Love Birds

Chapter One

-Dick's POV-

Chilly, dark, and dangerous. That was Blüdhaven. I sat on top of a very old library, next to a gargoyle. I let my feet hang off the side as I twirled my escrima sticks. A scream erupted from the streets. I jumped down and grapled to the ground. A girl was standing in the corner of an alleyway, two guys holding her down and kissing her. A rape. Disgusting.

"Maybe if you weren't such an asshole, a girl might willingly stand in a fifteen feet radius to you," I called, watching as the guys' heads snapped back to see me. They both pulled out switchblades and charged forward like angry bulls. I jumped up, kicking their backs and making them fall onto the pavement. I took one of the guy's blades from his hand and tied his hands together. The other one stood up and tried to jab his tiny knife into my side. I flipped to the left and twisted his arm behind his back, forcing his hand to drop the knife to the ground beside his partner. I handcuffed him to his friend's cuffs and called the police.

"Thank you, Nightwing!" The lady jumped into my arms and placed a smooch on me. I put my hands on her hips and gently pulled her off me. I smirked and licked her strawberry lip gloss off of my lips.

"Only doing my job," I said, winking and grapling away. I never got that kind of reward when I was Robin. I laughed to myself and went back to my stakeout point. Before I could get back up, I heard a muffled scream and the sound of a boot hitting ribs, hard. I walked a little ways down the sidewalk and into a tiny pub. There were four bodies laying limp on the floor. I stalked closer, inspecting the bodies. One of the men had been shot in the head, another with a severed head, another with a dagger in his chest, and the final one showing signs of torture. He had cuts all over his body and bruises all over his face. His nose was broken and there were scars from sharpened brass knuckles all over his cheeks. A final gun shot to the head had been the fatal blow. I took pictures of the bodies.

"Hel-hello?" A tiny voice broke the serious silence. I walked behind the bar and found an old man cowarding down. He hadn't been hurt, odd. I lifted him to his shaky feet and sat him down in a chair. I started recording, getting ready to interogate this man.

"Can you tell me what happened?" I asked, leaning in closer to him. I could tell he wouldn't be talking very loudly anytime soon after all that he saw. This man couldn't of caused this, he could barely stand.

"A girl, she just...walked in. Well, more like broke in. I had closed for the night and...these huge guys threatened to burn down my pub if I didn't let them do their business here. So, I-I let them in and they began talking about the Black Sharks," the name caught my attention. The Black Sharks were a gang that had been around since the prohibition. No one, not even Batman, had ever been able to shut them down. They mostly minded to their own business, but the fact that they killed when they wanted to, made them dangerous. "Suddenly this girl broke through the door with a kick," he continued, "Demanding to talk to the four men. The girl was in a black suit like yours, but it wasn't as army looking." He handed me his phone and showed me the picture he had managed to get of her. It was a blurry picture, but you could still see what she looked like. She had dark brown hair that was halfway down her back. She wore black pants with a light brown belt with several gadgets and pockets. It looked like a utility belt. Her top was strapless and black like her pants. A strip of dark red cloth was wrapped around her upper arm and a thin piece of black cloth ran down her arm, connecting to her leather gloves. It made her arms look like they were wings. She had dark red and dark grey silk ribbons tied around her wrists and ankles. She had black combat boots that had dark red laces that seemed to lace off the boot and onto her skin. She had two samuri swords strapped to her back, two gun holsters, and a dagger against her thigh. She was prepared. A dark red and grey mask covered her eyes and extended down to her cheeks and to her hairline.

"She killed three of the guys and then began asking the other one questions. He refused to speak and so she killed him. They asked who she was but she only said Nightingale. That's all I know!" He cowarded down, as if I was going to hurt him. I stood up and headed to the door.

"Thank you for the information," I ran out of the bar and made my way to a warehouse I had stocked with my toys. After putting on a helmet, I flew my tiny plane to Gotham without being noticed.

"Bruce," I leaned in the doorway of Bruce Wayne's office. He looked up as a smile stretched across his face. He pulled me into a hug and patted me on the back like a father would to a son. I guess in a way, Bruce was my dad. He was more of my mentor than a father, if I was being honest.

"What are you doing here, Dick? I thought you were going to watch over Blüdhaven for a while," he sat down and I could tell he was trying to study me. I watched him as he put on an emotionless face. Was he happy to see me? Did he want me to leave? I couldn't tell through his stone face.

"I was, but I need your help," I sent the pictures I had taken as well as the picture the old man had taken to Bruce's phone. He didn't look at his phone, instead he stared at me with his expressionless face.

"I need your help as well. Joker broke out of Arkham about a year ago and we couldn't find him. But he just robbed an art museum. I think he's planning something," Bruce explained, closing his door and pulling up the security footage from Parkhurst Galleries, one of Gotham's most famous and most secure gallery. Sure enough, Joker and his goons began destroying and spray painting all over the paintings. The footage only showed Joker taking one painting.

"He only took one," I remarked, surprised by the outcome. Bruce nodded and pulled up a picture of the stolen painting.

"A Flock Of Birds by Mark Aubdon," Bruce informed, "but it isn't known for holding any signifigance. I don't know if you heard, but a vigilante in Blüdhaven was spotted after a murder of four Black Sharks members. She called herself Nightingale. It can't be a coincidence that this girl shows up the exact time the Joker steals a bird painting," Bruce concluded and turned off his computer. He picked up his phone and scrolled through the pictures I sent him. I agreed, it couldn't be a coincidence that these two random events happened on the same night. The Joker's plans and Nightingale's identity would need to be found.

"That's her. I don't know if she's just another citizen or if she has had training. I didn't see her fight. She was gone when I came in." Bruce looked disappointed in my statement. I tried to not let it get to me, but his disappointing glance made me feel ashamed and embaressed.

"I'll find out who Nightingale is and you try to track down the Joker," Bruce ordered, getting up from his desk. I stopped him and stared him in the eyes. I wasn't his Robin anymore, he couldn't give me orders. It would make more sense for me to find out who Nightingale was since she showed up in my city first.

"I pick my own missions. I'm going to find out who Nightingale is, she is connected to Blüdhaven somehow." I followed Bruce to his car. We drove to Wayne Manor and went into the BatCave. Alfred greeted me with warm welcomes. The house was empty. Usually Robin would be hanging around here. I shrugged it off and used the BatComputer to start my research. Who was this Nightingale?

~~~~~~So, first actual chapter woo hoo! In the story, Dick is a couple months older than Nightingale btw. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Vote, comment, and follow! :) ~~~~~~~