stranger things | dick grayson

forty five

word count: 2.5k

~

Dick and Eleanor were startled awake at the sudden flood of light into the room and the loud clattering sound of metal hitting the floorboards. They both sat up and Dick turned the lights on, his other arm going out across Eleanor as they both squinted through tired eyes and at the figure in their doorway.

Bruce had blood on his face. He stood over a bloodied crowbar, the item which was carelessly thrown onto the floor.

Eleanor sat up on her knees as Dick threw the covers off and jumped to his feet.

'He started it, I ended it.' Eleanor's stomach sank at Bruce's words. She refused to believe the obvious truth.

Dick carefully asked, 'Ended what, Bruce?'

Bruce didn't answer the question. He continued speaking as if he had rehearsed his lines a million times in the mirror. 'But you know what he was doing as I caved in his skull? He was laughing. He laughed at me because he won.'

Eleanor's stare flickered back down to the crowbar— The same tool with which Jason was killed.

'You kids were right. It's all a game and I should have stopped playing a long time ago. It's over for me now. It's over,' he said through a shaky voice. He tilted his head back a little. 'You see things I don't. You saw that Jason was in trouble, that he was involved in something. Because you cared more than I did. You both do. The city is yours now. You save it. Do what I couldn't. Be a better Batman.'

As Bruce turned around and left the room at a brisk pace, Eleanor put her hand on Dick's back and shoved him. 'Grab him. Go!' She said as she stumbled to her feet when Dick took off after Bruce, leaping over the crowbar.

'Bruce... Bruce!' Dick called out and skidded to a halt in the hallway. He had disappeared into thin air. Bruce had escape routes inside the mansion that nobody else knew about— There was no way they were stopping him from leaving. He was gone.

Dick turned to look at Eleanor who was standing over the crowbar, staring down at it with a blank expression.

'He fucking did it... He killed the fucking Joker, Dick...'

+

'Late-breaking news: Confirmed by several sources, the man who terrorised Gotham for a generation, known only as "the Joker", is dead. He was brutally murdered last night in Arkham Asylum. Prison staffers have unofficially speculated the assailant was the Batman, but police have yet to confirm. Calls to health officials...'

Dick and Eleanor walked into the Gotham Precinct and attempted to approach Barbara, but they were stopped by a shorter woman with short blond hair. She crossed her arms tightly and asked, 'Can I help you?'

'I'm Dick Grayson, this is Eleanor Lynn,' Dick said and gestured between them both.

'Yeah, I know. You picked a nice time for a reunion,' she said with a 'humph'.

'And you are?' Dick asked, his annoyance with her comment shining through brightly.

Barbara appeared behind them and said, 'Thanks, Vee.' She nodded her head over her shoulder and led them both over to an empty spot in the hall. She spun to face them both and looked between them before saying. 'Last night, Bruce's jet took off. Changed IFR in mid-air. Nobody knows where he touched down. Except maybe you two?

Dick scoffed. 'I wish we did.'

'What happened?' Barbara asked, looking at Eleanor who only looked out the window in response.