A/N: Hey, guys. That issue I was having with being unable to use the rich text editor seems to have been resolved, so I'm going to start posting stories again. This one is the sequel to Nightwing: Under the Red Hood, so read that first. I categorised it as a crossover so you might not have seen it, but you can find it on my author page.

Blüdhaven had a particular scent, especially near the docks, a stench of rotten fish that seemed to permeate clothing and hair and follow you home. Nightwing was perched on a warehouse near the docks, nostrils burning as he shifted his weight to find a comfortable position that accommodated the bow and quiver on his back. He was under orders to remain unseen unless absolutely necessary, so having weaponry that could be used reliably from a distance was more important than his comfort.

The team had split up to search the warehouses along the docks, which made Nightwing's assignment a little more difficult, given the team was as of yet unaware of him. He spotted Kid Flash's vibrant red hair for a moment before he disappeared indoors with Artemis and Rocket. Robin was with Zatanna and Superboy. Nightwing was glad the two weren't together, since they were the only ones aware of his assignment. The more spread out they were, the more likely he was to be alerted if his assistance was needed. He left them to it and shadowed Aqualad and Miss Martian. The team's use of Miss Martian's psychic abilities rather than a traditional com link also added complications to this assignment, but at least he had been prepared for that one. Robin and Kid Flash would use the comm link to summon him if needed.

The team had been investigating a people-smuggling ring Batman had brought to their attention. According to Kid Flash, it had seemed like a fairly simple mission. The smugglers were plucking people off the streets, mostly working-class or homeless children who wouldn't be missed, but many of the kidnappings had been caught on security camera footage. Batman and the team had believed the smugglers weren't particularly capable. They had been wrong.

The team had discovered while investigating an old house suspected of housing some of the stolen children that they had inadvertently tipped the smugglers off and further endangered their victims. The smugglers had moved the children and it had taken every ounce of Batman and Robin's combined detective skills to find them again. The team was now racing against time to find the kids before they were executed.

Unfortunately, Batman suspected the smugglers had information on their pursuers and knew exactly who was coming for them. That's where Nightwing came in; he was the wildcard, barely more than a rumour even within Gotham. That would change tonight if things got dicey and Nightwing had to step in. Batman had ordered him to maintain cover unless absolutely necessary, but, honestly, Nightwing was hoping the opportunity to reveal himself would arise. It didn't get much more dramatic than a formerly-dead teammate appearing in the heat of battle to save the day.

"We're not going to find anything here," came Robin's voice through the comm. Both he and Kid Flash had set their communicators to automatically transmit to Nightwing's.

"We've got ten of these to search," Superboy replied. "Quit complaining."

"If there were people in this one, you would've heard them already," Robin said irritably. The two continued bickering while Nightwing found a good vantage point to watch Aqualad and Miss Martian. He couldn't actually see them without going inside, but he was close enough that he'd notice if a fight started. Such an event was unlikely. Dockside warehouses tended to be more conspicuous than their inner-city counterparts where kidnappers could hide their victims far more easily. Victims were usually taken to the docks to be killed and dumped. The bodies would wash up days or even weeks later, usually far from the site of their murders.

Nightwing shook off that morbid line of thinking when Aqualad and Miss Martian emerged, having clearly found nothing of interest. Nightwing watched the team search the rest of the warehouses, predictably coming up empty, before they reconvened by the water in a very exposed spot that made Nightwing want to smack the lot of them. Blüdhaven wasn't that far from Gotham—a half-hour drive in good traffic—and there was always the possibility that these smugglers had hired Gotham muscle. Gotham crooks had a very particular mean streak.

Getting as close as he could without alerting Superboy, Nightwing listened through the comm as the team debated their next move. Aqualad was in favour of splitting into small teams to cover the remaining dock areas while Robin was arguing, clearly having listened to Batman's lessons every once in a while, that the team should head for the furthest area of the docks where the smugglers were probably lining up their victims. The idea had some merit, though Nightwing himself would have suggested sending Miss Martian to check before sending the whole team anywhere, but Robin's trouble integrating with the team was causing some problems. Superboy, who under normal circumstances would probably have liked the idea, immediately sided with Aqualad, who noticed the tension between the two operatives.

