The Emotions of Dick Grayson
Batman
Exposed to a new type of fear toxin and Dick's personality is split, each one a different emotion and the Batfamily has to deal with them until Dick can be cured.
After Dick's time as Batman and Bruce is back as Batman.
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, Young Justice, Teen Titans, Justice League, etc.
The Emotions of Dick Grayson
"There you go little D! I know how much you love Aflie's cookies even if you don't say it!" Dick Grayson patted Damian on the head after giving the youngest bat a cookie with a beaming smile on his face.
"…" Damian nibbled on the cookie giving Dick a steady look as the older man moved around the bat-cave gracefully with a huge smile on his lips.
"Father, what has happened to Grayson? He was always... Happy, but this is a new level even for him." Damian questioned his father who was sitting at the chair by the bat-computer working on something.
"A new fear toxin was sprayed in his face, it seems to give him split personalities and right now it seems we have the personality of happiness." Bruce explained glancing at his oldest son who was spinning in a slow circle, head craned backwards to stare at the cave ceiling with a look of wonder in his eyes.
"How long do you think he will stay in this personality and how many other personalities do we have to deal with?" Damian asked crossing his arms trying his hardest not to sound worried for Dick. Deep down Damian still only considered himself Grayson's only partner and vice versa. Dick was his Batman even with Father back and Grayson being back as Nightwing.
"Hard to say, Red Robin and Red Hood should be back soon with the rest of the vials and we can formulate a cure from them. Until then we have to make sure he stayed calm and relaxed." Bruce explained looking at two blinking dots that were Red Robin and Red Hood's GPS's. Jason (thanks to Dick) had teamed up with them for this after he saw the effects this toxin had on children, kids were always a sore point for him.
"Don't worry about me little D! As long as you are here I know I'll be fine!" Dick said beaming at the Robin cheerfully and Damian forced down the warm feeling he got from those words.
"Of course you will be." Damian scoffed, crossing his arms and Dick just smiled knowingly as he kept spinning in a slow circle.
"Why do you look so happy?" Damian pressed as he glanced upwards to see what Dick was looking at, but seeing nothing in the darkness that clung to the rock formations.
"Silly baby bat, I look happy because I'm Happiness!" Happiness said in a cheery tone, Damian exchanged looks with Bruce before back to Happiness who was spinning still.
"We're back and we got all the vials of the toxin." Tim reported as he and Jason entered the cave, both pulling off their respective masks/helmets.
"Give one here." Dick stopped spinning and strode towards the two with a focused look on his face.
"Uh no offence Dick, but you aren't exactly known for working out cures…" Tim said slowly, but Dick snatched one of the vials nonetheless.
"No offence Tim, but I am Knowledge and just because I do not often show my brain power does not mean I'm stupid or goofy by any measure. Now go play with your brother's I have work to do." Dick said sternly as he put the contents of the vial onto his workstation and became a flurry of movement while Tim stared at him in shock.
"He was 'Happiness' before you two showed up." Damian informed the two annoyed that the happy go lucky version of Dick was gone now.
"I didn't know that he was this smart." Jason commented after peaking at the work Knowledge was doing before he was shooed away and Bruce snorted lightly.
"Of course he is smart, he is classified as a genius when he was tested when I adopted him, when he was 8. He just likes to hide behind a mask so other's don't feel put off by his mind." Bruce commented and Knowledge snorted.
"I showed myself once at school and I was almost put into a coma by some bullies. I learned quickly to hide myself." Knowledge explained as he worked. "There, the base of the cure is finished, but I'm going to have to let you all handle the rest."
"Why?" Tim asked, finally out of his shock at the news Knowledge gave them.
"Because Confidence is butting his way out, do not question him if he gives you an order." Knowledge suddenly doubled over, body shaking.
Nightwing stopped shaking and straightened up, pushing his hair off his forehead and held his head high as he surveyed the cave.
"I'm sure Knowledge gave you some warning about me, I'm Confidence, Courage and Pride. In other words I'm the leader." Confidence stated eyeing each member of the crime fighting family before him.
