Listen to the black raven sing.

The stranger in you.

Bruce.

I hovered in the hallway outside Tim's room that I had been banished to. My boys hadn't wanted me around, Tim grew agitated when I tried to help him. He barely let Alfred in even though the butler had done nothing wrong. Even though they disagreed with each other over certain things, they had formed a tight knit group that I wasn't allowed to be part of. And that hurt. More than I thought it would. I tipped my head back against the wall behind me and groaned. Somehow time slipped past to slowly and yet it seemed too fast. Midnight couldn't come fast enough but some part of me didn't want it to. Although, I longed with everything in me to see Dick again, I didn't want to know what Slade had warped him into. It went against every parental fibre in me but I knew I had to let my boys come with me. I would not be forgiven if I stole this chance away from them. So, I pushed away from the wall and opened the door to two pairs of angry eyes. Jason opened his mouth to snap at me but I held up a hand and to my surprise he fell silent. I crossed the floor to Tim's side, relief flooded through me at the hesitant smile he offered me. He still looked a little to pale and worn but it was better than before.

"You look better." I commented as I sat down on the edge of his bed.

He smiled a sweet smile that made my stomach churn a little. Jason just offered me a distant glare and crossed his arms across his chest as he leant against the bedpost. Damian wasn't in the room, yet I have never seen him slip by me. I felt like an intruder to my two boys, tolerated but never wanted. Would my relationship with them recover after this? Or would I have to watch them fade into the horizon as well?

"I feel better. Bruce…I'm sorry I didn't listen to you earlier but I can't just sit around and wait for Slade to make contact again. I need to look for Dick."

"Though I don't believe that he'll be in anyway sane, I have to look too." Jason said. "It's why the 'side-kicks' have been off the grid lately. We didn't want any of the league to know, they seem to have given up on him but we're not going to stop until we find him."

He seemed to take it as an insult that the league's priorities had shifted away, I sighed. "I don't expect you to stop looking, boys. Have you thought about what you're going to do if you find him and he's compromised?"

Jason shrugged. "Talk to him? Knock him down? Whatever it takes to get him to listen. We talked him around once before, we can do it again."

Jason had ignored what my question really meant. It wouldn't be that simple. The situation may call on us to make the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good. I just didn't know how to ask them to take their older brother out. I could barely ask myself to do it even though I knew it was what Dick would have wanted.

"I know what you're thinking, Bruce." Tim spoke up, his eyes hard and cold. Jason tensed. "What you're trying to ask us but I won't do it. I won't kill him and I won't let you lock him up in Arkham. There's room enough here."

"Timmy, we might not be able to get him here. You know your brother, he won't go anywhere without a fight."

"Dick is a stubborn, hard headed asshole, at the best of times. But he's good deep down. And he loves us. I don't know how but he'll be all right. After all, he is the best of us. Your Golden Boy."

Damian had slipped into the room somewhere during the conversation and stood in the shadows at the foot of the bed. The look of ice cold diamonds never left Jason's eyes and they had only become denser when he realised what I had meant. I reached out one hand and swept it across Tim's hair, my heart leaped when he let me without complaint.

"I came in here to talk to you all and I want you to really think about it before you answer. Earlier this evening, I realised that Slade had broken into the Mansion and left a message."

"A video?" Damian almost whimpered.

We all feared the torment the films held, the terror that had befallen Dick. Hurriedly, I shook my head. "A note. He wants us all to meet at the docks at midnight. Dick will be there too. I need to know if you can approach this in the right way."

They were silent for a moment then Tim asked. "What's the right way?"

"In the beginning I need you to approach Dick as Nightwing, Slade's….apprentice. We have to assess what he's capable off and what he's willing to do."

"You mean we need to see if he attacks us." Jason translated. "If he tries to kill us."

"Yes. I know it'll be difficult and it'll cut you to the core but we have to know what we're dealing with. Once we know we can figure out our next move, OK? I doubt we'll get that close to him tonight, Slade's just parading him in front of us. But if he's willing to let us see Dick then it must mean that he's gotten control over Dick. We may need to retreat and strike back later. If I tell you to run, you run with no argument."

"OK." Damian agreed.

"I don't like it but fine." Jason mumbled.

Tim nodded. I brushed my hand over his head and stood to give them time to prepare. Time to harden their hearts and throw away the persona of a younger brother for just one night. Tomorrow we could cry and hate ourselves for what we had to do.

"Bruce?" Tim asked.

"Yes?"

"It was Nightwing's weapon that hit me, wasn't it?"

He looked up at me and I could see him willing me to tell him he was mistaken. But I had long ago made a promise that I would never lie to them. Even if the answer might break their hearts.

"I think so, Timmy."

Tim sighed. "Yeah, I thought you were going to say that."

I lacked the words to comfort him or even the knowledge of how to. What could I say to make the situation any better? There weren't words for the horror we had found ourselves in. I could only offer the pitiful whisper of hope that said we might yet survive. That Dick might survive.

