Then - Gotham
Batman: There it is, Lt. Gordon.
Lieutenant Jim Gordon: Holy--
Batman: Gotham's lost history.
Robin I: And that brings the case of the stolen statuary to a close, courtesy of Batman and Robin.
Pigeon: Sheeple! You worship at the feet of patriarchal icons!
Lieutenant Jim Gordon: Who is she?
Batman: She calls herself the Pigeon.
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Pigeon: The narrative you defend enslaves you!
Batman: She and her sidekick, the Defacer, are "art terrorists" who thought they could rewrite Gotham's history by destroying its monuments to the past.
Lieutenant Jim Gordon: Well, your assistance is appreciated as always, Batman. Now I guess we just need to figure out how to put these damn things back where they belong.
Robin I: Batman? What's going to happen to her? The Defacer?
Batman: She's a minor, so she won't face prison time. But her actions cost this city millions of dollars and potentially endangered lives. She'll have to face some kind of justice. Is that a problem, Robin?
Robin I: I dunno. It doesn't seem fair. She just had the wrong mentor. Without Pigeon's manipulations, her only crime is being angry.
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Now - Haven Community Center
Shawn Tsang: Get the fuck out of here!
Nightwing: Look, Ms. Tsang-- Grimm gave me your name.
Shawn Tsang: You don't understand, you prick! You'll ruin everything we've worked for if the Run-Offs see you!
Nightwing: Who?
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Nightwing: I came to the city of Blüdhaven in the hopes of resetting my life a little after a rough patch. I got an apartment. A job. And now here I am getting yelled at by my new boss, not because I screwed up at work, but because... Well, because she's secretly a supervillain I helped bust back in my Robin days. Yeah, and I haven't even gotten to the part about the talking gorilla in gym shorts yet. Gorilla Grimm, a high-tech gun runner, was arrested for murder before my eyes. And despite our history ... I think he might be as innocent as he claims.
Speaking of history ... Stallion. Former pro football player, good old boy and enforcer for the Penguin. Another expatriate of Gotham, like Gorilla Grimm. Another ... "run off." Stallion's big. He's mean. But he's slow. And he's rusty. And he needs to be dreaming of rodeos if I'm going to get to the bottom of this.
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Stallion: You damn prancin' Nancy boy! I did four years in Blackgate cuz a' you! Yah! *Smashing of glass as Nightwing throws him into a mirror* Ain't nobody make Stallion look weak! I'll kill you dead, you hear me?!
Shawn Tsang: Randy! Stop! Cool down! Don't do anything stupid! Remember all the work we've done in group! Remember the man you are on the inside! Not the monster in the mirror.
Stallion: Aw. Aww, God. I done it again.
Shawn Tsang: It's okay, Randy.
Stallion: (to himself) I--I engage in violence against men to satisfy my urge to be close to 'em.
Shawn Tsang: Look what you've done, Nightwing!
Nightwing: Me?!
Shawn Tsang: You! You and fucking Batman and every other cape-wearing, sanctimonious white hat he inspired! They all came here to escape you!
Nightwing: They?
Jimmy Nice: It's okay, everyone. Just stay calm. Nightwing, my name is Jimmy Nice. This a support group to help former super-criminals from Gotham.
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Nightwing: And that's when I realise I'm not the only Gotham expatriate in Blüdhaven. Thrill Devil. Juan-Andrés Santos Suarez. Illegal street racer, daredevil and high-speed heist expert. Batman and I went undercover in his gang and ran him straight into a GCPD sting. Brendan Li. Giz. Hacker and safecracker. Partner and boyfriend of… Pamela Sweigeld. Mouse. Hacker, burglar and former student of Catwoman. We busted them trying to break into Arkham to free Catman. *Sigh* I should have known that hoping for simplicity would lead me into this tar pit snare trap of a situation.
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Shawn Tsang: It's okay, everyone. You've done your time. Nightwing is just here by mistake. Took too many hits to the head and got lost on his way back from Gotham.
Mouse: Wait. Ms. Tsang. Nightwing. He's one of the Bat kids. He's probably a really good detective. Maybe he could help us… ...with the conspiracy.
Nightwing: What? What did you say?
Mouse: Ahhn…
Jimmy Nice: It's okay. We're here, Mouse.
Shawn Tsang: Can't you see she's afraid of you? You can't do any good here, "hero."
Mouse: Nhh.
Giz: Shhh.
