Hero shivered and pulled her jacket a little tighter around her as a cold breeze brushed over the rooftops of Gotham. Hero silently cursed her 'near invulnerability' lacking temperature control. It still boggled her mind sometimes how Aunt Diana could walk around in next to nothing in the dead of winter and not freeze.
Gotham City was on the verge of thaw as winter limped away for the season. Piles of refuse and slush littered the grimy, gray streets. Crime was picking up again. Hero felt a different kind of shudder run down her spine as she thought of Batman and Robin. Was Thomas watching Uncle Damian's back? Had Damian lost his temper with the boy yet and benched him? Had Thomas lost his temper with Damian and taken off? Were they eating enough? Was Thomas finishing his homework?
Hero felt silly standing on a Gotham rooftop worrying about her family. It felt wrong, watching high above Gotham with no mask and no cape. Guilt started to creep into Hero's mind as she watched a police cruiser pass by the street below her. Maybe she'd been wrong to leave her duties as Robin so suddenly. Sure Thomas had been serving as Damian's sidekick for nearly as long as Hero, but Thomas was the Red Hood. He was different, irritable even, and cocky. Too much like Uncle Damian. They use to butt heads over everything when Hero was still there as a buffer, keeping things from dissolving into blows. But what about now?
Impulsively, Hero's hand shot up to the mike in her ear, pinging Oracle. It only took a moment for Barbara's stern but comforting voice to filter back.
"What is it, H? I'm a little busy," Oracle murmured. Hero could hear the rush of keystrokes as Barbara spoke. A little spike of joy lit up in Hero's chest at the thought that Barbara had contacted her on a direct line instead of the digitalized Oracle computer voice. She could picture her aunt sitting in front of her computer displays, typing away furiously as she monitored the world superhero community, her eyes sharp and serious.
"I…" Hero paused. God, she was being childish. She could almost feel Barbara glaring on the other end of the line.
"B and R are fine, by the way," Oracle murmured suddenly. Hero let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in a sharp rush. Barbara chuckled. "You're dad use to do the same thing for the first year you started out in the field. Like clockwork every night. He'd pretend he needed some obscure file on a villain that hadn't been active in decades 'just in case' or ask how the Commissioner was doing. He'd dance around the subject until I threatened to beat it out of him if he didn't just spit it out. I finally gave up fighting with him and just started sending him your mission reports every night," Barbara admitted with a chuckle. Hero rubbed her eye viciously, pretending the sudden wetness on her fingers weren't tears.
"I guess I take after him more than I'm willing to admit," Hero murmured. Barbara hummed with amusement on the other end of the line.
"It's not a bad thing, H. For all his flaws, your father is a 'wonder'-ful man," Oracle snickered. Hero mentally grated herself for letting the little voice in her head say 'But not 'wonder'-ful enough'.
"Thanks, O. I…I needed that," Hero whispered. There was a long moment of silence before Oracle spoke again.
"Superboy's in Metropolis. Just thought you might want to give a shout," Barbara told Hero in a neutral voice. Hero smirked despite herself.
"Eavesdropper," Hero chuckled.
"I do what I can," Oracles replied with a long suffering sigh. "O out."
Hero took a deep breath, steeling herself before she let out a sharp, high whistle like she was hailing a cab. The rush of warm air came quicker than expected. Hero smiled ruefully as Chris Kent floated in front of her, a boyish grin plastered across his face.
"Wonder Bra," Chris lilted in greeting as he landed on the roof's ledge.
"Super Jock," Hero replied in a flat voice. Chris laughed, his brown eyes twinkling as he reached out to hug Hero. Hero reluctantly let herself get wrapped into Chris's inhumanly strong arms, snuggling in closer to the Super shield adoring his chest. Heat poured off of the new Superboy like a blast furnace, dispelling Hero's chills. She barely noticed as they lifted off the rooftop and left Gotham far behind them.
"Where are we going?" Hero asked, nuzzling her nose into the crook of Chris's neck, guarding her face against the cold wind as they zoomed across the Eastern seaboard.
"I don't know about you Wonder Bra, but I'm starving. I know this great little place that makes the best homemade pies," Chris replied. Hero hummed softly as she felt them descending back to earth. Chris seemed reluctant for a moment to let Hero go as they're feet touched the ground. He kept one arm looped around her waist as he led her towards a quaint rural farmhouse. Hero snorted, elbowing her best friend in the side playfully.