"The leader?" Jason scoffed and Confidence narrowed his eyes before walking over to Jason, somehow looming over him even though he was smaller than the other man.
"Yes I am the leader Jason. The moment Bruce fired me and I made my way to Jump City I was born. Not because I wanted to be, but when the Titans formed, Young Justice started to fall apart, Bruce 'died' and the League crumbled I was forced to be the leader, the Batman and so no snot nosed little anti-hero can stop me. Do you understand me?" Confidence asked in a light tone, but the words had a dark undertone and Jason jerked his head once before Confidence backed off and leaned against the workstation Knowledge had been scurrying around by previous.
"Now I hate to step on toes, but are you two just going to keep staring at me or are you going to work on that cure?" Confidence asked eyeing Bruce and Tim who quickly looked away and went to work off the base Knowledge left for them.
"Grayson, you are acting like you did when you were Batman." Damian commented and Confidence quirked a small smirk.
"I will always be Batman, just like you're always my Robin." Confidence assured the smallest Wayne, ruffling his hair.
"You were a… Decent partner." Damian grumbled out letting Confidence ruffle his wind blown hair. Confidence just nodded his head knowing this was the way Damian had of saying he missed him as his partner.
Confidence suddenly grunted and grabbed onto the edge of the table.
"Dick?" Jason stepped forward, Bruce and Tim's heads snapped up to look at the shaking hero.
"Damn I tried so hard to keep him back… Damn, well the next version of me you get to meet is a combination of fear, despair, guilt and self-loathing. Good luck with Guilt." Confidence shot them a weak grin as the group exchanged looks, those emotions did not sound good.
Guilt looked up at the group from under his messy ebony bangs before he let out a small whimper and curled his fingers into a fist.
"…Dick?" Tim asked softly.
"NO! D-Don't talk to me! How can any of you even stand to be around me?" Guilt asked before he stumbled over to the display cases that housed the uniforms and sank to the ground in front of them.
All the teen's turned their heads to look at Bruce having no clue how to deal with Dick like this, they had never seen him like this before. The Bat rose out of his seat and strode over to where Guilt was looking at the uniforms.
"Chum, we love you of course we want to be around you." Bruce said sitting next to his eldest while the other three hung back not used to seeing Dick like this and all these personalities were giving them whip lash.
"How can anyone love me when I despise myself?" Guilt questioned, eyes trained on the uniforms before him.
"…Why do you despise yourself?" Bruce asked regaining his train of thought after the words his eldest said, having not expecting that in a million years.
"It's obvious isn't it? You hated me so much for getting hurt, for making you weak, that is why you fired me as Robin isn't it? That was why we didn't talk for a year or two while I was off making a name for myself as Nightwing and with the Titans. I wasn't around to be a big brother to Jason and because of that the Joker killed him because I wasn't there to stop him! Then he came back as someone who hates me with everything he has and he has every right too, but there nothing I can do that will make that change! I tried to be around for Tim, but he never needed me and then you died Bruce! I had no choice, but become the very thing I swore after the Failsafe simulation with Young Justice that I would never become! I became Batman and gave Robin to Damian, because of that Tim hated me more, but I knew he was ready to become his own person. He had the same look in his eyes as I did when I became Nightwing, but he just didn't understand that and he hates me more than he did when he was Robin! I know I got my parents killed, Babs got shot and is in a wheelchair for the rest of her life because I wasn't there and I know I'm messed up and damnit!" Guilt ranted and he suddenly curled up on himself and bit back a sob.
"I just hate myself so much I don't know what to do about it anymore!" He gripped his hair tightly and silence rang over the cave as the others stared at Guilt with wide eyes.
"I had no clue, I was cruel to him…" Tim muttered as he turned his eyes downwards.
"Damnit, no wonder he always looked so sad whenever we fought." Jason ran his hand through his hair angrily.
"…How much did he sacrifice to take up the cowl to give me a partner?" Damian asked confused looking at the other two.
"I had no idea he never even wanted to be Batman." Tim admitted quietly before he turned around to keep working on the cure.
"Shit." Jason walked over to the closet punching bag and started to pound his fists against it, while Damian looked at Dick with new light in his eyes.
