"Robin, are you sure you're feeling okay? You look kind of out of it."

Dick grimaced, glancing over at Artemis with a weak grin. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache."

Roy frowned. "You seem to be getting those a lot."

"It's fine. I've been to a doctor. Probably just related to growing or whatever."

"You? Growing? Not likely." Artemis snorted, earning a grown of annoyance from Dick. "Are you sure you're up to the mission though?"

"Of course, I'm up to the mission." He insisted, knowing full well that there was no way he could not go on this mission. It was his idea, after all. Bruce and his older brothers were completely unaware of him taking the Team and heading to Europe in order to rescue his former Ringleader from possible criminal charges, and Dick was going to keep it that away. "Besides... we've already almost there, right M'gann?"

The Martian grinned over at him from her position steering the ship. "Yes. We should be landing soon. Maybe five minutes?"

Dick returned his gaze to the window of the bioship, trying his best not to react when Roy came stood and came to sit next to him. "What do you want?" He asked, not bothering to look at the redhead.

"Look, I know Bats didn't okay this. Hell, I only agreed to come along because Hood would throw a fit if he knew I let his baby brother go on an unsolicited mission without proper support–"

"I have support. My team." Dick cut in, earning a derisive snort from Roy.

"Your group of kiddie heroes does not count. You're like a younger brother to me, Rob, you know that, but I seriously don't think this is a good idea. Not with how out of it you've been lately. Hood told me Bats even pulled you from daily patrol."

Dick turned then, eyes narrowing as he glowered up at the archer. "Our internal family matters do not concern you. I don't care how close you are with Hood; he never should have shared personal information like that with you. I'm fine. Bats only pulled me because of a sprained ankle. Which has healed." Sure, the sprained ankle had happened due to a sudden dizzy spell which had led to him falling off a roof and nearly breaking his neck, but Roy did not need to know that.

Roy returned Dick's glare with one of his own. "Now listen here, you little punk. I'm doing you a favor by coming with you. I know what this mission means to you. And I know that you didn't tell anyone and even left Wally behind so no one could doubt your judgment, but I'm warning you now... you start showing signs of extreme fatigue or anything unusual, and I will not hesitate to call this into Batman and let him deal with you."

"I am going to kill Hood when I get back." Dick grumbled back, knowing full well that Roy was only being this annoying about it because Jason had no doubt told him about Dick's strange health problems that only seemed to be getting worse. He understood that his family was worried about them, appreciated that worry in fact, but them telling others meant that things were getting seriously out of hand.

Fortunately for Dick, they landed before Roy could push matters further, and Dick hurried off the bioship, nostalgia hitting him hard as he gazed down at the colorful tents sprawled out in the valley below where they had landed. They were too far away for the music to reach them, but Dick could practically hear it already. This was going to be one very hard mission, but it would be worth it. Anything to keep the circus where his parents had died still going. They had loved that circus.

Turning to the Team, Dick forced on a grin. "Okay, we're going to approach this like we're an act looking to join the circus. M'gann, you and I will be on the trapeze. Artemis and Red Arrow, you two are our archers. Fancy shooting only. Superboy, you're the strongman."

"Sounds simple enough. We're scouting for stolen tech, right?" Artemis asked, looking past Dick to eye the tents below. "Do we have an act name?"

"Stolen tech, yes. Hopefully it'll be a pretty simple in and out mission." Dick nodded, looking thoughtful for a moment at Artemis' second question. "An act name would be good... siblings. We're going to be siblings. Circuses love that kind of stuff. We need something risky sounding as a name too... Dangers. Daring Dangers. We can all have the last name Danger."

Roy snorted. "That's such a dumb name."

"Doesn't need to be smart. Just needs to be functional. Trust me on this one." He insisted, brows furrowing in thought before he grinned. "Okay, first names are gonna play up the 'D' thing too. I'll be Dan Danger, Red Arrow, you're Dane Danger, Artemis, you're Diane Danger, M'gann, you can be Dawn Danger, and then... Superboy... um... Dean. You're Dean Danger."

"Our names all sound the same." Superboy grumbled, nose scrunching up in obvious distaste.

