Getting to know you

Meeting the League

Dick was hiding behind his locked door, trying to hide from Bruce, but to no avail. "Dick, we have to get it over with. The sooner we do, the sooner you can come back here." Bruce pleaded. "You know I hate this. Why does it have to be today?" "We can't put this off any longer, Dick. The more we do, the more fear will consume you."

"I-I can't do this. It's too much." Dick was panicking. "Yes, you can. Listen to me, Dick. They will never hurt you. If they even think about it, I swear we will get you out of there. You will never be hurt like that again. I promise." Bruce's voice was soft, trying to be gentle with Dick. He knew PTSD was hard to deal with.

"Who's going to be there?" Dick's voice was cracking. "Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkwoman, Flash, Hal, me, and your brothers. Kid Flash will most likely be there as well. They will be the only ones, and it will be at the watchtower, in space. No press, no civilians."

Dick took a few shaky breaths. "O-ok. I'll go." "Thank you, Dick. I promise, nothing will happen." Dick whispered to himself. "That's what you said about him."

Dick stood up slowly and unlocked the door. Bruce was standing behind it, waiting. He gently pulled Dick into a hug, rubbing his back. "I know this is hard, but I swear, nothing will happen to you. Never again." "I know. I'm just..."

"Scared? Worried? Paranoid? That's me every night, Dick. You've just had a worse experience than I have. You've got PTSD, and it's worse than mine. And I know how hard it is to try and fight it. But you need to meet them. They might be able to help you. Martin Manhunter is a telepath, he can help you understand what you're afraid of, what to look for."

Dick pulled back and grabbed his arms. "I don't know. I don't...I just don't know." "And we'll fix it. We will figure everything out. You've already beaten your punishment from the Court. You've regained your appetite, you've continued sleeping, you've done so damn well in your own. They can help you continue with it, can help you heal. But only if you let them."

Dick bit his lip, but nodded. "Let's get you to the watchtower. You'll need to be Nightwing." Dick followed Bruce to the cave, hands shaking. He was still so scared of being hurt. He couldn't handle being hurt again. Not like he was with...him. Dick couldn't bring himself to say his name.

The mask felt like a cover for his fear. Anything he felt, he could hide it under his mask. When he had the mask on, he was strong. He couldn't be hurt like he had been. He wasn't defenseless.

Dick's shaking got worse the closer they got to the watchtower. Jason sent him a few concerned glances. He knew this was a bad idea. Dick could barely handle one new person, let alone six. This was a bad idea.

Dick hid behind Bruce, peeking around his shoulder. Bruce could feel Dick's hands shaking as they rested against his back. "It's alright, Dick. They won't hurt you." Bruce whispered, hand going to rest on Dick's shoulder. Dick buried his face in Bruce's shoulder.

The heroes didn't take long to show up. Surprisingly, Flash was early for once, beating all the other heroes. Wally was beside Barry, which helped Dick relax. Wally walked up to Dick and pulled him into a hug. "You ok?" "Nervous."

Dick was still hiding behind Batman. Wally intertwinned their fingers. "It's alright. I know them. They'd never hurt you." He whispered, low enough for only Dick to hear. "You know how I feel about new people. I can barely handle one, let alone six. What an I supposed to do?" "I can stay by your side." "Thank you." "Welcome."

"We're here, Batman. What was so important you called all of us at three am? We're not night owls." "I consider meeting a new hero a reasonable excuse. This is Nightwing." Bruce stepped to the side, revealing Dick with Wally next to him. Dick sheepishly waved, leaning into Wally.

Barry walked up first. "I'm Flash. Pleased to meet you." "Likewise. Nightwing, heard a lot about you from Kid over here." Dick smiled as he shook Barry's hand. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. "Any powers?" "Human. Not a big fan of cold, but human otherwise." "I'm looking forward to working with you." "I am as well. I hope to meet your colleages in Central." "They're excited to meet you as well. I have a feeling you and Cisco would be best friends."

"Alright, share the new guy. Green Lantern. Well, one of us, anyway. You can call me Hal." Hal playfully shoved Flash. Dick smiled. He liked a sense of humor.

"Just call me Nightwing. There's plenty of me to go around." Dick chuckled. Bruce relaxed at the sound, mentally sighing. Dick was fine. He was comfortable around the League, which would be a big help later on. Leaguer after Leaguer introduced themselves, calming Dick with each one.

"I've got to go, or Iris will kill me. You should probably follow, Kid. Nice meeting you, Nightwing." "Nice to meet you too, Flash. Bye, KF." "Bye." Wally wrapped his arms around Dick in a hug. He snuck a kiss on Dick's cheek before following Barry.

"I take it you two know each other?" Hal smirked. "Yeah. I've known him for years. Just recently became a hero and learned he was one too." "So, you know his identity?" "Yeah. That's kind of what you need to learn in a boyfriend." Dick shrugged.

"Oooooook. Was not expecting that." "You learn new things every day." Dick smiled. He was finding himself relaxed. They didn't want to hurt him. He trusted them.