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Dick was busy cleaning the spilled apple juice Peter drop. The toddler had spilled a little then proceeded to dump the entire cup kn the kitchen floor.
Why are kids like this? He couldn't tell you. At least Peter tried to help, but had to immediately put a stop to it because drinking from the floor is not a valid option.
He managed to put Peter to sleep for his nap time. There would be three hours of peace and time to do what needs to be done.
That was the plan until a loud thud came from Peter's room and someone shouted a swear. Dick ran to the room as Peter began crying loudly.
The person in Peter's room was dressed in the same costume future Peter would be in and was quite tall. Dick stopped staring after Peter's cries broke through.
He grabbed his son with one arm and held a lamb towards the unknown person with the other.
The person was a very tall woman. She began moving her arms frantically.
"Woah, woah, woah! Please put that down, sir!," she said.
Dick asked," who are you and what're you doing here?!"
The woman said," I'm your friend neighborhood Spider-Woman! Y'know about me, right?"
Dick frowned for a second. "OH. Future Peter-I mean, no, not Peter, um, tell me your name!," he said.
Spider-Woman replied," name's Petra Parker-WAIT, Backtrack! You said something about "future"?
"Did you just say your last name as "Parker"?," Dick asked.
-
Dick managed to put Peter back to sleep on his bed.
"I'm sorry for waking Peter up," Petra said. "I didn't expect to fall into a whole other universe."
Dick replied," that's alright. Want some hot coco or something? It's October right now and quite chilly outside."
Petra sat on the couch and nodded. A few minutes later she was drinking hot chocolate.
"I have several questions," she said.
"I'll answer them. Don't be afraid."
Who are you exactly?," she asked.
Dick replied," I'm an alternate version of your dad. Well, I guess I'm your dad."
"What's your name," Petra asked.
"Richard John Grayson. Everyone calls me 'Dick'," Dick answered.
Petra looked at her mug mumbling," Richard John..."
"Are you alright, Petra?," Dick asked.
"You kept the last name 'Grayson'. Does that mean-"
"No," Dick answered quickly. He knew what she was going to ask. "I wasn't adopted by the Parker family either, but the man who did adopt me didn't change my last name."
Petra looked a little heartbroken. "I see. Is mom still around?," she asked.
"I never met Mary. She was already dead by the time I found out about her," Dick said. "The Peter sleeping in the room down the hall is from another universe like you and he came with a duffel bag filled with videos about his parents and life."
"Videos? His parents sent him here?"
Dick shrugged. "I don't know his entire story. All I really know is that he was seventeen before coming here and reverted back to eight months old after landing in my apartment. He still has his memories and powers, though, I suspect his mind somewhat regressed to handle the stress of returning to infancy," he said.
Petra made an expression of thought for a moment. "So he throws tantrums for minor things?," she asked.
"Yup, raising a meta with super strength is not easy, but I manage," Dick said.
"Meta? What's that?," Petra asked.
Dick said," my universe uses that term for anyone with powers. Doesn't matter if you born with them or gained them later in life. You have powers, you're a 'meta'."
"That makes things so easy. Right, um, who adopted you?"
Dick pulled out his phone and showed a picture of Bruce. "Bruce Wayne The Prince Of Gotham. Ever heard of him?," he asked.
Petra looked at the photo, frowned a bit, and suddenly her eyes went wide. "Holy shit. Bruce Wayne?! Batman?! I'm in the Batman universe?!," she shouted.
Dick said," Petra, inside voice."
Petra immediately calmed down and whispered," I'm in the Batman universe. Fuck, "Dick Grayson", "meta", how did I not realize this till now? Nightwing. My dad is fucking Nightwing."
"Um, are you doing alright?," Dick asked.
Petra replied," I know this is gonna sound crazy, but in my universe Batman, Nightwing, and the Justice League are all comic book characters. The company that produces them are call DC comics."
Dick wasn't surprised. The multiverse has an infinite realm of possibilities. "Judging by your reaction, I'm a very popular character," he said proudly.
"Yes, very popular! Especially because of your aaaaaAAACROBATICS," Petra said.
Dick knew exactly what she was gonna say.
Petra's face became very red and covered it with her hands. "Oh god, I had a crush on Nightwing and that meant I had a crush my dad. Oh god."
Dick chuckled.
"Please don't laugh, dude," Petra said.
"It's fine. I'm glad to know that my kid think I'm cool at least," Dick said. "Got any more questions?"
"Well-"
A familiar voice cried out," daaaaaaaaadaaaaaaaa!"
Dick stood up from the couch. "Duty calls. Give me a moment."
He walked into Peter's room seeing the toddler out of bed with a red face.
Dick asked,"are you still cranky? Come here." He held out his arms and Peter jumped into them. He walked out the room with the toddler to an empty living room.
"Petra?," he called out. "Hm, she must've went home."
Peter began to fuss. The toddler woke hungry it seems.
-
Peter happily smacked his lips as they were smeared with peanut butter. Green apple slices and peanut butter dip are one many healthier snacks Dick learned to give Peter when he was tired, but hungry.
"Here's a some tiny bottled water in case you start getting thirsty," Dick said.
"Chank you," Peter replied before taking another bite of peanut butter covered green apple slice.
"Hey, Peter."
"Hm?"
Dick said," if you ever feel like the way you are right now doesn't feel right to you in the future, I'll support you. You're my kid and my love for you will never change. It'll only pain me if you join the dark side or force yourself to be someone you're not because you fear my reaction, okay?"
Peter stared at him for a moment before replying," okay." He happily went back to snacking clearly not fully understanding what Dick was talking about right now.
Dick kissed him on the forehead and ran a hand through his curls.
/
Petra watched as Dick walked into the hallway when a light appeared and she was suddenly in front of Johnny Storm.
"Oh thank fuck! I managed to get you back before Reed found out and uh, you're crying. Oh god! Petra, did I do something wrong?," Johnny asked.
Petra didn't truly know why she was crying. However, the tears wouldn't stop.
-
"Oh shit! Are you kidding?! You're dad is Nightwing like for real?! That must've been a shock," Johnny said. They were in Reed's lab drinking lemonade.
"Yeah, and I still had more questions to ask. I won't be able to ask them anymore," Petra said.
Johnny replied," you can't be too sure. Knowing how crazy your life is, you might just meet him again. Maybe not THAT particular Nightwing, though."
Petra smiled before taking a slip of lemonade. A thought occurred to her. "Y'know, he never said anything to me about being trans," she said.
"Is that a problem?," Johnny asked.
Petra replied," well, I saw the 2013 calendar in the living room and...yeah. I haven't been on estrogen for that long either."
Johnny replied," it's the multiverse. For all we know, it could've been a completely common thing."
Petra drank some more of her lemonade.