"I think your opinion on pies is biased," Hero teased as the two jogged up the front steps of the farmhouse. A white streak blasted through the screen door and barreled straight into the boy's chest.
"Down Krypto," a stern voice echoed from inside the house. The white Kryptonian dog moaned and lowered himself to the ground. Hero glanced up, a long brow raised suspiciously as Timothy Drake stepped out on to the front porch of the Kent's farmhouse. Hero eyed her uncle over slowly, noting his casual slacks, polo shirt, and bare feet. Tim mildly took a sip from his coffee mug, eyeing Hero right back. Chris cleared his throat nervously.
"Hi Drake. Nice to see you again. Is Uncle Kon in the house?" Chris asked, his voice pitching up an octave. Tim gave a minimal smile and nodded backwards into the house.
"Kon's in the kitchen helping Ma with some baking. I'm sure they could use a hand," Tim replied flatly. Chris nodded and started into the house, Hero trailing behind him.
"Hero, if you could spare a moment," Tim motioned for Hero to follow him. Hero glanced at Chris, who just shrugged and gave her an apologetic look before disappearing into the Kent farmhouse. Hero bit her tongue to stop the infuriated growl that was welling up in her chest as she followed her uncle to the other side of the porch. Drake had made himself comfortable on the porch swing, ignoring Hero's obvious reluctance.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Drake," Hero murmured as she leaned against a porch railing.
"I could say the same thing, Grayson." Tim gave her a pointed look. Had it been her father or even Damian, she would have scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out at him. But this was Timothy Drake-Wayne, super stalker boy and carbon copy of her grandfather Bruce Wayne, right down to the paranoia and control issues. Bitter cold resolve and logic were the only two things that Hero had ever learned to deal with Drake.
Tim probably couldn't read her mind but she could guess he had at least thirty mental analyses memorized about her that he could ramble off. He didn't need to read her mind to know what she was thinking. He stretched, letting his body relax with cat like grace back into the porch swing. It was a ruse, Hero knew, and it took all her restraint not to reach over and flip the damn swing over with Drake in it just to make a point.
"Bruce called me this morning," Tim started, sipping at his coffee. He didn't even bother looking up at her. Hero snorted.
"Sounds like a blast. Did you exchange recipes and plan world domination?" Hero taunted. The corner of Drake's mouth quirked upwards.
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Drake continued, nonplussed. "Batman Inc. is recruiting. Your name came up in discussion along with a few cities Bruce has been looking into."
Hero rolled her eyes. 'Looking into' meant Bruce had his fingers in the dark and dirty and needed a Bat-grade spy working for him. She pinched the bridge of her nose, a habit she knows she picked up from Drake, and sighs.
"I know Bruce has the best of intentions." Now it's Drake's turn to snort. Hero frowned and pushed on. "But I'm not sure I want to be a Bat for the rest of my life." Drake's brows rose up for a split second and Hero could almost see his surprise before his face slid back into a blank stare. He set aside his coffee mug and stared seriously at Hero. His lips pursed as he studied her, cataloguing her from head to toe.
"You're taller than Dick," Tim hummed thoughtfully.
"Only by a couple inches," Hero admitted shyly. She could safely say she was about six feet in height, thanks in part to her mom's side of the family. Tim smirked.
"I bet it bugs him. He use to tease me mercilessly when I was shorter than him but when I hit a growth spurt around nineteen I finally outgrew him. He's pouted about it ever since," Tim said with a dark chuckle.
"Does my height really make a difference in this conversation?" Hero tried not to whine. Tim shrugged, letting himself sag in the porch swing.
"You're tall but you're not built like Donna in all ways," Tim murmured with an implying nod. Hero felt a blush coloring her cheeks as she crossed her arms over her breasts indignantly. Tim rolled his eyes with as a sharp bark that could have been a laugh left his mouth. "I meant your invulnerability. Besides you're at least a C-cup. That's more than average."
"I am not going to stand here and listen to you inform me about my breast size! You may not be my uncle by blood but at least try and act like one!" Hero cried out, her voice going a little shrill at the end. Tim raised his hands in a mock surrender.
