"You're slouching, bird boy."

"I'm not slouching!"

"No? Then why are we almost the same height? We're not thirteen anymore. You had your growth spurt." I teased and he rolled his eyes. "Talk to me, bird boy."

"You think I'm becoming much like Bruce? Because I've been trying to be better!" Dick exclaimed. "Because I've been training them and-"

"I don't like you keeping secrets from your friends and you've been distancing yourself again from everything, including me."

"I try not to... but with everything going on, I just don't know what to do anymore."

"We're a team, Dick. It's always been you and me against everything. You don't have to hide from me." I sighed, straddling his lap and ran my fingers through his hair.

"All of this... the Robins, the Team... I created it and it all blew up in my face. People died, good people, and I'll have to carry that for the rest of my life."

"Wally, Tula and Jay's deaths aren't your burden to carry alone, Dick. I was leader too and I was in Arkham with Jason."

"I just can't shake the fact that I either keep failing or turning into the thing I swore I'd never become." Dick sighed and leaned his head back against the couch. "I once thought that being Robin was the best thing to ever happen to me, but I was wrong. It doesn't give you magic like Jason said, it doesn't give you hope like Tim praises... it's a damn curse that I can't get away from. Only Steph seems to understand that."

"Dick..."

"I try to be better at this, Mae. I thought becoming Nightwing was gonna give me the peace I thought I needed, but I'll never stop being cursed from Robin. I'll never be free from my past."

"I've learned that the more you run from it, the more it'll come to drag you down... Robin isn't something you should be ashamed of, Dick. Yes, it doesn't have the most amazing reputation, but that doesn't change the fact that all the Robins have done amazing things, especially you." I said and he scoffed.

"Bullshit."

"Dick, you helped create something so amazing that the entirety of the Justice League look up to you. You were the first one to step out of the mentor's shadow and surpass him in every way... you've risked your life every day since you were barely ten years old. You set the standard of what all of us should aspire to be."

"There's blood on my hands, Maeve. The blood of my brothers are in my hands and I can't seem to wash it off."

"What about Artemis and I? You think we're not stained as well?" I rolled my eyes and forced him to face me. "You've had every opportunity and reason to stray away from this life and become worse than the Joker, but you didn't. Instead, you chose to not let it affect you and continue to do good."

"Because I don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice, Richard. The reason I still wear that mask every night is because I choose to be better than my father and create a legacy for myself. And the reason you choose to stay here as well is because you know that there's people who need Nightwing and you have the kindest heart I've ever witnessed."

"But everything-"

"Is in the past. And you can either learn from it and move on, or sulk and let it torture you for the rest of your life."

"When did my funny girl become so wise, huh?" Dick smiled and leaned up to kiss me. "Thank you for trying to make me feel better."

"Years of extensive therapy and a psychotic break resulting in a lot of dead bodies in an asylum."

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"Okay, M'gann, we're all here. What happened? And who's this?"

"Victor Stone is Victor Stone." Forager said.

"I really need to get out of Gotham and Blüdhaven. I've missed way too many chapters." I grumbled and Connor nodded, swinging an arm over my shoulder.

"You guys really aren't freaked out by how I look?" Victor asked and I scoffed.

"The carved smile says nothing? They've seen my mouth be cut open when I was thirteen and they stayed when it was getting stitched and I had to be sedated because I went into a manic episode. Not to mention the other episode I had a few years back. Nothing fazes us anymore."

"Still not hearing what happened and don't trauma dump on the kid. That's what therapy is for." Dick said.

"It isn't enough. I need to fight my dad."

"That's all you do!"

"Then something isn't working yet!"

"At school today, Violet Harper opened a Boomtube, as if Violet Harper was a Motherbox." Forager explained and we all screamed.

"Mmm-hmm, it's true. I didn't know I could do it until I did it. Then it seemed, well, natural." Violet smiled.

"But even for a meta-human of your abilities, how is that possible?"

"Maybe I know." Connor called out. "When we were at Bedlam Central, I spotted a dissected Motherbox."

"Of course. That must be the device Baron Bedlam gave to Doctor Ecks. Simon tried to learn its secrets, but only succeeded in destroying it. There was a burst of energy, then the machine went dead."

"Not dead, murdered. Motherboxes are living computers. That burst of energy? It was probably Motherbox's soul escaping."

"Hello, Megan!" Artemis and I facepalmed in unison.

"Doctor Fate sensed an old soul in Halo's very young body. And the first time I saw Halo, Vertigo's crew was burying her. Bedlam wasn't in the business of ditching powerful meta-humans, so they must've legit thought she was dead." She continued. "Maybe Gabrielle Daou did die. But the Motherbox's soul-energy, or whatever you wanna call it, merged with Gabrielle's body and resurrected it as-"

"Me!" Violet realized and we all nodded. "I told you I wasn't Gabrielle."

"You did. And we're sorry we didn't understand." I smiled sadly. "The trauma must've wiped your mind clean. Believe me, I know how it feels."

"Then explain it because I sure don't understand." Jeff butted.

"She's get glimpses of Gabrielle's residual memories, flashes of the Motherbox's knowledge... It was kinda like whenever Joker electroshocked me. I had no memories of the weeks before, just tiny flashes days or years later. It's like two different bodies working together to become one... your mind becomes a web that's nearly impossible to untangle."

"What does all of this have to do with me!?" Victor exclaimed. "I mean, she just healed me and-"

"She what!?" Artemis yelled. "Violet, you've never been able to heal anyone but yourself."