"Oh Dickie, I had no idea. I'm so sorry, please let me help you." Bruce said before Guilt shuddered before he turned up to see Bruce sitting next to him.
"Dad?" Love questioned softly and Bruce nodded slowly unsure, as Dick hadn't called him that since he was little.
"DAD!" Dick called out happily, he wrapped his arms around Bruce as he maneuvered himself onto Bruce's lap still hugging him tightly.
"Dick?" Bruce asked hugging his son back getting flashes of their cuddles when Dick was younger.
"Sorry if Guilt freaked you out! He tends to rant depressed, anyway! I'm Love, Closeness and well Possessiveness. I love you so much Dad, sorry I haven't told you that lately!" Love explained nuzzling Bruce's chest happily.
"I love you too Chum, no matter what please never forgot that." Bruce dropped a kiss onto Dick's forehead and got a blinding smile in return before Dick wiggled a bit and launched himself at Tim who was working on the cure.
"Timmy! I love you little bro! However you're just so serious about everything you need to laugh more!" Love announced as he pulled Tim into a tight hug attack, Tim waved his arms a bit out of surprise before Guilt's words came back to him and he wrapped his arms tightly around Love and buried his face in Love's chest while Love gently petted his short hair.
"I love you too big brother." Tim muttered and he was rewarded with a kiss on the head before Dick released him and Tim returned to his work on the cure. Love prowled over to the training area and when Jason turned around Love pounced and dragged Jason down to the ground in an attack hug. Jason swore colorfully before he let Love nuzzle and cuddle him.
"I love you no matter what you do Jaybird, if you ever need help all you have to do is ask." Love said seriously as he hugged Red Hood.
"…Er Thanks… Yeah I love you too Dickie, but your crushing me." Jason whispered out and after one final squeeze Love rolled off of Jason and rushed towards Damian who had the good sense to back up with his hands held up in defense.
"Do not even attempt it Grayson." Damian warned, but Love didn't pay attention and swept Damian into a hug and buried his face in Damian's surprisingly soft hair and sighed happily.
"I really do love you little D, sometimes the lines between brother and son blurred, but no matter what I won't let anyone ever hurt you. Even if that means stealing you away from Bruce and disappearing from everyone even both Leagues." Love promised in a low voice only Damian could hear, his voice laced with possessiveness.
Damian blinked in shock at the words, but he felt the same warmth he felt from Happiness build up in his chest and he found himself wrapping his small arms around Love's waist, hugging him back just as possessively, blinking rapidly to stop the moistness in his tear ducts.
Love suddenly extracted himself from Damian's rare hug and jumped back with wide eyes, hand clutching his forehead.
"Grayson!" Damian took a step forward.
"NO" Love cried out panicked.
"Stay back, all of you have to stay away from me! He's breaking out! You can't let him hurt you, he has no remorse, please leave and lock down the cave!" Love pleaded.
"Who has no remorse? What is going on Dick?" Bruce jumped to Damian's side. Love shuddered and doubled over.
Dick straightened up and threw his head back before he let out a round of laughter sounding creepily like the Joker's making Jason and Tim shiver. Dick let his head drop down and he eyed the others from under his messy bangs as the rest of the crime fighters gathered together in defensive stances as they eyed him unnerved by the insane laughter and Love's fear.
"Ah, I see you were warned about me, but you didn't take the advice." Dick tsk'ed. "Bad move, I guess I should introduce myself, after all it's rude not to know the name of the person who is going to murder you after all."
The room dropped in temperature when Dick said those words, so simply like he was talking about the weather and the group brought out their weapons, just in case they had to render him unconscious until the cure was ready, it should be soon as it was being created as they faced off against the newest version of Dick.
"I'm known as Insanity, but I like the name I was given by Deathstroke… Renegade." Renegade smirked at the taken aback look that Deathstroke and Renegade's names got from Bruce.
"Oh I can tell this is going to so much fun!" Renegade chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. "I'm never allowed to come out as much as I used to, I'm always being suppressed, something about not wanting to go down that path again."
"I'll fill you in on a little secret though." Renegade leaned towards Bruce with a smirk on his lips.
