Ch 2

                                    

                                          
"Bye Alfred!" Dick yelled as he rushed out the front door. 
                          
"What time should we expect you back, Master Dick?" Alfred questioned. 
                          
"I shouldn't be long, I'm just going to the auto store to get some parts for my other bike."
                          
"I hope that you will be able to get that thing to work again, after your last late night excursion."
                          
Dick knew exactly what Alfred was talking about. He had totaled his, or rather Nightwing's, motorcycle in a car chase last week. While he himself had been fine, the bike hadn't been able to run perfectly since then. He was almost done working on it, there was just one more part he needed. 
                          
"I'll admit, I thought you would never get that thing running again when I saw the condition it was in before." Alfred added. 
                          
"Thanks for the vote of confidence Alfie." Dick replied sarcastically. 
                          
Alfred shot Dick a glare when he heard the nickname. 
                          
"Well, I better get going." Dick said as he rushed out the door. 
—
Clayface and one of his thugs were waiting for Dick to leave. They were in a small car, concealed in some bushes about a 1/2 mile from the Wayne's private driveway. 
                          
The thug immediately turned on the car and drove up to the driveway when they saw someone on a motorcycle drive out. 
                          
Clayface focused on a picture he held in his hands, a picture of Richard Grayson with Bruce Wayne. After a few seconds his features melted to become those of the boy in the picture. 
                          
"Good luck boss." The thug mumbled.
                          
"Just keep the car idling, I shouldn't be long." Clayface replied. 
                          
The thug involuntarily flinched as he heard the voice of Richard Grayson coming from the man he knew to be Clayface. He thought to himself that if it was him that had Clayface's power he wouldn't want to get rid of it. The thug's private thoughts were interrupted when Clayface slammed the door, startling him. 
                          
Clayface started sneaking up the long driveway towards Wayne Manor before he realized that if he was actually Richard Grayson he wouldn't be sneaking. 
                          
Clayface eventually got up to the manor and opened the door after a second of debate on whether he should knock. 
                          
He walked in and saw someone he could only assume was Wayne's butler. 
                          
The man nodded to acknowledge him before saying, "That was indeed a fast trip Master Dick."
                          
Clayface tensed for a moment before he realized that Richard must prefer the nickname Dick over his full name. "I just forgot something."
                          
The older man nodded before moving away and continuing to sweep. 
                          
Clayface moved into the next room to make his lie of forgetting something more believable. After a few minutes he moved back into the first room. He smirked as he realized what he had to do to get Richard kicked to the curb. 
                          
Clayface moved behind the butler to a place where he knew the butler would back into him.
                          
When Alfred stepped back he bumped into Clayface. Alfred spun around and began to apologize. Before he could finish Clayface grabbed his arm and twisted it until there was a sickening crack, as well as a groan of pain from Alfred. Then Clayface roundhouse kicked Alfred who then fell to the floor. 
                          
"Don't touch me servant!" Clayface yelled with venom in his voice. 
                          
"Master Dick," Alfred said weakly, "Why?"
                          
"You've had it coming." Clayface said as he walked out the door. 
—
                          
When the real Dick Grayson got back from the auto parts store he went straight to the garage to finish fixing his bike. The only thing the bike had needed was a new tail light. Once he installed the new one his bike would be street legal again. 
                          
Once the new tail light was installed Dick went into the manor through the garage door. After he entered he considered calling out that he was home, but decided against it when he heard people talking in the living room. Sneaking up on people was so much more fun than simply telling them that you were there. 
                          
As he snuck closer Dick was able to make out more of the conversation. 
                          
"That's it!" He heard Bruce shout angrily. "I don't care about any excuses or reasons he had to do it. He could have killed you Alfred." Dick heard genuine concern in Bruce's voice. 
                          
"He wouldn't have done that sir, you've trained him not to kill." Alfred replied.
                          
"At this point I don't know what he would or wouldn't do. I certainly didn't train him to attack innocents, let alone members of his own family."
                          
After this statement Dick decided to step into the room. He had gathered that Alfred had been hurt by someone, both from the conversation and the note of pain in the older man's voice. Dick was genuinely concerned for his grandfather figure and wanted to make sure he was alright. 
                          
Dick expected to see Alfred with some sort of cast or bandage denoting an injury, but what he didn't expect to see was the look of fear on Alfred's face when he saw him and the look of rage on Bruce's face. 
                          
"How dare you come back here after what you've done!" Bruce yelled at Dick, making the young adult flinch at the glare that accompanied the accusation. 
                          
Dick was so confused, something he'd done? Was he the one who had hurt Alfred? If so, how? "I-I don't have any idea what you're talking about." Dick said, backing away from Bruce's angry form as he approached him. 
                          
"How dare you feign ignorance!"
                          
"Bruce, I-I don't know what you mean." Dick said, voice rising as his panic increased. He was still trying to back away from Bruce, but his leg caught on a chair and he fell backwards onto the floor. "P-please! I didn't do anything!" Dick said, holding his hands out to protect himself from whatever was coming. 
                          
Bruce grabbed his arm and lifted him off the floor, holding him in the air. 
                          
"Master Bruce, perhaps— Alfred was cut off by a glare from Bruce. The same glare was then turned on Dick himself.
                          
Dick could see sadness under the glare, and perhaps even a bit of confusion. It was like Bruce was asking him, 'Why would you do this?' But Dick didn't know what he had done. 
                          
Bruce tightened his grip on Dick's wrist, causing a pop and a feeling of numbness to wash over Dick's hand. Dick whimpered at this, which only caused Bruce to tighten his grip even further as he started dragging Dick to the door. 
                          
When they got to the door Bruce opened it and practically threw Dick out onto the stairs.
                          
When Dick landed his ribs collided with the sharp edge of a step and he cried out in pain as he heard the sickening crunch of his ribs breaking. 
                          
For a moment Dick could see Bruce's determination waver, but that moment was soon over, and Bruce yelled, "Get out! I don't want to see you here ever again!"
                          
Tears pricked in Dick's eyes as he scrambled down the rest of the stairs and ran to his motorcycle. He looked back at the manor as he drove away, hoping that someone would run out, telling him that it was all some sort of sick joke, but nobody came.