Chapter Text
Gotham was covered in a constant fog, making the sun dimmer, the sky greyer, and the cold feel colder. This was the first thing Dick Grayson realized after becoming a permanent resident of the City. Right after his parents fell and he was unceremoniously carted off to the orphanage, he thought maybe the city just seemed that way because his world had just shattered. Maybe, he thought, it was just him who was broken.
It wasn't until he had spent a few months in the excuse of a home he was placed in, surrounded by a dozen terrified children who had a heavy, haunted look in their eyes that shouldn't ever be seen in a child, that he realized the city was broken in ways an eight-year-old circus kid couldn't even begin to comprehend.
This city was broken, its people were hurting. Dick wanted to help those who were overlooked or pushed aside, but he wasn't so selfless that he didn't have a few goals of his own. It had been a couple of years since he started to actually pursue those goals, and he was getting close to resolving something that should have been fixed years ago. He was getting close to vengeance.
“You daydreaming over there, kid?” Kai slung his legs over the edge of the roof and sat down next to Dick. He pushed his platinum blonde hair out from in front of his eyes to look at Dick.
Dick shot him a glare. “I'm not a kid. You're only 2 years older than me, Kai.”
“Technically ima teen: fourteen, see, and you're twelve. And before you're a teen, you're a kid, so it seems to me like you're a kid.” Kai ruffled Dicks hair, making it messier than it already was. Dick was pretty sure he was trying to get on his nerves; he usually is.
Dick batted his hand away and rolled his eyes as he lay down against the roof, his legs still dangling over the edge. “Whatever.”
“So what were you daydreaming about?”
“The city, the past, my parents.” Dick started to figet.
Kai nodded in understanding. The two sat there in a comfortable silence on the roof of some abandoned building they had coined their clubhouse about a year ago. It was situated in a forgotten corner of the Bowery.
It was usually quiet, quiet by Gotham standards anyway. However, when there was someone nearby, it was almost always someone up to something less than innocent, so they had to be careful and vigilant, something both boys were considerably good at after years of being just that.
Kai and Dick had been best friends for almost all four years that Dick had been in the system. They met at Gotham Orphanage, the first place Dick had been placed. At the time, Dick hardly knew ten words in English, basic words his parents had taught him for the handful of times Haly’s Circus had performed in English-speaking countries. Dick could fluently speak five languages, but it was just his luck that he got stuck somewhere where he hardly even knew how to ask where the bathroom was. Because of this, the other kids and the caretakers alike either teased him or completely ignored him; he wasn't sure which was worse.
A couple of weeks after arriving at the orphanage, on a particularly nasty night, one of the older teens had decided that Dick was a perfect outlet for his apparent frustrations. It started with hurtful words he couldn't understand and ended with Dick slumped on the floor, his nose bleeding and a nasty gash on his forehead. It hadn't been the first time he was hit after his parents' deaths, but at the time, it had been the worst.
Silent tears poured down his face as he stared at the walls of the empty hallway. He could taste the metallic tinge of blood on his teeth, and for a moment, he wondered why whatever god or deity that existed hated him so much. He wondered why he hadn't been allowed the mercy of dying with his Mama and Tati.
Dick wasn't sure how long he had been lying on the nasty linoleum floor, floating between consciousness and unconsciousness, before Kai approached him. Kai walked slowly as if Dick were a hurt and scared animal. Dick appreciated it. Kai scooped him up as if he weighed nothing, which he was sure that he was pretty close to, but Kai wasn't all that bigger than he was. Kai patched him up with things he had stolen and stashed from the medical room. They were both silent the entire time. Dick had seen the boy a few times in the dining hall, but they had never interacted before, so he wasn't sure why he was helping him.
“When you see someone in need, and you can help, you do,” he heard his mama’s words echo through his head.
After that, they were rarely seen apart. Dick followed the older boy around like a duckling. After attempting to make conversation a few times, Kai figured out that Dick didn't understand most of what he said. Kai taught the boy English. He was an exceptional teacher for a ten-year-old, and Dick was a fast learner. It only took a month or so for him to get down the basics.
Dick began to get restless sitting on the roof. He hated the quite and he hated being still even more. He jumped up suddenly, startling Kai as he did. “Let's do something, this is boringggg,” he declared.
Kai laughed and stood up, following Dick to where they had set up a couple of lawn chairs, an old rug, a cooler with whatever food and drinks they were able to scrounge up and save, and a few boxes of comics, cd’s, and random toys that they had found or, more accurately, “borrowed”. They had wanted to set up some Christmas lights they found tossed in a dumpster earlier in the year, but that would attract too much attention. They settled on candles, not very bright, but they did the job.
