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The early morning started off with a nice ease of slowness. While the slow atmosphere of the morning might not feel like a big deal, said atmosphere was indeed a welcome to Artemis who lived with three others endowed with super speed. Not long after she started breakfast, she found herself greeted by a familiar gust of wind indicating her family joined her for their morning meal.
A figure appeared at her side with an exuberant gust of wind, placing a copy of Dream Teen onto the counter. A smile spread across her daughter's face, her finger pointing to the article discussing the newest Batman. "Hey. Do-you-think-the-new-Batman-is-our-age? They-speculate-he's-a-teen-or-in-college, but-I-hope-he's-a-teen-like-me."
"No Jadine, you can't date that twerp."
Artemis flinched, planning on bringing the plates over to the table for her hungry family. Her son, however, dashed over, taking the plates and quickly setting the table. Taking a deep breath, she allowed herself to smile. "Thank you, Irwin, though I'm not sure if you were wanting to help me out, or in a hurry to get your food."
Irwin gave her an incredulous look, not liking the friendly teasing. After all, he and Jadine were now fourteen. Jadine whimpered, attempting to give Wally the look he almost always gave in to. "Why-can't-I..."
"Because I said no."
"We can't meet him?" Irwin asked, digging into his food with the same gusto as his father while his sister sulked.
"I said no."
"Your best friend was a..." Artemis' fourteen-year-old son didn't notice Flash look up. "... you called them a bat?"
"He's not him." Wally glared at his plate, frustrated where the conversation was heading. "Never will be. Finish your breakfast so you can get to school."
"But..."
"I said no." This comment from her husband made Artemis sigh. She pushed Jadine over to the table knowing full well speedsters needed their food intake. The twins left with a reminder not to use their abilities at school let alone getting to and from school. When Wally leaned in to kiss her, she stiffened. "What's the matter?"
"Don't you think you're being too hard on the kid?"
Wally frowned, fidgeting with the ring in which he kept his Flash suit. "He shouldn't have let some random kid become Batman. The mantle belongs to Nightwing, not this interloper."
He left with a dash, leaving Artemis to her day-to-day activities. She wasn't going to let her husband's sour mood ruin her lunch date with an old friend. She arrived, a smile on her face. "Hi Helena. I see you decided to dye your hair red now."
The woman waiting for her at the small café in Star City looked up, the corners of her mouth twisting into a smile. "You know I go by Mary now."
Artemis smiled, pleased her old friend remembered what she liked to order. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "So, how's my troublemaker godson. If he's not straightened out since his stent in juvi..."
"No. Terry's straightened out. Warren was right about our son taking after his biological father." Mary stared into her coffee, clutching to the cup desperately.
"What then is the matter?" Artemis frowned, taking a bite of her pastry. She opened her eyes, despite feeling pleased with the fact no speedster was there to snatch up her treat.
"Terry's the new Batman."
The blonde nearly choked on her bite of pastry, slamming her chest with her hand. "Wait. What? How did Terry convince Bruce Wayne?"
A chuckle left the woman's throat. "How? Terry apparently didn't give my father a choice. He stole the Batsuit."
Artemis' eyes widened. She reached out, taking another drink of her coffee before speaking. In part, she needed it, having almost choked on the piece of pastry. "Exactly how much is Terry like Nightwing?"
The person formally known as Helena Kyle took a deep breath. "How much?" She glanced back down at her coffee. "Warren says – said – Terry was a lot like his biological father."
"Wait? Said?"
"Warren's dead. He's the reason Terry stole the Batsuit. He wanted to bring the man who killed his father – the man he thinks is his father that is – to justice. He couldn't though save the man who killed Warren though. I've never asked him if he wanted the man to die, or if he simply couldn't save the man. I don't ask, because Terry doesn't know I know. He thinks I think he has a job as Bruce Wayne's assistant."
"I see." Artemis played with her food, moving the pastry on the plate. "Flash has met the new Batman."
"Please. Don't tell him. Artemis, you're one of the few people who knows who Terry's real dad is."
"I know. I still think our kids should meet up for a playdate." Only a handful of people knew Terry's biological father was Nightwing. In the same regard, only a handful of people knew his younger brother Matt's biological father was Dick Grayson. While quite a few people knew Dick Grayson and Nightwing were the same person – Huntress not being one of them, only a small handful knew the person they thought dead all this time was actually alive and well – the current Flash included on the list of those who did not know.
"I don't know. Maybe. If we could find a way to do it without divulging secrets."
Artemis found the conversation remained in the back of her head for the rest of the day. The first Robin spent some time in Gotham juvi before becoming a superhero. Although, in that case he was there because there were no beds in the foster system, and Terry was there due to delinquency caused by anger and resentment towards his parents for separating then divorcing. Both dove into the world of vigilantism in pursuit of justice. Both didn't give Bruce Wayne a choice in the matter either.
A kiss on the cheek brought Artemis out of her thoughts. She felt warm arms wrap around her. "I'm home."
"Wally?"
He reached for the cookie jar, a smirk on his face. "Something on your mind?"
"I met Huntress for lunch today." Artemis turned, kissing him on the nose. "Her eldest is my godson, remember?"
"Yeah. You told me that."
"It be nice for the kids to meet, you think."
Wally pulled away, obviously bothered by her comment. "It would be nice for our kids to meet his kids, but you know what? He never got to have any. He'd have been a much better dad. Better than I am."
"Wally..."
"I don't want to talk about it, particularly since I'm having to ask Batman for permission to enter Gotham, but I'm also likely going to be working with that twerp."
A gust of wind and a red blur left Artemis taking a deep sigh. "Wally, you're an idiot."
B
The red glow of the Batmobile honestly didn't help his current mood.
"What exactly has you distracted tonight Terry?"
