"I don't want to do this."
The guys groaned. "Nightwing."
"I don't! This is stupid! Why are we going to a game with them?!"
"Because the girls think it's a good idea to spend time with our dads." Changeling huffed.
"Then why don't they spend time with them?!" Nightwing was being stubborn and everyone knew it.
"Because they're our dads." Cyborg rolled his eye.
"I don't want to do this."
Kid Flash shook his head. "Well I want to spend time with my uncle. He reminds me of my dad and that's as good as I'm gonna get."
Nightwing softened. "I get why you want to go. You're close to your uncle. You're getting close to Alan and Clark. I'm not close to Bruce."
"You're just mad that he's going to be a dad again." Changeling snapped.
Nightwing's nostrils flared. "That's not true!"
"You're jealous of an unborn baby."
"I am not!"
"Then go out with your dad and stop complaining."
Nightwing turned away.
Cyborg sighed. "It's not like you have to sit with him."
"I'm not."
"Tim's going to be there."
"So's Jason."
"Well Tim wanted him there." Kid Flash shrugged.
"I don't know why. Why am I the only person concerned about the villains in this town?!"
"He's your brother." Changeling said. "Yeah, he's a douchebag but at least he's reaching out. And he said he was quitting being Red-X. That's something."
"You believe him?!" Nightwing was slackjawed.
"Love makes you do the crazy." He shrugged.
Nightwing threw up his hands. "I can't believe this!"
"Well suck it up!" Cyborg opened his pod of the T-ship. "It's time to go."
The other guys climbed into their pods and buckled up.
In unison, they took off towards their destination; Las Vegas.
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Cyborg looked around the corner. "Let's do this." He turned back around and touched his fists together. His image transformed to his alias, Stone.
Changeling put on his holoring. His visuals changed. His skin turned to a light tan, his nails turned white and short and his hair turned blonde. He put his gloves back on and looked to Nightwing.
Nightwing took off his mask and put on a pair of red shades.
"Are we ready? I'm hungry." Kid Flash rubbed his stomach.
"Yeah, let's go." Cyborg waved his hand.
They walked across the parking lot to the door and stood around it.
People walked passed them but not who they were waiting for. They waited for about ten minutes before two men walked up.
"Roy! Garth!" Cyborg waved them over.
Speedy and Aqualad walked over. "Hey!"
"They're taking forever! I'm hungry now!" Kid Flash complained.
"We can wait for them inside, right?" Speedy put his hands in his pockets. "I'm starving, too."
"Let's give them five more minutes before we leave. The game doesn't start for another fifteen minutes." Cyborg checked his arm for the time.
The six stood outside for another four minutes before seven men walked up. They all spoke.
"How's the kids?" Clark Kent (Superman) asked.
"Great. Bas is crawling everywhere now and we just have to keep him off Dean." Changeling shrugged.
"Why do you have to keep him off the dog?"
"Because he tries to ride him like a horse." Cyborg said.
Clark laughed. "That's truly amazing!"
"How old is he now?" Arthur Curry (Aquaman) wanted to know.
"Ten months." Changeling told him.
Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) smirked. "And he's trying to ride the dog like a horse? I'd love to know what he'd do with a horse."
"One day he's going to turn into one." Kid Flash pointed out.
"Has he shown signs of powers?" Barry Allen (Flash) asked.
Changeling brightened. "Yes! He uses telekinesis or whatever it's called. His energy is so awesome. It's black with a green tinge. It looks like fire!"
"It is pretty cool." Cyborg admitted.
"Diana said he picks things up and fights with his sister." Alan Wellington (Green Lantern) said.
"It's not so much fighting as sometimes they want the same things but they'd definitely kill for each other. Charlie is always kissing him and talking about her baby brother." Changeling smiled. He loved talking about his kids.
"How's my grandson?"
Cyborg grinned. "Which one?"
Alan's eyebrows moved.
"Yeah, Bee's having a boy. We're going to have two sons."
"Congrats! What are you thinking for names?"
"His name is picked out. Marco Ezra Stone."
