Author's Note: Apologies are extended to Danny-lovers,
he's *not* in this story.
While the events at the beginning of this story occur during the period
when Danny Chase was a member of the Titans,
I never liked the kid and I'd rather not have his kind of insensitivity
around Dick in this situation.
(Yes, I'm referring to the jerk
kid's blasé dismissal of Jason's death in canon - New
Titans #55.)
Scans are posted here: http://www.livejournal.com/community/scans_daily/1252228.html
DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to DC and not
me. I'm just borrowing them for a while to spin a tale. All these
characters are used
without permission, and I'm not profiting from this piece of fan
fiction,
so please don't sue me. And I Shall
Build You Wings, So You May Fly Again By firewolf August 2005
@>;-'-
They hadn't known what
to
expect when Raven called the Titans together
to arrange a journey to Wayne Manor for a visit. Dick had been absent
for a few weeks, but they had all thought that he was just busy with
Gotham business. The papers had been rife with rumours of something
involving the Police Commissioner, the Joker and the family of Gotham
City's most prominent businessman; but there hadn't been any concrete
information out there and the Titans knew better than to jump the gun
on media gossip.
Besides, the Bat guarded his
territory zealously; not even Superman was
allowed free leave to visit on a whim. And being knowledgeable about,
though not the why of, the strained relationship between Nightwing and
Batman, the Titans hadn't wanted to make matters worse by dropping in
on their leader unannounced.
They had been nervous though
about visiting Wayne Manor, where they'd
deliberately place themselves under the critical eye of *the* Batman.
However, Raven had convinced them that it would be important for them
to meet Dick there. In deference to Nightwing's insistence on security
and the import of secret identities, they had planned to have Donna and
Joey go ahead in their civilian guise and give Raven the signal when
they arrived so she could teleport Vic, Gar and Kory into the Wayne
receiving room. They had been very surprised to find Roy Harper, Wally
West and Garth already in attendance and speaking with a curiously
jumpy Jason Todd while Alfred served them tea and small cakes. It was
only after the Titans, current and original, were congregated in one of
the family rooms that Bruce Wayne finally appeared to speak to them.
They hadn't wanted to believe
their ears. Starfire had been the most
vocal and angry about their being informed *weeks* after the fact that
the Joker had shot Dick and caused him to be confined in a wheelchair
for the foreseeable few years. He may not have been wearing the cowl
then, but it was unmistakable to the Titans that it was *Batman* who
laid into Kory and told her very coldly he would not tolerate anyone
upsetting Dick. And if the Titans were not able to control their
emotions or dared to express *pity* for his son, he would bar them from
seeing him.
Vic and Raven had quickly
taken Kory aside then. Raven to calm her
fiery temper. Vic to counsel her and give her a bit of insight into how
he had felt himself after he had been hurt in the same accident which
killed his mother, and woken up to find himself a crippled. He didn't
want Dick to feel the same way he had felt all those years ago.
Back then, Vic had turned
away from his friends and had hated the pity
he saw in their eyes. And he had been bitter and frustrated throughout
the operations and physical therapy that his father put him through to
give him the ability to walk and function again as an able bodied man--
but as a Cyborg. Until he had hooked up with the Titans, Vic had stayed
an angry young man who could not accept the changes or his new physical
appearance. It had taken him a long time to finally come to terms with
his life and find acceptance in himself.
The rest of the visit had
gone well after that. Dick received his
friends in his bedroom and they did try their best to keep the mood
upbeat and hopeful. With Bruce 'Batman' Wayne hovering protectively in
the background as a constant reminder, how could they not?
Working together in concert
the way Nightwing had trained them to,
Donna and Vic had double teamed Dick and shot down his attempt to
resign from the Titans and just cede leadership of the team to them.
They reminded him Nightwing also had to appear and remain as active
Titans leader for a few more months at least, so as to ensure he was
dissociated from devastating injury visited upon Dick Grayson. After
that Dick was too much of a leader not to slip into planning mode to
figure out a way to preserve his secrets.
Vic had discretely drawn back
then to half listen to and watch as Dick
asked Roy and Wally for assistance and discussed how they might help
him with the deception. Even as Vic added his input and gave
suggestions on how they might keep their communications a secret, and
even design a set up for Dick in the Bat Cave where he could monitor
and guide the Titans from a distance, Vic couldn't stop his eyes from
occasionally drifting to the gleaming metal wheelchair sitting beside
Dick's bed.
