"I'm fine, Conner," M'gann reassured him for the third time. The Martian had the patience of a saint. She also was at least two shades of green paler than normal and unable to establish telepathic links with any of them at the moment, so Conner had a right to be concerned. Plus, Dick wasn't going to risk angering the clone any further. Suberboy wasn't nearly as forgiving as his girlfriend.

Conner fluffed the pillows behind her again, and Dick bit back a smirk. Conner's soft side only ever came out around the Martian. M'gann offered him a tender smile in return. At least, she thought it was sweet and not obnoxious.

"And Jason's fine too, right?" M'gann asked while reaching an arm out for the boy.

Jason shuffled slowly forward and leaned into her hug. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Good." M'gann smiled. "Then everything is okay."

"Everything is not okay," Conner growled.

M'gann glared at her boyfriend. Dick didn't need to be here if the couple wanted to fight, although he did need to find a way to make everything up to Conner. He hadn't been a good friend lately, and it burned inside of him. Another reminder of what a terrible person he was.

Dick Grayson is a good friend.

What a joke.

He still couldn't believe he had forgotten to check with the clone before handing the government Kryptonite. Dick knew Clark thought the military should have access to Kryptonite ever since the red Kryptonite disaster, but Conner and Bruce had never been on board with idea. How could he have been so selfish to ignore his friend?

"Dick," M'gann interrupted his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

Plastering his performer smile on his face and glad his eyes were hidden behind his mask, Dick fired back, "I think you're confused about who's in the hospital bed, Miss M. You sure, you're okay?"

M'gann looked at him in disbelief. Dick wondered how much of her ability to detect emotions was still intact, so he projected more positive vibes. An arm wrapped around his shoulders.

"Don't worry, M'gann," Wally reassured. "I'm taking care of this lug."

Behind his mask, Dick rolled his eyes and just barely refrained from elbowing Wally in the side. M'gann seamed appeased though, so chalk that up to a win for his idiotic best friend.

"That's enough visitors for today. My niece needs her rest," J'onn said as he walked through the door. "Conner, you may stay for a while longer if you wish."

Everyone, save Conner, gave M'gann one last hug before filing out of the door.

"You are okay, right?" Wally asked as soon as they started walking away from the med bay.

"Yes, Wally, I'm fine."

Artemis, who had neglected to change into her uniform for the visit, rolled her eyes and tugged on his wrist, demanding his attention. "Leave your boyfriend alone."

"Aw, babe. You know I save all my love for you."

Gagging, Jason asked, "Can you two be gross somewhere else?"

"There's no reason to be jealous. I'm sure you'll find a fellow troll to love someday."

"At least she'll be prettier than you, West."

Annoyed by the all too familiar bickering between the pair, Dick tuned them out and waited for them to run out of steam or for when he would be forced to intervene. Artemis slid up beside him.

"Why do they do this?" She asked.

Dick shrugged. "They're in a constant and unstoppable contest of who is the most annoying."

Artemis's brow furrowed as she studied the pair. They were still arguing and Dick hardly thought the pair were worth paying attention to. The easiest way to deal with their endless squabbles were to ignore them.

"Oh my god," Artemis whispered.

Dick turned to face her. "What?"

Shaking her head, she knocked Wally upside the head. "Knock it off."

Jason chortled in delight. Dick reached over and flicked him on the ear.

"Don't think I won't tell Al about your abhorrent manners."

His brother looked horrified, and Dick bit the insides of his cheek to prevent his smile from escaping. Otherwise, Jason would call his bluff.

"Fine," Jason huffed. "I am leaving."

"Come on, Little Wing. Don't be like that."

Jason flipped him off and kept walking.

Then there was a blur of movement, and Dick was forced out of the way. When his senses returned to normal, he noticed Beast Boy in the form of a cheetah in the hallway.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "Are you okay? Is M'gann okay? She's not dead, right?"

Dick crouched down to his level. "Hey, I promised no more faking anyone's death for at least a year. M'gann's okay. She's in medical if you want to see her."

There was a fast nod before Garfield scurried off towards the med bay.