“You're so confusing sometimes, I thought you were feeling all depressed.” He plopped down on one of the lawn chairs and watched as Dick rummaged through a duffel bag that they kept stashed under some random pieces of cardboard and wood.
“Well, I was, and I'm not not sad or whatever. But we also haven't hung out for like a whole week, so we have to do something fun.” Dick put his arms up in a dramatic gesture, pulling his too-small sweatshirt up enough to show an ugly bruise covering his side. Kai knew Marcus, the man whom Dick and Kai worked for, hit Dick now that he lived with him.
Marcus was a drunk with a penchant for violence, but he offered Dick a place to sleep and food to eat (albeit meager servings) when he had nowhere else to go. It wasn't out of the kindness of his heart, though. Marcus kept 80% of their earnings even though he did next to nothing. Almost all of what Dick and Kai got to keep went towards food, blankets, clothes, and other necessities for street kids and foster children who weren't provided for like they should be. The rest of the money went to savings. Neither of them really knew what they were saving for. The future, Dick supposed.
Dick tried his hardest to hide when Marcus hurt him from Kai, and if Kai didn't see the marks left from the abuse, he never would have known. Dick was a dammed good liar. Unlike Dick, Kai was bad at hiding his emotions; he wore them on his sleeve for the world to see. A trait that often got him in trouble.
Dick saw the grimace on Kai’s face and realized what he was looking at. Dick lowered his arms back to his sides, his shirt going back to hiding his secrets.
Dick turned back to the duffel bag and pulled a few things out. “Ok, so I was thinking we could…” Kai cleared his throat and gave Dick a look. They stared at each other, having a silent argument. Dick was stubborn, very, very stubborn, but he also knew Kai wouldn't let this slide. Dick sighed and gave in. He dropped whatever random thing he was holding and dragged his feet over to the lawn chair next to Kai. He plopped down and pouted.
“Let me see.” Kai scooched his chair closer.
Dick scowled but complied. He lifted his shirt just above the bruised ribs. Kai pushed down slightly, and Dick sucked in a sharp breath at the pain. Kai gave him an apologetic look and continued. It was the same song and dance that they were both used to. When one of them got hurt by an asshole caretaker, another kid, or during their… extracurricular activities, they would cross their fingers that it was nothing serious and patch each other up.
“None of your ribs are broken, so that's good.” Kai frowned. He hated it when Dick got hurt; he was powerless to do anything to stop it, and it drove him crazy. Dick had become like a little brother to him over the years; he only wished they had never gotten separated by the system. He reminded himself they were lucky to be in touch. It was really lucky that after leaving Gotham Orphanage, they saw each other again at all. “You should just stay here, at the clubhouse, permanently. I can sneak you food, clothes, and everything. Or you could come live with me. I bet I could convince the Prestens to let you stay.”
They both knew it was a pointless plea. The Prestens were a nice elderly couple, but they could hardly provide for one teenager; they also wouldn't harbor a known criminal, which technically Dick was. In his very last foster home, he had stabbed his foster father in the shoulder with a kitchen knife after he had caught him beating one of the youngest boys that lived there within an inch of his life. Now Dick had a warrant for assault. His little Houdini act from the police car didn't help the situation, but being in juvie would have been worse. Marcus wouldn't allow Dick to leave anyway. Dick was practically his hostage. Marcus kept him close so that the boys wouldn't run off with the money. And if Dick tried to run away…
“He’ll kill us.” Dick gave Kai a sad smile. And it was true, Marcus was lazy and selfish, but he had resources and connections. Dick saw the worry in Kai’s eyes. “I'm okay, Kai, I promise.”
“You better be.” Kai threatened. He smiled mischievously, remembering why they were there. “So are we gonna go have us a heist or what?”
✦𓅨𓃦✦
The Drake estate was quiet; it had been for a few years now. Janet and Jack Drake passed away years ago, and their only child, Timothy Drake, inherited what was left of their fortune. Timothy was 14 when he lost his parents. If Dick remembered correctly, that asshole billionaire Bruce Wayne took him in, and that's where he has lived ever since.
So, the Drake estate was void of any people but full of antiques, priceless art, and expensive jewelry. In a couple of weeks, Timothy Drake was turning 18, and it was an open secret that he was ready to sell the house and everything in it. If they were gonna strike, it would have to be now.
Dick explained his plan to Kai in detail, from how they were going to avoid or disable the security systems to what exactly they were going to take once they got inside.
What most people didn't really think about was the fact that it took a lot of work to plan and execute a heist without leaving anything to connect back to them, well, back to their actual identities. They always left behind a calling card, a red origami robin and a green origami fox, as well as a simple yellow sticky note that said “Thank you for your donation.” signed by Robin and The Fox in Kai's handwriting (Dick wasn't allowed to write the note, his handwriting being the chicken scratch it was) and covered in doodles by Dick.
