Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Peter… there is no time. The only way for the spell to work, for us to save the universe, is for you to no longer exist…” Strange immediately regretted his wording as the young spider whipped around to stare at him round eyed.

“You’re gonna kill me!?”

Strange groaned as he rubbed his face. “What? No! I’m going to send you to a new dimension where you don’t exist yet.”

“Oh…” Peter felt foolish as he shifted closer to the sorcerer. “Dr. Strange… Penny… if her memories of me are wiped…”

Understanding flashed through Strange immediately. “I can send your sister with you. Go now to say your goodbyes to your friends.”

“Thank you.” Peter quickly webbed away, heading to where Ned, MJ, and Penny were gathered around.

Penny noticed his approach first, quickly turning to face him. Her Lady Fly costume was ripped in several places, one of her delicate butterfly wings had blood dripping down it. Peter’s heart ached seeing her in pain, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. As he continued his silent scanning of her, he noted that one of the lenses in her aviator goggles was missing. “Penny, I’m…”

“So help me Peter, if you dare try to apologize to me, I’ll punch you.” Penny scoffed as she awkwardly crossed her arms.

Peter swallowed hard, a protest already leaping out. “You don’t have a healing factor.”

MJ coughed suddenly, her gaze boring into the teen Avenger. “What’s the plan now? How do we stop this?” She gestured to the rip in the multiverse.

“Strange is going to wipe me from everyone's memories. He is also going to send me to another dimension since my mere presence is going to cause issues.” Taking in a deep, shaky, breath, Peter turned to his twin. “He’s sending you with me since there is no way you’ll have any memories left if you stay here.”

Penny nodded slowly at that, biting her bottom lip. “Makes sense. Someone’s gotta keep my baby brother out of trouble.”

Peter rolled his eyes as he turned to Ned. “You’re only older by, what, ten minutes? That totally doesn’t count.”

“Does too!” Penny mock pouted, shifting just slightly to stand closer to him.

Ned blanked rapidly, tears already streaking down his face. “Aw man… Don't do this to me dude. Who's gonna be my best friend if you're gone?”

“I’m sure MJ can fill that role.” Peter glanced at his girlfriend, who immediately nodded her head briskly once.

“Don’t worry about us. Worry about yourselves. When you get there, the first thing you need to get is medical supplies for Penny, and food for yourself.” MJ tried her hardest to keep up her usual uninterested act, but her composer was cracking.

“I’m gonna miss you guys so much.” Peter pulled his two second closest companions into a tight hug.

“I’m gonna miss you guys too.” Penny wrapped her arms around the group, hugging them tightly.

“This new universe you’re going to, won’t know what hit them. Spider-Man and Lady Fly to the rescue. I can see all the headlines now.” Ned weakly joked as he wiped at his eyes furtively.

Before the friends could say anything more to each other, a gust of magic whipped through them. Penny, ever sensitive to magic due to her powers, gasped, her hands instinctively reaching for Peter’s. Peter seized her hand, giving it a quick, gentle, squeeze even as he squeezed his eyes shut. The spell was taking hold…

The first thing Peter noticed was that it was cold… ridiculously cold. And wet, it also felt like someone just punched his chest or something. Without thinking about it, he opened his mouth wide, a wail tearing from him.

“Congratulations. This one’s a boy.” An unfamiliar voice spoke somewhere above Peter, even as rough fabric suddenly rubbed against his skin. Wait… am I naked!?

“Remind me in the future to think twice before playing with Nightwing. I cannot believe I am now responsible for twins…” A semi-familiar voice growled somewhere else.

Puzzled, Peter cracked his eyes open to see a cracking ceiling…and a group of adults gathered around him and some lady that vaguely looked like his mom from pictures that he’s seen, who was lying in a soft, saggy, bed.  A tiny shriveled hand from a dull brown towel, waved around the air semi-successfully. Narrowing his eyes, Peter tried to sit up from his position, only to realize that he couldn’t move. Cue more tears as panic enveloped him.

“Catalina, what are you going to name the twins?” The first voice asked, with a jolt Peter realized the first voice was holding him…as well as what that meant.

Send us to a new universe… could have warned us that we’ll be reborn into it! Peter continued his sobbing.

“Take them out of here. I can’t think with all that crying. Besides, what does it matter what I name them?” The Mary Parker Look-a-like, Catalina according to the one holding Peter snapped.

“You need to call them something when you want them, once they're older and can help you with heists.” NO! We were born to a criminal for a mother! The person holding who Peter suspected was Penny pointed out.

“Hmm, fine. Didn’t you say Nightwing’s DNA came back as Richard Grayson?” Someone else in the room, the one that hasn’t said anything yet, nodded his head slowly. “Perfect. The boy can be Peter, which will be a perfect reference to Jason Todd, and the girl…hmmm… Their butler’s name is Pennyworth, correct? I’ll call her Penelope as a reference to him.” Catalina shrugged, before shooting a scowl at the others. “What are you waiting for? Get them out of my sight! They can stay in the closet for now.”

Peter whimpered at that, dread filling him. Somehow, he highly doubted they would last long here… especially since Penny’s wings came in around their first birthday. He really didn’t want to know what their new mother will do in response to that. He also highly doubted that Penny would like it very much either. Hiccupping softly as his sobs finally tapered off, he wondered why everything was so loud… like it was when his Spider Powers first came in.

Chapter Text

Peter held his breath as he crouched behind the tall litter bin. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered that he was four now and not a teenager, but old habits still snuck up on him from time to time. Penny tugged at his hand, her oversized sweater doing a decent job of both keeping her warm in the cool fall air, and hiding her wings that apparently they didn’t have to wait for this time around.

“Pete…are you sure about this? Maybe Daddy will be nicer than Mommy?” Penny fidgeted slightly, her fingers curling around the sweater’s hem.

“You heard Mommy when we were reborn. She said that she was playing with Daddy when she got pregnant with us. Obviously that means Daddy is a criminal too.” Peter shot his sister a look, eyes narrowing slightly. “Do you want to be raised by a criminal?” Penny shook her head fiercely at that, her bottom lip trembling just slightly. Peter nodded once, before turning his attention to the bus that had just pulled up. “I think that’s the bus to Gotham. When Spider says it’s safe, we’ll make a run for it and get on there.”

Penny bumped his shoulder, her four year old eyes, which were blue instead of brown, looking like they’ve seen far too much in her short life. “It’s just us silly. You don’t have to use the codeword for me.”

“Someone might be listening though!”

“We still have our baby lisps. No one can even understand us.” Penny deadpanned.

“We can understand each other!” Peter yelled, forgetting that they were supposed to be sneaky right now.

“Hey there kiddos, where are your parents?” A man, one with the same blue eyes as they had in this new life appeared from nowhere, crouching down to look at them with concern dancing in his eyes.

“The bus!” Both twins blurted out, before sprinting for the bus, despite Peter’s spider-sense saying it wasn’t time yet.

“Wait! Hey!” The man whirled around, only to pause as a walkie-talkie that was clipped to his belt went off.

“Officer Grayson, we have just received an Amber Alert for…” The twins stopped listening as they made their way to the back of the bus, before the bus driver could demand that they pay or show proof that they have a ticket.

“Close one…” Peter muttered as he sank low into the bus seat. Penny reached over, quickly smacking her barely younger brother on the arm. “Ow! What was that for!?”

“You were acting like a baby and not a big kid. We’re big! Not little!”  Penny scowled at him.

“Sorry…” Peter ducked his head low. They both had difficulty controlling what age they acted. Sometimes they acted like teenagers in toddler bodies, other times they acted like toddlers.

“You almost got us caught by that plain clothes police officer.” She continued to scold him as more passengers filed into the old bus.

