Running a Good Time [The Flash]

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

You've got to be kidding me, was the first thought in Dick Grayson's mind as he swooped down from the rooftops of Gotham West. Robin was on the job once again, out on his own. He had gotten used to fighting alone. Tonight really wasn't any different. But what got his attention at that moment was a couple of thugs chasing down a young woman into a near by alley.

Sure the police could handle this sector of Gotham, but Robin wasn't willing to give them a chance. The police were likely to get stuck in the traffic outside their office building. It's not that he looked down on the police department, it was just plain fact. There was no way they would make it in time to protect the victim with how far away they were from Robin's location. It wasn't the fact that a crime was going on that make Dick roll his eyes at this, it was that these people always seem to chose the weakest of people to prey upon. But now, this was a low taking on a young woman. It's not the first time it has happened, but it was enough to annoy Dick to no end.

Robin trailed the group for a moment, trying to catch up with them as they ran after the woman. When they got into a dead end alley way, Robin was finally able to make himself present. The gang was made up of three thugs, had cornered the woman in the alley way. They inched in as the woman was yelling for help.

"Fork over the purse," one thug spoke up as they got closer.

"We can do this the hard way or the easy way," a large one of the thugs said.
The third tall man stayed back as the other two spoke for the small gang.

The woman turned to face the thugs coming toward her. She was almost in shock, too stunned to make a move. Her life seemed to be in the hands of these thugs coming toward her. Two of which had baseball bats in their hands. For all she knew, one could have a gun on them. She was about ready to hand over the purse when a voice spoke up from behind the thugs.

"Really guys. You consider this a fair fight between all of you and this woman," Robin spoke as he now stood behind the gang. He now blocked their exit.

The thugs turned around to see Robin standing before them. The first thug that had spoken was a few inches taller than Robin, but the other two men towered over him.

"Look, it's the little bird coming to the rescue," one thug laughed at the sight of Robin.

"What the Bat not able to handle things himself," another one commented.

"Let's just say he doesn't have time to waste on people like you," Robin said through gritted teeth. Their comments were sticking a nerve. It ridiculous how so many people overlooked the skills of Robin, him being a sidekick. Sure, there were times that he had been in trouble and Batman had saved him, but that was often a dumb mistake on his part.

As the men stood there for a moment laughing at the idea of Robin approaching them, Dick took the chance to get the upper hand. He charged at the men and landed a hard punch at the closest one to him, The other two stopped laughing as the one thug fell backwards. As quick as that happened, Robin didn't give the other men a chance to reaction. He turned quickly and landed a blow in the face to the next thug. The third man, about Robin's height tried to take a swing at him, Robin ducked and tripped the man to the ground. He had cleared a small path way for the woman.

Robin looked over and saw the woman inching her way towards it. "Run, get out of here, now," Robin shouted knowing the thugs would quickly attach him back. The woman then kicked in into high gear as she ran as fast as she could out of the alley way. One of the thugs tried to grab at her as he began to get up and as she ran pass them on the ground. Robin threw a batarang at the man, hitting his arm to prevent the man from grabbing the woman.

The one tallest thug came at Robin. He threw a punch that Robin simple dodged. The man lunged forward again, trying to strike him, Robin dodge the man's fist and jumped off to the side and swung his leg up to land a high kick to the man's head, knocking him over. The largest thug came charging at Robin, ready to hit him with a bat. As soon as the man was close enough, Robin jumped up and did a flip over the man's back to avoid him as the thug ran into another thug.

The tallest thug got but and came at him again as Robin landed. He threw punch after punch, leaving Robin little time to strike back as he dodged the man's fists. This gave the other thugs the chance to regain themselves. The tallest thug was forcing Robin to back up with every fist he threw and he had to dodge. The shorter of the thugs saw his chance and stung his baseball bat at Robin. Robin didn't have the chance to react as bat landed a hard hit to his side, knocking Robin to the side of the alley near the walls.

Dick hit the ground hard as he landed after that hit. He yelled out as he landed on his back, knocking the wind out of him. He turned to his left side, instinctively his left arm grabbed toward his now throbbing right side of his lower rib cage. He should have seen that coming. He had been to concerned for the woman's safety, he should have followed through on attack the man rather than allow the man to regain his position.

