𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴

Dick's POV

"You got my message?"

"I did... Dick, it was almost fifteen years ago. What I did for Artemis-"

"Was an illusion, I know." I interrupted M'gann and paced around the room. "Guys, I'm gonna be a dad soon and I don't know what to do... I need my mom."

"Dick, I know how you feel. I lost my mom when I was young too." Zatanna sighed and forced me to sit on her couch. "But I'm afraid this will feel like the first time you lost them."

"I won't, Zee. I finally made peace with it and I know I can never bring them back... I just want to see my mom again and for her to tell me everything's gonna be okay."

"You never fully stopped grieving them, did you?" M'gann asked and I nodded. "Dick, if you're scared of how you're going to raise your baby, you're not alone. We'll all put in our part to help you and Mae. Just like we did with Will and Lian... you're not alone in this."

"But at the end of the day, I'm the father. There's already so much pressure in breaking the curse of horrible fathers." I sighed, leaning back and closed my eyes. "Mae had Joker for a father and we both had a somewhat absent dad. I don't want that for my kid... I had loving parents once. I just want to remember what it felt like."

"You won't be a horrible father, Dick. You already would kill and die for this baby and it's not even three months along yet." Zatanna assured and held my hands. "You're an amazing husband and will be an even more amazing father."

"I just want my mom." I whimpered and they both hugged me.

"You'll have until sunset. Make it count."

"I will."

。゚•┈୨🃏୧┈• 。゚

"Mom? Dad!?"

"Do I hear my little Robin?" Mom appeared and I almost fell to my knees. "My boy has grown up, hasn't he?"

"Mama..." I cried and ran up to hug her. "I missed you so much."

"I know you did. I missed you as well." She pulled away and wiped my tears.

"So you finally made me a grandpa?" Dad called out and I smiled. "You ready for it, son?"

"I think I am... Maeve's so excited for it too. You two would absolutely love her!"

"We already do." Mom assured. "She looks kind, Dick. You picked a good one."

"She's perfect, Mom."

"She better be if she's wearing my lucky ring."

"She's a terrifying thing, isn't she?" Dad asked and I laughed with a small nod. "You treating her right? Because I didn't raise you to treat her wrong."

"She's carrying my child so I must've done something right." I shrugged and Mom slapped my shoulder. "Hey!"

"Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I can't still ground you, Richard John Grayson." She warned and I raised my hands in surrender.

"I'm treating her right, Mama. I swear it!"

"You better be."

"Even in death you're still scolding me."

"I'm your mother. It's my job." She smiled and we all sat on a bench. "But I feel you're worried. What's going on?"

"I'm scared, Mama. I've never raised a kid before!"

"What about that Jason boy Maeve took in from the streets? And Tim? And the Team?"

"They were grown with their own morals. We just had to make sure they didn't die and we failed once... but this is my baby."

"Dick, it's a parent's nature to make mistakes." Dad sighed as I rested my head on Mom's shoulder and she stroked my hair. "You're both gonna make so many mistakes along the way. The important thing is that you learn from them and better yourself, not only as a father, but as a husband as well."

"I don't-"

"Being parents is about teamwork. You're both responsible for the person that child's going to become. Is your marriage strong enough for this?"

"I believe it is. I mean, we're already a perfect team. We barely fight, we communicate and we always find a middle ground."

"Then you're gonna be fine, my little Robin." Mom said. "If she's as excited as you say she is and if your marriage is as strong as you say it is, then everything's gonna be okay."

"You sure about that, Mama?"

"I'm positive." Mom smiled and stood up. "I'm afraid our time is up, my little Robin."

"What? It wasn't enough time! It can't be sunset already!" I protested and a hand was placed on my shoulder.

"It is." Zatanna said sadly and I shook my head, hugging Mom tight. "I'm here to ease you back."

"It's not enough time!"

"It never is, Dick."

"Dick, look at me." Mom said and tilted my head up from her shoulder. "You're going to go... and you're going to be the best father and husband you can be. You're going to take this all one day at a time."

"But it's not enough time! I want more time!"

"You can't stay in this illusion forever, son." Dad added and hugged me. "You have a new father who did his best to raise you and a wife and child."

"But Bruce isn't you, Dad."

"But he tried his best. It was his first time being a dad too and he was probably scared. And when Maeve came along, the fear increased tenfold."

"I miss you both... so, so much." I cried.

"We're never far away, my bird." Mom assured and wiped my tears for the last time. "After all, you're always flying close to us."

"I love you, Mom. And I love you too, Dad."

"And we love you, Dick." They said in unison and gave me one last hug before disappearing.

"Dick..."

"I'm okay, Zee." I sniffled and turned around to see her holding a door open. "I think I got what I wanted."

