The Trouble in You Is the Trouble in Me

@ Prince Vegeta
(Yeah that sounds good. I don't want to make it too hard but I feel like they shouldn't be like together like Damian and Melinda, at least not yet. I think they need to interact more before officially being a couple.)
Melinda beamed at the praise, her hand reaching out for Damian's when he stood up. She laced her fingers through his and gave them a quick squeeze. She felt his body go rigid next to hers when his father brought up his mother, and Melinda jumped right in to help him change the subject quickly. "I really wanted to go on that spinny ride over there! We passed it on the way over," Melinda said, and she started pulling Damian towards it, leading him there.

Clarissa nodded in affirmation, letting Dick lead her towards the others once he spotted them. She lingered near his side as they walked, not really saying anything, but with a small smile on her face.

@ blue robin
(Okay. We can proceed from here. I actually have an idea for maybe getting Clarissa freaked out about the whole relationship thing that would make her focus more on training for the time being.)

Damian thanked the new gods when they all agreed to go on a different ride. When his mother had been mentioned Damian had not been prepared to go on about that since Talia left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth. He noticed Dick and Clarissa joining them so it looked like it was going to be a family outing on the ride.

Dick and Clarissa strode up to the rest of the family. They gave no indication of what had happened as they came to the rest of the family. "Hey, what's the next ride?" Dick asked casually. When Tim showed them they all got in line and eventually got strapped in and ready to go.

@ Prince Vegeta
(What's your idea? Sorry for not being on for so long!)

Melinda sat beside Damian on the ride, and she gave his knee a quick squeeze before it started. Once they were all off, she started to feel the exhaustion from the day rush over her. It was starting to become the last light part of the day, the sun was setting in a brilliance of purples and oranges, and she leaned her head against Damian's shoulder as they all started to make their way towards the exit of the carnival. It seemed that Bruce was pretty much done, even though Jason and Tim still seemed to be riling each other up, pushing each other around and laughing in the back of the group. "Do you think that you wanna go home? We could relax and watch a movie or something, maybe patrol together later?" Melinda offered to him, looking up to meet his eyes.

Clarissa stuck around Dick for the next few rides that they all shared, but as they all started making their way towards the exit she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back to see Jason's smiling face, and Tim chuckling behind him with a mischievous glint in his eyes that made her a little bit worried. "Awh, come on, I don't think you want the fun to stop just yet, hm Clary? Come with us. We know a party that's going to be pretty good. C'mon," Jason said, sliding his arm over her shoulder and leaning towards her.

@ blue robin
(I figured that Clarissa could realize with this just how deep she's in and it could scare her into just wanting to train all the time instead of trying to pursue a romance. Also I thought you were dead!)
Damian smirked when she squeezed his knee. When she offered to patrol he smiled and nodded. "Sure thing." he told her as he noticed something on Wally that he hadn't earlier. His eyes shot wide when he figured it out. It started beeping so Damian shoved Melinda out of the way and grabbed Wally. A fine mist shot into his face. He dropped back and coughed as he looked at Melinda to make sure she was okay. Only it wasn't Melinda. Her face was torn to reveal his mother's face. "You found me out my little Damian." Damian looked into his mother's eyes. "No." he whispered as Dick's Tim's, Jason's, Barbara's, his Dad's, and Melinda's heads appeared on spikes around her. "No, no, no!" he screamed as she approached and took a swing at her. Missing wide. He screamed louder when he saw the clone who had killed come running towards him.

Dick turned around to see Damian get sprayed with a mist. All of sudden Damian was screaming and swinging at Melinda. He wasn't mad but he was scared. "Fear toxin. Jason, Tim on me!" Dick ordered as he ran forward. Tim tried to get Damian in a headlock to bring him down. Damian shrugged him off and kicked him into a game stand. Jason tried punching Damian but Damian sweeped Jason's legs and had him on the ground. Dick managed to get around and grapple Damian and bring him to the ground. Damian flailed like a wild animal. Dick watched as Alfred ran over with sedative and jammed it into Damian's arm. "You're not killing me again Mother!" Damian screamed as he tried to get free as the syringe went into his arm and the liquid went into his veins. Damian shouted jibberish and kept trashing until a minute had passed and Damian fell limp. Bruce came over and looked at everyone. "Back to the manor. We get Damian help and then suit up. Everyone is on patrol tonight." Bruce said in his growling Batman voice. "Clarissa let's roll." Dick told her as they all started running to the limo.

