Young Justice 1. Episode 5 – Schooled

**Hello there. As you may have noticed I am not the most creative person when it comes to writing. My inspiration is very limited and my updates therefore very slow.**

**But here is a little something I thought about while watching episode 5 – Schooled.**

**However for this story to work, I had to twist the order of events as they happened in the episode a little around. Basically the scene where Bruce and Clark sit in the dinner and talk, happens ****after**** the whole Amazo incident has blown over and Young Justice has already retired for the evening.**

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METROPOLIS

August 3

The sun had gone down a long time ago and everywhere people retired for the day. The streets were empty and only a few people had still something to do.

The small street corner diner in the centre of Metropolis was still open and actually quite busy for that afternoon. Seated inside were two old friends, the reason for the sudden get-together was only known by one of them.

"Apple Pie" Clark said to one of the waiters who took their order. This was one of his favourite places and he had spent a lot of lunchbreaks in this place.

"The Devil's Food and coffee, black." Bruce Wayne ordered as he closed the menu and handed it back with a small smile playing on his lips.

Clark was still sceptic as to why and what Bruce wanted to talk to him about. Bruce had taken off some of his precious time and came all this way into his city to talk to him about it over dinner. It must be something personal if this conversation was held in public and not in the watchtower or over the com-link.

"Something tells me this isn't about dessert." Cark carefully asked. He really hoped that this conversation wasn't about what, or who he thinks it is.

His hopes were disappointed. Bruce's face had gotten serious the second the waiter was out of listening range.

"The boy needs you!" was all he said.

"No," Clark said, just a little too fast. "He needs you… he needs red. I'm just a constant reminder of who he is not."

Bruce couldn't believe it. Was he _trying_ to be such an emotionlessly shell? Didn't he see the problem?

"Sorry Clark, but you are dead wrong." He said. Slowly Clarks eyes drifted back from the window to Bruce. It was obvious in his look that he didn't see what Bruce was trying to tell him.

"Look," Bruce tried again. "I know he troubles you, but he is here. You have to get over the how and why. Trust me on this. This boy needs his father."

"I am **not** his father" Clark exclaimed while he stood up from the table. "I take that pie to go" he said over the bar and without another word made for the exit.

Bruce looked after him before turning back around. The air in the diner had grown heavy and almost everybody could feel the awkward tension which was left on the room between the two.

The billionaire playboy leaned back into the seat as he heard the door close after Clark had left. Obviously something had to be done to get through that thick Kryptonian skull. Bruce couldn't understand why he would refuse to look after the teenager. Having a child to look after was probably the best feeling anybody could have. He should know; ever since he took in Richard his life had been transformed. Then again, he took Dick in on his own free will, while Clark never planned or considered to be a father figure to anyone.

Bruce had just finished that thought when he once again heard the door open and light footsteps entered the diner. Not a second later a pair of hands covered his eyes and he heard the familiar giggle and a voice say, "Guess who?"

"Dick, stop it." He said and watched as his ward removed his hands from his eves and moved into the seat Clark had occupied just moments before.

"Just before I arrived I saw Clark exiting this place. He looked annoyed. What did you guys talk about?" Dick asked.

"Take a wild guess."

"…hmmm… Conner?"

"Yes"

Dick nodded in understanding. "He makes a terrible father."

"He will learn to accept his role eventually."

"You think?"

"Yes, just give him some time," Bruce started but was interrupted when his order arrived and was placed in front of him. He smiled his thanks and glided the plate with the dark chocolate cake over to his ward. "Look at how long it took me to get used to you."

Dick's eyes had gone wide as the cake was placed in front of him. It was his favourite and Bruce new that. They also knew that Alfred was against these supper fattening cakes and would get very mad if he ever found out that they consume it under his nose.

With a large smile he took up the fork and started eating the cake. Bruce watched in amusement as his love and joy practically inhaled the sweet dessert. After a while though his smile faded and his eyes became distant as he slowly kept drinking his coffee.

"Bruce?"

He looked back up. Dick had finished by now and looked at him with concern showing in his blue eyes.