The target wasn't the only place that would need breaking into; they stole as many plans as they could to get a good picture of what they were walking into. They accessed private messages and other electronic documents to figure out when the building or house might be empty, the best way to get in, and anything else they might have missed initially. Kai built tons of cool things to help them out, and they needed materials for that, which they couldn't just buy from the corner store. Marcus left all of the planning up to the boys, checking it over before it was executed. He only stepped in when there was something they needed that they couldn't get without his help, which didn't happen very often.
This would be one of, if not their biggest job yet. They always stole from the same type of people. The ones who could afford it and probably wouldn't even notice a difference in their bank account, but unlike their previous scores, the Drake estate seemed to have an excessive amount of security. There weren't necessarily more security devices, but the devices they had were way more advanced than was typical.
They had set their sights on the estate late last year and had begun preparations, but soon realized they would need better equipment. Dick would have to get better in the hacking department. He was proficient enough that it was honestly a piece of cake to get into most homes, and a lot of the time, all he needed was a lock pick. But that wouldn't be enough this time around.
Kai had been tasked with building a small computer with enough processing power that Dick could use it to bypass the security. Kai finished that last week, and Dick just finished with all the other preparations. Even though this job would be harder than they were used to, it was also straightforward, with no need for any cons or gimmicks.
The boys sat on an old brick wall a couple of hundred feet from the Drake house. They were dressed in their usual get-up, black cargo pants, black hoodies, and sleek black cloth masks that pulled up over their mouths and noses. Simple and cheap but very effective.
“You ever think about leaving Gotham?” Asked Kai
“Leave?” Dick hadn't really thought about it. He travelled so much as a kid that when his parents were killed, and he was left in this depressing city, it felt final. He felt like he didn't have the right to leave. Besides, he still had things he had to do before he could even think about leaving Gotham, but he didn't say that out loud. “Not really, I belong here now.”
Kai snorted at that, “I'm not sure anyone belongs in Gotham. Other than maybe the rouges,” Kai got a far-off look in his eyes, a hopeful look. Dick liked to see Kai hopeful instead of fretting over every little thing. “I want to travel the world, see things that I've never seen, meet new people, and experience everything… I want to find Lillian.”
Kai had mentioned Lillian, his sister, before; she had left Gotham shortly after their mom died. Kai never knew his father, but his sister could've taken him in; she was 20 at the time. Dick wondered how she could leave a five-year-old to fend for himself and then be thrown around foster care. Despite that, Kai loved her and desperately wanted to reconnect with her.
“You will.” Dick really believed he would. Kai was determined and resilient; he’d find a way.
Kai smiled and hopped off the wall. “Alright, you ready for this?”
Dick grinned impossibly wide, “So ready.” The boys both pulled their masks over their faces and their hoods onto their heads. They pulled on their gloves and did one final check to make sure they had everything. Kai threw the duffel bag over his shoulder, Dick did the same, and the boys started crossing the distance to the property.
Dick had the cameras disabled before they even set foot past the property line. He also made quick work of an invisible trip wire that surrounded the property. They had 20 minutes to be in and out with the items they were here for. The items on their list included Janet Drake's extensive collection of jewelry, which was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, six limited-edition pieces of artwork also worth hundreds of thousands, and a collection of these creepy antique dolls that were, according to Marcus, worth a lot.
The lock to the front door was electronic, made up of a six-digit code. Kai handed Dick the decoder he had made for some job a while back, he had made upgrades so that it would work for this particular door lock. Dick placed the tool in front of the lock. It only took a few seconds for the code 081989 to appear on the screen of the decoder. Dick input the code and the satisfying click of the door let them know they were in.
“Dick.” Kai stopped him before they could go their own ways. Dick raised an eyebrow at him in question. “Just be careful.”
Dick rolled his eyes playfully. “Careful is my middle name,” he smirked
“Your middle name is John.” Kai deadpanned.
Dick snickered. “You be careful to, I read somewhere this house is haunted.” Kai was terrified of ghosts.
“Ughhh, now I'm not gonna be able to get that outta my head, you little asshole.” Dick and Kai split up in the foyer. Kai went to the master bedroom to collect the jewelry. Afterward, he would go next door to one of the small living rooms for the dolls. He kept an eye out for anything ghost-like the entire time. Dick ran off towards the gallery room.
The gallery room itself was huge; it was twice the size of the trailer he grew up in. It never failed to surprise Dick just how big these people's houses were; it also never failed to piss him off. There were so many people who would kill just to have a roof over their heads, and these people had houses big enough for like 100 people!