The teen in question took a deep breath, not wanting to go into details regarding how his younger brother walked right up to him when he got home for school. The preteen was patiently waiting, Terry had thought, for their mother, and yet the boy had wanted to see him. "I want to be Robin."
"Okay Matt. I don't think mom would want you out attempting to chase down the allusive Batman just to ask him if you can be Robin."
"I don't have to. I am asking him right now."
Terry flinched, confused regarding how Matt figured everything out. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't. Why would you want to be Robin?"
"If Batman dies, mom will cry again. I will too."
"Terry. Stop being distracted."
Another deep breath escaped Terry's mouth, his eyes looking at the controls. He wished suddenly the Batmobile wasn't controlled by the suit. He wanted right then to take the vehicle into a headlong dive, coming close to crashing into the ground. Instead, all he could mutter was an almost incoherent okay. He felt his skin crawl though, noticing the slow pace the Batmobile moved. Closing his eyes, he put the mobile into a spinning dive.
"Terry!"
"Oh, come on! I'm just letting off some steam." Terry opened his eyes, a smirk spreading across his face upon hearing the tone of Batman's voice. Perhaps the tone wasn't panic, but it was still a reaction. Carefully, he corrected the trajectory of the aircraft, or perhaps the suit did.
"Don't make me turn the suit off!"
"Yeah, yeah." Terry took a deep breath, feeling the movement of the Batmobile, yet feeling no control over anything. A beeping sound indicated an incoming message from one of the league members, and reluctantly the teen answered. "Hello?"
"I need permission to come into Gotham, but I also need..."
"Why do you need permission?" Terry blurted out.
"Seriously twerp. You don't know Batman's rules regarding Gotham?"
"I'm Batman, remember."
"Yes, well, if he were Batman he'd make sure the original's rules were still followed."
"Yes, well I'm giving you permission to come into Gotham, whatever that means."
"Did you just invite a Meta into Gotham without my permission? We will be having a lengthy discussion regarding this when you return to the Batcave."
"I love you too." Terry enjoyed using the sarcasm, finding himself reminded of those cranky old grandparents who were libel to whack you with their cane. Actually, the man was libel to literally trip him with said cane, but this was neither here nor there.
"Did you just tell Bruce Wayne I love you?" The Flash nearly choked. Terry glanced own, picking up a red streak down below, making the young Batman frown. "Where do you want me to meet you?"
"Hold on."
"There is always a catch to letting outsiders in." Bruce's mutterings made Terry role his eyes.
"Meet me at Hamilton Hill High School."
"Identity."
"Wow. You really don't know the rules, do you twerp?"
"Do you trust anybody Bruce? Oh, wait. No, you don't."
B
He landed the Batmobile on top of his high school, but quickly used the flying capabilities of the suit allowing himself to land on the ground with ease. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something move, making Terry stand up. The teen frowned, a blur appearing in front of him. He crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing at Flash. "So? What do you need?"
Flash glared, lifting his wrist and used his handheld computer. The man explained the Justice League came across a shipment of drugs which was tied to one of the closed factories in Gotham. Terry frowned, hearing Flash wished him along, but only because Gotham was in fact Batman's turf. Much went through one ear and out the other until Flash indicated a transfer of information before heading to the location.
Letting out a sigh, Terry watched the Flash speed off. He thought he saw something else move, yet something in his mind said his interactions with the Flash were in fact creating visual deceptions. With a quick jump, Terry took off into the air, finding himself gliding in the air in an attempt to keep up with the Flash. He raised a finger, attempting to use the sensors in the suit to find the man, but to no avail.
"Did you hear what he said?"
"I did, and I'm recalling the Batmobile. Please learn to send it back yourself when you decide to go by foot."
"It's called going by air." Terry flipped onto his back, knowing full well the visual Bruce got would drive the old man nuts. He didn't mind flying upside down. He performed a few stunts, making the man on the other end grunt. He landed near the factory, watching everything carefully, but wondering where the Flash was.
"What took you so long?"
Terry nearly jumped out of his skin. "What the hell!"
"Nightwing wouldn't have jumped. He would have expected me."
"Tell Flash to stop talking about him."
Terry sighed, wishing he didn't have communication on with his boss. "Look. He wants you to stop talking about him."
"Yeah. He would. After all. He replaced him with you, didn't he? There isn't even a grave for him, because he doesn't want to remember it's his fault. Screw this. I'm doing this on my own."
"You shouldn't have let him in Terry. You should have had him give you the information and taken care of things yourself."
"Yeah, yeah old man." Terry looked up at the fence, deciding to turn off communications despite the fact he knew this would piss Bruce off, even prompt the turning off of the suit. He quickly launched him over the fence, managing a major flipping action. Less and less he found himself relying on the suit, yet the suit allowed him to feel as if he were flying. Landing in a crouch, Terry darted forward towards the building.
He came across two guards, only to find the two already knocked out by the Flash. With little effort, he jumped up and grabbed the windowsill below one of the open windows, hoisting himself in. He slid with ease through the industrial window anchored open, falling to the ground with ease. Terry surged forward, ducking behind some boxes. He cringed upon hearing the gunfire, before darting out to knock out some of the men.
He now aptly saw the assembly line for the drug, ducking as one man launched a fist at Terry's head. Leaning back, on the other side of the factory, he saw Flash moving about taking care of the perps on said side. He lifted himself up, headbutting the man squarely in the forehead, making the man stumble backward. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something small moving, but with the blurs created by the Flash, he thought his mind deluding himself.
Until, that is, he saw Matt's face.
Terry took a deep breath, letting the momentum of his body swing around allowing him to kick a guy with both legs, before moving his arm up to punch the guy. He found himself swallowing, noticing Matt's face which was supposed to be hidden. Terry didn't know how long until the goons saw his younger brother, and his body started reacting on instinct, much in the same manner it did the day he snuck out and swung around the lamppost into one of the Joker's faces.
