DC: The Brave and the Bawdy Vol 2

by d0d0bird

Pow! Smack! Snap! Rip! DC: The Brave and the Bawdy Vol. 2 is another self-contained series of humiliation stories featuring characters from DC comics. The stories each stand on their own, but they share overarching plots and character arcs.

17. Titans: The Shoulders of Giants

"Mm…" sighed Linda, curling up closer.

Wally smiled as he squeezed his girlfriend around the shoulders. Wally was sitting on the end of the sofa, where Linda had nestled herself between his arm and his body. She clutched at her boyfriend's white T-shirt and looked up at him. Wally looked back down at Linda.

The two were sitting in the dark before the dull flickering of Linda's muted TV, playing the headline news as usual. Linda's studio apartment was modest to say the least, but she had made it clear to Wally that she didn't enjoy being rushed to his place at super speed, so they had decided to stay here for the night.

Wally felt a rush of arousal as Linda kissed his neck. He breathed in as he opened his body up toward her and she crawled up on top of him, shoving his shoulders into the armrest of the chair and kissing the side of his face. Wally expected her to come in hard with a kiss on the mouth, but she surprised him with a gentle one that barely brushed his lips. He let out a quiet gasp as she pulled away for a moment before coming back on top of him with a kiss so strong Wally felt his heart rate spike. He sighed as Linda lifted her face back and smiled at him.

"You know," she whispered, "sometimes I fantasize about you in your super suit."

"Yeah?" smiled Wally back, "What kinds of fantasies?"

"Oh you know," began Linda, running her hand through Wally's hair, "Sometimes you save me… Sometimes I save you…"

"Sometimes you save me?" scoffed Wally.

"Sure do, hot stuff," she asserted, pushing down on his chest with her hand, "Sometimes I have help…"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah…"

Linda let one of her strokes through Wally's hair continue down his neck and chest, slowly making its way to the crotch of his jeans where she could clearly see the outline of his erection. Sneering at Wally for a moment, Linda pressed down on it with her hand. Wally's eyes widened as he visibly held in a moan.

"Sometimes Wonder Woman is there," she whispered.

Wally smiled as his eyes slowly closed.

"Sometimes Aquaman… Sometimes Black Canary…"

Wally bit his lip as Linda stroked him through his jeans again.

"Sometimes the Flash…"

"Ew, gross!" yelped Wally, sitting up so abruptly that Linda backed away.

"What!?"

"That's my uncle you're talking about!"

"Aha!" grinned Linda widely, "Barry Allen is the Flash! I knew it!"

"What?!" croaked Wally, realizing what he had just done, "No! No! I didn't say which uncle!"

"Gee, I wonder if it's the one who lives in Central City?" said Linda, rolling her eyes, "The one whose wedding you would NOT shut up about?"

"...crap," sighed Wally, burying his face in his hands.

Just when I was about to get laid, too… he thought.

"Oh come on," offered Linda, "Sorry, I didn't mean to- I won't tell anyone, I promise. I'll keep it a secret! Just like the others!"

"That's just it," said Wally, looking over at Linda, "Because of me you know the identities of like… six superheroes. I feel like an idiot. Barry never lets this kind of thing happen."

Linda frowned. Wally could tell she wasn't sure what to say. Instead she simply rested a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Oh boy," noticed Wally, glancing at the newest headline on the TV.

"PEEK-A-BOO RUNS WILD AT BROOKFIELD MALL"

Footage showed just that. Wally had worked to memorize the Central City rogue's gallery, so he recognized Peek-a-Boo right away. Not that it took an expert. Peek-a-Boo dressed in baggy grey athletic wear with distinct yellow rings on them with rollerblades and a mask to match them. In the footage, she was frequently popping in and out of sight as she skated around the mall.

"I should probably jump on that," sighed Wally.

"Good luck," said Linda, placing a hand on Wally's knee, "We can pick this up where we left off later, right?"

"Tell you what," said Wally, "Let's pick up from before you suggested a three-way with one of your potential in-laws."

Linda chuckled as Wally zipped away in a burst of yellow lightning.

"Alright, Peek-a-Boo," announced Kid Flash as he zipped onto the scene, "That's enough."

Kid Flash had arrived on the main floor of the mall. Peek-a-Boo was skating in the opposite direction of him, but heard his voice and responded with a tight turn and a leap into the air. She grinned widely as her vision caught Kid Flash. The next thing Kid Flash knew she was directly in front of him, clasping both hands onto his chest.

