Chapter Text
Dick Grayson is running out of time. His heart is pounding in his chest as he checks his watch. He’s going to miss it. Dick can’t miss it. He’s already missed three Haven Community Center events: The art competition, the STEAM fundraiser, and the life skills seminar. He can’t miss another one. Nobody will say it, but he knows donors’ faith is shaken when he's absent from an event. More importantly, he can tell the kids miss having him around. He misses being around them.
So, he’s not going to miss this event. He won’t.
“Babs,” he contacts her buttons up his shirt. Their comms are still open from the mission he just completed as Nightwing. “I need a route to Haven that will get me there in the next ten minutes. Do you have anything... please, with a cherry on top?”
“Find a speedster,” she says dryly.
“Unfortunately, all the speedsters I know are off-planet.”
Babs is miles away in Gotham, but Dick could swear he could see her rolling her eyes through the comm with a small smile on her face. “Take 82nd Ave- Wait, traffic is crazy. There’s no way you’re going to make it on time.” He groans. “However, if you take a shortcut through Martin Luther King Jr’s Boulevard, you should be able to get there 20 minutes late, which is-”
“A vast improvement from absent,” he finishes with her. “Thanks, Babs.”
Dick zips down to the parking garage, grabbing his motorcycle and zooming through traffic as he races to make it to the press release for the… It's either the STEM initiative or the new tutoring program. Dick knows both events are today, but there have been so many press events and fundraisers for the Alfred Pennyworth Foundation that he’s been losing track. If he’s honest with himself, he’s beginning to feel overwhelmed, not from the work. He loves volunteering at Haven and spending time with the kids. The press releases and public events are another story. He needs to have a conference with his PR Director.
Dick almost drives off the road as a piece of paper flies into his face. He quickly rips it from his view and sees it’s a missing person flyer. As Dick travels along the street, he realizes that there are a lot of them, covering almost every building, papering the sidewalk, and fluttering haphazardly in the wind. He turns on his comms again.
“Babs, I’m seeing a lot of missing person’s flyers. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“I’m scanning them now.” There’s the distinct sound of keys tapping in the background. “Seems like there’s been dozens of girls, age 13-17, from Martin Luther King Jr’s Boulevard who have gone missing in recent months. I’m checking the flyers against current police reports, and most of these girls don’t have a missing person’s case on them. The flyers are the only record of their disappearance.”
That’s strange. Dick makes a mental note to check it out later during his patrol. As he flies down the road, he can’t help but wonder who put up the flyers for these girls and why nobody filed a police report on half of them. As Dick clears the neighborhood, the missing flyers vanish but stay on his mind until he pulls up to the Haven Community Center.
From the parking lot, he can hear the booming voice of Thaddeus Whiteman, the director of public relations for the Alfred Pennyworth Foundation. Whenever Dick is late or absent, he can be found doing damage control and stepping in for Dick, like he’s doing now. Thaddeus is handling the press like a pro, answering questions while keeping the focus on the fundraiser and not the late billionaire. As soon as he spots Dick, he effortlessly shifts the topic of conversation into an introduction.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great joy that I introduce the man of the hour, the beating heart behind the Alfred Pennyworth Foundation, and the visionary behind the new STEM initiative: Mr. Richard Grayson!”
The applause is thundering as Dick makes his way to the podium. Thad smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes as he shakes his hand. Despite the generous introduction, it’s clear he’s upset about Dick being late. One of the reasons Dick agreed to hire him was because of his dedication to perfection. He schedules every event, interview, and gala to the last second.
Each one has been better than the last. The only problem is that Thaddeus tends to overthink and overstress when events go differently than planned. It reminds him a little of Tim, which is why Dick has made it his mission to get him to relax. However, showing up late to important events isn’t a part of his master plan. Once this is over, he’ll have to find a way to make it up to him. Maybe he'll show up early for once?
“Good afternoon; thank you, Thad, for holding down the fort. I am so excited about the new STEM initiative. Between ages 11-15, 50% of girls lose interest in STEM classes. I’ve spoken with several young girls in our future engineers’ program and women in STEM to develop a solution. Keeping girls in STEM is more than just giving them programs or encouraging their interest. One of the biggest obstacles to women’s involvement in STEM is men. Too often, men create an environment that ridicules, diminishes, and can be hostile to young girls as they pursue STEM careers. The new Girls in STEM initiative aims at creating policies to foster a healthy and safe learning environment.”
As Dick talks about all the benefits of the new initiative, a weightlessness starts to take over his body. It's the feeling he had the first time he flew on trapeze. As he reached the peak of his journey in the air, time slowed, and gravity stopped. For a single infinite moment, Dick was flying. At that moment, Dick didn't feel like he was learning something new. He'd felt that the trapeze was always a part of him, a memory his destiny couldn't forget. He gets that same weightless feeling whenever he speaks about Haven, The Pennyworth Foundation, and Blüdhaven; all of it feels like it’s always been meant for him. He finishes speaking to thunderous applause.
“We will now be taking questions,” Thad says, taking over at the end of his speech as the press swarms him. “You, sir, with the yellow hat.”
“Lyle Thomas with the Post. How will the program help boys in STEM without alienating them?”
Thad answers the question like a pro.
“This initiative is about fending off girls’ insecurity in STEM. The existing STEM programs for all ages and genders are still in effect, but that’s not the priority of this specific initiative. Thank you. Next question.”
This is why he has Thad supervising the question portion of the press conference; he couldn’t have answered that with nearly as much patience. The next reporter is an older bald man with copper-colored skin and eyes. Dick realizes he’s not a reporter. He’s dressed too modestly for someone who’s on TV. He moves slowly to the front of the crowd as if every step is heavy. With a start, he realizes the man has cancer. He holds a photo of a little girl with big curly hair and a bright smile. The two have enough similarities that Dick can see they’re related. Something about her is oddly familiar.
“Do you remember this girl, Mr. Grayson?”
"Please address all questions to me," interjects Thad.
The older man ignores him, keeping eye contact with Dick. His eyes burn like hot coals with both condemnation and hope.
“Her name is Asa Taylor. She is my daughter, and she’s been missing for several weeks. She was last seen here.”
“That’s enough,” says Thad, gesturing for security to take the man away.
“Nobody is looking for her!” The man continues, undeterred, as security rushes the crowd to get to him. “She’s a little girl! My little girl! She was last seen here! What happened to her?!” The security grabs him. Dick tries to stop them, but Thad pushes him back with a hand to his chest, leaning in to whisper to him.
“The cameras are watching,” he hisses.
Dick rips his hand away. “I don’t care. A little girl is missing.”
“Which has nothing to do with the Alfred Pennyworth Foundation. If you continue to entertain him, it’ll make us look bad.”
The man is cleared from the building as Thad finishes speaking.
“Thad, a little girl is missing. I will not sit here and do nothing when I know I can help. Besides,” he leans in close, “every second you waste trying to stop me takes away time slotted for questions. You only have three minutes left.”
Thad’s face turns several shades of red. He watches anger, anxiety, and fear all flash across his eyes as the press keeps asking questions, ignoring Mr. Taylor and the evident tension on stage. Naturally, Thad caves before he does, darting to the podium and picking up the mike.
“I’m so sorry for the delay. Mr. Grayson must take care of family business.”
Dick doesn’t wait to hear if the press believes the shoddy lie or not. He races around the corner to where security dragged Mr. Taylor away. The image of the little girls is burned in his mind. His stomach knots as he finally realizes why Asa's photo seems familiar. It's the same photo from the missing person flyer he’d seen this morning. As he races to find Mr. Taylor, a familiar weightless feeling starts to form.