The countryside area surrounding Wayne Manor was surprisingly bright and pleasant in the warm July sun. On previous visits to Gotham, Lara’s attention had always been drawn either towards the luxurious manor, with all it’s hidden secrets, or by the massive sprawling city across the bay, with its towering skyscrapers and gothic architecture. As a result, she had never really taken much notice of the woodlands around the edge of Gotham.

Now that she had some time to take in the beautiful scenery, Lara found herself gaining a newfound admiration for the area, as she flew above the treetops, alongside Goliath. Both she and the dragon-bat made sure to fly relatively low so that they could keep track of Damian on his horse galloping through the woods below them.

As she flew, Lara couldn’t help getting a little bit more into the character of Damian’s fairy companion. She had decided to only wear the dress and wings this time, going barefoot with her hair loose, which Lara felt gave her more the appearance of a forest nymph than a resemblance to any Disney character. She couldn’t help giggling to herself as she flew circles around Goliath, and even playfully stuck her tongue out at the dragon, when he tried to impress her with a roar.

Eventually, Goliath veered off to the side and Lara noticed Damian moving in the same direction, towards a small clearing in the woods below them. She hovered in the air as she watched the dragon swoop down to the ground, and land with a loud thump. Damian then rode Amirah over to the landing site and dismounted. This seemed to be the grove that the boys had mentioned earlier, as the ground had several other small craters in it from previous landings Colin had made.

Lara came to a graceful landing beside her friends, flicking the switch on her back to deactivate her fluttering wings. The next time she visited Titans Tower, she would have to make sure she complimented Cyborg for his work on designing and building the wings. Not only did they look and feel amazing, they were also able to endure flying through the air at surprisingly high speeds.

“Whoa…” said Lara, smiling as she admired the ring of trees surrounding her. “This is a really pretty spot, Colin! I see why you like it so much.”

Goliath let out another roar, causing birds to fly from the nearby trees, before moving to a well-worn patch in the center of the clearing and laying down to sun himself like a gigantic cat. Amirah cantered over to a grassy patch and began grazing, seeming completely unperturbed by the giant beast.

Damian laughed, watching his monster-boyfriend roll in the warm grass, “I think being out here in his favorite place, brings out more of the Goliath side. Either that, or he’s just being an adorable dork.” As the young Robin spoke he climbed half way up a tree and pulled a small metal box from the branches. “I keep some snacks for him around, but I need to put it in places where the other animals won’t get it. Don’t want Goliath hunting squirrels because they smell like his treats.” 

Lara peeked over Damian’s shoulder to get a glimpse inside the box. Inside was a selection of what looked like dog biscuits. “Huh, you weren’t kidding…” said Lara. “He really eats dog treats?”

To answer his friend’s query, Damian picked one of the bone-shaped kibble pieces out of the box, and tossed it in Goliath’s direction. The dragon instinctively raised his head and caught the treat in his mouth, scarfing it down in one gulp.

“This isn’t even the weird part.” said Damian, as he walked over to stroke the dragon’s fur. “This is just how I usually fed him before he got merged with Colin. The weird part is when Colin is in human form, and he gets dragon cravings! One time, we were watching TV together, and he started munching on a bowl of kibble like it was popcorn. It was actually rather sweet, until he tried to kiss me…”

“Gross!” laughed Lara. “Just be thankful he’s not gonna try and kiss you while he’s like this.”

As if in response to his friend’s assumption, Goliath turned and gave Damian an affectionate lick. The dragon’s tongue was larger than the boy’s entire head, and covered the left side of Damian’s face in saliva and munched-up dog biscuit, severely messing up his hair. 

“UGGGHHH!” Damian cried, as Lara burst out laughing. “Colin! Stop!”

The dragon let out another growling laugh, as Damian wiped his face with his cape. While he was behaving distinctly Goliath-esque, it was reassuring to still see a little bit of Colin’s humour shining through the animalistic exterior. Just a little confirmation that he was still the same boy under all that fur.