"What's the matter bird boy? Can't handle things on your own," one gang member said laughingly.

Dick was able to sit up and started to get up as the thugs got closer. The tallest thug came ward him, Robin managed to gain some strength and turned to rammed the man with his left shoulder. The other two thugs watched as the tall one was knocked to the side. "You want to say that again," Robin said as he stood straight up still holding his side. There was a a bit of blood dripping from the side of his mouth and a nice sized cut on his on the upper half of his right lower arm.

"Bird boy, you're going to wish you had never gotten involved," the shorter of the thugs said as he pulled out a small hand gun and pointed it at Robin. Dick's eyes widened in surprise at this new situation. He should had figured these guys wouldn't play fair for as long as they had been.

[hajima]

A run across country and into the new town. The sun was setting at the time, giving a nice crimson glow in the backdrop of the large city that only blended in with the crimson and yellow streak that zipped across the bridge into the main section of the city. Gotham City, more gritty and darker, somehow, then Central City. Though that could simple be because Flash was more used to his home. And it is getting close to night here. He takes a run parallel to the river along the walkway on the dike, watching the boats for a few moments. He's here to do a bit of reconnaissance for the new JLA. See what threats might exist in some of these bigger cities, or see what new heroes might be popping up. But he just got into town, it's nearly night time, so he decides he has a bit of time to kill.

He takes a turn down into the central area of Gotham, moving downtown, looking at the shops and restaurants along the different streets. Speaking of which, he's hungry again. First up on his run is a donut stand. Even though it's cliche' for police, or detectives as himself, to eat donuts, that still doesn't change the fact he enjoys them. He doesn't even stop. He doesn't need to. A moment later a few dollars replaces a few donuts on the stand's counter. A block down a dollar replaces a coffee. Five blocks and a minute later Flash is finishing the last donut and the last of the coffee. He pauses in the shadow near a trashcan to get rid of the foam coffee cup, and glances around the city. Lights are coming on, replacing the ambient light of the fading sunset. He runs around a bit more, looking at stores, and getting the general layout of the city, or at least of downtown.

A dozen blocks later, night time and on the outskirts of downtown he pauses for a moment, seeing a woman run out of an alleyway about a block down. She isn't calling for help, and no one seems to be following her, so there doesn't appear to be any immediate danger. However, he still decides to check things out, just to make sure. He runs over to the alley and heads around it, just in time to see a costumed kid that was apparently knocked down get up, shoulder a thug to the side, and get a gun aimed at him.

Well, this isn't good. He isn't surprised, but he's still disappointed. Three thugs on one woman and some kid? Barry sighs silently. They always have to pick on someone weaker or smaller. At least one thing's consistent: thugs generally act like thugs, no matter what city you're in. He goes to head down the alley when a flash from the barrel of the gun catches his attention. Things just went from bad to worse. He makes a quick mental note not to underestimate Gotham's thugs, and he kicks his speed from fast to far faster.

[0.000]
Everything's slow to Flash. Cars and people move like they were walking and driving through thick mud, taking their sweet time for each footstep or wheel revolution to occur. Flash can slow himself down to interact with people in their own frame of reference, at their own speed, but it always takes a deliberate focus to do so. Now he's let himself go. The thugs and kid slow down to a halt, as if seeing a paused movie. But the bullet has already had a chance to move a couple of feet. Flash is already heading in that direction at high speed.

[0.001]
The bullet has moved more then two feet more, and is closing on Robin fast. Flash's hand reaches out, wrapping around the bullet. Speed-aura dampens the speed and friction effects of the bullet, letting Flash get a solid handle on it. His instincts still tell him he shouldn't be trying to catch a bullet, but he's got more used to it now, and the bothersome instinct is now just an itch in the back of his mind. Something that can be easily ignored, especially at the moment. He glances around, slowing down a bit now, checking out the situation.

[0.5]
A gun and two bats. He runs around, first picking off the gun, then the two bats, leaving only a visible yellow and red blur for the others to see. He then heads over to the kid, stopping in front of him, facing the thugs, pulling himself near their own speed and dropping the bats, gun and spent bullet.

