BOY WONDER

the entire gcpd shook, causing barbara to stumble as she left her father’s office. the vigilante glanced over her shoulder for half a second before the entire building was abuzz, detectives and civilians alike panicking. barbara was running, the aftershock, causing that to be far more difficult than she had anticipated. throwing herself out into the open, her eyes flickering for a possible cause of the burst. her gaze slide past what she believed to be a civilian, kneeling over their own injured leg, causing her to sprint in their direction. “ can you walk? ” she asked, kneeling beside them as best she could as the city rocked. she cursed herself for not grabbing her first aid kit before heading outside, offering her hand instead. “ let me help you. the hospital’s too far away but i can patch you up in there, ” she said, tilting her head back to indicate the gdpd.

dick wasn’t in his vigilante suit when the world seemed to shake violently, so instead of assuming he’d be able to totally withstand the explosion with his bullet proof costume, he was unfortunately injured. he was not in his suit since it was his officer grayson mindset ( minus his uniform ) that had been meaning to investigate further the occurrences at the gcpd. moving into a sitting position, he groaned and forced his leg out from under the debris it had been wedged between when a familiar voice ran through the air. “ huh ? oh yeah, i can walk. ” he insisted this, once again believing his body would be able to recover with ease. dick’s voice was slightly slurred, blue hues blinking rapidly up at her to clear his vision since he was still in a daze from the blast. “ hey, don’t sweat it. i don’t need patching up. it’s all good. ” he waved it off with a hand and unbothered expression, but the grit of his teeth and shake of his knees as he tried to stand said otherwise.

 with his help, diana had pulled herself up, however, she knew turned to a look of concern over dick’s state. it was honestly quite easy for her to forget that dick was HUMAN, that explosions to this magnitude could be fatal and not just a little shake up with some bruises. “i still believe ares has something to do with this.” she exclaimed, finding it UNBELIEVABLE that any type of this destruction could be made by a human acting alone. “do you have a theory?”

“ yeah, i’ve been thinking something along those lines too, ” dick murmured under his breath in response, his gaze directed at nothing in particular as his thoughts started racing. dick had plenty of theories, but nothing was seeming to add up. “ it’s definitely something extraterrestrial and connected, somehow. there’s no way all these events are coincidence, if i could only outline a real pattern… ” his words gradually become aimed at himself in exasperation, eyes narrowed. 

the second blast had rocked diana to the core, leaving her in the ruins of a large building. her every limb ACHED from the intensity of the impact. with a ringing in her ears, the sounds, sights and smells were beginning to become recognizable to her. diana shook her head from side to side, her mind a fuzzy and slightly shaken up MESS. throughout her daze, she was able to make out the silhouette of a person, with this, a feeling of concern spread through her. “are you alright !?”

“ yeah,  it’s all good, ”  he heaved out,  pushing himself onto his feet whilst he shook his own head from side to side.  his hands ran through his hair as he walked over best he could to the remains of a building she had been thrown against at the explosion.  “ you ? ” his voice is filled with concern too, holding a hand out for her.  “ diana,  this can’t keep happening.  there’s been no signs of anything stopping.  is there anybody you think could be behind this all ? ” he had put a hand out to help her to her feet, but dick found himself needing to squat down in case the dizziness in his head caused him to faint. 

“—  you looked like you needed a hand.” clark said as he landed on the ground, holding an empty car which he’d caught mid-air. he placed the car down carefully and turned to look at the person standing behind him. the kryptonian shook his head and sighed. “and here i thought gotham couldn’t get any worse.”

“ yeah, a very strong one. thanks, ” he spoke a little breathlessly,  the adrenaline that had been fuelling his actions just previously slowly decreasing.  dick most certainly wouldn’t have been able to move all of the family he had been defending in time. ushering the four of them to relative safety,  dick allowed himself to calm his breathing down properly and a sullen frown donned his expression for a moment at clark’s words,  arms crossed over his chest.  “ it’s chaos. i know.  ” he spoke shortly, shaking his head. “ but we’re not alone. it not just … us fighting this. there are others like us appearing all over gotham. ” there was hope, there needed to be hope, always. 

