a/n: next chapters regarding this episode will be longer and have POV switches from Maeve to Dick.

"Happy adoption day, Miss Maeve."

"Thank you, Alfred!" I smiled, sitting on the kitchen island next to Dick. "Where's Bruce?"

Alfred just smiled slightly and passed me two huge boxes, a bouquet of flowers and a note.

Happy adoption day, Maeve.

So sorry I'm not there, but I'll explain everything in the Cave later.

One of the boxes is from me, the other Selina left it this morning. It's from Harley.

DO NOT open it until I come to the Cave later.

I'll make it up to you when this is over, I swear.

Love,
your dad.

"At least he's starting to say it more." Dick butted, reading the note over my shoulder before giving me a hug. "Happy adoption day, Mae."

"Thanks, Dick." I smiled, opening the box from Bruce and a lot of balloons popped out and a golden necklace with my initial covered in diamonds and another note were tied around it.

One carat for each year you've been home. And your initial to remind you that you're my kid until the day I die.

Happy four years, Maeve.

And thank you for giving me a chance to be your father.

~B.

"Selina always said that diamonds are a girl's best friend." I mused, rummaging around the box to find a stuffed bear with a carved smile like mine and holding a small bat.

"I helped make that one." Dick grinned, making me laugh.

"Figured as much."

"And I made your favorite breakfast." Alfred called out, handing me a plate. "Smile pancakes and-"

"Bacon for hair... you're the best, Alfred!"

"Happy four years, Miss Maeve." He smiled and I jumped out of my seat to hug him.

"Thank you, Alfred."

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Recognized: Domino, B-001
Recognized: Robin, B-01

"Happy adoption day, Domino!"

"What's all this!?"

The Cave was covered head to toe in streamers and balloons. Wally was holding a cake with blue frosting all over his face and hands, Megan and Connor were holding a stuffed bear wearing a mask exactly like mine and Kaldur and Artemis were holding a wrapped present.

"Robin set it up." Wally smirked and I turned to Dick who was trying to hide behind Zatarra who pushed him forward with a smile. "What's in the box?"

"I have no idea... Batman said to not open it until he comes here later." I shrugged, setting the box down and Wally shoved the cake into my hands.

"Happy adoption day, Monkey. And congrats on making it out alive." Artemis smirked handing me the present. "All of us pitched in... and Robin mentioned that your favorite color is blue."

I set the cake on the table and opened the present to reveal a blue polaroid camera making me smile big.

"Aww, she likes it!" Wally called out and hugged me tight, the rest of the Team joining. "Can we eat the cake now?"

"Yes, Wally... we can eat the cake now."

"Finally!"

"Adopted girl gets the first slice, Wally!" Megan called out rushing after him when he disappeared with the cake.

"You sneaky little bastard." I whispered to Dick who was slowly turning red. "But thank you."

"Hey, it's not every day you get adopted by Batman." Dick shrugged.

"At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if there's another wayward child in the Manor in a few years."

Recognized: Batman, 0-2

"Computer, national news." Bruce says as he walks out of the Zeta Tube, not even slowing down as he walked into the center of the room. He turned to me and opened his arms. "And happy adoption day, Domino."

"Thanks." I grinned and ran up to his arms, hugging him tight. "And thank you for the present."

"The initial attack was short-lived, but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve." the TV shows the massive plant once again standing upright and attacking, a scraper already caught, then shattering before them. "And despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight." The camera follows her as she swings her mace at the plant, a Green Lantern saw cutting it off as she flies to meet him. The two head towards the spire-like plant as Hawkman follows behind them, hacking another vine on his way.

"Ivy..." I whispered, glancing at the unopened box. "Should I-"

"No. The League will soon have the situation under control." He informs, giving no room to argue. "That's not why I'm here. According to your Intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' Blockbuster formula to Kobra."

"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to create Kobra-Venom." Wally says.

"Which the Brain used to create his animal army." Dick spits.

"And upgrade Wolf." Connor says with a smile, petting Wolf under his chin.

"The Brain also used inhibitor collars like the ones at Belle Reve penitentiary." M'gann remembers.

"Batman, there's no way-"

"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis." Bruce says as he gets a holographic keyboard in front of him. "Divine cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra-Venom variant."

"These cannot be coincidences," Kaldur says. "unrelated criminals are cooperating with one another worldwide."

"Something doesn't add up. Ivy would never-"

"Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement..." An extremely familiar voice rung out through the Hologram and I tightened my grip on Bruce.

"Get. The. Box." He whispered through gritted teeth and I nodded, slipping away and ran to the table, dragging the box with the help of Wolf.

"From the InJustice League." Joker laughed. I grabbed a Batarang from Bruce's belt and ripped open the box, gasping at what's inside.

