Wish That I Could Be Like the Rich Kids [Dick Grayson]

[Kara Zor-El]

The piercing sound of the alarm going off and the phone buzzing broke the silence of the quiet morning.  Kara wanted to shove the pillows over her ears knowing very well this would not help her situation...super hearing...great the vibrations of the phone would reach her eardrums the most. Though Kara did so anyway in annoyance and blindly reach out for the phone sitting on the nightstand at the foot of her bed (well what should be the foot of the bed as she had decided early on she had liked sleeping with her head facing away from the window). 1. Better view of the stars at night and 2. the sunlight wouldn't blind her so early in the morning.

As Kara finally managed to get a hold of the phone, she was about ready to crush the thing as she turned off the alarm. Correction, she shouldn't crush the phone, if she did, she would hear about it again from Clark as this was probably the 3rd new phone she had had in the last few months, this one being the nicest one yet. She had convinced him to let her have a smart phone to try and fit in a bit better with the society of teens who stare at their phone and upload videos to these strange online societies. Seemed to be a measuring device for one's popularity. Clark had only given in because Kara was having a hard enough time fitting in as it was, you know with being a total alien and it wasn't like the new kid wasn't treated like that...

This was probably the 4th time they had had to move her to another city...can we say anger management issues. This being one time someone had made her so made, she may have accidentally set their backpack on fire with her heat vision. Or the time classmates were teasing her ability to in the ball toss during gym, in which her response was to chuck the ball so far it took out one of the small town's church's bell tower. (That was a lot harder to cover up than you could believe). Then there was that one stupid mistake of trying push a door that said pull that left the door of the hinges and a crack in the side of a building. Oh and that random time she had lift a car out of the way and some ground of little kids had seen her and ran off telling all there friends that they had a superhero in their town. Some stupid mistakes, but some justified for the reason of the treatment she was given from these humans.

Now here she was in Gotham Heights at one of the remote private schools for the children of the elite. Lana Lang had been able to pull some strings. She may not have the money to send her here, but she had the influence as she did work for the Daily Planet and a lot of people read the Daily Planet. Not that she would blackmail someone. She had her connections and was able to get her niece into the boarding school program they had for those who wanted their children to attend but live to far away from Gotham. Lana was a good friends of Clark's and was willing to help out, knowing part of the situation.

So here she was Linda Lang....Kara didn't mind the name as she had chosen to take it to be as a niece to Lana. She liked Lana. But she still didn't feel quite herself with having to be Linda verses Kara. 

Kara threw the covers off and rolled out of bed, her long blonde hair messy from rolling around in her sleep. Her dreams still consist of seeing Krypton in it's final moments before she went into a deep sleep of sorts. She floated her way to her mini bathroom inside of her small dorm.Thankful she didn't have to share the room, she was able to at least be herself here. There were times she would ditch the wig when she was dressed as a civilian and not so much being Linda Lang with the brown wig on. She still wasn't a fan of all this hiding, but Artemis had been right on the Island, that Clark and Diana had there reasons for blending in. Not like either of them wore a wig...

Who's idea was it for school to start at 7:45 am. Such a weird start time. It was only quarter of seven, but she would have to catch the morning shuttle to the main part of the school campus as she was in the school lodgings. Her room was quaint, just above average costs, but not quite like some of the luxuries these students' parents could afford.

Kara put on her school kilt and button down shirt. She'd rather wear sleeveless sweater over top than the blazer. It wasn't quite cold enough for that. She pulled on the knee high socks and her shoes and grabbed her book bag and phone.

"Crap," she exclaimed as she almost forgot the wig and glasses.

She dodged back in and put them on before once more heading out. She knew she had enough money on the allowance card (which most students living on the campus had...either that or their own credit card), she would be able to get something from the on campus bakery. Which she did end up picking something up before catching the shuttle. She had a spare in her backpack now as she waited for the slow moving shuttle to take her to the main academy building. Gees, flying would be faster.

As she walked into the building after getting off the shuttle, she saw a familiar face in the sea of students that were lounging around on the campus green.
Her sharp blues eyes had a hint of happiness, at least she knew one of the students. Though it seemed Batman had tried to keep them apart. She knew Batman didn't trust her. But hopefully he would find some trust in her as she did not say anything about his identity. Please once you met Alfred in the Batcave, it was hard not to known that he was the one he served Bruce Wayne. Then again not many get into the Batcave. Not her fault he had strapped her down like a test subject and she had freaked out. Wouldn't you have if you were strapped down to a strange table in a dark cave on a planet you didn't understand when people spoke to you?