Dick just grinned. "Come on. It'll be great. Just follow my lead."

Somehow, it did in fact work out, and the Team quickly found themselves given a room in a train carriage and told that they could perform the following night as festivities were slowly dying down and people already returning to their homes.

So, as the rest of the Team settled in for their stay, Dick took the opportunity to wander off and explore, enjoying the familiarity of the circus atmosphere. It hurt, sure, but he honestly had not known how much he missed the bustle and chaos of the circus. It was amazing to be back in the middle of it again, to see people dressed up in outlandish outfits to perform rather than to fight crazy villains. Although, maybe fighting villains could be considered some kind of performance. Just depended on the hero.

Lost in thought, Dick payed little attention to where he was walking, simply ambling around the tents, taking in the sounds and smells that were so familiar, and yet so completely foreign. All things considered, it really was not much of a surprise when Dick bumped into someone, a soft grunt slipping from his lips as he fell to the ground.

He blinked, shaking his head to clear his thoughts as he lifted his gaze to the other person who had also been knocked to the ground. Dick blinked again.

This person looked like him.

Exactly like him.

"Ummm..." He was, for once, at a complete loss for words.

The other him was most certainly not. "You really gotta watch were you're going better. Seriously. We're both performers... an injury is not something that anyone here wants." He told Dick, standing up carefully and pushing his fingers back through his hair. Hair that was perhaps the main difference between him and Dick. It was on the left side, falling in a straight swoop to just below his chin. The right side was completely shaved, revealing glittering piercings that traveled up his ear. There had to be at least ten, and Dick could not help but stare. It looked... odd. To see someone who essentially was him but with a clearly different style.

Fingers snapped in his face, and Dick hurriedly scrambled to his feet. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I'm Dan. Dan Danger. We just joined up." He offered his hand to the other male, doing his best to put on a friendly smile.

"Danger? Oh, Haly said something about your group." Circus said, nodding slowly. He did not take Dick's hand. If anything, his eyes narrowed suspiciously, as if he was aware of the fact that Dick was not who he said he was. "I'm John Grayson."

Dick stepped back at those words, shock hitting him like a tidal wave. There was no possible way that this... this personwas named John Grayson.

It was his father's name.

"I-I'm sorry. I need to go." Dick mumbled, turning and hurrying back to the train. He needed to get away. Needed to figure out what the heck was going on. Needed to figure out why on earth there was someone who looked exactly like him going by his dead father's name.

He ignored John calling out behind him, instead focusing all his energy on just getting back. Maybe Roy would have answers. And if not, at least the redheaded archer could offer some familial comfort.

John watched with narrowed eyes as his lookalike ran away. What the heck was going on? Why did he have a sudden doppelganger? And why did his doppelganger freak out when he heard his name? This was suspicious.

Very, very suspicious.

Although tired and achy from his many performances that night, John slipped into his well-practiced sneak mode, creeping after Dan with all the grace and agility that he possessed. Which, to be fair, was quite a lot considering the fact that he had probably spent more time in the air than on land like a normal person growing up. Still did, honestly.

Climbing to the top of the train was easy; John had been doing it since before his parents died, after all. With practiced strides, he quickly made his way to the back of the train where the majority of the vacant rooms were. Typically, the longer someone stayed with the circus, the further up the train they moved, the carriages closer to the engine holding nicer rooms for the long-time performers.

John was one of those performers, actually being the longest staying member aside from Haly. Sometimes acts would drop out and then return after a break, but John had been with the circus ever since his parents' deaths.

Not that Haly had known that he was there for the first few weeks though.

Terrified and alone, John had hidden himself with the elephants, sleeping with them at night and then hiding in another carriage during the day, scared that if he was found then he would be sent away. Unfortunately for him, he had caught a bad cold, and his hacking coughs had made it impossible to hide. But Haly had been kind when the eight-year-old was brought before him, simply welcoming the child into his comforting embrace and reassuring him that everyone had a home in his circus.

It had been hard, growing up in an ever-changing environment, especially when Haly was generally too busy to care for him as a parent would, and when the performers who had been around when John's parents were slowly began to leave. Depressed and generally just alone, John had found solace in his work as a trapeze artist, perfecting his family craft until he truly was one of the best trapeze artists in the world. People came far and wide to see him, not that John really cared.

