A Day In Metropolis [Open]

Every time Dick came to Metropolis he was reminded just how different the cities were. The easiest way to summarize those differences was by looking at the heroes who defended them. Superman was a hero from above who represented truth, justice and the American way. Batman was far from honest and his motivations for becoming the defended of Gotham was based on revenge. Even as Batman Dick couldn’t fully separate himself from the reputation that Bruce Wayne had garnered. It was a reputation that he was proud to shoulder but one he could never fully live up to. Yet when it came down to it he realized he could never be totally honest with his friends nor could Batman truly have a “positive” reputation. He would always be the hero that the world needed but not a hero the world was necessarily proud of. Dick was fine with that but he was reminded of this simple fact every time he came to Metropolis. It was almost to the point where he didn’t like coming but Clark Kent was a family friend and his mentor.

He wasn’t sure how the man felt about him becoming Batman. He hadn’t spoken to many heroes since he had taken on the mantle. Gotham City had been a mess and it had taken much effort on Dick’s part to clean it up. Now the city was back to its usual levels of crime. Which was good for Gotham City but if Metropolis had that level of crime that was considered “normal” for Gotham Dick knew that Superman would be far from pleased. This was his first time he was spending actual time away from the city. He had called in some favors and Gotham City was covered for now. He was confident that Damian wouldn’t cause too much trouble and Stephanie had been improving. So he was in Metropolis attempting to accomplish a particular business deal for Wayne Enterprises. Tim was nowhere to be found so Dick was currently the face of the company. It was a task he wasn’t happy to take on but something he knew he had to do. Just like putting on the cowl had been.


“I’ll have a vanilla latte.” Dick gestured vaguely at the menu behind the waitress. “Medium.” was all he said before the perky woman could ask him what size. He was distracted. Numbers and names and companies were swirling through his head. He wasn’t sure how Bruce had managed it. As Dick Grayson he had been a circus performer, a high school student, a cop and a playboy. All those identities had fit because they were parts of who he was. He was not a businessman. He would have to make do. The woman rang him up and Dick coughed up a few dollar bills and next thing he knew he was standing outside sipping on his vanilla latte. Even as he glanced around the city street he couldn’t help but shake his head. Normally you’d find smokers outside a coffee shop. Not in Metropolis. His phone rang and Dick set his briefcase on the ground and dug into his pocket. He saw it was Lucius and sighed in relief. “Hey Lucius. You got those numbers for me? Just say them out loud I’ll remember them.” Lucius was counting off numbers when the ground shook.

Not the average slight tremor but a full on richtor scale earthquake. Dick stumbled and spilled his latte on his shirt as he leaned against the cafe wall for support. He didn’t have much time to bemoan that because he then noticed a car crash into an armored truck. The ground continued to tremor. “Lucius? I’ll call you back.” Dick hung up the phone just as a limousine screeched to a halt in front of the coffee shop. He had walked here but Alfred was never far behind! Dick quickly hopped into the back seat and after feeling under his seat his fingers closed around a handle. He pulled on the handle and seat next to him revealed a holding area for his bat-suit. Dick quickly began to change. Luckily the arrival of Dick Grayson hadn’t been on any major headlines or anything and as a result people wouldn’t have reason to make the connection. Even though Superman was here he knew that the man might need a little help. There was also the fact that they hadn’t talked in months. There was a part of Dick that craved Clark’s approval.

As Alfred deftly manipulated in traffic to find a place for Dick to slip out discreetly a thought came to the young man. “At least we don’t have richtor scale earthquakes in Gotham City ever weekend.”

“Quite true, sir.”

It took five minutes for Alfred to find a spot where Dick could slip out without being noticed. The butler had actually been forced to park over one of the hundreds of metal plates that separated the city from the sewers. Dick had been able to slip underground and during his brief minutes attempting to find a way out he had briefly worried about running into some sort of scaly creature that had mutated horribly. Then he had to remind himself he wasn’t in Gotham and soon found a gateway to the city. Dick popped up in an alleyway and hurriedly scaled the apartment building in the alleyway. The ground shook again and Dick nearly lost his grip but he persisted. Soon he found himself on the top of the building overlooking the wreckage. After a few moments of anxiously scanning the area he found Superman. The boyscout was a true pro. He was utilizing the police to help get people to danger. This was something that Bruce didn’t do unless it was absolutely necessary. Even Dick had his reservations about calling on people for help. Yet Superman was charismatic and had a masterful presence. He knew how to get things done.

