Chapter 3: Strange Connections

Dick Grayson P.O.V.

I had expected to find a sub, a new teacher, or no one at all when I got to school early the day after the attack. The light on in the classroom had my last guess eliminated, but it was yet to be seen who was in there. I slowly opened the door and observed the classroom. The part of the wall that Shadow Carnage had torn down had a temporary fix made out of wood and some nails. I guessed that it would be repaired by night or over the weekend. Other than that major deformity, there was nothing else that was different in the classroom, at least that was the case with the inanimate objects. The desks were back in their rows and the blood had been clean off the floor and the wall. As the for the animate objects, one was familiar and surprising while the other was slightly less familiar and not as surprising with the other person being in their present state. The familiar person, of course, was none other than Mrs. Parker herself. Her right arm was bandaged and in a sling, as well as her her left leg, the leg Shadow Carnage had scratched, which was visible due to her skirt that reached just below her knees. I also had enough to assume that her sides were bandaged as well due to the fact that her torso appeared a bit bulgy all around. The other person was one I'd only seen three times, once at Bruce's company building, a second time when he and Mrs. Parker had been invited to dine with us, and then yesterday, just after the attack when he was frantically searching for his love. Dr. Parker was currently righting our Warm Up on the blackboard while arguing with his wife sat behind her desk.

"I told you that I would do first period's Warm Up. No one would see me do it." She snapped.

"I'd let you if you could, and if not only your doctor, but Xavier and Hank, had said you could do it without further pain or injury." Peter replied calmly to his wife. "I know you heal faster than most people, Rosie, but not that fast."

I suddenly got an idea poking around in my noggin. What if Mrs. Parker was the mutant that was giving her cells to Dr. Parker? That would explain her faster than normal healing abilities, it was scientifically proven that every mutant healed faster than an ordinary human. The rate of healing dealt with the mutant though. Some healed serious wounds in a few days, if not a few hours, while others had a recovery time that was half the time of a normal humans. That would also explain her unnatural speed and strength she presented yesterday. I questioned the conclusion that Mrs. Parker could be a mutant, but I didn't entirely dispel the idea.

"I can move my arm just fine. Watch." And like a stubborn little kid she tried to demonstrate that she could. She slowly and shakily started to move her arm out of the sling. It was a few inches out when she let out a gasp of pain as well as a small whimper and her arm fell back into the sling and she clutched it gingerly.

"I told you." Peter commented, not turning his head or offering his wife any comfort. I thought that was harsh, but the way that they both held themselves, I could only guess that this situation had happened before, and more than once.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Parker?" I asked, finally making my presence in the doorway known.

Both her and Dr. Parker snapped their heads my direction. "Hello, Dick." Mrs. Parker said slowly. "I'm fine. I guess I just want myself to recover faster than I can. How much did you hear?"

"Not much. Do you guys really know the Charles Xavier?"

"Yeah, we do. I once dated his daughter, Stephanie Xavier, when I thought Rosie was dead for the second time. Rosie's met the guy a couple of times due to her interest in genetics and the fact that she's been confused with one of his students." Peter said as he turned back to his work.

I know what you're thinking, no one knows that Xavier teaches a school for mutants, right? Wrong. The school was found out a few years ago because one of the students had brought someone he believed to be a trustworthy friend to the mansion and the next day the information was out and Xavier was forced to admit that he was not only housing mutants, but teaching them to control their powers as well.

"You mean that Hazardous Dreamer was a student of his? I thought she was only just an honorary X-Men." I commented. Rosie flinched slightly at the first sentence and Peter tensed as if he realized he had just said something he shouldn't.

"Yeah..." Peter replied.

Just then the bell rang. I took my seat and as my fellow classmates started to arrive. Mrs. Parker explained that Dr. Parker would be helping with class today and that tomorrow she would select a student to help her until her arm healed.

Kid Flash P.O.V.