"Then are you ready to come back?" She asked and I nodded shakily. "You're gonna be an amazing dad, Dick... your parents raised you right."

"And so did Bruce."

。゚•┈୨🃏୧┈• 。゚

Recognized: Nightwing, B-01

"You look depressed."

"I was, but I'm okay now."

"What happened?" Maeve asked, crossing her arms and I smiled leaning down to kiss her barely noticeable bump.

"Just one of those days where I needed my mom and Zee and M'gann helped make that happen, even if it was a figment of my imagination." I shrugged and kissed her. "You had a good day?"

"I've been looking at Joker's DNA all day. You tell me." She rolled her eyes. "But I also needed my mom today so we had lunch together. I think we're finally building a decent relationship with each other."

"I'm glad, babe. I really am."

"You should talk to her more. I know she's not your mom, but she's still a mother... and she did say that she wanted to get to know you better, not just as Nightwing or the man who married her only daughter." She offered and I hummed in agreement. "I mean it, Dick. I know nothing can replace your mom, but Harley really wants to know you and build a relationship with you."

"Invite her over for dinner and we'll start from there." I decided and she smiled big. "So, Joker's blood?"

"I've got it!" Tim yelled, pulling at his already disheveled hair. "A mutation in the bloodstream!"

"Tim, we ruled that out hours ago." Barbara sighed and turned to us. "Can't Karen help us with this?"

"Called her this morning. She said she has some free time tomorrow and that she can help but it'll probably be already too late." Maeve said, grabbing a mug and filled it with coffee but I took it away. "Oh, come on!"

"No coffee while pregnant."

"Look, the only thing that makes sense to me is the Lazarus pit and that he's going madder than usual." Tim shrugged.

"Except it's impossible because Ra's would never allow anyone to use the Pit except for him, baby wing. And I debunked that last year."

"Then I'm stumped!"

"I'll run the tests again." Barbara rubbed her temples and they groaned.

"I'm telling you, it's a mutation!"

"Have the computer scan the entire DNA, not just fragments." I called out.

"Still nothing, Dick."

"Because it doesn't have anything to compare to." I rolled my eyes and dragged Maeve to the computer. "I hate to ask..."

Maeve gave me a deadpan expression before grabbing a Batarang and sliced the palm of her hand before letting the blood drip into one of the wells. She then grabbed my hand and did the same thing.

"My blood still has Joker Venom, yours is clean. I'm ruling out every option available." She shrugged and grabbed the first aid kit under the computer. "Start scanning, Babs."

"You seem pissed."

"I honestly don't give two shits if his blood is poisoned and slowly killing him. Let the bastard die, please! I'm fucking tired of this!"

"Maeve-"

"Shut up, Timothy. I'm tired of this man finding new ways to ruin my life. First, it was the Venom and ten years of pure torture. Then, the sporadic kidnappings until I was thirteen which made my PTSD even worse as if that was possible. Then, Jason and Babs... and now this!? Can't a girl catch a damn break for once!?" She cried out and we all took a step back. "Stupid pregnancy hormones fucking me up as well!"

"I don't want to see her when her feet get swollen." Tim whispered and I nodded. "I feel bad for you, big brother."

"Maeve, I need to know exactly what happened the night you killed the Joker." Bruce called out, stepping out of the elevator with Damian close behind.

"So you can yell at me again?"

"I'm long past yelling and we worked past it."

"Okay... so, I shot and beat the Joker to death with my bare fists and a crowbar and then delivered the money to Pyg along with a hundred thousand in hush money." Maeve simply said and everyone widened their eyes.

"A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!?" Tim yelled and she nodded. "Where did you get that-"

"Joker's money. I believe that is the least of our issues, baby wing."

"And that was it? Are you absolutely sure that was it?" Bruce desperately asked and she nodded.

"I was with her, Bruce. That was all that happened." I said and he widened his eyes. "In my defense, I had to make sure she didn't go full psycho."

"Jesus Christ." Barbara mumbled and turned back to the computer.

"Tim, when you first saw him when you were Robin-"

"Mae, his face was stretched and sewn on, barely hanging on. You could see the muscles under the skin just starting to rot." He shuddered and Maeve gagged. "I still have nightmares about it."

"That has to be the thing that's killing him, does it? I mean, if the only thing holding his face together is a couple of fucked up stitches it has to be possible." I shrugged. Maeve just raised a finger and walked the other direction, grabbed a bucket and puked on it. "Sickness?"

"Nope, I'm picturing it and my early dinner is making an appearance again because of it." She shuddered. "Give me a few and I'll be fine."

"Except it's not the thing killing him." Barbara said and we all turned to the computer. "I don't know how he came back to life. But whatever or however it was, it mutated his DNA... his cells are killing one of the daughter cells after mitosis."