"It... it can't be..." I whispered, tuning out the footage on the Hologram and pulled out the note.

Time for your grand finale, sweetheart.

Time to win the game.

~H.Q.

"Domino..." Dick turned to me just as I pulled out the outfit. "Is that-"

"Jester... It's Jester."

"And to Domino..." Joker called out and I turned back to the Hologram. "Time for your performance. Think you can nail it this time... daughter?"

The Hologram turned to static and they all turned to me with wide eyes.

"DAUGHTER!?" Wally yelled, breaking the tense silence just as Artemis rushed to my side and shoved the outfit back into the box. "HE'S YOUR FATHER!?"

"You better shut up before I shove an arrow down your throat." She told Wally and held my shaking hands. "You're not going."

"I have to."

"No, you don't." Dick butted.

"She does." Bruce called out and made his way towards me. "As much as we don't want to, she has to... and she has to wear that."

"But why?"

"Because it's not Domino he wants... it's Ace. He's doing this to call me out." I replied, pushing everyone away and stood in front of the Hologram, a keyboard appearing next to me. "I believe I owe you all an explanation."

"No kidding." Connor scoffed and was elbowed by Dick and Artemis. Bruce stood next to me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay." Dick mouthed and I nodded, pulling out the file the Justice League has of me.

"Like fourteen years or so ago, a newly appointed psychiatrist, Dr. Harleen Quinzel fell in love with her patient... a psychopathic clown who was dumped in a pit of acid just a few months prior. He called himself the Prince of Crime and needed an heir to the legacy he was going to build. Nine months later, a girl was born. Her name was Ace and you're looking at her."

A photo of me from the night Dick rescued me appeared from behind me and everyone winced.

"Valentines Day, four years ago... I'll save you all the dramatics of before Robin found me because I don't want you people to have nightmares."

"Thank you?" Wally shrugged and Artemis rolled her eyes.

"I was an acrobat of some sorts. This warehouse was called 'Joker's playground'. It's where I was born and where I almost died. If I wanted scraps of food and to sleep in a moldy mattress, I had to perform until I passed out... this day I missed a step of my performance in front of the biggest crime lords of Gotham and payed the price."

"What-"

"Hush!" Dick interrupted and gestured for me to continue.

"My... father grabbed a metal pipe and shatter my ribcage, kicked and punched until my face was borderline unrecognizable except for the smile carved on it, and then grabbed a knife and... and he slit my throat. I was about two minutes away from death when Robin found me while Batman was fighting Joker and was pronounced dead in the hospital for three minutes."

I changed the picture to show one of my smile before the surgeries and Wally gagged while the rest widened their eyes except Dick.

"Why does it look so bad!?"

"Domino spent two years in and out of the hospital in surgeries." Dick butted and hit Wally across the head.

"I had open chest surgery to repair a collapsed lung and torn ventricle, kidney surgery from multiple stab wounds, three facial reconstructions, and one brain surgery... and I died twice when they were repairing my heart." I said and Artemis started to tear up, Megan in Connor's arms crying and Kaldur not daring to look up at me. "The tissue on my face was so badly damaged that after three surgeries, every surgeon in the area quit the case... so, this is as good as it's gonna get."

"So, you lied to us when you said that you had a run in with the Joker when you started out?" Connor asked and I shook my head.

"I did. I was kidnapped by Joker a week after my birth certificate was signed. Took Batman two days to find me."

"You didn't have a birth certificate!?" Everyone yelled.

"Nope... my certificate was signed along with my adoption papers four years ago today."

"So, today is your birthday?" Kaldur wondered but I shook my head again watching Wally pace around the room mumbling to himself. "Then when?"

"After Joker and Harley were locked up, we went to try and get Harley to remember my birthday but she couldn't because of all the electroshock therapy Joker put us both through throughout the years... so I decided that the day I was found was gonna be my birthday. I found out it was Valentine's day a year after. Luckily, she remembered how old I was because I didn't remember anything about growing up, just the bad stuff."

"And how did you come to live with Batman?"

"Ivy's my godmother and Catwoman's my aunt. Considering both of them were locked up at the time, I stayed with Batman until we decided what to do... Selina was released and took me to see Harley. When she saw that Batman was actually taking care of me and that I was healthier and happy, she signed the custody papers to him which helped speed the process of adoption. Joker, as always, was declared too insane to make a decision which helped even more."

"You're forgetting something." Bruce said and I sighed, pulling out yet another file.

"Because I was the heir to Joker's legacy, his purpose was to make me more insane than him. So, he created a venom derived from Scarecrow's fear toxin. And from the moment I left the womb, I've been injected with the Venom at least once a day for ten years. When Batman took me in, he tried to get me off it, but it's literally impossible."

"How come?" Megan asked, wiping her tears.

