Dick had been at the Mountain for a month now, hiding from Slade. Bruce came to check on him every night, making sure the young cat was still safe. He knew it had to be hard for Dick, having to hide while they person he feared the most hunted him down. He would stay with Dick until he fell asleep, then tuck him into bed and continue the search for Slade.
Dick was getting rather bored. Yes, he understood how dangerous it was for him right now, but he was stuck inside a mountain. He couldn't even hunt anything! Any little bug could be Garfield, and the League had good pest control. There wasn't a single mouse!
At least he could train. That was one of the only good things about the Mountain. He always had someone to train with, and the program was always active when everybody else was asleep. Sometimes Tim would spar with him, and they would quietly laugh as they fought. They had to keep quiet, or they'd wake the team.
Dick was still getting bored, however, and anybody could see that. He was spending more time sleeping, usually curled up in the library with a half finished book in his lap. He'd groom his tail, keeping it fluffy and soft. He'd do anything to keep from being bored.
Wally had been strangely silent recently. Dick didn't see him much, and he always seemed really tired. Dick had been trying to talk to him, to figure out what was going on, but he never stayed long. Not long enough for Dick to help him. Maybe something was wrong.
Dick was in the grotto at the moment, watching the water splash against the landing pad. The water sounded nice, and it was lulling him to sleep. Almost everything did now. It was just so incredibly boring that he had nothing else to do. Maybe he'd sleep for a week and scare everyone. Now that would be fun.
"Dick." Wally appeared next to the cat. "There you are! What's been keeping you away?" "It's getting harder for me to stay here. Something's going wrong. I've tried talking to some older spirits, but nobody knows. Dick, you have to be careful. I can't protect you like I normally do." "Wally, it's okay. Get some rest. Go back to the spirit world for a bit. I'll be fine on my own." "I can't do that. It's too dangerous." "I'm staying here until Slade is captured. If he does manage to find the cave, I'm going to the watchtower. I'll be fine. You need to rest. Maybe you've exhausted yourself trying to protect me."
"Dick, I don't know about this." "The team and the League will be protecting me. Besides, I can fight too. Sure, I get panicky around him, but I can get away from him. It'll be okay. You deserve a break, anyway." "Are you sure?" "I'm sure."
Wally disappeared again, leaving a faint smell of electricity behind. Dick laid down again, closing his eyes. He decided he wanted a nap, and the generator was warm underneath him. It would just be a little cat nap, he decided. No more than ten minutes.
He woke to a hand petting his head, and the presence of another person next to him. "Time to wake up, Dickie." Bruce said gently. "Don't wanna." "If you want to go home, you have to." Dick's eyes snapped open. "What?" "We caught Slade. It wasn't easy, but we did it. I assume you're getting bored, so a change of scenery might help."
Dick leapt up, bouncing on his toes. "What are we waiting for?" Bruce chuckled, standing and following the cat. He couldn't blame Dick for being happy. His abuser was in jail again, he could finally go back home, and he didn't have to worry about being attacked anymore. Damian was going to live with the Titans for a while, in the hopes that he became more accepting.
"Oh, I've missed this cave!" Dick sighed as he came into the Batcave, running around to all the platforms. "It's not that different from the Mountain." "It is. The cave has tons of platforms and bats and places for me to climb. The Mountain doesn't." "We'll see about changing that."
"It's good to see you again, Master Dick." Alfred smiled. "Hey, Alfie! It feels like forever since I last saw you." "It was a month ago." "Really? It felt like years." Dick smiled as he hugged the elderly butler. "I know it did. I hear you were rather bored." "You have no idea. But I'm back, so that'll get better!"
"Tim is waiting upstairs, if you want to see him. I know you two haven't had much time to spend together, with him taking care of Gotham and you stuck in the cave." "It'll be nice to walk around the Manor again, and spend time with him."
Dick went upstairs, where he found Tim in the living room. "Hey, Timbo." Tim turned around with a smile. "Dick! You're back!" "I am. I'm back for good." "That's good. By the way, Jay stopped by earlier." "He's here?" "Yup. He's in his room." "Perfect. Thanks, Tim!" Dick headed towards Jason's room, knowing the younger didn't visit often.
"Jay!" Dick chuckled as he tackled Jason in a hug, knocking him down. "That hurt." "Not happy to see me?" "I'm happy, but you're on my stomach, and your knee is verging into very dangerous territory." "Oh! Sorry." Dick chuckled again, climbing off of Jason. "Where the hell have you been, Goldie? Bruce wouldn't tell me anything." "I was at the cave. A lot of stuff was going on." "You better explain." "Alright! Just don't kill me." "That depends on how this story goes." "That's fair."
