Chapter Text
Standing on his tippy toes on a stool in the bathroom, a four year old looks at himself in the mirror. He looks weird. Similar, but different. He remembers having black hair. So why are their streaks of dark green highlights running throughout? He remembers having blue eyes. So why are their specks of that same green color through them?
Who was he?
What was his name?
Was it Richard Grayson?
Was it Izuku Midoriya?
Was it Deku?
Was it Dick?
He had been remembering all sorts of things today that he doesn’t remember doing. Well he remembers doing them, but the fact of the matter is that he is four years old. Was he really four? He remembers having a fortieth birthday.
He groans as his head begins to hurt. Thumping rhythmically, as he loses his footing on the stool. He falls backwards, his head bouncing off of the tile, as his eyes begin to close. A woman rushes into the bathroom. Was that his mother? Inko Midoriya or May Grayson? The last thing he sees is the green hair of the woman, who comes rushing towards him.
Waking up, he covers his eyes from the blinding white ceiling above him. The sunlight that shines into the room didn’t help. And as his vision adjusted to the brightness of the room, Izuku, Dick, looked around the room, analyzing his surroundings. A hospital room. Frowning, he never liked hospitals. They weren’t really needed, especially with Alfred around. Pennyworth was a member of MI6, back during Vietnam, and before that, he served as a medic during the Korean War.
He looks at his mother, Inko, sleeping in a chair across the room. She is a slim woman who has large and circular eyes. Her straight, dark-green hair is shoulder-length, pulled back into a small and spiky ponytail at the back. She is wearing a casual, white button up, under a long, pink cardigan. She also wears a calf-length blue skirt, and a pair of white flats, with a black sole.
Looking back up at the ceiling, and after what seemed like an hour, he sighs. After a few more minutes, he groans. And then he sighs once more. This was more boring than a stake-out. Except now, he is uncomfortable, and breathing the stale hospital air. It sucks
Dick sighs for the final time, as he ponders a question running through his head. Is this his Quirk? The ability to remember a past life. He didn’t know what to make of it, but now, he has a dream.
He had a dream before, but it was different. Not so pure in mind or heart. His dream was to avenge the death of his parents. John and Mary. Anthony Zucco was the mobster who murdered his parents. Izuku wanted him dead. Bruce stopped him from doing it each time. And for that he was thankful. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been Robin. He wouldn’t have been Red X. Without Bruce saving him from himself, he wouldn’t have been Nightwing.
He would have regretted killing the man. Unlike Jason, he wasn’t much of a killer. It didn’t help that at one point the two of them would have been considered family, through his half sister, didn't help. Not that he could have known that fact at the time. Letting go of a breath of air that he was holding, Izuku frowned. Visions of Batman, and All Might flash through his mind. He will be a Pro Hero, despite how much he now dislikes the term.
Now that that question is answered. He has another question that needs answered. If this is his Quirk, what does he tell Inko… What does he tell his mother? A voice then breaks him from his train of thought. Looking at his mother, Inko again asks, “Tell your mother what?”
Dick blushes, embarrassed, as he looks up at Inko. Izuku answers, “I think I got my Quirk.”
Inko gasps. A Quirk? Well, her son is four. He is at that age. She smiles, looking at her son. She replies, “Well, Izu-chan. What is it?”
Izuku answers, “I remember a past life.”
A past life? Inko’s eyebrows crease, as she whispers, “Reincarnation.”
Izuku, hearing it, nods his head, as a Doctor enters the room. He says, “Remembering a past life. That is quite the rare ability, young man. I only know of one other person with a Quirk like yours.”
He hoped it would be someone from his time. From what is now his past. Dick asks, “Who are they?”
The Doctor answers, “I don’t know their name, sorry. And from what is known about the man, is that he is a very private person.”
Turning to Inko, he then says, “We have a Quirk Specialist on call, if you’d like to get it checked.”
Inko replies, “We’d love that. Thank you, Doctor.”
The Doctor replies, “Your welcome, Midoriya-san. Now, let's get to why I’m here in the first place. Your son is in perfect health. Izuku’s brain wasn’t too jostled. At most, he’ll have a bruise for a week or so. I’d avoid anything that could cause injury, as your likely to gain a concussion. Now, after the meeting with the Quirk Specialist, you two should be able to leave.”