A wheelchair, Dick Grayson--
Nightwing... in a *wheelchair*! The very
idea sounded vulgar to Vic. Nightwing was a man of action, grace and
motion. While the doctors had assured Dick that his current paralysis
was not going to be permanent since he did have some feeling in his
legs, being confined to the wheelchair would be his reality for the
foreseeable few years as he learned how to walk again. And until then,
it felt like it was a-- a heinous crime for *Nightwing* to be dependant
on a-- *wheelchair* to move around.
By the time the Titans left
Wayne Manor, Vic had made a promise to
himself that he was going to have Nightwing on his feet again and
walking before the year was out. He knew Dick would never agree to
total or even partial dependence on mechanical assistance, however, Vic
thought he could persuade him to accept aid in making his physical
therapy easier. At the least, Vic was going to design an apparatus
which would ensure Dick could keep his muscle tone and help him prepare
for a time when he regained full control of his legs to walk again.
Nightwing would not be like
him. Vic swore this to himself, even as he
disappeared into his lab the moment Raven teleported him, Gar and Kory
back to Titans Tower. He was not going to let Dick lose anymore of
himself to the Joker's bullets.
*~*~*~*~*
"Victor?"
The soft call beside him
shocked Vic awake from where he was slumped
over his table of sketches and notes. "Shit! Witch! Knock first, why
don't cha?"
"I did." Raven gave him an
amused smile as she handed him a cup of
coffee which he accepted gratefully. "I believe you were too fast
asleep to hear me enter."
Vic breathed deeply of the
heavenly coffee aroma and practically
inhaled half the cup. "I take back every bad thing I ever said about
you, if I ever said anything bad about you in the first place. Thank
you, this is God send, girl."
"God? That would be me, I
think?" Donna called to him in laughter as
she stood at the door to his lab with a plate of sandwiches.
"You girls are good!" Vic
took the offered plate appreciatively and
began to eat with great gusto.
"You should be resting,
Victor." Raven chided him gently as she frowned
at the piles of papers he had scattered over his work table.
Donna looked at him with
concern too. "Raven's right, Vic, you weren't
released from STAR all that long ago, you know?"
Cyborg gritted his teeth as
he recalled his recent hospitalisation and
what he and the Titans had discovered. It had been *very* fortunate
that Speedy was trying out the prototype communication mask which Vic
was making for Dick. Roy had been transmitting sound and visuals,
through his Speedy-mask, to their friend who had had to stay in Gotham,
instead of rushing down to STAR labs as Dick had desperately wanted to
do.
If they hadn't been testing
the mask, so that Dick would watch and
listen to them from the Bat Cave... if Dick hadn't noticed the monitors
in the background-- The Titans would never have known or understood how
the Wildebeest had managed to briefly take control of him to make him
attack his friends. And STAR would have gotten away with continuing to
have a spy recorder within him for their voyeuristic purposes. ¥
The incident had only made
Vic even more determined to help Nightwing
and to restore him on his feet as the field leader of the Titans. No
one needed that kind of close call again. Nightwing could do much more
in the field than he currently was stuck in the Bat Cave observing at a
distance.
"Victor?" Raven interrupted
his thoughts curiously, being very polite
in not looking at the papers on his table. "I-- sense that Richard has
been on your mind a lot and you've been busy for him..."
"You bet I've been busy." Vic
stopped eating long enough to growl to
himself. "You can't tell me that it's so *wrong* for Nightwing to be
confined to a wheelchair for at least the next year or so?"
Donna sucked in a deep breath
at his statement. "Rhea, no. It's
unacceptable."
"But there's nothing we can
do, Victor." Raven looked away sadly. "I
tried. Please believe me I tried as hard as I dared. But there's still
that bullet in his spine..."
"Hey, hey, Witch. We know."
Vic put down the coffee and half eaten
sandwich to take her hand in his. "We know you did your best. You
always have." He assured her gently. "You never did anything by half
measures, Witch. You've saved all our bacons at one time or another."
"You saved and healed me,
when I almost died after I was attacked by my
'sister's' attack forces."± Donna placed her hands on Raven's
shoulders in comfort. "You saved Dick's life too that time when the
Wildebeests suit exploded in front of him."§
"But this time, Richard
cannot walk, Donna. It-- it is tantamount to a
living death for him to be so-- still and confined... And I couldn't do
anything."
Vic released Raven so that
Donna could draw her into a comforting hug
while he petted her back. "As much as you're the Titans' miracle
healer, Witch; you can't be expected to cure and heal everything all
the time.