"Perhaps it would be wise to send Miss Martian ahead while the rest of us search the more immediate area," he said. Nightwing nearly punched the air.

Before a decision could be made, however, Nightwing noticed bubbles in the water. He was about to shout a warning when an enormous scaly creature surged onto the dock, ripping the bow from Artemis' hand and nearly taking her arm with it. The team scattered, Artemis getting the quiver torn from her back in the process.

"Ah, shit," breathed Kid Flash.

Killer Croc took a swipe at Miss Martian, who soared out of the way. Nightwing took an explosive arrow out of his quiver and set the notch on the bowstring, ready to intervene. Kid Flash was zipping in and out of Croc's reach, running interference while the rest of the team pulled themselves together. Aqualad funnelled water from the bay to slap Croc in the face, but he barely flinched. Robin's small explosives were even less effective and Zatanna didn't have time to get out a spell before she was thrown against the nearest wall and knocked out cold.

"Fuck it," Nightwing muttered, bringing up his bow. Kid Flash was in his infiltration colours, so Nightwing had to rely on his hair to see him as he sped around Croc, trying to distract him while Superboy tried to get a few hits in. Croc opened his mouth to snap at Kid Flash as he zipped past and Dick loosed the arrow, which landed under Croc's tongue and exploded, throwing him back into the water.

Nightwing leapt from the warehouse rooftop onto the ground, preparing another arrow. The bubbles in the water disappeared. Croc had swum away to nurse his sounds.

Zatanna let out a groan nearby. Nightwing knelt by her side.

Zatanna blinked dazedly. "Robin?"

"You're two years late," Nightwing said wryly. "It's Nightwing now. How's your head?"

"I think I'm hallucinating," she replied, pressing a hand to her eyes.

"Hey, Kid Flash," Nightwing said. "Am I real?"

"That explosion you set off felt pretty damn real," Kid Flash replied, wrinkling his nose. "I think I smell cooked crocodile. Is he dead?"

"I doubt it. Batman made him eat a grenade once."

"Okay, I get it," Zatanna interrupted, letting Nightwing help her to her feet. "You're real."

"What the hell just happened?" Superboy interjected.

"Robin came back to life and now he's Nightwing," Kid Flash said. "And uses a bow, apparently."

Nightwing held the bow out to Artemis. "Artemis is still a better archer. I needed something that had range potential and Batman wasn't about to let me use a gun, even with rubber bullets."

Artemis took the bow, pulling back the string. "Not bad, Zombie Wonder. Does Batman take special orders?"

"You can have that one. You'll get more use out of it." Nightwing unlatched the quiver from his back and tossed it to her. "I tried to keep the arrow positioning similar to yours but you might want to do an inventory check."

"What are you doing here?" Superboy demanded, stepping in front of Miss Martian as if she couldn't defend herself.

"Batman's orders," Nightwing replied. "He wanted me to tail you guys and only reveal myself if you needed help. Kid Flash and Robin can vouch for me if you're worried."

"It's really him," Kid Flash added. "Batman probably ran about twenty tests when we got him home. He's not a clone or an alien or… I don't know… a smoke monster."

"Look, we don't have time for this," said Nightwing. "We have to save the hostages. Killer Croc will probably show up again so we need to get away from the water."

"But—"

"We can argue about whether I'm the real deal or not later," Nightwing snapped. "Hell, I'll let Miss M read my mind later if that's what it'll take. But for now, you're going to have to trust me."

"Nightwing is correct," Aqualad said at last. "Miss Martian, we'll make our way toward the docks while you fly ahead. Connect Nightwing to the psychic link before you go."

"Link established." Miss Martian soared away. She'd finally started wearing pants instead of a skirt while flying, but her hair was long as ever.

"Are we still splitting up?" Rocket asked Aqualad.

"If Miss Martian does not locate the hostages," Aqualad replied. "We can make the decision after she reports back."

"Picking groups now will save time," Nightwing suggested.

Superboy scowled. "Not even back five minutes and you're already giving orders."

"He just saved our asses," Kid Flash snapped. "I think he's got the right to make a few suggestions."

"Enough," Aqualad said firmly. "Nightwing, can you work with Robin?"

"Sure thing." Nightwing didn't miss the implications of the question. "Are we going to work in groups of three? With me here, we've got nine people."