We waited around for our newer mentors to show up, or at least, one of them. Spider-man had shown up last night without Dreamer, his excuse being that she couldn't come. It caused us some worry and concern at first, but Spider-man assured us that she was alive, just unable to show. We figured of she wasn't able to show last night, she wouldn't show for a a day or two more, unless she was only sick was one of those twenty-four hour bugs.

"Access granted. Spider-man C27 and Hazardous Dreamer C28." The zeta-tubes announced. We all looked towards the two as they walked into the training area. Well, one walked... the other limped.

"Good afternoon, Young Justice team. As you can see, only one of us is fit enough to train with you guys, so Dreamer just going to supervise this time around." Spider-man announced.

"I'm going to help in every way I can though. Since one of the exercises we'll be doing today involves aiding and defending an injured teammate, I'll be playing the role the injured teammate." Dreamer added as she tried to stand as straight as she could without applying a lot of weight on her left leg.

Hmmm... Her injuries were a lot like my teacher's. Her right arm was in a sling, and it was obvious from the strange way that her costume stretched over her body that she had bandages around her torso and left leg. Could they be one and the same? Naaaa. Years ago there had been the same mix up but that turned out to be a ruse by one of their foes.

But then I looked over to Robin and I saw that expression on his face. It was his "I just found another clue" face, and it was being directed at our instructors. My idea then became more of a suspicion. If Robin thinks something could be true, there is quite a chance that it is.

"What happened to you?" I asked reflexively. Everyone gave me the "shut up, Wally" glare.

"A couple of thugs got lucky last night when I was out on my own. Spidey found me before I bled to death, but after I defeated those crooks." Dreamer explained.

"Then how come it wasn't mentioned on the news or newspaper? Someone would've noticed a pool of blood and knocked out thugs." Robin brought up, suspicion in his tone.

Dreamer narrowed her royal blue eyes, the eyes that looked so much like my teacher's. Her golden ponytail swayed a bit as she shifted her weight. Her hair was also a lot like my teacher's. Her blood red lips also looked like my teachers, but her lips were naturally that way while my teacher probably used lipstick. The only difference that kept me from total belief was her pale appearance. My teacher had a Californian tan. There was no way that you could have a Californian tan at one time and have a white sheet of paper colored skin the next.

"I don't know." Dreamer replied. "Maybe they just haven't found the blood with the tied up criminals yet or some crook that didn't want any evidence of to be seen got it all cleaned up. Who knows for sure?"

Spider-man clapped his hands together and announced, "Okay, how about we start that training session."

Hazardous Dreamer P.O.V.

I was finally fully healed and back in action. Spidey and I had just finished a wonderful and fulfilling training session with the kids and I knew that I would see four very sore kids in class in the next morning. Right now I'm currently in the middle of a rooftop run with my beloved Spider-man.

Spidey and I were running across the rooftops of some apartment complexes in a wealthier part of town when we heard the sound of tires screeching, glass and metal breaking, and a chilling laughter that followed the sounds of chaos and destruction. We stopped in our tracks the moment we heard the laugh and shivered at the sound that was so much like the evil cackle of our ex-foe, The Green Goblin. We quickly resumed our race towards a building that was a few streets down due to a scream that echoed throughout the city.

When we arrived at the scene there was a van that had plowed through the glass windows and remained in the window frame, a couple of overweight goons with drama masks, and a clown looking man was dancing around the scene, watching greedily as his men carried the priceless jewelry from Dave's Jewelry Store to the back of their van.

"No Batsy in sight boys!" The Joker laughed, but then he frowned. "It's no fun to steel and harm innocent people when there is no one to make it a challenge." He pouted.

The Spider and I took that as our cue, and jumped at our foes from the rooftops. Spidey aimed a kick at the Joker as I leaped onto the shoulders of one of his overweight goons. The man struggled as he tried to pull me off but my hands held tight in his head and my knees had a firm grip on his shoulders. I quickly dispatched him with a quick punch to the back of his head. I jumped off the mountainous man and yelled, "Timber!", just as he crashed with a heavy thud to the ground.

