Investigation - August 21st
Twisted Shorts August Fic-a-Day Challenge - Day 21
Title: Investigation
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/DCAU
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or DCAU people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Dick looks out for his family
Notes: Part 6 of Not So Orphaned Summer
Seasons: Post-“Gift”
Word Count: 1760
Summer checked the mirror as the gray morning light filtered through the window. There were scrapes on her arms and a bruise on her right side. The creepy scarecrow had done little damage. Enough to prove he was dangerous and deranged.
A knock at the door made her jump. “I’ll be out in a minute,” she called as she rushed to dress. She pulled on a long-sleeved shirt. She took a last look at the mirror, verifying there were no visible signs she was injured. A few hours more and it would be completely gone.
She rushed to the door, pulling it open. On the other side stood a guy, black haired with blue-green eyes. He was just shy of six foot.
She stepped back, instinctually falling into a fighting stance.
The guy grinned. “Well, I see the family resemblance.”
Bruce peered around the doorframe. He observed her before letting out an amused chuckle.
Summer relaxed a measure.
“Summer, this is Dick Grayson,” Bruce introduced them. “Dick, this is Summer Wayne.”
She grinned and gave him a small wave. “Hi.” While there were not any current pictures of Dick, it was easy to see where the scrawny fourteen year old would become the guy before her. “I didn’t recognize you.”
Dick dismissed her tone. “Never apologize for being ready to defend yourself. Bruce throws people across the room if they wake him.”
“Not Alfred,” Bruce said defensively.
“That’s because he’s been avoiding your swings since you were a kid.”
Bruce made no immediate argument for that. Instead, he turned to Summer. “Are you just getting up?’
She looked at the clock and winced. “I don’t have much to do these days, guess I’m losing track of time.” The truth was that the adrenaline rush of fighting had affected her younger body in an unusual way. She had crashed as soon as she had returned to her bed.
“Why don’t we see what Alfred has made for breakfast?” Dick suggested.
They all headed downstairs to find Alfred had gone out of his way to not just make more food, but all of Dick’s favorites.
“I think he missed you,” Summer commented as she took her seat.
“Maybe just a little,” Dick admitted as he grabbed the tongs for the sausage. “So what did you do for Halloween?”
Summer shrugged. “Nothing much.” She scooped some eggs beside her waffles. “Where have you been?”
“Staying with some friends in Jump City.”
She frowned. “Jump City…why does that sound familiar?”
“It’s in California,” Bruce supplied. “Maybe you’ve been there?”
“No. I read something about it recently,” she tapped her finger against the table in thought. She shook her head. “Oh well, it’ll come back to me.”
“Are you in school?” Dick asked.
“Uh, no. School and I are un-mixy things.”
“She’ll start next fall,” Bruce said. “Once the…intrigue around her diminishes some.”
“You’re going to wait almost a year?” Dick said in surprise.
“I have no records,” she pointed out.
“None?”
“Just the missing person’s report from the hospital and whatever after-action report Superman sent a copy of,” Bruce explained. “As well as a blood test confirming she’s my daughter.”
“So, you’ll be getting her all those papers.”
“And through testing prove she is competent to start the seventh grade with her peers.”
“Don’t put too much stock in that,” Summer told him. “Again, un-mixy.”
“You definitely sound like you’re from California,” Dick noted with a grin.
Summer thought that was a dig at her vocabulary, but she could not say he was wrong. She knew she was California born and raised, just as she knew that the Slayer was the reason for her powers.
Breakfast was almost over when she remembered something. “The Titans.”
Bruce and Dick started in surprise.
Summer did not notice. “The Titans, that’s why I knew Jump City. There was an article about the Titans disbanding recently.”
“That was in the Gotham papers?” Dick said.
“Sure, it raised questions about whether Robin will return to Gotham,” she explained.
“Then you haven’t seen this morning’s paper,” Alfred said as he arrived. He set the paper in the middle of the table.
Summer laughed at the headline: The Boys are Back, But Together Again? There were a couple of low quality pictures of both heroes.
“You’re interested in superheroes?” Dick asked.
She frowned as she considered. “I think it takes a certain type of person to go out every night and use their skills or powers to defend those who can’t defend themselves.” She thought about her running towards the screams without a weapon the night before. “And maybe that type is ‘cracked’ but who ever said that sanity was a defining characteristic for heroes?”
Dick laughed.
88888888
Summer gripped the door handle of the zippy little car Dick had chosen to drive. She was debating if, even with the seatbelt, she would need to use her Slayer abilities to stay in her seat as he took another corner.