"Take Kid Flash," Aqualad said. "Superboy, Rocket and Zatanna will make the next group. I will join Artemis and Miss Martian. Any objections?"

"We're good," Artemis replied. "So, Nightwing, you're not dead anymore."

"Thank you for noticing," Nightwing said lightly. Kid Flash snickered beside him.

"How did that even happen?"

"We can talk about it later when we don't have hostages to save," Nightwing replied, effectively ending the discussion.

"I found the hostages," Miss Martian said through the psychic link. "They're exactly where Robin said they would be."

"Told you so."

"Shut up," Superboy groaned aloud.

"Focus on the mission," Aqualad chastised, leading the team forward. "How many children?"

"Ten," Miss Martian replied. "There are fifteen bad guys. They made the kids kneel in a line near the water."

"Son of a bitch," Nightwing interjected, picking up the pace. "They're going to start shooting them any moment."

"Kid Flash, Superboy, Rocket, go on ahead," Aqualad ordered, working up to a run. "Miss Martian, join them as soon as they start their attack. The rest of us will arrive as soon as we can."

"We're taking a huge risk," Nightwing said, matching the team leader's pace. "I've read your reports. These guys are smarter than the average thug and they have Killer Croc on side. This could get messy."

"Agreed," said Aqualad. "Stay as far from the water as possible. Zatanna, Artemis, Miss Martian, Rocket, hang back if possible and fight from a distance."

"We've arrived at the dock," said Rocket. "Whoa!"

"Hang in there," replied Nightwing. "We're coming."

"Rocket, try to protect the children," Aqualad ordered.

"On it. Superboy's already taken three guys out."

"Save some of the bad guys for us," Nightwing teased.

"You already got Killer Croc," Kid Flash replied. "Let the little guys get some glory."

"Just concentrate on where you're running before you get another nosebleed."

Nightwing and the others finally arrived at the dock to find the battle in full-swing. Rocket was in the process of moving the hostages onto solid ground, encased in a forcefield. The others were running interference to stop the smugglers from attacking her while she was vulnerable.

A carefully-placed arrow from Artemis had another three smugglers trapped in polyurethane foam, leaving only nine more to take out. A gunshot narrowly missed Robin, who sidestepped just in time. Nightwing drew his escrima and knocked the pistol out of the man's hand before taking him down with a kick to the back of the knees and a strike at the base of his skull.

"Thanks."

"Got your back, Little Wing."

Robin jabbed the nearest smugger in the gut. "Stop it." He followed up with a knockout punch. In the time it had taken them to fell two of the smugglers, the rest of the team had dealt with the rest. Kid Flash made quick work of tying them up before skidding to a stop at Nightwing's side.

"Heh. Barely broke a sweat."

"We should get the kids out of here before Killer Croc shows up again," said Nightwing. "Batman told me you guys have made an arrangement to meet up with the FBI at a designated location."

"We do," Aqualad replied. He approached the children, presumably to make sure they were calm and able to cooperate. While he did that, Nightwing watched the water for any signs of Killer Croc.

"Dude, you shot a bomb into his mouth," said Kid Flash. "I don't think he's coming back."

Nightwing heard the bubbles before he saw them. "You are no longer allowed to talk. Guys, we might have another round with Killer Croc in a sec."

"Rocket, Miss Martian, get the children out of here now," Aqualad ordered. "We'll meet you at the rendezvous point," he said aloud, unsheathing his water swords. They had barely disappeared from sight when a deluge of polluted seawater pummelled the rest of the team. Nightwing and Kid Flash barely managed to stay upright while Robin hit the deck beside them. They dragged the younger boy back when a pair of clawed hands swiped in his direction.

"Hey, Croc," Nightwing said lightly. "Did you miss me?"

Killer Croc finished his climb out onto the dock, brown water dripping from his scales. "Should've stayed dead, Robin."

"Yeah, enough with the Robin stuff okay? It's Nightwing. Why don't you go back to Gotham and tell everyone I'm back? Don't need to worry about Joker. I made sure he knows."

Croc snarled at him. "No. I'm gonna rip you in half."

"Well, that's not very nice, Crocky." Nightwing threw Kid Flash a sideways glance. "He's probably gonna lunge at me in a moment. I'd appreciate it if you'd stop him while I still have internal organs."