“I said sorry.” Peter grumbled as he crossed his arms. “All we have got to do is avoid anyone that might be connected to Daddy or Mommy.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard. Mommy named us after Daddy’s associates. Just stay clear from anyone with those names.” Penny shrugged, like that was the easiest thing to do ever.

“Don’t forget, we also have to find Batman and tell him what Mommy’s big plan is.” Peter nodded firmly, straightening up just slightly.

Penny pressed her lips together as she glanced around at the other passengers. The bus was slowing down with boarding, a clear sign that it was about to take off again. “I still think that it might be faster to tell Mr. Wayne since it’s his company.”

“Do you want to get adopted by a stupid billionaire with an adoption addiction?” Peter scoffed at that idea, quickly vetoing it.

The reason the two of them were finally implementing Escape the Nest Protocol was due to the fact Catalina, a.k.a. Tarantula, had announced that they were old enough to help with her heists and she had a massive one planned for Wayne Enterprises. A massive heist planned with two very specific roles that apparently only they could do. The two former superheroes didn’t want to commit any crimes though, so it was a simple (for them at least) case of packing two small survival packs and booking it to Gotham. The plan was to warn either Batman or Mr. Wayne, whichever one was least likely to try to adopt them, hide out in Crime Alley until they graduate high school. That’s when they’ll move to another city for college. How will they get their high school diplomas you ask? Easy!  Gotham Academy offers a scholarship for smart underprivileged kids. It should be fairly easy for them to get that since they still have all their memories from their last lives.

Peter bit back a yawn as the bus started to move once more, this time with them inside of it. “Gotham… ready or not Spider-Man and Lady Fly are headed your way.” Penny snorted at that, before placing her head on his shoulder, a yawn tearing from her.

“You know what Pete? That officer kinda looks like your new look.”

If Peter thought his spider-sense hated Bludhaven then it really despised Gotham. A whimper tore from him as he pressed his small toddler hands over his ears. Penny wrapped her arms around her, trying to stifle her shivering. “There ain’t no magic here. At least none that I can sense.”

Peter felt a giggle crawl up as he latched onto that. “I sense danger, you sense magic…but sometimes magic is dangerous too…”

“Peeteee. Focus! Where’s Crime Alley?” Penny turned her attention to the large map before them.

Peter frowned at that, even as he also glanced at the map. Unfortunately, this world used different characters for their letters than their old one. As confirmed when they wrote out their (old) full names on a piece of paper. The handwriting was horrid, but very easily readable, but Catalina hadn’t recognized the letters at all. Neither did the twins recognize any of the letters floating around on all the signs.

“Ugh…I don’t think Crime Alley even shares any letters with STOP.” Peter grimaced as he glanced around to see if anyone wouldn’t set off his Spider Sense long enough to help them.

“Hey Pete, look!” Penny pointed to something on the sign. “That neighborhood has a P and an O in its name!”

Peter turned his attention to where she was pointing, a grin crossing his face. “Yes!!!” Punching the air, he turned to face her. “That looks like enough letters to be Park Row. Maybe someone there can tell us how to get to Crime Alley.”

With that decided, the twins rushed to the subway. Park Row, here they come…

~Signal~

Duke nearly fell flat on his face as he lunged at the two toddlers. The two of them seemed lost, and he was about to offer his assistance, only for the girl to point out Park Row, a.k.a. Crime Alley, out on the map.  His panicked launch to grab them before they could disappear into Crime Alley failed spectacularly as they took off before he could even safely get down from the nearby roof.

Groaning to himself, he pressed his comlink on. “Hey O, I need you to patch me through to Red Hood. It’s, uh, an emergency headed his way.”

“Hold on Signal. Red Hood isn’t even out right now…. This might take me a minute.”

Chapter Text

~Red Hood~

Jason figured he should have probably asked Babs for more details about the kids that Duke failed to stop from running towards Crime Alley. Okay, sure both have blue eyes and chocolate brown hair (Mini author’s note: picture a shade of brown that is dark enough that it can almost pass as black) and the girl was wearing an old worn out grey sweater with a faded Nightwing picture on the front that drowned her due to it being several sizes too large. The boy was wearing a blue sweater with Nightwing’s emblem on the back, and both children had nearly falling apart backpacks with them. Oh, and apparently they appear to be about three years old. So ya know, just babies.

“Hood stop brooding. That’s B’s thing.” Babs chided him over the comms.

Jason merely grunted in affirmation, before clicking the comm off. “Don’t need you in my ears right now.” Rolling his shoulders, he headed towards where some of his men were guarding a shelter. “Hey! Just got a call in from the Bats. Have two toddlers, one boy, one girl, shown up around here? They both have blue eyes and chocolate brown hair.”

Steve ‘Cap’ Rodds tilted his head, blue eyes crinkling slightly as he thought it over. “Nah, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone that matches that description. What about you Bucks?” The blonde glanced over at his best friend.

James ‘Bucky’ Barracks tilted his own head, his long black hair falling over to the side. “Can’t say I have. Maybe Nat? She’s always looking for a child to rescue from the streets.” James referred to Natalia ‘Natasha’ (also known as Nat amongst friends) Rushman, a fierce red head that was raised to be the perfect assassin…only to leave the league on her own, going as far as faking her own death to keep them from hunting her down.

Truth be told, Jason wasn’t even sure that was her real name. Especially since once you earn her trust she tells you to call her Natasha. Not that Jason was supposed to know that. He actually hasn’t gotten that close to her yet. “Is she with Barron?” Clint ‘Legolas’ Barron was an ex-mercenary with morals that had helped Natalia escape from the League of Assassins and is the first person that she gave the name Natasha to.

“Doubtful. Emergency on the Farm.” Steve shrugged, like that was not at all frustrating for the crime lord-vigilante.

“Wonderful.” Jason spun around, marching back to his bike. “If ya hear or see anything about those kids give me a call immediately.”

“On it boss.”

Jason wove his way through the streets, his mind dwelling more on the mystery kids than where he was going. With Natasha who knows where, and Barron back on his homestead dealing with whatever crisis came up that needed his actual attention… okay. Who was Jason trying to fool? It could easily be that Laura, Barron’s wife, demanded he actually spend time at the house for once instead of abandoning the young family for a job.

Maybe I should try my actual men and not the Outlaws. Even though the Outlaws work for me… Jason thought glumly to himself, before turning another corner… and promptly, and literally, tripped over the kids that he was looking for. “Oh! I’ve been looking for you t…”

“Run!” The boy barked out suddenly as he grabbed his sister’s hand and bolted for it.

“Hey! Come back here!” Jason yelped as he spun around his eyes widening behind his helmet in pure panic. Reaching a hand up, he activated the comm that the Bats thankfully didn’t know about. “Sam, got two runaways. One boy, one girl. They’re headed down to your street. Snag them for me.” Jason disconnected from the comm before checking to see if Samuel ‘Sam’ Wilkins, also known as Birdbrain amongst his friends, actually got the message. The ex-air force pilot usually was online in case something came up that he could help the Outlaws with.

Hopefully the kids didn’t go too far and Sam can get them to one of their shelters.

~Back with Peter~

Peter didn’t slow down until his legs stopped screaming at him. Penny pulled her hand out of his, glancing back the way they had came. “What was that… who was that?”

“I don’t know…but he was armed to the teeth!” Peter shuddered as he recalled how his spider-sense alerted him to every single weapon that the large man was carrying. “He kinda reminded me of a few people that Spidey met in our old lives.”

“Uh.” Penny glanced around, rubbing her arms even as her stomach growled loudly. “Hey Pete… that guy looks like Falcon.”

Startled, Peter whipped around to see, sure enough, a man that looked suspiciously like the Avenger was standing not that far from them. He frowned slightly as the man, dressed in a red turtle neck, dark jeans, black leather jacket, and combat boots approached them. Hesitating just slightly, he checked what his spider-sense said only to realize that it was only telling him that he had some combat training, not that he was a danger to them. “Um…hi?”