Dick shook off his anger and stalked towards the paintings. He loved it when they got to steal artwork; looking at it felt peaceful. It was something precious, something these people didn't deserve. He disabled the alarms that were set on each painting and gently took them out of the frames. He rolled them up and placed them carefully in his bag. Lots of people would eat well this week because of these paintings. He smiled at that thought.
Dick headed back to the foyer to meet Kai. It had only taken him about 10 minutes to gather all that he had to get, but as he walked through the hallway, past the dark rooms, something caught his eye. An open door revealed a small room that contained lots of childlike items. Comics, toys, and games, he had enough time for a quick peek, although Kai would be upset that he made a pit stop.
When Kai and Dick first became proper thieves, Kai quickly noticed Dicks habit for getting sidetracked. Dick didn't think it was all that big of a deal because he was always alert and he was always on time, even though often it was at the last minute. But when they were caught by a security camera that they hadn't accounted for after stealing some priceless artifacts from a museum because Dick decided he just had to see if he could climb the life-size brontosaurus, they landed in hot water with Marcus for being careless, and Dick received a beating for being the cause of the screw-up.
He shrugged, that's a problem for future me, he thought. Besides, this situation was nothing like the museum; all the cameras were off!
Dick shuffled into the room and started scanning what was available. The street kids and the other foster kids loved it when Robin and The Fox brought them gifts. He grabbed a couple of handfuls of comics and put them in his bag. He moved his attention to the bookshelf. Huh, pride and prejudice.
Dicks 3rd placement had been hell. There were four other kids in the house. Mrs. Hope fed them once every few days. She sat on her couch watching soap operas and made the kids work on random things around the house, hard tasks, some that even grown men would struggle with. Dick was sure she just wanted to watch them suffer. Mrs. Hope also liked to use Dick as an ashtray; he had cigarette burns up and down his biceps. He could deal with all of that; he had to be strong to make it in Gotham's foster care system. But one night, Mrs. Hope found Dick crying, cuddled around his stuffed elephant Zitka. They weren't allowed to cry. She took his Zitka, his last part of home. Mrs. Hope burned his stuffed animal until it was nothing but ash. He ran away a couple of days after that, and he had no idea what he was doing, and frankly, he didn't really care.
After three days on the streets with no food, his already malnourished body gave out. He passed out in an alley. He had no idea how long it had been before the vigilante known as Phoenix found him. Phoenix told him that Kai had personally sought him out (Dick still wasn't sure how he did that) and begged Phoenix to find him. Dick refused to go back to the system, and Phoenix seemed to understand. He got Dick some Bat Burger and just sat and ate with him. After a while, Dick dozed off. He must have been really out of it because the next thing he knew, he was in a tight-knit encampment safe for children like him. Next to him was a backpack stuffed with non-perishable foods, water, and a copy of Pride and Prejudice. Inside the cover, in surprisingly neat handwriting, it said: Don't let the bastards grind you down. Next to it, there was a small red phoenix drawn. Another note, tucked into the front pocket of the backpack, told Dick to call him if he ever needed more supplies; it listed a phone number. It didn't take long for social services to catch back up with him after that; he hadn't quite mastered the art of running away. Even so, that book was the second-best gift he had ever received (next to the multicolored, lopsided, roughly stitched-together elephant stuffed animal that Kai had made him after he heard about Zitka, of course). That book had given him an inexplicable kind of hope; he didn't know why, but he held onto it.
Dick forced himself out of the memory and scanned the room once more to see if there was anything else he should swipe. His eyes landed on the wall furthest from him, a picture of two little boys and four adults caught his eye. Two of the adults and the smaller boy wore red, green, and yellow leotards. Everyone in the picture had bright smiles on their faces. Dick ran his fingers across his and his parents' faces. The other boy must be Timothy Drake; his parents stood on either side of him. Dick remembered taking this picture; it was only a few minutes before the Flying Grayson flew for the last time.
Dick removed the picture from its hook and hugged it to his chest. He couldn't take the picture with him; it would be an odd thing for a thief to steal, and it was too risky to steal something if there was even a chance of it being traced back to him. Dick forced his tears to stay at bay; he went to put the picture back when he felt something taped to the back of the picture frame. He turned it over to see a hard drive. Weird, he thought. He grabbed the flash drive and checked his watch.
“Shit.” He and Kai only had four minutes to get off the property; he had definitely gotten sidetracked again. Dick put the picture frame back in its place and sprinted towards the front of the house.
Kai gave Dick an annoyed look as he came into view. He tapped his wrist as if he had a watch on. They didn't have time for lectures right now, though, so the boys quickly placed their calling cards on the table in the foyer and quietly made their way away from the house and towards one of the quieter streets where Marcus had sent a car for them.
✦𓅨𓃦✦
On the other side of the city, two vigilantes received an alert about a break-in.