Summary: Takes place right after the last chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own DC

Sindella watched as Dick and Zee turned the corner, spotted her, and walked over. She clenched her fist at the sight of the Boy Wonder, but let it go. Why does HE have to be here?! "Zatanna, my daughter, I'm glad you decided to-"

"Okay, first thing's first, you don't get to call me that. You left me when I was a baby. You haven't been there for me, didn't even try to reach out to me. Now, I want an explanation, that's the only reason I came here." Sindella frowned a bit, and Dick grabbed Zee's hand from under the table, giving her a gentle squeeze to calm her down.

"I...I suppose that's fair." Sindella spent the next few minutes explaining where she had gone, altering a few facts here and there to stir up extra sympathy, and as her story went on, Zatanna's anger started to dull more and more. She was very quickly accepting Sindella into her life upon hearing the story, and Dick felt somewhat ashamed to say he didn't like it. Her story didn't convince him, he had been analyzing her facial and hand patterns and had determined she was hiding something big. He knew Zee was blind to this because she was her family, and given how little of that Zatanna had, it was only obvious Zee would be blinded to her lies. Sure, it was Dick's idea for Zee to reconnect with her mother, but that was only because he knew how important family was to her, and he didn't expect her to keep something from Zee. By the time Sindella was done, both herself and Zatanna were in tears. Dick was doing his best to support her, but he was very suspicious. He felt sympathy for both of them, of course, but he knew she was hiding something, and he wanted to know what it was. Zee's lost enough. She doesn't need you poisoning her with a lie.

"A-and I only m-met you because w-we bumped into each other a-at the nightclub. I-I barely m-managed to es-scape Klarion a-a few weeks ago, b-but I d-didn't know i-if you...if y-you wanted to s-see me." Zatanna gave her a teary smile before pulling her into a hug, and Dick placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to hide his thoughts. How did she just lose Klarion like that, he's a Lord of Chaos! If she spent the past 13 years being a "prisoner", why is she here now? Something's off, but what?

Sindella and Zatanna agreed to spend more time together later that night before departing, and Dick faked a smile for Zee. He didn't want to raise baseless suspicions and risk an argument with her, so he just went with the flow, doing his best to act happy for her. He truly hoped he was wrong, Zee had lost so much, she deserved a win, but he was a detective at heart, and his training wasn't something he could just turn off. I'm doing this for you, Zee, so please don't hate me for this next part. Dick had placed a micro-tracker on Sindella's arm before she left, and he was planning on figuring out just what she was up to. Just cuz you're my girlfriend's mother ad you cooked up some half-decent sob story doesn't mean you're clean. I'm gonna find whatever it is you're hiding from her, and I'm going to either make you come clean, or keep you away from her. She's been through enough, she deserves a real mother, not a lying, deadbeat one.

Robin followed her as she walked through the streets of Vegas, making sure to keep his distance and stay undetected. She eventually made a turn into an alley, and Dick's eyes widened as he saw her talking to Klarion. So much for just barely escaping him. Zee needs to see this. Dick used the camera feature in his mask to snap a photo of the two speaking, and he ran off to find his girlfriend.

Dick made his way back to the hotel to find that Zee had already left, likely to meet Sindella for another lunch date. He growled before using the tracker to locate Sindella and hurrying over, leaving his suit behind. Too suspicious to see Robin fight a random old blonde woman in Vegas around the same time that Dick Grayson showed up.

By the time Grayson made it to the café, Sindella was sitting there alone. Zee had gone to the bathroom, and she was patiently waiting. Dick glared at her before walking over, and she clenched her fist upon seeing the Boy Wonder. "Mr. Grayson, to what do I owe the...pleasure?"

"You can start by cutting the innocent, sweet mother act." Sindella cocked an eyebrow, and so Dick continued. "I saw you. With Klarion, who, according to you, kidnapped and enslaved you. You went to him earlier today by yourself. Why are you lying?"

"Little boy, stay out of my relationship with Zatanna. This is a family matter, and you are not family, no matter how hard you may try to be." That stung a bit, but Dick pushed it aside.

"And you are? You abandon her when she's a newborn, show up almost 14 years later, lie about where you've been, and secretly work with the guy who cost her her father." Sindella growled at him, but Dick was far from done. "Stay away from Zatanna. She's lost enough already, she doesn't need you poisoning her with your lies. I'm only gonna tell you this once." Sindella scoffed.

"And what would you do if I refused?"

"I'll tell her what you've been up to with Klarion."

