A/N: Hey guys, sorry this chapter took so long. I've been busy with school and whatnot. I hope you enjoy! ~Velvie
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or settings used.
"I don't know how to babysit" Conner admitted as he and Roy stepped up to the door.
"You'll do fine, you don't have to do much with these guys. There will most likely be trouble; they're bats. But it won't be anything we can't handle." Roy assured him as he rang the doorbell. They stood at the door and waited patiently for a few minutes, but when nobody answered, Roy pressed the doorbell a few more times. The door slowly opened, and Tim greeted them.
"Hey, come in. Why don't you go through to the lounge, Dick will be through soon to say hi." He moved aside to allow Roy and Conner to enter.
"Where is he now?" Roy asked.
"He's in the living room. He is with Steph and Jason trying to settle an issue." Tim sighed. A door slammed a few rooms away and was followed by an exasperated scream.
"What kind of issue?" Conner asked dubiously. Another door slam was heard before Tim could answer.
"He told me not to tell you because he didn't want to get you caught up in it." Tim lied slightly. He couldn't tell them the truth about why Dick didn't want them to know.
"He knows he can trust us." Roy argued. Tim shrugged his shoulders and tried to think of a realistic reply.
"He said he would have it sorted and that you'll have a nicer evening if you just leave it to him." He spoke quickly, trying to sound convincing.
"That doesn't sound like Dick" Conner said suspiciously.
"Because he never said that. I can read you like a book, Tim. What's going on?" Roy demanded. Tim didn't know what to say, but he knew Dick needed him to stall a little longer.
"Look, it's a family issue. He promised he'll have it sorted and that it won't affect your evening. Can we just leave it at that?" Tim panicked. Roy started towards the door and nodded for Conner to follow.
"If you aren't going to tell us, we're just going to have to find out ourselves." They made their way out to the hall, Tim following quickly behind them.
"Please don't! Dick asked me to keep you away while he sorted this! He doesn't want any trouble!" Tim pleaded. Conner just shook his head and opened the living room door slightly. Nobody in the room noticed. There they saw Stephanie hanging upside down on the couch, Jason pouting in the corner, and Dick curled on the sofa, face pressed into the arm rest.
"Jason, you're so selfish!" Stephanie yelled.
"I'm not being selfish here at all! He wants to go, right Dick?" Jason said, to which Dick replied with a grunt. "See?"
"That's not a valid reply! He needs to stay home and rest. It's your fault anyway, you gave it to him!" She replied angrily.
"Hey, don't go blaming me!" Jason raised his voice. Dick groaned and raised his head.
"Can you guys stop already? Steph, it's nice that you're trying to help me, but I do need to go. Villains don't take nights off, and I did promise Jason." Dick said, his voice hoarse. Conner gently closed the door. The pair turned to Tim.
"Care to explain what's going on?" Conner asked, arms crossed over his chest. Tim sighed and beckoned for them to go back into the lounge, just in case Dick overheard them.
"Jason was sick the other day and he was all angry because Dick promised to take him out on patrol with him. Now Dick is sick but he still wants to go out on patrol and Jason is trying to convince him it's the right thing to do for his own benefit. Steph, however, is trying to make Dick see sense and realise he's in no condition to go out tonight." Tim explained.
"That idiot. There's no way I'm letting him go anywhere, villains or no villains." Roy growled.
"Why were you covering for him?" Conner asked.
"Because he didn't want you guys to try and stop him if he decided to go. I don't want him to go either, but I figure he's Batman so he must have some common sense." Tim confessed. Roy was reaching for the door again, this time to confront Dick. He grabbed the handle, but let go quickly when the door moved from the other side.
"Hey guys. Sorry I left you so long; family problems." Dick apologised, running a hand through his messy hair.
"Save it, Dick. They know." Tim sighed, hanging his head.
"You tried, buddy." Dick replied, smiling gratefully at Tim. He turned to his friends. "My mind's made up guys. I have to go. Villains don't stop being villains." He shrugged.
"You're not going anywhere." Roy told him firmly.
"I'm fine. Gotham needs me." Dick said. He coughed several times after, which confirmed to Conner and Roy that he wasn't fine.
"You look sick, you sound sick, you are sick. Villains may not take a night off, but Batman is going to. No excuses." Roy stood his ground. He had always been like an older brother to Dick, and he was confident he could win this argument.
"I promised Jay I'd take him out tonight, and I've already had to back out once. I can't do that to him again, that's not fair." Dick protested.
"Listen Dick, if you stay here tonight, you'll probably feel better tomorrow. If you go out tonight, you'll make yourself worse, and then you'll have to stay home even longer." Roy reasoned. Dick sighed and looked down, defeated.
