Pushing too far

The research

Roy watched as Bruce started typing on the bat computer. He'd thought about the theory Bruce has provided, and knew it was reasonable. But he wondered if Bruce was thinking about what Dick might actually need.

Dick thought that Wally had died because of him. That was why he was like this. But Roy knew, and Bruce knew, that Wally had sacrificed himself. Roy believed Dick just needed to be shown it wasn't his fault.

Roy was still trying to wrap his head around the two personas. Nightwing seemed dead, devoid of all emotion. From what he'd said, Dick Grayson was the one who would crack a smile, or listen to reason. Maybe that's what they should do.

"Maybe we should follow Nightwing's advise." Roy stated. "Go visit him when he's Dick Grayson. Something tells me Dick will listen." Bruce grunted. "Maybe. But we need both of them back, not just Dick Grayson. And something tells me Nightwing won't listen to Dick Grayson. From the way he talked about him, Nightwing doesn't like Dick Grayson much at all. He said they were 'too different.' As long as Nightwing says no, we can't help him. Wally will be the best bet."

"And if Wally really is dead?" Roy asked, hoping it wasn't true. "Then we get a Martian to help us." "Uh huh. And if that doesn't work?" "Then there's nothing we can do." "There's always something. This is Nightwing we're talking about!" "The Nightwing we knew could crack a smile. This one seems almost dead."

"And that's the problem! We need something that can break him out of this shell he's created. And what better way than talk to the more reasonable part of him? Than to learn part of why he's doing this? We're going off assumptions, and what Nightwing told us. We might be better prepared if we know more about this." Roy tried to reason.

"We'll be better prepared if we do it sooner, when he's still adjusting to this new situation." "Why do I even try?" Roy said, slapping his forehead. "If you want, you can go visit him. I'm going to work." Batman grunted, typing away.

"I will. And when I get back, I can tell you exactly how to help him now." Roy walked away. He changed out of his Red Arrow suit and put on comfortable clothes. He headed for the zeta beams and typed in the Blüdhaven code. A blinding light, and he was in the phone booth.

He stepped out and started walking towards Dick's apartment. Maybe he could catch his brother and talk some sense into him. It might take a lot of effort, but it was worth a shot.

When he knocked on the door, he took a deep breath. Why was he nervous? This was his brother! The brother that's split himself in two. He shook his head. There was no reason to think like that.

After a few seconds, the door opened, and Roy finally saw the smile he'd missed so much. "Hey, Roy! C'mon in." Dick moved back from the door. Roy walked in to see stuff everywhere. "Sorry about the mess. Nightwing's dealing with something and won't allow me to touch anything." Dick said as he threw away some empty bottles.

"It's fine. How've you been, Dickie?" Roy smiled and ruffled his hair. "Great. I miss Wally, but it's not bad anymore." Dick smiled wistfully. "Look, I know this might be...uncomfortable, but I came to ask you if you would come with me to the manor."

"I'd love to, but Nightwing won't leave Blüdhaven. If he has to, he'll override my control. I want to, Roy. I want things to go back to the way they were. But Nightwing's much stronger than me. I can't go anywhere without him agreeing. I would do anything, but I can't. I just...can't." Dick frowned, looking down. Roy grabbed his hand.

"Hey, look at me. I don't care how strong Nightwing is, you're the first. You're strong as well, Dick. Don't let him bully you into submission." Dick chuckled. "Roy, we both know I'm not very strong. All that training, all that pushing, that's Nightwing. Me? I'm a weakling who can't defeat myself." Roy frowned.

"Sorry bout this, Dickie. Didn't want it to come to this." Roy sighed. "What are you?" That's when Dick felt it. He leaned into Roy, the sedative running through his systems. Roy picked him up bridal style and carried him to the zeta beams.

Bruce looked up as the zeta beams announced his son's arrival. He frowned when he saw Dick unconscious. "Didn't agree?" "He did. But he said that Nightwing 'wouldn't let him go.' Nightwing seems to be the more dominant side. Dick told me he wants everything to go back to normal, but Nightwing won't let him. Bruce, he won't even let Dick clean his apartment! We need to fix this, and what better place than where he grew up?"

Bruce grunted, but gave Roy the go ahead. He headed upstairs and placed Dick on his bed, pulling the covers over him. Roy dragged a chair over to the bed and sat down. He watched his baby brother, making sure he was alright.

About an hour and a half later, Dick groaned, signaling he was awake. "Where am I?" He moaned. "You're at the manor, Dickie. Don't worry, you're not in trouble." Roy said, grabbing his brother's hand. Dick shot up.

"Dang it, Roy! Nightwing's gonna kill me!" Dick tried to get up, but Roy held him down. He was still very weak from the drug. "Hold your horses, Dickie. You're not going anywhere until you explain what's going on." Dick sighed. "Nightwing's trying to bust a drug ring he's been chasing for two weeks. He won't sleep, he won't slow down, and it's affecting me. That's why I'm so intent on staying in Blüdhaven." His chin started trembling.

Roy shushed him and started running his fingers through Dick's hair. "It's OK, Dick. Just calm down. I'll deal with Nightwing. But I've got a few questions." "Shoot." "What's up with the two personalities?" "It's...it was my method of dealing with Wally's d-death. I could focus on it as Dick Grayson, and not have it affect my crime fighting. Then Nightwing started to take over, and I'm stuck."

"Is there any way we can fix this?" Dick shook his head. "I can't get Nightwing to listen to me long enough, and he's intent on staying away from people so he doesn't hurt them. Unless you can force him to listen, nothing's going to work." Dick looked down, his arms lying limply in his lap. "OK. It's a start. Look, I know you're going to hate this, but we need you to stay here. Just until we can fix this." "But Roy, the ring!" "I'll deal with the ring. Until then, you calm down and focus on talking to Nightwing. Ok?" Dick nodded shakily.

Roy sighed inwardly. This was going to be harder than he thought. Nightwing had taken over, making Roy think this was an actual case of multiple personality disorder. Definitely going to be harder than any of them thought.