…

Night crept steadily over the rooftops of Gotham, cold and black. The air was frigid and it chilled me down to my bones, my breath misted in front of me. Bruce Wayne had been firmly pushed into the recesses of my mind, the Batman had full reign. I was glad, he had the strength to power through the upcoming hours without succumbing to the grief. Tonight, I was made of steel, titanium and the inferno of a hero's justice.

Slade was mine.

I ghosted down onto the slick pavements of the dock without disturbing anything around me. Artemis had her last altercation with Nightwing here. This was the place he had lost faith in our ability to save him. I growled and slipped between the boxes and cranes, avoiding the blinking streetlights. Red Hood dropped down beside me and for the first time I realised that he had become a man somewhere during this mess. He stood tall and proud as my equal, not my side-kick but he turned to me for instructions. Red Robin stepped out from the shadows and stopped just behind my right shoulder, Robin just behind him. Slade had not specified a place on his note but I knew he would find me. He was drawn to us like a moth from a flame. We ached for vengeance.

"Hello Batman. Boys."

It had been months since I had last heard that monster's voice. I peered through the darkness and watched coolly as Slade melted out of it like a demon. His mask had a gouge in one side as if someone had taken a blade to the metal. I hoped that Nightwing hadn't gone down without a fight. Slade appeared to be unarmed, instincts told me he didn't need them to kill.

"Slade." I growled.

"I'm glad you accepted my invitation. I thought this would be best done on neutral ground. You received my films?"

"Yes."

"I want you to know something, Batman, it was never my intention to hurt Nightwing so badly. I never wanted that. He is my masterpiece and I had to remind him, my actions are regrettable."

"Where is he?"

"Waiting for instructions. I wanted to talk to you first."

"Well we don't want to talk you homicidal manic!" Red Hood growled. "You tortured my partner!"

Slade slid his eyes to the hot headed man. "Red Hood. I am pleased to see you survived the poison without any damage. Nightwing was most insistent that you received the antidote. Aren't you happy?"

Red Hood flinched and his hands tightened on the handles of his guns. I put a heavy hand on his shoulder and he took a begrudging step backward.

"What do you want Slade?"

Slade blurred across the distance to me in a speed that I couldn't keep track off. His knee collided with my gut and drove all the breath from my lungs. I bent over my abused torso and gasped, in that moment Robin cried out. Outraged at the sound, I turned around to see my youngest protégé on his knees in the dirt. I looked back around and Slade stood motionless less than an arm's length from my face. He had a crude knife in his hand with the tip pressed against my chest. It wasn't piercing my suit yet, just held a warning of what it could do. I glared at the villain with more hatred than I had for anyone. It amused him, his single eye gleamed and gloated.

"I want to tell you something. I want you to know that I won. That you were too weak to stop me from requiring my apprentice. He obeys me now. And he's my perfect Nightwing."

Footsteps echoed of the building around us, quick like the person was running at an alarming pace right at me. I couldn't see anyone and palmed a batarang into my hand. The footsteps stopped suddenly and there was nothing but silence around me. Slade disappeared in the blink of an eye. Red Robin drew closer to me and the safety clicked off Red Hood's guns. Robin let out another wounded cry and my head snapped around in time to see him clutching his cheek, a red river of blood snaked downward. Jason snarled a strangled breath of air and doubled over, retching. Tim took an invisible hit to his arm and the thwack resonated around us. The strikes kept coming, our silent attacker used the shadows to his advantage in an attack I knew all too well. I sidestepped the swipe of eskrima sticks aimed for my head and met a black mask.

Nightwing.

He jumped back like a startled cat and allowed me to look at him for the first time in over nine months. He looked stronger than before, he carried more muscles than those belonging to a gymnast. Black hair had been tied back in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck, wayward strands fell into his eyes. Across his chest was a blood red bird insignia and it was too harsh for the boy I remembered. Nightwing held himself with the same pride and confidence that Slade did. He kept his deadly weapons held casually at his sides, completely unbothered by our presence. I had expected him to look haggard and torn apart, for him to be a shadow of his former self. Not this epitome of strength and power. He wasn't even out of breath from his whirlwind attack on us. It felt like a knife through my heart to see him again. He stood on the wrong side of the line and I wanted him back by my side, where he belonged. Bruce Wayne surfaced for a moment and cried out for his lost son, his tears lingered in my eyes. Red Hood finally straightened up and limped over to my side, his eyes fixed on Nightwing. To my eternal gratitude, no one made an attempt to move toward the fallen hero. Slade returned to us and laid a hand on Nightwing's shoulder. Nightwing looked down at it and then back up at us.

"As you can see I've done some improvements with him. He's faster and stronger than he was with you. Unlike you, I know how to utilize his potential. It was just a matter of reprogramming him."