"Something is bugging you, isn't it?"

"And how would you know that, Dick?"

"I guess I know you just as well as you know me."

Bruce had to smile at that. There was a bit of truth in what his ward said. Besides Alfred, there was probably nobody who knew him as well as Dick.

"So, want to tell me what is going on in that complicated brain of yours?"

"I did some research…"

"On what?"

"The arrow. The one that saved your life today."

"Let me guess," Dick eyed his father with a sharp eye, "it wasn't from Speedy after all."

Bruce nodded, bringing his coffee cup once again to his lips to take a sip.

"Do we know who it came from?" his ward asked him.

"Yes. After some research I found you mysterious archer. Her name is Artemis Crock, she lives in Gotham and not too far away from your school. This is probably why she heard the commotion and came to see what was going on."

"She is a good archer."

"She is… the question now is; what do we do with her?"

"That's easy, let her join the team."

The exclamation from his ward came so natural and unexpected that Bruce, who was still in the middle of drinking his coffee, choked on his hot drink and went into a rough coughing fit. It took him about two minutes to get himself back into control and glanced over to his son who tried really hard not to laugh out loud.

"Are you trying to kill me? Next time you have a crazy idea wait until I have nothing in my mouth."

"I'm sorry Bruce." Dick apologised, moving his hands to cover his mouth and sink lower in his chair to try and contain the giggles that threatened to make their way out of his throat.

With a sigh Bruce stopped glaring at his son and instead went back to the conversation at hand.

"Do you really think it's such a smart move to let someone join the team even though you have no idea who she is? Or what her connections are?"

"I don't see a real problem with it." Dick answered, becoming serious once more as his mentor continued on with the discussion. "Why, what exactly are her connections? Knowing you, you probably have researched and established a complete written history of her past life."

"I have."

"And what, she doesn't have a criminal record has she?"

"No _she_ doesn't, but her family has."

"…"

"Her father is Sportsmaster." Bruce coldly exclaimed to the boy in front of him. Batman and Robin had gone up against Sportsmaster before and it hasn't been easy. Robin still carried a particular large scar on his chest from a battle in his earlier days. Sportmaster has managed to sneak up on the boy and strike before Robin had a chance to realise he had been attacked. He managed to survive but only because Batman was nearby and rushed him to the nearest hospital.

Thinking back to that event, Dick unconsciously lifted his left hand and placed it over the centre of his chest where the scar bloomed.

"I know Sportsmaster has a daughter, Cheshire…. I wasn't aware that he had further family members."

"Well there is his wife who was released from prison some time ago. She also was a villain but after an accident that left her paralysed in the legs she now wants to life a normal Life. Artemis is her second child, who still lives with her, refusing to follow her father and sisters path."

Bruce continued looking at his son as he explained the facts to his ward and tried to read his expression. Dick had his elbows placed on the table and rested his head on his hands as he listened to Bruce.

"Do you still want her on your team?" Bruce asked after a while, curious if his explanation had changed his point of view. It took a while, but eventually Bruce received an answer.

"Yes, I do."

"Really? After all I just told you, you still want her on the team?"

"She is a good archer and after we lost our old one, we need a new one."

"Dick," Bruce sighed "you know that is a pretty irrational reason. I toughed I taught my protégé better than that."

Dick glanced at him with cold eyes; it was almost a miniature version of his bat-glare.

"I know, look Bruce. She saved our life's today. She deserves a chance, regardless of who her family is. You said so yourself; she isn't following in her father's footsteps. As a matter of fact she goes against him. She has the potential to be a hero, to be someone better. She deserves a chance."

After his speech, Dick looked up at Bruce with large pleading eyes. He wanted Bruce to understand.

Bruce on the other hand was at the mercy of those large glassy blue eyes. He saw Richards point and couldn't say no with these puppy dog eyes looking up at him.

"Fine"

In seconds Dicks face morphed from pleading and serious to one of joy and happiness. Bruce sighed, how was it that the Batman could be influenced to easily? But seeing the b9oy in front of him so happy gave him also a warm joyful feeling on the inside. It felt good to make his ward happy. How could Clark willingly miss out on those feelings?