"Fine, but what about Gotham? I can't just leave them defenceless." Dick fretted.
"We'll find someone to take over for the night." Roy assured him.
"It can't just be anyone. It has to be someone without super powers. Super powers attract the crazies." Dick instructed. "Call Artemis, and tell her to take Jason out with her." He handed Roy the phone before leaving the room.
"Don't you have another brother?" Conner asked, turning to Tim.
"Damian, yeah. He won't be a bother tonight, he twisted his ankle. He's barely left his room all day." Tim replied, shrugging.
"Hey Dick" Artemis said as she picked up the phone.
"Not Dick, it's Roy. Listen, I need a favour. Dick's sick and the only way I can get him to stay home tonight is if you go out on patrol in Gotham." Roy spoke quickly, trying to get her to agree before Dick changed his mind.
"Sure, no problem." Artemis replied.
"There's one more thing; you have to take Jason." Roy sighed.
"No way, I'm not going anywhere with him. I work alone." Artemis protested. She hadn't gotten on well with Jason during their first meeting, and figured he'd be completely unbearable when he was out on patrol.
"Oh come on, Artemis. Just once? For Dick? He's really sick, and it's only one night." Roy pleaded.
"Ugh, fine. But you both owe me." She sighed before hanging up. Roy let out a low growl before throwing the phone down and running off to find Dick.
"Artemis said she'd cover you, which means you've got the night off." Roy announced as he entered Dick's room.
"Did she agree to take Jason?" Dick asked.
"Yup, she agreed and she's on her way over to get him." Roy replied.
"Really? Are you sure I'm the one that's sick?" Dick joked. Roy smiled fondly, thankful that the cowl hadn't changed him.
"Funny, now you rest up. Conner and I will take care of things." Roy told him before leaving the room. Dick fell asleep almost instantly.
"I wonder how Dick's doing" Stephanie commented, absent-mindedly stuff popcorn into her mouth. They had all sat down for the evening to watch a movie, although they weren't really paying attention.
"We should probably check on him" Tim suggested. He turned away to grab his drink from the coffee table.
"Later" Stephanie replied. She threw a piece of popcorn at Tim, who quickly turned and caught it in his mouth. Stephanie applauded him and he took a bow. Conner and Roy raised their eyebrows to each other and rolled their eyes.
"I'll go check on Dick" Roy said decisively. He stood up and made his way to the door, turning back to see Stephanie and Tim playing their game again. He smiled as he closed the door behind him and ran quietly up the stairs. He knocked softly on Dick's door. "Dick? Are you okay?" he said gently. There was no answer. Carefully, he pushed the door open to check on his friend. Dick was lying on top of the bed, wearing loose jeans and a vest. Roy was about to close the door when he heard Dick mumbling.
"Promit mămica, voi fi întotdeauna mica ta prihor" Dick murmured dreamily. Roy's face scrunched in confusion; what language was that? Shaking his head, he closed the door and returned to the living room. The room was littered with pieces of popcorn.
"How is he?" Stephanie asked.
"He's fine. Asleep. He was talking in some weird language." Roy reported. "Do you know what language it could have been?" he asked, addressing Dick's siblings.
"Romanian" Tim stated. Roy and Conner were both confused.
"Why would he be speaking Romanian?" Conner asked.
"Because he is Romanian" Stephanie replied. Conner and Roy were no less confused. How did they not know this?
"Why didn't I know this?" Roy demanded. He felt guilty for not knowing such a big thing about his close friend.
"Dunno. Did you ever ask him?" Tim suggested. Roy shook his head.
"Nope, never came up." He admitted.
"Well there we go then." Tim replied. Roy sat back in the couch and thought about this new information.
"I wonder what he said."
"Joker" Jason hissed. Artemis spun round to look over at where the Joker had been spotted.
"I see him. Do you make a plan before you go fight or are you just like your brother?" Artemis said, looking up to where Jason had once been. He'd left already. "Just like your brother. Got it." She sighed, then started after Jason. She finally caught up to him just as they approached the Joker.
"Hello, Hood. Who's the blonde?" The Joker asked coolly, smiling.
"Your worst nightmare" Artemis breathed darkly. Jason mentally gave her props for the comeback.
"Oh, I don't think so. You look more like a pretty little dream. I am the stuff nightmares are made of. Tell me blondie, have you ever had a nightmare?" The Joker asked, his mischievous smirk intensifying as he reached into his pockets.
"Never" she growled, getting ready to fight.