Being on the trapeze made him feel free. It made him feel like he was flying. He loved flying, especially when he realized that no matter what he did, his flying could never end the same way his parents' had. Because John could not die from falling. It would hurt, sure, but he would never die from it, no matter how bad the injuries were. He would always heal quickly too.

The first fall had been on purpose, after his first friend roughly his age had quit. The second and third were equally as deliberate. By the time it got to his fifth, John just stopped caring. If he could not an end by falling, at least he could find a reckless thrill from it. And that thrill gave him life.

Sneaking along the train roof, John could not help but wonder if his lookalike shared his inability to die. He wondered if maybe, the other boy was some kind of distant relation. It would be odd, considering John had searched for relatives and found none, but he would love to have a family again. Not that he was about to get his hopes up though.

He slipped down onto the platform of the last carriage, carefully pulling the door open and entering. Sure, he could have used the main doors and approached the carriage like a normal person, but John was not about that life. He grew up in a circus, after all. Extravagant was his thing.

Ears straining for unfamiliar voices, John tiptoed his way down the hallway, peaking into each and every window until, finally, he came to one that looked like it had been recently occupied. Haly had not mentioned any other new arrivals. This had to be where they were staying.

So, like the absolutely normal person that he was, John slipped out of the carriage and climbed back on top, carefully situating himself right above his lookalike's room and waiting patiently for him and his siblings to return.

Ohhh. Siblings.

If they were the lookalike's siblings, and the lookalike was actually some kind of relative, then that would mean that John would get that many more family members. This was going to be great if he turned out to be some kind of relative. And if not... well... at least he provided some entertainment. Even if John was saddened by the thought of not gaining a gaggle of strange siblings who he had yet to even lay eyes upon.

Of course, John was not one to stay still for very long, so he ended up trying to see how far he could bend his leg back, which naturally turned into him walking on his hands down the length of the train carriage, which then turned into him trying to stay up on one hand for as long as possible, which progressed into him doing cartwheels because why not, until John was even more tired than when he had started his stalking mission and the lookalike and his siblings were still not back. With a sigh and a pout, John settled back down above their room, curling into a ball and drifting off to a semi peaceful slumber.

The moon was still high when a loud thud jolted him awake, and John found himself being lifted into the air by a very muscular boy with short black hair and piercing blue eyes, eyes full of distrusting confusion.

John blinked at the boy, titling his head to the side. "Who are you?"

"I'm... um... Dean." The boy... um... Dean... said, still looking very confused. "Why are you asleep above our room? And who are you?"

"I'm John. Your name is clearly not actually Dean." John informed clearly not Dean, tilting his head to the side just a bit more as he blinked at him sleepily. "I sleep everywhere."

Not actually Dean continued to hold John in the air, his own head tilting to the side in response to John's. "Okay, but you look like Ro-Dan. You look like Dan. Why do you look like Dan?"

John started to swing in his hold, twisting his way out of not actually Dean's grip and up onto the other male's shoulders. "I dunno. Ro-Dan looks like me. You got any idea why Ro-Dan looks like me, not actually Dean?"

"Um... no, not really. Do you normally sit on people?" Not actually Dean asked, clearly still confused despite not making any move to push John off.

"Sometimes. People can be comfy. You're comfy, not actually Dean."

Not actually Dean sighed. "Conner. My name is Conner."

John grinned, leaning forward and down so not actually Dean but Conner could see his smile. "Hello, not actually Dean but Conner. I'm John."

"You said that already."

"So? Introductions are important." With a sigh, John flipped down from Conner's shoulders, pushing his hair from his face and grinning up at him. "You're one of the Danger people, right?"

Conner nodded.

"Sweet. Can you tell kind of me but also not me that I didn't mean to scare him or whatever? He ran away..."

"He didn't say that he'd met you." Conner said, brows creasing into a frown.

John reached up, poking Conner's forehead. "Frowns make wrinkles. Wrinkles are bad." He instructed, lips twitching upward into another grin. "I'm gonna go to bed now. Was nice meeting you, not actually Dean but Conner."