"I've killed before Brucie, with my bare hands and with my guns." Renegade said with a crazy glint in his eyes. "I came so damn close to killing the Joker so many times, but the pathetic, heroic, Nightwing side of myself was always reminded that he wasn't a killer anymore and pushed me back. Not anymore. I'm out and I'm going to have some fun."
"Stop this Dick." Bruce stepped forward and a glint of steel was seen and Bruce jumped back with a small cut on his cheekbone as Renegade tilted his head to the side, holding a small blade up to his lips and his tongue darted out to lick at the red blood staining the blade.
"Why should I?" Renegade asked as he lapped the blood up. "I haven't had this much fun in a while, now let's play a game little birdies. Hide and seek, loser's… Dies." Renegade cackled darkly and leaped away, hiding in the shadows as the four formed a protective circle to see all angles.
"Awe, no one is hiding, that's no fun." Renegade called out, voice bouncing off the walls.
"Stop this, you're not like this Dick!" Jason called out, eyeing the dark shadows.
"Ah, but that's where you are wrong Jaybird." Renegade called out mockingly. "I've always jumped back and forth between hero and villain."
"…How were you created?" Tim spoke up and he got looks from the other bats by his sides. "What? Dick wasn't born this insane, something must have happened to make him create this personality."
"Little Timmy is right, such a smart boy." Renegade cooed. "Ah the good ole days of being blackmailed into an apprenticeship by Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke. See he could kill the Titans with a press of a button, so I trained by his side and stole for him. When I disobeyed him and talked to the Titans during my robbery from one of the Wayne buildings I was… Punished. I was beaten and broke and locked in a dark, windowless room for days on end. In the end to keep Dick sane, he created me! I only grew when he grew older and Slade got to him again it was just as bad and I came back and grew more powerful. However when he was saved I was pushed back. I almost got loose during his time as the Bat, but that would put the baby bat in trouble and none of us want that." Insanity explained as he twirled his bloodied knife around his knuckles looking bored going down memory lane.
"Grayson." Damian swallowed eyes wide as what Insanity said sunk in, that every part of Grayson didn't want him to get harmed.
"Oh Dick." Bruce felt like his heart was being torn out of his chest, as he understood what Dick was saying.
"Damn and here I thought I was messed up." Jason muttered to Tim who was silent, as his mind tried to process what Dick had just dumped on them.
"Now enough talk. Let's have some fun!" Insanity beamed as he crouched down ready to attack before he grunted as he fell forward. He sprawled out on the floor, bangs covering his now closed eyes.
"I was only gone for half an hour sirs." Alfred tucked the used syringe into the pocket on his waistcoat, his left hand still holding a tray of cookies.
"You're a life savor Alfred!" Bruce sagged in relief as he strode over to where his eldest was lying unconscious. He knelt down, gathering Dick in his arms. With a grunt of effort Bruce stood up with the dead weight of his son in his arms, he made his way over to the medical bed before gently lying him down.
Bruce absently brushed Dick's hair out of his face and sighed silently at the peaceful look of Dick's face under the sedative Alfred injected him with, right in the knick of time too.
"Please tell me the cure is ready." Bruce turned to look at his other son's.
"It should be, let me check." Tim rushed over to the set up where the cure was being concocted. Jason huffed as he stalked over to the punching bag and started to pummel it while Damian slunk over to where Dick was resting.
"He'll be back to his normal self in no time." Bruce put his hand on Damian's shoulder hesitantly seeing the hidden distressed look his youngest had on his face.
"I know Father." Damian agreed as he just as hesitantly put Dick's hand between his own smaller ones.
"Bruce, it's ready." Tim called and Bruce squeezed Damian's shoulder before heading over to double check the cure.
Damian pursed his lips as he thought over his father's words; his father didn't seem to understand what was obvious to Damian. There was no 'normal' for Dick, what they just experienced was Dick all rolled into one. He was just better at keeping his mask intact but Damian knew and he could now see him much clearer than before. Damian would watch his Batman's back, no matter what the cost was just like he knew what Dick would do for him a thousand times over.