Cereta's Web: Interlude II: Motion for Discovery

Interlude II: Motion for Discovery
by Lucy Gillam

Text of Poster for Haley's Circus

For a limited time only!

Haley's Circus is proud to present:

Dick Grayson and his quadruple spin of DOOM!

~~~

The kid was waiting for him in the Central City Arena parking lot after the show.

Okay, this is new, Dick thought.

It wasn't terribly uncommon for someone to be there, although it was usually a woman or three. The pretty ones could usually talk someone into telling them which car was his. How a boy who was maybe fifteen, if that, had managed would be interesting to know if Dick weren't so tired.

The boy was looking around in obvious anxiety. If he were accompanied by an adult, that person was nowhere to be seen.

"Something I can do for you?" Dick asked lightly.

The boy moved his weight back and forth from one foot to the other, and finally blurted out, "You were really good."

Oh, God. He knew he was being promoted as the closest thing the circus had to a sex symbol, and he'd gone along with it in the name of ticket sales, but if he started attracting jailbait, he was really going to have to talk to Pop Haley about the promotional materials. And maybe about security.

"Thanks," he said, knowing his obligations. "I'm glad you enjoyed the show."

He waited for the kid to say something, ask for an autograph, maybe (and how weird was it to be signing his real name after so long?), say he had to go meet his parents, something. Instead, the kid just shuffled a bit more, darting sidelong looks at Dick.

Okay, there were ways out of this. "So, are your parents nearby?"

Not smooth ways, maybe, but ways.

The kid shook his head. "They're not here this time."

"This time?"

"Oh. I've seen you before. We met, even. You probably don't remember me, though."

Dick frowned. He'd only been performing for five weeks, and while he didn't remember every single person he'd interacted with in that time, he was pretty sure he'd remember meeting this kid, if for no other reason than because he looked a bit like Dick himself had at that age. Then again, circus attendees' definition of "meet" often included things like "you waved at me."

"Which city?" he asked.

"Gotham." Dick's shock must have shown on his face, because the kid added hastily, "It was a long time ago."

"Yeah," Dick replied faintly. Avoiding Gotham had been one of his absolute demands to Pop Haley for agreeing to perform for the six months it would take to get the new team up to speed. Aside from the fact that the whole point of this little adventure was to get away from there, there was no way he was flying in Gotham again. Ever. Not in front of a crowd.

He looked at the kid again. The circus had gone to Gotham every year until his parents' death, so it wasn't as if it had to be that night the kid was talking about. On the other hand, given the kid's apparent age…

"You were there the night…?"

The kid was also apparently not stupid, because he nodded. "Yeah. I never forgot it. You were amazing that night, too. We met just before the show. I have a picture."

Dick nodded absently. He wished he could say he remembered the kid, but in truth, he remembered almost nothing about that day but seeing his parents fall.

"Anyway, I saw on the internet you were with the circus again, and, so…" The kid shrugged. "You were really good."

With considerable effort, Dick pulled himself back to the present. "Thanks, um…" he made the universal facial expression for "Name, please?"

"Tim."

"Tim. So, who are you here with? We should get you back to them."

"Oh, I'm by myself. It's okay; I have a room at the hotel next door."

"You have a… You're traveling on your own?" The kid's clothes were too neat and clean for him to have been wearing them for more than a day, so the likelihood that he had just run away from somewhere was small, but who the heck let their kid travel unsupervised at this age just to see the circus? Okay, except for maybe catburglers, but that was different.

"Oh, I do it all the time. It's no big deal. My parents are gone a lot for their work."

"And they know you're here?"

"Well." Tim smiled in the way only teenagers who know they're about to be clever about a rule can. "They don't know I'm here, but they know I can take care of myself."

"Uh-huh." For one of the few times in his life, Dick was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say to something like that? Sure, he'd seen worse, much worse, from parents, even ones who could afford the kind of clothes the kid was wearing. Didn't make it right.

"You know," he said as lightly as he could. "It seems to me that if you're able to get yourself here, you should be able to get yourself to wherever your parents are. Might be fun." Might also shake the parents into paying a little attention.

Tim shrugged, but he was still smiling. "Maybe."

"Think about it. Anyway, it's been great meeting you, um, again, but I'm really beat, and we leave early tomorrow, so…"

"Oh, yeah, of course. Sorry. I'll go. I just wanted to… You were really great, Dick."

"Thanks, Tim."

The kid headed toward the garage stairs, turning back once to wave. Dick wondered if he should have walked the kid to the hotel, but it was a brightly lit area, and if what Tim said was true, he was probably plenty self-sufficient. And really, Dick had been doing a lot more at midnight at his age than walking across a street.

Dick got into his car and leaned back on the headrest with a sigh. He'd managed so far to keep the memories of his parents in perspective, if not entirely at bay. He had a feeling he wasn't going to be sleeping well tonight, exhaustion or no. Not the kid's fault, of course. He could imagine seeing such a thing so young would leave quite an impression.

Strange kid. Nice enough, but strange.

He pulled himself together and started his car. If he had a sleepless night ahead of him, there were better ways to spend it than in an arena parking garage.

