Title: The Weight of the World

Author: val'tanelle

Summary: [YJ S2] In the absence of the Dark Knight, Gotham's nights pass by unchecked. Dick Grayson must don the cowl he fears the most to keep Batman alive. But when a ten-year-old boy attacks the Team, things get complicated. His demands? To meet his father. His name? Damian Al Ghul.

Notes: About Damian Al Ghul. Damian is a canon character from the DC universe for those unfamiliar with the comics. He has taken the mantle of Robin since Dick Grayson took up the cowl on Batman's "death" and is the current Robin in the new 52 with Bruce as Batman. This story is greatly inspired by Batman and Robin, following the adventures of Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne as the new dynamic duo before the reboot. They're my two favourite comic characters of all time so the pair is a real dream-come-true. There will be no slash in this fanfic or pairings as far as I know of. I promise no unnecessary fluff or cheese either. I plan to present this as realistic and emotional as the comics and the cartoon.

About Dick's fighting style. I will play Dick's character more like his comic counterpart. I don't know just how different he would seem to be but there hasn't really been enough Nightwing for me to tell what kind of character Dick was in the second season. He matured that's for sure but we haven't really seen him in action that much, sadly. I don't think it's that much of a concern. The Dick in the comics had his circus background portrayed very well. While the cartoon does have commendable animation, I don't think they've played Dick as Robin or Nightwing as acrobatic as he should be. I know that the Dick in the cartoon is more tech-savvy than his comic counterpart, which saddens me a little because Tim Drake was supposed to be the tech-savvy Robin. (And I read the comics AFTER Young Justice. I was surprised they didn't list Dick as a computer genius because he really wasn't.)

About Bludhaven and Teen Titans. I've never watched the entire Teen Titan series and only read the New Teen Titans comic. I've read Nightwing so I know Bludhaven. This might scare some of you cartoon-only-fans but the two are canon here, albeit with slight difference in details and some scratching of events to fit the 5-year span from the first season to the second season. Don't worry though. They're not really THAT important but I like having them as background for Dick Grayson. Anyway, I will elaborate things like these in the narrative.

About Static Shock. I don't know yet if he'll make an appearance but I really do love Static. I prefer him already having his powers already though, back in Dakota, which means wink wink.

The Weight of the World
Chapter 1: The Weight of the Cowl

A strong sense of déjà vu had almost gotten Nightwing killed. His attention span was poor, horrible even, but discipline over the years - instilled by Batman himself - had made his focus his sharpest blade. But there was no way Dick could keep such a tight leash on himself all the time. He had coped with it, shrugging the closest death call with a whoops! and moving on with a bigger grin, the thrill of danger only exciting him. This time, however, Dick wasn't smiling.

He cursed himself when Two-Face's men burst out from the door and ambushed him with a showy riot of gunfire. Nightwing had let the stairs – stairs – distract him when he was climbing up to the rooftop. A few hours ago, he had been in Gotham's even less than pleasant sister city, Bludhaven, where he was climbing a flight of stairs as well to ambush the drug dealers from the rooftop. It wasn't his intention to repeat the same tactic tonight and Nightwing internally wondered how uncreative he was getting.

Batman had always warned him not to get distracted. There was to be no trivial thoughts or musings, no idle chatter to get in the way. The latter had always been a rule Nightwing broke when he was a Robin. But Batman silently retracted his rules, conceding with a proud smile the effectiveness of Dick's own tactics. That laugh of his never ruined the element of surprise.

He sure was glad Bruce wasn't here to see him now hugging the wall because he let some stairs rile up his self-criticizing artistic side. Nightwing kicked off the wall and hurled himself as a ball to the ceiling. Bullets followed after him like a fireworks trail. He kicked off again from the corner, this time heading bottom, seemingly having escaped back down. The gunmen ceased fire as they looked over the railing and were promptly met with Nightwing's boots when the vigilante sprung up from underneath.

Nightwing hurried outside to the rooftop. Much to his surprise, Two-Face was there, waiting.

"You again?" Two-Face scorned, fiddling with the coin he had always been obsessed about. "No bats, not even his Boy Wonder? Well, technically, there's one right here."

"Not sure what law you're basing tonight's evidence, Harvey. This one here is a bird. Nightwing by the way, if you haven't seen the memo. A little late with the news."

Harvey Dent caught the coin in the air vindictively with his right hand. "Don't think you can fool me, Robin!" Two-Face snarled. "Batman has always been a solo man until you came along. You've already become an exemption to the rule but then you brazenly do it again to become his 'third' errand boy! You, Batman and all the other maggots you've spawned are still mortals. You just outgrew the Robin costume and had another brat fill it in."

"I'm not sure I follow your logic," Nightwing taunted, flipping backward to a higher ground. "But it sounds like a non sequitur!"