"Let's see if we can change that." Laughing menacingly, he whipped his hands out of his pockets, scattering pellets of his new nightmare gas all over the floor. Before Jason and Artemis could flee, the smoky gas engulfed them, and they quickly hit the floor. "Sweet dreams."
Artemis and Jason were squirming uncomfortably on metal tables, experiencing their worst nightmares. For Artemis, it was seeing everyone turn on her when they found out who she really was. The team gave her the cold shoulder, Green Arrow stopped letting her be his protégé, and the league shunned her. They completely turned on her because of her past and her family, and this was what she had always been afraid of. For Jason, it was watching Bruce die. He had lost one father in his life; he didn't want to lose another. Bruce being missing in reality was hard enough for him, but watching him die was too much, even in a dream.
"Oh dear, is someone having a bad dream? It's okay, it'll all be over soon." The Joker said in his usual sarcastic tone, punctuating the sentence with laughter. He grabbed a syringe filled with a stronger dose of 'liquid nightmare'. Slowly, he approached the table where Artemis was sleeping. He laughed menacingly as he grabbed her arm and pressed the syringe to it. "You may feel a small scratch." He said mockingly.
"You'll be feeling a big one." The voice echoed across the room. The Joker turned, but all he could see was darkness. Suddenly, a batarang glided towards the Joker, knocking the syringe out of his hand and across the floor, liquid nightmare dripping off the end.
"Shhh! They're sleeping." The Joker whispered. He ducked as another batarang flew over his head, hitting the wall with an echoing thud.
"Oops." Batman said sarcastically. The Joker frowned.
"I guess if you don't want to be quiet, I'll have to make you." He calmly reached into his pocket and threw half a dozen pellets onto the floor. "Even bats need to sleep."
"Bats are nocturnal." Batman's gravelly voice echoed around the room, surprising The Joker. He frowned again, trying to think of his next move. He had bigger plans, and didn't want to risk being sent back to Arkham.
"Alright Batsy, if you won't sleep, allow me to entertain you. Being a Joker, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Like this one; A puff of smoke, and I magically disappear!" He yelled dramatically as he threw a gas pellet down. When the gas had cleared, The Joker had vanished. Dick didn't have time to dwell on his failure to capture The Joker; he had to wake his friends. He started with Artemis. First, he simply tried waking her using normal methods such as shaking and yelling. When they didn't work, he looked around; he couldn't see anything that looked remotely like an antidote. An antidote. It suddenly became clear. Some of The Joker's gases and poisons could be cured with the same antidote; it was one of his biggest design flaws. Dick reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small vile of antidote, and then poured it slowly into Artemis' mouth. She spluttered and moaned groggily, slowly moving her hand up to rub her eyes. Once Dick was sure she was really awake, he repeated the process with Jason. He gave them a chance to recover, and then suggested they all headed home.
"Roy's gonna kill you." Artemis commented.
"Maybe, if he ever finds out." Dick replied, smirking to himself. He shot a pre-emptive warning glance at Jason, who raised his hands in mock surrender to signal that he would say nothing.
"Hey Dick, feeling better?" Roy called as Dick entered the kitchen the following morning.
"Yeah, much better thanks." Dick lied cheerfully. He still felt terrible. "Quiet night?"
"Yeah. Everything was fine and calm, which actually surprised me." Conner reported, chuckling slightly. "How did you sleep?"
"I slept just fine. It was great to get a good night's sleep." Another lie. Dick poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down with his friends. Roy frowned slightly as he tried to process the information he'd learnt last night about his close friend.
"So Dick, a little birdie told me you're actually Romanian. How come I didn't know this before?" Roy asked, laughing in his head at the 'little birdie' part.
"Dunno, guess it never came up." Dick shrugged, sipping his coffee. Before Roy could ask a follow up question, Artemis shuffled sleepily into the room, rubbing her face.
"Hey Artemis. How'd it go last night?" Dick asked, raising his eyebrows knowingly.
"It was fine. Hey, Dick, where do you keep the painkillers? Getting this little sleep has given me a headache." Artemis replied groggily. Dick got up and found her some painkillers while she sat down and poured a cup of coffee.
"Thanks for babysitting, guys." Dick said as he handed her the painkillers and took his seat.
"It was no trouble at all, I'm quite fond of your siblings… when they're quiet, anyway." Roy replied, snorting slightly at the end.
"Yeah, I had fun." Conner shrugged, a slight smile appearing on his face.
"Artemis, thanks for going out in my place and putting up with Jason for a night. I owe you one." Dick turned to Artemis and smiled.
"Let's just say we're even."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any ideas for more chapters, let me know! Review! ~Velvie