~~~

Headline of the Gotham Gazette, Metro Section

Martha Wayne School for Wayward Youth Opens

Just nine months after the now notorious Gunn School for Boys closed, after evidence supplied by Batman led to the director's arrest on multiple charges stemming from the use of children in criminal activity, many of the school's former residents have a new home in a school funded by the Wayne Foundation.

"Martha Wayne was a great champion of the children of Gotham," said Dr. Leslie Thompkins, director of the East Side Clinic and former partner of Dr. Thomas Wayne. "She would be so pleased to see this effort to help those children whom others have given up on."

In addition to being on the school's advisory board, Dr. Thompkins has herself adopted one of the Gunn school's former residents, saying she hoped others would follow her own example as well as the Wayne Foundation's.

"I don't believe any child is past hope."

The school ultimately will house and educate as many as…

~~~

"Hey, did you hear about Batman?"

When he first heard Watson talking to the other riggers a few feet away, Dick almost sighed. Really, couldn't he get away from the man, even clear across the country? Okay, in fairness, he'd only heard a few things in the seven months since he'd left Gotham, mostly big, earth-shattering, JLA kinds of stuff that tended to make the news. And okay, he'd picked up the odd issue of the Gotham Gazette here and there. But a few mentions in seven months wasn't really that much.

Which reminded him that it was probably time for another of his bi-weekly meetings with Pop Haley about Why Dickie Really Needed to Stay for One More City, the meetings they'd been having ever since he fulfilled his six-month promise. He would probably let himself be talked into a couple more, although he really needed to leave soon. If nothing else, sooner or later someone was going to put the timing of Haley's Circus's performances together with his other activities. He'd mostly behaved himself, but really, it wasn't as if the circus was paying him. In fact, he'd quietly funneled a fair amount of money into the circus's operations. Still, it wouldn't be fair to bring that kind of trouble down on Pop Haley's head.

Or his own, for that matter.

"--might actually be dead."

Dick's head snapped up, and he looked at the small gathering of riggers. Trustworthy enough men in their own right (he trusted them with his life, anyway, or as much as he could while still inspecting every inch of the trapeze set-up), but their backgrounds were not always the most savory. But then, neither was his, and they often knew things that were useful to him.

"No way," Morris was saying. "No way someone actually took out the Bat."

"All I know is my cousin Lenny said this McAllister was bragging that he'd shot him point-blank."

"No, man," Morris insisted. "I lived in Gotham for two years, and I'm telling you… Hey, Grayson," he yelled over to Dick. "You lived in Gotham, right?"

"On and off, yeah." Dick was proud of how steady he managed to keep his voice.

"Tell these guys: no way some mook took out Batman."

Dick forced a smile. "No way," he said, hoping very much that he was right.

Okay, he told himself. You have a show to get through tonight. And for crying out loud, he's Batman. He doesn't need you running back to Gotham to make sure he's okay. You've been through this once before; there's only so much you can do.

And it would be inaccurate to say he regretted not trying to help Speedy. Okay, sometimes, but the other boy had resurfaced after a two-year absence from public view seemingly all right, even had a new name these days, so that was all right. Mostly.

So there was no need for him to hurry back to Gotham. Yes, he'd been thinking about going back soon anyway, but there was no hurry. And he wasn't going back for Batman.

He wasn't.

Maybe there was time to find a newsstand before the show.

~~~

Inset Headline of the Gotham Gazette

Where is Batman?

Several high-profile crimes and a two-week absence of sightings have some Gotham City residents worried that the Batman might have abandoned Gotham, or worse, be incapacitated in some way. Police are refusing to comment, saying only that they have no knowledge of his whereabouts.