As Harvey ordered his men to shoot and Nightwing return fire with accurate shots of wing-dings, he mentally hit himself in the head. "Damn it, Dick. Why are you wasting time talking with the bad guys? Batman would have ended this five minutes ago!"

Nightwing had a lot of space in the rooftop. The bullets were never going to catch up with him and he could take him down from afar even before they run out of bullets. But Nightwing had forgotten that Harvey was a former attorney. He was a smart man and had been fighting Batman and Robin for years. There were taller buildings around them and a sniper had gotten a lucky shot on his arm.

No, not fucking lucky. That was Nightwing's stupidity, complacency, carelessness all the way. It was a graze, a close call and he didn't laugh. If Batman were here, he would have finished this without getting a single scratch.

Angrily, Nightwing threw a barrage of wing-dings, mixed with a single time-bombed one that hit the cement behind them. The bomb exploded, throwing them forward from the impact. Nightwing released the smoke pellets and engaged in close combat.

His com-link beeped. Nightwing answered the incoming call. He heard Conner from the other line.

"Nightwing, where – "

He bashed the grunts with his eskrima sticks and rolled forward when Two-Face's silhouette indiscriminately fired a machine gun.

Nightwing swiped a low kick to knock Two-Face off his feet. He jutted the butt of his stick at his jaw, making him drop the gun. Two-Face swung a punch that Nightwing dodged with ease and he countered with a knee kick on the stomach.

"Sorry, I'll be there soon."

But Nightwing's punctuality wasn't the issue right now. "I'm going for back-up. I'll bring Beastboy – "

"NO!" Nightwing shouted as he jumped out of the smoke as it dissipated. Two-Face was still standing. "I can take care of this –"

There was no goodbye or further insistence. Nightwing didn't bother to find out but Superboy must have figured out talking to Nightwing was only going to distract him. A quick game of hide-and-seek later, Nightwing caught Two-Face by surprise and had him sitting in some dirty laundry on a dingy alley with his wrists cuffed.

Nightwing let out a deep breath. "All yours, Commish. There's a couple more in the building but I can't be certain if they're still unconscious. I better come just in case." Nightwing turned around and saw that it wasn't Commissioner Gordon but Superboy.

Superboy didn't say anything. Nightwing scowled, annoyed that it had to be him who had to break the silence.

"Like I said, I didn't need back-up." Nightwing stepped aside as if to make Superboy see his point with Two-Face's beaten condition. "Why'd you come?"

"It was pointless talking to you. It was faster of me to come here."

"I see coming here was pointless too."

Superboy rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Guess it's what I deserve for being concerned." He jumped off high with his Kryptonian strength, Nightwing following with a grapple hook. When he saw Nightwing open his mouth, Superboy beat him to it. "Look, I'm guessing you're having a bad day but could you not get me into one too? It's done. Stop whining and let's get this over with already."

With the of the Gotham police department, the vigilantes cleaned up the rest of Two-Face's men. Commissioner Gordon gave his thanks and didn't hide the way he gave Superboy's insignia a thoughtful look. Nightwing half-heartedly gave some parting words while Superboy left without making eye contact, something Commissioner Gordon was too used too from the Batman. They made their way to the zeta-beam to go to Mt. Justice.

"Conner, I'm sorry," said Nightwing with a sigh. "It's really not just the day that's been bad. Or the day to be exact."

Superboy nodded. He didn't look upset or relieved. The clone was as tough as his Kyrptonian DNA.

"I know," he replied with understanding. "Gotham's hit the worst with the JL founders gone. I've been keeping tabs on Gotham, not because of you specifically." Superboy paused and Nightwing waited. "No offense."

Dick laughed. "None taken. Should I be flattered you've taken interest in my city?"

"Whatever suits you," said Conner with an indifferent shrug. "All I know is that a day with no Batman puts Gotham back where it used to be without him."

"Ouch."

Conner didn't apologize; he continued, "That's why you should ask the Team to help in the meantime. You're more than capable, I get it. We all get it. But you can't be running the Team while keeping Gotham under wraps 24/7 and whatever day job you have."

"Batman doesn't like having metas in his city that's why I have Batgirl and Robin help."

"I thought Gotham was your city? He's not here to call the shots."

"We have to pretend he is or they'll notice," said Dick. He looked away. "I know they already have."

"Well," began Conner, unable to sound sympathetic. Dick was fine with that. He preferred Conner this way. "Wear the cape, then? Megan's pretending to be her uncle and I'm pretending to be Superman…" A disgruntled growl slipped at the admission. "It's not like you'll have trouble pretending to be him. You can get away by just punching the bad guys down in his costume."

Dick's heart hammered. Conner had noticed.

"It's not that easy," mumbled Dick wearily.

At this, since the first time in a while, Conner appeared genuinely apologetic. He looked down with guilt, stopping.

"I'm…sorry for bringing it up."