"I'm not trying to ruffle your feathers, I'm just pointing out that you're not going to look like him in costume," Tim told her sternly. Hero felt her face fall even before the words really hit her. She wouldn't look like Nightwing. Not like Dick Grayson. The tears prickled in her eyes before she could stop them. Tim looked flustered as Hero pressed the palms of her hands to her face.
"I thought someone had to say it. Besides the whole gender issue everyone is acting like you'll simply pass as him. It won't be the same. You can't be Dick," Tim warned. Hero let her hands fall to her side, her head tilting back so he wouldn't see the tear marks straight on.
"I move like him. I act like him. I was Robin. I did my service in Gotham. For fuck's sake I even made Damian mellow out a bit! So why can't I have this? I just want this one thing," Hero snapped pitifully. Tim shifted, lowering his eyes.
"You can't be him. You pretend you're Dick, better than any of us have. The smile, the bad jokes, the devil may care attitude. I've seen you do the quadruple flip, a perfect imitation of his. You're the only two people alive on the planet that can do that now. But it's not you. Behind all the masks and the colors, behind the 'I'm the nice Bat' thing you've everyone convinced about, you're different," Tim whispered.
"You know she left me with him, with Bruce, when they found out I wasn't completely invulnerable. Mother said it was because I was born in Man's World, that I was meant to stay there. I tried to go back once, when I was ten," she admitted quietly. Tim nodded thoughtfully.
"I'd always wondered about that. Dick had been furious when Damian told him you'd gone missing but Bruce told them you'd come back. It seems it's the natural order of Robins to run off for a bit," Tim chuckled. Hero wasn't smiling. He stopped, frowning. "What happened?"
"Themyscira rejected me. Queen Hippolyta had to send Artemis out to save me from the guardians. I made them swear an oath to me that she'd never tell mother what I'd done. It would kill her if she knew… if she knew I wasn't an Amazon," Hero whispered. "I went home, to the Cave. Bruce figured it out right away even though I pretended like nothing had happened, liked I'd simply run off to the circus or something equally ridiculous. Damian was willing to let it slide, something about 'gypsy blood' and what not. It kind of hit me back then. I mean Bruce had groomed me since the moment I stepped foot in the Manor to be Robin but I had never thought I'd have be Robin. I'd thought I could be Wonder Girl. But it never happened. Nothing changed. I didn't wake up one day and learn to fly or suddenly have super strength. It's stupid but it hurt when I realized I wasn't going to be special."
"So you decided that if you were going to be just like the rest of us, you had to be the best of us?" Tim asked. Hero shrugged halfheartedly.
"I was already in his pixie boots so it just made sense to me. Be Robin, turn eighteen, be Nightwing. No one's really told me differently."
"I guess that family doesn't really allow for career expansion much, huh?" Tim mused jokingly. "You either become Batman, or Nightwing, or Red Robin, or the Red Hood."
"Thomas is the Red Hood, it's his by rights and your Red Robin still," Hero pointed out.
"I'd thought about taking on the cowl you know," Tim replied moodily.
"Why haven't you?" she asked. Tim shrugged and ruffled the back of his head as he thought. Hero had never been close to her Uncle Tim, mostly because Damian despised him still, but she could see what her father liked about him. Sure he was moody and secretive but he didn't any airs about himself. He was Tim and he was the Red Robin, he didn't have to question who he was. She almost envied that fact.
"I know it sounds ridiculous since I've been at this for more years than I'm willing to admit but I still feel like I can screw up without screwing it all up," Tim said.
"I'm sorry Tim but I speak Bat-ese and that was still a jumble of nonsense to me," Hero teased blandly. Tim snickered, suddenly looking much younger.
"I meant that I can be Red Robin and I can make mistakes. When I do its egg on my face and I clean it up. If I was Batman…" he drawled off. Hero nodded grimly. She knew all too well what the pressures of trying to live up to Bruce's mythical Bat standard could do to a person. She'd caught Damian muttering under his breath more than once 'Father would never have let that happened' after missions.
"So what you're saying is I shouldn't be Nightwing?" Hero asked.