Dick soon noticed two people who weren’t going anywhere. From this distance he couldn’t see what they looked like but there were two parts of their clothing that stuck out. Red gloves and blue gloves. Something told him that they were the culprits they needed to look out for. Dick’s suspicions were concerned when a wheel of burning flame roared towards Superman. The heat knocked Superman to the ground and completely destroyed the rock he had been gripping. He blinked in surprise. That had to be pretty hot. Then a woman sporting blue gloves clapped her hands together and a wall of concrete struck Superman as well. Dick sighed. “I miss Gotham.” He jumped off of the building and fired his grapple hook at the building closest to the fight. It snagged onto a roof fixture and Dick swung through the air. It wasn’t long before he was hovering above the fight. When he was Dick started to count in his head. When he reached the number ten he retracted the hook on his grapple and let go. Dick fell through the air and as he did he focused on what he conceived to be the greater threat.

The vigilante slammed feet first into the back of the woman with the blue gloves. As far as he was concerned she was the bigger threat. Dick would be able to dodge or intercept any of the blasts coming from the man with the ability to control fire. Yet if the woman in blue gloves continued to make the ground he was standing on shaky his ability to move freely would be compromised. The woman grunted as she struck the ground and the tremors came to a halt. Dick stepped off the body. “Why do I get the feeling that this happens all the time in Metropolis?” Dick knew that Superman didn’t need his help but he felt like pitching in. That’s what friends were for, right? He held out his hand to help up the Kryptonian but that gesture of camaraderie was put to a grinding halt when he witnessed another blast of flame spiraling towards them. The flames were moving much faster now and Dick realized that he wouldn’t be able to dodge them as easily as he assumed. “Look out!” Dick was unable to flip away due to their being a massive wall of concrete and asphalt on his right and a truck on his left. So he raised his cape and prayed that it would work.

“OOMF!” Dick felt searing heat cross his body and what was even worse was the concussive force that followed. He felt as if a hammer had struck his chest. He flew across the street and crashed through the window of a coffee shop. Dick’s momentum wasn’t slowing down so he turned the move into an flip. He landed on his feet in a crouch and looked back out the window. “No one said this would be easy.” He muttered under his breath right as another blast of flame followed. He ducked and it consumed the cafe. Soon the whole room was engulfed in flames and Dick was glad that he was the only one in the room. He stood to his feet and immediately began to run out of the cafe dodging flames as he did. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out to cryogenic bat-a-rangs.

He definitely missed Gotham.

Dick sprinted across the streets towards the man with the red gloves. He was assuming that he was the biggest threat. As far as he was concerned the woman with the blue gloves was out of the picture. He had decided to distinguish his enemies by the articles of clothing they had. It hadn’t taken him terribly long to figure out that their main difference was the color of their gloves. The man channeled his abilities through his hands and so did the woman. Which led Dick to believe that their gloves were the sources of their powers. The bat-computer had the largest database on metahumans and while Dick didn’t have an eidetic memory he did have a strong capacity for linking names to faces. He didn’t recognize either of the people they were fighting which meant that they were either new to the gig as metahumans or had artificially acquired their powers. Dick was betting it was the latter. As he sprinted towards the red-gloved man he felt the ground tremor. Immediately Dick knew something was up.

Moments later a massive wall of concrete jumped in front of him. Dick didn’t slow down his sprint. Instead he planted his feet on the concrete and flipped off of the concrete seamlessly. He landed on the road below and didn’t even have time for a snippy comment before the wall of concrete rushed towards him. He glanced to his right and noticed that the woman stood on a truck and was waving at the ground as if she was conducting an orchestra. Dick noted that the wall of concrete wasn’t much taller than he was. Apparently this woman’s powers weren’t as strong as they needed to be. Dick reached up and grabbed the very top of the concrete and hoisted himself to his feet. He balanced himself on the concrete and sprinted along the very top of the impromptu wall. A panicked look crossed the woman’s face and she slapped her hands together. The wall of concrete sank into the ground and Dick flipped through the air as it did. He landed on the truck and immediately decided on a diversion.

Dick swung his cape towards her face in an attempt to throw her off guard. When he didn’t feel the full woosh of his cape he realized that the fire had practically incinerated most of it. The woman cackled. “You aren’t gonna toss me in jail! We live in a democracy!” Dick frowned and decided he’d just need to use his fists. The woman clenched her fists and the ground shook beneath their feet. Dick immediately grabbed her hands. “Actually...we’re a Republic.” Dick twisted her arms and used his superior strength to jerk the woman through the air and slam her to the ground. He then jumped down from the vehicle as the ground began to tremble even more. He rested his knee on her chest with just enough pressure to heavily limit her breathing. He held his knee there for several seconds and the longer the woman struggled the less control she had over her powers. Eventually the tremors stopped and when they did he wrestled the gloves off her fingers. “I’ve got to get me one of these!” He commented as he stood to his feet and backed away. The woman continued to gasp for air.