The last known sighting of Batman was on…

~~~

Selina was not commenting.

Of course, Dick had learned a long time ago that Selina not commenting was actually not as good a sign as he might think. And he could tell by the way she was sitting in his favorite chair, legs delicately crossed, newspaper resting on her lap, that there was plenty she wasn't saying.

"Was your flight okay?" she asked, not looking up from the paper.

"Bumpy over Nebraska, but otherwise fine," he answered. There was coffee waiting in the pot, and he poured himself a large mug, wondering if she'd also brought milk. He checked the fridge. Of course she had.

"Well, what can you expect of Nebraska?" she asked in that same absent tone that he knew was a sham.

"Corn?"

That earned him a small smile. Just a small one, though.

"Thought you might like to see the paper. Interesting headline." She folded the paper up and handed it to him.

Batman Sighted! it screamed.

Well. That was just typical. He'd worried on it for five days, until even Pop Haley noticed his distraction and said that if whatever he was worried about needed his attention, really, you should go, Dickie, we'll be fine.

He didn't bother acting blasé or denying that he'd known Batman was missing in action. She'd see through it, anyway. Of course, that left him very little to say. "Oh."

Selina sighed. "Sweetie..." She looked at him for another long moment, and then ruffled his hair. "Just be careful, okay?"

He smiled. "Always."

~~~

Inset Headline of the Gotham Gazette

Does Gotham Have a new Masked Vigilante?

Just two days after Batman's reappearance, rumors of another masked vigilante have surfaced. Three dock workers reported being attacked by a masked woman Thursday night. One man was allegedly shot in the leg with a small arrow, and another suffered a broken arm. All three men were treated for bruises and other mild injuries.

Upon arriving at the scene, police reportedly found evidence of a drug shipment. The injured men, however, are claiming that their attacker planted the evidence. No word has yet been released on whether charges will be pressed.

Gino Andolini was the most severely injured of the men…

~~~

Really, it was typical of the man not to be where he was wanted, let alone to turn up in the papers perfectly healthy after worrying…well, Dick, Dick reflected a week after he returned to Gotham, as he eased the window of the vacant apartment shut.

At least tonight was going well. The store was easy enough to break into, the haul pretty good all things considered, and the rain that had kept most of Gotham inside was finally letting up, making getting back to the roof of the building much easier.

So why did there have to be some woman in a mask waiting for him?

She just stood there as Dick pulled himself all the way onto the roof. He hadn't seen her before, although in fairness he did his best to avoid people in masks that weren't his partner. This one looked like she was about his age, maybe a year or two older (although Selina had once pointed out that fabric around the eyes hid a multitude of sins), dressed in a combination of black and purple that looked faintly religious. Of course, that could just be the gold cross.

For a long moment, they just stood, looking at each other.

"You're stealing," she finally said flatly.

Dick pondered a response to that. "Well…yeah."

She glared at him. "That store is used to launder money for the Panessa family."

"No, the store next to it used to launder money for the Panessa family. The purse store. I was stealing from the coin and hobby store." Really, how stupid did she think he was? The mob had forgotten Catwoman's early thefts, and neither of them were eager to bring that kind of attention down on them again. "So, if you're here to beat up thieves for them or something, you might want to double-check your facts first."

"I'm not with them!" she spat.

"Ah. Well, in that case, if you'll excuse me…" Dick started to walk to the right. His planned route home actually took him to the building behind her, but a detour would be fine.

She moved quickly to block his way.

"What? Look, if you're looking for a cut or something, trust me, what I've got's not worth the effort."

The woman shook her head. "I'm not letting you leave. You may not be one of them, but you're still a criminal."

Comprehension dawned. "Oh, hell. Look, lady, don't you know we only have one masked vigilante in this town? Really, it's one of Gotham's defining features."

"Now it has two."

"Really? You run that by Batman yet?"

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because she launched herself at him, fists flying. He managed to duck the first and block the second, but even the impact with his arm hurt.

"Ow." He managed to spin around into a kick, but she dodged, and he only caught the edge of her hip. "Nice moves," he said, and was rewarded with a boot sailing towards his head.

He ducked and rolled, flipping back onto the roof's edge. Okay, not much for banter. She had that in common with Batman.

Who was, at this very moment, landing on the roof.

And it had been such a good night.

Before he could say anything, the woman had rounded to face Batman. "I don't need your help."

"I wasn't offering it. We've had this conversation. You are not going to do this."

"You don't get to decide that!"

"Yes, I do."

As the woman shouted her reply, Dick looked around and tossed a jumpline. It didn't look like Batman was going to be looking his way any time soon, anyway. "Well," he said quietly, "since you two are busy, I'll just…" He swung off the building.

He had a feeling he wouldn't be seeing the woman again. Not in a mask, anyway. Gotham only had one masked crimefighter, and it was going to stay that way.

Typical.