Light Amidst the Chaos

Ch 4

"Blueberries or chocolate chips?"

"Chocolate chips!"

How long I was out, I have no idea. All I know is I slept like a rock because of how tired I was. No dreams and I didn't wake up screaming. The sun was bright in the room I woke up in and the smaller bed next to mine was messy. Maverick must be in the kitchen, plus I can hear him.

I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I stretched and looked out the window. The view of the city was beautiful and I had the perfect view. I looked around the room and realized how cozy it actually was. The walls were a light gray color and the bedsheets were a dark blue. There was a few little chairs and a desk, as well as a big dresser. Very little pictures were on the walls, but it was still homey.

I sighed and got out of bed. I grabbed my hoodie off the ground and slipped it over my head. I combed my fingers through my hair and made my way out of the room. I trudged to the kitchen area where I saw Garfield helping Maverick make pancakes. Jason was standing over the counter cutting fruit.

"Very nice choice." Garfield told Maverick, helping him put the chocolate chips in the bowl.

"Oh hey," Jason greeted me, "how'd you sleep?"

"Like a rock." I replied, taking a seat at the counter.

Jason gave me a small smile and slid me a small bowl of strawberries. I popped one in my mouth and sighed.

"Uncle J said mommy is dancing in the sky." Maverick told me, stealing one of the chocolate chips out of the bag.

I looked up from my bowl and looked at Jason. He shrugged and popped a blueberry in his mouth. "He was asking questions, I explained as best I could."

Dancing in the Sky was Charlotte's favorite song. She sang it at our grandparent's funeral and at Alfred's funeral. She never played it for Maverick because she didn't think he would understand. She would hum it around the house when she was doing chores and she would hum it when she was getting ready to go out.

I was trying to figure out how to explain the whole situation to Maverick. He was only 4 and the concept of death isn't really something kids his age understand.

"He spared the details." Garfield piped up, moving the chocolate chips away from Maverick.

"Oh good, you're awake." I heard Dick's voice say.

I saw him sit next to me at the island. Maverick smiled at him and pointed at the pancakes.

"I made pancakes." Maverick told him, obviously very proud of himself.

Dick smiled and nodded his head, "I can see that. Nice job, buddy." He looked at me and gave me a small nudge. "Bruce called me this morning, he thinks he has a lead."

"Is that so?" Jason asked, handing me a plate of pancakes.

"Yeah," Dick grabbed an apple, "he thinks whoever did it was someone your sister knew."

I furrowed my eyebrows. Charlotte didn't really have many friends, if any. We were really close but I could only name maybe one or two people she talked to. Not that she was secretive or anything, she wasn't one to sneak out. However, I wasn't home enough to know.

I would often help Jason on smaller missions when he was still living in Gotham. We made a great team and we had a huge amount of trust in each other, we still do. When we worked together it was like our brains synced. We moved and thought as one.

On days I wasn't with Jason, I would wonder around town. I liked visiting the orphanages and walking around the parks. I especially enjoyed taking hikes in the woods by my old cabin. I often trained there and practiced different techniques with my powers there. I'm also big into photography and would often go out and take photos.

I was also with Maverick a lot. Him and I would go on adventures whenever we felt like it. Often time it was to the ice cream parlor and I would take him to the various parks. Most of the time whenever I had him, Jason tagged along. I don't think up until the last few months there's really been any time I've had Maverick without Jason.

"Why does he think that?" I asked, grabbing a plate and putting freshly made pancakes on it.

"The intensity of the," Dick looked at Maverick, "well, you know." He looked back at me and stole a strawberry from my bowl. "It seemed personal."

"Ooo I smell pancakes." A female voice rang out as I heard clicking of high heels.

I looked up from my plate and saw a beautiful woman with long, red hair.

"Bón apetite." Garfield said, pushing the plate of pancakes towards her.

"Oh yeah, Kory Anders, meet Loreli. Loreli, this is Kory Anders." Dick introduced, pointing between us.

I smiled, "Hi. This is my nephew Maverick."

"Hi!" Maverick cheered.

Kory chuckled and waved a little bit, "Nice to meet you. We all heard what happened, we're sorry."

I nodded, "Thanks."

"Hey Rachel, hey Conner. Hungry?" Dick stated, his back to me.

I looked behind me and saw a guy who looked to be about Dick's age, and a girl with purple hair about Gar's age. This is an odd team, I have to admit that. Dick really knew how to pick them.

"Is this them?" The girl, who I assumed was Rachel, asked as she walked to the island.

Dick nodded and handed her a plate of pancakes. The guy who I assumed was Conner took some fruit from Jason and leaned against the counter.

"Conner, Rachel, meet Loreli and Maverick." Dick introduced, pointing between us.

"I wish it was under better circumstances." Rachel replied, giving me a comforting smile.

"Me too. I'm sorry about what happened, I hope we can help." Conner added, giving me a small nod.

"After breakfast, I figured we could start looking for clues. Bruce is already working on it but since she isn't around to help, we'll be doing most of it from here." Dick explained, taking mine and his dishes to the sink.

"What about the kid?" Kory asked, pointing at Maverick.

"What about him?" Conner asked, looking at my nephew.

Maverick was a sticky mess of syrup and chocolate. The kid desparately needed a bath and if we were all going to be helping to catch who did this, no one would be watching him. It's not that I don't trust the Titans, I do, but I don't know them all that well.

"Can I help uncle Gray?" Maverick asked, looking at Dick.

Dick looked at Maverick. If the kid had long hair, he would be the carbon copy of my sister. Same jet black hair, same green eyes, and they even had the same smile. He's what's keeping her memory alive. Whenever I look at him I can see Charlotte.

When Charlotte found out she was pregnant, her boyfriend at the time was going away to Japan for business. He would send money every 6 months, but he never had any contact with the kid. Sure he had my dad and Jason, but it wasn't the same. Maverick needed his real dad but his real dad didn't want to be burdened with him. It was sad.

"Maybe you can." Dick replied, leaning against the sink.

"Dick, if you're thinking about asking him about what happened, I'm throat punching you." Jason snapped, looking at Dick in a protective way.

"He's our only connection as of right now. I'm not gonna ask about details, Jason." Dick stated, walking over to Maverick. "He may have seen something that can help us."

"How about we start with looking into their family history?" Conner proposed.

"Then we can ask Maverick about what he saw. Rachel concluded. She looked over at me, "What do you think?"

"I think," I stood up and went over to Maverick, "I should clean him up. Dick, bathroom." I picked up Maverick and looked at Dick, "Now."

I walked off down the hallway. I'm gonna kick Dick Grayson's ass.