Summary: In the midst of a world ravaged by the Anti-Life Equation, a grieving telepathic hero must protect her unborn child and find hope in the remnants of the Bat-Family, while forging a path toward a future worth fighting for.
Lying on your back, you practiced the deep breathing exercises Leslie Thompkins’ midwives had taught you during your frequent visits, all at Richard's insistence. You complied because you knew this baby would be your and his entire world. So, deep breathing it was. One hand rested just above your belly, the other on your chest, guiding your breaths through your nostrils to raise the hand on your belly and blowing out through your mouth.
You loved that Dick wanted to be near you at every possible moment. However, his constant tossing and turning as you tried to ignore the splitting headache was too much to bear. Eventually, you made him leave the room. That was a while ago. Alfred had just brought you a fresh washcloth for your forehead when you heard a commotion downstairs.
Alfred rushed down immediately at the noise, but it took you a moment to regain your bearings and waddle toward the living room.
At the bottom of the stairs, you froze, staring in shock as your husband, who had been so gentle only an hour ago, was now desperately trying to scratch and bite Alfred and Bruce. Almost out of nowhere, Tim managed to sneak up on Bruce, tearing a chunk out of his arm.
"Dick?" you whispered, frozen in horror as your husband noticed your presence and began to advance toward you.
He was too close for comfort, and it was clear he wasn’t the man you had sent out of your bedroom. One hand instinctively covered your stomach while the other shot into the air, a blue glow holding Nightwing back.
"Run!" Bruce shouted, and as quickly as possible, you bolted down the stairs into the Batcave just as Alfred stabbed both Tim and Dick with a machete—one of the many weapons hidden around Wayne Manor.
You stood behind Alfred and his shotgun, staring into space as Bruce spoke to Superman, discussing his plan to save the world and mentioning something he had for Damian. Before the Man of Steel arrived, Bruce explained to you and Alfred that he wasn’t going to make it, and that Damian, you, and your baby were the future of the family if you couldn’t find the others.
The briefcase in his hand was for Damian, and Alfred was given direct orders to get it to him. You were shocked. You were losing your entire family in the span of a few hours, and it wasn’t even noon yet.
There was nothing to do but watch as, despite Mister Freeze’s suit, Bruce eventually succumbed to the virus coursing through his veins. Alfred ended the call to Damian before shooting Bruce in the head. You turned away, cowering behind Alfred.
Normally, you wouldn’t be afraid of a little blood, but in the past few months, you had slowly started to edge yourself out of the fray. You stopped going on patrol and stopped helping Dick train the Young Justice team, staying behind at the cave doing intel and comms, making sure the Bat-Family would live to fight another day. After all, you were going to be a mother soon, and how could you be out fighting crime at night with a baby at home? If Dick needed to keep fighting, then so be it, but if anything were to happen to him, your baby would still have you.
Now that worst fear is coming true. Dick's lifeless body lies upstairs as you tremble on the ground, unable to keep everyone's thoughts out of your head. That’s when you felt a gentle hand on your shoulder, and you started to come back to reality.
"...breathe, Ms. Grayson, breathe. That’s right, breathe." Alfred was looking you in the eyes, and slowly you returned to the present. You managed to keep all the extra voices in your head out, for the time being.
"Will you be all right, Ms. Grayson?" he asked, truly concerned about your health.
"Yes, thank you, Alfred. I’m better now," you said, taking deep breaths as Alfred walked back into the manor.
He dragged the bodies of Dick, Tim, and Bruce down to the Batcave to say a proper goodbye, with Superman’s help. You knelt beside Dick’s masked body, holding his hand in yours. "How am I going to do this without you, darling?"
A strong hand clasped your shoulder. "It's time to go," Superman said, helping you to your feet. Alfred stood a few feet back, offering his hand to help you into the Batwing. As the jet lifted off the ground, your eyes remained on your dear husband until he finally disappeared from view.
You made it to Metropolis, where the rest of the heroes were gathering with little worry. However, that calm was shattered when an infected Giganta started booming toward the rooftop filled with your allies. Alfred started firing missiles at her while you tried to control her sweeping movements with little success.
After a few missiles, she punched the Batwing out of the air, catapulting you back into your seat as it began hurtling toward the ground. Desperately, Alfred flipped switches and pulled controls, trying to stop the plane’s freefall.
But you took control, enveloping the ship in your familiar blue glow, safely landing it on the roof adjacent to where the surviving members of the Justice League stood.
