Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or anything in the DC universe. I also don't own the Duck Song.
A/N: Hello! Guys, PLEASE SEND ME REQUESTS! I really love them! Here's chapter six, a special Halloween one!
Thanks to HextheDaydreamer for her amazing idea for this chapter!
Dick was practically buzzing with excitement. It was Halloween, a.k.a the one day Bruce let him run around Gotham with Roy and Wally with no supervision and a bunch of candy. That usually ended with at least half of the Manor covered in toilet paper or a. And to make it even better, his little sister was coming with them.
The doorbell rang, and the thirteen year old ran to the door, the cape of his Superman costume lapping against his ankles like a dog begging for his attention. He opened the door to his two redhead friends. "Hey guys."
A redhead Dracula and miniature version of the Flash greeted him. "Hey Dick." They walked into the Manor and looked expectantly around the room. "Where's Serafina?"
"Getting dressed. She still won't tell me what she's going as or let me see her costume." Roy and Wally glanced at each other, then up the staircase where they both knew her room was. If they strained their ears they could hear faint giggles through her door. Dick looked toward his two friends, leaned against the wall, and crossed his arms over his chest. "So Wally, when are you going to be something other than the Flash for Halloween?"
Wally's face grew both indignant and red as he stuttered. "I… it… but… don't judge me!"
Roy laughed at his little brother's antics as they continued to argue, but they stopped when they heard Alfred come out of Serafina's room. "Is she ready yet?" Wally asked impatiently. He wanted candy!
Alfred nodded politely. "Indeed she is, Mister Wallace. And Miss Serafina wishes to surprise you. If you three gentleman will please close your eyes."
The three teenage boys shared a look. Dick shrugged, obediently closing his sapphire eyes. Roy and Wally followed his example, and they heard a door open. "Alfred, are their eyes shut?"
"Yes Miss Serafina."
The sound of light footsteps and stifled giggles met their ears. They heard what sounded like a person sitting on a creaky wood chair and fabric rustling. "Okay boys. You can look."
They did and had to blink a couple times to make sure their eyes weren't playing tricks on them. Sure enough, Serafina was in front of them, sitting on the handrail with her knees crossed. And she was decked in a Robin costume.
It had been modified to suit her feminine attributes. The top was still red with the stylized R on it, but it had been changed to a V-neck with sleeves the came down to about mid-bicep. Slender black gloves came up a little farther than Dick's real gloves did, about elbow length. Her cape fell across her shoulders like a rippling wave of black. The utility belt was still yellow and adorned with pockets, only modified to be a bit more slender to fit her body. Black pants led down from her hips past her ankles, hovering about an inch above the ground. A pair of black wedge boot with a 3-inch heel on them were on her feet. Her curly crimson hair spilled over her shoulders, sharp contrast with the black and canary yellow of the cape. She had chosen to leave off the mask, her sparkling emerald eyes accented by the bit of black eyeshadow she had chosen to wear. Small gold bat earrings shimmered in the blanket of red locks.
She laughed lightly and jumped off the banister, her heels clicking quietly on the polished wooden floor. "You guys's faces were priceless!" When they continued to stare in shock she snapped her fingers in front of their eyes. "Yo. Earth to teenagers. This is Mission Control telling you to snap out of it."
Dick was the first to regain his senses. "Sis… you look…"
Wally summed it up for all three of them. "Wow."
She beamed at the teens and twirled in front of them. "Do you like it? It took me nearly two weeks to make until I actually had the sense to ask Alfred for help. He was sworn to secrecy, naturally." Her skin practically glowed in excitement.
"Have you ever done this before?" Roy asked the redhead.
Her pretty face darken. "No. Where I was before we… if we went out on Halloween without them-or at all really- we were… not at our best afterwards."
Dick shot Roy a look, and he nodded. Message clear. Shut up.
Wally, meanwhile, took Serafina's warm hand and squeezed it comfortingly. "Don't worry. You're safe here."
Dick's face brightened. "Yeah, cheer up, Ser-bear! This is gonna be a blast!"
The two male redheads looked at the female one. "Ser-bear?"
She giggled. "Long story involving me, him, and an alley."*
"Ah." They knew better then to ask.
The group walked toward the door and picked up their bags by the front door. The cool autumn air kissed their faces as they stepped into the long driveway of Wayne Manor. They went down the pavement, Serafina sprinting ahead of them in excitement.
"Serafina, slow down!" Dick called. He shook his head as she simply laughed in response.
"Why don't you try and catch me?" She yelled over her shoulder. Her hair streamed behind her as she ran, shoes smacking on the pavement. She finally did stop near the end, waiting impatiently. "Will you three hurry up! I didn't get all dressed up to stand and wait for you all night."
