Cast Out [Batman]

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Four AM and Nightwing finds himself back at the Batcave...again. What a surprise? He seemed to be finding himself traveling back to Gotham a lot more. And more so to the same old cave he had wanted to get away from.

But since the whole thing with Phoebe and Wulfen. Things had progressively gone down hill for trying to keep things separate. The work in Bludhaven kept him busy. But Gotham was his home town. He needed to help when he could. It was a part of him as much as he might try to deny it at times.

Though now, times were rougher. He hadn't told Bruce then, but he was sure Batman had heard from the League the loss of Titans teammate Wonder Girl aka Donna to those that knew her best.

Dick wasn't talking about it much. And he and Kory both had lost a friend. Maybe a sister in ways. But Dick had become more closed off, even as Nightwing. But that was to establish his statues as an individual in his town.

The event had taken place before he had found out about Phoebe being at the cave and all they had talked about. Dick just didn't have the energy to carry out trying to actually get a tracker Wulfen. And was sure it would be hard to seeing as the guy hated him.

But after losing Donna, Dick wanted nothing to do with a team of any sorts. And the old feelings had been looming again. Maybe Bruce was right in treating him the way he did. How he had treated all his partners. Keeping them at arms length away.

Of course, he could always come to Bruce and expect to be treated with respect, but he had grown with the discipline that was needed. He wouldn't be who he was today had he not be raised the way he was. And he knew the reasons for Bruce keeping everyone at arms length away. He was the same towards Alfred. Only Bruce and Batman knew who the man really was. That was something hard to solve.

With Kory it had been nothing but trying to consul the rest of the team. They had all lost someone. But Dick did not let any on consul him on it. Even Kory had tried to. And at times, he did avoid her for that reason. Sure he stopped in every few nights to spend some time with her. But he was touch on any subject when it came to his feelings. He was more open on some occasions. But this was something he did not want anyone to help him with.

He felt like he had failed in away to protect her, help her. Donna was his best friend. And for some reason he felt like it was enough. The family ties they had as a team were holding them back. His demeanor did not change. But his emotion were like ice. How he always hid and held back like this. He was hurting, but did not want help. But he was helping others.

And he had an idea. As well as a way to make things easier on the work load for everyone in Gotham and for himself. And he had come back to Gotham. Bruce had wanted him to come up with an idea. And he had.

He had no want nor the need for a team. He didn't want the family togetherness. It was too much and caused too much trouble and pain. And what better person to come back to than his mentor on subjects like this.

Nightwing pulled up in the cave on his bike. No batmobile in sight. He'd wait. Removing his helmet, he walked up to the main system. He wondered just what Batman had received of this news as well. Dick removed his mask. He had no need for it here or now. He wanted to be able to find the detail himself. He didn't want his masks computer screens searching or taking in the data. He wanted his mind to.

Dick got to work typing way on the computer. A screen appeared with the news reports from the media on it. Then the internet talk. And then he dug deeper into the Justice League files he knew of. That Batman kept. And that the League sent to him.

Was Dick being obsessive? Possibly. Or was it just his instinct to find out if Bruce had actually known of all this as well? Maybe it was the stress.

Then he had pulled up the file in front of him. He was being intrusive in looking into the Batman's files and messaging from the League for missions as well. And he did see it. Opened it. The notification from the League on their loss. Wonder Girl. The news of her death.

Dick pushed it off to the side. Business in work. More of lost. Trapped in this thoughts. Blocking out all around him. He was being rather intrusive. Only someone like him could hack Batman's computers to pull up the League information. He knew Bruce well. Maybe too well.

Sure Babs could do it, but not as quickly and possible before Batman would get notification of the intrusion. Dick had by passed that quickly and did what he could before the notification could do anything to stop him.

He could see notice from the League on Supergirl. And others like Raven and Roy. Information on Wulfen. And information on Force, the Batman had on the two. He could find just about everything on the League and who they kept an eye on. He was the one under the radar. Protected from them.