And with that, he flipped away, leaving a very confused young hero in his wake.

It was the next day when the rest of the Team caught onto the fact that there was a Robin lookalike wandering around camp.

"Wow... he's amazing." M'gann said, eyes wide as she tilted her head back to watch the boy swinging back and forth on the trapeze.

Dick had wanted them to practice their act before the performance that night, however, when they made it to the tent around midday, the trapeze was already occupied, the lithe figure of who Dick could only assume to be John flying through the air with such practiced ease that it was truly breathtaking.

The rest of the team was astonished, watching in awe as the boy performed series of extreme flips, aided by another performer who was clearly less superior in skill, something made all the more evident when the other person missed a catch and the boy fell into the net below.

"Come on, Reggie. You gotta be better than that." John complained, rolling out of the net so that his partner could jump down too. He turned to look at Dick's Team, one eyebrow raising. "You folks looking to get some practice in?"

"Yes. Um... John, these are my siblings. Dawn, Diane, Dean, and Dane. We're the Daring Dangers." Dick said, gesturing at the still awestruck heroes. "Is it alright if we practice, or are you still going?"

John snorted, waving Dick off. "It's chill. And seriously, you don't need to use the fake names if you don't have to, Ro-Dan. I've already met not actually Dean but Conner."

"Seriously?" Dick asked, turning to frown at Conner. "You told him your name?"

Conner rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "He figured out that it wasn't actually Dean. What did you want me to do, not tell him? It would have been rude..."

"Conner, you know better." Roy chided, although his eyes never left John's face, suspicion clear in his gaze. "Your name is John? How long have you been with the circus?"

"You're kinda rude. I don't think I like you, probably not Dane." John informed him, scrunching up his nose and moving to stand next to Conner. "You should be nicer to your siblings... even if they're fake. Are they fake? You people don't look all that related."

Dick fought back a groan. This was a nightmare. "Look, it really is none of your business, okay? Now if you don't mind, we're going to train." John was making him extremely uncomfortable. The other male looked exactly like him. And his name... Dick shuddered. Something was very clearly wrong.

"Fine. Whatever. You guys do your training. The other trapeze act called out sick anyway, so you'll have that open for at least a few hours." John looked offended, but he did not comment on it, instead turning and narrowing his eyes at his partner. "Come on, Reggie. Let's go find food."

Reggie, a short brunette, nodded. "Sorry for messing up..."

John simply rolled his eyes. "It's fine. We'll do something fun instead." He slung his arm over the other boy's shoulders, and they exited the tent.

As soon as they left, Artemis turned to Dick, eyes narrowed. "We need to talk. Privately."

Dick grimaced. "Right... right. Okay." He had a sinking feeling he knew what this conversation would be about. "You guys just... get yourselves familiar with the equipment, okay?"

The rest of the Team nodded, although Roy still looked seriously on edge. Dick made a mental note to talk to him about it again later.

Artemis led him to a far corner of the tent, hands moving to her hips as she glowered at him. "Seriously? Do you see me laughing? This is not funny, Grayson. What kind of... how has no one figured this out? It's so obvious."

"Clearly not that obvious if it took me being in the same room as a doppelganger for you to realize." Dick grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. "No one sees Robin and... and civilian me in the same room. And Bats has great alibis."

"This is still so dumb. You... argh."

Dick snorted. "If you think my disguise is obvious, you should see what Superman and Wonder Woman do."

"Honestly, at this point I don't even want to know. Hiding in plain sight... should have known after Oliver..." Artemis grumbled, clearly more irritated about not figuring it out earlier, with it being so obvious.

"Not like you hide your identity well either, Artemis. Your hero name is literally just your actual name. Anyone with internet and access to google could figure you out."

Artemis flipped him off. "Whatever. At least now I get the circus thing. You're an idiot for doing this, by the way."

Dick shrugged. "I know. We good now? We should probably get to training..."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. We're good. But you are totally bringing me to your fancy mansion someday."

"That can be arraigned."

A rather loud scream sounded behind them, and both heroes turned to watch as M'gann stopped her fall by floating midair. Dick facepalmed.

