Chapter 4
Dick wasn't stupid. No matter what his siblings may think. So when he saw a kid on a rooftop looking ready to jump and went to stop it, the kid looked just like him. As well as the fact that he had a white streak and a green eye. Why only one? He didn't know. He panicked slightly and then the kid just vanished.
Over the last few days, he has been stressed and contemplating what to do. The kid did look a lot like him, but it could be a coincidence. And he had Lazarus signs. He decided that even if the kid wasn't his, he did need help. He was probably dealing with Pit rage and didn't have the best home situation and was most likely the one they were looking for. So all that was how he ended up at the Library.
Babs was at the desk and Jason was hovering behind her. They were both staring intently at the computer screen.
“Hey guys!” He called out. Their heads turned to him.
“What do you want, Dickiebird?” Jason asked.
“What? I can't say hi to my brother?” Jason scowled at him. “Fine. I wanted to ask Babs something, that's all.”
“Whatcha want to know?” Babs cut in.
“So basically, a few days ago, I found this kid on a rooftop. He was young, like 8, and he had Lazarus symptoms. Although it was only one green eye. The other was, like orange or something,” Dick explained. Jason looked taken aback.
“What else is there?” Babs asked, knowing there was something he wasn't saying.
“I don't know what you're talking about,” he said innocently. Babs gave him an unimpressed look. “Okay, Jeez. He also looked alot like me,” He admitted.
Jason and Babs glanced at each other. What was that about? Before she pulled up a picture on her computer.
“Was this him?” She asked, pointing at the screen. Dick stared at the screen for a moment.
“Yeah, that was him,” Dick answered. “But he doesn't have the streak here.”
“Maybe you imagined it?” Jason added. “I mean, I didn't see anything when he was here yesterday. We would have noticed if he covered it up.”
“This just keeps getting more complicated,” Babs said. “So what do you think might be going on?”
Dick contemplated for a moment. “I mean if he was 8 then I would've been about 20, right? It is possible,” he answered. Jason looked at Babs, who nodded in return.
“Well, there's more to it than that,” Jason said. “First of all, his name is Peter Parker. Second, he has a twin, Milo. Third, they have two adopted siblings. But most importantly, all the information we can find has been forged. We think they may be clones or at least in some kind of danger.”
Dick panicked. If they were his, that meant he hadn't been there for 8 years of their lives. And they had both probably been through a lot. He felt guilty. If he had known then maybe they would be safe.
“Hey, it's not your fault,” Babs soothed, noticing his anxious state. “Besides, we don't even know if they are yours. For all we know they could be some random kids who happen to look like you.”
“You're going to want to look after them regardless, aren't you? I can see you're already attached after meeting one of them once,” Jason said like he could read Dick's mind.
He hesitantly nodded. They both knew him so well. The next thing they needed was a plan.
“So what should we do?” he asked.
“Well, I can start off by sharing the info folder with you. But after that I'm not sure. All I know is that we are not kidnapping them,” Babs declared.
“Obviously. We're not Bruce,” Dick replied. “We should probably earn their trust first. And also figure out the situation, making assumptions could be bad.”
“I agree. They all seem a bit skittish from what I've seen,” Jason commented. “Maybe we could try getting close to them as Vigilantes. I mean it would be a bit weird to have someone come up to you and be like ‘Hey, I know you have no idea who I am but I think I might be your father, nice to meet you!’ especially if you're Richie Wayne. But as a Vigilante it could be easier.”
Dick mulled over his words. “Yeah that makes sense. I think. Ugh what if I'm not cut out to be a father? And what would Wally think? And oh god! What am I going to tell Wally?” He began pacing back and forth.
“Calm down Dickwing. We'll figure it out. You're not alone in this, you have us.” Jason put a hand on his shoulder, stopping his pacing. “And I'm sure Wally will understand.”
Dick nodded weakly as Jason began to lead him out of the library. He had forgotten they were there, if he was being honest.