[0.75 ...]
Flash suddenly appears visible, but slightly randomly blurred as he stays in a higher speed, just in case, standing in front of the hurt kid, looking sternly at the thugs as their weapons drop harmlessly to the ground. "Picking on a kid? Come on guys, this is low, even for you. Pick on someone your own size. Now, are you going to leave, or do I need to do this the hard way?" he tells the thugs, his voice sped up a bit.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick heard the gun go off. There was no way he was going to get out of the way in time. The man shooting had been standing too close a distance and had pulled the trigger right away. As soon as the gun was fired, Dick knew there was no way to escape the situation. But then for some reason the bullet just seemed to...vanish or maybe go off in another direction. How could that be?

The man had not been more then a few feet away from Robin. Surely the bullet would have hit him. There was no way a strange gust of wind could deflect a bullet like that. Dick's only thought at that moment was one of relief that he was still alive and standing. It puzzled him for a few moments as something zipped between him in the men, this time, he could notice a yellow and red blur going around.

The thugs were disarmed of their weapons as the blur continued around them. Dick had never seen anything like this. The thugs were all stunned as well as to what was going on. They stood in confusion as they tried to figure out the situation themselves. Then all of a sudden, the answer was clear. There between Robin and the thugs stood the Flash. Dick recalled Bruce saying something about this member of the Justice League. And how this man could travel faster than the eye can see. Dick had seen it for himself now with how things played out. Especially seeing the man's slightly blurred figure standing before him.

At the words of the Flash's response to the situation, Dick was not all that pleased with the words he chose. Seeing as he just called him a kid. That would probably be as bad as Robin coming to the rescue of Batgirl and calling her a little girl. Though, Dick couldn't be all that sour at the moment, seeing as this man just saved his life. Talk about right place at the right time.

The thugs looked at the new arrival dumbfound by the man's entrance. Their weapons now out of hand, left them with nothing to defend themselves with.

"Where did he come from," the shorter thug spoke up.

"Who cares," the largest of the thugs said. "Get him!"

The three thugs came charging at the Flash. Their fists ready for a hand to hand combat. Not having anything else to fight with, they actually though they stood a chance.

There wasn't much Robin could do at the moment, it seemed the Flash was taking on the challenge. Dick was in no condition to be fighting at that moment. But he was ready to defend himself just as much has he would have if the Flash hadn't arrived. But seeing on how the Flash had just appeared there, Dick had a feeling he wasn't really going to have a chance to step in. The Flash would be able to take these goons down in a second.

[hajima]

Flash gives a light sigh and mumbles to himself, "The hard way it is. Again." he states, sounding slightly annoyed. "They rarely chose the easy way." It's just loud enough to be overheard by Robin. The men come charging in, and it looks like Flash isn't even going to move. The big guy swings at the Flash and.. something grabs one of the smaller guys and tugs him right into the path of the fist, knocking that guy down. "What the..!?" This only infuriates the big guy more. Another, harder swing, and he suddenly finds his fist pounding into the face of his other partner in crime.

As his two dazed friends lay on the ground for the moment, Flash appears to the side of the big guy. "You know, you should really just give up. It'll make things easier for everyone." Flash says. The guy glances over at Flash, looking very ticked off. There's a moment where Flash seems to blur, but he doesn't look like he moved. The guy goes to move toward the Flash, and flops over. Apparently someone pulled his belt off and tied it around his ankles.

A red and yellow streak suddenly zips past the weapons and takes off out of the alley, weapons and all. "Get back here!" the big guy yells. He tosses curses out for good measure and stands up after tossing the belt off. The other guys are also getting up. "Looks like your friend left you." he says to Robin, grinning menacingly at him, and all three start to move toward Robin once more.

A moment later before anyone has a chance to get into another fight, the blur is back, and suddenly ropes are being wrapped around each of the thugs, from legs to shoulders, and each gets gagged by the rope for good measure. They each in turn flop over as they're wrapped up somewhat like mummies.

Flash suddenly appears in front of Robin. "Sorry that took so long. I forgot which way the docks were." he apologizes. "I'm sure the police are getting that little bag of weapons and the note I left them telling them where these guys are." he says, pointing a thumb at the thugs. "How are you holding up? Want me to get you somewhere? Maybe the hospital?" the Flash then offers, holding out his hand with a smile.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Everything happened so quickly, that the thugs seemed to be fighting with themselves rather than with the speeding man. The Flash just seemed to zip around and disappear. Dick didn't have a chance to step in. This guy had everything under control at the moment.