"You can't, Raven; and you
gotta remember that and not push yourself to
do what's impossible."
"But--"
"Raven." Donna's interruption
stopped her from saying more. "I am a
demigod. Yet I'm not omnipotent. We're still *human* and limited.
"Dick understands. More than
any of us, *he* understands limitations.
And while he has always pushed and encouraged us to do our best and
more, he knows when things are beyond our reach."
"But it's-- Batman called me.
The night the Joker-- shot Richard,
Batman called me and-- and asked if I could heal him. And I
*couldn't*--" Her voice cracked on that word as she started to cry
softly. "Then-- I couldn't tell any of you. I -- had to keep it a
secret-- until Richard was moved back to Wayne Manor-- and out from
public eye-- And he's-- Richard has been so brave in-- in front of all
of us--"
Donna looked up at Vic at
that point. "Give me some good news, Vic."
Her voice was thick with tears. "Please-- tell me you were working on
something which could end this nightmare."
"Yes, I am, Donna, Raven." He
told them as they both turned to face
him, his face set in grim determination. "As God is my witness,
Nightwing will fly again."
*~*~*~*~*
Vic had working designs for
the prototype completed by the time he was
ready to set up a part of the Bat Cave for Dick to use as his Titans
console. Now, all he had to do was find a way to discreetly ask Dick
for his approval before he could start taking readings to beginning
tuning the system to his body. However, he also knew better than to
raise the issue while working on the wiring under Batman's watchful
eyes.
Within the superhero
community, Batman and his protégés
commanded a lot of respect because they were completely un-augmented
humans and yet could stand shoulder to shoulder among the best of the
meta-human heroes. It would not be an easy task to convince them to
accept mechanical assistance or physical reinforcement of their human
bodies.
Shelving his plans for a
moment, Vic had turned his attention back to
the console he was setting up for Dick and handed him a wireless
headset. "Here, this will keep you in contact with the Titans via the
mikes we'll have stashed in Roy's mask.
"As soon as he comes out from
changing we can try out the mike and
cameras which will let you hear and see everything from his
perspective."
"Yeah, once he's done
preening." Wally snickered as he petted Dick on
the shoulder. "You should have heard him bitch about the hair dye,
Dick."
"It itched!" Roy called out
from behind them, drawing their attention
to him as he finally stepped out of the costume vault in full Nightwing
regalia. "So how do I look?"
No one had been prepared for
the heartbreaking look of naked longing,
which appeared on Dick's face the moment he saw Roy, least of all Dick
himself. Roy had quickly ripped the mask off his face even as Dick
turned away from him to stare at the blank monitor.
"Roy-- put the mask back on."
They could hear Dick's voice tremble as
he tried to control his reaction. "We-- need to check the cameras."
"Outside." Wally heard
Batman's gruff voice beside him before the man
strode to Dick's side and placed his hands on his son's shoulders.
The speedster didn't need to
be told twice to grab the Nightwing-garbed
Roy and take him out of the Bat Cave. In a matter of seconds, the
monitor flickered on to show them that Roy was at the gym in Titans
tower.
"Receiving clear visuals,
Roy, say a few words." Dick's voice was only
slightly steadier when he reached to turn on the console's speakers so
they could all hear them. "Wally? You too, let's test the mikes."
They completed the visual and
sound systems check as quickly as
possible before Cyborg took his leave too via Raven. It was quite
obvious to him that Dick was barely holding it together and Batman
wanted him out of his cave so they could have some privacy. It went
without saying that they'd wait a few days before they subjected Dick
to having to watch a Nightwing-garbed Roy try out some 'acrobatic'
moves with Wally's 'invisible' assistance.
*~*~*~*~*
It took another week or so
before Roy and Wally were finally ready to
debut as 'Nightwing' returning to the Titans after a break. They had
carefully timed it to coincide with Bruce Wayne's press conference,
which he was holding to stop the growing rumours within Gotham City,
confirm with the media that Bruce had officially adopted Dick Grayson
as his son, to formally acknowledge Dick as his heir to Wayne
Industries, and to answer the media's questions regarding the Joker's
involvement in his son's injuries.
As they had predicted, a
media circus had erupted around the
information which Wayne industries released. And the newspapers in
Gotham, and across the nation, were splashed with photographs of Bruce
Wayne standing supportively behind Dick Grayson in his wheelchair. At
the same time, Nightwing's return to the Titans had rated a side bar on
the front page of the New York papers, beside the headline news from
Gotham.