“Hey there kiddos. You two look hungry.” The stranger that looked too much like Sam knelt down in front of them. “I happen to know of a nearby shelter. You can get a bite to eat there. Whatcha say? I’m headed there to catch up with a couple of friends anyways.”

Penny and Peter glanced at each other, having a silent conversation to the best of their abilities. Penny eventually made up their minds for Peter when his stomach growled loudly. “Food sounds real nice, mister.”

“Cool! Names Samuel but everyone calls me Sam.” Sam-but-not-the-Sam-they-knew-from-their-past-life casually told them.

“I’m Ben-Jah-Min and this is May.” Peter carefully pronounced his old middle, his toddler body finding it difficult to pronounce.

Penny shot him a look for using their old middle names, before smoothing out her features to stare down Sam-but-not-their-Sam. “Just to the shelter…and it better be a real one or else you're in big trouble.”

“Feisty aren’t ya.” Straightening up, he gestured for them to follow him. “Come on. It isn’t that far from us.”

Peter and Penny followed Sam-but-not-their-Sam through a couple of streets before a building appeared in front of them. The two froze upon spotting someone that looked like Steve standing next to someone that looked like Bucky. Sam-but-not-their-Sam waved a hand cheerfully at them as he drew closer to them. “Hey Cap! Hey Bucky! Look who I found wandering the streets. Any grub in there for them?” He cheerfully greeted them using names that belonged to the Avengers and not these look-alikes.

The blonde flashed a smile as he straightened up quickly, scanning the two young toddlers with interest. “Sure there is Bridbrain. Do you kids need any help filling your plates?”

“No.” Peter blurted out, not liking how these two new look-alikes made his spider-sense sing more so than Sam-but-not-their-Sam made it.

The brunette snorted as he glanced over at his friend. “Nice. Kid knows what he wants.”

“Shut up Buck.” The blonde, apparently Cap, grumbled as he shifted away from the entrance. “You’re in luck. They’re serving Mac & Cheese today.”

That caught both de-aged heroes' attention. They had never outgrown a love of mac and cheese in their past life, and while Catalina never provided it for them, they still craved the simple dish. Rushing past the men, they darted into the building… and immediately froze as too many scents smacked their sensitive noses. Penny glanced at her brother, knowing that his senses were even stronger than hers. Peter gave a slight shake of the head, before beelining for the food line. “We won’t have to use Mommy’s money as much if the shelter feeds us.” Peter referenced the fistfuls of  (stolen) dollar bills that they had shoved into the packs earlier.

It didn’t take them long at all to get a plate full of mac and cheese, plus chicken nuggets and mandarin oranges. One of the servers handed each of them a small cartoon of milk, with a smiling cow on it. Tearing the cartoon with a small application of super strength, Peter eagerly took a long swallow. When they packed their bags, they had each put in a few bottles of water but hadn’t really thought much about how they were going to get milk since that was the best source of calcium for them that they knew of.

The two ate quickly, nearly making themselves sick as they shoveled the food in as quickly as they could possibly get the food into their mouths. After a while, Peter’s spider-sense calmed down enough to tell him that no one was paying attention to them. Leaning towards his sister, he quickly whispered into her ear. “If you’re done eating, now is a good time to leave to find our Gotham home.”

Penny nodded firmly, glancing down at her plate that was actually licked clean. “Some place that Mommy and Daddy and all their friends can’t find us.”

Peter nodded once in agreement, before gathering his dishes and empty milk carton. “Come on. Maybe there’s like someplace that’s been abandoned nearby.”

“This is way too perfect!” Peter laughed from where he dangled upside down on the ceiling, hanging on only by his new organic webbing that he discovered a few years ago.

The old theatre appears to have been empty for the last several decades, despite the building itself being in great condition.

Penny had shrugged off her sweater, revealing a better fitting purple shirt with a unicorn on the front underneath. She was currently flying loops through the air, giggling to herself. “This is awesome! There's enough room in here for you to do your spider stuff and me to fly!”

Peter giggled in agreement, finally letting go to land with a soft thump on the ground, feet first of course. “Best new home ever! Mommy and Daddy will never think of sending their associates to look for us here!”

Chapter Text

Peter tugged a new clean shirt over his head, hoping that the bat pun wouldn’t be too much. Afterall, they were either going to approach Mr. Wayne or Batman himself today. Crouching by his bag, next to the nest he made using the old curtains and a ratty blanket he brought from Catalina’s tiny apartment, he dug through it, looking for one of the granola bars that he had packed.

Penny stood next to her own nest, running her fingers through her hair. “I need a brush… and better coordination so that I can braid my hair again.” She wrinkled her nose, before pulling on her sweater over the top of her clean pale blue shirt, carefully hiding her delicate purple with royal blue swirls butterfly wings from view.

“Don’t forget clean socks.” Peter plucked a dull pair out of his bag.

“Already did. Good thing we’re little, we were able to fit a lot of stuff in the bags cause our clothes are so little.” Penny pulled a granola bar out of one of her bag’s pockets, tearing the wrapper off of it.

Peter paused, staring at his sister for a minute, before checking the pocket that he had placed a few hundred dollars in. Sure enough, his food stash was with his money stash. Happily, Peter grabbed one, tearing it open quickly to take a big bite out of the slightly stale bar. Swallowing, he glanced around the mess, trying to spot his velcro tennis shoes that were on the verge of falling apart. “After breakfast, we head out to see who we can find first.”

“It’s day. Batman won’t be out so it’ll have to be Mr. Wayne.” Penny pointed out casually as she strapped her velcro shoes on.

Peter hummed at that, wrinkling his nose just slightly. “Well… whatever we do we cannot let him think we’re up for adoption.”
~Bruce~

Bruce frowned as he reread the most random text he could have possibly have read on the Batchat. They’re names are Benjamin and May. Lost them though. Jason had sent that in sometime yesterday afternoon, if the timestamp was anything to go by.

Duke had sent him a thumbs up, while the rest of his children, mainly Tim, Cass, and Steph who technically wasn’t his kid to begin with, expressed confusion. Dick appeared to be offline and hadn’t seen the text while Babs said something about updating a file. Glancing up, he quickly judged that he wasn’t that far from the office yet. His driver knew the way, and didn’t appear to be swapped out with some goon trying to kidnap him… yeah he was texting his kids. What are you guys talking about?

Duke clearly decided that class wasn’t important as he quickly responded to his text, explaining that a couple of toddlers were running around Gotham unsupervised and had gone into Crime Alley of all places. Bruce felt his heart clench tightly at that, worry flooding him. Gotham was dangerous for anyone, but it was a whole different level for young babies like what Duke and Jason were dealing with yesterday. Babs sent a clip from a security camera showing the two toddlers, along with what they knew so far. Benjamin and May, no last name, blue eyes and chocolate brown hair. Worn clothes and backpacks. They both were wearing Nightwing themed sweaters.

Upon glancing back up and realizing that his driver had stopped, Bruce groaned as he climbed out of his seat. Stepping out into the brisk fall afternoon, he scanned the area…and nearly jumped as the toddlers that his kids were searching for appeared right next to him.

“Are you Mr. Wayne?” The girl, May if memory serves correctly, chimed as she stepped closer to him. The children were still wearing their Nightwing sweaters, though they appear to have lost their bags.

Crouching down to be closer to their level, he flashed his best smile at them. “Why, yes. Yes. I am.” The babies’ brightened up instantly at that, matching grins that seemed oddly familiar to him flashing on their faces. “How about we take this inside where it's warmer.”

“Good idea, it’s freezing out here.” The boy, Benjamin, nodded once, already toddling over to the tall building.