Dick reached onto the back of his suit and grasped at his cape. He took a good look at the cape and then sighed in exasperation. A good half of it was missing. He unclasped the suit and looked at the length of cape that had remained. The dark blue fabric was scorched badly and was practically useless. Dick hoped he wouldn’t have to fight ay more crime today. What was Batman without his cape? He couldn’t exactly fight crime like he was in his Nightwing outfit either. The Bat-Suit was designed to be effective with a cape and it wasn’t lightweight or flexible as his old suit was. Dick felt foolish standing here without his cape but he’d have to deal with it. It was his fault for being so arrogant. Dick reached into his utility belt and pulled out his bat-cuffs. The woman looked as if she was going to make a run for it so Dick immediately snapped on the bat-cuffs. He grabbed her by the wrists and jerked her to her feet. “I can foot you the bill for ruining my cape. It was brand new too.” Dick wasn’t lying about that either. He had finally designed the suit schematics that fit him the best yet the cape had been destroyed during the first try. “I got her!” He yelled at Superman.


The smoke, loose flames and scattered rubble made it difficult for him to find Superman so he hoped that his voice could reach the Kryptonian. He was also hoping that Superman had taken out the pyrokinetic as well. If Dick had taken out his respective bad guy first then he’d definitely have bragging rights. Though he had to admit he wasn’t really up for another fight...mainly due to him missing his cape.

Dick was getting the feeling that the two criminals who had decided to attack Metropolis had chosen to do so because of Superman. The whole issue of New Krypton was always on people’s minds. While there was no questioning the fact that Superman was a good person the same couldn’t be said for other Kryptonians. Superman had fallen under the influence of mind control very few times during his career but the citizens of Earth remembered the few times he had. If Bruce was here he’d empathize with the people. If Superman could wreak so much havoc then what would happen if two Kryptonians decided to cause trouble? Or three? Or four? He could certain understand the fears of the people though he knew better. Though in the back of his mind he wandered if the superhero community needed to design some sort of response. Did the Justice League need to return? Did he need to draw up a contingency plan? Dick hadn’t really considered this because it was Superman’s responsibility to control New Krypton. Yet he knew that if Bruce was in the mantle he would consider it his responsibility to solve any problems with New Krypton. Even if the problems didn’t exist yet.

The woman started to speak and Dick twisted the hand cuffs just tight enough to quiet her. “Do you see a S on my chest? I don’t need a lecture.” Dick wasn’t in the mood to hear it. The woman muttered something under her breath and fell silent. He thought about interrogating her about her reasoning for causing so much destruction but he already knew the answer to that. He also considered asking her about the gloves but he figured that he could reverse engineer them or at least discover their origin in the bat-cave. He wasn’t in the mood to hear her talk because he knew that it would soon turn into a rant about the “tyrannical aliens” that existed above. It was something that was becoming more and more prominent lately on the news. You could expect some bigot or panicked political figure talking about it during every news cycle. Dick had enough. The irony of the duo wreaking havoc on Metropolis in order to attract Superman’s attention only angered him. In an attempt to “prevent” Superman from destroying Metropolis they had become the bad guys themselves. He wondered if they were aware of how stupid and moronic that looked on paper. It actually sounded stupid and moronic no matter how you put it.

He slung the struggling woman over her shoulder and after a few minutes of navigating he soon located Superman near the authorities. Dick idly wondered what the man had to say. As he did he realized that Bruce probably would have figured out how to eavesdrop on their conversation. He really needed to step up his game. “Thanks, officer.” Dick handed over the woman and as he did he twisted off her cuffs. There was no way he was going to let people in on bat-gadgets if he could help it. As of now he couldn’t think of any way that bat-cuffs could be used for evil but he was sure it would come to mind later. One of the things that Bruce and Dick had in common was that they both preferred keeping the contents of their utility belts to themselves. Paranoia ran deep in the Bat-Family. You never knew who could reverse-engineer your tools. Speaking of reverse engineering. Dick grabbed the two red gloves and stared at them. They were damp from the ice but he could still work with it. He felt the wrist portion of the gloves for a microchip or power source but came up empty. “Shouldn’t be a problem.” was all he said before he shoved the gloves back into his utility belt.

He wasn’t sure what Bruce would do after a fight with Superman but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to play a little catch up. “Have you been getting more incidents like these? I can hear people complaining all the way from Gotham about New Krypton. I can’t say that I’ve bad bad guys tearing up street corners just to make a point though.” He shook his head. “I don’t think I have to point out the irony of that.”

