[IN THE END] - DICK GRAYSON - YOUNG JUSTICE

CHAPTER 6B

This section, as well as the next (which I will be posting later) are probably two of my favorite parts of the story.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Comment and keep reading!  Thanks!

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When Richard got back up to his room, he quietly locked the door and ran to his bathroom.  He peeled off the gauze that Alfred applied and stared at the scrape.  Then he pulled out some disinfectant and sprayed it along the surface of his check.  He winced at the sting and shook his head trying to get it to stop.  Once his face stopped tingling from the pain, he went back into his room to switch clothes.  He grabbed his red hoodie from under the bed and pulled it over his head.  He then quickly changed into his jeans.  Deep down he knew today he would find answers.  Even if the answer belonged to a question he never asked.

As he did yesterday, the young boy patrolled the streets, standing as tall as he possibly could.  While he was walking through the demanding streets of Gotham, he tried to think back to what he heard about the murder of his parents. Back when he was locked up in the detention center.  He remembered a few things.  Like the fact that it was an 'accident'.  Or that 'nobody' was behind it.  But truth was someone was, and as Richard as thought harder, he remembered a name.  Tony Zucco.  He was the man that Richard overheard talking to Haley.  Claiming they needed protection.  Which was an accurate statement.  Because all along they needed protection from  him.

Now he knew who he was after, but he didn't know where that man would be.  Deciding he needed a minute to think, he walked towards a tall building and started climbing the fire escape stairs.  Using his expertise, he quickly made it to the roof of the building.  For a few minutes, he paced back and forth thinking, long and hard.  And finally he put his head down in defeat when he realized that no one his age could figure something like this out.  There were tons of reasons why.  Like the fact that there wasn't enough information given, really there wasn't any at all.  Then there was the reality that he couldn't solve something of this caliber without technology.  Without another person at least.

And so disappointed, he sat, just feet away from the edge of the building gazing at the city below him.  Soon enough his vision became hazy, and the twinkling lights that outlined the city, became little circular blurs.  He became so lost in image that he basically zoned out.  And finally he flinched, shaking his head so that everything became normal again.  And when he looked at his watch he realized he had been sitting there for over an hour. 

The hooded boy pushed his hands in to the rocky gravel so he had the strength to stand up.  Once he had, he looked below him one last time, before turning around.  He eyed the dark corner that stood opposite him, walking towards it, so he could climb back down the fire escape.  And as the young boy came closer, in the darkened mix, he saw a stature.  A stature that he had once seen before.  It was the Batman.

Batman stepped out of the corner, gazing at the young boy before him.  But the boy made no eye contact, he kept his head down, trying to stay hidden underneath his hood.  He could feel the ice cold glare the man was giving him.  In response, he turned around to keep the man from seeing who he was.  He hoped that the shadow would fade, leaving him all alone.  But as a few minutes went by, he could still sense his presence, and decided to start a conversation. 

He thought about what he wanted to know.  He knew that the Batman was a unspoken protector, and an attentive keeper of the city, but why.  It didn't add up in Richard's mind.  And so he asked what he truly wanted to know.  "Why do you do what you do?"  Richard's back was still facing the man.  It was a good question.  While waiting for a response, Richard tried to think about an answer.  But he couldn't think of a good reason for a man to be trotting around in a bat costume jumping from rooftop to rooftop, trying to solve the city's problems.

And in the middle of Richards thought, a deep voice filled the air.  "To satisfy myself knowing that I am more than what people label me as."  Richard froze for a second.  "Bruce?"  He turned around quickly while pulling off his hood.  But by the time he was facing the man's way, Batman had jumped off the building into the dark knight.

As promised, Richard was up waiting in the study when Bruce got home.  The boy had many emotions running through him.  He was excited that the man that took him in is the Batman.  But also upset that he didn't know until now.  And he was well aware that if he hadn't gone out last night, and was caught by the vigilante, he probably would never know.  The whole situation brought up many more questions, and an offer. 

"So you are the brilliant Batman that patrols the streets each night, beating the bad guys and saving all the innocent civilians?"  Bruce laughed at his comment.  "I may not look like much."  He said pleasing himself.  Richard gave him a serious look.  "And out of all the ways you could of told me..."  Bruce put an ashamed look across his face.  "How did you even know it was me?"  The boy said puzzled.  The man easily could of answered with, hello world's best detective, but he figured the response was too much.  "A hood really doesn't do much... what you need is a mask."