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Primary Location: Bludhaven
Secondary Location: Titan's Tower

Nightwing 2

Chapter Five

Unabridged – 2000

By Kat Richard

Kat@Bludhaven.net

"Grayson!" The loud voice bellowed through the halls of the Bludhaven Police Department. "It’s about time you got back."

Dick looked up to see the six foot, eight inch wall of muscle dressed in police blues walking towards him and couldn’t help but smile. The man had to duck at every entryway due to his almost freakish size. He was quite encumbered by his surrounds, but you couldn’t tell by his attitude, he moved with grace and ease.

Captain Ross Black gave the much smaller man a grin that creased his tan, leathered skin. "Like a damn hole in the head, boy." He stuck out his hand, and Dick shook it gratefully, wincing only slightly at the firm hold locked around his wrist.

Dick and the new head of the Bludhaven PD had hit if off immediately. When Black arrived several months ago from Dallas, Texas to take over the department, Dick figured him another stooge brought in to continue the onslaught of devious acts of the corrupt force. The man was only thirty-two years old, after all. He had climbed through the ranks too quickly. Most figured strings had been pulled, but Dick now knew it was because of an intense respect for his father, an ungodly amount of hard work and an IQ that would make Einstein sit up and take notice.

Black came through the front door the first time with a cowboy hat covering his blonde tipped brown hair and a boisterous, overbearing air that Dick figured was going to hinder his own efforts to turn the PD around. Surprisingly, Black was on the right side of the fence and let everyone know it without question. He bulldozed most of the unwanted out of the front lines; immediately placing them on traffic patrol or some menial guard duty, holding down a stool and a metal detector.

He then proceeded with a strategic attack on the higher-ranking bad seeds that had gotten past his first wave of taking control due to connections to the DA’s office or protection from the Mayor’s office. The man could not be pushed around physically and could not be taken advantage of with bribery or threats. He was incorruptibly virtuous, something that was extremely rare in the Haven, and it was making a difference.

Dick responded to Black’s efforts quickly, seeing a light at the end of his own tunnel. He began to anonymously back the Captain up in every way possible, lending a hand when in costume and in uniform. However, to his disappointment, Nightwing was still averted from being formally introduced to the new head of the force in a face to face capacity. With the elated memories of Jim Gordon floating in his mind, Dick was finding himself overconfident and extremely excited about the future meeting.

"How’s that friend of yours?" Black asked with true concern in his voice. "The one in the wheelchair."

"Great. Walking now, in fact. I brought her back with me." The gleam in Dick’s eyes didn’t go unnoticed by Black. "You’ll have to meet her sometime." Dick offered.

"Oh, yea? Is she a hot little filly?"

"Hot and taken. She’s for lookin’ not touchin’, so keep you hands off." Dick said, making fun of his boss’ deep southern drawl.

Black laughed loudly, and the sound echoed off of the ceiling causing several brand new rookies to scatter and flee to the locker room. "Alright, alright. Damn, gotten a little touchy on vacation, haven’t ya? Besides, my old lady would have my hide nailed to the barn if I so much as glanced sideways at another." Black’s eyes narrowed on his friend. "Now that’s a woman you gotta meet," he said with a wink as he turned away. "Prettiest little thing on either side of the Mississippi, and she is meaner than the wildest stallion in the coral. Remind me to introduce you, Grayson."

Black cheerfully strolled down the hallway until he came to his office. He turned and ducked inside as Dick shook his head in reluctant elation.

__________

"540 Elena Drive." Oracle spoke their current position aloud with a slight hint of her disdain as she walked through the charred remnants of the apartment. What they had found so far could only be classified as incorporeal at best. The explosion had cleared the entire room except for the support beams, taking out two walls and opening the room into the next door apartments. Looking through the breach in the walls, she could see the burnt debris that had been forcefully blown through to the next room and piled up against the far wall. She glanced over at Nightwing and he nodded.

"I would say we could look at the lab results and report from the PD, but from the looks of things they were never here."

"Want me to take samples?"

He shook his head. "No, it would be useless. From what you told me about the timer and the igniter, I already know we won’t get anything from tracing the bomb assembly. It was just something basic that any psychotic hijacker could have thrown together. He glanced back at the missing wall. "But the force of it was phenomenal. Plastique or better. It was put here for a reason, now all we have to do is figure out what that was?"

Oracle looked around the room carefully for the second time, when she came up with nothing once again she checked the time on her communicator. It was four in the morning. "We need to go." She said abruptly.

He turned to her in question. She had been acting strange all evening. "Late for a hot date?"

"Maybe." She said with a raised eyebrow. "Jealous?"