"Not at all. What I'm saying is that you need to stop trying to be Dick because if you keep trying to be him, you'll make the same mistakes. And to be honest, I don't think you'd be able to walk away from the things your father did in his career. I'm not saying you're not good enough but I'm saying that some of the trials Dick went through nearly broke him. I can't honestly say they wouldn't destroy you," Tim confessed. He stood up to face Hero with a comforting smile. "Don't become Nightwing just because you think it's some unspoken family rule that you have to fill in someone else's boots. Do it for yourself. Find out what Nightwing means to Hero and not what it meant for Dick."
Someone cleared their throat from the screen door. Chris smiled sheepishly as Tim and Hero turned to look at him.
"Uncle Kon says the pie's ready if you two are finished up out here," Chris told them, throwing Hero a cryptic look. Tim put a hand on Hero's shoulder and smiled.
"Great, I'm starved," Tim said enthusiastically. "Kon's almost nailed down Ma's recipe for cherry pie. Just last week he tried to make Alfred's famous rum raison scones."
"Yeah? How'd that go?" Hero asked as they stepped into the house.
"Terrible. He tried to preheat the oven with his laser vision and caught a dishtowel on fire," Tim snickered. There was an indignant squawk from the kitchen as Kon stuck his head out. Hero giggled at the smudge of flour across the man's tan forehead. Chris grinned and even Tim was smiling at Kon.
"Stop spreading rumors about my cooking Timothy Drake or I'll tell everyone about the time you got yourself locked in a closet," Kon warned, waving a wooden spoon at the smaller man. Tim pouted slightly, swiping the spoon from Kon's hand.
"It was a top secret military base and I was trying to infiltrate the air ducts," Tim quipped. Kon snorted.
"Yeah and got yourself locked in the broom closet."
"It was a chemical closet," Tim snapped before he stomped off into the kitchen. Kon sighed dramatically before he swept Hero up in a customary bear hug.
"Hello beautiful," Kon lilted before dropping a chaste kiss on Hero's cheek. Hero could see Tim peering around the corner of the kitchen at them suspiciously. For a ninja boy her uncle could be so obvious sometimes.
"Hello Kon," Hero returned, squeezing Kon's biceps until the Kryptonian winced and put her down. He pouted playfully, rubbing his arms.
"Easy on the goods kid. What would the papers say if Supes started flying around with bruises," Kon whined.
"Kinky love affair?" Chris chimed up.
"Chris!" Kon gasped, "Not in front of Ma!"
"Oh you two," Ma Kent chuckled as she shuffled out of the kitchen, cane in one hand and a picnic basket balanced on her hip. Hero bent over to put a kiss on the eighty-five year old woman's cheek. Ma Kent beamed up her then backhanded Kon playfully on the arm. "If you stand here squabbling Conner you're going to burn your scones again," she warned.
"My scones!" Kon gasped in horror before rushing into the kitchen. Hero slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a chuckle. Ma winked playfully at her before handing the picnic basket over to Chris.
"Here dear, how about you and Hero go out to the barn for awhile. If you see the house going up in flames, be a dear and fly down to the fire station and get some help, hm?" Ma teased gently, ushering the teens out the door again.
"Is Kon's cooking really that bad?" Hero asked once they were out of earshot. Chris laughed and shook his head.
"Nah, his cooking is just fine. It's his methods that are dangerous. He keeps trying to use his super skills to cook. All he really manages to do is make a mess. Rao bless Ma for having enough patience to even give him cooking lessons," Chris mused. Chris wrapped his arm around Hero's waist as they entered the barn and leapt up into the hayloft in a single bound.
"Show off," Hero commented. Chris shrugged and flicked on the light switch. The hayloft lit up with dozens of colorful, twinkling Christmas lights. Hero whistled under her breath.
"Wow Chris, real make out central up in here, isn't it?" Hero laughed as she threw herself down on the dusty futon occupying a corner of the loft. Chris flopped down next to her, making the futon groan dangerously. He leaned over to pull a strand of hay from Hero's curls.
"Kay doesn't like coming up to the loft. He says its bad enough being so far from the ocean, he really doesn't like being off the ground too," Chris lamented. Hero grinned impishly.
"You brought Kaymen up here to make out?" Hero snickered. Chris's face turned indignant as he started rooting though the picnic basket.