“You are a menace,” she muttered as the car skidded to a stop.
Dick shamelessly grinned. “Come on.” He jumped out of the car.
Summer growled in annoyance but followed him out of the car. They were parked in front of a little eatery. She watched as he effortlessly sweet talked the hostess into a table of his choosing.
They were led to corner booth. Dick took one side and she sat in the other.
“I hope you like burgers,” he said.
“Yes.” She opened the menu and easily found a burger and fry combination that looked appealing. The waitress was quick to take their drink and entrée orders.
“I have missed this place,” he said.
“California is a long way from Gotham.”
“Did you like living there?”
“Until Superman saved me, California was all I had known.”
Dick nodded. “Is that all you remember?”
She shrugged. “I know a number of things, but when it comes to my personal life, they’re general things…like I know I have a sister and I know she’s younger. But I couldn’t tell you if her eyes are green or brown. I remember the sound of my mother’s voice but nothing she ever said to me. I know she died and I know it was recently.” Summer frowned at the table. “But I know specifically how much pressure it takes to dislocate a wrist or the amount of force the human ribcage can withstand before cracking.”
“Odd things to know.”
“It suggests a background in self-defense.”
“Hopefully something you won’t have to use.”
She snorted. “Yeah, that’s as likely as the Justice League not being needed anymore.”
Dick chuckled. “Unfortunately, true.”
“What prompted your return to Gotham?” She watched him. “I’m guessing it wasn’t to welcome me to the family.”
He started slightly at her observation. He had come back because the Titans had gone their separate ways and Bruce suddenly having a daughter. His first thought was that Bruce and Alfred may have been under the influence of a villain. So far he had found no evidence of drugs or personality changes.
He had even run her and Bruce’s DNA separately to verify paternity. The Titan’s computer was still running in Titan Tower while Cyborg protected it. They were waiting for the Justice League to integrate the computer into their mainframe for safekeeping.
“For the most part,” Dick answered, “I came back because I’m not sure what to do next.”
“I guess the question is - and I loathe this question - where do you see yourself in five years?”
He laughed. “I hate that too.”
“I know, but it does give a goal to work towards.” She considered him. “You were an athlete and skilled with computers. You’re what, twenty-one?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Right. You could go to school and make all the things you know into a tangible degree.”
“What if I’m unmixy with school?’
She grinned at his use of her vocabulary. “Then I guess you’ve got to do all that grown up stuff, like having a job and being a useful member of society.”
“That doesn’t sound like much fun.”
The waitress brought their drinks.
“I guess, with your memory issues, you don’t remember if you wanted to be anything when you grew up?”
Alive, she thought then felt her eyes widen at the realization. She had died saving her sister. It had been her second death. But now she was twelve, would the rules of Slayers apply and she would die young and fighting? Was she doomed to die again? Was she going to be pulled into a fight or the fight?
Dick touched her arm, startling her from her black thoughts. “Sorry.”
“No. I don’t remember what I wanted to be,” she told him.
88888888
“What do you think?” Bruce asked from his desk chair.
“She’s smart,” Dick said as he leaned against the mantel.
“But?”
“I’m more stuck on how you became a father.”
Bruce nodded. “Unfortunately, without the details in her memory, there is no way to know.”
“And you’re sure she’s your kid?”
“The original blood sample was taken by Superman and delivered directly to the Watchtower for analysis. The Batcomputer ran the original sample as well and a sample when she first came here.”
“And there was someone in the time she would have been conceived?”
“Yes,” Bruce answered shortly. Unfortunately, there had been more than one young, beautiful woman during that time. A time when he had been reckless with his personal life as a way to counter his completed training and unfulfilled need for justice or revenge. Before he had figured out the distinction between the two.
Dick’s eyebrow rose, but he remained silent.
“Her memory problems present a current problem,” Bruce told him.
“Maybe… I guess the question becomes, is she the kind of damaged that makes a good vigilante?”
“She’s twelve,” he said dismissively.
“So was I… And you started training at fourteen. Wonder Woman started at age four.”
Bruce frowned. Had he been that young once? It was hard to remember the time between his parents’ death and starting his training.
“The more important question,” Dick interrupted, “is does she need a superhero? Or does she need a father?” He sighed and took the seat in front of Bruce’s desk. “We almost always look at others in terms of potential to the team or League. But what if she’s just a kid?”
Bruce looked at him, searching the face of his first partner. The child he had taken in to keep himself from the darkest recesses of his own mind. “Did you need that?”
“Nah. I had memories of my mother and father. I needed something you could teach me, but not in that way.”
Bruce nodded.