In celebration of Roy's
successful debut as Nightwing, the Titans had,
with Batman's permission, held a gathering in the Bat cave to toast the
masterminds and assess the effectiveness of the set up Vic had created
for Dick. Much to everyone's surprise, Batman even broke out some
champagne for them along with soda for those who did not drink alcohol.
Before the evening was
through though, the Bat Cave was to be hailed
and visited by Superman who knew Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson
personally. Donna had given Vic a significant look then and without any
further signal exchanged, she had presented Vic with a distraction to
allow him the opportunity to discreetly ask Superman if he would lend
his Kryptonian science to his little project.
"Rhea, Dick. It was good to
have you back on the field, if only in
voice and proxy." She toasted Roy.
"I don't know how you do it,
Dick." The archer was exhausted and
slumped in his chair. "You make it look so effortle-- I mean-- your job
is tough, man."
"I don't see why you're
complaining." Wally carried on lightly, as they
all covertly watched Dick in concern; hoping that Roy's incautious
words hadn't dampened his spirits over their success this week. "I did
most of the work to make you look good."
"Hate to bring it up, guys."
Gar looked towards Dick with a grin. "But
what do we call you now? Too many Nightwings will make things confusing
if we have to call Roy that and you're still Nightwing too."
Dick gave Roy a mock glare as
he opened his mouth to speak. "You may
hear my voice in your ear, Lost Arrow, but 'no', you're not calling me
'Jiminy Cricket'."
"You still need a new code
name." Gar whirled around the Cave excitedly
in the shape of a green bat. "So here we go again with the names,
what'll it be? 'Brain Boy'? 'Mental Man'?
"Or how about the one I loved
best! 'Bird Brain!'" ¤
"You're losing your touch,
Gar." Dick hid his face in his hands trying
not to laugh, "Didn't you already suggest those names to me the last
time I went through this?"
"Yes, he did! And Gar, no!"
Donna was laughing with all the others in
the cave. "Those names were terrible then. They're just as terrible
now!"
"Coeus." The quietly spoken
words brought everyone's attention to
Batman.
"What's that?"
"'Coeus.'" Batman locked eyes
with Dick as everyone else seemed to be
holding their collective breath. "He is the Titan of intelligence and
deep searching questions."
Dick had taken a deep breath
at Batman's pronouncement. It was obvious
to all that the name resonated with him. "Donna--"
"Yes, Dick." She didn't wait
for the question to be asked. "I think I
can speak for him to say he will be honoured if you take his name."
"Yes, Richard." Raven added
her voice to Donna's encouragement. "As a
Titan, it is a fitting name for you."
"Coeus." Dick leaned back in
his wheelchair and tried out the name on
his tongue. "I-- like it."
"Then I propose a toast."
Batman raised his glass of champagne. "To
Coeus, long may he guide and protect."
"To Coeus!" Champagne flutes
and soda bottles were lifted high in a
salute to Dick.
It did not miss anyone's
notice that Batman's hand had moved to rest on
Dick's shoulder, or Dick's hand correspondingly reaching up to grip it.
Behind them, Donna was glad to notice that Vic and Superman had
finished their discussion and were both beaming at her. She couldn't
wait for the moment Vic was done with his project.
*~*~*~*~*
"Vic--"
"Please, man. Give it a
chance." Six months had passed since the Joker
shot Dick. Roy had only recently hung up Nightwing's uniform and taken
a place in the Titans ranks once more as Speedy. Vic had pushed it off
long enough; he needed Dick's cooperation now if he was to make the
prototype work at all.
"I--"
"What's wrong?" Lian Harper
stared up at Dick from where she sat on his
lap while he was seated in his wheelchair. "Uncle Vic said it'll help
get your legs to work again."
Bless the little munch-kin.
Vic did notice Dick's jaw tighten at Lian's
words, but he would never think of displaying in front of her how upset
he might have been with Vic's suggestion. It was dirty pool, but Vic
wanted all the advantage he could get on this sensitive subject. And
Roy had been willing to lend him his daughter for that very reason.
"Lian-- I-- wouldn't want to
be dependent on it."
"But it's just for exercise.
Right, Uncle Vic?"
"Lian--" Vic winced inwardly
at the exasperation in Dick's eyes as he
glared at him.
"Dick, it *is* to help you
exercise too. We're all concerned about how
to make sure you can maintain muscle tone so you can ultimately walk
and run again without any problem." Vic told him earnestly. "Please
man, it might even help to encourage the healing."