She had a feeling it might be sometime before the resentment over her arrival at Earth would wear off on Batman. As he trusted Diana and she had taken her in for the past year for training. Though now she was facing the reality outside of the Amazon lifestyle she had been training in.

Kara quietly walked over to where the familiar face was. She didn't want to draw attention to herself as she walked across the green. He looked about as overwhelmed as she did. A new fish in a bit pond. But to her, she was the alien from outer space, literally. 

"Hey, you're Dick Grayson, right?," Kara asked as she had walked up to him. She recognized him from the minor run in with him at the Batcave when Clark had been speaking with Batman about having her stay in Gotham for this semester of school because of the last incident at her last school located in literally nowheresville...

From the sound of that encounter, Dick wasn't supposed to be down in the cave at that time and Clark had only brought her along to try and show that she was a little more disciplined than when Batman had first come across her. He stilled faced her with quite a bit of skepticism. At one point, she had been eyeing up trying to melt the tires on the Batmobile over something he had said about her to Clark when he thought she might not have heard him. Hello...Clark's blood cousin with the exact same powers as him...

Clark had sensed Kara's resentment over Batman's remark to his cousin. Clark had given her a sharp look from the corner of his eyes as if to say 'don't even think about it'. That had cooled her for a second as her eyes had caught sight of a young boy running out of another part of the cave, in which Batman's attention had turn.  

Though she had not gotten to talk with the young boy, she had caught his eye. And she would recognize him anywhere. Clark did tell her a bit about Dick Grayson as he knew she was bound to come across articles online that were published in the local times of Gotham. He didn't want her to hear the gossip and to understand that Batman was a good guy, just had a hardshell. In which she had add, and some trust issues.

She was just glad to recognized at least one face in this sea of humans on her first day.

[Deleted]

A full night’s rest was a fleeting pleasantry for any budding crime fighter, with it being no different for Dick Grayson, who clutched to his bed sheets waiting for morning to arrive. Yet another sacrifice he hadn’t considered when taking up the mantle of Robin.

Freeing itself through the roughly pulled curtain that lined the far window of his room, a thin bead of light crept through a ruffled edge down across his equally thrown together bedding. Footsteps paced beyond his door, which were then followed by a brief knock before trailing off further down the corridor. Alfred. With some slight effort Dick pulled himself upright, half his body still hidden beneath the spread, when a dull ache crept through his shoulder. Even in the dimness of his bedroom he could still chart out the bloom of bruising that had spread across the top of his left arm, which, for a moment, he spent he tracing with a finger from his other hand. Without the armour it could have been worse. Unfortunately for his arm he hadn’t closed the distance between the assailant with the baseball bat quickly enough which would have rendered its arc irrelevant, but it was a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.

Within fifteen minutes Grayson had managed to find the will to move from his bed, before having a brief stint in the shower to wash away the grime from whatever alley he’d been camped in the night prior. He pulled some clothes out from his wardrobe and thumbed through the row of shirts. Pausing, he considered the newness that stained each item, some which had never been worn, with none being more than a few months old. When he’d left the Circus his bag had more than enough room to spare, the few items of clothing he had that paled in comparison to the one that stood before him, so much so that this wardrobe felt like it belonged to a stranger. Vigilantism was one thing but growing comfortable in these surroundings would prove to be quite another. The School uniform certainly didn’t help, nor did the novelty of an extended education in one place. Not to say he hadn’t had some formal teaching, but it’d been taken from a dozen different schools across the country for no more than a few weeks at a time, usually wherever they’d roamed on their travels and decided to set up shop for longer than usual.

The drive into the City was thankfully a subdued one, with only the occasional spark of conversation as Alfred had elected to turn the radio on rather than attempt any in-depth pleasantries. Instead he sat gazing from the window of their town car, watching them make the same journey that they’d driven most days to the private school that Bruce had selected for his new ward. Maybe he’d gone there when he was a kid, though Dick could only imagine the emblazoned jumper didn’t do much for his adolescent brooding. After a while the quiet of the country bled through to into the tumble of the City streets, which arrived with a wall of noise and commotion from the morning crowds speeding to work. At night Dick felt a sense of ownership for these streets, yet looking on them through the tinted glass he felt nothing but unfamiliarity, an outsider looking in.