He made a mental note of this to keep in mind over the heroes and vigilantes listed by them and the information he wanted. He'd use it.

Dick put it to the side for a moment. Taking the information and saving it as within moments the League files were being blocked to him by an outer control. He knew who that was blocking them. Batman had picked up on it. But was too late compared to the information Dick got.

And now he was going through the villain files. Updates on Scarecrow, Joker, and Mask. Some slight news on the Red Hood.

Dick was doing anything to get information he wanted. Keeping himself buried in work. He had failed to notice the sound of the batmobile pulling into the cave. Fail to be alert to someone watching him.

He did not notice until he heard the voice that would come from behind him. What had driven Nightwing to come? What had driven him to this point?

He'd jump at the sudden voice he would hear. Not usual for someone like Dick. But something was on his mind. Largely causing a distraction. Another reason he was off the streets earlier. He couldn't think. And when he couldn't think, he couldn't fight.

Everyone pushing for an answer, to consul him, only drove him off and way from them. He retreated to what felt safest. To his work. And away from others. His thoughts driving him to this and his idea to the Batman.

Even his work at the academy was sidelined because of this. Something Kory did not know of yet. And possibly not even Bruce. Dick was in the line of becoming a police officer in Bludhaven. He wanted to keep an eye on his city twenty-four seven.

Dick was on edge. More off set than usual. This temper had become out of hand and he wanted to get away from others before he might lash out on them.

[vigilant]

Bruce knew a lot about guilt. He also knew a lot about rage. The kind of rage that rattles your bones, like an earthquake underneath a thin crust of muscle and sinew. As Bruce Wayne, he knew how to hide it. Bury it behind the glowing smile and flippant remarks. The careless looks and strutting walk. But as Batman, he was left bare. Vulnerable. Flame-proof armor be damned. Underneath the cowl and cape, he became more of the man he truly was. The angry, voracious beast that felt a compulsion to get even. To balance the scale. So whatever Dick felt regarding the loss of Wonder Girl, he knew. No, it was more than that... Bruce was intimately aware of how his young protégé felt. And it pained him, to realize that his student -- his son -- would have to suffer as he has.

But maybe that is the price paid, for justice. For the Mission.

"I'd be lying to you, Dick, if I told you the hurt eventually goes away. It doesn't."

How long had he been standing there? Watching. Waiting. Did he know that Dick would hack into his system? Could he possibly know Dick would check if he had already received news of Wonder Girl's fall? Was it a cleverly disguised way of ushering the topic forward, without the awkwardness of suddenly bringing it up? But Bruce wasn't only a master strategician. He was an adept actor. The kind of man that could arouse a crowd's ire, or evoke terror, with a single phrase. For a second, the annoyance flashed visibly across his eyes, like lightning through a blackened skyline. Then the anger dissipated, and he slipped the cowl off quietly.

"But it will get lighter. And soon you won't notice it's there, until you try to sleep, but you can't. Because sleep is for the peaceful. And you are nowhere near peaceful."

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

He had jumped at the sudden intrusion in his thoughts. He had been lost in the darkness that he had created for himself in his grief. Dick knew it wasn't like him. Sure he had lost a few teammates before or people he cared for. But to loss Donna...

She was like a sister. He had never really thought about it. Like the time they lost Terra, but she had been a trader. Not that he had wished anything like that for her. And even then, death was not something Dick wished upon any one.

He took in Bruce's words. He had froze up during his work now. Stopping his mad search. Possibly an endless search. And Bruce was now there. Saying what he knew. And Bruce had been there.

Dick's fingers left the keyboard and rested on the desktop. His eyes fixed on the screen. Not moving.

He had been on the edge of the seat, just about. And after Bruce's next words...He fell back into the large chair as he let the tension drop from his shoulders. His arms falling to the armrests of the chair.

"It's not going to happen again," he said flatly.

His thoughts not sorted out all the way as he spoke. But he didn't mean the loss of someone. He could do his best to prevent something like that. And he knew it. No one could stop a death at times. That stuff just happened.