Bruce shepherded the children into the lobby. “Wait right here… I just need to go make sure I’m not needed for anything.” Bruce made a beeline for the lobby desk. “Hello. Are there any messages for me?” Bruce felt a stab of joy as he noted that the siblings were staying close to him.

The receptionist tapped quickly at the keyboard, glancing up to meet his eyes. “The only thing I am finding for you Mr. Wayne is that Jason Todd is in your office. Apparently it’s important.”

“Hmm, Jaylad doesn’t usually show up here. I best see what he…” The twins suddenly bolted, sprinting out of the building as if it were on fire. “Whoa!” Bruce whirled around, already yanking his phone out to dial Jason.

He surprisingly picked up on the first ring. “I’m in your office.”

“I know that. I had the toddlers you and Duke been talking about with me…but they just ran out the door. Help me track them down?”

“I’ll be down as quick as possible.” Jason promptly hung up on him.
~Peter~

Mr. Wayne knew Jason Todd… like personally knew him. That was bad with a capital B. He must not realize that he’s one of Nightwing’s associates. Peter scrambled up a wall, Penny wrapping her tiny arms around his neck so that he could carry her and climb at the same time. It was faster than having her take her sweater off to fly up herself.

The two collapsed into a heap on an old fire escape that the ladder for it was completely missing, making it inaccessible from below. Penny shifted slightly, making sure she was laying on her stomach since her wings always felt extremely uncomfortable when she laid on them. “Do…do you think Daddy sent Mr. Todd to get us?”

“I hope not. Depends if Mommy told him that we ran away.” Peter whispered softly, his sensitive ears already picking up the heavy footsteps from down below. He turned his head just slightly to peer through the bars on the platform. A minute later Mr. Wayne appeared with another younger man that he did not recognize.

“I thought for sure I spotted them head into here…”

The mystery man shook his head as he headed further into the alleyway. “There might be a dumpster in here for them to use to hide.”

Mr. Wayne followed the man, his gaze sweeping the alley for any sign of them. “Jason..why were you in my office anyway? That’s not like you.”

Jason shrugged, turning to face the only exit in the alleyway. “There’s something about those kids Duke found. Wanted to see if you knew when Dick was going to be back…or answer his phone. Seriously,” Jason Todd apparently shoved his hands deep into his jacket’s pockets, a scoff escaping him. “What is going on in Bludhaven that he can’t even answer his phone?”

“That doesn’t sound like him, Jaylad.” Mr. Wayne led the way out of the alleyway. “Come on. No one is in here.”

Peter stretched his hearing, listening to the two men leave. “Pete? Who were they talking about down there? The one that they called Dick?” Penny whispered as she eventually shifted to a low crouch.

Peter stood up slowly, glancing back at where the two men had disappeared to. “I think…I think it might have been Daddy? I mean Dick is a common nickname for Richard…and Daddy’s real name is Richard. He just goes by Nightwing when committing crimes.”

Penny nodded in understanding, moving to join him. “Well, I hope that whatever he is doing in Bludhaven keeps him there for a good long time.”

~Dick~

Dick couldn’t believe it. When he went to ask the young mother that had reported the twins missing for more information on them…it was Catalina. On the bright side, they finally arrested her for her myriad of crimes. On the negative side, there were two missing toddlers that either were kidnapped by her or she was actually telling the truth and they had her DNA.

Rubbing his face tiredly, he turned to glance at the rookie assigned to assist him on this case. “This is gonna be a long night…” Especially since they had found her plans for a rather big job involving Wayne Enterprises. If only the plans hadn’t indicated that she was just one small part to play in it and they had no idea who else was involved.

“Are they going to take you off the case since your old man’s company is involved?” The rookie timidly asked him as she stared wide eyed at him.

Dick rolled his eyes skyward, exhaustion already wearing his shoulders down. “Nah. I’m too good and will know better than them what’s normal and what’s not.”

Chapter Text

~Peter~

Peter ignored the way that the cashier at the counter arched an eyebrow at the sight of two toddlers ordering their own lunches without ANY help. Smiling up at her, he tapped into the cuteness he knew he was at a mere four years old, holding up a fistful of dollars up to her. “We can pay! See? Mommy gave us money for lunch!”

She sighed at that, before taking the money. Peter rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited for her to finish counting out the money and give him his change back. “Here’s your change… you’ll be…” She paused, seemingly rethinking what she was saying as she looked down at the two toddlers. “Know what? I’ll carry your lunch out to you. Go find a seat.”

“Thank you!” The twins cried out in unison, before weaving their way through the crowd to the perfect table. It was positioned so that they could see all the exits, the door and all the windows, as well as have their backs against the wall. Just like how Bucky and Natasha taught them in their past lives.

Climbing up onto the worn seats, they quickly knelt down, using their knees as a makeshift booster to get them a little bit higher in hopes of reaching the table better. Peter plopped the map he had borrowed not stolen down in the middle of the table. “Okay… we need a new plan. Daddy and his associates are obviously already making a move on Mr. Wayne.”

Penny nodded firmly, her expression serious…well. As serious as a four year old can get. “Mr. Todd must be trying to get close to Mr. Wayne to like, get his passwords or something.”

Peter nodded firmly even as he pulled a broken crayon out of his pocket. “You’re right.” Bending over the table, he pulled the map closer to him. His tiny toddler hand almost smeared the colored wax as he scribbled on the map. After a while, he carefully passed both the map and the crayon to Penny. Penny carefully read what it was that Peter had written, before scribbling down her own response. Peter accepted both back, a hum escaping him as he read what she wrote. Frowning, he started to write something else, only for the cashier to arrive with their chicken nuggets, hamburger, fries, drinks, and a smoothie. “Yes! Food!” Peter quickly grabbed one of the things of chicken nuggets, one of the bags of fries, his drink, the smoothie and the hamburger, leaving the rest of the nuggets fries and last drink for Penny.

The two former superheroes happily stuffed their faces with food, ignoring how loud it was, especially to their sensitive ears, in the Batburger that they were eating at. A group of teenagers burst into the building, laughing amongst themselves as they moved to the front of the line. Peter frowned as he noticed that everyone in line that noticed this group moved out of their way, allowing them to cut. Penny, ever more observant than him, nudged him, tilting her head to the group. “Most of them aren’t happy that everyone is letting them cut. The grumpy looking one though has a big ego.” Peter nodded in understanding, before taking a huge swallow of his smoothie. He’d barely finished swallowing when the teens came and rather casually sat down next to them.

The blonde flashed them a warm smile. “Hi there, cuties! My name’s Steph!” She quickly gestured to the brunette next to her that honestly looked like he hadn't slept in a week. “This is my boyfriend and best friend Tim, as well as his brothers Damian,” She pointed at the scowling youngest member of their group. “And Duke.” She flipped her finger over to point to the only African American in the group.

Duke flashed them a small, but anxious for some reason smile as he hovered near Tim… who had actually fallen asleep shortly after sitting down. Penny scowled at them, pointing stubbornly to an empty table nearby. “Leave. We here first.”

Peter smiled at his sister, before stuffing more food into his mouth. The teens must have decided to ignore the obvious demand that they find a different table as they began chatting amongst themselves. The twins opted to ignore them in favor of stuffing more food in their mouths. By the time they had finished their food, the teens’ food had arrived and they had started eating themselves with minimal conversation. Peter picked up the packaged toy that came with his meal, prying at it with his too small fingers even as Penny tried to open hers with her teeth.

Tim, who had apparently woken up once his food arrived, leaned over, gently prying the package out of his hands. “Here. Let me help you.” Steph noticed what Tim was doing and quickly offered to help Penny. Realizing that they didn’t have much choice if they wanted to get their first toys in this universe, they reluctantly handed over the packaging.

A minute later found Peter scowling at a Nightwing figurine while Penny made her limited edition Superman figurine fly in loops. “I don’t like him.”