"A whole year, huh?" Wally asked a twinge of anger in his voice.

"No," Artemis intervened. "We are not having this argument again. We had a plan. The plan worked. The end."

Dick was grateful for the save. "I've missed you Mis."

"Of course you have. I'm the reasonable one."

"Hey!"

Ignoring her fiancé, she asked, "So what's on the agenda for the rest of the day?"

He shrugged. It wasn't like his presence was exactly welcomed around the Tower or at the manor at the moment.

"Great," Artemis replied. "You're coming over to hang out with us then."

Laughing Nightwing followed the pair back to their home in Palo Alto.

After an enjoyable evening goofing off with Artemis and Wally, Nightwing returned to the Watch Tower to seek out Conner. He checked out the med bay with no success. M'gann was sleeping and visitors were not welcome. Checking three different training rooms, he still hadn't found the clone, nor had Dick been able to find him in the Conner's room. He was about to check the zeta tube records when he heard static coming from one of the smaller rec rooms.

He walked towards the room careful not to mask his footsteps and knocked on the open doorframe.

"Mind if I join you?" Dick asked.

Conner didn't reply, which wasn't a no, so Dick sat on a chair next to the couch the clone was laying on to watch the thrilling adventures of static. He had never understood why this was supposed to be relaxing. The crunching shoveling noise of the static gave him a headache, although the dancing black and white dots weren't the worst thing in the world. If he could tune out the audio and just focus on those dots for a while, it might possibly be calming.

Nightwing had finally succeeded in muting the noise in his head when Conner interrupted.

"What do you want?"

Dick mulled the comment over before responding. "I want to be friends again."

"Friends trust each other."

As much as he deserved it, the comment still stung. Dick wasn't trustworthy. Life was better for people when he was not involved in their lives.

Swallowing, he replied, "I understand."

Sitting up, Conner glared at him. "Why don't you trust me?"

"What?"

"Every time I turn around, you're acting like I wasn't a founding member of this team!"

"What are you talking about?"

"M'gann and I were the only two original members not told about your plan. If M'gann had known, Kaldur never would have been attacked and Jaime's scarab never would have taken over!"

"I know," Dick replied. The familiar ache of his failure brimming to the surface. "I screwed up. I shouldn't have hid it from you two."

Conner stood up. "Do you know that? Because the next thing I know you're lying left and right about your depression."

"I. Am. Not. Depressed," Dick ground out.

"Right." Conner snorted. "You just lied about your ability to handle Wally's death."

Dick swallowed his irritation. He would not get angry with Conner. "I was confused," he explained.

Shaking his head, Conner told him, "Then what's your excuse for forgetting to ask me about the Kryptonite? I know how much Jason means to you. Do you really think I wouldn't have agreed? That's what being a hero is about! You taught me that."

Stunned, Nightwing swallowed, searching for an answer.

"Forget it, Dick," Conner said as he walked towards the door. "I get it. We're not friends."

With that the clone was gone, leaving a broken friendless bird to think about all of his failures.

Dick wasn't sure how long he had been sitting in the rec room with his hands between his legs staring at the floor when his commlink chimed.

"Nightwing," Robin's voice asked. "I need you back at the Batcave."

Standing up, Dick shut off the TV and adjusted his mask before heading towards the door. "What's up Robin?"

"Batgirl brought a child ninja back to the cave, and Bruce is pissed."

"Names," he reminded Tim.

There was a short pause. "Batman isn't here. Bruce Wayne is."

Dick did a double take. "Bruce Wayne is currently in the Batcave yelling at Batgirl while an unknown is in the cave," he repeated in disbelief.

"Batgirl asked for Bruce's help. They returned with a small ninja child, who immediately called Bruce 'Bat'. Bruce locked down the Cave and started yelling. Then Batgirl started yelling, and the girl disappeared," Tim's voice sounded slightly panicked.

"You have an unknown in the Cave who knows Bruce's identity and Batgirl and Bruce are yelling at each other instead of searching for her," Nightwing replied as he started sprinting towards the nearest zeta tube. "You have to find her."

"I know that," Robin huffed.

