the robin & the canary; young justice

oo6: Infiltrator

G O T H A M C I T Y
August 8, 01:18 EDT

Dick Grayson perused the halls of Wayne Manor, not entirely sure why Batman had given him the night off, but he certainly wasn't complaining.

Sitting down on a couch in one of the living rooms of the Manor (because there were at least three), Dick grabbed a remote and flipped on the TV.

He was bored. Despite the quietness of the house at this moment, there wasn't really anything to do. Dick had already exhausted himself on the gymnastics rings, and now he wanted to work off some steam.

Well, it was also one in the morning, but for now, Dick ignored that little detail.

But, before the thirteen-year-old Boy Wonder was able to fully relax, there was a knock on the door. The front door.

Alfred, who had just walked in the room for something or another, glanced over at the young ward of Bruce Wayne, who looked just as confused as he was.

Who would be visiting them at this hour?

Dick popped his head up from the couch and made his way over to the entrance of the house after Alfred had already arrived.

As he paused in a nearby doorway, Dick was able to hear Alfred's voice, sounding decidedly shocked. Dick realized why at his next words.

"Miss Reese, what on Earth are you doing here?"

Poking his head around the doorjamb, Dick's eyes widened as he saw Reese, dressed in leggings and a long t-shirt, holding a small overnight bag, standing on the front stoop of Wayne Manor, long hair framing her face.

"Hey, Alfred," she answered quietly, before averting her eyes down to her feet, which were clad in nothing more than small ballet flats. "Is Dick here?"

"I would hope so," Alfred retorted, looking worried as he took in the harried state of the small girl in front of him. "It is his home after all,"

"Pretty bird," Dick began, stepping out from his hiding spot. "What happened?"

To his increasing shock, Reese suddenly burst into tears, bypassing Alfred without a second glance to wrap her arms around Dick, who returned the embrace without a second thought.

Reese buried her head in his shoulder, and if this were any other situation, Dick's face would be as red as Wally's hair.

"Rhysalin," he whispered, slowly rubbing his hand up and down Reese's back. "What's wrong?"

"It's Ollie," she mumbled into his shoulder. "He's r-replacing me,"

"What? What are you talking about?" Quickly exchanging a startled glance with Alfred, Dick led Reese into the living room, where he had been mere minutes before, and gently made Reese sit down onto the couch before he knelt in front of her. After a moment, the brunette continued.

"The arrow from when we fought Amazo, the one that wasn't mine? It belongs to this girl, Artemis, I think she's Wally's age. Ollie introduced us to each other tonight, introduced her to me as his niece," Reese's head shot up, and her brown eyes were rimmed with red as tears streamed down her face. "Boy Wonder, he lied to my face. Thea doesn't even have kids! A-And now he's saying Artemis is going to be his new protegee! Dick, what am I supposed to do?"

"Hey," he began, sitting down on the couch beside Reese and laying an arm across her shoulders, bringing the girl closer to him. "Pretty bird, I'm sure Ollie's not going to replace you. Plus, it's not like he hasn't had more than one protege at the same time before. I mean, look at you and Speedy,"