It didn’t take awfully long for Dick to find Alfred and change. The faithful butler was always near by when he was needed. Somehow he had been able to get his car awfully close to the fight and Dick knew that Alfred had most likely stayed in the alleyway Dick had found him in during the fight. The constant tremors and explosions from the fight hadn’t intimidated the elder englishman. He knew that much. Alfred wasn’t rattled easily. It didn’t take long for Dick to change and make sure he didn’t look like he had just been in a fight for his life. Then he was strolling down the street with his hands in his pockets acting as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Richard Grayson was supposed to be a bit of an air head. Instead of looking like a fancy playboy he had worn his back up outfit. Jeans, a t-shirt and a college sweatshirt [accompanied by battered converses] was a fairly average outfit. People wouldn’t recognize Dick Grayson in that. It wasn’t often when Batman showed up in Metropolis and it wasn’t often when Bruce Wayne or Dick Grayson showed up either. If anyone picked up on a correlation between the two then their secret identities were jeopardized. That’s the last thing he needed.

Dick stepped inside Schmidt Bakery and glanced around. The place was for the most part abandoned. After greeting Clark Dick ordered an iced tea. “Don’t mind if I do.” He snagged a cannoli even though he wasn’t entirely sure what they were. Regardless he was hungry. Clark’s voice was very different from that of Superman’s. He was quieter and didn’t sound as confident. Dick was tempted to ask him to speak up but he knew that wouldn’t be smart. Besides he could hear him fine. The fact of the matter was that Nightwing and Superman [or more recently Batman and Superman] had interacted far more than Dick Grayson and Clark Kent. Bruce was the man who had gotten to know the Daily Planet reporter. “Well us humans tend to be jealous, paranoid and possessive. You probably already know that but they’ll come around eventually. One day they’ll realize just how valuable having a planet full of people who can potentially protect them and’ll stop complaining. I wish it was another way for us to be more accepting but we’re far from perfect.” Dick shrugged. Even Bruce hadn’t trusted Superman until he knew what the man was capable of. Not what he could do with his powers but how he approached the world and the compassion he held for people who still hadn’t fully accepted him.

“I don’t think anyone is going to be doing anything like that anytime soon. That duo destroyed a city block and wounded quite a few people just to say that you would do much worse. Their message was made irrelevant the moment they switched to the offensive. This is only good P.R. for you.” Dick knew that this wouldn’t end the problem. It would just temporarily silence the voices and maybe get people back on Superman’s side. The media still supported the ideals that Superman represented and they would hopefully report this attack in in a biased manner in Superman’s favor. Biased news was good news. As long as it was in your favor. This was something Dick had learned a long time ago. He wasn’t a reporter and as a result he didn’t need a reporter’s code of ethics. With his interests he was fairly certain he’d be a bad one anyway. “I could be wrong. I just figured that Metropolis would appreciate your role better than...” The brunette waitress appeared and handed him an iced tea along with a slightly crumpled napkin. He thanked her with a smile. As she walked away he turned his attention back to Clark. “...Gotham.”

He glanced at the napkin and was pleased to see a lipstick mark along with a phone number printed in ink on the napkin. Maybe he would stay in Metropolis over night. He turned his attention back to Clark and nodded at his question. “He’s chasing potential recruits around the world. I have no idea why. I didn’t even know what he was planning until he made that announcement.” Dick wasn’t sure who Bruce thought he was fooling. Whatever happened to Bruce in the past must have drastically changed his outlook on things. “Things are going pretty well. Damian is learning how to behave but I don’t think you’ll want to meet him for another two or three years. I’m sure Kara told you all about the last time they teamed up. Maybe one day you’ll be able to give him the speech you gave me. It might be the boost he needs to convince him to totally turn his life around.” Dick wasn’t sure how he was adjusting without Bruce. He was second guessing himself more and more these days. He had assumed the self-doubt would go away the longer he was in costume but it had only grown lately.

Clark somehow managed to turn the conversation from himself to Dick. He couldn’t say that he hadn’t been expecting that. Clark was a compassionate and emphatic person and he tended to focus on the other person’s problems instead of his own. Dick was absolutely confident that Clark could handle the problems with New Krypton and Earth on his own. If the Man of Steel needed help he would call for it. For now Superman didn’t and so there was no need to talk about it. Yet when Clark brought up Batman INC Dick wasn’t entirely sure how he was supposed to address that idea. Clark clearly was suspicious about the whole concept and Dick was starting to get the feeling that Bruce probably hadn’t told him. Dick shrugged and decided it wouldn’t hurt to shed light on the situation. He had a feeling that Batman INC was a passive warning about what Bruce was capable of doing in the light of New Krypton. He wouldn’t be surprised if the man would start handing out Kryptonian rings to the new Batmen he was recruiting. Dick would be lying if he claimed he didn’t have one.