"I'll be right there," Nightwing told him. He programmed the zeta and entered in his bypass for the Batcave lockdown and ran into the fray.

The sound of voices yelling greeted Dick as he stepped into the low light of the Batcave.

"You put all our identities at risk!"

"She is a child!"

"So is Robin!"

Babs screamed in frustration. "She needs our help!"

"She is a security risk."

Time to intervene.

"You know, it occurs to me that your security risk is more of a threat when you don't know where she is," Nightwing stated, leaning false casually against the Batcomputer.

Bruce whipped around. "Where is she?"

Dick shrugged. "My guess hiding from the screams echoing around the cave."

Babs looked slightly chagrined. She was in full Batgirl costume without her mask. Apparently, all identities were out the window tonight. Wonderful.

Bruce set his face in a frown. Yup, still pissed about the Kryptonite.

"Now is not the time for jokes, Nightwing."

"You're right. It's time to find the child you misplaced," Dick responded, voice low. He was way passed being put into his place by Batman or Bruce.

"Nightwing's right. I'm going to search the caves," Batgirl replied.

"Check with Robin. He's already searching."

Babs nodded.

Before Batgirl finished attaching her climbing gear. A small ninja did a triple summersault from somewhere in the cave ceilings and landed lightly on her feet. Dick was impressed.

Could I teach her a quadrable?

"Hi," Dick greeted. Since there was no point in hiding his identity, he removed his mask. "I'm Dick."

The girl screwed up her face at that.

"Yes, that's really his name," Barbara clarified.

The girl studied him and flicked her attention over to Bruce before responding. "Cass," she replied.

"Hi Cass, it's nice to meet you."

Dick offered her one of his carefree grins. Cass frowned in response.

Bruce studied the girl but didn't comment.

"Why did you come with Batgirl?" Dick tried.

The girl pointed at Babs, Bruce, and Dick in turn. "Bats. Safe," she said.

"Is someone after you?" Dick asked.

The girl scrunched up her face in confusion.

"She called the man she was with bad," Babs offered.

Nightwing shifted his attention to his fellow vigilante. "Where did you find her?"

"She was ordered to kill me."

"She was trying to kill you?!" Dick exclaimed. Suddenly, he had a lot more sympathy for Bruce's paranoia about security risks.

"Don't want to," Cass responded, glaring at him.

Batgirl placed an arm on Cass's shoulder. "We can help her. I can help her."

"You brought a threat and a security risk into the cave," Bruce stated through clenched teeth.

"I helped a child," Babs replied tersely.

"Not a threat. Not a child," Cass said with a stamp of her foot.

"Okay," Dick said with a forced smile. "Let's not act too crazy with new kid."

"Not a kid," Cass repeated.

"Definitely not. I bet you're an old lady in disguise," Dick agreed. Cass looked at him in confusion. She was cute when she did that. "How can we help you be safe?"

Cass shook her head.

Bruce studied her again. Then he crouched down to her eyelevel and asked, "Ni pa shenme?"

"Baba."

Bruce's face softened. "You may stay in the Batcave."

Cass nodded.

"The Batcave is hardly a fitting place for someone to stay," Batgirl argued.

Standing up, Bruce's face hardened as he spoke to his second protégé, "She will stay in the Batcave until I've determined she's not a security risk. Then and only then will she be allowed to leave. Is that clear?"

Nightwing stepped in between Bruce and Batgirl. Bruce wouldn't be pushed further. Nightwing had already stretched Batman too far past his limits with his Kryptonite stunt. He wouldn't let Babs take the fall for the anger Dick caused.

"Crystal, Big Man," he said. "We'll set her up on a bunk in the med bay."

Bruce nodded. Babs glared at them both.

"Robin, the intruder has been found. Report in," Bruce said, focusing his attention elsewhere.

Dick led the way to the beds in the med bay. "Come on, Cass. Let's get you settled."

"What is his problem?" Babs hissed.

Dick gave her a look of disbelief. "Come on, Babs. You exposed his identity. What other possible reaction were you expecting?"

"It wasn't like this when you brought in Jason," she argued.