At the touch of Vic's cold
mechanical hands on his, Dick's eyes finally
softened. And Vic knew then that the man understood why he had gone to
the trouble and was so determined to work around Dick's own resolve to
not use or be dependant on mechanical assistance in his efforts to
regain the use of his legs.
*~*~*~*~*
It had been a day that was
long anticipated by the Titans and the Bat
clan. In the couple of months which followed Dick's reluctant agreement
to cooperate in Vic's project, he had been *very* busy. Knowing that
Dick would never agree to have an implanted interface, he had been left
with the predicament of how to produce a mode of communication between
the device and Dick's nervous system.
It had taken many hours of
consultation with STAR Labs; Garth with his
access to Atlantean technology; and Superman with his Kryptonian
science. Donna had even managed to get him in touch with Wonder Woman
to provide Vic with access to the technology of the Amazons. He had
worked himself to near exhaustion to finally come up with a solution,
and Vic's mounting excitement as he worked on his prototype made him
almost forget about eating for the few days before he expected Batman
to bring Dick to Titans Tower to see him.
In hind sight, he should not
have been so secretive with his project.
Vic hadn't wanted everyone to know what he had been doing because he
didn't want to build the anticipation for a success before he was ready
to reveal a successfully working prototype. He had also concentrated so
much of his focus on functionality and operation that he forgot and
disregarded the aesthetics of what the device would look like strapped
to his friend's body.
The silence had been
deafening when he threw the cloth off the
apparatus and revealed to the Dick, the Titans, and Batman and Robin
what he had built to assist his friend to walk again. In that split
second, Vic had suddenly realised how wrong he was to make the gadget
the way he did it.
'God damn you, you fool! You
idiot! This is wrong. This is so wrong!'
Vic's heart was screaming at him, sounding as loud as a thunder crack
in the silence of the gymnasium. He was stupid! He had spent so long
working out the possibilities and 'how to's' of the interface, he gave
no thought at all to how fitting it would be to the man he knew. He
hadn't given a single consideration to how he could have *conceived* to
put to put Dick Grayson-- to put *Nightwing* in the-- *monstrosity*
that currently faced them.
In this moment of sanity,
Cyborg had recoiled in stark horror of what
he had made and the first thought which came to his mind then was that
he was exactly like his father-- No-- he was worse... At least his
father did his best to give him human proportioned limbs.
"Vic? Victor!"
Dick's calm call shook him
out of his shock, and Vic had turned to him
with an apology was on lips, but Dick did not let him get it out. "I
know-- you spent a long time on this-- my friend. Let's give it a
whirl."
"Dick-- I--" Vic watched
dumbfounded as Dick wheeled himself towards
the table beside the apparatus.
"It's just the prototype,
isn't it?" Dick asked him softly. "Let's give
it a whirl and see if it'll give me the control you've promised.
"You can work on
miniaturising and streamline the design later."
"Dick--" He was too choked up
over his friend's graciousness to say
much more.
It took a long while, but Vic
had lifted Dick onto the table and
laboriously strapped the equipment and machinery over and around his
waist and legs. He made furious notes to himself as he did so, telling
himself that he was not ever going to make Dick suffer through this
indignity again.
For a moment after the final
buckle and bolt had been secured and Vic
switched on the device, Dick had stayed seated on the table to get used
to the feel of the device around him. For those few seconds when Dick
sat there unmoving, Vic had at first feared that all the humiliation
had been for naught-- that he had built a monumental failure. Then,
everyone in the room held their breath when Dick bent his knee to draw
it towards his chest. And Vic felt the light of hope grow within him.
This was the first voluntary movement Dick had ever managed to make
with his legs since the Joker shot him.
The device was as bulky and
as heavy as it looked, but Vic had thought
he did well to compensate for the weight with the energy cells he built
in to augment Dick's strength. Watching Dick strain now as he put the
flat of his palms on the table and started to carefully move and push
himself into a flawless handstand though, Vic made a mental note to
himself to remove the 'helpful' added strength and make the next device
lighter and more flexible.
Still, Vic knew his design
had been in the right direction. Even now,
as Dick moved his legs into (what Nightwing would call) a light
stretching routine, Vic could tell that he had accomplished a victory
in restoring a lot of his friend's motor control. At the least, as Dick
gained more confidence in his ability to control his body, his sense of
mischievousness was returning too.
No one missed Roy wincing and
turning quite pale to see Dick stretching
his legs in a midair split. It was quite well known among the Titans,
during the time Roy was masquerading as Nightwing, that he was far, far
less flexible. And had steadfastly maintained that a *man* was not
built to do the splits. However, the brief moment of amusement
instantly evaporated when Dick had moved to execute an easy forward
flip off the table to land on his feet before them.