“On another note, have you considered what I said about Cyborg…?”
Title: Investigation
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/DCAU
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or DCAU people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Dick looks out for his family
Notes: Part 6 of Not So Orphaned Summer
Seasons: Post-“Gift”
Word Count: 1760
Summer checked the mirror as the gray morning light filtered through the window. There were scrapes on her arms and a bruise on her right side. The creepy scarecrow had done little damage. Enough to prove he was dangerous and deranged.
A knock at the door made her jump. “I’ll be out in a minute,” she called as she rushed to dress. She pulled on a long-sleeved shirt. She took a last look at the mirror, verifying there were no visible signs she was injured. A few hours more and it would be completely gone.
She rushed to the door, pulling it open. On the other side stood a guy, black haired with blue-green eyes. He was just shy of six foot.
She stepped back, instinctually falling into a fighting stance.
The guy grinned. “Well, I see the family resemblance.”
Bruce peered around the doorframe. He observed her before letting out an amused chuckle.
Summer relaxed a measure.
“Summer, this is Dick Grayson,” Bruce introduced them. “Dick, this is Summer Wayne.”
She grinned and gave him a small wave. “Hi.” While there were not any current pictures of Dick, it was easy to see where the scrawny fourteen year old would become the guy before her. “I didn’t recognize you.”
Dick dismissed her tone. “Never apologize for being ready to defend yourself. Bruce throws people across the room if they wake him.”
“Not Alfred,” Bruce said defensively.
“That’s because he’s been avoiding your swings since you were a kid.”
Bruce made no immediate argument for that. Instead, he turned to Summer. “Are you just getting up?’
She looked at the clock and winced. “I don’t have much to do these days, guess I’m losing track of time.” The truth was that the adrenaline rush of fighting had affected her younger body in an unusual way. She had crashed as soon as she had returned to her bed.
“Why don’t we see what Alfred has made for breakfast?” Dick suggested.
They all headed downstairs to find Alfred had gone out of his way to not just make more food, but all of Dick’s favorites.
“I think he missed you,” Summer commented as she took her seat.
“Maybe just a little,” Dick admitted as he grabbed the tongs for the sausage. “So what did you do for Halloween?”
Summer shrugged. “Nothing much.” She scooped some eggs beside her waffles. “Where have you been?”
“Staying with some friends in Jump City.”
She frowned. “Jump City…why does that sound familiar?”
“It’s in California,” Bruce supplied. “Maybe you’ve been there?”
“No. I read something about it recently,” she tapped her finger against the table in thought. She shook her head. “Oh well, it’ll come back to me.”
“Are you in school?” Dick asked.
“Uh, no. School and I are un-mixy things.”
“She’ll start next fall,” Bruce said. “Once the…intrigue around her diminishes some.”
“You’re going to wait almost a year?” Dick said in surprise.
“I have no records,” she pointed out.
“None?”
“Just the missing person’s report from the hospital and whatever after-action report Superman sent a copy of,” Bruce explained. “As well as a blood test confirming she’s my daughter.”
“So, you’ll be getting her all those papers.”
“And through testing prove she is competent to start the seventh grade with her peers.”
“Don’t put too much stock in that,” Summer told him. “Again, un-mixy.”
“You definitely sound like you’re from California,” Dick noted with a grin.
Summer thought that was a dig at her vocabulary, but she could not say he was wrong. She knew she was California born and raised, just as she knew that the Slayer was the reason for her powers.
Breakfast was almost over when she remembered something. “The Titans.”
Bruce and Dick started in surprise.
Summer did not notice. “The Titans, that’s why I knew Jump City. There was an article about the Titans disbanding recently.”
“That was in the Gotham papers?” Dick said.
“Sure, it raised questions about whether Robin will return to Gotham,” she explained.
“Then you haven’t seen this morning’s paper,” Alfred said as he arrived. He set the paper in the middle of the table.
Summer laughed at the headline: The Boys are Back, But Together Again? There were a couple of low quality pictures of both heroes.
“You’re interested in superheroes?” Dick asked.
She frowned as she considered. “I think it takes a certain type of person to go out every night and use their skills or powers to defend those who can’t defend themselves.” She thought about her running towards the screams without a weapon the night before. “And maybe that type is ‘cracked’ but who ever said that sanity was a defining characteristic for heroes?”
Dick laughed.
88888888
Summer gripped the door handle of the zippy little car Dick had chosen to drive. She was debating if, even with the seatbelt, she would need to use her Slayer abilities to stay in her seat as he took another corner.
“You are a menace,” she muttered as the car skidded to a stop.