"Slow down there, sweetheart," chuckled Kid Flash.

"Dream on, loser."

Kid Flash let out a cough as he felt a punch to his chest. Yellow lightning sparked around him as his perception of time slowed to make sense of what had just happened. To Kid Flash, time seemed to have frozen. He was airborne, having been knocked off his feet by the impact. He took note of everything around him. The fleeing patrons were all frozen in place. Shattered glass and damaged structures decorated the entire area. There was no sign of Peek-a-Boo though. How was that possible? He should have been moving faster than any living being on the planet. No one should have been able to get out of there without him noticing.

That's right, recalled Kid Flash, She can teleport.

That still didn't explain the pain in his chest. It was hard to figure that part out at this perception of speed. Kid Flash was still getting used to mastering this aspect of the Speed Force. He'd have to return to normal speed to examine his own body properly. So that's what he did.

Kid Flash wretched as the impact spread quickly from his chest to the rest of his body. The momentum sent him flying backward into a wall. Upon hitting the wall all of the pain from before reverberated through his body again before he fell limply to the ground. He let out a series of coughs and gasps. It felt as though a car had hit him square in the chest.

There she is! realized Kid Flash, spying his opponent skating by out of the corner of his eye.

Kid Flash waited until she wasn't facing him. Then he ramped up to top speed. Peek-a-Boo seemed to freeze in place as Kid Flash scrambled to his feet, boosted up to superspeed, and sprinted after her. He wasn't sure how instantly she could teleport. He'd have to take her down before she even realized she was in danger. Kid Flash dove at the woman from behind, wound up a fist, and went to strike her in the back of the head with a Speed Force enhanced punch.

The moment Kid Flash's knuckles made contact with Peek-a-Boo's hair, he felt an intense pain course through his fingers and explode through his hand and up his arm. He cried out in pain as he returned to normal speed, flung backward by an impact like before and landing him face first on the floor.

What is going on!? wondered Kid Flash angrily, weakly lifting his face off the ground.

"Like I'd be done in by a second-rate sidekick," cackled Peek-a-Boo, now standing over Kid Flash.

Kid Flash didn't have time to respond or even look over his shoulder. Peek-a-Boo swifty squatted to his level, reached both wrist guard clad hands into the back of his costume's spandex pants, and pulled out the red elastic and white cotton of the hero's boxer briefs straight up. Wally let out a squeal as he felt his lower half lifted off the floor with the force of the wedgie.

Then Peek-a-Boo disappeared in the blink of an eye, but not without another impact blasting into Kid Flash. This one came from above, where Peek-a-Boo had been holding his underwear, and literally pounded Kid Flash's freshly wedged butt into the ground, leaving his ass sore and his back aching.

Kid Flash scrunched up his face in indignance as he heard the patrons murmuring. He could have sworn he heard one chuckle. Kid Flash let out a loud grunt of frustration as he sped up to high speeds again. Knowing he was moving too fast to be seen, Kid Flash shoved both hands into his pants and pulled the boxers out of his butt.

Done with that, Kid Flash sped around the mall in search of Peek-a-Boo. He had no luck. He expanded his search to the next few square blocks. He had searched it in seconds, but she was nowhere to be seen. Kid Flash let out a low breath of frustration as he slowed to a stop, knowing with her powers she could be anywhere now.

Wally removed his costume and changed back into his street clothes as he sped off at superspeed again. There was someone uniquely suited to help him figure this out without any further embarrassment. For this particular visit, he was better off as Wally West than as Kid Flash.

"Hi Wally," smiled Iris, opening the door, "oh."

Iris's smile has faded. Wally sighed. Apparently his frustration was more visible on his face than he had thought it was.

"Everything okay?" asked Iris with concern.

Wally entered and closed the door behind himself in the blink of an eye, wafting a wall of air uncomfortably into Iris's face in the process. Wally didn't notice her scowl in response.

"Peek-a-Boo," said Wally impatiently, "What's her deal?"

Iris West had only married Barry Allen a few weeks prior, but the two had been dating for several years before that. She had grown very familiar with her husband's enemies and had even helped take a number of them down. She was also Wally's aunt, though their proximity in age made her feel more like a cousin.

"Lashawn Baez," said Iris, "Small time metahuman criminal."