she had been on batgirl duty since the beginning of the earthquake - technically she still was ( her suit and all her gear were packed safely away in her bag ) - but for the moment, she was dressed in her civvies. she was barbara gordon again. and barbara gordon hadn’t been in direct with her father in over a week. he had told her to stay safe, left her with one of his detectives and left the apartment. of course, barbara hadn’t been home since the start of the chaos but they always check in with each other once every few days. him missing one or two wasn’t abnormal - commissioner gordon was a notorious workoholic - but three was worrisome. the fact that the cell towers were all but destroyed wasn’t helping matters - she couldn’t just call him up. so she had been searching on foot since sunrise. though she was still her civilian self, she had stopped several times to assist survivors. at present, she and few others were trying to help a mother of three free her children and her husband that were trapped underneath a steel beam. trying to sooth the children while she carefully maneuvered the beam so it was off their critical organs. the group had already gotten two of the children loose but the middle child and the father still remained, causing the children to weep as their mother tried to hold it together. “ hey, it’s gonna be fine. i promise. you’re going to be absolutely fine,” she repeated to the youngest, a boy seeming about five years old. she offered him a smile as she swallowed her worry about her own father. everything would be fine - she’d make sure of it.

after finally allowing himself to sleep for longer than fifteen minutes,  dick had decided it was also necessary to try and stock up on some food,  anything he could get,  since his kitchen and stomach were completely bare.  the latter had made itself clear when he couldn’t actually remember what the last proper meal he had was.  so,  dressed in a pair of jeans and pale blue sweater,  dick grayson made his way to any store that was still standing.  being dick grayson, of course many rushed up to him,  hoping for some answers,  some hope.  he was the future prince of gotham,  the heir to wayne enterprises and all that the people had seen of him was a friendly,  charming image of a man.  so he helped anybody he came across,  took the time to chat to them,  of course his alias was finding this useful too.  the nightwing in him meant he was compelled to help anybody anyway.  so when he comes across a family that seemed in trouble, and the quick glance of a familiar face,  he does not hesitate to rush over and give his aid;  his arms gripped onto the beam tightly and with a heave he helped lift it up,  jaw clenched and a grunt sounding from his chest as he forced all his strength into getting the rest of the family out. ❛  if you can,  if you’re not too hurt — roll out from under there,  yeah ?  ❜  dick encouraged the father and remaining child under the beam,  not being able to offer a hand to pull them out since he was still trying to hold the beam up. 

            she wrapped her gloved fingers around the edge of the broken concrete and glass, it scratching her finger pads and aching her muscles. cassandra wasn’t the strongest out of all them—this piece was almost the size of her length wise—but she was determined to get it off of him. she grunted as she used all of her remaining energy to lift it up, her arms shaking and her teeth biting down on her bottom lip to contain sounds of her struggle. cass found an opportunity to push it enough away from dick’s body to pull the older male out before it collapsed back on the ground. in a blink of an eye, she grasped the material of the nightwing suit and pulled him away from the rubble to safety. she didn’t want look at him — the pain and anxiety were prominent on his features, and those two things were not what she wanted to see on her older brother. she laid him gently down on the ground, panting to catch her breath as her heart pounded against her chest. she knelt beside him, wiping the dirt off of his features before observing his body for apparent injuries to distract her from her watery eyes. 

if she had not been so FOCUSED, diana’s hands would have been shaking anxiously at this point. she truly was concerned about dick’s wellbeing and was unable to completely determine how intense his injuries were. but of course, he was asking about how she was. diana shook her head, turning to focus back to dick. “i’m fine– it’s you i’m worried about. is there anything broken ?” she exclaimed, her eyes scanning over him nervously. kneeling beside him, she could see how evident it was from his expressions that he was in pain. “i–” diana glanced around, she could only see rumble and at the moment– no evidence of anyone else. “not that i know of. but we can keep looking, once we figure out what state you’re in.”

     he smiled, and it was gone all too soon — such a dick grayson way of doing things. removing the smile from his face, hiding behind a mask and not letting anyone fully in. all of batman’s sons did that it seemed. “ i miss the tower dearly, but all of us being together more. i am glad we are all still friends, but it is hard to not remember the days when we were much closer than we now are. ” she sighs thoughtfully, but her smile returns a bit. “ but we shall not live in the past, we shall live here. NOW. for the past is just that —  the past. we may celebrate it, but never get lost in it. ”

she wanted to blink, or pinch herself. something, anything to confirm her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her ( it wouldn’t be the first time ), but she was concerned that if she did, ❛ he  ❜ might have attacked her, or worse, disappear. her eyes were burning at this point, but she kept her face strong, cold. her fists remained clenched, powers visible, despite the perspiration. once he spoke, she couldn’t help herself. she blinked. given the many reactions she could’ve offered, blinking was the least of her worries. when he was still visible once her eyes swiftly reopened, she was thankful, though he wouldn’t be able to tell unless he had recently acquired mind reading abilities. she was so thankful, and so angry. how long had she bit her lip until it bled to prevent any tears, clenched her fists until they were white, and dealt with all of that grief in the unhealthiest of ways for him to be standing right in front of her, perfectly fine?