Dick shamelessly grinned. “Come on.” He jumped out of the car.
Summer growled in annoyance but followed him out of the car. They were parked in front of a little eatery. She watched as he effortlessly sweet talked the hostess into a table of his choosing.
They were led to corner booth. Dick took one side and she sat in the other.
“I hope you like burgers,” he said.
“Yes.” She opened the menu and easily found a burger and fry combination that looked appealing. The waitress was quick to take their drink and entrée orders.
“I have missed this place,” he said.
“California is a long way from Gotham.”
“Did you like living there?”
“Until Superman saved me, California was all I had known.”
Dick nodded. “Is that all you remember?”
She shrugged. “I know a number of things, but when it comes to my personal life, they’re general things…like I know I have a sister and I know she’s younger. But I couldn’t tell you if her eyes are green or brown. I remember the sound of my mother’s voice but nothing she ever said to me. I know she died and I know it was recently.” Summer frowned at the table. “But I know specifically how much pressure it takes to dislocate a wrist or the amount of force the human ribcage can withstand before cracking.”
“Odd things to know.”
“It suggests a background in self-defense.”
“Hopefully something you won’t have to use.”
She snorted. “Yeah, that’s as likely as the Justice League not being needed anymore.”
Dick chuckled. “Unfortunately, true.”
“What prompted your return to Gotham?” She watched him. “I’m guessing it wasn’t to welcome me to the family.”
He started slightly at her observation. He had come back because the Titans had gone their separate ways and Bruce suddenly having a daughter. His first thought was that Bruce and Alfred may have been under the influence of a villain. So far he had found no evidence of drugs or personality changes.
He had even run her and Bruce’s DNA separately to verify paternity. The Titan’s computer was still running in Titan Tower while Cyborg protected it. They were waiting for the Justice League to integrate the computer into their mainframe for safekeeping.
“For the most part,” Dick answered, “I came back because I’m not sure what to do next.”
“I guess the question is - and I loathe this question - where do you see yourself in five years?”
He laughed. “I hate that too.”
“I know, but it does give a goal to work towards.” She considered him. “You were an athlete and skilled with computers. You’re what, twenty-one?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Right. You could go to school and make all the things you know into a tangible degree.”
“What if I’m unmixy with school?’
She grinned at his use of her vocabulary. “Then I guess you’ve got to do all that grown up stuff, like having a job and being a useful member of society.”
“That doesn’t sound like much fun.”
The waitress brought their drinks.
“I guess, with your memory issues, you don’t remember if you wanted to be anything when you grew up?”
Alive, she thought then felt her eyes widen at the realization. She had died saving her sister. It had been her second death. But now she was twelve, would the rules of Slayers apply and she would die young and fighting? Was she doomed to die again? Was she going to be pulled into a fight or the fight?
Dick touched her arm, startling her from her black thoughts. “Sorry.”
“No. I don’t remember what I wanted to be,” she told him.
88888888
“What do you think?” Bruce asked from his desk chair.
“She’s smart,” Dick said as he leaned against the mantel.
“But?”
“I’m more stuck on how you became a father.”
Bruce nodded. “Unfortunately, without the details in her memory, there is no way to know.”
“And you’re sure she’s your kid?”
“The original blood sample was taken by Superman and delivered directly to the Watchtower for analysis. The Batcomputer ran the original sample as well and a sample when she first came here.”
“And there was someone in the time she would have been conceived?”
“Yes,” Bruce answered shortly. Unfortunately, there had been more than one young, beautiful woman during that time. A time when he had been reckless with his personal life as a way to counter his completed training and unfulfilled need for justice or revenge. Before he had figured out the distinction between the two.
Dick’s eyebrow rose, but he remained silent.
“Her memory problems present a current problem,” Bruce told him.
“Maybe… I guess the question becomes, is she the kind of damaged that makes a good vigilante?”
“She’s twelve,” he said dismissively.
“So was I… And you started training at fourteen. Wonder Woman started at age four.”
Bruce frowned. Had he been that young once? It was hard to remember the time between his parents’ death and starting his training.
“The more important question,” Dick interrupted, “is does she need a superhero? Or does she need a father?” He sighed and took the seat in front of Bruce’s desk. “We almost always look at others in terms of potential to the team or League. But what if she’s just a kid?”
Bruce looked at him, searching the face of his first partner. The child he had taken in to keep himself from the darkest recesses of his own mind. “Did you need that?”
“Nah. I had memories of my mother and father. I needed something you could teach me, but not in that way.”
Bruce nodded.
“On another note, have you considered what I said about Cyborg…?”