What was he going to do? He wasn't cut out to raise a kid. Let alone 4. Because apparently that was how this was going. And would Wally be okay with it? If he wasn't, what was he going to do? He couldn't just leave those kids, especially if two of them were his. Would he have to leave Wally? He didn't want to. It would probably be the other way round and Wally would leave him. They had finally gotten settled and Dick was even thinking of proposing. But now that didn't seem like an option. Was he going to have to choose between Wally and the kids? And why couldn't he stop thinking about it? It wasn't like he knew they were actually his. For all he knows they could be perfectly fine with their lives and not need a father. Why can't his brain turn off for like 2 seconds? Ugh! This was getting frustrating and he was getting a headache.
Jason ended up taking Dick to his apartment and giving him his bed, sleeping on the sofa instead. Dick fell off into a dreamless sleep.
“I'm so bored!” Catra groaned. She was sitting upside down on the sofa. “There's nothing to do here and it's not like we have any money.”
“I agree. We could go out and explore,” Kipo suggested.
“In Gotham? That's crazy talk,” Peter added “On another note, we really do need to find a source of income. I doubt anyone would hire 8 year olds,”
“Let's deal with that later. Right now we need something to do,” Milo interrupted. “We could play a game?”
Catra instantly got up. “What game?” She asked eagerly. They all thought for a moment.
“How about two truths and a lie?” Kipo asked.
“Okay,” Catra answered, “But none of that boring crap. Go as crazy as possible.”
“I'm good with that. Who should start?” Milo signed.
“I'll start,” Peter stated and sat down next to Catra. Kipo and Milo were sat on the floor so now they were in a square shape. “But I still think we need to find money.”
“Ugh, just say your stuff already!” Catra cut in.
“Fine. Hmm, let's see,” Peter stopped to think. “I had a moon thrown at me, I fought a red alien who wanted to destroy half the universe and uhh, I've been dead for 5 years.”
“Hmmm, I'm gonna go with the moon one,” Kipo answered.
“I don't think you were dead for 5 years, that's a bit long. Maybe 3 years at most,” Catra replied.
“Red alien. Could've been yellow or something.”
They all looked at Peter. “Milo was right. But it was a purple alien. He looked like a grape.”
“Wait, does this mean you've been to space?” Kipo interjected.
“Yep,” he answered, popping the ‘p’.
“I mean I have to,” Catra added.
“Quite a few times,”
“Oh come, I wanna go to space!” Kipo complained. Unlike the others she was interested in astronomy. Why couldn't she go to space?
“Okay, who's next?” Peter asked.
“I'll go,” Catra announced. “I've led an army, I became the ruler of a desert, and I have a friend who can turn into an 8 ft tall princess using a magical staff,” she finished off.
“I have to say the second one. Who becomes the ruler of a desert? Why not a rainforest?” Peter chose.
“The last one. It feels too specific. I don't really know,” Kipo decided.
“I agree with Kipo. The last one is a lie,” Milo added.
“I appreciate the fact you don't doubt my leadership skills,” Catra said. “And the last was false. It was a magical sword, not a staff, so Kipo and Milo win.”
“A magic sword sounds pretty cool, I want one,”
“Same,” Peter agreed. “Can we find one on ebay?”
“What the heck is ebay? Probably not though, last I checked it was one of a kind,” Catra stated.
“My go!” Kipo decided. “I have eaten a crab as tall as buildings, I met a bunch of skateboarding crocodiles, and my mum was a ginormous monkey.”
“Okay that last one seems a little far-fetched, so I'm gonna go with that,” Peter answered.
“I have no clue, so imma guess the first one,” Catra decided.
“Second one. I don't know why,”
“Milo's right. I have never met skateboarding crocodiles, sadly,” Kipo announced.
“Milo, it's your go now.”
“I have died 14 times, I have defeated a villain with a popsicle stick, and I have killed people before,”
“Okay, I know you may have been an assassin, but you said you were 16 and that you stopped at like 6. I don't think they would make a 6 year old kill people,” Peter declared.
“I don't know but a popsicle stick seems a bit crazy. So the second one,” Kipo said.
