I know Detective!Dick isn’t a popular trope but man oh man wouldn’t it be hilarious to throw him and Jim Gordon into a fast paced multi-jurisdiction investigation between Gotham, Blüdhaven, and Metropolis where they have to work together and try so so hard not to mention the elephant in the room (Batman, who neither of them are supposed to know) or the other elephant (so far nobody in Blüdhaven PD knows Dick is Bruce Wayne’s son) and yet another elephant (Jim knows Dick is downplaying his detective skills and letting him take the lead) and to round out the herd, one more elephant (he’s still dating Babs but only as Nightwing and Jim can’t threaten Nightwing with a shotgun) and then there’s the crushing realization that they should absolutely be calling Batman but, again, neither of them “know” Batman.
Summary: You leave Gotham behind, abandoning journalism to escape your past and start over in Blüdhaven. However, in a city just as dark and corrupt, you struggle to stay out of the spotlight as old instincts and new dangers draw you back into the life you tried to leave behind.
a/n: I hope you guys will like the prologue
Masterlist
"Can't believe it. You're actually leaving"
It was the first sentence that left your friend's mouth as you were driving your car through the streets at night. The windows were rolled down as the wind hit your face.
It's true, you are leaving.
But it's been long enough. You've stayed for far too long already, even though you never wanted to stay in the first place. But growing up and finding your own path simply took time.
"Thought I was lying?" You asked, your tone playful. It wasn't really a question - it was a challenge. One that invited her to tell the truth, which she usually did whenever she wasn't too busy wrapping a lie wrapped in silk and calling it honesty.
A soft, raspy chuckle was heard through the phone, making the corners of your mouth curl up. It's been a while since you had last seen or even heard her, only leaving each other text messages as life started pulling the both of you away from each other. Or at least tried to.
"You can't blame me for thinking otherwise." Voices and footsteps could be heard through the phone call - people shouting, someone barking directions. You knew that chaos all too well. Her crew had always been energetic, especially before the show even started. "Wouldn't have thought that the old man would just let you leave the city."
Yes, the old man who happened to be your uncle and was more than passionate about his job. "He can't just keep me here forever." A sigh escaped your lips as your eyes remained focused onto the road ahead of you.
It was cold during the night, especially with the windows rolled down, but somehow it soothed a part deep within you. A part you had been trying to calm down for a couple of hours now, but nothing had helped.
"And he shouldn't." Her voice was confident, determined even, but that's how she had always been. For you, she was like a bright, shining star among the night sky. None matched hers as she stood out just like she did on stage. "You're a grown woman, and you get to decide your story, but I'm still mad at you."
"I didn't even do anything!" You scoffed, but your expression was soft, knowing that she was just being dramatic.
"Oh yeah? You sure bout that?" At that, you hummed while nodding your head, even though she couldn't see it as the phone was laying on the seat next to you.
"You could've just joined me on stage again!" Immediately, you started rolling your eyes while the smile on your face remained in it's place. She was a ridiculous woman, sometimes.
"Yeah, and almost break my neck again." The sentence came out a bit blunt, but you couldn't care less as she immediately responded with, "Oh, don't be so dramatic. You only sprained a wrist and twisted your ankle a bit."
"I was also wearing a neck brace for months, Zee."
Zee, or better known as Zatanna Zatara. The best magician you've ever seen and also the only magician you've ever gotten to know, but that's besides the point.
She knows how to do her job very well, but when a performance goes wrong and you get forced to be on stage with none other than Arnie, then it was just bound to end bad.
You don't blame the blonde male for trying his best, but that truly was one of the worst night's you got to experience. "But you looked pretty cute with the neck brace on."
She was lying.
"You told me I looked like a dog, and last time I checked, I don't think that's a compliment."
"Wrong! I called you a puppy." You could practically hear that Zatanna was grinning from ear to ear. Her perfect pearly whites out as the dark magenta probably made them look even whiter than usual.
"That makes it so much better, Zee. Thanks."
She is a great friend, even though the two of you would always find a way to tease each other about something.
It had all started with you meeting Andre while the whole crew was on tour. The tall black male who just happened to pull you into a life full of adventure for a couple of months, during which you had been trying to find a new story.
Something to grasp, something that would make the readers stand up from the couch and hang off of every single word you published.
And Andre was the start of it all.
Just one good conversation and suddenly you ended up backstage a couple of days later, watching everyone run in all kinds of directions, either fixing lights or putting the stage setups tightly into place.