Then the Flash just disappeared for a bit. The thugs seemed to regain themselves and their confidence as they tried to approach Robin once more. Boy, these guys never learn. Dick prepared himself to take the thugs on again, but before he could, the thugs were wrapped from head to toe with ropes.

There before him once again out of nowhere was the Flash. "Long? Not at all, I'd say that was perfect timing once again," Dick replied. "If you hadn't come in the first place, I'd be laying on the ground by now."

Robin gave a bit of a smile to the new comer. "I'll be fine," he said though his left arm was still clutched to his right side. That hit had been pretty hard. It was always the street thugs that seemed to hit harder than what a baseball player could in a game. "No thank you on the hospital offer. Wouldn't be a good idea," Robin made reference to the fact that he was still in costume.

"I take it, you're the Flash," he said as he took the offered hand of the Flash and shock it in greeting, even if that wasn't what the Flash was expecting. He winced in pain as he used his right arm. His side throbbing from the hard blow. "Robin," he greeted, returning a name for the new comer to call him by.

[hajima]

The shake of his hand wasn't exactly what Flash was expecting, but he takes it graciously, though carefully. [blue]"Then I'm glad I happened by."[/blue] he replies. [blue]"And I understand about the hospital decision. Just thought I'd offer anyways."[/blue]

He gives a nod at the last statement. [blue]"That's right. At least, that's what they call me."[/blue] he answers, giving a smile. He pauses though as Robin says his own name. [blue]"Robin.. well, that might explain a few things. Batman's.."[/blue] He pauses for a brief moment. He didn't want to say 'sidekick'. [blue]"..apprentice."[/blue] he finishes, the pause barely noticable. But Robin, who's practiced in noticing details, very well may.

Police sirens are heard a few moments later coming down the street. [blue]"And that would probably be our friends comming to find the owners of the 'lost' weapons. Excuse my next action, please, but I think you'd be happier elsewhere."[/blue] He zips around to Robin's other side as not to aggravate his injured side, and kneels down to pick Robin up by knees and upper back. He then pulls Robin into his speed aura, allowing himself to speed up once more. This gives Robin the speed perspective of the Flash.

The police car starts to be seen from the end of the alley, and then everything slows down to a crawl, the lights comming just into view, their spinning finally stopping. All other traffic has come to a halt, and all sound fades out into a low hum, then past what the average human ear can hear.

Flash heads toward the wall, places a foot on it, and quite literally runs straight up the wall. Even gravity isn't working fast enough to pull the fastest man alive back down. Flash clears the roof's edge, letting the speed force carry him forward so he lands on the roof itself. As luck, or unluck, would have it, there's a maintenance man up there, frozen currently in the middle of placing some new holes in a door with a corded drill. The drill itself barely moves as it spins.

Flash runs down the other side of the building, moving into the main road. He pushes Robin a bit out of sync with his own speed so Robin doesn't have to 'wait' the trip, and suddenly Robin experiences roads and cars and people zipping past. A few moments later the hospital zips into view, but Flash runs up onto a nearby abandoned roof-top instead where he places Robin down. He's gone the next moment, a red and yellow blur seen going to the hospital, then about ten seconds later another blur, and he's back. He hands Robin the first aid kit he picked up, as well as a glass of water and a number of pain medications. [blue]"I didn't know which ones you liked to use, so I just got them all."[/blue] he explains. [blue]"Don't worry, the JLA will pick up the tab for this."[/blue]

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick was glad this guy was respecting his wishes as far as not going to the hospital. He was never one to go to the hospital over an injury like this. Not even when he had gotten shot a while back, that's what was good about the batcave and seeing many of the injuries others had sustained through the years. Dick had learned to treat himself medically if need be.

Not much got past his ears when others talked, even if they did try to cover it up. He had caught the slight pause in the sentence the Flash had said. At least the guy was trying not to annoy him by calling him 'Batman's sidekick'. That was one of Dick's pet peeves after being with the Titans. They weren't all sidekicks unless they wanted tot see themselves that way. And Dick had come a long way to try and get away from it. But with his image, it was the label that came with the job.