Upon arrival, theirs wasn’t the only executive car that crawled by the entrance to the Brentwood Academy Campus, in fact it would be stranger to have not arrived in one. Everyone who was lucky enough to be the child of someone worth knowing attended the School, proud to stand in the lineage of his prestigious history. Once it would have been the kind of place to make him shudder, a closed off entitled space that only catered to check books. But it wasn’t an argument worth having, though he’d noted the occasional looks he’d receive walking its corridors from his ‘peers’. If he didn’t have Bruce Wayne’s shadow standing over him he’d be sure they’d have more than a few glances to throw his way. A spot opened and they pulled in, allowing Dick to open the door and step out into the growing crowd of identically dressed students, his backpack held over a shoulder with a single loop. “Thanks Alfred, see you back here after school.”

A few parents waved off their children, however more than most were seen to by a single Driver with a few escorted by a small group of guys in suits, usually if their folks were of some political influence. He’d yet to make any lasting friendships, to no ones surprise he didn’t happen to share much life experience or overlapping interests so most days he spent his time minding his own business. So when someone from behind called his name a sudden shock ran through him, that the notion of him being recognised was enough to stop him in his tracks and turn him on the spot to face the brown haired girl who’d spoken. There was something familiar about her, a face that he’d seen before but wasn’t sure where from. “Yeah, that’s me. Do I know you from somewhere, are you new too?”

[Kara Zor-El]

Kara realized she had caught Dick by surprise on trying to interact with him. He clearly did not recognize her from the glimpse in the Batcave. She was actually more trusting of him than the Bat. So she felt it would be a safe thing to tell him who she was. But they would have to get away from any crowds first.

"Sorry about that, I guess you don't recognize me. It's been a while," Kara had said with a slight smile and acting like she a bit embarrassed she had caught him off guard like this.

"And yeah, I am new here. First time in Gotham...well second, but I don't think landing her counts when you are on your way to meet with relatives," she had said, carefully selecting her words as she spoke out in the open. "I'm Linda Lang, well that's what most call me."

She stuck her hand out to offer him a hand shake in introducing herself. She had seen it enough in person and in movies that humans greeted each other this way.

She gave a glance around to see if there was any place they could go if time. She glances at her watch and saw they had a good amount of time before classes were to start. She had caught one of the early shuttles to make sure we was early since she didn't want to get lost in the new school. She was really hoping she wasn't going to have some sort of tour guide student assigned to her for the day. That would just be a bit weird, and so far most of the students seemed very clicky.

"I'd be happy to explain how we ran into each other or know each other, but...," she paused for a moment. She knew this was going to sound weird but she had to try and keep it coded and hope he understood. "Hey do you remember the Boy scout in blue? I heard he comes to these parts sometimes...Can we go somewhere away from the crowd?"

Kara gave an innocent look to her. She was being honest and trying to protect them both. Even then she wasn't going to say directly out loud the words of their secret identities in ways.

"We can walk about it somewhere else but not here. Lets just say that my cousin knows uh...your....um Mr. Wayne," Kara started to say. "He's worked with him a few times that is."

Kara glanced around and saw an opening to make an escape from the crowd. Maybe they could get into an empty classroom or maybe Dick knew of somewhere there would be no students hanging around before class.

"Come with me," she offered her hand as she was ready to lead him through the crowd. "Do you know any place away from the other students? I know I may seem weird and all, but it is kinda important..." Then she said in a low whisper so no one else could hear. "I know who you are and I just want to talk."

She really hoped she wasn't sounding threatening or crazy. She was a bit desperate maybe, but she really hated all this hiding and it would be nice to at least have one friend who she knew would keep the secrets of the supers since it seemed Batman had trusted Clark.

[Deleted]

Glancing at her outstretched palm, Dick considered the girl for another moment before shaking her hand, adjusting his backpack with his free arm while doing so. “It’s cool to meet you Linda, I didn’t meet you at a performance, did I? Sorry, usually if anyone recognizes me its from that. The sign always said ‘World Famous’ but I never really thought I’d meet a fan.” Though his career had long since been built to operate in the limelight, the fame of a Circus was one that been rewarded to his family as a unit rather than down to its individual players. Of course, there’d been times when they had to give out the occasional autograph or two after a show, make an appearance at a local venue or public space in support of the show to rally some interest but whatever fame had been placed in the name of the Flying Graysons had long since faded away.