His flipped into a handstand before helicoptering his legs around, knocking two guys back before springing towards onto his hands and leaning towards one side. His leg sprung up catching one of the guys he knocked back under the chin, before using one of the crates nearby almost like the object gymnasts called a pommel horse to send the other flying. The momentum continued as he brought his legs under, flipping slightly so he turned his body around and landed a hard kick in the other guys face before surging forward.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone moving towards Matt with some sort of gun containing the drug mixture they were turning down. Mentally, Terry cursed. "Dear God! He's just a little kid, and they want to use whatever this stuff is?"
Of course, he'd not paid attention to what the drug did when the Flash told him. Glancing over, he hoped the Flash's reaction time would prove useful, and yet he found the man standing dumbstruck while the perps in his area lay on the ground unconscious. Something shocked him, and yet when Terry glanced over towards Matt the man's head turned. He found himself hurtling forward, but not anywhere near the speed Flash did.
He knocked a few of the goons left, realizing neither he or Flash were on time as Matt found himself knocked to the ground, covered with the green stuff. The Flash simply arrived in time to knock the perp with the strange gun to the ground. Terry hurried over, leaping a few crates before landing next to Matt. He pulled the boy to his feet. "Matt! What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm okay Terry."
"Wait. You know this twerp?"
Terry glared at Flash. "Why don't you just clean up this mess while I handle this?"
He tugged on Matt's sleeve, pulling the boy towards the exist. Matt turned, peeking around his older brother. "Wait. Is that..."
"Keep walking."
"Wait. The kid..."
"I don't need your help!" Terry watched as the Flash hurried over.
"The kid is covered in that stuff."
"I can get him cleaned up at the Batcave."
"I'm going to see the Batcave."
"Shush. You are in a lot of trouble." In fact, they both were when they arrived back at the cave. Terry certainly need to explain why he'd carried his brother back into the cave, much to Bruce's irritation. Finding themselves on Batmobile cleaning duty didn't seem like punishment, but more of bonding time, although both got a chewing out regarding the rules. Bruce also requested to take some blood samples from both boys before leaving, so simple enough.
If only Terry knew things wouldn't be that simple.
B
Everything started around twenty-four hours later. Terry arrived home from school, so not quite twenty-four hours. He saw Matt working on homework, likely hoping he could go over to Mr. Wayne's should he finish when his brother's nose started to bleed. Matt didn't notice until a drop of blood fell onto the white sheet of paper in front of him. Terry watched Matt attempt wiping the back of his nose on the back of his hand.
Carefully, he grabbed Matt's other hand, forcing his brother to pinch his nose before making the boy lean forward. Terry frowned, wondering what might have caused the sudden nose bleed. Shaking the thought off, he headed to the kitchen, preparing to make a snack for the two while they waited for their mom to come home. Terry started opening the jar of peanut butter when he heard a loud thumping sound.
Turning, Terry saw his younger brother on the floor not moving. Panicking, Terry moved forward, watching Matt's nose continue to bleed. His brother's bleeding was shallow. He quickly reached for the phone, calling an ambulance. He'd have called his mother, but the emergency operator kept him on the phone. He remembered muttering something about getting in contact with her when he got into the back with Matt, insisting he go with.
He held onto Matt's cold hand tightly, his eyes closing. "Please Matty."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the roads outside flash by. After an agonizing period of time, he found himself rushing in, only to find himself on the other side of the door. Terry swallowed, remembering the night before. Stepping out, he leaned up against the wall, calling the Flash on the link to the League which Superman provided him. "What exactly is in that stuff?"
"What?"
"Don't what me."
"Didn't you get the memo I forwarded you before the mission. Man, unlike him..."
"Don't! My kid brother's in the hospital. His nose started bleeding and he passed out."
"That shouldn't be. If you look at the memo, it doesn't work that slowly. Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"They created something new. What hospital is your brother at?"
"Gotham General."
"I'll do what I can."
"Why would..." The connection clicked off. Terry stood there, unable to do anything when he heard a familiar voice.
"Terry?"
He couldn't help but look up, seeing the anguish on his mother's face. The guilt which plagued him ever since Matt collapsed continued eating away. He needed to tell her the truth. "Mom, I need to tell you something."
"I already know."
"About Matt? I get..."
"Terry, I know you're Batman. I've known since you took the job with..." The woman sighed. "And I'm already aware of what happened last night."
"How?" Terry choked.
"Well, for starters, some mysterious stranger gave the doctors the information they need to rid Matt's system of the poison coursing through it. There's also..."
"Don't you blame me? I blame myself."
"I don't."
Despite all his pent-up anger for cheating on his dad – or the man he called dad despite knowing full well the man wasn't his biological parent – Terry lunged forward, wrapping his arms around his mother, burying his head into the crook of her shoulder. She said no more, simply holding him, neither asking further questions, as at that point that seemed pointless
B
"The positive news is we got the substance out of Matt's system. How it got into him is unknown, but this is Gotham." Terry didn't like the way the doctor brushed off the incident, yet Bruce told him the man had taken over for someone named Thompkins when they retired, whatever that meant.
"What is the negative?"
"Matt needs a bone marrow transplant."
"What! Why" Terry's voice drew in sharply, his mother grabbing his arm. Then came a bunch of medical jargon and stuff he didn't understand. It was cancer, and yet it wasn't? They said something about how the drug killed living cells rather than cancer cells, and that those cells needed replacement. The one thing he knew was, Matt was in a very bad place, one where they could easily lose him.
Things became a blur mentally. In fact, he perhaps took things out a little too much as Batman only to receive a lecture from Bruce. His mother wasn't a match. He wasn't a match. Not to their liking as Matt was kept in the ICU. Dana noticed something was wrong, yet he said nothing. If it weren't for Max saying something, she might have broken things off with him again. Instead, Dana's father finally stopped down talking his daughter's boyfriend, which felt quite unsettling.