"We had a little run in with Aquaman the last time we were in Atlantis so we've had to find new places to meet up," Superboy admitted softly. Hero broke down into howls of laughter.
"By the gods! Aquaman caught you hooking up with his protégé?! What I wouldn't pay to see Arthur's face!" Hero hooted. Chris blanched, a chagrin smile on his face as he handed Hero a bottle of soda.
"We weren't 'hooking up'. We were just making out," Chris muttered. His face scrunched up as he recalled the memory. "Pretty heavily making out."
"Did you still have your clothes on?" Hero asked as she took a swig of soda. Chris hesitated a moment, rolling the bottle back and forth in his hands.
"Mostly. Kay still had his pants on," Chris replied shyly. Hero arched a brow.
"Kaymen had his pants on? Pray tell, Mr Kent, where were your pants?" Hero quipped. Chris turned red to the tips of his ears and clapped his lips around the neck of the soda bottle. Hero broke down into giggles again at the clearly guilty look on her best friend's face. Hero wiped the happy tears from her eyes as she regained her composure. Chris was still blushing but there was a goofy grin on his face that totally told Hero that it had been a good time in Atlantis, interruptions or not.
"You know," Hero sighed after a moment, "Our families are going to be devastated when they find out we're not secretly dating."
"Why? You've known I was gay since I knew I was gay so it's not like I've ever led you on or anything. And it can't be because they're bigots. I mean everyone's pretty accepting of Tim and Kon," Chris pointed out with a shudder. Hero frowned.
"First, the whole Tim and Kon thing is still pretty private. Everyone knows but no one's said anything because they haven't officially announced it yet. And secondly, what the hell was the shudder for?" Hero snapped. Chris shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously.
"Nothing against your family Hero, but Drake gives me the creeps. I mean we were pals when I was a little kid and he was a great gymnastics teacher, but he just weirds me out sometimes. It's like the guy has Kryptonite fillings or something," Chris joked.
"Kon better hope he doesn't," Hero deadpanned. Chris nearly snorted his soda out his nose as he laughed.
"That's so wrong Hero. Ugh, I'm going to need brain bleach to get that image out of my head!" Chris whined and buried his head into Hero's shoulder. She chuckled, eyeing her soda bottle thoughtfully.
"Seriously Chris, the whole JLA's bubbles going to burst when they find out we're not together. I'm pretty sure Bruce is already ordering the wedding invitations with the Trinity stamped all over them. It's like his paranoid wet dream to be patriarch of the Trinity's next generation. Me getting knocked up with a Super baby would be like Christmas for him," she joked, her face turning sour. Chris looked a little ill as he took another drink.
"Do you think Dick and Donna made you the old fashion way?" Chris asked. Hero choked a little as Chris grinned.
"I deserved that," Hero gasped as she caught her breath. Chris waggled his eyebrows as he scooted up against Hero, bumping his hip against hers.
"Maybe you should offer to be Kon and Tim's surrogate. Win-win situation for Brucie and Timmy and all you freaky Bats get to keep the pregnancy in house," Chris taunted. Hero smacked her friend upside the back of his head. Superboy actually wailed as her hand connected hard with the back of his skull.
"It may not be super strength but I don't hit like a girl, Super Jock," Hero snapped, her face dark. Chris glowered as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I'm sorry I said anything, Wonder Bra," Chris whined. He kicked at the hay littering the loft for a moment before he spoke again.
"Kaymen and I aren't ready to come out yet, just so you know," Chris told her solemnly.
"But what about Aquaman? I mean the Arthur's a pretty private guy but this is kind of a big deal. You think he'll keep hush about it?" Hero asked nervously.
"Things are different in Atlantis. The whole gay-straight thing is rather easy going there. Do as you feel really, but they're pretty serious about commitment. Kaymen wants us to be sure about this before we go public. As for Arthur, well," Chris paused, floundering for a moment as his face twisted up. "He's willing to keep our situation under wraps but he gave us this whole lecture about safe sex and Atlantian biology. Hero, Aquaman gave me sex tips on 'oral gill stimulation'," Chris whimpered, burying his face into the crook of Hero's shoulder. Hero shuddered as she remembered Damain's failed attempt several years ago with the "Birds and the Bees" speech. Damian had only made it past the "Girls have…ahem and well boys have…ermm….go talk to Brown if you want to know what sex is!" before he quit. Hero stroked her best friend's back awkwardly.