“I’m not trading!” Penny chirped happily as she clutched her new Superman figurine to her chest.

Peter pouted at that, turning his Nightwing figurine over in his hands. “But Superman’s better.”

Just then, Duke’s phone went off. Duke hastily grabbed it, glancing at the caller ID. “Oh! It’s Jason! I probably should take that.” He lifted the phone to his ear the same time he clicked answer.

Peter stiffened immediately, eyeing the group with suspicion. “Who’s Jason? Like his last name?”

Steph shrugged as she took a long slurp from her drink. “Jason Todd. He’s also Tim’s… where’d they go?” She froze upon noticing that the twins were missing. Though Peter had left his Nightwing figure.

~Two Minutes Later~

Penny giggled as she slid down the slide, still clutching her new toy. Peter was scrambling up and down the jungle gym, as if he had been born to do acrobatics. Peter hooked his tiny legs over one of the bars, swinging himself down so that he hung upside down. A frown crossed his features, even as he tilted his head to the side. “Penny! Spider says it’s time to go…NOW!”

The boy quickly dropped down to the ground, sprinting as fast as his tiny toddler legs would let him towards his sister. Penny, recognizing the codeword for Peter’s ability to sense danger, darted over to rejoin her brother. The two of them had barely left the playground when Killer Croc burst into the scene, completely uprooting the jungle gym that Peter had been on. Thankfully, there weren’t any other children on it. Parents, nannies, and other legal guardians swarmed the playground as they grabbed their respective charges and ran for the hills.

Penny flinched slightly as she glanced at the large man crocodile. “Pete… something’s wrong… I… he’s surrounded by magic. But I don’t like how it feels.” Penny whispered urgently to her brother, tears welling up in her eyes.

Peter frowned at that, turning to eye Killer Croc up and down, as if he could magically start seeing magic if he tried hard enough. “Whatcha mean about how it feels? I thought all magic was just like light fluffy stuff that is a little bit warm. But, like, the nice kind of warm.”

Penny pressed her lips together as she tugged insistently on his arm. “That was just Strange’s magic. He used good magic. I think this is bad magic cause it's the opposite. It’s cold and dark and makes me feel all queasy and stuff.”

Peter pressed his lips together, already scanning the skyline for any sign of Batman or his sidekick, Robin. “We need to tell Batman that as well as the fact Mr. Wayne is in danger.”

Penny nodded once, already joining him scanning the skyline. As they did so, Peter followed his spider-sense to a safer spot, tugging Penny along beside himself. It wasn’t long before two figures appeared, quickly attacking Killer Croc. Penny pinched her face as she stared at the newcomers. “Um… Batman’s a boy and Robin wears green and red, right?”

Peter frowned, staring at them as well. “Yeah… I don’t know where the yellow guy or girl Batman came from.”

“Do we tell them about the bad magic?” Penny innocently asked, oblivious to the sudden large shadow that engulfed them.

Peter stiffened, before craning his neck up to stare at the suddenly looming vigilante. “Hey! I found the real Batman and not a girl pretending to be Batman!”

Batman paused at that, shock briefly crossing his features, before schooling himself back into his usual scowl. “That would be my partner Black Bat.”

“Oh… is the yellow guy Yellow Robin then?” Peter innocently asked.

Batman stared at them for a second, the only betrayal being the fact that he wants to laugh being the muscles in his lips twitching. “No. His name is Signal.”

“Well that’s lame. He should be Yellow Robin.” Oh wow. Peter’s toddler brain was definitely in control right now.

Batman glanced at the battle, keeping close track of his two children fighting Killer Croc. “What was this you were saying about telling me something about...bad magic?”

“Oh, you heard that. Killer Croc has some bad magic on him and bad people are going to hurt Mr. Wayne.” Penny explained, as if that was totally normal for a toddler to know.

Batman glanced back at the fight once more, confusion inching its way in. “How exactly do you know… and you’re gone.” Batman sighed loudly, before rushing over to catch Signal as he was thrown across the park

Chapter Text

~Batcave Batcave We all call Batcave~

Bruce looked around the cave, his gaze sweeping across his children that had managed to make it for the meeting. For some reason, no one still had been able to get a hold of his eldest. “How many of us by now have had run-ins with the babies?”

Basically all hands went up. Duke shifted slightly, quickly rubbing his hands on his suit’s pants. “I spotted them first.”

“Then you had Babs call me and I eventually ran into them, but, uh…” Jason scratched the back of his neck out of embarrassment.

“Red Hood terrified them. You should have gone as Jason.” Tim deadpanned.

Bruce pinched his nose, suddenly wondering if his life would be much simpler if he never had kids. “Boys please don’t start…”

Steph took that as permission to take over the recap. “You say them next, at work. They seemed interested in talking with Bruce Wayne up until something spooked them and they ran off.”

“Brown, Drake, and Thomas along with myself went to Batburger for lunch, where we by chance ran into them. We sat at their table, which May was very displeased about. They left around the time that we mentioned Todd.” Damian scoffed as he crossed his arms.

“Didn’t your receptionist mention Jason by name right before they bolted from your side?” Tim frowned, looking through his notes from their various interactions with the surprisingly slippery babies that were currently running circles around them.

“So, what are you saying? They don’t like me whether I’m in the mask or not?” Jason grumbled.

Bruce rubbed his face tiredly. “Has anyone succeeded in contacting Dick at all?” He didn’t dare look at the rest, already knowing that no one had been able to get ahold of the young man.

~Dick~

Dick groaned as he rubbed the back of his neck. He and his partner had just spent the last twenty-eight hours tracking down Catalina Flores’ conspirators. “I really hope that was the last of them. I’m exhausted.”

Officer Smith snorted at that, leaning back in her seat. “Ugh. At least that piece of the weapon that WE is holding for the Justice League is safe.”

“Yeah for us…” Dick muttered as he reached out to his desk. “I still can’t believe I forgot my phone on my desk the entire time we’ve been running around catching these crooks.” Picking up the expensive cellphone that his adoptive father had given him for his last birthday. Turning it on, his eyebrow shot upwards upon noticing that his messages were full from his family trying to get a hold of them. “Uh…something must be going on with the fam. They’ve been trying to call me starting about three hours into the investigation.”

“Three hours… the bus.” Officer Smith nearly lunged to her feet, her eyes widening in horror.

“What about the bus?” Dick blinked, confusion slipping in.

Officer Smith pulled her phone out, quickly pulling up the bus riding app. “Look here at the schedule. There’s not only a bus station within a short walking distance from the Flores apartment, but the same time Catalina called the twins in as missing, a bus pulled out for Gotham.”

Dick’s eyes widened as he bolted to his feet. “Peter and Penelope could have been those toddlers that I watched run onto the bus!”

Officer Smith leaned forward, her brow furrowing. “Your family knows everything that happens in Gotham, right? Wouldn’t two toddlers running around Gotham unsupervised catch their attention?”

Dick glanced at his coworker. Times like this, he was really glad that she had figured out the Waynes’ secret within six months of them meeting. “Where’s the rookie?”

She rolled her eyes skyward, “I think she’s been assigned to help Ricky with paper work for the next week.”

“Cool cool.” Dick quickly scanned his messages. “Looks like Nightwing needs to make an appearance in Gotham.” He flipped the phone over so that his friend could see the text that he had pulled up. “Duke ran into Peter and Penelope on patrol three hours into the case, and get this, everyone is trying to get a hold of them…but they're too slippery.”

“Makes sense. They did escape from Catalina while she was still in the same building as them. They’re clearly a lot smarter than most four year olds.” Officer Smith was already pulling out the paperwork necessary to request for Dick to head over to Gotham to continue the search.

