Chapter Text
Dick was in the ICU
The doctors said he wouldn’t be able to walk without support. His knees had given out and he would need crutches for life.
He would never swing from Blüdhaven’s rooftops again. He’d never do acrobatics.
Dick wouldn’t be happy about this. He would never be Nightwing again, that would gut him. A depression. A Robin with its wings clipped.
The hospital wouldn’t let the family see him. His condition fluctuating from the damages to his body. They could only imagine how he was.
A lone angel, a golden halo over his raven hair. A still body hooked to too many machines. A dove on a grave. Another star in the sky.
A dragonfly landed on the window, distantly they heard the cry of a mourning dove, it felt as if the animals could feel what they felt.
It was the Fourth of July, distantly they heard fireworks and cheers, but at they could focus on was their golden light, surrounded by machines and doctors.
There had been an outbreak, Scarecrow got to him before anyone else could, he fell from a building. They all remembered the snap, the scream, it echoed despite hours having passed.
It was odd.. How Scarecrow was active during mid summer. Nightwing had been helping civilians escape a fire caused by a faulty gas line when Scarecrow came and released a new fear toxin. It had paralyzed Nightwing, plunging him into the darkness of his own mind.
The fire and the toxin led to Nightwing being disoriented, giving Scarecrow an opening, he pushed the vigilante out the window. The others couldn’t make it in time, they watched helplessly as their shining jewel fell.
The sky was dark by the time they were allowed to see him. The sky was clear, the stars bright and warm, contrasting the cold, clinical atmosphere of the hospital. Dick was wrapped in bandages, his legs in casts.
The doctor pulled Bruce aside, baring the news of Dick’s new life, his knees were shattered, he’d need crutches if not a wheelchair for life.
Dick hadn’t woken up yet.
Damian lied on the bed with him, he couldn’t let go, not after seeing him fall.
Tim was in a similar state, sitting in a chair pulled up, holding Dick’s warm hand.
Jason leaned against the wall, watching. Making sure they stayed safe.
Cassandra stood by the door, her eyes fixed on Dick's face as if trying to mentally will him to wake up, to be okay.
Stephanie sat by Tim, worried for them. She may not be part of the family officially but she still cared.
Duke stood by Jason, he was still new to the family but Dick had been welcoming.
Bruce stood in the doorway, scared for his eldest son, his first ward. He couldn’t loose another child. It would break him truly.
The heart monitor beeped slowly, rhythmically. It was steady in a room that felt drowning in guilt and ache.
He was alive. Dick was alive, he was breathing and his heart was beating. His son would stay another day.
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He felt like he was falling.
Then he was 8 again, watching his parents fall from the trapeze. The cord snapping and the sickening crunch of their skulls against the concrete. He was powerless to stop it.
A little boy left alone in a world too cruel for him. Unable to voice his agony, unable to feel whole again. Then warm arms took him in.
Someone who understood the loss he felt, the anger, the grief, the vengeance. He took the boy in when no one else would. He would always be grateful to his saviour for he knew he would have died long ago.
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Then he was 19, arguing with B after a mission, he had been shot in the shoulder and pushed off a building. B had been scared, he knew that now. But back then, he was angry, angry that B fired him and retired the Robin Mantle.
So he left, became his own person, led the Teen Titans while becoming a new Vigilante. The first suit had been made as a memorial to his Father. Everyone thought it was ugly, that hurt. He pretended it didn’t.
Then B replaced him with a new child, a child who smiled with slightly crooked teeth and bright blue eyes. Black hair that curled, two adorable curls in the front, it reminded him of the top of a heart.
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He was 21, he had come back from a space mission to find that his baby brother, his Little Wing, had died. Couldn’t even attend the funeral. He mourned the loss.
The boy had been too innocent, too pure. He didn’t deserve such a fate. He should have gone to college and got a job and lived a happy, normal life. Instead he was buried in a casket too small under a stone in a lot away from the family.
It felt like a betrayal. Little Wing was family, he deserved to be in the family’s cemetery. It never felt right.
He knew his Little Wing was an angel, flying high above, an innocent soul that never should have been touched by the devil of Gotham.
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Not long after he met Baby Bird, a little boy with a camera who was left alone often. By now, He had moved to Blüdhaven. He couldn’t stay in Gotham. He loved Baby Bird, but with Little Wing’s death, he was struggling to keep his own head afloat.
He knew a 13 year old boy shouldn’t be managing a grown man’s emotions. B should have gone to therapy, had a real outlet for his emotions, though he couldn’t say much…
He wished he was better to Baby Bird, he deserved better than what they gave him.
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He’s 22 now, Baby Bird was forced to quit by his father, he’s worried but grateful, the Robin Mantle took too much already. But there’s a new Robin, she’s blonde.
She’s talented, but B is in a bad mental state and he’s not treating her right. He’s trying to make Baby Bird jealous, but he’s hurting her too.
She deserves better. He hopes she sees it too before B does something bad.
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He’s 23 now. He got a new sister, she’s sweet, an assassin, meant to be a weapon, but she’s still a teenager herself. B is better. Baby Bird is Robin again.
The last Robin became her own vigilante. He’s happy she’s finding herself without the curse of the Robin mantle looming over her.
His new sister likes ballet, she’s good too.
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He’s 24, he has a new brother. This one is the son of B and the Demon’s daughter. He was raised to be a weapon. Everything is a mess.
Baby Bat is traumatised but B is busy being paranoid about what the Demon’s Head may do. So he helps Baby Bat settle in. Baby Bat and Baby Bird fight a lot.
He’s trying, but it’s hard.
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He was assaulted. It hurts and his Girlfriend broke up with him. It’s a struggle to get up in the mornings.
He wishes he fell with his parents.
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He’s 25. B is gone. Baby Bird insists that he’s alive.
He messed up. He gave Robin to Baby Bat, now Baby Bird is mad at him and left.
He’s forced to take up B’s mantle.
Baby Bat doesn’t like his “coddling.”
He can’t do this alone.
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B and Little Wing are back. It hurts. He’s sure everyone is mad at him. Baby Bat and Baby Bird like Little Wing and B more, it’s okay, he’s okay.
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He’s 26 and they got a new family member, a foster boy who’s also a vigilante. He’s the daytime vigilante, and a meta human! B normally doesn’t like them, but Ducky gets a pass.
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He’s 27, a building is on fire. He rushed in to help everyone, but then Scarecrow is there, he doesn’t remember much except pain.
Then it’s dark.