"Dawn, no. There's a net. Just... just land in the net for now." Dick called out to her, hurrying back to the trapeze. "Come on, I'll show you some basic moves."

John did not see much of the newbies for the rest of the day, too focused on trying to get Reggie, a boy who had also only recently joined up, to trust him a bit more. After all, trust was vital when performing above a massive drop. Not that John could die from falling, but Haly had pointed out that him constantly plummeting to what could very well be his death was bringing down ticket sales. So, he needed Reggie to not drop him. The kid was not horrible, sure, but he was nowhere near John's level of expertise, meaning that until he got better, John would be unable to perform properly on the trapeze.

Sure, single person performances were possible, but they significantly limited flips and other fun activities, and John was not about that boring life.

That and Reggie was starting to get on his nerves. The kid barely spoke and always panicked when John tried to sit on his shoulders. It was quite frustrating.

He had not even been able to perform that night because Haly wanted to give the newbies more audience attention. So, irritated and sleepy, John found himself once again curled up atop the carriage housing Daring probably not Dangers' room. They were gone again, something that John found more than a little bit suspicious.

Especially with the cops constantly showing up and harassing people about things being stolen. The idiots clearly thought Haly had something to do with it. John knew better. It was obviously Ray the Roustabout who had joined mere days before the thievery happened. Not that Haly would believe him though.

So, with a yawn, John settled in to wait, wondering who exactly this new group of people were and why they were messing with his home.

He had drifted off to sleep after a while, only to be woken once again by Conner picking him up. Except this time, the muscular teen had picked him up like a princess. John grinned sleepily up at him. "Hello, not actually Dean but Conner."

"You shouldn't be sleeping up here. It isn't good to sleep outside on top of trains." Conner chided, still carrying John as he jumped off the roof and onto the ground.

"But you guys were gone. Where did you go?" He asked, titling his head to the side and pouting when Conner put him down. "You smell like smoke."

Conner huffed softly, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter where we went. No harm was done."

"You look upset. That's clearly harm done."

"I'm fine."

John rolled his eyes. "You're clearly not, but okay... I'm in the second carriage from the engine if you want to talk." He gave Conner a sleepy smile before turning to walk away, unable to fight the strange fuzzy feeling creeping into his chest. It felt nice to have someone care that much about his sleeping arraignments.

Weird, sure, but nice, nonetheless.

With a long sigh, John shook his head. He could not be thinking of stuff like that. Attachments just meant disappointment when acts inevitably moved on. He knew better than to let people in.

So, for the next day and a half, John went out of his way to avoid the Dangers, even hiding in his room and pretending to be sick when the time came for the circus to move towns. In fact, he successfully managed to avoid them long enough for Conner to come visit.

The pounding on his door startled John enough to make him unbalance, hitting the floor with a thump. "Ow..." He whined, rubbing his head as he pulled it open. "You distracted my one hand handstanding."

Conner looked rightfully confused. "Sorry?"

John sighed, shaking his head and gesturing for Conner to enter the cluttered and colorful room, glittery consumes randomly lying about along with other miscellaneous items of clothing. "Ignore the mess. It's always like this."

"Right... um... okay. Are you doing alright? I heard you were sick."

"Not really. Just... avoiding Ro-Dan. Dude clearly does not like me." John said with a shrug, flopping down onto the floor to start picking up randomly scattered books. "I heard about a villain being busted for thievery. You got anything to do with that?"

Conner frowned. "He doesn't not like you... it's just confusing because you both look the same." He pointedly ignored the question about the villain being caught.

"Yeah, well it is confusing." John pushed the books under his unmade bed, flipping up onto it in one graceful motion. "Did you just come to check up on me because you thought I was sick?"

"No, actually... I wanted to tell you that we're leaving after tonight. I... I didn't think it would be right to just leave and not say anything, even if we don't actually know eachother." Conner looked down at the floor, unable to meet John's gaze.

John did his best not to react to the news, teeth sinking down into his lower lip as he shrugged. "Right, okay. Well, thanks for telling me, I guess."