@ The Punisher
Melinda was shocked when Damian grabbed Wally from her roughly, pushing her aside. She managed to turn her head in enough time to find that he was being sprayed with a mist, causing his eyes to widen in terror seconds later. It was a moment before she was moving back towards him, wanting to comfort him and see what was wrong when he took a swing at her. She dodged the punch easily, eyes widening when he started screaming out "no". Melinda took a few steps back, scared and unsure of what was happening, as Dick, Jason, and Tim started to try and grab Damian. She watched with wide eyes as they were finally able to sedate him, her body shaking with fear of what had just happened, especially after hearing Damian yell about his mother. Upon hearing Bruce inform everyone to get to the car, she followed them all, her face completely devoid of color. She ached with want to help Damian, being unsure and scared of what she could do, and for the shock that seeing him in so much fear had been caused by just a mist. She followed everyone to the car, sitting next to Damian's sedated body and running a hand over his cheek. She had a few silent tears running down her cheeks, feeling sorry for whatever he had had to gone through, and realizing that he had taken Wally from her just to spare her from the same fate.

Clarissa watched in fear as they took down Damian, it all happening so quick that she was barely able to process the events. Bruce's clear and determined voice broke through the fog of fear in her head, and she nodded at Dick's following statement as she followed them all into the car. She sat next to Dick after she climbed in, preparing herself for the patrol to come. Clarissa assumed it was going to be difficult tonight, since it didn't seem like an accident that they had been exposed to that.

@ blue robin
The group got back to the Wayne mansion in break neck speed. Bruce and Tim grabbed Damian and hurried him off to the bat cave. Jason and Dick prevented Clarissa and Melinda from running off after them. Alfred and Bruce were going to need all space that they could get. Once down in the Bat Cave Alfred worked on setting an IV up and continually sedated so that Damian wouldn't die of a heart attack. Bruce worked at breakneck speed to formulate an antidote. Hours passed before Bruce and Tim were able formulate something that would help him. After injecting Damian with the formula his heart rate quickly lowered to a reasonable rate. "She should be fine. Let's get him to his room." Bruce told Alfred and Tim as they snuck him into his room and set the IV up in there. An hour or two passed before Damian started to sitr and wake up.

Dick and the rest waited around for a while before Bruce walked into the room. "Melinda, Alfred and Damian are in his room. You can see him if you like. The rest of you. On me." he told Dick, Clarissa, Tim, Jason, Barbara before they went to the batcave. Everyone of them suited up. "YOu know your goal. Right now I have it broken down to Toyman or Scarecrow. The gas is Scarecrow's MO while the toy is more Toyman's method of acting. Hit the streets and we shall communicate from there." Dick looked at Clarissa. "Bike or car?" he asked her.

@ The Punisher
As soon as they got to the manor, Melinda tried to follow after Damian, wanting to be with him to make sure that he was okay. She was held back by Jason, and she fought against him for a few moments before she broke down and stopped, tears rolling down her cheeks silently. She weakly punched Jason in the chest, nothing harmful, a solid thud but nothing more, before turning around and walking away, trying to find somewhere where no one would bother her. She was beyond worried for Damian, and somehow couldn't shake the feeling that she could've done something, or been better and have known, so that it wouldn't have to be Damian right now. She would've gladly traded spots with him, didn't know why he thought she didn't deserve it, that he would push her out of the way. Melinda would've much rathered it had been her. Damian was much more important.

When Bruce walked into the room and said that Damian was in his room, she bolted upwards and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time to get to Damian's room. She slowed just outside of his door, and took a breath before she opened it and found Alfred on his way out. He nodded his head to her before leaving, closing the door shut behind him. She moved to Damian's bed side, sitting down and finding his hand outside of the covers, and taking it in her own.

---

Clarissa wanted to follow and somehow see if she could help Damian out in any way possible, but when she was prevented by Dick, she didn't resist. Instead, she allowed herself to wrap her arms around his middle and rest her forehead against his chest, breathing in the smell of his tshirt and trying to be calm. She was worried for Damian, but had trust in Bruce, Alfred, and Tim to figure things out and get him back to being healthy and normal. It wasn't long before Bruce came back and ordered them to follow, and Clarissa walked beside Dick into the bat cave. She suited up quickly, now more understanding on what to put on and where, listening to Bruce speak about who he thought caused the encounter they had earlier. When Dick asked for her preference, she nodded towards the bike. "It's faster," She said, and moved towards it, waiting for him to get on so she could hold onto him from behind.