While ruminating about his past, he found his attention snapped back to the moment at the mention of a ‘Boy in Blue’. An innocent enough reference, it held enough interest in its obscure subject matter to peak his interest which was only furthered by Bruce’s name being thrown into conversation. Though not wanting to attract any attention, not that anyone at the School had enough interest to look beyond their own conversation, Grayson gave a quick nod in reply at her request to move somewhere more private to continue their chat. His first lesson wouldn’t begin for another fifteen minutes so when posed with her hand to lead them through the crowd he sheepishly accepted, wary of the glances they’d likely receive. “If we’re quick there’s usually a lab room free first period over in the Science block.” By this point in the morning they weren’t the only Students who had begun to move, with groups starting to slip toward the interior sections of the School, placing them in a larger stream that coursed through the opening doors.

Though ominous as they were, her parting words before they set off were enough to motivate him to search for a free space for their discussion, leading them through into the atrium of the School’s Science building which sat ajar from the main Campus space. A row of rooms lined the corridor beyond the entrance with far fewer attendees milling about than there were inside, allowing him to quickly pick out a lab that had yet to receive any Staff or Students. Fitted for a class of thirty, the room was longer than it was wide filled with a set of work stations and stools for smaller groups while a small desk for the teacher remained by the entrance. Walking through the door, Dick closed it shut after Linda and turned to face her. “Look, who are you? I haven’t got long before first lesson so I’d like to know.”

[Kara Zor-El]

Kara had heard about the Flying Graysons. It's not something that isn't talked about around Gotham seeing playboy millionaire Bruce Wayne had taken the young Grayson in as his ward. It was all over the papers. So she had gotten the chance to see some of their performances, more so videos online that had been filmed at the circus.

But of course she knew him from another source before she had learned about the tragedy after the fact though since landing on Earth. It's not that Clark couldn't keep his mouth shut, it was more of trying to make her feel better in ways as to not feel so lonely. And she had seen the boy in the cave the time she had been there with Clark.

Once they were securely in the room and there was no one around, Kara was glad Dick had taken the chance to follow her to a more private location as to make sure no one over hears their conversation. She could tell my his voice and vital signs that he was a little anxious at this new topic. He was definitely caught off guard and she would apologize for that and few bringing it up in school.

This planet was so weird and she didn't like feeling alone very much after being frozen or trapped in a for of eternal sleep in ways. Clark was all she had left besides her new "aunt". But still, they did not understand. Her aunt wasn't really superhuman. And Clark was not her age, nor had he experiences feeling like you jumped a time-warp. Last she knew he was little and not here was Clark...older than her.

"I'm sorry to catch you off guard like this. I just thought maybe you would be someone good to talk to. I saw you in the cave...Clark told me who you were because I questioned him to no end over all these strange things and places. I know about the Bat. I don't know if they had made mention of me since I landed here a year ago and was taken to an island to train with the Amazons. My name is Kara Zor-el. Clark is my cousin," Kara started to explain.

"I'll keep it short so you can get to class soon," Kara said lowering her eyes a bit since she felt so lonely these days not that she didn't have Artemis to speak to like back on the island. "The Bat found me when I first landed and then Clark came to help. I had been lost in space for sometimes and now my powers were foreign to me when I first landed. Things here are not like Krypton. I've only be around the Amazons and Clark for the past year. There's no one else around our age it seems with the life we have. Well, at least what is to come. I haven't gotten fully into the who saving the day thing yet. Clark thinks it's a bit too risky at times. Not risky for me that is, more so the damage that I could cause with some of my strength that cancel even Clark."

Kara stopped talking for a moment to let it sink it for Dick Grayson. She was a bit anxious herself now. She just hoped she hadn't pushed him in the wrong way with catching him off guard like that. "I think Bats has kept us from really know much about each other because of the situation I am in. There this guy name Luthor who would do anything to find a weakness to Clark and I'm just another part of that puzzle. That and I don't think the Bat likes me very much after I destroyed one of his computers the first time around," she said as she tried to hide a laugh over the matter of the accident that happened in the cave. Her blue eyes watched him carefully. She just hoped he would take it seriously as she wasn't sure how exposed he was to the alien heroes of this planet.