His Uncle Tim showed up first sitting there one day fiddling on one of his computers paying no attention to the rest of the world. He didn't even acknowledge Terry's presence when the boy plopped his bag down, preparing to do his homework until he headed out as Batman. Why his mother wasn't bothered by his job, he honestly did not know. "Um, Uncle Tim?"
"Yes."
"So that is you."
He remained there fifteen to thirty minutes, the silence preventing him from doing homework, yet the urge to simply do eating away at him. He started reaching for his backpack, when a very strange occurrence occurred. A man came around the corner dressed in strange garb which would have made Terry guess cosplay if it weren't for the man's stance. Two swords were perched on his back.
Terry stood up meaning to confront the man, who hid his hands in his pockets. The man's narrowed eyes widened upon seeing Terry, but a smile spread slightly across his face. He stepped over, standing in front of Terry as if he weren't doing anything strange. "I am not into the hug thing."
"Okay." Terry watched his Uncle Tim let out a sigh. He flinched as the man with the swords hugged him. "If you're not into hugs, why are you hugging me?"
"Because you looked like you needed one, and it is proper social etiquette." The man pulled away.
"Says the person who snuck two katana past the hospital security." Uncle Tim didn't sound pleased the man was there.
"I didn't pass hospital security."
Meaning he'd snuck in. Terry opened his mouth to respond only to hear his mother speak in a tone of voice which always meant he was in trouble. "Damien."
Terry's mouth formed a circle, but a man's chuckle made him turn. "Uncle Jay."
"Hey!"
Which meant the other person who was now protesting, sulking and crossing his arms... "Uncle D..."
"I'm surprised Jason didn't try sneaking his guns past security."
"I forbid him from doing so."
Terry frowned, remembering Warren talking about his mother's brothers but having met them at brief times. Uncle Jay, after all, got banned from seeing his nephews when they thought he was the influential factor behind Terry's delinquent behavior. "Why are you here?"
"We're getting tested to be bone marrow donors, though truth be told the most likely candidate is Damien, not Jason or I."
"Why would that be?"
"You've still not told Terry that Tim and I aren't your siblings by blood Helena?" Jason seemed perturbed, but not as perturbed as Terry was hearing his mother called Helena instead of Mary. Jason walked by, turning Damien around. "Let's get you into more civilized get up lest we scare the hospital staff."
"Wow. Jason's being the sound of reason."
"Tim."
"Fine."
None were a match.
B
"How is your brother doing?"
"He needs a bone marrow transplant and I'm not a match, but that's really none of your business."
"Bring a DNA sample from your brother and yourself to the League headquarters."
Terry stilled, confusion setting in regarding why the Flash would do such a thing.
"Just do it."
B
He shouldn't have brought Flash the samples, which Terry obtained from the house. Bruce already lectured him regarding secret identities, but how could Batman let his own brother die simply to keep his identity safe. Plus, the Flash could, if he wanted, figure out who he was by looking into Bruce. On the other hand, he should be there for his mother, yet he couldn't not be Batman. Helping others this way seemed ingrained.
He leaned up against the wall, watching the Flash start working at the computer. "What exactly are you doing?"
"Simple. Looking for a bone marrow match among the present and past Justice League members including the ones who were simply a part of the team."
"The team?"
"That's none..." Flash froze, staring at the computer. At least as much as someone with super speed could, as his mouth continued, slowing down as he stared. "... of ... your ... business."
The man then turned, looking Terry in the eye. He seemed bewildered by something. The newest Batman took a deep sigh. "Why are you helping me?"
"I owe you an apology."
"For not saving my brother the other day?' Terry watched Flash flinch. "I'm already beating myself up over that."
"Yeah, but I have super speed."
"You didn't know he'd be there. Me, he'd mentioned something about becoming Robin early that day."
"You shouldn't..."
"I can, and I will."
Flash took a deep breath. "I found a match."
"Who? And isn't that a good thing?"
"You and your brother's father. And no, it's not a good thing when in order to get a sample we need to time travel."
Terry flinched, the cogs in his mind thinking. A connection to the League meant a connection to Batman and his protégée. From Bruce's files, he knew only one of the former Robin died, meaning the others could be found without time travel. As for the one who died, Terry knew the man died right before he was born. As such, the only possible explanation was Bruce Wayne. He really didn't want to know why or how, but this was the manner in which to save Matt.
Flash motioned for him to follow, they first stopped by the medical bay, where Flash brought out a couple of devices and explained how to get the bone marrow from Terry's father before handing one to Terry. He then led Terry down, where they found a spherical device surrounded by what looked like a conveyer belt running around the entire device. Flash took a deep breath. "So, this is how we're going to time travel?"
"Yes. There are some ground rules."
"What are they?"
"If we don't want this to be a one-way trip, we need to get back to the pod within a certain timeframe." The man then gave said timeframe, which didn't seem like a lot of time. "You must be careful to make as little changes to the past as possible. Us merely being there to get this sample has the potential to make changes, so say and do as little as possible. Oh, and there are some bugs I've got to work out."
"Like?"
"The goal was to create something connected to the Cosmic Treadmill which can transport not just a speedster, but another individual into the past – not really the future, because I..."
"Get to the point."
"I've never taken a second person with me."
Terry sighed, stepping over the conveyer belt into the awaiting sphere which shifted slightly. Any risk for Matt was honestly worth it. Flash eyed him carefully, before taking off. He ran around the conveyer belt, slowly getting the belt going. A strange aura appeared outside the sphere, but soon the man was running just outside of the door, indicating how fast the belt was going. After a few minutes the Flash darted in, slamming the door shut. His fingers flew across the control panel.
