"Let's see what's left of Geneva when we're done."

"Need to take him down. Or at least lure him away so we can safely disengage the-" Dick was cut off by Connor letting out a scream and running to Parasite, causing both Roy and I to facepalm.

"Or act completely idiotic and on impulse." I sighed, watching him successfully punch Parasite before getting knocked out. "Boys will be boys... but apparently they get stupider with age."

"All right, Dangers, come on out. Only a couple minutes before this baby's done warming up and eats Geneva." Parasite called out just as my gauntlet blinked.

"Who could be calling you at this time? Because I know it's not Batman." Roy whispered and grabbed my arm, dragging me away. "We're going to the roof and you're helping me."

"I think I have an idea." I sighed and answered the call, hooking a separate comlink on my ear. "Yes, Jason? Is everything alright?"

"Are you busy!? I'm sorry!"

"It's okay, little bird. But is everything okay?"

"Yeah... I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, but you're busy and-"

"Hold up... it's Christmas!?" I whisper-yelled and Roy nodded, joisting up a crate. "Wasn't it just Thanksgiving?"

"Technically it's Christmas Eve, Domino."

"Time really does fly when fighting crime... Merry Christmas, little bird." I said and smiled when Jason grinned. "You know what would be a good present?"

"Watching you guys kick butt!?"

"Exactly." I nodded at Roy and he threw a line to a support beam. I jumped on his back and we both landed with ease and crouched down. "On my mark, Red."

"Dahlia and I were just the appetizer, remember!?" Megan called out.

"Now." I ordered and Roy launched an arrow, successfully hitting Parasite and filled him with foam.

"Wicked." Jason said in awe and we both smiled.

"Foam? You think foam can hold me!?" Parasite yelled, looking up at us. "Or stop me from crushing you with a thought? Combined Martian and Kryptonian powers here."

Using his newly acquired heat vision, he melted the beam and we both fell. Roy turned to grab and shielded my neck and head just as we fell on top of a crate with a loud thud.

"You alright, cupcake?" He asked and I nodded trying to catch my breath.

"Yeah... thanks, Red."

"Do any of those powers free you before I sabotage your death-thingy?" Dick called out and we both immediately stood up and jumped down.

"Robin, wait!"

"This one does." Parasite smirked, breaking free from the foam and used heat vision to blow up the control panel, Dick barely managing to jump away in time.

Artemis launched an arrow which, combined with Parasite's heat vision, formed a ring of fire around him making all of us sigh in relief.

"How's that for a Christmas gift, little bird?" I asked Jason who was still looking in awe.

"Aside from the whiplash when you fell, it's the best gift ever!" He exclaimed and I laughed.

"So clever. Trick me into igniting flammable gas. But you forgot doofus' double-dose of invulnerability." Parasite smirked but immediately fell to his knees.

"Unless you make a meal of my powers and get my weaknesses as a side dish." Megan smirked, keeping her distance from the fire.

"Deactivated." Dick called out, swinging an arm over my shoulders. "Who's your friend?"

"Right, you haven't met him yet!" I grinned and took off the comlink. "Robin, this is Jason Todd... Jason, this is-"

"The Boy Wonder! You're like... my favorite person ever!" Jason yelled and Dick widened his eyes through the mask.

"Me? B-but Batman-"

"Batman's cool, but you're way better than he is!"

"Aww, little Robin has a fan!" Roy teased, messing up his hair and waved at Jason. "I'm Red Arrow, kid. And the rest are Artemis, Miss Martian and Superboy."

"When I grow up, I wanna be a hero just like you guys!" Jason smiled and we all glanced at each other in worry.

"It's a hard job, Jason... you sure you're ready for that responsibility?" Artemis asked, stepping closer to the hologram and he nodded frantically.

"I wanna do good... like you guys do!"

"There's a lot of ways you can do good without fighting bad guys, Jason." Dick said.

"Like?"

"When classes start, go to the pet shelter and ask for Maeve. Tell her I sent you." I smiled and Dick stifled a laugh. "Tell her what you told us and she'll show you how you can do good without getting blood on your hands."

"Maeve? As in Maeve-"

"The very same!" I quickly interrupted and he nodded. "Stick to her and you'll learn that there's a lot of good you can do at such a young age."

"If you say so." Jason shrugged. "Santa's coming tonight, so I'm going to bed. Merry Christmas, Domino! And it was nice to meet all of you!"

"Merry Christmas, Jason!" We all said and I hung up.

"Hold up... it's Christmas!?" Dick exclaimed and we all laughed. "How long have we been on this tour!?"

"Long enough, birdie... let's get outta here before we turn into coal."

｡ﾟ•┈୨🃏୧┈• ｡ﾟ

"So the show will go on, and I have the feeling I have you Dangers to thank."