"No you won't, my dear." Excuse me? "If you tell my daughter any of this, she will loathe you. You know how much she craves family. She will see you, someone she trusts, trying to drive a wedge between herself and her only remaining family member. You will lose her, forever. Are you sure you are ready for that?" Dick paused for a minute to think about that. Sindella had placed him in a precarious position. The seeds of concern had been planted, and now he didn't know what to do. Should he risk his relationship with Zatanna over this? Wh-what...no...this is to help Zee! But...what if she hates me for this? N-no. I have to tell her. Better she hate me and be okay than love me and be hurt. Before Dick could speak, Zee came back.

"Dick?"

"H-hey Zee." Sindella smirked evilly at his discomfort when addressing her, but she hid it.

"What're you doing here?"

"Just...thought I could stop by. Get to know her a bit better." Zatanna smiled before offering him a chair. She sat down and continued her conversation with Sindella while Dick stared off into nothingness, deep in thought and conflicted over his next course of action. I-I don't wanna lose her. But this is for her own good. Sindella is a liar. I can't have her hurt Zee cuz I was too selfish to try something.

Back at the hotel, Zee caught Dick staring into nothingness again. "Dick? You've been out of it since lunch. What's going on?" Crap. Okay, here goes...

"Uh, i-it's...what do you know about your mom?" Zatanna cocked an eyebrow, and Dick sighed. "I...I saw her with Klarion earlier today. She met him after we first met her at the coffee place." Zee's eyes widened the slightest bit, and she started to get angry.

"You followed her?!"

"Just...listen to me." Dick pulled out his computer to show the picture he had taken, but he couldn't find it anywhere. No...what...where is it? I swear it was right...SINDELLA! Zatanna glared at Dick when he couldn't find the picture. "I-I swear! It was right here! She must've deleted it with magic or something!" Zee, of course, wasn't buying it, and she was getting fed up with the Boy Wonder at this point.

"What is wrong with you?! Why are you trying to make her a bad guy! She's my MOTHER! Who I thought I lost! Why can't you be a little bit more supportive of me right now?!"

"I'm just trying to look out for you! Something about her seems off, please listen to me!"

"She's my mother! She's the only family I have left!" Dick was getting ticked off since Zee wouldn't listen to any of his protests, and in an act of pure annoyance, he blurted out something he really shouldn't have.

"Then why did she leave you?!" The moment he said it, Dick felt guilty. Zatanna looked at him with shock, tears welling in her eyes. She tried to respond, but couldn't get anything out. Oh man, what did I do?! "Z-Zee, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Zatanna forcefully pushed past him and ran out the door, using magic to teleport away before Dick could chase after her. Oh, man, I'm SUCH AN IDIOT! Sindella was right! I messed everything up, and for what?! What did I just do?! God, Zee...

A crying Zatanna had rushed off to the address Sindella told her she was staying at. She had broken down into her mother's arms and was cursing Dick's name while crying. Sindella was comforting her, but she was also smiling. Finally, she is free of that accursed brat. Richard Grayson will poison my child no more. And after we're done, the first thing I'll do is pay that little fool a visit. By the time I'm done, he won't ever be able to step a foot near my daughter again. She looked Zatanna dead in the eyes, wiping her tears while smiling. "My daughter, get some rest. Tomorrow we can spend more time together, and I'll help you through it all. I promise." Zatanna nodded and walked off to the guest room to sleep.

Dick had suited up as Robin and was looking for his girlfriend. He had called her 5 times to apologize, but no response. On top of that, his tracker wasn't working. Sindella must've gotten rid of it. Man, what did I do?! I messed everything up, God, what was I thinking just yelling at her like that?! I have to find her!

From his own hideout in the middle of the city, Klarion was grinning viciously as he watched the whole thing play out on his scrying spell whilst petting Teekl. Everything was falling into place, his plan was coming together perfectly. Finally, that old hag split them up! Now, THIS is where the fun begins...

I kinda wanna use stronger language in this book going forward, so I might do that soon. Just don't be alarmed if I do cuz I'm giving you the heads up. It was bound to happen once Jason Todd showed up, but seeing as how the team is slowly growing up, it makes sense for them to start speaking with more...adult words. I won't change the rating from teen cuz I'm pretty sure every teenager on the planet uses these types of words on a daily basis (I AM a teenager in high school so I kinda know what I'm talking about). If it bothers you, sorry in advance but I don't think it's a big deal so I'm gonna do it. But I'll work up to it slowly. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions for chapters you wanna see. Next chapter up soon.