There were things they could have done stop an event from turning it into something as such. But for Dick...he knew the risks of being in this line and so did most of those in the line.

But he didn't want to go through the loss in a friend. Someone so close. A teammate. No a family member almost.

"I had my reasons for not fully going back to the Titans. I was there for a while recently. But I am not going to do it any more," Dick said. His words laying hard.

He was not saying he was quitting or anything. He just was talking about the team stuff he had been on. He knew Bruce would pick up on it. It was the closeness between team members that was causing more grief.

[vigilant]

"Of course not."

Bruce breathed the words out softly. So softly, in fact, that most people would have to strain to hear. But not Dick. In fact, Dick might have even heard the note of exhaustion in his tone. The sudden onslaught of remembrance, and the nearly imperceptible break in the last syllable, as though what he saw pained him. Perhaps Dick would remember the incident with Jason. The way Bruce would spend hours staring broodingly at the former Robin's old costume. The way he held it in his arms, before hanging it up in the Bat-Cave, as though he could coax a boy of flesh and blood into life, with the warmth of his own skin and the desperation of his unspoken pleas.

Oh, Bruce understood how he felt alright.

"You can't keep avoiding this team thing forever, Dick."

He stood behind Dick, hand resting atop the chair. Perhaps if he wasn't so cold, wasn't so focused on The Mission, he might have been a great father. An affectionate father. The kind that instilled values of love and faith in his children, and encircled them in the castle of his arms when the night got cold. But as it was, Bruce only knew how to rest his hand awkwardly there. Not quite on the chair. Not quite on Dick's back. Frozen, as though he didn't know what to do. Of course, Dick wouldn't see that...

"I taught you to keep people at an arm's length. Not to avoid them altogether."

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

"I'm not going to avoid it. I'm just not going to get so involved with it any more," Dick replied.

He sat there looking at the few screens of what he had pulled up. Some Justice League files. Articles on Wonder Girl's down fall. All just reminders to him. Reminders that he hadn't been there.

All his team going through the sorrow as well. He had been there for a while to help. But as soon as some have turned to confront him on it. He wanted no help. He would handle it himself. But he wasn't handling it well at all. He'd live. He'd make it through. He always did.

He didn't turn back to look at Bruce at all. He was almost lost on his own. Something he'd have to get through. His blue eyes almost misted over in thought and lost to the world around him at the time. But his mind working.

Trying to find a way to get lost in work. That always seemed to help. And he had ideas going on in his head. A team possible. But he was not going to be as a friend or family. No it was just a team. That's all it would be.

"Maybe I should have listened and kept everyone at an arm's length away like you had said. But there was so much I have gained from not going by that all the time. But as time goes on, it seems to only bring pain at times," Dick admitted.

There was so much he had gained. He learned a lot about himself. He became that great leader. He had found love at times as well. He had found friendship and a family. And learned so much more.

But now he was blocking it out. He had done this before. Though now, he was more serious about it.

"I'm not going to make that mistake again. A family is strong, but a team needs to be a team as well. They need to know where the boundaries are," Dick said.

[vigilant]

"Boundaries... Yes."

Bruce's eyes glazed over as he remembered a time that he had thought long gone. How eerily similar they were. Perhaps Dick had learned it from him. Perhaps, in his cheerlessness, some of the darkness had managed to creep its way into his former pupil. Bruce still remembered how he had reacted, during his first few failures. His first few losses. He had blamed himself. Condemned himself for the million things he could have done differently, for getting too attached. If he had remained detached and rational, things wouldn't have unfolded as they did. He wouldn't be hurting so badly. It wouldn't be the sort of pain that he thought could kill him.

But they didn't. They hadn't. And he knew, with time, that they wouldn't.

"You learned your lesson. All you can do is move on. One thing's for sure. A team operating together, cohesively, will do more good than you alone. Just... Boundaries. Yes."