“Hmmm, I'm gonna say the first,” Catra said with an intuitive look.
“Catra’s right, it was way more than 14,”
“What? Are you okay?” Peter asked frantically.
“Why wouldn't I be?” Milo answered, tilting her head.
“You just- nevermind,” Peter gave up.
“I'm bored again,” Catra groaned.
“I'm gonna go on a walk,” Kipo announced, getting up and heading for the hole in the floor that led to the bottom floor.
“Okay, just come back soon and don't get mugged!” Peter called out after.
Now you may be wondering why she was going out. And her honest answer was she had no clue. All she knew was that the others had all gone out at night before. Peter the first night, Milo the next, and Catra last. So she decided it was her turn.
Kipo walked through the mostly empty streets for a while, only occasionally seeing shady stuff happening in alleyways. Until she heard a commotion going on nearby. She approached cautiously. In an alley she saw a girl beating up a bunch of thugs. She was wearing a black suit with purple boots, gloves, shoulders and utility belt, as well as having purple along her sides. On her chest was a purple bat. She had a purple cape with a hood, long blond hair coming out. The bottom part of her face was covered with a black mask. She must be Spoiler. It was a really awesome suit.
Spoiler was punching the thugs left and right, looking like it was the easiest thing in the world. After she delivered a high kick to someone’s face, another guy swung a bat at her head. She ducked swiftly and swept his legs out from under him. She kicked his head and he was out like a light bulb. All the thugs were down now. Spoiler spotted her and walked over.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“That was so cool!” Kipo exclaimed.
“Why thank you,” Spoiler responded, giving a little bow. “And oh wow, you're adorable!”
“Thanks.”
“Anyways, what are you doing out here? It's dark and dangerous,” Spoiler said.
“What? I can't just talk to my favourite Vigilante?” Kipo asked. Spoiler looked stunned for a moment.
“I'm your favourite?” She asked a bit weakly. Kipo nodded. “No one’s ever said that to me before. Can I hug you?” Kipo thought that was a bit random, but she knew what it was like to be underappreciated.
“Sure,” she replied and Spoiler swooped her up into a hug. It was quite nice. She couldn't remember the last time she got a proper hug. Spoiler’s comm crackled and she put Kipo down.
“Sorry, I gotta go. If you ever need anything just let me know, and i will help,” she declared before adding, “And if anyone tries to adopt you, tell them I called dibs!” then she was gone. Kipo thought that the last part was a bit random, but she was just gonna go with it. She made her way back to the apartment.
When she climbed up, she found Catra and Peter bickering a bit. Milo was just sat there watching them. She was the first to notice Kipo’s arrival.
“What's going on with them?” she questioned, taking a seat next to Milo.
“I suggested that to make money we pick-pocket. Catra agreed, Peter didn't. And now they're arguing,” Milo explained.
“Ahhh,” Kipo thought for a moment. “What if we just take from criminals?” she asked.
“Tried that, Peter said no. Something about the less money they have, the more crime they’ll commit,” Milo answered. That kind of made sense. But they did need money and they were all 8 year olds.
“How about we only steal from rich people.” Catra offered, “Most of them are stuck up and do nothing good with it anyways.” Peter seemed to consider her words before sighing.
“Okay, fine. Only rich assholes got it?” Peter decided.
“One problem with that,” Milo interjected, “Rich people don't tend to carry cash and also they stay in the rich part of Gotham, so we’d look really out of place.”
“What if we use Peter’s hacking skills? Y’know, hack into their bank accounts?” Kipo suggested.
“That could work. But we would have to make sure they deserved it first of all,” Peter answered.
“Okay, so we go to the library tomorrow to hack and stuff,” Catra summarized. “Who's going? Peter and…” They all thought for a second.
“We could all go?” Milo signed with a shrug, “I mean we’re all bored out of our minds and need to get out.”
“I don't see why not,” Peter said. Catra and Kipo nodded their heads. “It's decided then. Tomorrow we all go to the library and I will hack some rich assholes bank accounts!”