“He’s just trying to make the world a better place in his own special way. He wants people throughout the world to adapt his ideology and beliefs and use his methods to handle crime. I can’t say it’s a bad idea. It just feels unnecessary.” Dick dropped it at that and decided it’d be wise to move on. He knew that Clark wasn’t the type of person who would purposefully dig information out of Dick or start gossip. He knew what he needed to know and they would move on from that. “No congratulations is needed.” Dick grimaced. He’d known Damian for roughly a year and a half now. He was improving but improvement for Damian would be considered “getting worse” for anyone else. He had a feeling that Bruce’s kid wouldn’t be normal but he hadn’t expected it to be this bad. “Don’t worry. At the end of the day all he can talk about is Kara. I’m sure he has a massive crush on her.” He smirked at Clark. Clark was a rational human being but he could also play the father figure fairly well. He hadn’t been there when Clark had realized just how sick of a person Powerboy was but he heard it had been a sight to see.


“That’s what we’ve been doing. I think he’s getting better. He finally has something he can believe in that isn’t being shoved down his throat. Instead of being indoctrinated with nonsense I’ve given him one rule.” They both knew what that rule was. No killing. So far Damian had been following it though Dick wasn’t looking forward to the day when he actually broke it. Everyone knew that day was coming. Dick was just preparing for that eventuality even though he still didn’t know what he was going to do when his young protege finally snapped. Dick liked to have faith in people and he trusted Damian but he knew that 10 years of brainwashing would eventually overcome a year of being treated like an actual human being. He just hoped he was wrong. “How am I adjusting?” Dick held a cannoli in his hand and looked at the creamy center. He shrugged. “I’m coping....I have a huge weight on my shoulders and everyday it’s a little lighter. I just don’t want to let Bruce down....or you.”

“That’s Bruce for you.” Dick said as he laughed along with Clark. “Though you could say he started a cult the moment he initiated me. Did you know he made me swear an oath to uphold his beliefs on a bible?” When Dick was a scared yet eager child ready to strike back at those who had taken advantage of him he had been awed and impressed by Bruce’s dedication to his ideals. Now it all seemed a bit silly. He still took the man seriously but swearing on a Bible not to kill while swinging through the streets fighting thugs in short shorts and pixie boots felt a bit excessive. Dick’s outfit alone should have pointed to someone who wasn’t willing to murder. That being said he had sworn the oath and had followed it to this very day. Yet every day he was tempted to break that oath when he learned about some criminal or villain’s dastardly deeds. Yet he had refrained. It was a source of pride for him that he was able to hold back. Especially since he knew that half the bat-family had broken that rule.

Not that he actually thought he was better than some of his counterparts.

As Clark started to slip into his compliment face Dick felt his cheeks go ablaze. Getting a compliment from the Man of Steel was both a common and uncommon occurrence. Superman was known for giving an encouraging word to everyone. Even a bum on the street. Yet every now and then he truly said something that defined someone’s day. He had done this to Dick on one other occasion. He still remembered when he was an angry and depressed runaway in Metropolis. Clark had sat him down and literally changed his view on the world. After that Dick had turned from an angry young man to the hopeful and eager optimist that he had once been. Superman had changed his life. “You’re making me blush, Clark.” Dick said bashfully as he stared down at the table. He felt himself reverting back to his childish nature. He felt just like he had ten years ago when Clark had spoken to him. His blush and his mumbled words pointed to a fanboyish nature he thought he had squashed years ago.

How had Superman mastered the ability to appear larger than life yet be so personable when you actually sat down and talked to him?

“What’s New Krypton like?” Dick suddenly changed the topic. He didn’t exactly want to focus on himself for too long either. He had taken Clark’s words seriously and Clark knew that. Yet Dick didn’t feel like he had to dwell on them. He took what the man said at face value but he also knew that Superman didn’t necessarily have time to deal with Dick’s insecurities. His words had helped Dick feel better though that nagging feeling would always be there. It was a fault of Dick and not Clark that it wouldn’t go away. So he was going to focus on what mattered and not drag the man down with his personal problems. “Is it like Krypton?” He sounded just a little too eager when he asked. “People call it all types of things down here. Heaven on Earth...Utopia...all types of names.” Dick paused and smiled impishly when he realized he was starting to ramble. “Sorry. It’s just that I’ve spent most of my time in Gotham and Bludhaven. I’ve always wondered what it’s like to live in a city that isn’t quite so grim.”