Dick was taken back. "Hold up; what?" He laughed. "Dude, what are you saying sorry for? What's with the look?"

Conner peered at Dick. Dick looked uncomfortable for a moment. He knew Conner didn't have an X-ray vision like Superman but it felt like he was looking at him straight in the eyes, past the mask.

"I…" Conner gathered his thoughts and Dick waited patiently once more. Conner had gotten better with his temper but he was still bad at expressing himself, especially after his break up with Megan. "I…we didn't exactly help when Artemis and Kid Flash retired and Aqualad…betrayed us. I'm not really sure if this means anything but it's just you, me and Megan left from the original team. And Megan and I…"

"Are one pair of cute awkward turtles," Dick finished. Conner glared at him. "Dangerous, cute awkward turtles. What about? I still talk with Arts and Kid outside the costume."

Conner looked like he was regretting the entire conversation. He walked ahead of Dick. "Don't hesitate to talk to us. There's always something that you're hiding. I can tell. I've always thought it was just Batman's influence, like how he tells you to keep your civilian identity a secret even from the team. That doesn't really concern me much. But you've been keeping more and more of them – ever since you've become Nightwing, ever since the other Robin's death and ever since Aqualad's betrayal – I don't like being kept in the dark." Conner turned around and raised a fist. "That's what the League did to us. You better not be doing the same thing, not especially to your friends."

Dick stared at Conner. Somehow, what started out as a sympathetic notion turned to a threat.

Conner smirked, drawing his fist back. "I'm not Superman. You're not Batman."

Dick smiled. "Conner…"

Conner's face became solemn. "No, seriously, don't become like Batman. That would really piss me off."

They made it to the zeta-beam, an abandoned, old telephone booth, in small chatters and laughter. Conner wasn't as sociable as Dick but it didn't mean he didn't enjoy having a conversation. Dick wasn't talkative the same was as Wally was, whereas Wally usually annoyed Conner. Dick didn't make lame jokes but when was the last time any of them did? Wally was no longer there to speed around unexpectedly and Dick had stopped taking pleasure in startling his teammates with his "ninja thing." They had all grown up. In a span of five years, they were looking at their former selves; exasperatedly immature, inexperienced and young, bickering and still screwing up.

Dick loved the good old days. Conner sounded like they'd lost plenty since they started but Dick thought everything was pretty aster. Wally and Artemis retired but they're not dead. Kaldur "betrayed" them but he's not dead (Dick is sure no one in their team really wants that to happen.) Roy is crazier than ever to search for the real Roy Harper when the Justice League found no leads for the past five years…that, Dick will deal with but, again, he's not dead. Jason, Tula…well, they're dead but they were once alive. Dick preferred to remember the times absent friends were present. He wasn't like Batman who was fixed in the past, fixed with his mistakes.

He had been like that against Two-Face, wasn't he? It would have helped Batman's motivation become harder than ever but not Dick. He did not handle with brooding well like him. As Conner said, he wasn't like Batman. He wasn't anything like Bruce.

But evidently, it's Batman that Gotham needed and in the Dark Knight's absence, Nightwing had to step up to protect what Batman stood for. He was the first and original Boy Wonder, the Batman's right-hand man, his eldest son. No one needed to tell him, no one ever said it outright but he was supposed to take on the mantle when Bruce is gone. But he isn't dead, not yet. This was only temporary. He would hold on until Bruce came back. He was Nightwing, the Team's leader.

It was Nightwing and the Team that had kept Dick from considering the future when Bruce would be dead and he would have to be Batman. But was getting a glimpse of the future, a taste of what would await him someday. He had not spoken of the fear twisting in his stomach and he had not shared that to any other soul than to Black Canary since the training exercise five years ago. He didn't know if he were ready. Dick didn't know when he would ever be.

Conner placed a hand on his shoulder. Nightwing chuckled.

"Doesn't feel right that I'm taller than you now."

"I know."

Light exploded from within the telephone booth, transporting Nightwing to Mt. Justice with Superboy following. No more distractions, Dick swore. He had to stay whelmed no matter what. For now, he had to trust Conner's words: he wasn't Batman. Ever since Batman had gone with the other Justice League funders to clear their names, he'd been taking patrols in Gotham and having to send orders from there. More and more did the cowl whispered to his ears, judging and beckoning.

The computer heralded his entrance with his name and number. Nightwing stepped out and found Beastboy lying still in his pool of blood.

to be continued...

Notes: I know there are a lot of Conner and Dick slash out there. I'm not sure where it came from. Probably because of their mentors? I think it's an excellent parallelism but I hope it didn't come off so cheesy and forced. I noticed Superboy and Robin/Nightwing hardly have any interaction in the screen. Seems like Conner has always been limited to Miss Martian.

This is also my first DC fanfiction. I'm going to be grasping at shadows with some of the terms. Do correct me if I get some details wrong.