The atmosphere had grown awkward now, Conner shifting uncomfortably on his feet as John plucked stray flecks of glitter off his blanket in an attempt to distract himself.

Conner sighed. "I... um... I'm going to go now. We're performing tonight."

"Right. Okay." John nodded, keeping his voice emotionless as he watched Conner turn and leave the room. With a long sigh, he flopped back against his bed. This was why he did not let himself befriend the newbies. They always ended up leaving. This was his own fault, and yet... and yet he could not help but feel sad. Sure, he did not actually know any of them, but... but there was some kind of connection there. Some kind of link; some kind of missing piece of information that would make all of this fit together.

John groaned. He was just being stupid again. There was no need to get worked up over the new act leaving.

No, what he needed to do was get out of his room and perform. It was sure to help. It always helped.

He gathered up his necessary equipment and changed into his favorite performance outfit, a deep blue leotard with shimmery silver leggings, silver glitter wings spreading across the dark blue fabric which covered his back. Slipping on some sweatpants, John exited his carriage and went in search of the Ringleader to inform him that he would indeed be performing, solo, obviously considering the fact that Reggie was still quite horrible.

As was his custom, John snuck up behind the man who had mostly raised him, launching himself at him at the very last second, earning an annoyed groan from Haly.

"Hi. I wanna perform." John chirped with forced cheer as he sat upon the elderly man's shoulders.

"Get off me, you demon child." Haly protested, although there really was no bite to his words. "You're sure you're feeling fine?"

John pouted but did as he was told and flipped back down. "Yeah, I'm sure. Solo trapeze and aerial stuff."

Haly simply sighed. "We're about to start... you know a bit more preparation would have been helpful, right?"

"Maybe... but I only just started feeling fully better. So, can I go on or nah?"

"Have you met Dan?" Haly asked instead of answering him, earning an annoyed look from John.

"Of course, I've met Dan. He doesn't like me."

Haly snorted. "You are a bit of a handful to deal with, kid. But he looks exactly like you. You got any secret siblings that I don't know about?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Can I go on or not?" John asked, brushing aside Haly's clearly confused questioning in favor of getting down to the more important topic. "Pleeeease? I'm boooored."

"You bored is never a good thing." Haly grumbled, shuddering in horror, probably recalling the last time John had declared his boredom and ended up dyeing the zebras blue. It had been a glorious occasion, although no one except John and the zebras seemed to think so. "You can go on before the Danger kids. Half an hour, okay?"

John grinned, nodding and leaning over to peck the older male's cheek before running off. This was exactly what he needed. Performing was an excellent distraction for his abandonment issues, and so John poured all his focus into acting happy and energetic as he prepared for his performance.

In the backstage part of the tent, the Danger siblings were also getting ready, meaning that John had to put just that much more effort into avoiding them all. Unfortunately for him however, the avoidance game did not work, and, five minutes before he was set to go on, Ro-Dan approached him.

"Hey, I just wanted to see how you're doing."

John snorted at the question. "Right, okay. I'm fine."

Ro-Dan looked offended. "I'm being genuine here. You seem... kind of off."

"I'm fine. Just getting ready to go on." John insisted, although the familiar ache in his chest was indeed starting to return thanks to the questioning. "You guys are really leaving after tonight?"

"Yeah... this is the last performance."

John hummed softly, turning to stare at Ro-Dan thoughtfully. "What's your real name? You're leaving tonight anyway, right? It doesn't matter if you tell me."

Ro-Dan glanced back at his friends before nodding toward the edge of the tent. "Over there." It was only a few steps away, but there was more distance between them and the other Dangers.

"Okay. We're here now. Tell me. What is your name?"

"Dick Grayson. My name is Dick Grayson."

The words were whispered, but they were still loud enough for John to know that he had heard correctly. Dick Grayson. He had not gone by Dick since he was a kid.

Was that shock hitting him like a wave of ice water?

Probably.

John stumbled back, eyes going wide as he stared at Ro-Dan... Dick Grayson. It was him.

Somehow, some way, the male standing in front of him was himself.