The sphere suddenly lurched in the same manner the Batmobile did when spinning out of control. Except, this lurching lasted longer. Terry closed his eyes, finding feeling as if he were bouncing off the walls, and yet he wasn't. "So, how do you like the idea of actually meeting your dad?"
"What?" Terry's eyes snapped open, only to snap close just as he felt the sensation of crashing and skidding. He didn't care about meeting Bruce in the past as he already honestly knew the man well enough. A deep breath escaped his lungs. He heard Flash moving beside him and opened his eyes to see the man holding up his communication device. "What?"
"I'm sending you the data you need to follow my tracker."
Reluctantly, Terry held up his hand allowing the data to be transmitted. He watched Flash open the door and take off. The entire place was a mess from their landing, but the idea this wouldn't draw attention floored him. The sphere tore up the ground, but smoke billowed out as well. Worse, it was night time, so if the sphere appeared in the sky like a comet, they were likely to be found. Taking a deep breath, Terry noted they were in Gotham, a much older looking Gotham. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed the back of his neck, before gliding up onto the roof in an attempt to get an idea of how things looked.
"TT." The sound from behind made Terry turn. Taking a deep breath, he saw one of the former Robin's standing above him with his arms crossed. The boy knew how to glare like Bruce. "Are you some kind of Nightwing wannabe?"
"A Nightwing wannabe?" His eyes narrowed, noticing the sword as the boy pulled it from his side. There was something strangely familiar about the boy, and yet Terry focused on the fact the samurai wannabe brought up the comparison to Nightwing just like everyone else did. "You know, I really don't want to hear that from a samurai wannabe."
"TT. I'm a ninja."
"Okay." The boy sounded as eccentric as... "Uncle D?"
"Did you just call me uncle?" The kid lost his temper, lunging at the new Batman with full gusto. Terry dodged quickly to the side, noting Damien at said age was quite skilled. He didn't want to think what kind of skills his uncle had as an adult. A glance out of the corner of the eye saw the boy breathing heavily, not from exertion, but from attempting to control his anger. Terry flinched, watching Damien look at him from the corner of his eye.
Another lunging attack wasn't so lucky, as the sword grazed Terry's side, but managed to cut into the Batsuit slightly, drawing a little blood. A thought crossed Terry's mind, however, remembering something his uncle said when he first showed up at the hospital. "I'm not into the hug thing." With his free hand, he grabbed one of the knock out gases from his belt, before wrapping his arms around the boy in a hug, a smirk appearing on his face. Damien let out a manly shriek Terry didn't think possible of someone so young. "Damn it! Only Nightwing's allowed to hug people!"
Terry leaned forward as Damien attempted to turn his sword around, so he could stab the person holding onto him and whispered into his ear. "My mother, Uncle Damien, is your sister Helena."
He remembered what his Uncle Jay called his mother but knew Bruce would have a conniption fit both in this day and his own time when everything was said and done. He released the gas, causing it to explode into Damien's face, knocking the boy out, the look of surprise when Terry mentioned his mother's name almost staying. He started lowering the boy gently to the ground, expecting the Batman of this era or one of his other protégée to quickly find the boy.
He just didn't expect how quickly as another voice was heard from behind. "You seriously took out the demon spawn?" Terry stilled himself, taking in the situation carefully. "Only we get to pick on our demon brat kid. And what's with the Batman get up? Trying to make me mad. Turn around, will ya?"
Terry turned, dropping Damien the rest of the way onto the roof unceremoniously. Standing up straight, he took in the sight. A man wearing a red mask stood in front of him pointing a gun at him. On top of remembering something else said that day, he recognized the clothes. "Since Uncle D snuck his swords into the hospital in the future and his past self is carrying swords, I'm guessing you're Uncle Jay."
"Say what?" The man's tone of voice screamed he wasn't amused at all. He waved his gun slightly. "Are you some kind of crazy nutjob?"
"My question is, if you're here, and so is Uncle D, where is Uncle Tim?"
This proved the wrong thing to say, as the man shot off the gun. The bullet whizzed by Terry's head. His eyes widened. "Hey! Watch where you're shooting?"
"What? Afraid I might hit you? I might stop if you stop with the crappy cocky attitude."
"I'm talking about hitting Damien!"
The man took a deep breath. "How do you know the demon spawn's real name? And why do you have to be as annoying as Nightwing?"
Terry lunged forward, hearing yet another comparison to the perfect fallen hero who seemed to be the golden apple of everyone's eye and the standard he couldn't live up to. The man aimed his gun again, following Terry's train of motion. While the man was still shooting at him, he at least wasn't shooting anywhere near Damien who remained unconscious on the ground. Terry carefully counted the bullets, remembering the Uncle Tim mentioned guns, not gun.
When the man finally ran out of bullets and let out a sound of disgust, he launched forward, kicking his knee up into the man's jaw. The man stumbled back, a hand clutching at his jaw. The man pulled back the stupid mask and spat onto the roof. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
The man lunged forward, bashing his skull into Terry's gleefully, dropping his guns as he did so. He brought both fists up into the teen's gut, sending Terry backward from the impact, almost causing him to topple off the edge of the construct they both balanced precariously on. Terry grimaced, quickly returning a headbutt before doing a roundhouse kick catching the man off guard. "Why I am I no longer surprised mom considered you a bad influence on me growing up?"
"Say what?" Jason threw a punch into Terry's jaw, two actually, causing Terry to fall over the edge of the building both Jason and Damien appeared on. He landed on the ground with a hearty thud, the air escaping his lungs. The man punched, throwing a few more punches into Terry's head. A hand reached out for the mask, making Terry grab the man's wrist in an attempt to prevent the man from pulling the mask back.
Soon, his blue eyes were visible for the man to see.
