Lolita 𐐪𐑂 Dick Grayson

t w e n t y 𐐪𐑂 t h r e e

Thanksgiving break, only a five day break from school. Hell, really. It was only yesterday when my Uncle Matt burned the mac and cheese and made us eat turkey alongside vegetables only. Yuck. It was a holiday so obviously he stayed home all day which meant I couldn't see Dick.

And as news reports came swarming in on television last night and this morning about how activity of the Riddler had been detected back in Gotham, panic only grew. My Uncle going on to forbid me from leaving the house until school started again.

It was bullshit, but that wasn't all. I found myself this morning to be crankier than usual. I spent all of today doing nothing but non stop worrying and refreshing Dick and I's messages.

Delivered.

For a day, ever since yesterday morning. I was so worked up on him, I began to almost pity myself for being so infatuated with him. But it wasn't like Dick. The longest he'd leave me on delivered was 7 hours. And that would be while we slept!

I laid on my couch, fumbling with my thumbs hovering over my keyboard. Should I send him another message? I sent one this morning, it was now 8 at night. The sun was just barely peeking out from beneath the ground.

I stared outside our wall of windows, the city beneath us was still going in its usual routine. So why did I feel so out of touch? I rolled my eyes and hugged onto the sleeves of my sweatshirt.

"Do you want me to heat up some leftovers?" Matt cried out from behind me. I turned around so see him in the kitchen, half his body hidden behind the refrigerator.

"No, I'll eat later" I whined moving around the couch like an angry toddler. The tv next to us continued flashing lights, warnings.

Riddler Last Seen at Warehouse Near Mercy Bridge

"I'll be in my room, knock before you enter" I warned, taking a small water bottle from the countertop and heading down the small hallway towards my door.

"Alright, miss grumpy-pants" He muttered with a mouthful of turkey. I gave him a stank eye, my lips curling in disgust watching as he took my seat on the couch.

I walked into my medium-sized room. My paper curtains were rolled up allowing my wall to be completely opened to the sky that grew darker each second. The perks of living in a small condo.

I threw the water bottle on my bed and went to reach for something hidden in my closet. I opened my closest door and rummaged beneath my dirty clothes and shoes that were tossed on the floor. My fingers hit something hard in the deep corner and immediately pulled it out. It was a old car stereo, I might have stolen it from one of Officer Grants old cop cars.

I struggled with its heavy weight but finally made it back to my bed. Cut wires spooled out the back of the radio who's antena had been chipped off at the end. I flipped the switch of the stereo until a bright red light blinked continuously before it stayed red.

I re-seated myself onto my bed feeling the stereo sink the booth of us down my covers. I let myself press on a button in which the more I let my finger linger, the louder the radio got. At first it sounded all static until I heard certain dispatch codes being called out and a variety of voices calling.

Unable to copy sir

We have a 594, they are armed

I waited to hear what else he had to say until the static got too loud and a cracking sound split through my room. I quickly grabbed the stereo into my lap and fumbled around with the buttons and turners until I was able to stabilize again.

Our 10-20 is Mercy Bridge. Could we get a squad down here

Dispatching Squad 5-Grant

The walky talky connected to the radio I held in my hand has slipped near my pillow as I heard Officer Grants name be the last thing to be called. I quickly looked out my room and to the city, could I see them from here?

I removed the radio from my thighs and shoved it beneath my messy blankets. I walked to my open closet and quickly placed on a pair of gray jeans and black shoes before replacing my white hoodie with one of Dick's. Navy, like always with BLUDHAVEN written across it.

I left my room and headed straight to the living room where Matt laid across the coach, now running through channels and news anchors. I awkwardly caught his gaze as I began speeding to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" He thundered, now having his head up in the air. Although half his head of hair was flat from the back, his curls were frizzy at the front of his face.

"The rooftop" I replied in a duh tone. I pushed myself against the door and placed my hand around the knob.

"Have you not heard what's been going on?" He asked furiously blinking his eyes in disbelief. I rolled my eyes at him and opened the door to hear a ding ring out into the hallway.

"It's just the rooftop, I left a book up there" I lied trying to give him a reason. All he did was look out the windows and back to the tv.

"Just an hour" He mumbled placing himself back spread out so I could no longer see him from behind the couch.

When I was on the elevator heading to the roof top, I prayed my uncle hadn't heard the loud cracking and gunshot like sounds of fireworks going off. When the elevator finally led me up, I got the experience wot the fireworks.

Green, red and purpled colors spread across the sky as more were shot up. The all exploded ranging in different shapes but all the same three colors. I let myself off the elevator and towards the rooftop where a pool was hidden beneath a tarp and chairs were folded laying on the ground.

I put up my hood and walked towards the direction the fireworks were blasting from. I squinted my eyes and saw it had been the warehouse at Mercy bridge. I look around watching cars driving away from the fireworks and soon I calculated the warehouse had only been a few blocks from here.

Luckily for me, I found a pile of long wooden planks laying with construction equipment up here. I grabbed a hammer and the longest plank. A few seconds of struggle passed and the ends of the wooden plank where each on the side of my building the one near us.

Thankfully it had a rather small gap between them. But it didn't cause my fear to disappear. I balanced myself on the plank and then laces the hammer down for more weight. Although half way the plank had curved in, I made it to the other side just in time for the hammer and plank to be knocked off and fall in the alley.

Now that I made it carefully across one rooftop, the rest was a breeze. The bottom of feet ached by the time I made it close to the warehouse. Weirdly enough, I had never seen or been here despite it being so close to me and the small island many went to party at.

I grazed upon the sight and realized Dick hadn't come yet. I reached out towards a ladder and just like the plank, placed it horizontally to try and reach the top of the warehouse which was awkwardly slanted up into a pointed rooftop top. All of which was made of tinted windows, some which I had been opened where the fireworks that now stopped could've been shot out of.

I crawled on the ladder and hopped off slowly, clinging on certain metal hooks on the side of the windows. Carefully, I maneuvered myself around the side and near the back where the moon hadn't shown upon.

But to my surprise there was already someone there. I turned the corner and saw flapping through the wind the tip of a cape. The persons face snapped so quickly to my location, it startled me seeing bright white hidden behind all the darkness.

My finger slipped on the tiny hooks and I felt my legs begin to fall behind. My nails just barely scratched the smooth surface of the glass when I felt a cold hard object fly past my back and push me against the window again.

I grabbed back into the hooks and looked next to me to now be faced just a few inches away from Tim's face. His metal bo staff removed itself from my back and shrieked itself back into its normal size.

"Lo?"

"Tim?"