"So Professor Pyg actually brought someone back from the dead?" Tim asked in shock and Barbara nodded.

"Should've burned the body when I had the chance." Maeve grumbled, setting the bucket aside and held her stomach. "How much does he have?"

"Computer's estimating six to eight months depending on his condition. And if he's still terrorizing the city-"

"The life expectancy should decrease exponentially." Maeve and I said in unison and Damian raised an eyebrow. "Get used to it, demon spawn."

"But J's smart and a sociopath. If he knows it's killing him, he'll wait until the perfect moment to strike. He wouldn't be as reckless as he was back then." Maeve continued, crossing her arms. "Which means he's more dangerous. Possibly the biggest threat that we've ever encountered as a team."

"We'll be ready for it." Bruce assured, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"As long as my kid never meets her biological grandfather, I don't care how or what happens. There's bigger things at stake this time than we had back in Arkham or Louisiana."

"Arkham was about as deranged I've seen him from all the footage. You sure he can get-"

"He can and has, Dick. And I know what he's coming after." Maeve said and turned to the computer. "Joker once said he wanted to gas the entire town, make them as deranged as he was. With what little I remember of Arkham, Scarecrow wanted the same thing. Whenever Jason or I refused to be tested, there was consequences."

A picture appeared of Maeve and Jason hooked up to a mask emitting dark green smoke and laughing, making all of us wince.

"My father is the worst man alive and I was his favorite experiment."

"The hell is that?" Barbara asked, leaning closer.

"Modified version of fear toxin. It made everything we felt increase tenfold. All the beatings, the electroshock, the adrenaline... that's how me and Jason survived an entire week without sleeping and why I was unconscious for days after you got me out."

"That should be enough to make your heart give out."

"It almost did. It wasn't a fun experience and I don't want to repeat it."

"Believe me, none of us want you to repeat it either." I rolled my eyes.

"Bottom line is we have to prepare for this, Dad. I have no idea what it is, but it's bad."

"I need you to tell me exactly everything you remember from Arkham. Barbara, find the video feeds from that week and play them. Search for any clues regarding Joker or Scarecrow." Bruce ordered.

"B, I don't think that having Maeve talk about Arkham is the healthiest thing for her right now." I protested and Tim nodded in agreement.

"Grab the puking bucket and some snacks because all I remember are the gory details not even Joker would dare share." Maeve announced and Tim almost fainted but I held him upright.

"The puking bucket's for who?"

"For whoever needs it because some descriptions have visuals."

"God help us all."

。゚•┈୨🃏୧┈• 。゚

"Y'know, I think secrets should stop being a thing in this household."

"There are certain things that weren't anyone's business and that I genuinely wanted to forget." Maeve hummed and sat up on the bed. "Look, I'm sorry I never told you, but I don't necessarily feel comfortable of talking how I dismembered people just so that Jason wouldn't die."

"You did a lot for that kid." I said and she nodded.

"I did what I had to and I'll deal with the consequences until the day I die, hon. Dinah helped a lot in therapy." She admitted with a small smile. "But I don't want to talk about my nightmares anymore. I wanna hear about this whole thing Zee did for you today."

"It was just one of those days where I really wanted a hug from my mom."

"You only have those when you're genuinely stressed or depressed."

"I'm just a bit scared, I guess." I shrugged and leaned down to rest my head on her belly. "I just want our family to be okay. Especially now with everything going on."

"The three of us are going to be absolutely fine. My biggest worry is currently dying and I don't fear Scarecrow. And neither should you."

"I want you both safe. You two are all I care about... and I don't want to retire until I know the world's a safe enough place for them."

"Then we're gonna be doing this until we're old and gray because I plan on doing the same thing." She laughed. "But we're gonna be okay. We've looked out for each other for what seems like an eternity... we've got this."

I smiled softly and lifted her shirt, pressing a kiss to her belly before speaking to it.

"You have no idea how much you're loved, my little acrobat. You have the entire world in your hands and you don't even know it yet. Mama and I will fight to make the world a safe place for you. As long as we're alive, you'll never be in danger... and as your Dad, I promise to fight for you until my last breath. Your family's a little crazy, but they love you very much and can't wait to meet you... Mama and I can't wait to meet you."

"I know why you wanted to see your mom." Maeve sniffled and wiped her tears. "You're scared you're not gonna be a good dad."

"I had my doubts, but I'm okay now." I shrugged, resting my head in her belly again. "We're gonna be good parents."

"For once, I'm not the one with the doubts."

"It's weird being on this side of the fence. How do you do it?"

"Like a ten year old boy once told me. Take it one day at a time."

"Sounds like a smart boy."

"He is."

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