Except, the reaction wasn't what he expected. The man started laughing, before pulling back and leaning against the wall. A hand lifted up to his forehead. "Oh my gosh. You're his kid You're from the damn future." Terry sat up, contemplating the man's reaction as he covered his face. He looked around, slowly lifting himself from the ground. He took sight of his Uncle Damien who lay out cold on the rooftop, reminding Terry of how Matt looked when he was asleep. He stood up, walking over to the boy, gently pulling Robin's cape over like a blanket. "Oh man. You are so like your old man!"
"Stop comparing me to Bruce."
"Bruce? You think..." Jason toppled over laughing, yet still managed to say. "If you're looking for your Uncle Tim, he should be showing up soon. You should really worry though when grandpa shows up."
Terry glared at the man, wondering why he'd ever idolized the man. He turned his head and saw the blip of red moving closer. The man landed on the roof, or more of the teen did. He wore one of the gaudy costumes ever yet looked more like a robin than Robin did. Terry grimaced. "Wow. This is so not what I was expecting to discover when I came into the past."
Tim took a deep breath, his mind occupied with the computer on his wrist. "Seriously. You two couldn't take this punk down? What's wrong with you two?"
"Yup. Condescending as ever." Terry sighed.
Tim glanced up, obviously taken aback by the conversation. The next thing Terry knew, Baterangs or something similar were being flung at him. He dodged in time for Jason to yell something about watching it, though truth be told the man was one to talk. Terry watched Tim go to his hand computer attached to one of his arms, still finding the strange red feather-like cape disconcerting. An idea though, popped into his head.
Tim started to bring out a staff while Terry continued running around the roof. His hand went to his own computer, taking advantage of the fact Tim was likely using older Bat technology. A few buttons pushed, and the weird Robin's eyes went wide, his eyes darting towards his computer. "What the hell did you do to my computer!"
Jason roared with laughter as Terry dove forward, clocking Tim in the jaw and knocking him out cold. The now super annoying uncle who enjoyed watching his brothers get pummeled said, "Man, that was a Dick move." The new Batman glared at Jason who waved his hands in mock fear. "Oh! The Batglare! Boy do you have it down pat. I think only Nightwing has you beat in imitating the old man."
"Stop comparing me to Bruce."
Jason hugged himself, continuing to laugh. "You. Oh my gosh! When I said that was a 'Dick move', you thought..." The man wiped a tear away. "You really do have no clue, do you kid?"
"Why are you beating up my kids?"
Terry stiffened, recognizing the voice, but realizing the man appeared behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he didn't get the chance to see Bruce, but instead found himself seeing a fist flying into his face knocking him back. Jason sighed. "Since you're so clueless kid, you might as well know old Brucie here doesn't like anybody laying a finger on one of his kids."
"Identities Red Hood."
Terry swung around, allowing Jason's distraction to allow him to dive to the side. He found himself slightly puzzled. "Isn't Red Hood in your rogues gallery?"
"Oh, I am kid!" Jason laughed.
"Why aren't you helping your brothers?" Batman towered over Terry, pulling out his Batarangs.
"Because this is just too funny!"
The distraction was what Terry needed to pull the device from his belt and plunge it into the pelvic region. The next thing he knew, Batman swung around, backhanding him as he pulled the device out, tossing it to the ground. Terry quickly dove, grabbing the device. As he put the device hopefully containing the needed sample, Batman grabbed him. "Another question. What are you doing with one of my prototype suits? Where's Nightwing?"
Terry reached up, grabbing Bruce's head. He quickly backflipped, bringing his feet down into the back of the old Batman's skull before taking off. Red Hood continued to laugh as he dove over the edge. A whizzing sound as he took to the sky told him the old Batman launched Batarangs at him, making him dive to miss. He pushed a button, turning on Flash's tracking program, hoping to find him soon so they could go back home to their own time.
B
Finding Nightwing's current location proved easy.
After all, he knew which of Nightwing's hideouts was also his favorite hangout.
Getting the needed bone marrow donation was another matter.
Dick came in through the window, not expecting company, but instantly tensing up upon realizing someone was in the room. The new Flash darted behind him, attempting to bring the device down to the pelvic region, only for Nightwing to grab his head. With little effort Nightwing used his momentum to fling Wally over his shoulder, making him crash into the ground. He noted the look of surprise on Dick's face. "Flash?"
"In the flesh." Wally piped up, watching Dick's face contort in confusion. He bounced back up from the sitting position as Dick lunged at him, throwing a few punches which Wally quickly dodged. Dick quickly moved into kicking at him, yet Wally knew the acrobat wasn't yet warmed up. After all, Nightwing was one of the few people Wally remembered landing a few blows on him.
Nightwing went up into the air, doing one of those helicoptering kicking movements, reminding Wally of how the new Batman moved just like Nightwing had. This allowed Dick's foot to easily make contact with his chin, but he was also attempting to keep the device safe in his hand.
His vision temporarily spazzed, his mind drifting to how much he'd hated the kid. Every time he ran across the new Batman he found himself thinking the twerp was attempting to emulate Nightwing, yet the suit the kid wore – Wally recognized it as one made specifically for Dick in case anything happened to Bruce. However, he saw some of the new Batman's moves, noting the similarity and natural feel so similar to Dick's. Copying the moves of a Flying Grayson was supposed to be an impossibility.
Unless, of course, you were a Flying Grayson.
Finding out the new Batman and his kid brother were Dick's kids was a real shock, yet he knew he had to do something. Wally brought his head up, doing the most illogical knowing full well doing so would be the one thing which would throw off Nightwing, even for a moment. His forehead contacted the man's forehead, sending his best friend stumbling backward.
"Sorry, but this is for you."
"Wally." Nightwing growled low, one of the traits he took from Batman. He rubbed his forehead, his eyes swimming slightly, yet this wouldn't be enough to take it down.