"Thank you Bruce."

"Thanks Ok, but it will be up to you to keep an eye on her. If she show any sign of betrayal, she is of the team. We are taking a big risk by introducing her to the secrets of the Justice League."

"I know it's a risk to you, but seriously am I supposed to keep an eye on her 24/7 ?"

"Of course. You can easily make sure she isn't up to anything in the mountain as Robin. And Dick Grayson can easily have an eye in her in school."

"School? She doesn't go to my school."

"Not yet she doesn't."

"Bruce, you can't make me a baby sitter, I have my own stuff to do."

Dick was baffled by the sudden turn out in event and Bruce took great joy in it.

"Look at is as a punishment for making me agree to your crazy ideas." He smiled at Dick as he slid out of his chair and made his way to the exit, leaving Dick behind to catch up.

"Punish-? BRUCE, don't do this to me." Dick jumped out of his chair hurrying out the door and catching up to Bruce.

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**Ohh, I almost forgot: Of course I don't own anything.**

**I'm sorry if the beginning of the story was basically just a repetition of the episode…**

**…any suggestions for improvement, or was it totally lame…?**


	2. Episode 24 - Performance

**I'm not really doing this in any particular order. This chapter is about episode 24 – Performance.**

**Compared to the last chapter this one is going to be quite short, but I hope you like it anyway…**

**Don't own any characters**

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BRUGES

December 22

_"Dames en heren! Mesdames et messieurs! Ladies and Gentleman! Welcome to the Haly International Traveling Circus, where the world of the centre ring is your oyster."_

For some time now, the international Traveling circus had been a suspect to a number of thefts accoutred all over Europe. Once Dick had learned that is old home and in a way his family was somehow linked to the crimes and was threatened to shut down as a result, he knew he had to do something.

Of course Batman couldn't know about this. This was his family and his problem to deal with. He couldn't expect Batman to always solve his problems for him, Dick felt already like a burden and didn't want to be any more trouble for his mentor.

Robin wasn't stupid. Deceiving Batman was going to be almost impossible and required an insane amount of luck and good timing, but eventually he managed to talk to his team when Batman was busy with a justice league mission.

Unfortunately for Dick, Batman was clever enough to figure out what his ward was doing. He knew what Dick was going to do before the boy himself new, but he was also very understanding. He knew the reason why the boy chose to go undercover in the circus. He was however also disappointed that he didn't asked Bruce for help, or even chose to tell him about his plan.

On the other hand he did have go to the team for help and even though he claimed that the mission was ordered by Batman, Bruce pretended he knew nothing about it.

This could turn out to be a dangerous mission, but as long as Dick wasn't going in alone Bruce stayed back just observed form a distance.

Dick had felt a strange feeling of nostalgia as he entered the big tent once again. He had snuck away from his group to have a little alone time in the place he once called his home. Slowly he walked into the centre of the large ring and looked up high into tent top. Dangling in the dark you could just see the trapeze swinging in a slow motion as if somebody had just used it.

Closing his eyes Dick could remember the voices of the audience as they shouted out in joy when they saw his family perform on the trapeze. He could almost feel the hand of his father running through his dark locks when he successfully managed to do a quadruple flip and land safely back on the platform. He could practically see his mother's smile as she and her husband once again swung on the trapeze bar for the final art of the evening and he could clearly see the wires –

_Snap_

Opening his eyes, Dick could still see his parents falling, hear the clashing of their bodies with the floor… their blood… their lifeless eyes… staring back at him

Everything was spinning and suddenly Dick found himself on the flow, little droplets of water running down his cheeks and falling down onto the dusty ground.

"Robin" The voice sounded loud in the large empty tent and Dick turned quickly sending his head spinning again. He saw a girl standing in the entry and for a hopeful second he thought she might be his mother, before he realised that was impossible.

"Megan?"

"Are you alright, Robin? He have been gone for a while." Slowly Megan came closer. She saw a one of his tears before he wiped it away with his sleeve but chose to say nothing about it.