Dick's scream of pure agony
had galvanised the Batman into motion to
catch him before he fell, while the rest of the Titans had been
momentarily frozen into inaction by the unexpected surprise. Vic had
charged forward immediately, paying no attention to anyone else in the
room as he ran his scanners over Dick's pain filled body to try and
find out what had gone wrong. He fearfully thought he had done
something unforgivable in the design of the apparatus-- that he might
have made matters worse...
Between him and Raven,
however, they had finally determined that-- it
wasn't the device. However, Vic had really wished it was... It would
have made the problem a hell of a lot easier-- made it *possible* to
overcome.
Dick's pain--? it was the
bullet. It was the God damn bullet from the
Joker which was still lodged in Dick's spine-- It was pinching-- it
would pinch on a specific nerve whenever Dick tried to rest his weight
on his feet.
Shit...
Vic couldn't look at Dick;
none of the Titans could. They had had to
look away from the stricken look of understanding on their friend's
face when he realised what it meant-- that he-- truly would never walk
again. That-- that even if he should, of his own power, rebuild the
strength and control required to move his legs on his own-- he still
wouldn't be able to walk as the bullet's presence would cause him
unbelievable agony.
The room fell into a silence
even more profound than the one which
precipitated Cyborg revealing his creation with that revelation. No one
knew what to say to comfort the shocked man who lay protectively
cradled in Batman's arms.
"No!" Dick's sudden scream of
rage made everyone look up to watch him
as he held Batman's cape twisted in his hands. "I will not let him win,
do you hear me? I am not going to let that bastard win!"
"Dick--" Batman tried to calm
him gently.
"Vic, Donna? Is my trapeze
apparatus still up?" Dick had turned towards
him and Donna determinedly, and they could see his eyes aglow with a
fire which made any who looked at him forget about the tears drying on
his cheeks.
"Trape-- we never touched
them." Vic admitted. "No one wanted to take
them down."
"Then rig up a-- a safety net
for me for now." Dick smiled at them
grimly. "I am going to fly again if it's the last thing I do." With a light of understanding
encouraging their speed, Donna and
Starfire had quickly found and stretched out the little used trapeze
safety net. Much to Vic's surprise, Batman had come to his feet with
Dick in his arms and handed him over to Cyborg's care.
"I'll be your catcher, Dick.
*You* get him up there." It had been hard
to swallow around the sudden lump in his throat for the acceptance and
trust which Batman and Dick were openly showing him.
As Dick had guessed and also
proven when he was swinging through the
air with practised ease, Vic's device had returned to him several
degrees of freedom. With Batman as his catcher, Dick showed he could
still perform some simple routines, though he was of course far from
able to perform his signature quadruple summersault; very far from
able...
*~*~*~*~*
Alone in his lab, Vic had
stared at the mess of machinery which now lay
on the floor like the sad monstrosity it was. In hind sight, he now
wondered what he had been thinking of to have designed this heavy,
bulky-- he had no words for it. He and everyone in attendance of the
grand 'debut' had recoiled in horror to imagine Dick putting it on. But
the man did so anyway-- because he knew Vic had worked so hard on it.
Well, it was truly useless
now given the prognosis he and Raven
discovered. There was no question that Dick was confined to a
wheelchair for life-- and there was nothing anyone could do to change
that.
He heard the knock before the
door slid open. There was no called
greeting though, so that more than anything told Vic who his visitor
was.
"Go away, Joey. I'm not in
the mood for company."
The mute Titan, however,
refused to listen but reached for Vic's chin
to make him look up into his forest green eyes. Vic's eyes flickered to
notice the hand sign Joey was making to him.
"Yeah? Dick flew."
Joey made another series of
signs before he repeated the movements he
made earlier again. Vic had flush when he read what Joey was saying.
"Shit, man. I know Dick can't
walk ever again. Raven and *I* made the
diagnosis." Vic tried to look away in frustration but Joey grabbed his
chin determinedly to make him continue to watch him.
"Joey..." Vic growled in
exasperation, but he continued to watch the
graceful movements. "Help Dick fly? But--"
Joey made more firm
movements, and Vic suddenly understood. "Dick--
Yes, he *is* happiest when he's up on the trapeze...
"Walk-- walking-- isn't as
important to Dick as-- as flying..." Vic
repeated Joey's communication in stunned comprehension.