"Strong name."
"Mas will like that." Speedy grinned.
"What about you?" Oliver asked. "You should know what you're having by now."
Speedy perked up. "A girl. We're still thinking about names though."
"A girl?" Oliver clapped him on the back. "Congratulations!"
"I'm thinking of changing my name, too." They all frowned at him in confusion. "My hero name. I think I want to go by Red Arrow."
"When are you thinking of changing it?" Oliver was surprised and a bit flattered.
"When the baby's born."
"Great idea. New beginnings."
"When are you having kids?" Barry asked his nephew.
Kid Flash sighed. "Jinx wants to wait until we're older."
"Tomorrow's not promised."
"Yeah but she's not ready for kids yet. I can wait. As long as they're with her, the wait is worth it."
Barry smiled. "Spoken like a true man. I'm proud of you."
Clark elbowed Nightwing. "Am I getting any more grandchildren from you and Kori?"
"Not for a few years." Nightwing shrugged. "We have to get married first."
"I'm so excited to walk her down the aisle!"
"Things are coming together. The wedding on Tamaran is basically planned. We just have to send out the invitations. But the one for the backyard is a little harder since we're the ones planning it."
"What else do you need to do?"
"Well she's planning it with the girls and just running everything by me. We're using the photographer and cinematographer that Gar and Raven used. We're getting the flowers from the same place. We have a caterer set up."
"That's a lot."
"Yeah. We have to find clothes though. She hasn't found a dress. She's wearing her mother's dress on Tamaran but she has to find a wedding dress for the backyard. And bridesmaids dresses. I don't have a tux yet. Neither do my groomsmen."
"You've got to do that. Especially if they're going to be custom-fit."
"I know. We have an appointment for next week. I'll probably use the same one for both ceremonies."
"Talking about the wedding, bro?"
Everyone turned around and saw Jason Todd (Red-X) taking off his sunglasses.
"Hey, Jason." Tim smiled.
"What's up, little bro?" Jason gave him a one armed hug.
"Yeah." Nightwing tried to be nice. "We're talking about the wedding."
"You're engaged, too right?" Jason asked Changeling.
Changeling took off his left glove. "Married now."
"And I'm so proud of him." Clark slapped his back.
Changeling almost fell over but was thrilled with the praise. "She said yes so I made sure she had no issues."
"I'm thinking of proposing." Jason put his glasses in his shirt.
Nightwing's and Bruce's eyes widened. "You are?!"
"Yup."
"Congrats!" Tim hugged him.
"Thanks."
Bruce held his head. "What are you thinking?!"
"That I love Komi and I want to be her husband." Jason gave him a salty look.
"Wow. I can't picture you as the hardworking devoted husband." Nightwing admitted.
"What about you?!"
"Fair enough. Are you sure you're ready for that step?"
"No!" Bruce burst out with. "I don't understand why you want to get married at all! Either of you!"
"There comes a time when a guy has to be a man." Clark helped.
Bruce gave him an ugly look. "Shut up."
Clark grinned. "They've found love. Why must you begrudge them?"
"Because he's a major drip." Barry muttered.
"Can we go inside and stop all this marriage talk?" Bruce gestured to the stadium.
"You'll see." Clark led the way inside. "You're going to get married."
Jason and Tim fell out laughing as Nightwing grimaced. "Nobody's going to marry him!"
Bruce gave them terrible looks as the other guys dropped laughing.
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"He's been giving me ugly looks all game long." Nightwing whispered.
Changeling pulled a face. "You're just going go keep talking to me, aren't you?"
"Look at him!" Nightwing hissed. "He has a real problem with me!"
"Or you have a real problem with him and you're just being paranoid."
"I am not paranoid." Nightwing said immediately.
"Yeah and I'm not green." Changeling watched the skaters on the ice. "Oh come on, ref! That was a clean block!"
Nightwing glared at him. "You're not taking me seriously."
"You're acting like the old Robin. It's annoying."
Nightwing was offended to his core. "Then let me shut up."
Changeling huffed. "Fine. You want to talk about your dad, talk about your dad."