Once Damian had recovered from Goliath’s “kiss”, he offered Lara the box so that she could have a turn feeding the dragon. She grabbed a large biscuit from the box and stared at it for a while. Feeding dog treats to one of her close friends certainly wasn’t something she thought she would be doing today. Then again, Lara’s other friends didn’t usually mutate into giant bat-monsters. She stared up at Goliath, who was now standing up and watching Lara excitedly. He evidently wanted to play fetch, and Lara could hardly say no to that face.

She tossed the biscuit into the air, a little harder than she had meant to, but was delighted to see Goliath leap up into the air and fly after the soaring treat, catching it in mid-flight. 

“Nice throw, Kent!” Damian called with a laugh, clapping a few times in approval. “Maybe I should bring a slingshot next time, in case he wants to play while you’re not available.”

Lara watched as Goliath began circling above them in the sky, apparently waiting for more treats to be thrown. “This is so cool! Still feels a little weird though...” Lara said, taking another treat and staring at it. “Didn’t you say his other favorite snack was watermelon? I think I wouldn’t feel as strange throwing those for him to catch.”

“Oh, he loves them,” Damian said, throwing the next biscuit in a way so that it curved through the air, making Goliath dive for it. “They’re just harder to keep fresh, or to travel with.”

Goliath had fallen to the ground after his dive and lay in the grass, happily chewing his snack, when suddenly he perked up and sniffed the air. He gave a quick grunt to get his friends’ attention, before wandering towards the trees, sniffing at the ground as he went.

“Habibi?” Damian called, running after the dragon and motioning for Lara to follow. Goliath didn’t seem to be moving in any particular hurry, but his bearing did imply excitement. It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for; over at the far end of the clearing, there grew a patch of... 

“Watermelons?!” Lara and Damian said in unison.

“These weren’t here last time!” Damian said in confusion as he watched the bat-dragon scamper around the edge of the patch, wagging his tail happily like an excited puppy.

Goliath gently picked up the largest melon in his teeth and cut it from the vine with a single claw before running off with his treasure under a shady tree and biting into the rind with a loud crunch. The entire fruit was crushed in one bite, sending juice everywhere, as the dragon chewed contentedly.

“Colin doesn’t seem too worried about it at least.” Lara said, trying not to laugh at the adorable antics of the huge red beast. She flew over to the patch herself and picked up a smaller ripe watermelon. “I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth either.” She gave the fruit a small tap which, with her super-strength, cracked it clean in half. Lara offered Damian one of the halves, as she bit into her own, making her face a mess with the fresh red liquid.

Damian stared at the big chunk of fruit as he accepted it from Lara. “Neither of you think it’s weird that a perfect patch full of Goliath’s favorite fruit somehow grew itself out of nowhere?”

Goliath shook his head, muzzle wet with juice. He seemingly tried to reply, but between the mouthful of crunchy rind, and not being able to speak in this form, he wasn’t able to answer clearly. All that came out was a brief grunt, as he tilted his head towards the trees.

Damian and Lara followed Goliath’s line of sight, and were surprised to see movement at the roots of a large oak tree. The roots themselves were moving and weaving in a strange way, causing the ground at the base of the tree to slowly open up.

Damian drew his sword and adopted a combat stance, and Lara floated up behind him. She probably didn’t look particularly tough dressed as a fairy, but that wouldn’t stop her if she needed to defend herself and her friends from... whatever this was!

Then, something happened that neither Robin or Supergirl had expected; from out of the hole in the ground… emerged Dr. Pamela Isley, AKA Poison Ivy, AKA Colin’s adoptive mother.

“Good morning, dears…” Ivy said politely. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything...”

In the past, whenever Lara had seen Ivy, she had been dressed fairly casually; usually, a floral sundress or gardening clothes. However, today’s outfit was something very different; the green-skinned redhead was wearing what looked like a one-piece swimsuit, made entirely of leaves. It was her old costume from her villain days!

Goliath gave a cheerful bark as he bounded over to his mother. Ivy smiled up at her son, patting the dragon’s red fur. Even when her child was transformed into a giant hairy beast, she still showed him all the motherly love she was capable of.