Laughing, Nightwing responded, "You weren't there when Bruce found out I let our identities slip on purpose. I was grounded for two months, and I mean full grounded, no technology, no patrol, no cases, no fun."

Plus, Dick had been smart enough to let Bruce think Jason was his idea. He was also smart enough not to say that to Babs.

"As I recall, Master Richard, you doubled the length of your punishment when you decided, out of boredom, to infect the Batcomputer with a malevolent computer virus," Alfred interjected from where he emerged behind the privacy screen of one of the hospital beds.

Dick felt his face turn hot. It was a rather immature retaliation, and it caused a whole slew of problems in the crime fighting world. He had nearly been responsible for Batman being too late to save a group of children from a sex trafficking ring. Bruce had been understandably livid. Dick was lucky that the only consequence was a longer grounding. Of course, Dick had to live with the reminder that he was a failure as well.

Babs smacked him on the arm. "That's what that was about. You told me you had mono from kissing a girl on patrol."

And she had bought it with no questions asked. That had hurt. He knew he had a bit of a reputation, but he thought Babs knew him better than that. Dick never understood how anyone believed he did half of the things people said regarding his scandalous dating life with the world's most overprotective father figure. The first time Zatanna had come over Bruce had literally bugged his room. Besides, he would never just kiss and run. Babs should have known that.

Alfred raised a very unimpressed eyebrow at Dick. Okay, it had been a dumb excuse, especially because he had been trying to make Babs jealous, but he was fifteen. Give him a break.

The butler turned his attention to the Cave's newcomer, who had watched the interaction with a face of curiosity. "Now, Miss Cassandra, was it?"

A nod.

"My name is Alfred Pennyworth, and I am here to assist you while you stay with us," Alfred informed her while pulling back the privacy screen.

Dick let out a low whistle. Alfred was good. Everyone knew that, but this was something else. The small area had been transformed into a miniature bedroom. A jade green lamp, which sat on a cherry oak nightstand, illuminated the small space. There was a small armchair, next to a smaller table with a stack of books on top. The med bay television had been wheeled over in front of the bed that was made with…was that his old comforter? He thought Alfred burned that.

"I do apologize, Miss Cassandra. This was all I could do on short notice, and I apologize for the garish yellow of the comforter," Alfred said with a smile. "Richard had such odd tastes when he first arrived."

Cass stared at the tiny space. "For me?"

Alfred placed one hand on her shoulder. "Yes, my dear."

Cass gave a hesitant smile and walked around touching and studying everything.

"Ms. Gordon, if you would please freshen up, and bring a pair of Robin's sweats. I'm afraid those will have to do until I am able to acquire something more appropriate," Alfred instructed.

Babs stammered, "How- how- I mean. How did you know?"

Dick couldn't help the smile that overtook his face. It was not every day where someone made his favorite genius speechless.

"When you've been privy to as many fights in this household as I have, you develop a knack for ascertaining how they will conclude."

Dick did not miss the pointed look Alfred gave him with that statement.

"In other words, he's Alfred," he offered. "It's best not to question it."

"Teach me," Babs stated.

"Beg pardon?

Babs had that fierce intensity in her face that Dick first saw when she decided she would be Batgirl. "Alfred," she spoke slowly, forming the thoughts in her brain before speaking. "You are a mastermind. You're the only person who can single-handedly take down Batman without blinking. It would be an honor to learn from you."

"Are you planning further mutiny?" Alfred asked calmly but Dick could see the undercurrent of shock on the elderly man's expression.

"No," Barbara denied. "I mean – I just."

Alfred rested a hand on her shoulder. "It has been a tiring day for us all. I'll consider your proposal at a later time. For now, you've brought a guest into this Cave, I suggest you take care of her."

Babs nodded and headed towards the locker rooms. Cass was still studying her new abode. Currently, she was running her hand softly down the comforter. Dick couldn't place the look on her face, but something told him Babs made the right call.

"You're good, Al. You know that," Dick said.

"I merely do my best," Alfred responded. "Now, do me a favor lad and take these to your father." The elderly man handed him a pair of crutches. "He seems to have misplaced them in all of this unpleasantness."