You remembered the day well. It was pure chaos as everyone was complaining about the fact that the Magician was still not there, with only two minutes left until the performance needed to start. Then, in the blink of an eye later, she appeared.
You still can't wrap your head around how she did it, and whenever you asked, she'd just tell you that a magician never reveals their secrets.
"How much longer?" The question immediately pulled you out of your daydreaming, making your curse internally as you had even forgotten that she was still on the phone.
"Should only be a couple of minutes, but there was traffic in Gotham, which made me a bit late."
Gotham City.
A massive metropolis with dramatic skylines, stupidly wealthy districts and huge mansions that a person could only dream about. People expected you to be obsessed with all the wealthy districts, but you started to resend them after some time.
The rich didn't care. They had everything they needed, and whatever happened beyond the walls of their estates simply didn't matter. Everything was better with money because that's all you need.
Friends and family? They didn't matter because money buys you the happiness you need, and you knew that better than anyone. You had seen it and experienced it yourself.
"Just don't fall asleep while driving, Pennyworth," she called out to you as you huffed and replied with "I can barely even sleep in a bed, Zee."
Pennyworth.
A surname you've broken your head over more times than you can even begin to count. Trustworthy, loyal, meticulous, selfless and perfect. That's what everyone thought of the Pennyworth family.
But none of it is as it seems.
Because with perfection comes sacrifice. Alfred Pennyworth knows that better than anyone else, but you did too.
You experienced it all.
The care, the love, the worry, but also the negligence and strictness that ruined it all. It didn't matter what he did good, when all of it was just for Bruce.
Your uncle, Alfred, had been taking care of you for years now, and you were grateful for everything he did for you, but none of it takes away the negligence you faced.
"Are you okay, canım?" Zatanna's voice was laced with worry, which she tried to hide, but you heard through it, you always did.
Zatanna was an like an open book once you got to know her. You could see through her, but some things were just meant to stay in the author's mind. It was easy to tell when she was worried, her face and voice always betraying her, but the perfect lies she'd tell you shielded every truth because within magic there is always a lie.
"I'm alright." You couldn't help the hoarsness of your voice as it seeped through your sentence, and nonetheless you continued "Still calling me 'canım'?"
She let out a laugh under her breath. "Yes, and I'll continue calling you that." It always bewildered you how Zatanna was fine with calling you that.
It should only be reserved for her mother to call her that. From what she had told you, Sindella used it as a nickname. A rough translation for it would be something like 'my soul' or 'my beloved.' Such a short word with such intimate and warm meaning just didn't deserve to belong to you. Especially not out of Zatanna's lips.
The darkness of the night made the light from your phone's display stand out as you started driving slower and picked up the phone to quickly glance at the message.
Uncle
Stay safe in Blüdhaven, my dear.
You immediately threw the phone back into the passenger seat as your right hand left the steering wheel to softly press against your temples while your eyes focused on the sign above.
“dick grayson is a rich kid” “dick grayson is a cop”
you mean the dick grayson who spent the first 9ish years of his life in a traveling circus? who probably lived in a trailer? who was put in juvie for weeks after being orphaned? who was likely taught not to trust cops?
you mean the dick grayson who refused to use bruce’s money once he left the manor? who lived in a shitty apartment in Blüdhaven and worked a job to afford it? who is very independent from bruce?
you mean the dick grayson who saw firsthand the corruption in both gotham and blüdhaven’s police department? who became a vigilante to do what the cops couldn’t/wouldn’t do?
you mean the dick grayson who, after becoming a millionaire (from alfred’s inheritance), gave all of that money to charity? that dick grayson?
I don't see enough people talking about what the Chemo attack on Blüdhaven must have done, as just everything was going wrong for Bruce and his boys that night.
For starters, Bruce is already fighting his dead/ressurected son who came back as a crime-lord villain who has been blowing up so, so many goons/criminals in Gotham for a while.
Then he sees Blüdhaven explode in front of his very eyes, and Jason then taunts Bruce, saying that Dick must be dead and insists on forcing Bruce to choose between killing Jason and killing the Joker not 2 minutes later. Bruce, as we all know, refuses to allow either, and stops Jason with a Batarang to the neck/shoulder, depending on your angst factor (or possibly aiming for Joker, but Joker moves and gets it to hit Jason on purpose/by accident ymmv).