“Where did you come from?” said Lara. Her and Damian had both relaxed their combat stances once they had seen who the interloper was, but they were still perplexed by the fact that Poison Ivy had just emerged from out of the freaking tree roots.

“Oh, I came via the tree root system.” Ivy replied casually. “You’d be surprised how much plant life you can find growing under the city. They can carry me through the earth to wherever I want to go, faster and cleaner than any car.”

“Whoa…” said Lara, as she tried to imagine what other fantastic plant-based abilities this woman had up her sleeves (Not that Lara had ever seen her wear sleeves.)

“Pamela.” Damian nodded respectfully, sheathing his sword. “Nice to see you’re still learning some new tricks. What’s with the outfit?”

Ivy smiled. “Oh, this just helps me feel more connected to my abilities.” She said, striking a quick pose to show off her leafy attire. “Plus, I don’t need to worry as much about this outfit getting torn as I travel. Watch this...”

She waved her hand and the leaves on her costume suddenly turned a brighter shade of green, and reformed into a more elegant pattern. “Bonus perk of having an outfit made of leaves…” The leaves around her waist began to grow out and form a long skirt, effectively turning the costume into a pretty green ball gown. “Instant outfit change whenever I feel like it!” She spun around to show off her new look.

“That’s so cool!” Lara gasped. “You’re like some kind of… plant-sorcerer!” Getting an idea, Lara activated her wings and fluttered between Ivy and Damian, dropping right back into fairy mode.

“Behold, Prince Damian...” Lara cheered, gesturing grandly towards Ivy. “The ruler of the Enchanted Forest is here! We stand before the mighty Queen of Thorns!” She flew around Ivy, twirling and dancing in the air as she flamboyantly announced the plant-woman’s presence, which Ivy seemed very flattered by. 

“You’d be wise to bow before her…” Lara declared, landing gracefully next to Damian, and curtseying towards Ivy. “She is the mother of this dragon, you know!” She nodded at Goliath, who gave a modest grunt.

“Tt!” Damian rolled his eyes. “I told you I’m not interested in LARPing, Kent!” He huffed indignantly, before turning to face his boyfriend’s mother. “I take it the watermelon patch was your doing? It would explain why Goliath took to them without hesitation.”

Ivy smiled and laughed, “That’s right. A little surprise for Colin since I know how much he loves coming here. I knew he’d recognize my work.” She pet her son’s red fur again and smiled a little wider, giving Lara a small wink. “My dear child, the prince of this forest! Cursed to be trapped in this form by a rival sorcerer!”

“Dammit, Pamela!” Damian groaned and rubbed his temples, “Not you too! I just wanted to have some quiet time in the woods. Could we please leave it at that?”

“But my prince!” Lara called out, fighting not to giggle as she found herself really getting into the role of the excitable fairy. “Surely you must do something to aid this poor creature!” She stroked Goliath’s fur somberly, as even the dragon got in on it by trying to look as sad and lonely as his features would allow.

“Tt,” Damian remarked in a defeated tone, “You too, habibi?”

“Oh please, young prince!” Ivy cried melodramatically, knowing just the thing that would make Damian play along. “The spell on my son can only be broken by true love’s kiss!”

Goliath’s ears perked up a little in surprise, and Damian too drew himself up to his full height. Things had suddenly taken a different turn. After giving a small shrug, Damian closed his eyes and took a breath to get into character, before adopting a more theatrical stance.

“Worry not, noble queen of these vast and verdant woods!” said Damian, with a dramatic swish of his cape. “I, Prince Damian of the House of Night shall free your son from this ghastly condemnation!” For extra flair he drew his sword and presented it to Ivy in fealty as he bowed and knelt before her. 

While Damian’s head was down, Ivy and Lara exchanged wide smiles and a quick thumbs up. They had both figured out that Damian would be swayed by the idea of recreating a classic tale of romantic fantasy with his boyfriend, especially if he got to be a diva about it.