Croc snapped in his direction, but Superboy leapt over Nightwing to land a fist on his snout, sending Croc reeling backwards. Nightwing and Robin fell back.

"We can't contain him," Nightwing said. "I'll tell Batman he's around when we've driven him off."

"Very well," Aqualad replied, siphoning water from the bay. "Superboy, Kid Flash, put him off balance. Zatanna, do something about his bite."

"On it," all three replied. Superboy lunged at Croc again while Kid Flash caught his attention.

"Elzzum Kellik Corc," said Zatanna, her arms outstretched. The spell hit its mark, binding Croc's jaw shut with a leather muzzle that wouldn't have been out of place on a dog.

"Firing," Artemis wanted before loosing an explosive arrow that, coupled with the force of Superboy's next punch, threw Killer Croc back into the water.

"Let's get out of here before he shows his face again," Nightwing suggested, before pressing the communicator in his ear. "You there, Batman?"

"Yes."

"Killer Croc is here. We've driven him off but we don't have the resources to apprehend him."

"I'll alert the authorities," Batman replied, severing the link without another word.

The team began heading to the rendezvous point.

Batman was waiting for them in the mission room upon their return to Mount Justice. Nightwing hung back, taking in the familiar pale walls, the hint of leather in the air. He felt small, like the twelve-year-old who had first entered this place three years ago. His shoulders briefly seemed to hold the weight of the cape he had long since abandoned. It wasn't nostalgia, not exactly; the memories burned and nauseated him. The sickness had little to do with the memories themselves and everything to do with losing that feeling of comfort and belonging so long ago.

Kid Flash nudged him gently but remained silent. Aqualad was already recounting the events of the evening with occasional contributions from the others.

When they were finished, Wally, who by this time had removed his cowl, chimed in. "So, yeah. Good call having Nightwing stalk us. I think Artemis has claimed the bow, though, so I hope you didn't want it back."

"It's a nice bow, okay?"

"Keep it," said Batman.

Artemis blinked. "Oh! Uh. Wow. Thanks!"

"You're welcome," Batman replied in that weird deadpan tone he used when he wasn't sure how to handle a situation. "I'll head to Blüdhaven to assist with Killer Croc's capture." He beckoned for Nightwing and Robin to follow him as he made for the zeta tube.

"I'm going to stick around for a while," Nightwing told him. "I earned a few brownie points, but they still don't really trust me."

"Keep in mind what we discussed."

"Relax," Nightwing said slowly. "I'm revealing our identities, not divulging all our secrets."

"Unless you allow Miss Martian—"

"I'm not going to show her everything if it even comes to that," Nightwing cut him off. "We've already talked about this. You're going to have to start trusting me."

Those were the magic words. "Fine. Alfred will be expecting both of you for breakfast." He headed for the zeta tube without another word.

"Tell me your secret," Robin whispered as they headed for the living room, where most of the team had vanished to.

"Wait until he screws up massively and then milk it for all it's worth," Nightwing replied.

"Are you teaching Robin how to guilt-trip Batman?" Wally asked from the doorway.

"It's an important talent," Nightwing replied lightly. "I'd almost call it a survival skill."

"I'm not sure I should be taking survival tips from you of all people," Robin chimed in. Nightwing put him in a headlock, but let him go when he started to squirm. He'd be a pain-in-the-ass older brother later when there wasn't a room full of people waiting for an explanation.

The three boys finally entered area, where the team was already assembled. M'gann was making sandwiches in the adjacent kitchen with Artemis not-so-subtly supervising her.

"Hey," Nightwing said awkwardly to the room at large.

"Hey," Artemis said back. "Are you going to tell us how you kicked death in the balls yet?"

"Would death even have balls?"

"Does it matter?" Conner interrupted, holding the remote aloft as Raquel tried to make a grab for it and ended up falling into his lap. Artemis laughed loudly at them while M'gann let out a soft giggle.

"I guess not." Nightwing perched on the edge of the nearest chair with Wally settling himself on the arm; Robin just flat-out threw himself on the floor. Wally grabbed three sandwiches the instant M'gann put the plate on the coffee table, handing one to Nightwing.

"You have our attention, Nightwing," Kaldur said.