(Batman 1940 #650)
And then, after all of that, the Joker sets off some explosives, surely killing Jason/the Joker (This makes the second explosion the Joker is going to no-clip his way out of, and Jason's learned that skill this time as well)
(Batman 1940 #650)
But wait! There's more! I know in the Batman comic they only mention Bruce being concerned for Dick, but Tim was living in Blüdhaven at the time too! Tim was fresh off of his father/girlfriend dying and didn't want to be adopted by Bruce, so he invented a fake Uncle Eddie (hiring an actor to play the role) and moved to Blüdhaven, where his comatose step-mother was being treated. Tim is only out of the city at the time of the explosion because the Titans came and said something was wrong with Conner, so they needed to leave to help save him. On their way out of the city in their jet, they only get far enough to avoid the blast, but not far enough that they avoid the resulting shockwaves as it renders their navigational systems offline, and likely their comms too. So not far enough that Bruce, who has been chasing Jason and Black Mask all night, could reasonably be aware of this fact.
(Robin 1993 #147)
So Dick and Tim very well could have been in that explosion and then Jason gets exploded! Amazing! That's 3 for 3 remaining Robins possibly killed in an explosion in one single hour.
We have no idea where Jason gets to, but we'll assume that he is unable to find the body because of the new no-clipping into the backrooms skill Jason must have (Jason was meant to die here, again. In another explosion set off by the Joker, so Bruce will have to assume Jason is dead even if he turns up alive later. How? Who the fuck knows).
Speaking of ol' Richard "Dick" Grayson, aka Nightwing, how is old boy wonder doing? Well, he's been having a rough go of it the past six months, between Blockbuster targeting him and destroying everything he cares about, Tarantula killing Blockbuster after successfully convincing him to just let her kill Blockbuster (while he walks away and has a panic attack...and...other things happen...TW: SA if you look it up), and then basically playing "suicide by cop" through the job following that and being a double agent of the group that just nuked Blüdhaven, uh...he is straight-up not having a good time by the time Chemo blows up Blüdhaven, and he's only getting worse. He tries to go to the center of the explosion, and Superman, fortunately, arrives on the scene to save Nightwing and put him up on the shelf to avoid dying (I love how Superman keeps trying to save Nightwing from himself in this era and Nightwing is just...no, thank you).
(Nightwing 1996 #116)
Unfortunately, this is the "Flying Grayson" himself, so no shelf is high enough to prevent Dick from going in there, and his mental state is so bad that certain death while saving others is probably more tempting to him at the moment than a deterrent. He "Duly Noted"s his way back into Blüdhaven, helps get the police to control the panicking crowds of survivors towards an escape route, saves the few remaining friends Blockbuster didn't kill recently, and goes directly into the most radioactive area of Blüdhaven to try and save some rouge who might have been there. We see Superman fighting Chemo's core in the background throughout his rescue attempts, so Dick's close the entire time to this heavy radiation. Dick notes that this is the first time he's able to breathe easy in months, saving people from the ruins. He's eventually taken out as a door explodes with the Chemo green gasses while trying to locate the rogue while reflecting on his recent failures.
(Nightwing 1996 #116)
I do think the appearance of Batman as Dick passes out isn't real, Bruce was in Gotham, either reeling from the explosion or looking for Jason or something. There's no way he got to Blüdhaven already, and the legs of Batman are hazy, blending into the smoke.
I also think after Chemo is stopped that Bruce probably still hasn't heard anything about Nightwing, because I don't imagine he took the time and resources to call the Veteran in a communications blackout (who has been historically trying to poach Batman's Robins, and nearly got Tim killed trying to convince Tim to leave Batman and join up his forces. Batman and the Veteran are not on good terms, is what I'm saying) just for Tim's step-mother and fake uncle.
(Robin 1993 #147)
By this time, he is talking about Tim as if he's alive, so he's probably gotten something from the Titans base confirming that Tim's alright, so he's gotta be taking the time and effort to call the Veteran for Dick.
Bruce, being Bruce, gets into a fight with Dick as soon as Dick is brought back to the Batcave and wakes up, while Dick is being treated for severe radiation poisoning/burns. I am willing to forgive this because he's had a time of it, even if he's being hostile and pissy and unsupportive. Definitely not winning the Father of the Year award for this, I'm afraid (Worst Father of the Year award is going to Deathstroke, for embedding a known radioactive carcingenic material into his daughter's eye, but Bruce is in the running for this and Jason).
(Nightwing 1996 #117)
I am awarding this to Bruce for trying to reassure Dick.
But. Anyway. Yeah.
Rough night for everyone involved. Absolutely everything going wrong all at once.