"Well, she healed me. That's why I-"

"Actually I don't believe I did heal you, Victor. I think I only made adjustments to your internal technology."

"More proof she's a living Motherbox." Connor shrugged.

"Look, I just wanna get back to my actual life. I don't-"

"You do realize that you'll never get that back, right? If a Motherbox is truly living for you right now, we can't risk even entertaining the idea of removing it because it'll kill you both." I interrupted and stepped towards him. "I really hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you can't go back to your old life... at least, not in the way you want to."

"Look, I have a future to work for. Might not be the same for you since you're a nepo baby who-"

"Wanna run that by us again?" Dick crossed his arms.

"All of you can talk about Mother and Fatherboxes later, but I-"

"Who said anything about a Fatherbox?" Connor interrupted and stood next to me just as Sphere and Victor started attacking each other.

"Okay, what the hell!?" I yelled as Dick pulled me back. "Do we have to leash Sphere again!?"

"I swear that wasn't me attacking!" Victor pleaded once Violet managed to calm him down and M'gann ran to check up on Connor.

"It was the tech within you taking control."

"Heard that one way too many times, huh Mae?" Artemis teased and I flipped her off.

"As long as the treatment still works, we don't have to worry about psychotic episodes. Speaking of which, don't call me once I get home. It's Venom day and I plan on sleeping through my IV's this time."

"New treatment?"

"Next month if I manage to catch a break."

"Clearly, a Halo-cleanse is only a temporary solution. For the time being, you two had better stick close to each other." Dick said.

"What about his father? Shouldn't Victor-"

"He did this to me!" Victor yelled and I raised an eyebrow. "Look, I'm eighteen. You can all kick me out, but you can't make me go back!"

"Guess we're adopting another stray." M'gann sighed and I snickered. "Mae, how do you do it?"

"I've been asking myself the same thing since Tim sassed me when we first met."

｡ﾟ•┈୨🃏୧┈• ｡ﾟ

"You getting hooked up?"

"And I'm about to call it a night. How was Gotham, Steph?"

"Typical night. Cass and I worked on our own for a bit while Tim tried to convince Bruce to apologize to you." Steph shrugged and winced when Dick started to prep everything. "And this is every month?"

"Two months. It's been a huge upgrade from how she started." He shrugged, pulling out the syringes. "Went from getting injected every single night to this and next month we're trying the anti-venom again after almost a decade."

"And that'll work this time?"

"Before Wally died, he did an internship at the same lab where they make Mae's treatments and he helped create the new anti-venom. He... he died a few months after that..."

"He must've been brilliant."

"No one on the Team had a brain like Wall. Him and Dick were always the ones coming up with the most elaborate plans on missions while me and Connor just wanted to punch our way out." I chuckled and Dick smiled slightly. "He would've loved you, Steph. Same with Tim and Cass."

"Of course he would. We're amazing to be around!" Steph grinned and we laughed. "Well... I just came to say good night. I want to take the grime off me."

"You loving your new room?"

"I love it! I have my own bathroom and everything! You two are the best!"

"I'm about to hook her up. You should go shower, Steph." Dick smiled and she nodded, slowly closing the door and walked away. "That thing you said about the web in your mind... is it really like that?"

"It's worse, but it's fine. It comes in waves." I waved it off and winced once the IV was in. "Don't you ever get tired of doing this every month?"

"Every time I see these bags and syringes, I tell myself just one more month before it's all over and you're free for good... but that new treatment will work, M. I'm more than positive."

"But what if it doesn't? Dick, I don't want to bring a child into this world while this is still part of me."

"It will. I've been reading up on the treatment from Wally's lab notes and everything they sent to me and Bruce. Once it starts, it's an IV like this one twice a month and dialysis every six months for a year or so depending on the results of your blood tests. In theory, there's a 90% success rate. In practice, you lower it just 10% which is still way better than the other ones you've tried."

"I'm tired of this, Dick. I'm tired of getting my hopes up and then returning to this." I sighed, watching the Venom enter my bloodstream.

"Which is why I've been diluting the Venom with saline solution and tiny dosages of the anti-venom for six months to see how your body reacts."

"And it's working?"

"No allergic reactions, your eyes don't glow bright green afterwards and your mood swings are getting better. But we'll know for sure after your tests next month." Dick smiled and placed a kiss on my forehead. "This one has almost ten milliliters of the anti-venom so it's possible you'll feel some burning but I prepared for that just in case. I'll stay up and monitor you throughout the night."

"You don't have to do that, Dick. You need to rest." I mumbled as he rushed to his side and laid down, pulling me to his chest.

"What man would I be if I didn't take care of my future wife?"

"A man who sleeps."

"It'll all be worth it, baby. All the hurdles, the treatments and the tears will be worth it one day."

"When we finally get to have a kid?"

"I've never heard someone who wants a kid so badly as you do. Why's that?" He asked, twirling a strand of my hair.

"I used to not want one... got nauseous and everything when Bart said we were gonna have one in the future. But then I started to think... maybe I can make up for all my mistakes by raising somebody the way I wanted to be raised." I shrugged, resting my head on his chest and closed my eyes. "And if it's with you? Hell, I'd have a whole soccer team."

"And what about our night job?"

"Eh. We'll figure it out, bird boy. We always do."

"That we do, funny girl... that we do." He chuckled and tightened his grip slightly. "I love you, M."

"I love you too, D."