"There, there Superboy. At least Arthur cares about you properly pleasuring Kaymen. I mean he didn't feed you to any sharks the moment he found you dry humping Aqualad," Hero pointed out.
"You don't understand Hero. Aquaman gave me sex tips. Aquaman! When did my life get so lame?" Chris lamented. Hero rolled her eyes.
"You're lucky it's Aquaman. My father is Richard Grayson, Man Whore to the Universe. Everyone expects me to hook up with some alien with tentacles!" Hero huffed.
"Oh, that's kinky Wonder Bra," Chris giggled.
"'Oral gill stimulation'," Hero snapped. Chris's face turned green.
Hero laid her head on Chris shoulder while she chewed her bottom lip. Chris sat quietly for at least fifteen minutes, knowing better than to disturb a good Bat brood. He finally shifted, juggling his shoulder against Hero's cheek gently.
"Hey Wonder Bra, what's eating you?" Chris finally asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders comfortingly. His fingers immediately tangled in her dark curls, winding them around his fingers playfully. Hero sighed, letting her weight rest on Chris's chest.
"You're the only person in the whole universe that calls me a 'Wonder', Chris. To everyone else I'm a Bat. It's only ever you," Hero murmured. Chris made a monosyllable sound, his fingers still playing with her hair. Hero wiggled a little so she could look up at his face.
"I want to be Nightwing," Hero admitted in a rush. Chris's fingers stilled in her hair as his body tensed up against her. He stared at her than blinked slowly.
"Okay."
"'Okay'? Just like that? Just 'okay' and I get to be Nightwing?" Hero snapped. Chris smirked.
"Yeah. You came all the way out to Kansas, put up with your Uncle Drake, who I know you don't like, and listened to me whine about my love life. What do you think I was gonna say? No fucking way you're getting in my tights?" Chris joked. Hero glowered at him.
"I'm being serious here Chris," Hero snarled.
"I am too, Hero. You're my best friend. You're Robin and the leader of the Teen Titans. You've got a freaking super hero pedigree and your mom's a princess! But most importantly, Hero, I couldn't think of a single person I'd be happier to see become Nightwing," Chris confessed. He smiled, drawing Hero into a tender hug for as long as he dared.
"Thanks Chris," Hero whispered.
"Sure thing Wonder Bra," Chris's face lit up suddenly. "Hey, maybe you could try on my old costume sometime! I bet you'd look pretty hot in it. All that futuristic armor and the cape," Chris purred, throwing Hero a wink.
"No thanks Chris. Sea-man stains are a bitch to get out of spandex," Hero jibed. Superboy pouted.
"That was just wrong, Wonder Bra. Come on, we better get back inside before the Kents start thinking I'm impregnating you with my Super seed," Chris teased.
"You know my father has access to Kryptonite. I bet he could put together a pair of Kryptonite sheers in a pinch to castrate you," Hero quipped seriously. Chris shuddered and covered his balls protectively.
"You're family has some deep fucking issues," Chris whined before he carried them out of the loft and back to the farmhouse. Tim was waiting on the front porch when they arrive, a bemused expression on his face. Chris gave him a strange, calculating look that Hero was almost certain involved x-ray vision in search of green K clippers.
"I was just about to come get you two. I'm heading back to Gotham and I thought Hero might need a ride," Tim offered. Hero felt Chris's arm clench a little around her middle before he unsnaked it from around her.
"Take good care of her Drake and no going over the sound barrier," Chris ordered the older man in his best impersonation of Batman's voice. Tim arched one eyebrow and Chris went scampering into the house.
"You have strange friends," Tim mused as he escorted Hero away from the house.
"This coming from the guy whose best friends were a clone and a speedster from the future? Give me a break Drake," Hero chortled. Tim shrugged nonchalantly. A moment of silence passed between them as they strolled towards Tim's camouflaged Red Wing.
"So I hear you've got a crush on Starfire," Tim finally piped up.
"I'm going to gut Red Arrow," Hero snarled, slapping her hands over her face. "I do not have a crush on Starfire."
"It's perfectly normal," Tim replied casually, "She's an extraordinary woman."
"I am not having this conversation with you Drake!"