and, to make things worse ( or, possibly, better ), he never died. she understood the second he said the words i never left; he didn’t need to waste his breath further, and she actually yearned to tell him to shut up. of course she was glad he wasn’t actually dead, and hadn’t died in the first place, but to put his friends and family through that, for what? a good reason? not good enough. at least she let her hands fall to her side, no longer prepared to hurt him. he was real. this, she believed. he was real, and he lied to her, indirectly. still, she would never hurt him. perhaps she should’ve been verbalizing these things, explaining her feelings to her friend, but that would only cause her more anguish. so, she allowed him to finish his sentence, and when he was done, she allowed him to sit there in silence, as she wasn’t offering any words. really, she wasn’t quiet solely to make him suffer, but she was gathering her thoughts. there were many. 

when she finally spoke, her voice was detached, but the message wasn’t. “ why didn’t you tell me? ” she didn’t sound soft in any sense of the word, but it was faint, quite like his. she intended for him to understand without her having to speak more than she preferred. they were friends, and yes, he had plenty of friends, but they’d each told the other some secrets, and she expected him to know without a doubt that she would have kept his secret. she would have taken it to the grave, as she would everything else he had told her. it wasn’t as if she viewed herself as superior to all other friends, because surely some of them could keep a secret or two as well, but he should’ve known how dangerous it would be for everyone if she were to experience emotions of a certain intensity, and his death was certainly intense. she didn’t have to know the why, or the where, just the what. now, she wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted. she wanted him to leave, but she wanted him to stay. it was far too late to pretend as if she didn’t care for him, much as she wish she didn’t. feelings are the worst.  “ explain. ” 

she was well aware he was probably stressed out enough without having her practically scold him. was it justified, some form of karma? she wasn’t certain. all she knew was that he could not walk back into everyone’s lives and expect a welcome back party, but it seemed as if he got that down. he was taking this seriously, as she’d anticipated the second she saw that familiar face. dick, nightwing, robin. would her leader have done this? she, very quickly, discarded these thoughts. it did not matter, he was no longer robin ( apparently, the title went to one damian wayne? ), and the teen titans were no longer a team, despite the love not being lost. they weren’t even teens anymore, but adults, and raven was aware that adults had different responsibilities. he didn’t really need to explain, because, in a way, she understood. she was aware he wouldn’t do this without whatever he viewed as a very good reason, because he wasn’t a bad person in the slightest, but just because he thought it was a sufficient reason did not mean that everyone else believed the same. raven expected him to know this.

❛  i couldn’t.  it wasn’t an option.  ❜  there were times the chalky,  fragile lines that divided nightwing — or agent 37 in this case — from dick grayson were trampled upon and smudged. it could be seen as a rookie mistake by some, after all it was important you knew who you were in every situation and what you were fighting for.  however,  after growing up under such vigorous training,  after having a certain mentality infused within in,  he knew it wasn’t as simple as a flimsy line,  as black and white as that.  this is why his first response to her words sounded firm, monotone and robotic but there is purpose deep within each syllable and movement of his lips.  ❛  it wasn’t an option,  because it meant protecting you and — everybody else.  it meant proving loyalty to the – to spyral.  it was necessary.  ❜  he had quit,  he was no longer agent 37,  so naming them so openly could not harm him any longer.  there is a lump in his throat that won’t go and a sense of great unease spreading inside him.  ❛  batman asked me to go in,  as agent 37;  the aim was to find a way to take them down,  stop their plans.  under this guise,  i did whatever i was assigned.  mostly.  ❜  it hadn’t been easy,  the whole ordeal had taken its toll on his mind and morals in ways dick had righteously assumed he was undefeatable against.  it was widely known how strongly he upheld his rules of conduct,  his sense of morality.  so using a gun for the first time when not as a cop ?  it wasn’t something he took lightly.  being assigned to give lex luthor a kryptonite necklace ?  one of the main events that triggered his resignation.  he wouldn’t do it.   ❛  there’s no easy way to … to justify this or anything,  i am aware.  i know. and i still ask myself if it was worth it.  ❜

he finally allowed himself to look her in the eye,  daring himself to take one,  two steps closer. he’s taken the mask off his eyes now,  revealing blue hues that appear glassy,  the effect of a water haven embedded within them.  he wasn’t going to cry,  he didn’t need to,  his eyes displayed that much emotion for him.  dick had taught himself to keep such feelings at bay, away from exposure to others,  a tragedy in itself since passion and sentiment could come so naturally to him.  it was only around some,  not even half a dozen individuals,  he allowed his eyes to uncover such truths,  sorrow,  regret,  an apology.  raven was one of the first he trusted so strongly,  and it was still there,  it never left,  it never would.  ❛  i’m sorry.  if i could have,  you know i would.  you know me.  ❜  his voice sounded strained,  hoarse yet the words felt natural on his tongue.  