Bruce reached over, clicked a few buttons on the keyboard, and the screen went black. The gentle hum of the machines could be heard above the echo of their breathing. It was so quiet. Then he gave Dick, his son, his pupil, a good-natured squeeze on the shoulder. A gesture of comfort from one man to another. The most he could afford to do, considering having sworn himself into maintaining these... boundaries. Still, he would be lying if he ever said that he didn't care for Dick. That Dick had changed his life, acted as a candle against a veil of darkness, the moment he dropped in with his sweet smile and easy humor.

Still, boundaries... He'd try to maintain them. And if he can't, he would at least give the illusion of their existence.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick was silent. Unmoving and not fazed by Bruce's movement to shut off the computers. His eye still on the screen.

The black shadows of the faded images that had been on them. His eyes did not focus on any one. But were more or less lost to the surroundings of the cave. Taking in the sounds. From the smallest droplet of water on the cave floor to steady light clicking of the batmobile engine as it settled after it had been roaring through the streets.

But then slightly startled by the hand on his shoulder. Though not in a jumpy way. Just shaken from his thoughts more of.

He glanced up at Bruce from where he sat. He knew this was as close as any type of comforting he would get from Bruce at all. He knew the man well enough. And he knew that he was at the least showing him that he did feel sympathy toward what had happened to him.

Dick didn't need to ask about it. He knew Bruce as well as Bruce knew him. And he had seen Bruce go through some pretty rough times. And he had been there to try and push him out of those times and get him moving again.

Though Dick's eyes were still carrying the guilt he felt over what had happened. And there was nothing he could do about it.

"And that is the way a team will be. Boundaries. And I've had some thought over a way to help lighten the load over the resent work," Dick said.

He looked off again toward the computers maybe. He had his thoughts coming to him. Organized thoughts over current events.

[vigilant]

He recognized the thought patterns immediately. Grief. Pain. Suffering. Then a sliver of hope, like sunlight peeking through a curtained window. That was how he had raised Dick, and even with his current state of despondency, that habit never failed to come forward. The desire to solve the problem. The need to fix. To turn the focal point from the problem to the solution. To explode the many avenues of mending an error and turning it to their advantage. That was how he had raised Dick. And that was how he'd be.

Though, there was one difference between them. Whereas Dick felt his emotions and allowed them to run their course, Bruce stifled them. His unspoken motto was always to think now, fix immediately, and feel later. He didn't have the leisure, as most people do, of mourning.

"What do you mean?"

They were partners again. Working side by side in the fight against crime. He knew, perhaps better than Dick did himself, that this was necessary. That this was a step in their progress towards healing. Dick needed some closure. He needed to know he was still in control and could fix things. Maybe Bruce couldn't give him the comfort or affection of a father, but he could at least pick up a sword alongside him in this war.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick's eyes remained looking ahead. Not really at anything in particular. But deep in thought as his mind worked over the words.

"Well you've been saying about tracking Wulfen. And keeping an eye on activities around here...Even Bludhaven is seeing the affects of some of the Gotham criminals in it," Dick started.

Dick was hesitant for a moment. He was hoping he wasn't crossing that fine line of invading in on Batman's work. Even though what he was suggesting was to help take on some of it.

"What I mean is by taking stuff like even the Scarecrow. When it comes to a team, there is strength in numbers. And Wulfen seems determined to haunt down the Scarecrow. At least in a team he wouldn't be the only one," Dick spoke up again.

His intentions on a team now changed from the past. He wanted nothing to do with it being a family. This wasn't the place for it. And he himself did not care for having Victor on a team up if it kept him in line and out of Batman's way, it made life easier for those in Bruce's life as well.

Dick turned his head slightly to look up toward Bruce. Who towered above him as he sat there. The thought a wild one. But a thought out idea enough.

"But I could be wrong on things. Maybe it is a crazy idea," Dick admitted.

That bit of doubt playing in his mind. He wasn't Batman. And he knew Bruce was even fond of the Titans. After all that had happened....

But in the current situation, Dick had no intention on making this like the Titans. This was a group of misfits possibly. Even Outsiders.