Joey smiled warmly at him.
Then pointed at the heap of machinery on the
floor and made more gestures.
"Yes-- Joey, thank you." Vic
reached for his notes with a new fire of
determination lit within him. "Yes, I know what I have to do now."
He forcefully made himself
remember watching Dick's movements... It was
no question that he had to get rid of the bulky, heavy design. Though
the man had tried his best to keep it off his face, Vic had noticed
Batman straining to hold on properly each time he caught Dick's hands
at the end of a successful move. The man hadn't wanted to mar Dick's
achievements with a mistake on his part. The excess weight *had* to go.
Vic's mind was working
furiously, this project wasn't just going to be
stuffed into a cupboard and forgotten. He had the painful basics
completed. Now he needed to improve on it. Make it lighter... More
flexible... More responsive...
Cyborg was going to call in
all the favours he could muster for the
technology necessary to fulfil his goal; be it Atlantean, Kryptonian,
Amazonian technology... Perhaps Gar could help him as well with his
Titans West contacts, and he could get Charley Parker to let him
examine his Golden Eagle getup with its Thanagarean Nth metal. And this
time, Vic was determined to make it *look* proper as well. He wasn't
going to be a fool and forget that he was designing it for Dick
Grayson, the last of the Flying Graysons.
Without the ability to walk,
Nightwing was finished. But there was
still the man behind the mask to care about and Vic was determined to
give Dick back his aerial freedom. Even if it killed him, he was going
make it so that Dick Grayson could fly again as flawlessly as he ever
did before.
*~*~*~*~*
In the end, Vic had thought
that the final delivery of his gift to Dick
had been anti-climatic. As it was, he and the Titans had been almost
immediately embroiled on a Tamaranean mission, which took them light
years away from Gotham and their earth bound leader, Coeus.
At the end of the day, it was
probably just as well since it allowed
Dick and Kory to create the distance between them which they needed
after their painful break up. So the sojourn into space had been
welcomed. Still, it had not surprised the Titans that Kory chose to
remain with her family to help them rebuild their world after the quick
though devastating war Karras' sister has instigated; and to grieve
with them for the loss of her 'husband' and his sister. µ
Though he, like the other
Titans, had seen it coming from miles away,
it was still heartbreaking because they knew the two had loved each
other. Even so, Vic had to acknowledge that it was-- better they broke
up this way now, using the excuse of Dick's enforced new existence as
'the crippled Wayne heir.' And to be fair, no one wanted to *conceive*
of the ruckus which would erupt if the media ever linked Bruce Wayne's
son to an internationally renown alien supermodel. However, Vic knew
there was more behind the story. He had lived it himself, in Dick's
place.
As much as he loved Kory like
a sister, Vic thought her incapable of
showing sensitivity to Dick for his-- handicap. It wasn't as if Kory
was inconsiderate. Perhaps it was simply the nature of her race that
she could so easily dismiss physical imperfections and kept forgetting
Dick couldn't stand at his usual height anymore. Everyone *knew* Kory
didn't love Dick any less because he was confined to a wheelchair.
But-- she was just a constant reminder to Dick of his-- loss...
It was unfortunate, but
Kory's considerable status as a supermodel was
also a huge factor in the couple's problems-- In their society, she was
*the* image of physical perfection and beauty. Before Dick was
crippled, he could easily hold his own in turning heads when he was
with her. Now though, people saw the wheelchair first. And beside Kory,
the contrast in their stature was greater than it had ever been
before... And Kory truly didn't understand how much she was hurting
Dick with her forgetfulness and-- by merely being with him.
Then-- there was also Dick's
regrettable uneasiness with physical
contact after what the Joker and his men did to him. He may have been
in shock and half conscious during most of the abuse meted out to his
helpless body, but the trauma still existed. And while Kory was very
understanding and supportive, Vic knew Dick had been extremely
frustrated by what he perceived of as *his* difficulty in offering to,
or accepting from, Kory the affection she so easily wanted to share
with him... Adding on to that Kory's generally openly demonstrative
nature-- the stress she inadvertently caused hadn't been good for
Dick's self confidence or his mental health.
All in all, the Titans had to
mournfully accept Dick and Kory's
separation as being for the best. And that it was a good thing Kory
decided to remain behind when the Titans left Tamaran.
*~*~*~*~*
Back on earth again, Vic
hadn't exactly known what to expect when Dick
sent him and the Titans an invitation to a special 'show.' They had
arrived in the Bat Cave to find Wally, Garth and Gar already there
along with Superman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Barbara Gordon, and Alfred;
with a seating area set up within the cave. Once Alfred had ushered
them into seats though, Robin had grinningly turned on the spotlights
to draw their attention high above them where two men sat on opposite
trapeze bars to wave at them.