he knew she was angry,  he could see it on her face,  her body language.  nothing really needed to be said between them for the other to understand,  it had always been this way.  their friendship went beyond words and gestures,  true and firm loyalty and trust was an unsaid given.  but,  nothing dick did was without a purpose,  and although his mistakes tended to have grave consequences,  there was always something that made it necessary,  whether it be a short term or small something could be questioned however.  he moved forwards further,  his eyes were darting between hers rapidly and lips parted so low,  shaky breaths left his lungs.  he wanted to embrace her,  but occult being made him weary,  dick didn’t want to put even more strain on this interaction by hugging her right now;   he would do so in a few moments.

            it all happened so fast. one moment she was scaling from one building to another, then the next the earthquake struck and she was dropped onto the rubble below. gotham—her home—was being destroyed day after day. it was almost unrecognizable. gradually rolling off of her back to get on her knees, she slipped off her hood as she searched for comrades and civilians. pain stung along her back from her short fall, but the following sound she heard brought chills down her spine and ignored all the pain she was in. blue and black caught her vision among a large pile of rubble from another building that had collapsed. cassandra didn’t want to assume who it was — she feared the worst. she scrambled to her feet and ran to the scene, leaping over piles of concrete to see her brother trapped and in tremendous pain. ❛ dick — ❜ she whimpered out, moving as much debris as she could possibly lift away from him. 

it had been a matter of seconds when the earthquake hit that diana had felt the building shutter. she felt as though she had blinked and the crushing wight spread across her body. this time of ENTRAPMENT brought on a claustrophobic feeling, the anxiety in diana’s chest from it was felt with every pulse. it was then that she remembered an important detail. DICK GRAYSON. she had forgotten that she saw dick just before the structure had finally given way, and she knew that if she was this in trouble– there was no telling what injuries dick could have faced. it felt like ages, but diana had finally freed herself. now– in a slight PANIC, she was looking for him, attempting to locate where he could exactly be. “DICK !” she exclaimed. it was only when she heard panting that she made the assumption. attempting to get a hold of the largest piece of the concrete, diana’s fingers were almost skinned by the rough edges. she had finally gotten hold and moved it frantically, her heart felt as though it would beat through her chest as she laid eyes on him.

what a trusting young man. truth be told, emma had forgotten about his two-man schtick ( primarily because she didn’t find it necessary. yes, most of the x-men exercised the two-man schtick, but she never understood that, either. did it truly protect their identity ?? spandex and an alternate ego didn’t do much to alter the perceptions of others ). out of costume, out of how he’d originally met her, he was willing to let her in ?? if he’d truly wanted to stick with the schtick, she supposed, he should’ve acted more wary of a ‘stranger’ appearing at his doorstep and playing the prelude to the manger scene. nonetheless, she stepped in as he opened the door past its crack. “ so long as you offered a morsel of food, there’s no doubt that the barbarians in the streets would come flocking. ” to return to the concept of masks and new names accomplishing absolutely nothing, she realized he’d greeted her the exact same way when he was dressed as ‘nightwing’. ‘i’m nightwing, by the way’ – very similar tone, although the smile that accompanied his current introduction was slightly more… forced. he was inclined to smile that way when he was dick, as she perceived. ‘son’ of gotham’s most vigilant protector, ‘son’ of gotham’s brilliant billionaire – he needed to be charismatic and welcoming. “ in relation with gotham’s resident playboy, bruce wayne, correct ?? ” she began ( making sure it sounded more rhetorical than anything ), planning on playing along for the time being. “ emma frost. charmed, ” she replied, playing exactly along with how their interaction had gone when they met for the first time, following through with the actions and everything required to impersonate… herself. “ thank you, darling. i’ve heard by many accounts that you’re his kindest ward. ” jason was a criminal ( not that she wasn’t ), barbara seemed less trusting of her than dick, and the others were quite young, so it seemed. “ oh, you can’t move an inch without rubbing elbows with the greasiest men there are. ” or so she’d perceived.