"We have our first performance tonight, are you sure you are well enough to do it? Maybe you have caught that flu everybody seem to be having."

"Don't worry. I just- thought about- never mind. We should go get ready for tonight."

Putting on a smile, Dick walked u0p to Megan and they left the tent in order to prepare for the evening.

"Dames en heren! Mesdames et messieurs! Ladies and Gentleman! Welcome to the Haly International Traveling Circus, where the world of the centre ring is your oyster."

Dick had felt uneasy ever since the begging of the show. First he thought it might still be from his earlier breakdown, but he quickly realised that his body was simply tired and drained of energy.

_Maybe Megan had been right about the flu thing… _he thought as he once again leaped onto the bar and prepared for the next flip after which he would be caught my Megan.

He knew he wouldn't make it as soon as he had released the bar and he was right. He missed Megan's outstretched hand by an inch. A second later he found himself falling.

He heard Megan call out his name… just like his mother had done as they fell…

Looking up to her he saw her get smaller and smaller as he plummeted closed to the ground.

This was what his parents saw and felt in their last moments. He saw what they saw, felt the same feeling they felt…

And for a moment he was sure he was going to die just like they had.

Bruce was proud of Dick, he always had been, ever since he had come into his life. He remembered the day well on which Dick had lost his parent in such a cruel way. That day he had been sitting in the audience, watching the family as they performed.

He had also met the Grayson family before the show and immediately liked the joyful family.

Unfortunately, their fall came so quickly there was nothing Bruce could do about it. All he had time for was watch as Dicks parents fell to their doom.

Bruce had become Batman so no child would ever have to suffer from the same loss as he had, but that night Batman was too late.

The fact that Dick had moved on form his loss and was happily performing again made Bruce very proud.

Without his wards knowledge he had come to Europe and bought himself a ticked to this night's performance. Once again he was seated between many people from around the globe who had come to watch. With a large smile he watched as Dick leaped from bar to bar, showing the world his flexibility.

He was happy for his son, until –

He fell.

Bruce relived a sudden and all too familiar sense of déjà vu. Only this time the boy who fell to his death was important to him. He knew and loved this child and once again there was nothing he could possibly do.

He knew he could reach him in time, he knew could never be fast enough, but out of a desperate reflex he stood up and tried to move forward even though there was a mass of people he had to go through.

His eyes never left Dick and he watched as he came too close to the ground for his liking before Superboy saved his life.

By throwing up a barrel he propelled the boy wonder back to the top where he was once again caught by Megan.

Since he had a constant eye on the boy he could see the few inches Megan had levitated him to safety, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Once Dick was safely back on the platform, Bruce sank back into his chair. He was exhausted, adrenalin flooding his body from being exposed to his deepest fear.

If Dick would have died, Bruce would have lost a very important part of his life. He saw Dick and his team retreat back behind stage as the next act entered the stage and Bruce was feeling the desperate need to go see his son and hold him close, just to reassure himself he really is alive.

But that would also mean revealing to Dick that he had followed his activity and 'spied' on him. And Bruce new how much Dick hated to be treated like a child which constantly needed supervision. So instead he slowly left the tent, even though the show hadn't fully ended yet.

Looking back once, he hoped that Dick could pull himself together for the rest of his mission. He trusted the boy and he also trusted his team to keep his little boy alive. Whatever would come, he knew they could handle themselves.

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**And here we have another chapter done.**

**I know it was sort of short, but I only imagined what it would be like for Dick to be in the same position as his parents were. ( I mean when I saw that episode I was shocked that Dick was put through the experience of being in his parent position… it must be terrifying to be in that déjà vu position…)**

**Plus I wondered how Bruce would react if he knew that Dick was about to fall to his death… just like his parents had.**

**Anyway, please give me improvement suggestions. I can't help but feel that something is awkward about my writing style… I just can't but my finger on it.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**(ohh and one more thing… I didn't to a spelling check in this chapter… please excuse any spelling mistakes you may find….)**


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