"Are you okay?" Dick asked, confusion clouding his features as he watched John back away. Sure, this was the reaction that he himself had had when first hearing John introduce himself, but something was not quite right about it. Something was off. So, Dick reached forward, his fingers clasping around John's bare arm.

And then suddenly, everything changed.

It felt like a rush, sound and light blurring together into an indistinguishable roar as pain hit Dick like a load of bricks. But along with the pain came something else.

No.

Not just something else.

Someone else.

Memories flooded his mind, overwhelming him with their utter clarity and vibrance. Years of circus training. Performances. Falling. Making friends. Friends leaving. Sadness. Pain. Depression.

Dick whimpered, hands clutching at his head, struggling to process everything flooding into his mind. Where was it all coming from? Who was it all coming from?

He barely had the awareness to notice that John was no longer lying on the ground in front of him. John had vanished.

"Robin? Robin, are you okay? What happened?" Someone asked, kneeling next to Dick even as he flinched back.

There was too much information. Too many memories that he should not have. Too many thoughts that did not belong to him, and yet... somehow did. His head was pounding, nausea coiling in the pit of his stomach as he tried to curl in on himself protectively.

Hands on his shoulders stopped him from moving, the vague sound of frantic voices like muddied whispers through the pounding blood in his ears.

"We need to get him to the ship–"

"Calling Bat–"

"Miss M. can you–"

He was lifted then, but Dick was too out of it to care, simply squeezing his eyes shut as the confusing memories and thoughts continued to assail his mind.

Dick groaned softly, blinking his eyes open with a grimace. While his mind was still reeling with confusion, at least he knew where he was. The Batcave. He would be able to recognize that craggily stone ceiling anywhere.

"Bruce?" He croaked out, throat oddly parched as he heaved himself up into a sitting position on the hospital-style bed that they kept in the corner of the cave. Eyes scanning the room, Dick easily spotted his mentor seated at the computer. What he also saw though was enough to make him wish he had pretended to be out of it for a little while longer. All three brothers also occupied the cave, all glowering at him in various states of anger and concern.

"Dick, what were you thinking? You know better than to rush off on some random mission without telling any of us." Tim snapped first, the concern outweighing any possible anger that his tone could have held. "You could have gotten seriously hurt."

"It was fucking stupid. You're lucky Roy was there. Apparently, your kiddie squad were running around like someone chopped their heads off." Jason added, earning a glare from Damian.

"Todd, you have been told numerous times to stop sending Harper to infiltrate the Team. He is hardly the good influence those young heroes need." Damian grumbled, earning rude gesture from Jason. "Richard, just because we agreed to let you hang out with your friends at the cave does not mean that you were allowed to go on random missions. In fact, you've been told numerous times that it is unsafe to do so, at least until we figure out what is going on with you."

Dick shrank back under their stares, rubbing his forehead. "Can we save the lectures until later... my head hurts."

Bruce stepped in then, standing from his chair and walking to Dick's bedside. "Unfortunately, no. What you did was completely irresponsible and reckless. You could have put your teammates and civilians in jeopardy, not to mention your own safety. Regardless of that, however, there are more pressing matters now. What do you remember after you touched this... this 'John'?"

Dick sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. He did not want to talk about that. His brain was still processing all the strange new information, the strange new identity. "I... I don't really know."

"Something happened, Dick. Your reaction leaves no question there. Roy Harper said that it looked like the boy merged with you. That this boy looked identical to you in pretty much every manner, that he even said his last name was Grayson." Bruce pushed, eyes searching Dick's face.

Dick turned away.

"Like I said... I don't know. I... he... there are memories in my head that weren't there before. It's like... it's like a whole different life that I know I never lived, and yet... yet it's there. Somehow, someway, it's there." He mumbled, grimacing as more pain flared in his skull. This was stupid, so, so stupid.

Especially since Bruce did not look all that surprised by his words.

Dick frowned.

"What do you know?"

"Not much. But I did test you while you were out... It's honestly something that I should have done when you were a kid, and if not then, as soon as you started having your headaches and fatigue issues." Bruce said, shoulders slumping as he let out a sigh. "You've got the meta gene, Dick. From that information compiled with what happened on this mission, it's not too hard to guess that your abilities fall somewhere in the realm of clone creation. This 'John' was most likely a clone that you created at some point in time."