"Yeah. Figures you'd figure out it was me."
"Why? Why did you time travel to the past?" Nightwing launched back into his kicks, quickening his speed, meaning he'd finally gotten serious, though to get to his full speed he needed to gain momentum. Talking things out would help, but that was time the new Flash didn't have.
"You know full well I can't tell you." He dodged, his mind contemplating how to knock Nightwing out, let alone get behind him.
"Except you're acting like the enemy. What did I do to you that made you this angry at me?"
"Angry at..." Wally's split decision allowed a kick to fly into his stomach, sending him flying. The device clattered to the floor, but thankfully didn't break. He lunged for it, dodging one of Nightwing's escrima, which were primed for zapping him. "If anybody is mad at anyone, it's you being mad at me!" He dashed around the room, getting out of Nightwing's range, deciding to dive into the refrigerator hoping this might put the other hero at ease. Instead, he heard a thudding sound on the door. Peeking around the side, he saw Dick's stupid "Wing Dings" lodged in the door. "Really?"
"Really. I've no reason to..."
The most ludicrous thing to do right now was grab one of the frying pans and swing it full force into his friend's face as he lunged forward, knocking the young man out cold. Wally took a deep breath, knowing from the groan that this wouldn't belong. He set the device on the counter before lifting Dick up, hauling him over to the couch, plopping his friend onto the couch. He sped back over to grab the device. Looking down at Dick, he swallowed, watching the bruise begin to form.
"You could have made this easy, you know." He plunged the device in, letting the needle get the bone marrow needed for Dick's youngest kid. Dick started coming to from the pain, flinching upwards in shock. Flash's free hand reached to grab onto Dick's shoulder tight. "This is for you. Well, for your future kids that is."
Dick let out one of those sounds as Wally pulled the needle out. His eyes half-opened, his head turning slightly to see the new Flash. Standing up, Wally considered the entire thing a successful mission.
That was until something fast, and yellow crashed into his back.
More specifically, Kid Flash came out of nowhere and decided to do a flying kick into the middle of his back. The new Flash watched the device go flying through the air as he crashed to the ground, catching himself on the palm of his hands. Nightwing let out a groan as he started pushing himself up slightly. Wally watched his young self-dart forward in a blur, grabbing the device. "What's this? What are you trying to do to my best friend?"
Of course, since it was himself, he knew exactly what his younger self would do. "Don't!" He reached out desperately, but this didn't stop Kid Flash from snapping the device. Wally gritted his teeth, quickly springing forward to slug Kid Flash in the jaw. He watched the boy fly backward. "Why did my younger self-have to be such a moron!"
He watched Kid Flash topple over before cracking his fists. A groan made him turn, but the person spoke. "You're not a moron. Not then, not now."
He expected Dick to be awake, and when he turned he found his best friend stopped trying to get up. Taking a deep breath, he couldn't figure out if he'd done a number or not. Either way, he needed the new Batman to arrive with the other device. A light was going off, indicating someone in Nightwing's family needed help, and yet he wasn't responding. The last thing they needed was Batman breathing down his neck
B
"Did you kidnap Nightwing to draw Batman out?"
The question seemed apt, given the surprise at finding Nightwing out cold on the couch. A person dressed in yellow was knocked out cold. Flash turned, obviously irritated. "What gave you that idea?"
"Batman asked where Nightwing was."
"You ran into Batman?"
"And got the sample." Terry watched Flash grow pale.
"You what?"
"The two of you only brought the two devices?" Terry watched Flash spin. Even he hadn't noticed Nightwing sit up.
"You..." Flash's throat tightened. "I'm such a moron!"
"I told you Wally. You're not a moron. Not then, not now."
Terry's eyes blinked, watching Flash palm his forehead. "You were awake."
"Duh. You may have given me one of the worst concussions I've ever had, but I have been awake?" Terry frowned, not sure what Nightwing was getting at. The person rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes closing in pain. "I'll cover for you. So the two of you can get out of here. Leave before Batman shows up." The man opened his eyes, looking right at Terry. "The other Batman, I mean. The original."
Wally choked. "But we didn't get what we came for."
"Yes, we did." Terry stared at the Flash.
"He doesn't know, does he?" Nightwing sighed. "Leave. Before either of you let anything else slip regarding the future."
"What got blabbed?" Terry kept feeling uneasy with the dumbfounded look Flash gave him.
"Because it's a hard thing not to do." Nightwing pointed his thumb at Flash. "Plus, the moron who isn't a moron who knocked his past self out cold already made it clear I'm dead in the future. Go home and take care of your sibling."
Terry glared at Flash, only to feel the man tug him away. "We've got to leave now."
"Well, we can, because we've got the..."
"Don't speak!"
Terry sighed, watching Flash dart forward to investigate the path back. The man kept swallowing, seemingly frustrated by the entire situation. The Flash seemed exhausted, even more so as they neared the sphere. Something felt off as he approached the sphere. When they were within distance of getting in, someone launched themselves from the shadows crashing into his side. Terry found the breath knocked out of him, his breath hitching.
He turned, seeing Batgirl looming over him. His eyes narrowed, wondering why this Batgirl wore a complete mask, but didn't show off her red hair. Flash turned, the look on his face being one of panic. Batgirl lunged at him, silence seemingly her specialty. He dodged towards Flash in time for the man to grab his arm, pulling him into the sphere of closing the door. Flash hissed as something thudded into the outside, his fingers flying across the keys to start the process of returning to their own time.
"Why her?"
"Barbara Gordon?"
Flash looked up. "So, you know Babs was the first Batgirl? That wasn't Babs."
"Then who..."
"You really don't want to know."
