Nightwing #72

WELCOME TO THE NEW FAMILY
Bea Bennett gets spotted by Batgirl: bartender of the Prodigal Bar in Blüdhaven, Bea was there when Richard Grayson, formerly known as the vigilante Nightwing, got back to life after being shot to the head by the hitman KG Beast. Dick got back to Blüdhaven with an heavy amnesia, not remembering anything about his past life: she met Bea and the girl helped him with his problem, with the two quickly falling in love. Barbara and Dick do not have the same relationship they had before, as Dick is trying to put order in his life, but the fact that Bea came to Gotham to then set on fire a huge Batman symbol on a field tells Batgirl something went wrong.  Batgirl decides to approach Bea as Barbara Gordon, as they already met each other when she tried to make contact with Dick again. Bea explains to Barbara that last night, the Joker himself came into his bar and knocked her unconscious. She was afraid he was going to kill Ric (Dick decided to go by this name after he woke up from the coma), but he did not. When Bea regained her senses, she found out Ric was all right, even happy. He told her he beat the hell out of Joker, kicking him out of the place, making him run like the coward he is. He also told her the Joker was not able to use the memory crystal on him, and that he took the crystal, shattering it.  Barbara never knew about the crystal, so she asks Bea to explain: Dick tried to heal his memory problems with an expert, who in reality was a member of the Court of Owls that tried to manipulate him into thinking he was raised as a Talon. Ric defeated them, but since then he started to have a conflict in his mind, with two sets of memories waging war to one another to gain complete control. In the end, Bea thinks that Ric was acting really odd, and she struggles to see how he simply made the Joker run from the place, as he clearly had the upper-hand. Barbara confirms her suspicions, telling her she agrees: someone will get to Blüdhaven to check on Dick, being it Batman or Batgirl. Bea does not have to worry about it.  Getting back into her costume, Batgirl shuffles through the skies of Gotham, thinking she should go to Blüdhaven right away: she was wrong in letting Dick handling his problems by himself, even if he asked for it. She must stay close to him, and help him back to who he was: former Robin, Nightwing, Dick Grayson. A friend, or even more: family. As she thinks about this, Dick himself gets there and meets her, with smiles and stupid quirks: Barbara clearly senses there's something wrong in his attitude, memory problems or not. Even as Ric, Richard Grayson still was the same person she knew. In that moment, another woman joins the discussion: Punchline, the Joker's new sidekick.  Punchline and Batgirl start to fight, with the criminal managing to pierce Barbara's leg with a knife, with blood pouring out. Dick stops her, but then he does something horrible: taking the blood of Barbara from Punchline's hands, he paints a red smile on his face, telling the Joker's partner that they had a deal: Batgirl was Dick's to kill. As Barbara is down on the ground, shocked and terrified, the Joker himself comes out, the memory crystal hanging from his neck: how beautiful would it be if Bruce was there with them! To see a new family born: the Joker's family, welcoming a new son. Welcoming Richard Grayson on his side.