[vigilant]

Bruce's eyes bored through Dick's skull, like a drill through boulder. Searching. Scouring. As though he was sucking up every bit of information and analyzing it. He could see the doubt harbored there, clear as day. Dick might try to puff out his chest and walk with a little strut. He might even attempt to stand face to face, toe to toe, with his mentor. But he knew there was still doubt there. A lingering shadow of a doubt regarding his own abilities, especially when it involved giving voice to ideas in front of Batman.

It took some effort of will to not interrupt Dick's bumbling speech. But if Bruce knew anything at all, it was that he had taught Dick well. That, even reluctant, Dick's ideas were often solid and his gut strong. Perhaps that was why he chose, instead, to remain silent and listen to what Dick had to say. No interruptions. Just quiet, thoughtful attention.

"That would be to assume we can get them to agree to work together and follow our rules."

A second later, as though to allow the words to sink in. Then he breathed, not in disappointment, but in resignation. Dick was onto something. Even if he couldn't entirely agree to the idea of working with arms linked with these... outsiders, he knew they were better off as friends than enemies. No, not friends. Allies.

"But you're right. There is power in numbers... and maybe this is our way to ensure Wulfen gets proper guidance and training. Discipline."

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Ok, the few moments of silence was enough to almost make Dick tense up. When Bruce went silent...it was never good. When he was deep in thought, that man was always planning something out. He thought more than he spoke. And his words were always chosen to either continue the conversation or cut it down and shoot the person with the idea with his words.

Sometimes that part could be worse than most. But this was Bruce. He knew all his partners and how they worked. He knew how to make the words hurt if he didn't want to actually battle against them. Though most of the time, Dick was the only one who challenged him that way.

"Some might be me will than others. I've got some word from people on some of the possible teammates as to how they feel about their current situation. I've stayed silent. But I got enough information to know my facts are right. Besides Kory is still a big part in the Titans' training. So I know more of what is said is true when it come to my ears," Dick said.

He leaned back in the chair again. And looked toward the computer screens. Unsure if he really wanted to turn it on and actually show who else he had in mind.

"But like I said...this is not going to be like the Titans. The only thing that will be similar is how it is a team. This is not a family. They are more like agents sent into a field for work. We'll watch over them. And is some ways care. They are free to keep that to themselves. I'm not going to stand in the way. And I for one will not take part in mixing life with work. Not this time...not like last time," Dick said. The last part almost lower in tone.

Maybe even in a bit of regret. There was hurt there. The words protected so he could no longer get hurt himself. Not this time. He'd watch and be there. But he wanted nothing to do with the teammate besides as a team to work with and on missions.

Dick leaned slightly forward as he worked on his wrist computer for a moment. The little screen on his suit sending the information on a hologram screen in front of them. A file pulled up on on the the League possible members, but one that was always questioned.

"You said about getting Wulfen. But we are going to need more muscle than that. I suggest and old acquaintance of yours. And if I'm crossing some sort of line...I don't really care," Dick added.

It was something like his mentor would do. But he had said it out that he had no interest in any of Bruce's possible words against the possible team members. Though he would listen within reason. Batman would be doing the behind the scene work. But Nightwing was going to be on the field and leading. It would be his team.

On the screen was a file on the Big Blue's cousin. And other Kryptonian. It was Supergirl. And Dick knew just about how Batman felt toward this other alien in blue. Another Super. But younger and less regard to holding back at times how she was on Earth compared to her past home planet.

He knew that Batman and Superman had been the ones that had found her in the first place. The some what rebellious young alien that had been trapped in a meteor for about 18 years. But time had not pasted for her. Dick could seems to understand in a way what she might have been feeling coming out of that prison of her's and being face to face with some strange...in return, aliens, to her.

"We need some muscle. But I know about her quite a bit of what Kory has told me. That and a few others in the League have had a bit to say at times," Dick said.

Stopping and waiting for a response from his mentor. This was something they would put together as a team as well.