"You don't mean it."
"Aren't you the strong, silent type? What happened to that?"
"I thought we were friends. Close enough to talk about our dads and when they're being a giant…-"
"Wiener?" Changeling supplied.
"Wiener?" Nightwing eyed him. Changeling shrugged. Nightwing tipped his hand. "Yeah. A giant wiener."
"So let's say Bruce really is trying to sic an ancient curse on you? so what? Ignore him. Act like he's Starfire and she's trying to tell you what shoes she bought at the mall of shopping."
Nightwing immediately blanked. He shook his head. "I can't believe that worked."
"I tune out when Rae wants to tell me about whatever dead language she's trying to revive."
Nightwing smirked. "I thought you were the perfect husband?"
"There's only so many times I want to hear about the difference between a lost Roman dialect and an obsolete Greek one."
"She kills you, doesn't she?"
"It's so boring. But I know how to fake it. I just nod and squint my eyes like I'm concentrating and say "uh huh" a lot. Sometimes I throw in a "really?" or "you don't say"."
Nightwing laughed. "I gotta admit, I'm lost a lot when Star talks. I don't care about shopping or fungus or their weekly movie or other celebrities. I just pay attention when it's about Chris or our relationship. Usually that means I've messed up and she's comparing me to that Sam tool."
"I might not pay attention to what Rae's saying but I like the way she says it. The sparkle in her eye, the curve of her mouth and the warmth to her voice."
"Oh yeah, it sounds like magic. All I hear is blah, blah, blah but it's the best blah ever."
Changeling frowned. "Do you think they ignore us?"
Nightwing blinked.
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"What could they be talking about? We're in the middle of a game." Bruce fussed.
Clark sighed. "Why are you even watching them? The game is on the ice."
"I know he's talking about me. That kid doesn't appreciate all the things I've done for him."
"Like scarring him for life."
It was said so seriously, Bruce almost agreed. He narrowed his eyes. "He was already scarred. He watched his parents die."
"Because taking him to counseling and getting him help wouldn't have helped with that."
A muscle in Bruce's jaw ticked. "He could have asked."
"Because every ten year old should have to ask for help when they've been through a traumatic experience."
"Whose side are you on?"
Clark sighed. "There shouldn't even be sides. He's your son. Bond with him. Like I'm trying to do with mine but I'm sitting with you, listening to you complain."
"You're always saying that we're friends."
"We're only friends when it suits you."
Bruce glared at him. "I'm pretty unsuited right now."
"If I pay attention to you for three minutes, will you let me watch the game in peace?"
"Five minutes."
"Four."
"Deal." They shook on it. "I would have done it for two."
Clark growled.
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"Did you watch any of the game?" Cyborg asked.
Changeling huffed. "Why do you ask?"
"I was on the other side of Nightwing."
Changeling snickered. "I watched a lot more after he calmed down."
"Bruce really has him for a loop." The two were walking out of the arena with the rest of the guys.
"So much. He thinks Bruce was looking at him the whole game."
"He was."
Changeling facepalmed. "Don't tell him."
Cyborg laughed. "Never." He turned to face the group once they were in the parking lot. "Let's eat! I'm starving!"
"I know a great buffet." Alan said.
"Yes!" Barry and Kid Flash moaned.
"No seafood, right?" Arthur wanted to know.
"How about you just don't get any?" Alan suggested.
"Why do we always have to go to a place where they serve our friends?!"
"Why won't you admit lobster is delicious?" Oliver shot back.
"Guys!" Barry got between them. "Just chill out."
"It doesn't matter where we go. We just need to find a place to eat before we eat each other." Clark rubbed his stomach.
"Did anyone remember that I don't eat meat?" Changeling lifted a hand.
"I don't get why." Speedy sulked. "It's delicious."
Changeling rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't get it. You eat anything."
"I actually like food."
"You like murder." Aqualad bit off.
"First thing I'm going to eat is shrimp…"
Aqualad glared.
"Just calm down." Kid Flash moved his hands in a placating manner. "Where can we eat where everyone can eat?"