“Very well!” said Ivy, dropping right back into character. “But thou must be brave enough to approach him unarmed! Leave thy sword with me and steel thy courage young prince…” 

Damian nodded, having fully embraced his role. He gently sheathed his weapon before removing it from his belt and laying it on the ground before Ivy’s feet. “If I do not return…” said Damian, turning to Lara. “Send word to my mother and father, that I died valiantly for the honor of the man I love!” 

“I shall, my prince!” Lara said, as she watched her friend move slowly towards the dragon. She gave Ivy another excited grin, feeling genuinely invested in the story that they were creating.

Goliath, on the other hand, seemed unclear of his motivation for this scene. Should he be excited? Scared? Should he try to fight Damian so he had to work for the kiss? The poor dragon spent so long trying to decide on his performance that, before he knew it, Damian was right in front of him, planting a gentle kiss on the beast’s forehead.

When nothing happened, Lara coughed, “And with true love’s kiss, the curse is… broken?” She said, trying to let Colin know it was his cue.

Goliath stared at both Lara and his mother, before shaking his head. He gave a small grunt before, once again, licking Damian full in the face, breaking any and all dramatic tension. 

“Blch, Colin! Stop!” Damian cried out, wiping the dragon spit off with his sleeve. 

“Look! The spell is breaking!” Pamela pointed, her voice quivering with laughter. Harley would love hearing about this later. 

Sure enough, Goliath was starting to shrink down to his human form. In a matter of moments, the dragon’s wings, fangs and fur had all receded back into Colin, wearing his nanosuit as he lay dramatically on the grass. 

Colin gasped as he opened his eyes and sat up, staring down at his hands and feet. “I… I’m human again!” He cheered, leaping to his feet, as trying to match his boyfriend’s level of theatrics. “I can talk! I can sing! I can dance!! Oh thank you, Prince Damian!”

“I suppose you thought that was funny?” Damian asked, having fallen out of character after receiving his second “kiss” from the dragon that morning.

Colin shrugged and smiled mischievously, “Hey, the kiss had to be on the lips to break the spell. You only kissed my forehead, so I had to kiss you on the lips… and the chin. And the nose. And the entire face....”

Seeing the two boys break character prompted both Lara and Pamela to do the same, and the two ametuer actresses burst out laughing. Pamela quickly started applauding her son’s improvisational skills. Lara joined in with the applause only after she had finished giggling.

“Yes yes, I get the point!” Damian huffed at Colin. “You kissed me everywhere. Now come here and do it properly before I actually start to get mad at you.” 

“Yes, my prince!” Colin laughed, pulling Damian towards him and planting a kiss on the shorter boy’s lips. This seemed to lift Damian’s spirits somewhat, as he returned the kiss with all the same passion he had put into his performance.

“I think the game is over for now.” Ivy whispered to Lara, as they both moved away to give the boys some space. 
________________________________________________________________

A short while later, Lara sat in the shade under a tree watching Amirah, who was over by the melon patch. The mare had decided to help herself to the remains of the fruit that the kids had been eating, and was grazing happily while the others were occupied. 

Ivy sat behind Lara, making a flower crown for the birthday girl. Thanks to her abilities, she was able to do this in a way that prevented the flowers from being harmed. So long as Lara remembered to set the flowers down in a nice grassy spot when she was done wearing them, Ivy could ensure that they would take root again. 

Colin and Damian were sitting together a few trees over, with Damian resting in his boyfriend’s lap, while Colin munched on another dog biscuit. It was the perfect mix of adorable and bizarre antics that Lara had come to expect from the two Gotham boys.

Lara wasn’t exactly sure how much time had passed since Ivy’s arrival. She had spent a bit of time catching up with Pamela and telling her all about her party and the fight the day before, but after a while, she just felt like sitting and enjoying the tranquility of the woods, as she listened to Ivy explain how her ‘root travel’ ability worked.

“I try to avoid using it around Harley.” Ivy explained, as she braided Lara’s hair. “Every time she sees me emerge from the ground, she always makes a ‘wrong turn at Albuquerque’ joke.” She rolled her eyes as Lara giggled at her wife’s sense of humour.

Just then, Lara heard a familiar sound on the wind, and grinned as she recognized the iconic sonic boom of a Kryptonian in-flight. “Sounds like my ride's here.” She said, setting her flower crown on the ground, as she rose to her feet.