"I guess I should start by, I don't know, sharing a few old secrets as a show of good faith." Nightwing took a bite of his sandwich, chewing slowly while he psyched himself up for what came next. "You guys remember the Haly's Circus mission? Well, Raquel and Robin won't because they weren't around back then." He took another bite.

"I wish I could've gone," Zatanna remarked.

"Get to the point, Nightwing," Conner demanded.

"In a minute. This is a mighty fine sandwich, M'gann." It seemed her cooking had improved… at least when it came to sandwiches.

The Martian blushed a little. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Nightwing threw her a cheesy grin that made Wally elbow him. "Anyway, those of you who were on the mission with me might've guessed I had a… personal investment in the case." He finished the sandwich. "I grew up there. I come from a family of circus acrobats, the Flying Graysons." He slid his fingers beneath his mask and pried it off.

M'gann actually squealed. "You're Richard Grayson! Oh my God… does that mean Bruce Wayne is Batman?"

"And Robin is my little brother, Jason Todd."

Jason pulled off his mask as well. "Hi."

"Called it," said Artemis. Wally made a rude noise at her.

M'gann squealed again, bouncing in her seat. "This is so… wow. I've always wanted to meet you!"

Now it was Dick's turn to blush, while Wally, Jason and Artemis all hastened to disabuse her of that notion.

"You really don't," said Artemis.

"No, really," Jason added. "He's not even that cool."

"He's a bit of a dick, to be honest," Wally said. Dick smacked him.

"My friends call me Dick," he explained.

"Worst nickname ever," said Wally.

"Anyway, I had to nag Bruce for a week before he agreed to let you guys in on our identities," Dick continued. "I don't think I need to tell you guys to keep this quiet. I get kidnapped enough as it is."

Jason sniggered. "Dick Grayson: Boy Hostage."

"Oh, please. You've had your fair share of kidnappings, too. It's like a rite of passage."

"As I don't have to die, too."

"Yeah, it's not very pleasant." Dick kept his tone deliberately light. "I wouldn't recommend it."

"Speaking of dying," Zatanna prodded, "how did you come back?"

"How much do you guys know about Ra's al Ghul?"

"He's one of Batman's pet bad guys, isn't he?" said Conner.

"Basically. Bruce and I were after him when we ran into the Joker in Sarajevo." Dick wasn't in the mood to give out the gory details. "Long story short, Ra's had hired him as a distraction and felt bad when I ended up dead. He's been using these things called Lazarus Pits to prolong his own life, so he tried throwing me into one to bring me back… and here I am." Don't think about it don't think about it don't think—

"Why'd he feel bad, though?" asked Zatanna. "I mean, doesn't he kill people all the time?"

"Ra's has a… warped sense of morality," Dick replied. "It wasn't part of his agreement with the Joker to kill me and, even if he'd wanted me dead, he would've skipped the whole torture part of the program. It also probably had something to do with the fact he deeply respects Bruce even though they're usually enemies. I was also a kid and, well, you know what they say about one death being a tragedy and multiple deaths being a statistic."

"Okay, fine," said Conner. "We get it. Where the hell were you these last two years?"

"Did he wait to bring you back?" Artemis added.

"No more than a month or two," Dick replied; he'd been dreading this line of questioning all night. "I can't say for sure. I haven't been able to nail down an exact timeline."

"So, why didn't you come back earlier?" Conner insisted. "What were you even doing?"

"I don't want to talk about," Dick replied. "The last two years were pretty rough. Let's leave it at that for now."

"How are we supposed to trust you if you won't—"

"For now," Dick repeated sharply. "That's not a never. I'll tell you when I have a handle on all of it myself. Bruce, Wally and Jason know about some of it. If you won't trust me, you could try trusting them."

"I'll vouch for him," Wally said immediately. "Let him deal with his shit first, okay? I'd like to see you go through what he's been through and then be all chatty about it."

"I think you made your point, Wally," Dick murmured. Finding a balance between treating him like glass and treating him like a tank that could take on everything in his path had been a difficult task for everyone he knew. Bruce tended toward the tank; Wally favoured the glass.

"Dick's all right," Jason added. "We got in a few fistfights at first but we're good now."

"I wouldn't call them fights," Dick said with a grin. "That would imply you actually had a chance against me."

"One day, Grayson. One day."