"Father?" You caught a glimpse of Damian running toward the broken and battered Batwing as Alfred helped you out of the wreckage.
"Damian, I am so sorry, son," was all Alfred could say as he opened the briefcase on the concrete roof.
With sad eyes, he looked up to you. "Dick?"
You shook your head, and in an instant, Damian’s arms were around your shoulders, pulling you into a tight embrace. You held him close, knowing that Dick and Damian had a special bond. Damian was like a little brother to you, and you felt his pain so deeply and sincerely.
"Everything will be all right," you sniffled as he pulled away and went over to Alfred, who showed him what was in the case—a brand new Batman costume, meant for Damian to wear.
You saw Superman and Wonder Woman fly off, and after a shaking boom crumbled the city around you, Black Canary—now Earth’s new Green Lantern—saved the top of the Daily Planet, where the survivors were.
Over the course of the next few days, Wonder Woman, Superman, Superboy, Flash, and Kid Flash severed the internet connection across the entire planet.
After a week, you helped the new Batman, Green Arrow, and Green Lantern get to Gotham unharmed, only to see a massive jungle surrounding what used to be your city.
"Oh, Ivy," you said, running into her arms as soon as you saw her. Your team, the Birds of Prey, had frequently assisted—and been assisted by—Poison Ivy to the point where she was basically a member. When you got pregnant, she made you different tea concoctions to soothe your aching joints and painful migraines.
"Thank the stars," she whispered, holding you closer. "I was afraid that the virus had gotten you too."
"Why’s that?" You worried about what she was going to say because the look on her face was anything but reassuring.
"Catwoman, Huntress, Batgirl, and Batwoman attacked us, Sugar Bear," Harley said, giving you a big hug and looking down at your belly. "I told Auntie Ivy not to worry, that your mama would nevea let anythin’ happen to ya."
You chuckled at Harley—some things never change, even in an apocalypse.
"Pamela, we’re looking for sanctuary for survivors," Damian cut the reunion short, and Ivy barely gave him a second glance.
"Oh, that."
"We’ve already started this conversation."
Ivy eventually agreed, as long as you would stay in her safe haven and that there would be rules and screenings for those who were let in.
You agreed because both Ivy and Damian said it would be safest for you and your baby in Gotham. Which is ironic, seeing as just last week you and Dick were looking at schools outside of the crime-ridden city.
The magically protected jungle would keep anyone who was turned out, therefore keeping everyone safe. You asked Damian to stay as well, but he said the world needed him.
With the strongest hug you could muster, you said goodbye to Damian, who said it wasn’t goodbye, that he would see you again soon.
~~~
You hadn’t expected to see another living member of the Bat-Family until, during a rare moment of sleep, your radio crackled with Ivy's voice.
"Hey, there’s someone here I think you’ll want to see."
Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you glanced over at the crib only a few feet away. Your son was sound asleep, his little mouth open, showing off his gums.
A smile tugged at your lips as you carefully placed him in the baby wrap on your chest. His striking icy blue eyes and gummy smile were a perfect reflection of his father. It almost made you laugh. "Come on, hun, I suppose there’s someone we need to see."
Your baby let out a soft laugh, making you smile as you descended the stairs from your apartment to the ground level. Outside, children were running around, listening to Poison Ivy reassure them that they were safe within the confines of her jungle.
Harley waved at you enthusiastically and pointed toward a statue where a man in a brown leather jacket was standing, staring at it.
Your brows furrowed in recognition, and you started walking toward him. "Jason?"
He quickly turned at the sound of your voice, his eyes widening as he saw you with your baby in your arms. "You’re alive?"
Jason approached you cautiously, his gaze fixed on the little one in your arms. "And who might this be?"
His hand brushed against his eyes, wiping away tears that threatened to spill over. "Jason, this is Richard Bruce Grayson. Richard, this is your Uncle Jay."
You carefully slipped your baby out of the wrap and placed him into Jason's stiff arms. At first, he held the child at arm’s length, unsure and hesitant. But when Richard began to giggle and gurgle hysterically, Jason brought him close, holding him tenderly.
"He looks just like him," Jason murmured, his eyes never leaving your baby. "A Boy Wonder. A new hope."
I'm feeling oddly generous. So today I shall share DCeased: Unkillables WIDE FLOYD with you all.
[id: the character Deadshot in a red bodysuit topped with silver, almost medieval armor and a knight helmet. Presumably the artist meant to draw him muscular, but instead he is impossibly wide, like someone used the horizontal stretch tool in Photoshop.]