He could hear the sound of the sirens coming not to far off in the distance. He was about ready to pull out his line gun when the Flash said something and a few seconds later, Dick was swept up and traveling at the same speed as the Flash. Everything seemed to be at almost a stand still. He was seeing what the Flash must see all the time. But within a few seconds everything started to zip by him. He didn't say a word as they traveled until they were on a rooftop. "Thanks...," he was about to say when the Flash disappeared. Only to reappear a few seconds later.

Boy, this guy would give you a headache with how fast he moved. He could be there one minute and gone the next. And back again without you noticing. "Thanks," Dick said. He went for the medications instead. There wasn't anything broken or bleeding as far as he knew. He'd be fine with a bit of medicine. He would just had to rest up a bit when he got back to the batcave. "So what brings you to Gotham? Shouldn't you be in some meeting with the Justice League," he asked. He then thought he sounded a bit edge after saying that. Dick hadn't meant it to sound like he wasn't pleased to have him here. "Not that I don't appreciate the help. Just saying, seems like Superman and the others are there all the time," he said. "Though Batman seems to keep away from it when he can."

[hajima]

Flash gives a smile at the thanks. [blue]"Hey, no problem. Glad I could help."[/blue] he answers. He then gives a light chuckle at the question concerning him and the Justice League. [blue]"Nah, don't need to be in any meetings currently. Dropped by Gotham to gather a bit of information for the League on some metahumans and such around here. You guys probably have the information yourself, but as you said, Batman doesn't exactly visit there, and I personally have never even met him. I wanted to get some hands-on intel."[/blue]

He walks to the edge of the building and glances around. [blue]"I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop by at this time. Looks like Lady Luck had a reason for that."[/blue] he states. [blue]"Besides, I'm only a couple minutes from the League."[/blue] He thinks for a moment. [blue]"Or 30 seconds or less if it's a big emergency."[/blue] he says, making a quick mental note.

[blue]"I get here, and what do I first find? A few petty thieves and thugs. Guess some things don't change, whatever the city."[/blue] Flash says, heading over to Robin again. [blue]"How's that side doing? Need a lift anywhere? It's only fair since I brought you here."[/blue] he offers. A moment later another thought comes to him. [blue]"Do you have any suggestions what I could be looking out for around here? I could do my own looking around, but you'd be more familiar with the area then I am."[/blue]

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

"I figured. Batman isn't exactly the most social person out there," Dick commented. He knew first hand. After years of working a long side of him, Batman was never one for much conversation on patrols. That's why Dick was happy to have Babs with him on most patrols. She could take a job. But with Bruce as Batman, it was all business.

"No, that's all right, I can get down to the streets on my own," Dick said quickly. He didn't want to seem helpless. More range of motion was not going to hurt him, even if his side did hurt. Dick would never admit to the pain to others. He could take it. "My side is fine. Nothing I can't handle," he replied with a smile.

"Well, the East side of the city is pretty rough if you don't know your way around. There are a lot of hot spots out there that you don't want to get into unless you know what you are doing or after," Dick said. That was one part of town that other criminals seemed to jump in and join in the fight is a fellow criminal is up against the bat family or cops. Though most of the criminals in other areas were such yellow-bellies, leaving their kind behind if they couldn't keep up.

"It's the creeps in the costumes you got to watch for," Dick started. "But I mean more like the ones in clown outfits and a lot of others." The list could go on. If the Flash wanted more detail on the villains in this town, Dick was more than pleased to tell him more about the others in this town.

[hajima]

[blue]"Alright."[/blue] Flash responds to the claim that Robin's side is fine. He doesn't sound completely convinced, but he doesn't press the issue either. He's happy to help, but he tries not stepping over certain lines of helping too much.