As he crossed the room to stand before her a sly grin took his lips and a mischievous glint came to his eyes. When his lips were a moment away from hers he breathed, "insanely" before pressing his mouth to hers.

__________

"Grayson, I got somethin’ for ya."

Dick was happy to have some work to do. It was his second day back, and Bludhaven had been unusually quiet for some reason. Barbara had protested but finally gave into his request to see a doctor after her fall. She had left early in the morning for the drive to Gotham and was probably at Leslie’s clinic by now.

Dick was having trouble keeping his mind straight and off of her. He needed something to keep him preoccupied. "Somethin’ good?" he asked standing to meet Black.

The tall man handed him a file folder. "Two dead bodies, burned beyond. Found in an abandoned apartment building early this morning."

Dick opened the file folder and stared down at the crime scene photos of the barely recognizable bodies lying in ashes. "Anything to go on yet?"

"Nothin’"

Dick flipped through the folder. "No problem. I’ll grab Perez, and we’ll head on over to…" Dick’s eyes narrowed as he read the address from the police report in his hands. "540 Elena Drive."

__________

"The fall was bad, wasn’t it?"

"Bad enough." Barbara said to Leslie as she entered the doctor’s office. Leslie closed the door and locked it behind her, then joined Barbara at her desk.

"Did Dr. Bin Laden get a hold of you?" Barbara asked once the woman was seated and comfortable.

"Yes, I have conferred with him and several members of his staff in Egypt. I am very pleased with what he had to tell me." Leslie looked up from the chart in her hands and gave Barbara a teasing smile. "You know, I was extremely worried when you first brought the idea of spinal rejuvenation to me. I had many doubts, but you seem to have made very sound judgement."

Barbara stood and walked to the window. "It took so many years of research. So much money to undo what that mad man did. It wasn’t an easy decision." She became quiet, and Leslie let her have her moment. Finally, the young red head turned back to the doctor with a smile. "But I have my legs back now and…" She came to the desk and took the doctor’s hand. "Oh, Leslie. I can’t tell you how good I feel when I wake up in the morning and feel them. It’s like being reborn every single day." She said with an exultant smile. "Dick thinks I am so funny when I begin to giggle for no apparent reason."

Leslie smiled at the thought of the young couple and their new life together. "How is Dick?"

Barbara’s eyes brightened, as did her smile. "He’s wonderful."

Leslie nodded. "And what does he think of all of this?"

Barbara’s smile faded slightly. She moved around the desk and sat in the chair before looking at Leslie again. "He’s worried."

"He shouldn’t agonize over it. There are no guarantees in life. Surgery of any type—"

"I haven’t told him yet, Leslie." Barbara interrupted.

"What?" She said, immediately losing her elated mood.

"He worries about me, my spine, my legs. We haven’t spoken about the surgery very much. I never seem to be able to find the words or the right time."

"He has to know, Barbara."

"I know. And he will as soon as I figure out how to tell him."

"Barbara, this is too important to keep from him for too long. If—"

"Don’t say it." Barbara said flatly. Her eyes burned slightly with unshed tears but she kept her emotions in check. She knew exactly what was at stake here and didn’t need to be reminded of it. Her entire life’s happiness lay in the aftermath of a surgery she probably never should have taken a chance on. But the gains out weighed the losses. A future with Dick was all that mattered. Her disability had stood in the way of them for so long. She had wanted her legs back not just for herself, but for their love.

She glanced at Leslie and stated flatly, "This will be my salvation. I cannot go back to that chair."

Leslie thought well of the girl’s determination, but not of her mental state. She was worried that Barbara had put to much importance on being paralyzed from the waist down and not enough importance on what she still possessed above her disability. A heart capable of intense love and an intelligence level that would make anyone envious. But she knew all too well of the psychological effects that happened to extremely active people who had paralysis thrust upon them. It would be better to deal with this another time.

"So how have things been going in Blüdhaven?"

Barbara smiled. "Wonderful. I have been looking for a job religiously, and I have my eyes set on one in-particular."

Leslie laughed as she looked into the woman’s eyes and saw the excitement of a child in them. "Alright then, let’s have a look at you so you can get back out there." She said, gesturing to the examination table.

__________

When Barbara got back to her apartment after the drive back from Gotham it was late in the evening. She grabbed a cup of coffee then immediately sat down on the sofa, grabbing her keyboard and com-set. The system began to boot up as she took the first sip of creamy caffeine. By the time half of the cup was gone, Oracle was online.