Vic had sucked in a quick
breath at the sight of Dick wearing the new
streamlined and improved leg and spine braces he had completed for him
months earlier. Then, he noticed the lack of a safety net and for a
split second Vic had been afraid of the 'show' that he knew his friend
intended to put up for them, until he remembered the presence of
Superman, Wonder Woman, Troia, Raven, and Beast Boy. They could easily
handle any aerial emergency should it arise, and Vic had an immediate
insight which told him everything would be fine.
With a nod and a salute to
each other, the two men began their
performance; Dick going through the movements which had made his family
famous, Bruce catching and ensuring his safety. Their audience had
stared enraptured and applauded enthusiastically at the magnificent
aerial performance high above them.
Twists, multiple
summersaults-- Dick did them all, making Vic feel
relieved and ecstatic for his success with his creation. Dick was
flying again. He may not be able to walk, but he was *flying.*
With Dick's completion and
return to his side of the trapeze set up
after performing a triple summersault, Vic had thought the show to be
over-- until Dick started to swing again. In his wildest dreams, Vic
had hoped Dick would regain some aerial freedom with his gift, however,
he truly hadn't expected him to try and reclaim his full expertise.
Superman's hand calmly held him down.
"Supe--"
"Trust him to know his
limitations, Cyborg." Wonder Woman told them
softly, drawing Vic's attention to her to make him notice that she was
holding down Troia too. "You've always trusted him when he was
Nightwing, and now as Coeus, for his sense of judgement. Trust him now."
So they sat back and watched.
And it was quite clear that no one dared
to breathe when Dick made one last swing through the air and released
his bar.
One... two... three...
four... and a flawless catch...
Vic stared in jubilant
amazement, not noticing or caring he had tears
freely flowing down his cheeks. Dick had done it... The quad, the
signature piece of the last Flying Grayson... He had done it!
All around him the applause
was thunderous and loud whoops echoed in
the cave, frightening the bats and sending them screaming out into the
night. Vic couldn't make himself move nor say a word as his watering
eyes continued to blurrily track the two figures swinging together. He
had even been totally unaware as they separated and climbed down the
ropes to join their audience on the ground again.
Vic finally got up and moved
as if he was in a dream, stumbling towards
where Dick was seated in his wheelchair once more while Alfred
carefully put away the spine and leg braces for cleaning and storage.
The others had quickly cleared the way for him. This was as much his
triumph too for the apparatus which he had designed and built for their
friend.
"Vic!" Dick reached to grab
his hand as he stared up at him, his face
and cheeks flushed with joy and excitement. "Thank you,"
"Wha--? Aww, Dick. *You* did
it." He tried to brush off his
contribution to that amazing performance. "Science can't duplicate
ability or determination, man! You did it *yourself.* It was *you*!"
"Vic! *You* made it
possible." Dick told him firmly. "Because of the
bullet that's still in me, I can't walk.
"You know better than anyone
else that I couldn't ever be Nightwing
again because of it. But you still worked on the exoskeleton anyway.
Improved it... streamlined it... You did this even though you had no
reason to."
'I had lots of reasons too,
brother!' Vic's heart bristled at Dick's
claim, but he stayed silent and let his friend talk.
"*You* made it possible for
me to *fly* again, Vic. Thank you."
"I--" Batm-- Bruce Wayne's
hand had reached over to tighten over his
shoulder as if in warning, and Vic finally gave in. "Dick-- it-- it was
my pleasure, man. To see that-- To see you do the quad again--
"It was worth it, man! It was
*worth* it."
"Yes, yes it was."
Faced by his friend's
brilliant smile, Vic could feel fresh tears
freely flowing down his face once more. He didn't care that he was
almost ready to bawl like a baby. He hadn't realised how much he missed
seeing *that* smile until this moment.
All his hard work-- the hours
he'd spent slaving over the designs--
Yes, it was worth it. It was worth it to see Dick Grayson-- to see the
friend he had long admired and loved *smile* again, and mean it with
all his heart.
The End
± New Titans #50 (New Teen
Titans: Who Is Donna Troy? TPB)
¥ The New Titans #57 to 59
§ New Teen Titans #36 [1987]
¤ The New Teen Titans #40 (New Titans: Judas Contract TPB)
µ New Titans Annual #6