“You’re getting pretty good with your super hearing, sweetie!” A chukling voice called to them as Superman flew down from behind the clouds. “Happy birthday, Lara! Sorry, I missed breakfast…” He paused as his daughter flew up to greet him in her fairy costume.

“Hi daddy!” Lara said, flying up to hug her father. “You missed all the fun! Me, Damian and Colin were LARPing! Colin was a dragon, Damian’s a prince, and I got to be the fairy companion!” She did a small twirl to show off her fairy wings.

“That’s wonderful, honey!” Clark smiled. “I wish I’d been here earlier, but I was… getting some stuff ready for tonight.”

That caught Lara’s attention. She had assumed that her dad had been busy with League business, but his somewhat evasive wording had made it sound like he was potentially planning a birthday surprise of some kind. “Getting stuff ready?” Lara repeated, trying not to sound too excited. “What kind of stuff?”

Clark laughed and ruffled his daughter’s hair. “You’ll find out later, princess.” he chuckled, looking over her shoulder to try and find a change of subject. 

“Morning Pamela!” He called, spotting Ivy in the grove below. “How are you doing? Enjoying the weather lately?” 

“Very much!” Ivy called from her seat against a tree. “Me and my dear gardens have been soaking up all the sunlight we can. I’m sure you two can relate, being fellow photosynthesizers?”

Both Clark and Lara smiled at Ivy’s joke as they landed in the grove. They’d heard the joke before about Kryptonians’ ability to draw power from sunlight being compared to plant life, but this was the first time they’d heard it from someone who was actually half-plant herself.

“Speaking of which, how’s your parents farm?” asked Ivy, once Clark had landed.

“Mixed bag this season.” Clark shrugged. “The orchard is doing great, but the fields are having a bad go of it with the dry weather.”

“Oh that’s a shame! Perhaps I could come over next spring?” Ivy suggested. “I can help Jonathon and Martha with the sowing and we’ll make up for a poor yield this season.” 

“You know my grandparents?!” Lara asked, looking between her dad and Ivy. She had only been half-paying attention, as she usually did whenever her parents got held up chatting with other adults. But hearing Poison Ivy casually namedrop her dad’s parents was enough to snap her out of her daydream.

“Of course! I love learning about independent farmers like them! Especially the pesticide free ones.” Pamela smiled, “After years in my… old business, especially with me and my mind-controlling pheromones, sometimes you learn certain… secrets. Once I found out your dad grew up on a farm, and I had changed my ways for the better, we had tons to talk about!”

“Mom knows that farmers and gardeners are the best people.” Colin said from his position with Damian half asleep in his lap, just starting to wake up.

Clark nodded his head in agreement, having grown up knowing plenty of hard-working folk who kept their land as green and healthy as possible. He turned his attention back to his daughter. “Speaking of the family farm, I’m sorry to be the one to cut the fun short dear, but we need to get you back to the mansion to change if we are going to get to Kansas for lunch.”

“Awww! Do we have to go right now?” Lara asked, pouting a little.

“I’m sorry Lara. It’s just for a few hours. You’ll see the boys again later tonight.” He smiled reassuringly, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

“Ok…” Lara conceded the point, flying over to hug Colin, Damian and Pamela goodbye. 

“Say hi to Lois!” Ivy called to Clark, waving to him as they prepared to fly off. “See you soon, Kent. Maybe next time you can join in our fantasy game too.” 

Clark laughed at the suggestion, “Sure! Maybe I could play…” he looked at Lara’s costume to think of an idea, “Peter Pan next time?”

“Tt, amature.” Damian commented from his space in Colin’s arms. “I would have gone with King Oberon of the Fae. It would be far more appropriate, and dignified, if Lara were to reprise her role next time.”

“Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” Clark laughed at Damian’s comment. “You ready to go, Lara?”

“Ready, dad!” Lara replied, as father and daughter flew up towards the sky. “See you later guys!”

