together in the main hall in 10 minutes. It had taken her all of two seconds to realize what was going on.

Trust a former boy wonder to make his return in front of an audience, and with a flourish.

Zatanna had sprinted from her room on the Watchtower, making a beeline straight for where she knew he'd be: in the Watchtower's memorial garden. He stood, masked and clad in his armor, arms crossed as he stood in front of Wally's hologram.

The expression on Dick's face surprised her slightly. Every other time she'd caught him standing amongst the holograms of their fallen, he'd been brooding. Even without M'gann's powers, she'd felt the cold anger and barely contained anguish radiating off of him in waves. This time, there was none of that.

This time, as Dick looked upon Wally's image hovering above him, he was smiling. It was a sad smile, obviously wistful, but a smile nonetheless.

Zatanna leapt at Dick, hurling her arms around his neck. Dick had heard her coming, of course, and had been in the process of turning to greet her when she hit him. The impact was much more forceful than she'd originally intended, but she wasn't embarrassed at showing the relief she felt at having him back. She'd spent the last few months worrying about him, wondering if she'd made the right decision in letting him go off on his own.

There was enough momentum to knock him off balance, though being the master martial artist he was, he could have regained it easily. On a whim, he decided not to, laughing as he let them both fall backwards onto the soft grass underneath them.

"I missed you so much." She whispered, clutching him tightly, her face nestled against the crook of his neck.

Dick wrapped one arm around her waist and shifted her so that she was sitting across his lap, smiling as he did so. Once that was done, he scooted them both backwards till he could lean back against one of the trees that were around them.

"I missed you too Zee." He said, using his free hand to brush some loose strands of hair back from her face and tuck them behind her ear. Her almost always-perfect hair had been slightly knocked out of place when she'd bowled him over.

Zatanna's head didn't move from where she'd buried it against him. Dick didn't mind. Having her in his arms again felt indescribably right. They both stayed that way for a good minute or two before she could finally convince her body to unwrap her arms from around his neck.

As she settled against him, she reached up towards his mask hesitantly, giving him plenty of time to stop her if he wanted to. He didn't.

Dick knew they were sitting in a blind spot for the security cameras around them, and he also knew that the only members of the Justice League on the Watchtower at the moment all already knew his secret identity.

There were still members of the Team who didn't know, but Barbara was gathering them all upstairs, so that he could surprise them all at once with his return from his prolonged leave of absence.

Slowly, Zatanna peeled the mask off of his face, revealing his bright blue eyes. She smiled as she placed his mask in her lap. "Are you ok?"

Dick smiled down at her. "Not yet." He said truthfully, looking up at the memorial hologram again. "But I will be. I'll always miss him Zee, but… I feel alright. I feel like I can figure things out from here."

Zatanna reached up and cupped the side of his face with her hand, slowly pulling his gaze back down to meet hers. "It's too much to happen to just one person. Your family and then Jason and then this…" She glanced at Wally's memorial before looking up at him sadly. "I don't know, Dick. I mean... what do you do?"

The question hung in the air between them for a moment.

Just as she had, Dick glanced at Wally's memorial one last time, a thoughtful expression on his face. He looked back at her and shrugged. "I was gonna go see a movie tomorrow." He said casually. "Get a steak at that place we used to go to in New York."

Zatanna's smile brightened. "I could come." She suggested playfully.

He smiled back, leaning in close to kiss her. "I'd like that." He whispered.

Just as their lips were about to meet, the holographic computer on his arm chimed, signaling that he'd received a message from Barb. He pulled away and sighed, lifting his arm up so that it was level in front of his chest. The motion triggered the computer's projector, putting the message on display. -The Team's all ready for you.- BG

"Duty calls." He said, giving her a look that said What can you do?

Zatanna nodded understandingly, picking up his mask from her lap and moving to place it back on his face.

"Wait." She said, stopping just as the mask was about to adhere. Dick looked puzzled for all of half a second until she placed her hands on his face and pulled him into a long, open mouthed kiss.

Dick stiffened in surprise, before giving an appreciative hum and settling into the kiss.

"For the one you missed on your birthday." She said by way of explanation once they broke apart, her tone suggesting it was the most obvious and natural thing in the world.