Finding the office for the Quirk Specialist was easy enough. Knocking on the door was a bit nerve wracking for her though. She’s always been the anxious type. It ran in the family. Her mother was like this, as well as her mother’s mother, and so on and so on. But, she finally knocked on the door. And she stood awkwardly, waiting for the door to open, holding the hand of her son. Smiling down at him, the door opens, revealing a young man. He asks, “What can I do for you?”
She answers, “Hello… M-my name is Inko Midoriya, and this is my son, Izuku. We were just in the hospital because he fell and hit his head. He lost consciousness, and when he woke up, he told me that he had a Quirk, something about a past life. Dr. Sarutobi said that he’d talk to you and set something up, before we left. I-is that alright?”
The young man smiles, letting a short hum fill the hallway. Midoriya? Midoriya? He replies, “Ah, yes… Now I remember. Come on in, and we can get this all settled, and you can be on your way. Please follow me into my office.”
Entering the office, the young man sits behind his desk, while the Midoriya’s sit on small hard plastic chairs. The Quirk Specialist then says, “Now let’s get to business. You said your Quirk is remembering a past life. Reincarnation. Do you remember only portions, or do you remember everything of your past life?”
Izuku answers, “I don’t remember being birthed, or my death.”
The Doctor hums. He says, “That’s common, not remembering one’s own birth. It’s a very traumatic experience. As for your past life’s death, I think you don’t remember it for the same reason. It’s too traumatic.”
Izuku nods, replying, “That’s what I thought too.”
The Quirk Specialist then asks, “Do you know who you were in your past life?”
Izuku answers, “I do.”
The Doctor replies, “Could you tell me?”
Dick answers, “No.”
Inko says, “Izuku! Don’t be rude.”
The Doctor replies, “That’s fine. Everyone is entitled to their own secrets. Is their anything that you can tell me about your past life?”
Dick answers, “Yes.”
The Doctor looks expectantly at him, as Izuku then says, “I lived in the United states. During my childhood, I traveled a lot. Along with my parents, we were a family trapeze act for a circus.”
The Doctor asks, “Which circus?”
Izuku replies, “I’d rather not.”
The Doctor nods, asking, “Is their anything else that you remember?”
Izuku answers, “I was adopted by a very wealthy man, and was not the last to be adopted by him. I lived in Gotham City, New Jersey… as well as Bludhaven, it’s between Gotham and Atlantic City, in case you were wondering. I was a Police Officer, a social worker, a bartender, and even a dancer at one point. I was never one to hold down a job for long. It never hurt me financially. I also remember me and my wife moving to New York City…”
His mother gasps. She yells, “Marriage!?”
Izuku continues, “It wasn’t that great of a marriage, the first time around. Nor was it all that great the second time either, to be completely honest. We split, and got back together, and split once more. It was pretty messy. I returned to Bludhaven, and lived in the city for the rest of my life. She returned to Gotham.”
The Doctor says, “A four year old talking about marriage, like he has experience with it. Yeah, this is the first time dealing with this sort of thing… But I’d like to run some tests, just to make sure, and then we can get all of the details about how your Quirk might affect your body, or is affecting your body.”
After the tests, which was just a series of x-rays, as well as scans of the brain and heart. They were the bulk of the tests, the two would have to return to get the results of the blood test back, but Izuku didn’t really care about that.
Back in the office, the Doctor says, “Well… From everything I can see, Izuku does have a Quirk that affects his body, though their is no obvious difference from a normal Quirked body, other than his overdeveloped brain, for his age, which is that way to help with all of the new memories that your son has. Your Quirk has been classified as a passive-type, Mutation Quirk. Now what shall we name your Quirk?”
Inko asks, “Well, what do you think, Izu-chan?”
Izuku answers, “I’ll call it Past Life.”
The Doctor replies, “Naming your Quirk for what it does. Pretty simple name. Well now that I have this all squared out, I’ll send this form into the Ministry of Quirks, and other Super-powers, and get your son’s Quirk registered. Don't you worry about it and don’t forget about the blood work results. They will be finished by tonight, so just come in in the morning and we will go over the results then.”
Inko says, “Thank you Doctor.”
The Doctor chuckles. He says, “It’s quite fine, Midoriya-san. I’m just doing my job. Now go out and celebrate. Getting a Quirk is a special event, so enjoy it while you can.”
Returning home, Izuku gets a nice dinner of his favorite food. Enjoying the company of his mother. His father was nowhere to be seen. Another milestone missed. However, he wasn’t missed. Izuku fell asleep that night, dreaming of prowling Musutafu at night as Robin, or even Nightwing when he was old enough.