Dick debated about warning his family that he was coming, before changing his mind. They were already looking for the twins, he had no reason to tell them to keep their eyes out. Well, Alfred might like a warning that he was joining them for dinner…

~Peter~

Peter allowed Penny to drag him through the crowded store as they looked for something to eat that wasn’t more granola bars or fast food… or from a shelter. Okay, they had a hankering for chips and candy. They were four, give them a break. Turning into another aisle, They spotted an elder with a young lady filling up a cart.

The man flashed them a warm smile, quickly getting down on his knees to be eye level with them. “Why, hello there young ones.” He had a British accent! That is so cool!

“You’re British! Cool!” Peter blurted out, eyes wide with wonder.

“Indeed I am.” The man held out his hand to shake.

Peter and Penny both accepted the handshake, vibrating at the thought they just met someone that was British. The young lady with him held a bag out for him to inspect. “Is this what you are looking for, Alfred?”

The twins froze, even as the newly named Alfred turned his attention to the item. “Ah! Perfect, you found Master Damian’s favorite snack, Miss Cassandra.”

“Um… Mr. Alfred, what’s your last name?” Penny asked nervously, suddenly scared that they had accidentally run into her namesake.

“Pennyworth.” Alfred glanced at the two toddlers. “Any reason why you…” He froze as the twins bolted away from him. Quickly swinging an arm out, he stopped Cass from following. “Bother… it seems to be that they are avoiding both Master Jason and myself.”

“No help?” Cass sounded disappointed at that thought.

“Oh no. I need more help getting the groceries. Master Richard sent me a text claiming that he is joining us for dinner tonight.”

“Finally!”

Chapter Text

~Few Minutes After Penny and Peter Run Away From Alfred and Cass~

Dick stretched his legs as he walked alongside Commissioner Gordon. Babs’ father so far was taking the whole situation very well. “So you’ll help me find the twins?”

“Of course. Please let me know if their DNA proves your commissioner’s theory that they were kidnapped correct or not.” Jim nodded in confirmation, eager to help the young vigilante out of the mask for once.

They turned the corner…and immediately stopped as the twins darted right past them. “Peter! Penelope!” Dick blurted out as he spun around to chase after them. “Wait! Come back here! We want to help you get home…”

“Pennyworth danger!” Peter hollered back, whipping around a corner far too quickly.

Jim glanced at the spot they were at just seconds ago, bewilderment flooding him. “Did…did Peter just say Pennyworth danger?”

“Oh boy…this might take a while.” Dick rubbed his face, vaguely wondering what exactly was his life. “Could be that Catalina mentioned his name once and being as young as they are, they think he’s part of her criminal friends.”

“Hmm.” Jim turned back to their walk…this time following the meta toddlers that was the whole reason why Dick was back in town.

~Few Hours Later, Manor~

“Dinner smells wonderful Alfred!” Dick chimed happily as he hung up his coat, breathing in deeply to try and capture all the wonderful scents coming from the kitchen.

Alfred stiffly took the coat from him, a warm smile on his face. “Why, thank you Master Richard. The rest of the family is in the dining room awaiting your arrival.”

Dick nodded at that, before hurrying into the large room. Sure enough his adoptive father and siblings were all seated around the table. “Evening!” Sitting down next to Damian, he grabbed one of the hot rolls from the bowl. “How’s everyone been?”

For the most part everyone chimed that they were fine, with the exception of Damian who responded with a question of his own. “Richard, can you be my partner on patrol tonight?”

Dick winced as Alfred started dishing food up for him. “Can’t. Sorry. I’m here on business for the Bludhaven Police Department. Case my partner and I have been working on spilled over to Gotham. I’m just here for food and sleep. Rest of the time I’m gonna be with Jim following leads.”

“Disappointing.” Damian slumped down in his seat, looking every inch the petulant child.

Dick reached a hand over, quickly ruffling his hair. “How about this, if there’s a major all hands on deck situation while I’m here, then I’ll make an appearance as Nightwing to partner up with you. K?”

Damian thought about it, before nodding his head once. “That is acceptable.”

~Next Morning (Day 1)~

Dick kept one hand on his police issued gun as he attempted to casually stroll through Crime Alley. Not that anyone ever just casually strolls through there. Hopefully he could at least figure out where the twins were sleeping at night by exploring his brother’s territory. Speaking of brothers…

“Any reason why Signal is following me around Crime Alley, little wing?” Hearing both of his brothers squawk at being found out brought a smile to his face.

Duke dropped down from the roof, landing next to him as Jason moved away from the lamp post he was trying to hide behind. “Maybe we wanted to see if you needed any help.”

“I don’t need any…” “Look! It’s Yellow Robin!”

Dick spun around quickly to find Peter and Penelope standing behind him, pointing at Duke. Duke scrunched his face up in confusion as he looked around, not seeing anyone else in costume. “Uh…who’s Yellow Robin?” Duke asked, giving up on finding the mysterious Yellow Robin.

Penelope promptly gave him an unimpressed look. “You are silly.”

Peter nodded gravely as he clapped his hands together. “You're the Robin to Black Bat… and you wear yellow… so Yellow Robin makes more sense than Signal.”

Dick and Jason both just about collapsed to the ground with laughter upon hearing the child-like sense that the twins had about Duke’s vigilante name. Jason wiped a tear away, glancing over at his older brother. “That…that was brilliant. Also, back to why I was following you. Maybe I was wondering what exactly could be so important for you to ignore us for so long.”

Dick shrugged, feeling only slightly sheepish with his response. “Sorry. Classified. Not allowed to talk to anyone that is not assigned to the case about it.”

Duke cleared his throat, pointing to where the twins were standing. “Just so you know, the twins are gone again.”

“Oh come on!” Jason slapped the ground out of frustration.

~Lunch Time! (Day 1)~

Dick plopped down with his food, quickly scanning the batburger. One of Jim’s trustworthy men had spotted the twins entering the building earlier, the plan was to catch them before they left the building. Dick smiled to himself upon spotting them sitting close to his table, a rather impressive, if you didn’t know that they were metas, amount of food spread out before them.

“Dick! Finally you’re home!” Steph suddenly collapsed into the chair next to him, reaching out to steal one of his fries.

“Hey Steph.” Dick turned his attention from the twins briefly to acknowledge his younger brother’s girlfriend, best friend?, he actually wasn’t sure if they were dating or not still.. Glancing back at the twins, he froze upon realizing that they were gone. Standing up quickly he walked over to see a Nightwing figurine sitting amongst the trash.

Steph bounced over, picking the toy up. “Hmm, those two don’t seem to like you. This is the second time they got a Nightwing toy and left it behind.”

“Aren't they’re wearing Nightwing sweaters?” Dick questioned slightly, even as he struggled to tap down his frustration. This clearly was not going to be an easy job.

~Morning (Day 2)~

Dick jogged into the library, figuring that he could bribe Babs with the box of donuts and cup of steaming coffee into helping him track the twins. He had already texted Officer Smith, who agreed that getting Oracle to help would be beneficial.

Dick paused, a dilemma with his plan leaping out to greet him. Babs was not at the checkout counter. Puzzled, he scanned the library as he slowly moved further into it. After a while of looking in all the usual places, he found her in the children’s section…with the twins. Beaming, he bounced up to her. “Hey ya Babs! Long time no see!”

“Dick!” Babs brightened up as she turned to face him, her eyes sparkling with both excitement at seeing him and concern for the twins.

“You shouldn’t call him that.” Peter blurted out as he glanced over at him.

Penelope tilted her head to the side, staring at him. “You were with Jason Todd earlier. How do you know him?”

Babs raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting those responses from the children. “Dick is his name.”

“Nah nah.” Peter shook his head fiercely, like that made a difference.

Dick chuckled at that, quickly settling on the ground next to the twins… in easy arm’s length so it shouldn’t take much to grab them. “Preferred name. My real name is Richard Grayso…” Before he could finish introducing himself, the children vanished into thin air. “Well, that was disappointing.”

