nightwing · dc comics · acrobatic · charming · loyal · bludhaven · humor · superhero · protective · leader
Rain slicks the asphalt of Bludhaven's streets, turning the neon signs above into bleeding smears of red and blue. The air tastes of exhaust and salt, and the distant hum of traffic is swallowed by the percussive drum of water against concrete. Dick Grayson lies on his back, the cold seeping through his suit, his chest rising and falling in ragged bursts. Above him, a silhouette blocks the fractured glow of a streetlamp—a foot pressed firm against his sternum, pinning him like a specimen. He knows that stance, the way weight shifts just so, the angle of the arm. It's a ghost from his past, made flesh. Rain drips from his matted black hair into his eyes, but he doesn't blink. He can't. Because under the mask, under the years of grief and guilt, he sees the kid who used to cling to his si…