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The crackling sound created by the energy put off by the time travel device rang in his ears. For a few short moments, the leaves on the ground around him lifted, floating despondently before fluttering back from wince they came. For a brief moment, in the back of his mind Warpgloom imagined the room he left crackling with the exact same energy, newspaper clippings and lengths of yarn floating in the air where he disappeared from his own time.
Ever a flair for the dramatic, Warpgloom hated anybody upstaging him, yet this time he dressed in civilian clothing in an attempt not to draw attention to himself and his mission. Said flare drove within him a deep dislike for the young vigilante Nightwing. Despite Warpgloom's villainously high IG, the young vigilante trained by Batman always outsmarted him at every turn, yet also managed a bigger dramatic embodiment.
Warpgloom clicked his tongue clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, a nervous habit he blamed on Nightwing. Shoving his hands into his deep pants pockets, the villain left the vacant lot. He quickly glanced around, checking for anybody noticing the odd time traveling occurrence, before heading away from the spot lest Batman caught wind of any time distortions. He purposefully blended in rather than standing out, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth again.
After believing he'd walked far enough away not to immediately attract the Batman's attention, he proceeded to the next step – verifying the date. Warpgloom simply located a place selling newspapers and pulled from his bag the newspaper clipping of Bruce Wayne taking in the young Dick Grayson after his family's tragic accident. A grin broke across his face, noting he'd indeed arrived the day before, and early enough to put his plan into motion.
Whistling, he shoved his hands into his pockets and continued walking, heading towards the location of the circus. Upon arriving at the venue, he started by watching the circus performers and goers, continuing his attempts at not standing out. Evening slowly arrived, harkening the arrival of Batman in his civilian form. A smirk briefly appeared on his face. "Funny how he is providing me the distraction I need."
Slipping into the back areas, he carefully looked for a small child dressed in the outfits the Flying Grayson family were known for wearing. He found the boy sitting with a few others, moping slightly while a few of the other circus children chided him. Eventually, they left the boy alone, and Warpgloom stepped out of the shadow, placing a rag with the chloroform-like substance over the boy's mouth. A grin spread across his face as Dick struggled at first. "Be glad I don't harm kids. If the circus thinks you've been kidnapped though, well – the show won't go on."
YJ
"Dick isn't with you two?"
John's head jolted up, a frown spreading across his face. He leaned up against one of the support poles, relaxing until the Flying Grayson family's performance time occurred. He took a deep breath, noticing the odd occurrence of their youngest member not appearing on time. Normally, things weren't this quiet backstage. He watched his aunt and uncle look at each other, looks of worry on their faces.
"Maybe he's a little intimidated by the fact Bruce Wayne is here?" His mother offered.
A laugh escaped his mouth. "What? No. I mean, he's always the one most excited about performing, but he wouldn't be intimidated by some local celebrity showing up. In case you haven't noticed, it always makes him even more of a handful."
His aunt and uncle exchanged worried looks, yet John couldn't help but feel a bit unsettled himself. He glanced at his father, who looked less than pleased. "Perhaps the other circus children played a prank on him? As John said, Dick does become a bit more of a handful when things get ramped up and the other kids tend to take it the wrong way."
John felt relief rush over him. "Yeah. That's got to be it."
"But where is he?"
"I could look for him, but..." John frowned. "I'm kind of needed for the finale."
His father waved him off. "Go. We've done a variant with only four people before. Of course, the ringmaster's not going to be pleased."
John smiled yet knew full well what those words meant. He turned, muttering under his breath.
"Dick, if the ringmaster decides to punish you, I hope I'm not punished as well. I hate cleaning up after the elephants, but I hope I can find you before our act starts." Except finding a missing little bird proved harder than he thought. In the background he heard the music of the big tent mingling with the sound of the crowd's excitement. Taking a deep breath, John vented his frustration. "Seriously. I am not at all amused." A small thumping sound from a trunk made him pause, only for another thumping sound to be heard. John felt a smirk spread across his face.
"So, they did prank you little bird." What John saw upon opening the trunk didn't look like a prank within the capability of the other circus children. He found Dick bound and gagged within the trunk, making the older Grayson frown. John bent down and pulled his cousin out, cursing out loud. "What's going on? Normally you'd escape something like this, you little fiend."
John quickly untied Dick's hands, noticing where the ropes rubbed his cousin's skin raw. As he untied his cousin's legs, Dick pulled the gag away, gasping for breath. "Mama."
"What?" John looked into his cousin's vivid blue eyes.
"Where's mama?" Dick looked nauseated.
"Aunt Mary?" John frowned. The Flying Grayson theme song came on. His head tilted, indicating the direction of the big top. "She's with the rest of the family in center ring."
"No." Dick stood, teetering slightly. He steadied himself by grabbing onto John's shoulder.
"So, you miss one night of performing. What's the big deal?" John let out a sigh, watching Dick take off. He shook his head, taking off after the youngest family member. "Seriously? Trouble is your middle name, isn't it?"
Dick remained a few feet ahead, dashing around the other circus performers. Only the ringmaster grabbing onto his small frame prevented him from dashing out and ruining the moment. The exasperated look the ringmaster gave John said he'd have a few choice words with the youngest Grayson after the performance.
John attempted pulling Dick backstage, only for Dick to gasp out. "Sab..."
"Sab what?" He watched his cousin point up, and his eyes traveled towards where Dick pointed. "Shit!"
The ringmaster heard the explicative escape John's mouth and looked in the same direction, his facial features twisting in horror upon seeing the sabotaged cable straining. Neither watched Dick moved out farther, his eyes on the adult members of the Grayson family. Time felt frozen, watching the cable snap and their bodies fall. A strangled cry of anguish from his young cousin broke John out of his trance.
He hurried forward, preventing Dick from approaching the mangled bodies, burying the boy's head in his arms. The entire crowd stared at the horrifying sight, making him feel ill. Everyone, that is, except one person. John's eyes focused on the man whose eyes were on Dick – one Bruce Wayne.
YJ
"Perhaps it was a good thing neither boy performed tonight, sir?"
"Don't try and console me Alfred. This only happened because Bruce Wayne made an appearance."
"You really shouldn't blame yourself for this Bats."
Batman glared at his computer screen. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough." Flash dashed over.
"You know my policy about other vigilantes coming into Gotham."
"Well, I'm not your Flash."
Batman felt a headache coming on. "I'm busy looking for the person who sabotaged the Flying Grayson act."
"Yeah... about that."
"Let me guess. You already apprehended him."
"No. He talked me into letting him go." Flash folded his arms. "Kidding. I actually apprehended the time traveler whose changed your timeline, not the person who killed the Grayson family."
"Why does that not surprise me?"
"Because I'm the expert on timey wimey stuff."
"Let me guess. You can't tell me why someone felt this family such a future threat that they'd travel back in time and leave two boys orphans?"
"Actually, it's one boy." Flash held out a newspaper clipping.
Batman took the newspaper clipping, quickly scanning for important details. A frown appeared on his face. "Wait. The older boy was also meant to die tonight? Is that what they wanted to change."
"Look closer Bruce."
"I can't raise a kid."
"And I swore I'd never take on a sidekick. Believe me when I say you need that boy in your life Bruce." Flash waved. "I'm off to see the future."
"Remind me to add high-speed motion detectors Alfred."
"Yes sir."