“Speaking of which,” said Ivy as she waved at the departing heroes, “Colin, dear? It’s about time we head home as well. We need to get you ready for the next party tonight.”

“Sure thing, Momma.” Colin said. “Is it okay if I fly back? I don’t really know if I’m ready to root-travel just yet.” He looked at the patch of earth where Ivy had emerged from with a slight unease. Even with his momma’s protection, the prospect of travelling underground in such a way did not seem very appealing.

“Of course, dear.” Ivy smiled. “Maybe I can race you home? Mother vs Son! Plant vs Dragon!”

“Ha! I can already tell you’re gonna let me win!” Colin smirked. “Just one more thing before we go…” He turned to Damian, who had come over to see Colin off. “Dami, I think my curse is returning! I need you to kiss me again so I don’t change back!”

Damian looked perplexed for a moment, wondering what on Earth Colin was talking about. Then Colin hunched over dramatically as fur started to spread across his arms and legs, which bulged as they started to transform. “Oh no!” Colin gasped, in an exaggerated tone. “It’s happening again! The beast is returning!”

Damian rolled his eyes, as he understood what his drama king boyfriend was doing, but then started smiling somewhat sinisterly. “Not a bad performance, habibi. But let’s see how far you’re willing to take it if I simply let you transform.” 

Colin fell to his knees melodramatically. “Nooo! My sweet prince has betrayed me!” He hunched over as he grew in size, and the draconic wings and tail started to emerge. The boy’s theatrical wails soon devolved into animalistic grunts, as Goliath reared his head dramatically.

“Tt, you are the biggest dork.” Damian chuckled, unphased by the ham filled acting.

In response, Goliath prepared to let out a deafening roar to cap off his performance, when out of nowhere, a large chunk of watermelon flew into his open mouth, effectively shutting him up.

“I take offense to that remark!” Ivy called in a jocular tone, having impressed herself with her aim in tossing the fruit. “My wife is in fact the biggest dork! Colin is merely her dork apprentice.” She ruffled her son’s red fur, “Finish your snack and say goodbye to Damian, kid. You’ve got a race to win. See you at the roof gardens!” And with that, Ivy walked back over to the roots of the oak tree, and vanished into the ground as if descending an unseen slide.

Knowing his mother would give him a fair chance, if not let him win, Colin took a moment to say goodbye to Damian, giving the exasperated boy his third dragon kiss of the day before nuzzling him affectionately. Goliath then spread his wings and took to the sky.

Damian smiled as he watched Goliath disappear over the treetops, before heading back over to Amirah, who had finished grazing and was now awaiting her rider to take her back home. Once he had mounted the horse, Damian looked up towards the treetops. “I can tell you’re listening, Supergirl!” he called out to the seemingly empty space. “I know you Kents all too well.”

There was a few seconds of silence, before Lara suddenly flew down from up on high. “Sorry... Force of habit.” She giggled, having stayed behind to watch Colin’s final performative transformation. “Are you heading back now too?”

“Not quite yet,” said Damian, petting his steed’s neck. “Amirah’s gonna need a bit more of a ride around, so we’ll probably take the long way back.” 

“Fair enough,” said Lara. “We’ll probably be gone by the time you get back. I’ll see you tonight, Damian! Don’t come too overdressed.”

“Tt, I make no promises.” Damian replied, before gripping the horse’s reins and galloping away. As the boy rode off, he turned back to call, “Prince Damian doesn’t need to take fashion advice from fairies!” before he disappeared from sight among the winding forest paths and the dark shadows of the trees.

Lara smiled as she waved goodbye to her friend, feeling a small sense of victory at having convinced Damian to embrace his dorkier side. They would definitely have to do this again at some point soon. Lara was already thinking of ways to improve her character's backstory.

"Hmmm..." She thought to herself. "If dad's gonna be the Fae King, does that mean I'm a fairy princess?"

"Hurry up, Lara!" Clark called from up above the treetops. "Your mom will be wondering where we are!"

"Coming Dad!" Lara called back, as she flew up to join her father. She would have time to prepare for her next LARPing session later. Fairy princess or not, she still had a birthday to celebrate, and the day was still young...