"Isn't he adorable?" Dick laughed when Jason made to punch him, deflecting his fist with his foot. "I'm still willing to let M'gann read my mind if I have to, but I want to talk to her about some things first."

"Another day, perhaps," said Kaldur. "It is late and we should all rest. Welcome back to the Team, Richard. Now go home."

"Whatever you say, boss." Dick kicked Jason. "Come on, Little—"

"Not in front of the team," Jason complained.

"Whatever you say, Little Wing."

"Aww, Little Wing," said M'gann.

"No."

"C'mon, Jay." Dick slid onto the floor beside him and punched his shoulder.

"You're embarrassing me."

"It's a badge of honour," Wally chimed in. "You have no idea how many times Dick embarrassed me in front of the team in our first year."

"Oh, please," said Artemis. "You embarrassed yourself."

"He punched me a lot, too."

Jason snorted. "Did he pull your pigtails—hey!" Dick had elbowed him in the gut.

"Aren't we supposed to be going home?" he said pointedly. He tolerated Jason's teasing most of the time—encouraged it, really—but he drew the line at being outed in front of the team before he was ready.

"Sure, okay, whatever."

"Are you going to sleep over again?" Dick asked Wally. "Or did you want to go home?"

"I guess I should go home," Wally replied. "Let the folks know I'm still in one piece. That cool?"

"It's cool. See you tomorrow."

"Wait, Dick," said Zatanna. The smile she was giving him instantly made him feel like the worst person in the world.

"What is it, Zee?"

"Could we talk? Somewhere private?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Dick got up, offering her his hand. "Got anywhere in mind?"

Zatanna pulled herself up. "Just follow me."

"I'm going home," Jason said as they left the room.

Zatanna led Dick to the garage, where they leaned against one of the motorbikes. "This should be far enough for nobody to overhear."

Dick so hadn't wanted to do this tonight. "Okay, so, uh, what'd you want to talk about?"

Zatanna shrugged. "Just wanted to figure out where we stood. I mean, we were still together when you… you know."

"Yeah, I… yeah." He had to say something. It wasn't fair to string her along. "Look, Zee…"

"Are we breaking up?" Zatanna had a wry smile on her face. Dick wasn't sure what it meant.

"I… yeah."

"I'm not mad, Dick," Zatanna said reassuringly. "It's been two years. That's a long time. Sooooo, you got your eye on somebody else? Huh?" She nudged him, grinning at the colour in his cheeks. "It's great seeing you unmasked. Embarrassing you is so much more fun."

"You're evil."

"So, who do you like?" She poked his ribs. "You need some food. You're gonna fade away." She poked him again.

Dick squirmed. "Zee!"

She punctuated every word with another poke. "Who. Do. You. Like?"

Dick blew a raspberry at her. "It's a secret."

"And you're ticklish." She lunged for him but he dodged her. "Come on, tell me!"

"No no no no—AH!" Zatanna had managed to catch him, latching her arms around his middle. "I'll never tell!"

"All you have to do is tell me and I'll stop," Zatanna said, attacking his ribs. "Tell me your secrets!"

Dick wriggled in her hold but couldn't get away without risking an injury to one of them. He was breathless from laughter.

"Come on," Zatanna goaded. "I promise I won't tell."

"Promise?" Dick panted.

Zatanna stopped her attack. "I promise."

"Okay, fine." He pulled free of her grasp, looking down at the ground and wishing the heat in his face would go away. "It's Wally."

Zatanna blinked. "Okay, I didn't expect that. I thought you were gonna say Artemis. Or Raquel, maybe."

Dick shrugged. "Gender doesn't really come into the equation for me."

"Oh. Okay. Cool. Does Wally know?"

"Yeah, and it's mutual." Dick couldn't suppress a stupid grin. "We're, um, a thing now."

"Oh, look at you blush." Zatanna gave him a fake punch in the gut. "You were going to keep this to yourself, sneaky."

"Not forever," Dick said, a little defensively. "Didn't want to throw too much at the team at once."

"I forgive you. Dick." Zatanna snorted. "That is the best nickname ever."

"Not you, too."

"Too late!" Zatanna laughed her way out of the room, pausing at the doorway to look him up and down. "By the way, I like the new costume. Very sexy." She was gone before Dick could reply.

Well, that went better than expected.