Dick laughed, carrying her weight easily as he stood up and deposited her on her feet.

"Text me later?" Zatanna asked, pressing her fingers against the edges of his mask in order to make sure it had stuck to his face properly. Dick reached up to where her hands were and took them in his own.

It was Zatanna's turn to gasp in surprise as Dick's lips descended on her own. Where her kiss had been long, his was quick, but no less passionate and caring for it.

Dick still held onto her hands as he stepped back. "Count on it."

—

Bludhaven

February 28th, 2017

01:57 AM EST

Suffice to say, Nightwing's return to the Team was well received by all of its members. While Artemis, Barb, and Tim looked on with smiles on their faces, everyone welcomed him back jubilantly. The younger members greeted him with smiles and fist bumps, while the older members did the same with heartfelt hugs. Cassie, in a moment typical of her mythical exuberance and joy, had almost popped one of his ribs as she flew over and embraced him.

He'd stayed long enough to tell them all they'd be seeing a lot more of him soon, and promise them that they'd hear the stories of his adventures while he'd been gone. Already, he was planning to meet up with Kaldur, Connor, M'gann, and all of his other friends on the Team, both individually and in groups, both in and out of costume.

Not just the Team either. He'd need to see Roy, see how fatherhood was treating his old friend. Send gifts and well wishes to Barry and Iris for successfully bringing a set of twins into the world. Congratulate Ollie and Dinah on their recent engagement.

But before all of that, he needed to have some fun.

Batman and Robin had given him the tip at dinner. They'd been tracking a group of Penguin's thugs who'd been smuggling weapons into Gotham via a warehouse on the docks. It would have been a routine bust for them, but now that he was back, it was the perfect opportunity for him to ease back into things.

Sneaking up on the guards on the perimeter and taking them out one by one had been child's play. Infiltrating the warehouse under the noses of the 20+ hoods shifting various illegal cargoes around was even easier.

It took him all of two minutes to prepare things for what he had planned. From his perch on the warehouse's interior rafters, he allowed himself a deep breathe of anticipation. Now all that was left was to take all the smugglers around him down carefully, with nuance.

With subtlety

With style.

Without warning, he cackled. Microphones built into the neck of his suit picked up the sound and broadcasted it to the various speaker-batarangs he'd hidden everywhere as he snuck in.

To the gang members moving around the warehouse, the silence of the night was suddenly filled with the sound of laughter. Every single one of them jumped, clutching their weapons tightly as they searched for the source of the noise.

"What the hell was that?" One of them yelled out frantically, searching the back of the warehouse in suspicion.

"It's the Bat!" Another called out in fear, his gun pointed straight up at the roof.

Dick switched the broadcast mode of the speakers so that the only specific groups that he selected on different sides of the warehouse would make noise.

"The good news is, I'm not the Batman." All of the gang members swiveled where they stood, facing the cavernous warehouse entrance where he'd broadcasted his voice from uneasily.

He selected the speakers he'd placed at the back of the warehouse and spoke again. "The bad news is, he and I share pretty similar opinions on smuggling weapons." All of them swiveled again, but it was clear that fear was spreading amongst them. They cast fearful glances around themselves, trying to keep an eye on everything at once.

Dick smiled. This was almost fun.

Below him, one of the thugs, who was apparently in charge of the others, started yelling out orders. "Stick together, keep your eyes open. He ain't taking us down."

With a simple push of a button on his vambrace-mounted computer, Dick triggered the explosive charge he'd placed on the warehouse's fuse box, plunging the entire area into darkness. The night vision provided by the lenses built into his mask with let him see the huddled groups of armed thugs cluster together, guns pointed outwards fearfully.

He laughed once more as he jumped down into the largest group of them. "Wanna bet?"

His whispered voice rushed through the warehouse tauntingly.

The pandemonium started. Yells of fear. Random flashes of gunfire. The sound of his sticks smashing against unprotected limbs and bare heads.

Dick smiled as he fought, a genuine smile that spoke to his enjoyment of the fight, the knowledge that he was making a difference, and the absolute certainty that he was doing the right thing.

It was good to be home.