EXTRA

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Richard Grayson felt sweat building on his forehead; trembling hands; scratching throat...

— I haven't seen Wally in a long time! — commented and smiled broadly.

— A pity that you will not meet him today. — Selina murmured and put the cell phone in the bag.

The boy took advantage of being on a clean track to put the car on the shoulder. He took two or three deep breaths until he managed to look at her smiling once more and comment, in a slightly high-pitched voice:

— what are you talking about!?

— I heard you marking with your alien girlfriend... — She sighed and stared at the boy — In fact I wouldn't even have heard anything, just think about it: you would invite your friend over to the mansion, you wouldn't offer a ride if you didn't want to be sure that I would be far...

— I know this may seem wrong, but...!

— It's insane! — Selina interrupted him — I am grateful to Rachel for saving me from that horrible death, but she saw more than she should... Dick, leave her out of it. Damian is already remembering recent things, soon he will be back to normal.

— What if he doesn't come back!? — The boy rested his face on the steering wheel. He was brooding over anger at being careless, but even more so because Selina posed a huge threat to his plans. He was also afraid he would never have the Damian I loved back.

The older one took off her seat belt, moved a little closer to him and started to run a hand over his back in an attempt to calm him down. There was no other intention there, something relatively new for her: to act with no future interest.

— He will come back — whispered.

— Not! You do not understand! — Dick cringed even more trying to contain the start of a cry — The longer it takes to help him, the worse it will be! He's starting to think that memories are just dreams, he won't accept the truth afterwards! He won't want to be a Robin because he will be scared! — Both were silent for almost a minute, until the boy was bothered by the lack of disagreement: — Won't you try to convince me that I'm wrong? — He stared at the "stepmother" and was surprised when he noticed that she was smiling - maybe even arresting laughter — You can only be insane...

— Insane!? — She ended up losing control and laughing — Yeah, maybe I was like that after so many... incidents. But try to convince me, I am not your father, I will let you argue before I prove it is a bad idea.

The boy ran his hands over his face, then took a deep breath. As much as he tried to hide how frustrated he was, the voice already denounced:

— It won't be the first time she will cure him...

— But it is the first time after that accident. We still don't know what happened there... we can only imagine how bad it was.

Richard looked away.

Tears were already welling up just for remembering Damian that day: wounds, open fractures... his leg just hanging from his skin. Not to mention the face in a frozen panic with part of the skull broken and torn. Worst of all was to know that Damian was still alive, suffering from that excruciating pain.

— He will remember sooner or later!

— In this case: the later, the better.

— Do you want him to remain afraid?

— I just want to protect my son... — Selina took a deep breath and looked out the window — Have you tried to imagine yourself in another life?

— ... As well?

— Simply another life. Start from scratch, without remembering anything or anyone that holds you... maybe you could become a commissioner, a governor... a taxi driver of those very grouchy people who make funny jokes — Smiled — You would have the his normal life, his normal friends, a girlfriend... — He ended up having a laugh — ... or several!

— And Batman? And my life? And all!?

— You wouldn't miss it.

— Of course I would feel, it's my life!

— You wouldn't know about her.

Richard ground his teeth and struggled on the bench, causing his traveling companion to move away from him. He wanted - perhaps for the first time in his life - to strangle someone: Selina Kyle. Her arguments were valid, polite, grounded... but they didn't carry the emotional factor: she didn't miss Damian as much as he did.

— Your brother is very scared now, Dick — Sighed — Try to understand how terrifying it will be for him to know that the nightmares are real. — She looked at the front window and continued: — Besides, we don't know if the epileptic crises have passed, any stress can make them come back...

— Rachel can cure him of that too — The boy murmured surly, straightening up in the seat again.

— What if she can't? — Selina stared at him — What if it doesn't work? What if you only hurt your brother instead of helping him?

— What do you mean!? — Dick screamed and faced the "stepmother" — What do you know that I don't know!?

— I know the risks! — She looked at him — You think your friend will be able to cure him, but she is forgetting the consequences! Of her chances of failing! What can happen if she doesn't succeed!

He crossed his arms and lowered his head.

He was feeling so angry... so afraid.

Accepting that perhaps there was nothing he could do to advance Damian's return, besides waiting, was painful.

He wanted Damian back, no matter what.

Cost anything but the little Damian who was still alive.

— Maybe he was always afraid of being a Robin... — Selina said quietly, opening the car door — For a moment I thought you understood that, when you told me about the apartment. But now I understand that it was just a way to make your brother more accessible to that girl...

— It doesn't have to be her, the Mars Hunter could also...!

There are always risks, Richard. — interrupted him — This is what your father and I want you to understand.

Dick even opened his mouth to try to argue, but failed. There are no arguments against the truth and Selina Kyle, unfortunately, used the most painful truths when she wanted to be heard.

She, feeling that she had done her duty, got out of the car and got into another one parked ahead. The vehicle seemed to have appeared there like magic, but it was only the heat of the discussion that kept it from being noticed - Lois arrived on time, as usual.

The boy stayed behind, alone in the car - defeated and frustrated.

There was now some action to be taken against their own plans: there would always be risks, and however small they were, they nevertheless meant a threat to Damian. He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed the order of numbers he had been typing the most in the past few days.

— Kori, it's me... — He ran a hand over his face — I'm fine, it's just your impression. I... I called because I need to talk to you. I... — Sighed — I changed my mind about the plan.

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NOTE

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I had already said, in the final note of Brothers (ch. 6), that Dick Grayson lost his memory and that, according to Batman, if he wants to start again without any link with the past, about being a Robin, maybe it is the better for him - in fact, he wished a good start.

He ended up losing his memory because he was shot in the head. Normally, when the brain is affected, the victim's personality changes, even if minimally. From a sensible, companion and amusing boy, Dick became an inconsequential, troublemaker, who joins the "less indicated" people on purpose, because he wants confusion and always wants to show that he doesn't care about the problems of others (he doesn't care about Barbara's pleas for him to come back or not be so "extreme", much less Bludhaven's problems...)

Despite becoming a more problematic version of Jason Todd, the sense of fairness and unfairness remains in place as he broke into a house to have a place to sleep, but repaid the property owners.

He also suffers from blackouts, which make him lose track of time and forget about where he was... it probably only worsens with the stress of being a taxi driver in Bludhaven (he was warned about the danger, but he wanted to confusion).

Spoiller: at the end of chapter 50 of Nightwing, he sets fire to a base of operations that had as a final act to forget the past. However, a team of policemen finds the place and, accepting that Bludhaven needed a hero, they decide to put on their costumes and go out against the crime. The Nightwing team catches Dick's attention due to their complete lack of preparation and forces him to help. I believe it will be a forced return!

Note to Note: Dick Grayson, without the memories, feels like a ghost. He wants so much to leave his old version "dead" that he doesn't even care about the name he is called by (everyone at the bar calls him in a different way - and as a driver, he is Burl).