Stallion: (to self) A clenched fist ain't equal to open arms.
Nightwing: Okay. I'm leaving.
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Nightwing: Terrified criminals quaking at the sight of me. Fear and mistrust on their faces. I remember that reaction. That's how everyone treats you when you're Batman. And in a time in my life when I'm working on trusting myself again, that's not what I needed.
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Jimmy Nice: Nightwing! Wait! Before you go… I know your reception up there wasn't very welcoming. But, I wanted to tell you… I'm here, because of you. You helped scare these people straight. That's why we do need your help. No one will listen to them. But they'll listen to you. And the Run-Offs will know someone fights for them, even if that someone used to be their enemy. We've lost one member already. Our friend, Grace, was seduced into joining the Whale's Enders, one of the worst street gangs in town. Please …
Nightwing: I--No. I can't. I got myself wrapped up with a criminal recently and I–
Jimmy Nice: Look. I was on the wrong path once. Going to...a dark place. But helping the Run-Offs saved me. Showed me my own dark reflection. Made me take control. Maybe we can do the same for you.
Nightwing: ... I – Okay. I'll help Grimm. But then I have to walk away, okay? Has Grimm said anything? Implied he might be getting himself into trouble?
Jimmy Nice: There was one thing. This isn't a judgment... just a fact...Grimm was trying, but it was harder for him than the others. He had relapses. Just yesterday he admitted to me that he'd been to Meadowdale Mall. If you know anything about Blüdhaven...you know nothing good ever happens there.
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Trader #1: Candied scorpions! Deep-fried spiders!
Trader #2: Top of the line digital panoramic cameras! Fifty dollars.
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Nightwing: Meadowdale Mall, as I found out, is Blüdhaven's mostly illegal street market...tolerated by the cops only because it keeps these retailers and their customers from spilling onto the boardwalk. Gorilla Grimm was a weapons dealer. If he was here, maybe I can tie him to Paulie Paterno, the importer who was murdered. Fortunately, everything is for sale at the Mall, including answers. Unfortunately, these questions are draining my savings. And even worse, I know some part of me just hopes that I find the information that proves Grimm guilty. If Grimm is really guilty, then I don't have to worry that I'm doing it again...I don't have to wonder if I'm trusting a criminal.
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Arms Dealer: The monkey? Yeah, he's been around, sure. But I've never seen him selling or buying. Not things anyway. Ya wanna know about the monkey, you gotta ask Jane.
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Jane: Yeah, I know Grimm. He used to hire me out once a week.
Dick Grayson: Oh? How's that... work?
Jane: Get your mind out of the gutter, honey. Nothing funny. He liked to act out these li'l scenarios. King Kong kinda stuff. I'd be the helpless screaming human and he'd "menace me," y'know? Pretty innocent. Anyway, he said it helped him remain secure in his gorillahood since he'd given up menacing humans for real. You seem like a well-adjusted, good-looking kid. What are you doing in the Blud anyway?
Dick Grayson: I'm working on figuring that out myself.
Jane: Well, you've warmed my cold heart. I'll give ya a discount. Twenty-five bucks and I'll show ya where Grimm lives.
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Nightwing: Jane directs me to an area of the harbour where whalers once hoisted their catches, that was now too far from the boardwalk to host another casino. There's something about the air in Blüdhaven... like it's charged with the energy of possibilities. Like it's the kind of place a former criminal really could start over. Or a disillusioned superhero. Maybe that's why Superman suggested I come here. Maybe that's why me in another life managed to make this place his home. Possibilities.
If Grimm was still selling weapons, he wasn't putting the profits back into his home. Apple core and half a beer bottle in the garbage. Core is barely browned. Grimm has been here recently...but was he here last night when Paulie Paterno died? It'd be hard to miss a three-hundred-pound gorilla coming and going at any hour.
Redhorn International Shipping? A lot of stuff moves through these docks. Security cameras are always running.
He's about as subtle as I am every time I see Shawn Tsang. I thought she was cute before. Her yelling at me while dressed in her villain suit... Not sure I want to even know the psychology behind what made me even more attracted to her. "Catwoman syndrome," maybe? ... Hmm. There's a segment of video missing from yesterday evening. The cops could have confiscated it. A lot of people moving through these docks too. Visitors of any sort probably have to sign in--even cops. Delivery. Delivery. Delivery. No police. But there's this. From the beginning of office hours today. As if someone was waiting to get in. The name is unreadable. Smeared by a liquid that isn't on the rest of the page. A liquid that, even when dry, smells a little like...horses? Like it or not, my instincts were right... Grimm was framed.