Babs frowned as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm… they only do that when someone mentions Jason or they ran into Alfred and had that reaction.”

“Maybe it's not them? Maybe it’s me, and they know that those two are connected to me somehow.” Dick frowned at that, this just made his job a million times harder.

~Afternoon (Day 3)~

Dick glared at the attempted kidnappers, arms crossed as he looked them down. Literally looked them down. He had already knocked the two onto the hard concrete upon spotting them trying to grab the twins. The twins that had immediately began yelling for Yellow Robin (a.k.a. Signal) to come save them. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it occurred to him that he just lost the twins again…but dealing with these potential kidnappers was more important to make Gotham a safer place for them.

~Early Evening (Day 4)~

Dick was beginning to think he was only given this task as a way to humble him up a bit for Officer Smith. Why else would he be running around Gotham and absolutely failing at catching two meta-toddlers that were clearly uninterested in him. He had run into the entire BatClan in and out of the masks over the last four days while tracking the twins down, so there was that.

But still… couldn’t they make things easier for them for once and let him reunite them with…whatever family they might have? He really hoped it didn’t turn out that Catalina was telling the truth and the twins were hers. Though that might be why they like to avoid him like the plague…

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Turning to get a better look revealed the twins beelining away from him once more. Biting back a groan, he quickly gave chase. Only to somehow lose them in the first dead end alleyway that they came upon. Frustrated, Dick punched the wall before leaving once more. It was getting late and Alfred was making homemade spaghetti with homemade garlic bread for dinner tonight.

~Midnight (Day 5)~

Dick jerked awake as a hand shook him awake. Alfred smiled apologetically at him, before explaining why he was waking him up in the middle of the night. “Scarecrow is doing a massive attack right now. We have reports of fear gas and his goons being in multiple places. Master Damian felt it prudent to remind the rest of us that you promised to be his partner if a major attack like this happened during your stay here.”

“Ah, okay then.” Dick sprang out of his comfy bed. “Tell Dami that I’ll meet him on the roof of the old Smyths-Tin Factory.”

“Very well, Master Richard.” Alfred left the room just as quietly as he had entered it.

Dick could only hope that the twins were in fact somewhere safe from the attacks.

~Eh eh eh eh! Peter’s Turn~

Peter nearly fell out of his makeshift nest, panic nearly blinding him. “Penny! We gotta go! Spider is really scared!”

Eyes snapping open, Penny scrambled out of her own makeshift nest. “Um… how scared are we talking about?”

“Bad scared. I don’t know how to explain it! Something big is going down and if we don’t move now, we’ll be hurt.” Peter darted over, grabbing his sister’s hand.

Penny didn’t question his insistence to move any more, scrambling to keep up with him as they ran out of the old theatre. Outside had an odd red fog, and everyone was screaming. Penny nearly took a step back, only for Peter to tug her forward, his gaze resolutely scanning the area. “I think it’s that fog that Spider doesn’t like.”

“Okay…it is kinda scary…” Penny whimpered as she pressed herself closer to her brother’s side.

“Come on.” Peter took off at a sprint, trying his hardest to avoid some oddly dressed people wearing what looked like gas masks. For some reason, they were really setting off his spider-sense.

Unfortunately, there were enough of the odd men and women that there wasn’t much room for them to avoid getting hit. Peter hissed slightly as a knife grazed his shoulder, tugging Penny away from that particular man. Upon spotting a nearby alleyway, Peter lunged for it, dragging his sister along for the ride. He barely stepped foot in it when Penny suddenly screamed in pain.

Whipping around, Peter felt his heart plummet upon realizing that someone had gotten in a lucky hit. Blood spilled down Penny’s back as her uncovered wings hung helplessly in place. “We need to get up…now!” Peter started to climb up the wall, aiming for the roof even as Penny wrapped her tiny arms around his neck so that he was carrying her up. Hopefully no one would notice her blood dripping onto the alleyway floor.

Collapsing on the roof, the two looked out at the crime ridden city, tears streaking their faces. Penny sniffled as she huddled close to Peter, just like she would do whenever her wings got injured during patrol in their last lives. Peter lifted a hand up as he wiped furiously at his tears, struggling to get them to stop.

A soft thud behind them made him tense just slightly. Turning his head around, he spotted the last guy that they wanted to run into. Nightwing cautiously approached them, crouching down to be more at their level. “Hey there buddy, can I join you for a minute?”

Peter hesitated, before deciding that since Nightwing was constantly sending his minions out to find them and none of Catalina’s associates have shown up that it’ll be alright… just this once. He nodded slowly, allowing the criminal to sit down next to him. Nightwing accepted the silent invitation, quickly settling in next to the toddler, trying to subtly scan the two for injuries.

“Your… mother told me about you two. Peter and Penelope, right?”

Peter nodded again, even as exhaustion slipped in. For some reason his spider sense seemed to actually like Nightwing’s presence. “Yeah… Penny’s wing is hurt.”

Nightwing frowned at that, quickly tugging the young girl into his lap. Soft murmurs of comfort slipped from his lips as he examined her cut wing. Reaching into his utility belt he pulled out a large swath of cloth that he quickly used to clean up the cut, before gently putting pressure on it. “I’ll have to get an old friend to look at it properly later to make sure it gets treated right.”

“Thank you Daddy.” Penny whispered as she leaned against the man.

Peter climbed into Nightwing’s lap, placing his head on his chest as sleep slowly claimed him. “Keep the meanies away Daddy.”

Nightwing froze, panic slowly slipping in. He just imagined the two sleepy meta toddlers calling him that…right?

Chapter Text

~Next Morning After the Scarecrow Attack~

“They both called me Daddy.” Dick repeated for the hundredth time, staring blankly at the clinic’s wall.

Jim smiled where he was standing, finding this entire ordeal hilarious. Leslie was still in the back treating the twins injuries while they waited for the results from the DNA tests. “You don’t say. Maybe they were, I don’t know, completely out of it?”

“Jim! This ain’t funny! Why did they recognize Ni, me, of all people as their old man?” Dick barely remembered that this was a public space and he still had a secret identity to keep.

Jim shrugged, and was about to suggest that maybe Nightwing was dad shaped to them, when Leslie finally reappeared. “The boy’s healing factor has kicked in and his graze is pretty much gone. I did what I could for the girl’s wing. Don’t let her use it for a few weeks, and I want her to come back-in once a week until I’m confident that it's healed up fine.”

Dick nodded, relief flooding him. “Thank you Leslie. Have the test results come in yet?”

Leslie smirked at that, making Jim raise his eyebrow while Dick felt his heart sink. “Oh, they came in alright. Apparently Catalina was telling the truth. The twins are hers.”

Dick muttered a few choice words that would definitely earn him some money in Alfred’s swear jar. “Please please please tell me that the father can take them in while she rots in jail.”

“Depends… how well do you think you can take care of twin metas, Dick?” Leslie was nearly laughing as she looked one of her favorite clients in the eye.

“You mean…”

“Congrats, it’s both. A girl and a boy.” Leslie made to head over to the reception desk to get back to work. “Go on into the back and properly introduce yourself to your kids. I’ll be back with my medical report for both of you in a minute.” Her eyes hardened suddenly, as she glanced back at the frozen vigilante-cop. “Talia was a better mother than Catalina.”

With that heart breaking revelation, she went on her way to continue her work. Dick swallowed once, nervously, before turning to face the door that would lead him to the twins…his twins. Jim gave him one quick shove, a mutter slipping out. “Come on… look on the bright side, you can raise them far away from her influence.”

Dick slipped into the hallway at that, striding purposefully to the closed door that the twins were behind. The closer to the door he got, the slower his steps became. All too soon, he was standing in front of the door. He froze, uncertainty slipping in. The twins clearly already knew about their father being Nightwing, but that didn’t mean that they knew him as Dick. Especially since Catalina…that happened in the mask.