Dick's frown deepened at that information, fear suddenly creeping up his throat. Bruce only ever took in normal children. He did not mix with metas. Sure, he worked with them, but Bruce and all Dick's brothers did not have powers. Not having powers was pretty much the Batfamily shtick. And so, Dick asked the only question that came to mind. "Are you... are you going to get rid of me? Now that I'm not... now that I'm not like you and the others?"

"Fucking hell. Dickie-bird..." Jason was moving toward him then, the other three males seemingly frozen at Dick's question. Jason on the other hand... well, Jason looked mad. Still, Dick did not protest as Jason grabbed him, only a little bit startled to be pulled into a tight embrace rather than attacked. "No one is going to get rid of you, little wing. And if they even so much as think of trying, I'll fucking shoot them." His words were clearly a challenge to the other family members, and they worked.

Bruce too stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on Dick's shoulder as Jason pulled back. "Dick, I need you to listen to me, okay? We are not going to get rid of you just because we've discovered that you have powers. We... I would never get rid of you. You're our family, alright? You're the exact same person that you were before. We just know about your abilities now and having powers in the hero business is never a bad thing."

Dick ducked his head, shoulders slumping in relief, even as he was pulled into another hug by Tim, his most affectionate brother keeping an arm around his shoulder even as he pulled back. "Just imagine how cool this could be, little wing. You've got clones."

"But... but I don't know how to use this power. I didn't even know I'd created this one." Dick protested, eyes suddenly growing wide as he turned to stare at Bruce, panic clear in his gaze. "What if there are more of them out there? How am I supposed to... how am I supposed to find them all again?"

Damian snorted. "We look for them. Obviously. Bruce and Tim already have a lead, someone that they've actually been keeping an eye on for a while."

Dick blinked. "What? Really? Who?"

"You've heard of Deathstroke, right? There has been footage caught more and more regularly over the past few years of a boy about your age working with him. Some kind of apprentice, we're guessing. One with your build and hair. One who uses a surprising amount of acrobatic skills for being trained by an assassin." Bruce informed him, glancing back over at his computer. "It was odd before, and we were monitoring him loosely, but now... this could very well be a lead. Tim and I have been looking into it more seriously."

Tim nodded emphatically, giving Dick's body a squeeze as he grinned down at him. "Don't you worry, little wing. We'll find your clones. And we'll do our best to help you learn to use your abilities. It'll be great."

"More than fucking great. It'll be chaos." Jason added in with an evil smirk, rubbing his hands together. "Just imagine... you could have a whole army of yous out there. The pranks we could pull..."

Dick smiled weakly, leaning into Tim's side. "Right... well... I think just processing the new information from this one is enough... although... I think I've figured out something that could be useful. His memories are different after the night when my parents died. I got taken by you, he stayed with the circus. If there are others, that's probably when they were made... or however this works."

Bruce nodded, ruffling Dick's hair fondly. "Thanks, bud. That is helpful. We can start by searching footage from that night. But for now, you need rest. Damian, can you help him to his room?"

"Yes, Father." Damian gently pulled Dick away from Tim, supporting Dick as he stumbled and swayed, clearly still very much out of it.

"Wait... Bruce? Do you think... do you think finding them all will help with the headaches?" Dick asked, turning his head to look back at his guardian.

"For now, we can only hope so, yes." Bruce gave him a gentle smile. "Go rest, Dick. You'll need it."

And so, Dick let his oldest brother help him to bed, where he quickly found himself in a dream filled sleep, reliving memories that were all to clearly not his own.

Back at Haly's Circus, the old Ringleader was cursing his bad luck. Not only had his new acrobatic act abandoned him, but so had John, the best trapeze artist that the circus had ever had the fortune of housing.

To make matters even worse, Haly had a creeping suspicion that the acrobat he had practically raised had been taken not by a kidnapper, but by himself.

Haly was far too old for this job. 

AN:

This is by far the longest chapter that I've ever written, someone be proud of me. It's like... a tad over 7,000 which for me is huge. It took more than a few hours to write, and it's only chapter one xD Send help.