Terry frowned, knowing there was a lot nobody told him. He felt the sudden lurch of the machine the Flash created, hurtling them back into their own timeframe. He felt the same sensation similar to the Batmobile hurtling out of control, and the skidding and crashing. Flash opened the hatch, revealing similar damage to the area they landed. They weren't in Gotham, but another city. At least they were hopefully in an area which might not attract attention this time.
Terry stepped out, noticing the damage from Batarangs lodged into the side, static coming off. Flash messed with his computer. "Not good."
"Not good?"
"We failed the mission."
Terry nearly choked. "What do you mean?"
"On top of the damage throwing us further into the future than when we left, we failed in getting bone marrow from Nightwing."
His throat tightened. "Not possible. He's not my father."
"If this has to do with how I treated you regarding Nightwing..."
"You don't get it, do you?" Terry's voice tightened. "Nightwing died before I was born."
"And?"
"How the hell can he be the father of both me and my younger brother?" Terry pushed buttons on his watch to summon the Batmobile. "I'm out of here."
"Wait..."
"I've lost time I could have been spending with Matty." Thankfully, Flash didn't say anything but took off while Terry waited for the Batmobile to arrive. He felt even more guilty than before. He arrived at the location he left his regular clothes and changed, hurrying as fast as possible to the hospital. Checking his messages, he saw text after text from his mother, his girlfriend and even Max asking where he was. He also got texts from Bruce chewing him out for the stunt he pulled, but that wasn't really a surprise.
He arrived, stopping short at seeing a man with red hair. His eyes narrowed, remembering the person in the room with Nightwing had red hair. However, the selling point was the man's comment which started with a deep sigh. "Man, you've got your father's eyes."
"He's not my father." Terry watched the man flinch. "I told you why."
"I know. I don't know how it's possible."
"It's called your computer program's glitchy." He flinched, watching the man follow him. "Why are you following me?"
"I'm following you because you're not okay."
"Fine. Free up your guilty conscience." The snark didn't make the man go away, but the comment obviously stung. Mentally, he reminded himself hurting others didn't really make things better.
They didn't get far when they heard a rather angry female voice directed at the Flash. "Wally West! You idiot! What do you think..." Terry turned, recognizing the female who approached them, but felt a little better seeing the woman. The angry look on her face he'd been on the wrong side of in the past softened. "Terry! You're here!" She moved forward, pulling him into a hug. "I'm so sorry."
The look of surprise on the Flash's face was priceless. He also noticed a boy and girl following her, chuckling to themselves. He returned the hug. "Aunt Artemis. What are you doing here?"
Artemis pushed him away. "You didn't think your mother wouldn't contact me when Matty got sick like he did? Then you disappeared on everyone. Given your past, you made her worry."
"I wasn't doing anything bad. I mean..."
"She's referring to doing something stupid and dangerous because your upset." Wally swallowed, watching the woman turn to glare at him. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Are you telling me he's the result of the one-night stand..."
"Wally. You are in a lot of trouble, but we'll talk about this later." Artemis wrapped her arm around Terry's arm, tugging him away towards Wally. Getting near Matt's room, he noticed every one of his uncles waiting, each of which glanced up in amusement. Well, except for his Uncle Tim who was still glued to his computer. An Asian woman he didn't know sat with them, sitting up straight.
Before he could ask who, she was, he found himself hugged by Dana. Max chuckled. "See, I told you he'd be okay."
Dana pulled back, frowning at Terry. "You had me worried Ter. You had my dad worried, so you better call him letting him know you're okay but didn't do anything too stupid."
Terry swallowed, not quite comfortable with the fact her father was now fine with him simply because of Matt's situation. He glanced around, worry eating away at him. "Matty? How is he?"
"He's currently recovering from the bone marrow transplant." Jason piped up, a twinkle in his eye.
Wally's mouth dropped, which would have normally amused Terry. He found himself confused. "How?"
"Bruce." Time piped up.
Terry glared at Wally, irritated the man put him through all that trouble. If Matt got a transplant from Bruce, that meant he was right. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the Asian woman start to sign. His eyes blinked as Dana turned. "I like your Aunt Cass, though I need to learn sign language so I can understand her."
His eyes blinked, confused. Damien cleared his throat. "She's saying Bruce contacted them, to clarify the confusion Tim caused."
"What?"
Cassandra continued to sign while Damien translated as Tim remained glued to his computer. "Bruce knew how to contact him, but Cass has been with him this whole time. She enjoyed being a Flying Grayson."
"Wait." The color drained from his face. He watched Wally dash forward, not worried about someone seeing his speed, startling Dana.
Terry nudged her, lowering his voice. "Could I possibly explain that a bit later."
He followed the man into Wally's room. The man was gaping at Matt's bed. Terry froze, seeing a man there holding Matt gently in his lap, his arms wrapped around the boy. Matt was asleep, a mask covering his mouth. The man looked just as tired, but didn't look weakened like Matt was. If anything, it looked like the man could despite his small frame do serious damage. The man's knees were pulled up to help support Matt's frail body while he snuggled the boy.
Terry's mother sat in a seat next to the hospital bed. She stood up, sweeping Terry into a hug. "You had me so worried Terry. Whatever you did, don't do it again."
Everything seemed fine, and then Wally did a no-no.
"Dick?"
"What the hell! Don't say that in front of my brother!"
Jason chuckled from the doorway. "Oh man. You're still not in on the joke, are you?"
"It's not a very funny joke."
The man's eyes opened, making Terry draw his breath in. He'd never seen someone with the same color eyes as him before. "It's a nickname for those named Richard."
"I..."
Wally swallowed. "I'm such a moron."
"You're not a moron. Sure, you're a moron who's not a moron, but that's still not a moron." The man took a deep breath. "I'm not really feeling the aster right now."
"It is you. You're the only one who talks like that."
"I..." Terry swallowed. The man in front of him was Nightwing, yet Nightwing was supposed to be dead. He added another thing to the long list of things his family needed to explain.