Jim groaned, before shoving him into the door. “Get in there and officially meet your twins.”

Dick shot him a look, before twisting the knob and quietly slipping into the room. The twins were awake and sitting on the medical exam table. Penny’s right wing was now professionally wrapped in soft gauze, the girl smacking her brother with the soft teddy bear that Leslie had handed her (Leslie always had stuffed animals available for the youngest of her patients… especially if one of the Bats and Birds of Gotham brings the kid in) giggling like she really didn't have a care in the world. Peter was holding a stuffed purple spider, his entire focus on it instead of his sister smacking him.

Dick felt his mouth go dry as he approached. “Hey there kiddos…”

They both paused to glance at him, immediately giving him the cutest smiles hes’ ever seen. “Hi Daddy.” They chirped in unison.

Dick felt his mind bluescreen as he stared at him. “You…you already know I’m your dad?”

Peter rolled his eyes as he flipped his spider upside down. “Mommy said our daddy is Nightwing and that his DNA says that his real name is Richard Grayson…”

“And you told us that your name is Richard Grayson back at the library.” Penny stated calmly as she reached her hands up, silently demanding to be picked up.

Smiling at how cute his daughter was, Dick complied, carefully scooping her up into his arms, before sitting down next to Peter. Gently pressing a kiss on top of her head, he glanced down at the two. “So…at the library you left it while knowing perfectly well that you were dodging your own dad?”

“We don’t want to be raised by bad people.” Peter stated it like it made perfect sense, even as he cuddled closer to his father.

Dick vaguely wondered if there was some form of miscommunication going on here. “You do realize that Nightwing is a hero and I’m a cop, right?”

The twins froze, glancing at each other with looks of pure undiluted bewilderment. “But Mommy said she got pregnant while playing with you! And she’s a bad lady.”

Dick huffed at that, fighting to keep a scowl off of his face. “No… Your mother hurt me real bad. There was no playing involved.” He made sure that the word playing had a lot of disgust attached to it.

Silence fell as the twins took that information in, before Penny brightened, pressing her teddy against his stomach. “Can we live with you then Daddy!?”

Dick sighed with relief, even as he pulled both of them close, pressing multiple kisses on top of their heads. “Yes my sweets, you can live with me.” Dick noted that he needed to get a new bigger apartment since his one bedroom apartment he currently lived in was in no way a good fit for growing kids. He also needed to buy toddler beds, mattresses, sheets, blankets, clothing… books and toys… what about snacks? He should make sure that they have plenty to eat. He didn’t want his children to starve ever again….

“Dick… you okay? You’re spiraling.” Jim frowned from where he stood in front of the door, blocking anyone else from coming in.

“Hmm, fine… just fine…” Dick ran his fingers through his children’s hair, his thoughts still making a list. “Trying to figure out everything that I need to buy for them…and also I need a new apartment. It’s too small for three people to live in.”

“Do you have carseats for them?” Jim frowned slightly as he glanced over at the suddenly very sleepy metas that were using Dick as a pillow.

“Yeah… I went and bought a couple since I knew there was a high chance that I was gonna bring them back to Bludhaven.” Dick watched his children sleep, keeping both hands on them. They’ve already been through so much… he definitely didn’t want to let them out of his sight for a good while. “I’m gonna call Alfred and ask him to set up the room next to mine for the twins. I’m taking them to the Manor the second I get the paperwork done.” With his last name, it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Being the son of a billionaire had its perks.

“Have you even told your family about why you're in Gotham..?”

“Hmm, I'm pretty sure I did.”

~Manor, Alfred, PANIC~

“Alfred? Why are you cleaning out the bedroom next to Dick’s?” Bruce stared at his butler, confusion slipping in.

Alfred frowned as he glanced over at Bruce. “Master Richard called, said something about bringing his children over to stay for a few days. Asked if I could prep this room for them so that he could have easy access to them during the night.”

“Since when was I an uncle!?” Damian demanded from where he stood next to his father.

“I am not entirely sure. I have simply been told that they’re names are Peter and Penelope though she already expresses a preference to Penny.” Alfred shrugged as he continued on his task. “Any luck with finding Miss May and Master Benjamin.”

Damian crossed his arms, a scowl crossing his features. “No. It is like they do not want to be placed in a safe environment.”

“Hmm, that’s a bother.” Alfred glanced at the clock, before turning to face them once more. “Since Master Richard has failed to let me know how young the new family members are, I will be making chicken nuggets for lunch, just in case we are dealing with toddlers.”

“That sounds perfectly acceptable Alfred.” Bruce nodded once, before shooing his son away. “We’ll be in the library if you need us.”

~Back with Dick~

Dick swiped his card through the card reader, glancing briefly at his children. They were semi-awake right now, sitting in the shopping cart … the shopping cart that had four boxes of baby monitors, two children’s suitcases, far too many children’s clothes, and even far too many more children's toys and books. New knit sweaters that Jim had picked up before they left the clinic were pulled over the twins current outfits, effectively hiding Penny’s wings from view.

Peter made grabby hands for the new backpacks that he just paid for (both were superhero themed. One was Batman and the other was Black Canary). “Wait till we’re in the car buddy.”

Peter pouted at that, his eyes darting to stare intently at the Black Canary bag. Dick personally found it interesting that the little guy liked her better than the more well known heroes. Penny on the other hand, upon learning that Batman was her grandfather, insisted on having a ‘Grandpa’ bag when she spotted the Batman Backpack for sale. Dick added it to the pile since he thought that was the cutest thing ever.

“Next stop, home. Well, my childhood one at that. Remember we’re staying with Grandpa for a few days.” Dick headed out the door. Loading his old pick up truck with the twins’ new belongings, as well as situating the twins in the car seats, should be a cinch.

~Five Minutes Later~

“Do not even dare unbuckle Penny!” Dick swatted the fussy four year old’s hand away from the buckle strap once again.

Penny arched her back, pushing against the seat. “But Daddy! My wing hurts!”

Dick readjusted the straps, trying to be careful to ensure that it was in fact tight enough to keep her safe. “I know, baby. But you need to stay buckled or else we can’t go to Grandpa’s.” Pausing, he glanced down at the Batman backpack that was filled with half of the toys and books that he had bought just now. Picking it up, he offered it to her. “You want to show Grandpa your new Grandpa bag, right sweetie?”

Penny perked up at that, quickly grabbing the bag from his hands. “Yeah! Grandpa needs to see Grandpa Bag!”

Peter immediately made grabby hands to his Black Canary backpack. “I want my bag too!” His squirming for the bag was a bit too much for the stuffed spider since it fell off of his lap. Peter froze, glancing down at the toy in surprise. Scrunching his face up, he quickly shot out a web, using it as a pulley of sorts to pick the toy back up.

Dick stared at his son, his brain shutting down at that little display. “Buddy… I was only told about your healing factor and super strength… what was that!?”

“My webs.” Peter beamed up at him, his dimpled smile immediately making Dick melt on the spot. “We hide most of our abilities from Mommy, so she wouldn’t have known about them.”

Dick rubbed his forehead, suddenly wondering just what he got himself into. “Okay then… Here's your Auntie Dinah bag.” He handed the Black Canary bag to his son.

Confident that he now had everything sorted and both twins buckled in, Dick closed the back seat door. Yanking open the driver’s seat, he slipped in, quickly twisting the key in the ignition. “Who is ready to meet Grandpa?!”

“Me!” “Will Yellow Robin be there too?”

Dick snorted at Peter’s question, casually pulling out of the parking lot. “Yeah… seeing as he’s your Uncle Duke.”

“Cool! We’ve got the coolest family this time.” Dick frowned, wondering why Penny said that…and why was Peter nodding his head in agreement?