They indulged her, running the rest of the way to catch up. They walked together to the gates, where the property opened up to the streets, which were crawling with kids. The three boys grinned devilishly at each other and stepped into the fray, none noticing that the young redhead stopped at the iron wrought gate, her fingers wrapped around the cool metal. She stared out at the people, her emerald gems fixing on a group of little girls, all dressed up like porcelain dolls. 'They don't understand. They don't understand what it's like. They never will.'
Dick halted when he realized his sister wasn't next to him anymore. He looked back the way they had come and spotted her clinging to the gate, eyes unmoving from the crowd. He drew the other boy's attention. "Guys."
They both stopped where they were and watched their little brother jog back toward the Manor. He stood in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Serafina. Hey sis, snap out of it."
She blinked and looked at him, eyes full of fear. "The-the dolls." She managed to choke out.
He looked up at the crowd and immediately spotted the throng of dressed up girls. His mind recalled something she said at their first meeting. "Like we were dolls in a dollhouse." The ebony shuddered. "I had hoped you were kidding. Weren't you?"
She slowly shook her head. "No. I will never kidd about that." He noticed her eyes begin to moisten, tears she wouldn't let fall collecting there. He put a warm arm around her stock-still shoulders.
"Hey, it's okay. You're with us now. You're safe."
Her lower lip trembled slightly. "What if… what if they come for me? I wasn't supposed to go..."
"No one is going to take you. And if they try," he cracked his knuckles threateningly, "then they're gonna have to answer to me."
She nodded and smiled, mentally cursing herself at her own stupid reminiscence. "Yeah, I know. Sorry about my sentimentalism. I didn't mean to ruin the night."
"You didn't ruin it Ser-bear! The night's still young, the candy bowls are still full, and you have three trained heroes around. Now let's rock this town!"
She grinned ecstatically and grabbed his hand, yanking him along with her eager steps. They joined back up with Roy and Wally, and the group started their rounds.
By the time they had returned to the Manor the trio of boys had eaten about a quarter of their entire candy catch. Dick was chasing Wally around in a circle while Roy and Serafina watched on, amusement written across the redhead boy's face while the youngest Grayson was doubled over, her stomach throbbing from laughing so hard. "Dick," she said between gasps for air, "stop chasing Wally before someone mistakes you for a high drug addict!"
"RUN RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! YOU'LL NOT CATCH ME I'M THE WALLY-MAN!
"A DUCK WALKED UP TO A LEMONADE STAND AND HE SAID TO THE MAN RUNNING THE STAND-"
At that moment Wally tripped over his shoelace and fell over, making Dick fall over him and hit the ground with a plop. They both sat up with sugary grins on their faces as they belted out the next part. "HEY! BUM BUM BUM! GOT ANY GRAPES?!"
That was the final straw as Roy doubled over as well, laughing nearly as hard as his companion. They watched the other two teens run as they belted out the rest of the words to the Duck Song as loud and as high pitched as they could, each in their own horribly off key falsetto. Finally the sugar started to wear off, and they both collapsed into a heap on the pavement. Serafina smiled at them and joined the group. "Pile on!"
Roy grinned at his little "siblings" and jumped into the throng. They wrestled on the ground, their laughter echoing through now empty streets. After a bit Serafina stood back up, carding her fingers through her now messy hair and watched Wally put her brother in a headlock, driving his knuckles in his skull as he gave the raven a nuggie. She giggled softly and set a hand on her hip. "Come on guys, let's go inside. We're done trick-or-treating."
The two wrestling glanced at her while Roy untangled himself from the mess of limbs and capes. He dove into his bag, pushing aside heaps of candy. "The night's not over yet."
She frowned. "What do you mean? We finished-" Roy chucked a white roll behind his back, which she caught with ease. She turned it over in her hands, a sly smile creeping up on her face. "Seriously? You're going to TP the Manor?"
Wally shrugged and released Dick, taking a couple rolls for the other redhead boy. "It's kinda a tradition."
She nodded as the boys started, tossing toilet paper every which way across the yard and stringing it up in the towering trees. She handed one end of hers to Dick. "Hold this for a second, Dickie." She dug around in her fake utility belt and extracted a grappling hook. The sapphire eyes of her twin widened.
"Where did you get that?"
She smiled sheepishly. "I kinda raided your utility belt. Accuracy and all that jazz."
Dick simply rolled his eyes at her antics while she shot off the hook and flew through the air, her cape fluttering behind her as she carefully trailed the thin paper out in loops over the roof. Once they were satisfied with their work they stepped back, admiring the newly decorated Manor. Wally wiped away a fake tear. "It's so beautiful."
"Yeah. But something's missing…" Serafina glanced toward the garage where she paint of every color was stored. "Guys, I've got a devious idea."
The next morning Serafina helped Alfred and Bruce clean up the toilet paper off the yard. Meanwhile, Bruce ordered the three boys to wash the hot pink paint off the Batmobile and sweep the yellow and red glitter out of the Batcave. The entire Batcave.
A/N: Woot! Another chapter up! Please send me requests guys and PLEASE REVIEW!
* - Reference to the previous chapter