Rising Robin

Chapter IV: Urban Legend

Dick watched as Clark pulled out his ring of keys and opened his apartment door. Clark stepped inside first, then gestured for Dick to come in.

Dick had chased after Clark once they got off the bus. Dick said he'd tag along with Clark, wanting a small tour of the city. Then once he'd get word from his "uncle" that he was ready for Dick, he'd leave. In the meantime, Dick offered to help out with Clark's story.

So Clark showed him around Metropolis on their bus ride. Clark eventually invited Dick up to his apartment for some lunch. Dick was hiding it well, but he was incredibly hungry. He didn't remember the last time he had a proper meal.

Dick stepped inside of Clark's apartment. The doorway led to the kitchen, which was big with an island to sit at and eat dinner on. Going past the kitchen was a living room with a few couches and a coffee table set up in front of a huge entertainment system. A flat screen TV with large speakers and a stereo. Over to the side was a desk, probably for Clark's work.

Clark took a seat at the island. "Come on, have a seat," he said with a smile. "Make yourself at home."

Dick nodded and slid onto a stool on the island. He gave a slight smile, still uneasy in being in the nice apartment.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Clark asked.

"Just water," Dick said softly. He was still trying to figure out how much money Clark made from his job to afford such a nice home.

Dick was so lost in thought that he almost didn't notice Clark set the glass of water out in front of him. Dick took a sip as Clark sat down. He suddenly had a notepad in his hand.

"Alright," Clark said. "I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to get this started. Tell me about Dick Grayson."

Dick took another sip, quickly trying to figure out how to do this. "Well, I don't know where to start," Dick said.

Clark tapped a pen by his notepad. "How about when you first met him?"

Dick nodded. He took a deep breath. "I was at the orphanage a little bit before him. I was 8 when my parents died. Not too long after that, he showed up. I knew who he was before he knew who I was. He was like a celebrity to me. But we had more in common than I realized." Dick took another sip. "He was sort of lonely growing up, having been a circus acrobat. He didn't really make much friends his own age since he was always performing. His parents were all he really had. Mine were all I had too. He and I got along, me being a fan and all. He and I soon became great friends.

"He and I were friends at the orphanage together for maybe a year or two when someone new came along. A girl. She was a year younger than Dick and I, but just like every other orphan when first arriving, she was shy. Dick and I welcomed her to the orphanage the way most kids hadn't. We made a good impression on her and she was thankful for us being so kind."

Dick took a deep breathing, suddenly regretting ever having agreed to telling Clark any of this. He continued anyway. "We all grew closer. We got older. Things changed a little bit. Dick sort of began to grow feelings for this girl. I understood, she really was gorgeous. maybe a year later, someone had adopted her, leaving Dick and I back to where we had started: with just each other. I guess he really loved her, because not knowing where she was anymore kind of drove him a bit crazy, I guess. He stopped sleeping. He wouldn't eat. He wouldn't talk to me the same anymore. Sometimes he'd even disappear for a while, and no one had any clue where he went.

"I remember, one rainy night, I woke up to the sound of thunder and sat up from my bed. I saw Dick sitting on the floor against his bed. The moonlight from the window above his bed sort of cast a light over him. I could see a few pieces of paper laid out in front of him. One or two were some gruesome drawings. One seemed like a blueprint of some sort with markings of his own. He also had a list of what looked like names on another sheet of paper. On his lap, he was writing a letter.