Flash glances over to Dick as he explains about the east side. He nods lightly. [blue]"Well, I suppose I'll check out of the rest of the city first. Especially for something to eat. Haven't had much to eat since before I came across you, and even then only donuts and coffee. Good donuts though."[/blue]

He then pauses as Dick mentions the other creeps. [blue]"Costumed criminals, metahumans and the like are why I'm here in the first place."[/blue] he says. [blue]"I have a few at home myself. Where can I find them, and who should I be most wary of? A little investigation would do me some good around here."[/blue] He doesn't exactly seem skittish about checking out the more dangerous baddies around the area. In fact he keeps checking the streets from up here, not exactly sitting still for more then a few moments.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

"The once that don't seem harmless usually are," Dick said. "Trust me, the people like the one in a Moth costume are nothing compared to the Joker or Two-Face." He looked over at the Flash. Dick definitely knew first hand what it was like having a run in with those creeps. They weren't the only ones to watch for. The list could go on.

"I'm not saying they are exactly hard to take down...It's just you have to watch every move you make. Especially with someone like Two-Face. He's coin is his weakness, but he always has two sides to his traps," Dick started. "I should know about that..." He didn't finish the sentence. All that came to his mind was of the on DA he had tried to save years ago and hadn't. It wasn't the beating from Two-Face that haunted his memory of that day, it was the loss of a life he could have saved. But he was young and naive then, and had seen learned from it.

"Now the Joker, he's pretty much you're do it for a laugh type of criminal. Everything is a game to him, but there is only one person he plays against that makes his game more fun and that's Batman," Dick said. "The Joker's got a twisted scene of humor. He does have a partner, but she's not as much of a threat compare to him."

Dick looked over at the Flash and said, "There is always something going down in Gotham. When the streets are quiet in the East part of town, usually something is going down. Some of these guys may not be able to put up much of a fight, but they are pretty tricky when it comes to playing against their opponent."

[hajima]

Flash listens closely to Dick as he speaks of the enemies. He nods lightly after Dick explains about Joker and Two-Face.. especially about Joker. [blue]"So Joker is the big one to watch out for. As well as this Two-Face. The Joker I've heard of, though mostly in passing. Two-Face.. can't say I've heard of him. Then again, I tend to focus mostly on my own costumed law-breakers. That's changing with the JLA however.."[/blue] He says this partially to Dick, partially to himself.

Flash glances around at the street again (though how many times 'again' is hard to determine, since he's been doing such so fast one might miss it). A few blocks down a ball bounces into the street. A car's coming down in that direction, though not dangerously close, but Flash apparently takes no chances anyways. [blue]"Where there's a ball.."[/blue] A flash of red and yellow streaks down out of sight as the Flash descends the building, then zips down the street to a ball. A few moments later a kid runs out to follow it. Flash snags the ball up and runs it to the kid, moving him off the road. He kneels down to say a couple of things to the kid, then runs off, leaving the kid happily with his ball, and safe. The car probably wasn't a threat, but Flash helps out anyways. It's just who he is and what he does. The yellow and red streak comes flying back toward the building, and a moment later Flash is standing there. [blue]".. there's probably a kid."[/blue] he finishes his sentence.

[blue]"Sorry about the interruption."[/blue] Flash apologizes. [blue]"Though if you don't mind, I think I'll be off. Might skim the east side, just to make sure I know where the boundaries are and try out the west end of .."[/blue] He pauses. [blue]"Better yet, isn't there supposed to be some prison or something around here?"[/blue] he suddenly asks. [blue]"Unless there’s a way I could meet Batman.. With what Superman has said about him, I think I’d be honored to meet him."[/blue]

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

While he had been speaking, Flash seemed to disappear again. Man, that guy was quick. Before he knew it, he was back again. This guy couldn't sit still and had a better eye of things going on around him. Probably just came with getting used to working at such fast speeds.

"No need to apologize. You're just doing a better job at catching things than I am tonight," Dick replied. When he started on about going off on his own, Dick wasn't to surprised. He was probably just holding him up any ways.

But Flash's next question brought Dick's attention back to going over the city a bit more. "Depends on what type of prison you are looking for," he said. "There is Blackgates, but that is you're typical murders and burglars. If you're looking for the other costumed weirdos, you'll want Arkham." Dick was about to make a joke about themselves being counted as the crazies by the police, but he wasn't all that sure how he might take it.

"I'm sure he would consider the same thing to you," Dick replied. "The only thing is...it's kind of hard to get a hold of him. I even have trouble sometimes trying to find him and we work in the same hide out." He was only telling the truth about if the Flash wanted to get a hold of Batman.