[vigilant]

Maybe Bruce was just that great at bluffing. Maybe he had the kind of acting prowess that would put last year's Oscar Nominees to shame. Whatever it was, he seemed unaffected, even bored, as Dick voiced the potential members of this... team. Perhaps he really was ten step ahead at all times. It wasn't unlikely that he knew who Dick had in mind, before it was even brought out in the open. Still, this was Dick's moment. A single, glimmering moment to prove his own independence and that he was capable as a leader.

Still, some part of Bruce still saw glimpses of the young Robin in Nightwing. Maybe it is the fatherly part of him, and perhaps that's just something he has to learn to deal with.

"So it seems Wulfen isn't the only one who needs... discipline."

There was a harsh sound to the way he uttered the last word. His eyes grew distant as he thought of the young Kryptonian, Supergirl. Dick really was serious about bringing together a group of outcasts and giving them a sense of order and belonging. But one doubt still lurked in the back of Bruce's mind, like a festering sore prodded and pricked and left without repose.

"What makes you think they'll agree to your rules?"

Then a long silence. The kind of silence that dragged on and on and on. So long and so disturbing that Dick might have heard the cogs turning furiously in Bruce's brain. He summoned up every tidbit of information he knew regarding the human psychology, made a rapid and thorough comparison of the human mind versus the alien mind... Then he saw light. For an instant, Bruce exhaled deeply, and he almost felt his brain click with the sudden onslaught of clarity and intuition.

"Maybe you're determined to make this... impersonal. Professional. But due to the nature of the beast, and the nature of your... team, it is obvious they are emotional. Driven by pathos. Maybe your best bet is to appeal to that side of them. Subtly. Make them think they're using their greater instincts; their great and incredible intellect. Logos. But teach them to love the team. Because deep down, they do want to belong..."

Bruce laid a hand on Dick's shoulder, and the magnitude of his next statement could be felt in the form of the weight on his shoulder.

"Because no one in their right mind would ever... ever, consider hurting a family they love."

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

"Discipline, yes. A job, possibly," Dick replied to his harsh tone.

Dick knew the history between Bruce and his first meeting with the Kryptonian. That turned into a huge feasco with hunting her down when she was brain washed.

She had the strength a team needed. And a powers that differed from Kory to begin with. He'd play to their strengths. His mind sorting through arranging such a team. The pros and cons of it all. But the benefits it might bring.

"Simple. I make the rules," Dick replied.

Sure a smug answer. But if they didn't like it, they could leave. He had no time to put up with incompetence. The team was only as strong as the weakest member, whether it was physically or mentally. Dick didn't have time for games. If they really wanted work, they would commit.

He let the silence ring. Taking in the dark surrounding them. Not an uncommon scene between the two.

Dick could feel the weight of his mentor's hand on his shoulder. It was like he was trying to press that point. And to Dick, he wasn't letting it sink in.

"We've been done that road before," Dick said.

He leaned more toward one side of the chair and then stood. Leaving Bruce to retract his hand from his shoulder.

[vigilant]

Bruce shook his head silently. Dick was still young. An energetic young mind who thought that he had all the answers the world could offer. As a leader and as a strategician, there was still a lot he had to learn. But then again, perhaps that was what made them different from one another. Deep down, Dick was honest. A good, decent man. And deep down, Bruce wasn't. He had no qualms about dirtying his hands and manipulating his team-mates into doing what he wanted. What they don't know won't hurt them.

"Go. You've done your part. Paid me the proper respects. But just know, a leader is simply a man of the times. He adapts to what his team demands of him. And the team you plan to lead is nothing like the ones we've run. The same rules can’t always apply."

Then Bruce was gone. A gradually fading figure as he exited the room and left Dick to his lonesome. Class was dismissed. This was the way it had always been. Class was over and Dick would have to take from it what he could and make the most of it. If he flat out refused to listen to his mentor - and this was happening more and more often - then he would have to learn through trial and error.

But Bruce wondered to himself, as he left: at what cost?