I was about to pounce on the next goon when I heard my partner give a pain filled scream. I quickly turned around to see the Joker laughing as he stood over a sizzling, but still alive, Spider-man with his joy buzzer raised for another attack and to give another electrical shock. "Ha! You think that you second rate heroes can fill in the Bat's spot? Think again."

"Spidey!" I called. "Let's switch." He nodded and quickly slipped away from the Joker and dashed after the last goon as I made my way to the Joker.

I got a couple of punches in before the Joker realized what had happened and somehow he managed to avoid a punch. While I was left open after my punch he slammed his joy buzzer into my shoulder, laughing like a madman. "I told you, no one can replace the Batman!" He laughed.

He stopped in mid-laugh when he realized I wasn't twitching at the electric shock or or flinching at him slapping me. He saw the electricity flow into my body, but he saw no reaction. I gave a small laugh and said, "Thanks for falling into my trap. That feels good." Then I went to actually sock him in the face and I heard a satisfy crunch as his nose broke under my fist. He stumbled and fell back at the force of my blow. "You should do your homework, Joker. If you had, you would've known who we are and why what you just did was a very bad idea."

He stood back up and wiped the blood flowing from his nose. "Hmm, a spider themed costume, inhuman speed, strength, reflexes, agility, and I think a sixth sense. He must be Spider-man. As for you, your connection to Spider-man, your blond hair, royal eyes, super strength, speed, reflexes, agility, and ability to absorb energy and possibly redirect it makes you Hazardous Dreamer. I've heard about you two, I didn't ever think you'd come to Gotham though." He analyzed.

"You know, for a crazed psychopath,you sure can analyze a situation when you want to." I commented as I got into a fighting stance.

He cackled, "It comes from years of fighting Batman." He then swung at me and I dodged. Our fight went on like that for a while. He would try hitting me and most of the time I could dodge his attacks, and most of the time when I tried hitting him I would hit my mark but he'd get back up. At point Spider-man joined me and we fought side by side trying to get the lunatic to stay down. For some reason this felt a little to easy. The Joker had given Batman serious problems in the past and while Spider-man and I were good, we shouldn't be able to defeat this freak as easily as we were. He may have kept getting up, but each time was slower and slower than the last. That is, until we had beaten him close to his van. He quickly reached his hand inside and pulled out a gun. Spider-man quickly shot a web at the weapon a yanked from his hand, only to have the Joker reach once more into the van to pull out a rubber chicken. It was hard not to laugh.

"A rubber chicken?" Spidey laughed. "Oh man, that's rich. It's so funny I don't even have to do one of my corny jokes."

Then a little figure landed next to us and said, "I wouldn't laugh just yet, the Joker is full of surprises."

"About time, Robin." I commented. "I thought you weren't going to join the party."

"Yeah, I had a hard time letting getting my baby-sitter to leave me alone long enough to get here."

"You mean Alfred?" I whispered so quietly that I wasn't sure if he heard me. But the pale look on his face gave me the answer.

"How do you know?" He whispered.

"You see under this mask is a smart kid, err, adult." I said coining/paraphrasing what Spider-man had once told me. "I got a few clues and everything just fell into place. I know a lot kid."

"I don't suppose you'll-" He was interrupted by the sound of something being cocked.

Spider-man was frozen and could tell his spider-sense was firing on all cylinders. I looked back to the Joker, mentally hitting myself for taking my eyes off of him. The once limp rubber chicken was straight and stiff and I could sense an electric mechanism inside of it whirring to life. It took me a second to realize why spider-man wasn't reacting. The thing's handle wasn't it's legs, but it's neck and that meant that the two legs aimed at him and me were where the ammo came out of. He couldn't web the weapon and take it away with risking injury to at least one of the three of us.