"Stop talking like he's a machine." I snarled. "You just played on his weakness."

"You're right, I did. His family. Though of course, I couldn't let him keep thinking of you as that or he'd never be mine. No, to him you're the people who abandoned him when he needed you the most. I'm the one who saved him. He fights for me now."

"He wouldn't!" Damian hissed.

"A demonstration, perhaps? Nightwing, take out the Batman."

My son had always been fast and graceful, he moved like a ghost through air. I never saw him coming. I heard Slade's instructions and less than a heartbeat later a lithe but well-built form collided with my own. I barely managed to get my feet under me and bring my lone batarang up to protect my face before the eskrima sticks came down. The impact jolted my arms and shoulders, I shoved back against him. Finally, I made myself look into the face of the man I had raised. His lips were twisted into an angry, hateful sneer and I was thankful that the lenses of his mask prevented me from seeing his eyes. He sprang back and used our joined momentum to flip over my shoulders and land behind me. The move brought me to my knees as he forced me down and I felt the cold metal of his weapons against my neck. It hurt a lot, to be on the receiving end of Nightwing's abilities. For him to look at me as nothing more than a thug that had to be eliminated. My heart tripped over itself in my chest and I was sure that Nightwing must have felt it. I had no idea how far Slade was willing to let Nightwing go and I would not allow myself to die at his hand. I slipped my fingers into my utility belt and dug around until I found a small pellet in one of the pockets. I threw it back into Nightwing's face and a puff of smoke exploded. Nightwing stumbled backward coughing, I took the opportunity to spring to my feet.

"Move! Move!" I barked.

My sons turned without hesitation and scarpered into the shadows. Nightwing's gaps for air had stopped and the air crackled with electricity. I risked a glance at him, he was furious and shaking with it. He prowled toward me like a predator to prey. I was the prey. Slade wasn't going to stop him. I shot a grappling hook out and swung away from the enraged man. I had no destination in mind, just a desperation to get away from Nightwing before he did something he would regret. Or before I was forced to put him down. A sharp projectile ripped through my side and hot blood started to flow. Gritting my teeth, I landed hard on a rooftop and rolled away as Nightwing came crashing down. I jumped to my feet and regarded him through hostile wary eyes. He stayed crouched on the ground, his nostrils flaring and his hair caught by the wind. For the first time in my life, I was frightened of him. I didn't want to walk away from him when I had looked for him for so long. But tonight I couldn't help him. He straightened suddenly and stalked slowly toward me. He was terrifying and predatory, I couldn't look away, even when I knew he wanted to kill me.

"Nightwing, enough. There'll be time for more later." Slade called.

There was no hesitation in Nightwing as he turned his back on me and walked away. My heart was in my mouth as I watched his retreat. It was so casual, no way to tell that he had almost slaughtered his guardian. I stood on that rooftop long after they were gone.

…..

The minute I shed Batman's skin everything caught up to me and it was all I could do to wrap a messy bandage around my middle and stumble to my room. I didn't know if my remaining boys were home or if they needed me. Alfred busied himself in the kitchen. I almost fell through the threshold to my bedroom and slammed the door shut behind me. As I turned toward my bed, I caught sight of my bare chest and my stomach lurched. My skin was a mottled patchwork of bruises, all put there by my eldest son. My wonderful, perfect, pure son who had tried to kill me tonight. He would have killed me if Slade hadn't stopped him. The he would have gone after his brothers.

I had…lost him…

The thought turned my knees to mush and I just caught myself on my dresser. I knocked a hairbrush and a paperweight of with a loud bang but I didn't care. Every little hurt my body felt was because Dick had been convinced to take a weapon to his father. I hadn't been ready to see him like that. I thought I was. I was The Batman, he could handle anything. But Bruce Wayne couldn't. He couldn't deal with Dick's hatred. How could I ever deal with that?

My little boy.

"Oh God." I sobbed. "Dickie…baby…please…"

Hot tears bubbled in my throat and I couldn't hold them back. For to many months I had tried to keep myself strong and I just couldn't do it anymore. I dropped my head to my hands and slowly slid down the front of the dresser, weeping into my hands. My lungs heaved with the force of my sobs, my shoulders shook. I huddled on my bedroom floor in the dark and begged for Dick's return.

"Bruce?" Jason asked.

I cleared my throat. "Jason. Are you hurt?"

"N-No. I…Dad?"

He was as shaken as I was, I could hear the tears in his voice. I unwound one arm from my knees and offered it to him. He hurried toward me and curled against my side, pushing his nose into my shoulder. He trembled in my grasp and clutched at my skin. His sobs were breathy but heart wrenching, my stilled so that I could comfort him better.

"We'll be OK, yeah?" He garbled.

I squeezed him tighter to me and pressed my cheek against his hair.

"Yeah."

Dick may be a stranger now but I wasn't going to give up on him.