"Because she'll die without it." Dick replied, looking at his feet. "She doesn't have an autoimmune disease... the stuff on the IV that day was Joker Venom. It... it was a new treatment until we find a cure."

"And did it work?" Wally stopped pacing and I nodded. "So, that's permanent? You're cured?"

"Not exactly. For now, it's only once a month instead of an injection every day like clockwork. When we went to CADMUS, the Venom was mixed with an anti-venom of some sorts and one of the side effects was-"

"Drowsiness... Which is why you didn't want Robin to inject you until you went insane."

"Exactly. Obviously, there's so much more to explain, but not enough time." I smile sadly and turned to Bruce. "I'll go change and turn in my resignation from the Team. I'll keep my radio on and-"

"Hold up, Domino. Who said you're leaving the Team?" Wally called out, grabbing me and placed me in the middle of the circle the Team made. "Especially on your adoption day?"

"But I'm-"

"The daughter of a psychopath who might go cuckoo at any given moment? So?"

"Wally-"

"We started this Team together. If you go, I go."

"Wally is right." Kaldur said and we all raised our eyebrows. "I know none of you are happy with me right now, but we did start all of this together."

"You may feel like you don't belong because of your past, but we still want you here." Megan smiled and Dick turned to hold my hand.

"Besides, we're kinda a package deal." He shrugged and I smiled slightly. "You deserve a chance to do some good."

"And if my bad temper isn't a factor for me to be kicked out, neither is who your parents are, Domino." Connor called out.

"Stay, Monkey." Artemis begged. "You don't have to do this alone anymore."

"But if either of you get hurt because of him-"

"We'll deal with it." Wally assured and I nodded shakily. "So, you'll stay? Because I have my resignation letter ready to go!"

"I'll stay." I smiled and they all cheered, pulling me into a hug. "But you leave Joker to me!"

"Then I suggest you go change, Domino." Bruce called out and I nodded. "I'm sorry this happened on adoption day."

"Meh... I had three good ones, he was bound to screw it up at some point."

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"Woah... you look-"

"Not like myself?"

"Pretty." Dick corrected and I felt my cheeks get hot under the face paint. "Do you have a plan?"

"None, but right now that's a good thing." I shrugged, tying my boots and stood up. "How do I look?"

"Like I said... pretty."

"I'm over my head with this, aren't I? I mean, he probably won't kill me but-"

"You look like Harley." Artemis said, leaning against the doorframe and I nodded. "Kinda wished I never had to see you like this ever again, Monkey."

"Never thought I'd be wearing face paint again." I chuckled dryly and grabbed the red paint before turning to the mirror.

"You have a plan?"

"She doesn't. She's just gonna show up and wing it." Dick scoffed and I flipped him off.

"I found that the best way to deal with my sperm donor is to never have a plan. Just show up and read the room... in this case, the bayou. All I ask is that you leave him to me." I said, painting over my carved smile and noticed Bruce standing behind Artemis. "We ready to go?"

"Yes." He said and almost laughed when Artemis jumped.

"For the love of God, Batman!" She yelled and grabbed Dick, running away. "Don't take too long, Domino! Wally has more questions!"

"You look nice."

"I feel stupid." I grumbled and Bruce closed the door, removing his cowl. "How crazy can I get tonight?"

"As much as necessary without you killing him." He shrugged and gestured for me to sit on the bed. "I want you to remember that this isn't you anymore, Maeve."

"It's a part of me, Bruce. A part I've been trying to hide for four years now."

"You did good in telling the Team."

"I'm lucky they still want me around. Nothing good ever comes from a clown." I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder, fighting the urge to cry. "What if I don't come back this time? What if he takes me again? What if-"

"He won't because you have the Team watching your back. And judging by what I saw, they'd probably get their hands on Joker before you get the chance to."

"Which is what I want to avoid... I don't want the Team to the blow for me."

"That's what a team's about, Maeve. When one's in trouble, the others will find a way to help." Bruce assured and passed me the fingerless gloves. "It takes some time getting used to, but you need them just as much as they need you."

"Says the guy who was gaslit into joining the League." I teased and he laughed.

"Kid, I am the Justice League. Without me, those sons of bitches would be dead already."

"A mere human with no power whatsoever runs the League? I find that a little hard to believe."

"When you're raising two rabid teenagers and drink enough caffeine to kill three horses, you learn a thing or two." He smiled and I hugged him tight. "I'll be over as soon as I take care of the plants. Any advice?"

"Yeah... there's some poison in the Cave that'll work as a weed whacker if you reverse engineer it."

"I'll keep that in mind. Now, grab your belt and weapons and go. The sooner it's done, the sooner we can go to Jeanie's and get ice cream to celebrate adoption day."

"Can Selina come too?"

"Whatever you want, Maeve."