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Bludhaven Convention and Tourism Bureau
Cherry Annabel: Simon!
Simon: Ahhh! ... I don't know how you can ingest that crap, Cherry.
Cherry Annabel: This crap gave me the natural energy I needed to save our jobs. And that job, in case you've forgotten while you napped, is to make sure rural and suburban tourists view our lovely city as something other than a crime-stricken, urban hellhole. Have a look at what I've come up with. I wish I had a few more shots to work with. Maybe something from the back? But it's police camera footage so what are you going to do? What do you think of Blüdhaven's newest billboard? "Come for the Gambling. Stay for the Sights. Nightwing. Keeping Blüdhaven safe."
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Nightwing: Sun's coming up. What was meant to be a short distraction turned into an entire night of playing detective. At least I was smart enough to realize that living above a home for the blind would be useful for when I decided to slip into my place at dawn, still in my night tights. What am I doing? I came to Blüdhaven to get to know myself without a mask and code name. To find out what hobbies and interests I still had. I came here because I thought this city was an uncomplicated world of black and white that I could control. I didn't want to reach out to my friends or family. I didn't want anyone to talk me out of it. But maybe it's time I accepted... I need someone to talk to.
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Thrill Devil: It's hard. Sometimes I just want to ride so fast that I can't feel anything but the G-force... Just keep accelerating until it tears my skin off my body. But then I remember those moments weren't highs. They were lows. And if I hurt myself, I hurt you guys.
Stallion: We're here for ya, man.
Shawn Tsang: Thanks for sharing, Juan-Andrés. And thank you all for agreeing to schedule a make-up session after last night's... interruption.
Jimmy Nice: Good work, Shawn. I felt like there were some breakthroughs tonight. The costumes helped.
Shawn Tsang: I think so, too. Good night, everyone. Get home safe.
Nightwing: I waited until they were gone this time.
Shawn Tsang: How nice of you. Maybe they're not the only ones who are traumatized.
Nightwing: I know. I was wearing a different set of shorts then, but I'm sure I remind you of one of the worst nights of your life. I came here because I was having trouble trusting people. Because I wasn't sure what the next step in my life was. I realize now, that makes me a lot more like the Run-Offs. It makes me a lot more like you. You told Stallion earlier to remember who he was on the inside, not the monster he saw in the mirror. I've seen some of that monster in myself recently. Warty, armour-plated and hiding in a cave, refusing to trust people. Waiting for someone to hurt me. But that's not who I am. I just want you to know, I think... I know Gorilla Grimm is innocent. And I'm going to help him, whether I have your permission or not. If I help the Run-Offs... I think it'll help me, too.
Shawn Tsang: You know, back in Gotham, all those years ago...when they were taking me away, you and I shared this curious little glance. I was so mad then that I couldn't see it. But seeing you now, I think that look said something. It said, "What if we had met under normal circumstances? What if we weren't sidekicks?"
Nightwing: "What if we were just us?"
Shawn Tsang: Yeah.
Nightwing: What does this look say--?
*police sirens*
Shawn Tsang: Oh., shit.
Officer #1: Shawn Tsang? Formerly known as the Defacer?
Shawn Tsang: Yeah?
Officer #1: We'd like you to come with us. You're a suspect in a murder.
Nightwing: What?!
Officer #2: Since you're considered dangerous, ma'am, we're going to have to cuff you.
Nightwing: Get your hands off her, man! She didn't do a damn thing!
Officer #2: Back off, kid. Blüdhaven doesn't need any "heroes."
Shawn Tsang: It's okay, Nightwing. You'll figure this out.
Officer #1: You can just go on back to Gotham, Nightwing. This is a job for the police, not for ad campaigns.
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News Anchor: Another appearance by the Gotham superhero, Nightwing, as a suspect in the Robert Chapman murder is arrested...
Whaler: (turning off the TV) Back in the day, map makers used to put ser monsters on uncharted areas of a map. "Here there be dragons." Just a simple way of saying "I dunno what's out there, but it'll probably kill you." Up until now, the Blud's been unexplored territory for superheroes. So we gotta make sure they know coming here can kill you. Lucky for us, the Whale's Enders got you, Grace. The Orca. Our very own sea monster.