"Don't know what you mean."

"No, of course not. But I'm guessing you'll be leaving now." Haly sighed sadly.

"Time to move on." Dick shrugged, shaking his hand.

"Well, Dick... I'll miss you."

"It's Dan!" He quickly corrected. "Dan Danger!"

"Right... and I suppose Dahlia is-"

"Maeve Wayne, actually." I chuckled and Dick sent me a glare. "I was a performer before I was adopted by Bruce... never performed in a circus, but did private shows with my Mom."

"How'd you know it was me?" Dick asked.

"Some things never change... like the sight of a Grayson on the trapeze. You can't fake that. Can't hide it."

"Told him the moment we joined, but he didn't believe me."

"You've grown son." Haly smiled, going back to his desk and pulled something out. "I was waiting until we met again to give you this... I found it that night and held onto it, until now of course."

He pulled out a small box and handed it to Dick who immediately grabbed it with tears in his eyes.

"Is this-"

"Your mother's lucky ring and the infamous Grayson necklace your father wore."

"Looks like the Kryptonian bird tale uncle Clark told me when I moved in! He heard it from Superman!" I said peeking over his shoulder.

"Jack, this is... thank you!" Dick smiled, immediately putting on the necklace. "And I'll be back someday... not permanently, but I'll be around."

"Then can you do this old ringmaster a favor?" Haly asked and he nodded, immediately running out of the room. "That boy... still has lots of energy."

"When I moved in, he was hanging from a chandelier... Bruce has mesh on them to prevent that from happening again." I laughed, crossing my arms. "Thank you for giving him that. It means a lot to him... more than you know."

"Still hasn't made peace with it?"

"No... especially around this time. He still blames himself for not noticing the hooks in time. Which is why-"

"He had your friends check on the bolts." Haly finished and I nodded. "Truth is... after that night, I had them welded together. Couldn't bear to see it happen again."

"It's a dangerous sport. One mistake can cost you your entire life as my mom used to say each night." I said, opening the door. "I'll take good care of him, Haly. Promise." 

"No doubts about that, Maeve." 

｡ﾟ•┈୨🃏୧┈• ｡ﾟ

"We're all packed?" 

"Packed and ready to go, Roy." 

"Then let's go. After this, I don't wanna see a circus ring for some time." Roy mused, but I didn't laugh. "You alright, Maeve?"

"He doesn't want to leave. And I don't want to be the bad guy in telling him that it's time to go." I said, pointing at Dick who was fumbling with the ring. "I hate seeing him like this. Usually it's me who's depressed about my life." 

"Give him a break, Maeve. He deserves to grieve."  

"I don't understand it, y'know?"

"Grief?"

"Yeah... can you explain it?"

"There's not really a concrete explanation, monkey. It's just something you need to feel to understand." Artemis butted with a frown. "There's five stages, but everyone goes through them at their own pace... Robin's still between bargaining and depression." 

"You can't force him to automatically be better... it's something he has to work on his own. But it doesn't mean you can't help him." Roy assured, gently pushing me forward. "We'll be in the ship waiting. Take your time." 

"I don't-" 

"He needs a friend, and you're the only one here who knows his story." 

"But I don't understand it. I don't know how to help if I don't understand it." 

"Sometimes, it helps by just being there to hold his hand... let him know he's not alone." Artemis smiled and Roy gave me another push. 

Letting out a small sigh, I walked up to Dick and set next to him on one of the boxes. From the corner of my eye, I saw Artemis and Roy give me a thumbs up before walking away. 

"I suppose it's a stupid question, but are you okay?" I asked and Dick nodded, still fumbling with the ring. "Want to talk about it?" 

"I'm okay now, promise." He smiled. "Just thinking about something." 

"Amuse me." 

"How to give this ring to a pretty girl without making it weird." 

"Dick, that's your mother's ring! I can't-" 

"She'd want you to have it, Mae. She'd probably chew my ear off if I didn't give it to you." He shrugged, gently grabbing my left hand and slipped the ring on my middle finger. "Think of it as a thank you for everything you've done for me." 

"I'm just along for the ride, Dick. You were the one who saved my life and convinced me to become this." I shrugged and he rolled his eyes with a scoff. 

"You got me back on the trapeze again, and are always there to catch me before I fall, metaphorically and physically. I may have convinced you to become Domino, but you did all this by yourself." 

"Now I kinda feel bad that I don't have an heirloom and a speech to give you." I mused and we both laughed. "I may not say it much, but I'm thankful that you saved my life that night, Dick." 

"And I'm thankful you decided to stay even though we all gave you more than enough reasons to run for the hills." He said and pressed a light kiss to my cheek. "Merry Christmas, Maeve."

"Merry Christmas, Dick."