Once the satellite link connected, she turned on the GPS, and it zeroed in on a small blue dot on a wide city grid. She quickly minimized the grid until she was able to make out the cross streets of her moving target. "J55." She said with a smile. She minimized the GPS grid, and maximized the satellite video link. When the picture from the 500 mile orbiting camera began to zoom in on Blüdhaven through the clouds, Babs hit the "push to call" button on the keyboard. Her eyes watched the zoom come down and the vivid detail of the evening come into play on the large screen. Her earpiece staticed and she knew she was up. "Well, well. Taking a stroll through the park, are we?"

Nightwing released his cable and gave a laugh as he tumbled into the trees. "Spying on me again, huh?"

"That’s my job, former Boy Wonder." When she lost him in the trees she immediately turned the video feed to infrared and watched his maroon form progress through the trees. "So what is on the vigilante agenda this evening?" She inquired, her eyes locked on him as she took another sip of coffee.

"Well, first I thought I would take down a few bad guys…" He said softly as he stalked through the brush. "Then maybe a moonlit swim through shark infested waters…" He squatted down when he heard the voices of the men he was looking for. "After that, I thought maybe I’d iron my tights."

She laughed softly. "Can’t you ever be serious?" She said as she watched the screen carefully.

"Only when I’m with you, bat babe."

"Cute. Behind you."

Nightwing turned and ducked, barely managing to avoid the bat that made a rushing sound as it parted the air above his head. The thick end of the aluminum weapon hit the tree he had been hiding behind and made a loud echoing tone that sang through the trees. A sweeping kick to the knees took his attacker off his feet. Within a minute the man lay unconscious in the fallen leaves the early autumn season had left behind. "Done." He said with satisfaction as he stared down at the man lying before him.

"Ummm… got some bad news for you."

Nightwing laughed. "Shoot."

"You’re surrounded."

He looked up to see that the same group of shadowy figures he had been tailing into the park now circled him. A small smile came to his face as he realized he was going to get a little exercise this evening.

Barbara quickly switched the infrared filter off and pulled back to percentages to see a larger view of the park. In her earpiece she heard the grunts and groans of the men, as Nightwing worked his magic.

"Is this gonna take long?" She asked with a slight twinge of boredom.

"Just one more…" She heard a cracking sound then another cry. "Okay, what!" He said impatiently.

"Well, you don’t have to be so obtuse about it. I just wanted to know if a truck leaving the east side of the park in a big hurry would interest you."

Nightwing laughed as he leapt over the pile of unconscious bodies and took off in a hard run to the east. "An angel, you are an angel!"

Barbara laughed as she watched him move across the screen. When a small red warning light illuminated in the corner of the screen her fingers flew over the keyboard quickly. She minimized one video feed and pulled up another just in time to see Nightwing and the truck pull into the view in the J56 grid of midtown Blüdhaven.

"Babs, I’m not gonna make it. I’m losing it. If they cross the river it’s over."

"I’m on it." She said as her fingers again began to work the keyboard. She quickly interfaced with the Causeway Bridge Master’s computer. She wined through the circuits until she linked to the bridge controls.

Nightwing shot out a jumpline to the steeple of the church. He left the ground with the truck in view but a great distance away and turning onto Barker Avenue. The bridge was five city blocks away. He definitely was not going to be able to catch them. Just when he was about to make a highly dangerous maneuver he heard a sound that was heaven to his ears.

The ringing of the bells that sounded the bridge opening. He looked ahead and saw the red flashing caution lights begin to flash and the candy cane cross bars lowing to close off the entrance. The bridge slowly began to rise and Nightwing laughed as he said, "Oracle, I love you, you know that?"

"Sure do. Now go get’em!"

"They’re as good as got." He laughed.

__________

Barbara waited anxiously for Nightwing to return. She had listened to the police scanner and knew that the truck had been towed over an hour ago. She had been pacing the carpet ever since knowing the inevitable was coming. It was time for her to tell Dick everything. She had thought about it during the ride home from Gotham and figured Leslie to be right. Things were going too far and soon she would be beyond the point of return. Telling him later would jeopardize all that they had together. Besides, he deserved to know everything.

"Dick… my spine." Barbara said aloud. "no, no… start off with something a little more up beat. Like, oh by the way remember the surgery I had?" She began to pace again as a small ill feeling took her stomach. The possibility of losing her legs again did not bother her half as much as the thought of losing him. She had fallen in love with Dick so long ago and they had wasted so much time already. She did not want them to waste any more. She sighed heavily as the weight of everything she was carrying made her shoulders slump. "I guess I could just always to with the old stand by… Dick, we need to talk."

"About what?" he asked as he stepped though the opening of the bookshelf.

Barbara spun around and straightened in her surprise of his appearance. "Umm…"

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