"Spidey, take the chance."

"What?"

"Take the chance, I'll protect Robin if something goes wrong."

"But what about you?"

"I'm more likely to survive anything that comes out of that thing then either of you."

"Hey, don't I get a say in this?"

"Shut up, Robin." I snapped. "Take it." I growled as I spoke to the Spider again.

During this whole conversation the Joker had been smiling and gleefully pointing the weapon at us, sure that he had us pinned. "I told you that none of you could compare to Batsy. And because you didn't take that into account and still attacked me after I warned you, the Bird-boy goes down with you." He cackled. "I wonder how the Bat is going to react to that. Oo! I just made a Dr. Seuss type of rhyme."

Spider-man gave a small nod, one that only Robin and I would noticed. He quickly webbed the weapon and was about to yank it away when Robin threw a batarang that knocked the weapon out of the position that would hit us, but not before it fired. Two knives had come flying out of the thing, one grazing the top of Spider-man's left shoulder. The other one I had nearly avoided, I had bent over backwards as if doing the limbo, but the knife was still able to graze the right side of my face, cutting my mask in the process. I fell to my knees and clutched my face, trying to stop the bleeding. Head wounds were the worse because they bled a lot.

"I can finish the Joker." Robin yelled at Spider-man. "You take care of her and yourself."

I knew that my love had agreed to this plan of action when I felt him pull me to my feet and take me away from the fighting and sat me next to a wall of a nearby building. I spit out some blood that had run from my cut and into my mouth. Through my left eye I saw Spider-man mask shape into a look of concern. It was easier to read his facial expressions if you spent a lot of friendly one on one time with him wearing a mask.

"It's blood from the cut." I spluttered. He nodded and quickly took off my mask and started to clean it the best he could. "How is it?"

"The cut somehow manage to run from the top of your cheek to above your right eye. I don't think it cut your eye though, but it's hard to tell with blood running down into it."

"We can take her to the Bat Cave." Robin said, apparently having defeated the Joker."We have all necessary medical supplies there, and even sort of an in home doctor, though he never actually went into the field. Plus, you two have some talking to do." He said, glaring at me particularity.

We did go to the Bat Cave, Spidey and I did get patched up, I needed stitches and a bandage around the right side of my face while Peter only needed a bandage on his shoulder, and we were fixed up by each other, not Alfred, and we did not do any talking. We had to promise that we would eventually explain how Batman and Robin's identity had become known to us and how much more we knew.

Dick Grayson P.O.V.

I was still fuming over what happened last night when I was heading to class. Bruce had come home from his business trip shortly after Dreamer and the Spider had left last night. I had not been happy to tell Bruce the events that had happened before his arrival. Now the same question was plaguing both our minds. Even if they are who we think they are, how did they discover who we are?

I was once again the first one to class due to the fact I always came early, and I wasn't sure if I was surprised or not. Mrs. Parker sat on her desk as if waiting for me with a white linen bandaged wrapped diagonally around her head, covering most of the right side of her face.

"Now you know who I am."

Bruce Wayne P.O.V.

I waited for Peter to come to my office. I had called Peter up to give me a progress report about everything that had happened in the genetics division for the duration of the time I had been on my business trip, but that wasn't the reason. I had to find out of my suspicions were correct.

Peter walked calmly through the door and was about to start talking when I stood up and walked over to him, looking him up and down as a military leader would one of his men. He fidgeted a little, nervous under my analyzing gaze. I then smiled and said, "How about you give your report over a cup of coffee at Starbucks?" I placed my hand on his left shoulder as a friend would, but when my hand landed on his shoulder, I gave it a tight squeeze earning my a muffled groan and being shoved away. I had felt a bandage under his shirt. I felt my face turn from my Bruce Wayne face to Batman's stern face.

"So the Bird-boy ratted us out." He grumbled as he messaged his injured shoulder.

"Now I know where you got the mutant DNA samples from." I responded.