Dick bit back a groan and made his way towards Bruce. Nightwing leaned the crutches against the Batcomputer. Bruce grunted in response but offered no other form of acknowledgment. Knowing that any other form of interaction would end in a fight, Nightwing left for the showers.

After he emerged from the showers in a pair of loose sweats and a t-shirt that asked for a slice of pi, he heard Alfred's voice reading A Midsummer Night's Dream. Spying around the corner of the privacy curtain, he saw Cass seated on the bed watching the retired actor with fascination. Babs sat on the floor with her back to the bed and a soft smile on her lips. The glow of the lamplight gave her face an radiant appearance. She was beautiful.

Ducking away before he was caught staring, Dick headed upstairs. He had a few more plans he needed to finish before he called it a night.

The next afternoon, Dick returned to the medical bay of the tent to have his final set of stitches removed. Batgirl and her new ninja friend were sparring on the training mats. By the look on their faces, both girls were having a blast. Staring down at his thin stomach that used to actually show off his muscular abs, Dick refrained from sighing. He was no match for either of them at the moment. How had he allowed himself to lose so much muscle? Could he do nothing right?

Alfred removed the final strand of stitches. "There. Hopefully, we won't have a repeat performance."

"I promise I'll never use duct tape instead of stitches again."

Raising one eyebrow, Alfred replied, "I'm astonished that it wasn't infected."

"Someone has to do something to keep you on your toes." Dick grinned.

Alfred ignored him. "On the scale."

Dick took a deep breath. This was the most important part of his plan. If he was still underweight, there was no chance Alfred would support him. He had forced down six of those terrible protein shakes in the last two days alone.

Stepping onto the scale, Dick held his breath.

132.4.

Dick let out his breath.

"It appears you have finally reached an acceptable weight for your height," Alfred offered with a small hum.

"All thanks to you."

Dick received a very unimpressed look in reply. Buttering up Alfred never worked. Best to just dive in. Stepping off the scale, Dick rubbed his bare left foot along the side of his right calf.

"I can't stay here, Alfred."

Alfred gave Dick his undivided attention, and Dick rushed to explain, "It's just. I'm going stir crazy."

"I suppose I should be grateful that you deigned to inform me of your impending departure this time," Alfred responded, voice nearing towards glacial.

Dick winced. "Uh…yeah. I shouldn't have left like that..before."

The look Alfred was giving him was as bland as milk.

"Anyway," he tried. "I can't stay in the manor. I need something to do."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "I fail to see how staying in the manor and finding something to occupy your time are mutually exclusive."

Dick rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight on his feet. This was going rather poorly. Time to bite the bullet.

"I'm going back to the Bludhaven Police Academy."

Alfred blinked. Then he turned to sanitize the used medical supplies.

"I know I agreed to stay off the streets until I was sure I wanted to come back alive," Dick explained. "But I need something to do, and I want to do this. Besides, I still have three months left at the academy, and it's not like rookie cops receive dangerous patrols. My first year will likely just be speeding tickets."

"You are an adult, Master Richard." Alfred's tone was frozen.

"I know," Dick tried. "But I want your approval." Because he sure wasn't going to get it from Bruce.

Alfred stilled. Then he turned to face his surrogate grandchild. "I suppose finishing your degree would not fall under the category of something to do."

Dick stifled a groan. He had managed to avoid this conversation with Bruce, but that was mostly because his father figure was frantic that Dick was going to hurl himself off a building in the near future. To say that he avoided the conversation with Alfred would be inaccurate, yet when Dick dropped out of college he had been too focused on the Reach to notice Alfred's disapproval. And then he had left…

"Bruce had me memorize the periodic table at 12," Dick argued. "There's no reason I need a college degree. It's just a stupid piece of paper."

"Education is the most valuable gift we can give ourselves, Master Richard," Alfred told him.

"I can be educated without a degree."

Alfred studied him for a long moment. "Do your future career goals cease at a mere police officer? Most departments require a bachelor's in criminal justice to pursue detective work."

Future career goals? Dick wasn't even sure what he wanted for dinner tonight. Let alone his life plans. Half of the time, he wasn't convinced that him being alive in the future was a good thing.