"The buffet." Alan said. "It has meat, it has veggies, it has seafood and it has dessert. It even has drinks."
Oliver pursed his lips as his face said he totally approved. "I could go for that."
"That leaves us out." Speedy sulked. "We're only twenty."
"Some of us are younger." Tim sulked as well.
"You're fifteen. Why do you want to drink?" Clark looked at him.
"He lives with him." Nightwing hooked a thumb at Bruce.
Oliver and Barry laughed, Alan and Arthur smirked and Clark pointed and laughed.
"Living with Bruce is enough to drive anyone to drink." Jason added.
Bruce wasn't amused in the least and stalked off to the limo they'd arrived in.
"Don't be like that, Wayne!" Clark called out.
Bruce continued stomping.
"I'll give you the directions to the restaurant." Alan told Cyborg and Jason. Both nodded.
"We should go before he leaves us here." Clark said.
"Would he really do that?" Changeling looked back at him.
Alan, Arthur, Barry, Clark and Oliver looked at each other before nodding. "Yes."
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"I can't believe the home team squeaked by for that win. I thought they were done for." Kid Flash was saying.
"Me too. That captain refused to go down though." Barry agreed.
"With all the time he spent in the penalty box, I'm surprised he saw enough ice time to make that last shot." Changeling stabbed at his strawberry walnut salad.
"He did try to rearrange that forward's face, didn't he?" Clark grinned.
The others chuckled.
Nightwing had had enough. He set his glass down hard and glared at Bruce. "Stop scowling at me! What is your problem?!"
"Uh oh." Kid Flash pushed his mashed potatoes around his plate nervously.
"Where do you get off-?" Bruce started.
"Uh oh!" Barry started looking around for anyone who might be listening in.
"Telling Selina not to trust me!" Bruce finished.
"She told you?" Nightwing was surprised.
"Yes! She confronted me! She knows! She says she's been trailing me for months!"
"Good for her." Nightwing nodded once.
Bruce nearly had steam coming from his ears. "Good for her?! She might tell the whole world! How can I trust her?!"
"Should have thought of that before you defiled her."
"You're going to fix this." Bruce glared hotly.
"And why would I do that?"
Bruce was silent for a moment. "I'll pay for your entire wedding."
Nightwing's brows lifted. "What?"
"Your little alien girlfriend can buy whatever dress her heart desires and you can bathe her in jewels." Bruce enticed.
"I'm not selling my soul to you!" Nightwing was disgusted.
"Think about it. Whatever she wants, she gets."
"I'm not going to do your dirty work. You should have been upfront with Selina from the moment you met. I only opened her eyes."
"And you're going to close them. You have before the month ends."
It was really quiet before Clark drummed his fingers against the table. "So Lois is pregnant."
It was like a thunderclap went off.
"What?!" The others shouted.
"Yeah." Clark nodded. "She told me a couple months ago. She said she was scared to tell me so she waited a while. Apparently she's due at the end of summer."
"When were you going to tell us?" Oliver demanded.
"I had to think it over. I've never done diapers before. This is all new to me. I like having grown children. I don't know how I'm going to deal with a baby."
"Aren't you at least excited?" Changeling asked. "You and Kara won't be the only ones with your DNA."
Clark inclined his head. "You're right."
"You'll get to teach the new baby stuff. I taught Bas how to scratch up the furniture."
"Don't be proud of that." Arthur said just as Nightwing gasped. "That's you?!"
Changeling grinned. "Technically it's Bas."
"The stuffing's coming out of the couch! I've been blaming Dean!"
"His claws are coming in and he's going to have the urge to scratch."
"Then get him a scratching post; don't have him ruin the furniture!"
"Where's the fun in that?"
Nightwing gave him a dark look.
Changeling grinned. "My point stands. Having new kids is awesome."
Clark shrugged. "Don't tell Kori. I want to tell her myself."
"She's going to be excited." Nightwing huffed, still peeved with his verdant team member.
Clark smiled. "Now you just have to have more kids."
Nightwing almost died…