"I don't know," he answered. "I just want to help people."

"There are many ways to help people, Master Richard." This time the elderly man's tone was less frosty.

Dick ducked his head and stared at the floor. "But I'm good at this." Most days, it was the only thing he was good at.

Alfred's hand rested on his shoulder. His face had softened considerably. "I am afraid it is our fault that you believe this is the only thing you are good at." Dick's grandfather sighed. "I do not approve of this decision, but I'll give you my blessing provided you meet certain conditions."

Bruce's original protégé was not an idiot. "What conditions?"

"I want to see you weekly for Sunday supper. I want to see for myself that you're still eating and that you're not hiding any injuries."

Dick bit down his first reactionary comment. This was a compromise he could make. "Okay."

"I want you to take at least one college class over the fall term," Alfred continued.

"What?" Dick protested.

Alfred gave him a judgmental look. "You just informed me that you have the periodic table memorized. I'm sure you could find a low level chemistry class that you could ace with minimal effort."

Dick clenched his teeth. He should have just gone to Bruce. "Fine."

"Lastly, I want you to take Jason with you."

Blinking, Dick tried to gather what was just asked of him. He had planned to offer Jason refuge if he wanted it, but "Why?"

"I am well aware that the pair of you are quite protective of one another. I believe space away from the manor will be helpful for Jason's recovery, and I shall feel reasonably less worried about this new venture should you not be alone," Alfred concluded.

Dick snorted. "In other words, you want a spy."

The British gentleman raised one eyebrow. "I'm trusting that it will not come to that, Master Richard."

"Of course not," he agreed, nodding. "So…" Dick grinned. "Does this mean you'll tell Bruce?"

Dick wished he had a camera for the look Alfred gave him in reply.

In the end, Dick decided to avoid the fight by leaving Batman a note. There was no way Bruce responded well to his son deciding to carry a firearm on a permanent basis, especially since he was still cooling off about the Kryptonite fiasco. Dick was going to let Clark talk Bruce down about that one. All things regarding Krypton fell under Clark's discretion. Eventually, Bruce would realize that Dick and Clark had made the best choice so everyone could pursue healing. ….he hoped. But even if Bruce didn't. It would be best to realize now, rather than later, that Dick would always be a disappointment.

Signing off the computer, Dick picked up his duffle bag full of Alfred-approved items i.e. there was nothing even remotely Nightwing related allowed out of the Cave. He hopped onto his bike, revved the engine once, twice, and then sped off towards Bludhaven.

End part one.

Author's Note:

"Ni pa shenme?" - "What are you afraid of?"

"Baba" - Dad

I realized I had been spelling Conner's name wrong this entire time. I'll go back soon to fix it in previous chapters. Don't be too mad with Conner regarding his conversation with Dick. The reality is that Dick hasn't treated Conner fairly at all, but Dick is still in a place where he can't separate a failing with being a failure.

The quick shift from having a good time with friends to feeling completely friendless and pathetic is pretty true of depressive episodes. It's amazing how fast one can get down on themselves.

I don't know what could possibly go wrong with Dick deciding to just leave Bruce a note... Dick and Bruce still have a long way to go...

What you can expect in part two:

Dick slowly realizing he isn't a complete failure.

Jason reconciling who he is with who he was and what he has done.

Tim beginning to see his worth.

Cass learning she can be more than a weapon.

Bruce learning that if he wants his kids to heal, he's going to have to heal.

And Wally, who isn't in denial about his trip to the speed force, plans a wedding. Artemis plans for criminal reform. Roy continues to be father of the year. Babs chases a chemist.

I'm not sure when part two will be started. I'd like to finish the Amazon oneshot before working on that and fair warning, that is all angst and hurt. No comfort.

Lastly, a huge thank you to every single person who has reviewed or marked this as a favorite story. Every single one of you have helped me believe in myself as a writer. You have given me a precious gift. This fic may never have been finished without all of you. So if there's any fic you have enjoyed, please go let the author know you liked it. It makes a big difference.

Until next time, friends.