"Yeah well she didn't seem very 'small time' to me," huffed Wally, "I couldn't lay a hand on her! She kept disappearing and hitting me with something..."

"...yeah," nodded Iris, "That's her power. She can initiate her teleportation with contact, releasing an impact every time."

"So how do I stop her?"

"What's the big deal?" shrugged Iris.

"This is a supervillain we're talking about!" exclaimed Wally, "Imagine the cost of the damage she did to that mall!"

"Brookfield Mall?" clarified Iris, "The one owned by DeVoe?"

"...who?"

"The Thinker? You know, the crime lord? That place is basically a front for his criminal activities. He owns a quarter of the city. It's a huge problem. I just published an article about it last month; didn't you read it?"

Wally groaned and grabbed his head in frustration. There was still so much more to being Kid Flash than he knew. He wondered if he'd be able to handle it all.

"Either way, I wouldn't worry about it," sighed Iris, "Peek-a-Boo's never hurt anyone."

"She gave me a wedgie!"

Iris snickered. Wally crossed his arms and pouted. He could have easily shut her up with a wedgie of her own, but Barry had made it clear that any super speed torment inflicted on Iris would be matched upon Wally tenfold. Barry was still considerably faster than Wally, so there was nothing Wally could do about that.

Iris's eyes widened as a unique chime played on her phone. She quickly answered, listening intently to the other end. She withheld a gasp before pulling the phone away and looking right at Wally.

"Wally, there's been a break in at S.T.A.R. Labs," she said, "a speedster!"

The word triggered an immediate jump to high speed for Wally. One of the first lessons Barry had taught him about being Kid Flash was the danger of enemy speedsters. Flash and Kid Flash could save just about anyone with their superspeed, but that didn't matter when their opponents could move just as fast.

Wally changed into his Kid Flash uniform as he sprinted out of the apartment. The speedster would be out of S.T.A.R. Labs by now, but Kid Flash had a way of tracking him down. He closed his eyes and focused on the energy flowing through his body, listening to it. Speedsters all drew their powers from the same Speed Force. If one listened closely they could sense others accessing it. Concentrating, Kid Flash determined the speedster's location and raced to cut them off.

Kid Flash wondered who this would be. Many speedsters could time travel, meaning that there was no telling when one of them would show up or who it would be. Would he finally meet the infamous Reverse Flash? Rival?

Kid Flash arrived at the spot, slowing down his perception of time to make sense of what was happening. Kid Flash was headed directly for Garrick Street. The other speedster was running down it; they were about to meet up at the intersection ahead. Kid Flash watched as the other speedster came into view.

Yellow lightning heralded the reveal of the red figure sprinting through Central City, some sort of satchel worn across his body. As the figure came into view, Kid Flash couldn't believe his eyes. The red figure was none other than the Flash, carrying with him a S.T.A.R. Labs bag. It was Barry! He was the thief!

Kid Flash's disbelief caused a moment of hesitation. Flash, seeing this, adjusted his course and rammed his shoulder into Kid Flash. Flash continued on his way as Kid Flash was sent tumbling to the side, lethal impact prevented only by the Speed Force's protection. After shaking it off, Kid Flash sprinted after Flash again.

Kid Flash was beginning to catch up to him again. Flash looked over his shoulder at Kid Flash as the younger hero neared him. The two had just left Central City limits and were running into the plains of midwestern America.

"Barry!" called out Kid Flash, carrying his voice with the Speed Force so Flash could hear it, "What are you doing!?"

Flash didn't respond. He returned to looking forward. Kid Flash grunted in frustration, but before he could accelerate Flash surprised him by dropping in speed and running side by side with Kid Flash. Kid Flash looked over at his face. At this distance he could tell for sure: that was Barry Allen.

What in the world is going on? wondered Kid Flash.

Flash surprised Kid Flash by delivering a swift elbow to his gut. As Kid Flash doubled over in pain he felt himself fall behind, but Flash quickly brought his hand up and caught Kid Flash by the back of the hair. Kid Flash's feet flew back and he fell forward as Flash outsped him, dragging him forward by the hair. Flash then slammed Kid Flash's face into the dirt and smeared it along for several kilometers before finally letting go and zipping away.

"Nnnngggh…" groaned Kid Flash into the dirt.

There was no way to catch Flash now. He had put too much distance between them. Kid Flash had utterly failed for the third time that day. It was barely noon.

"So?" asked Batgirl as Nightwing landed in the alley, "How's Dad?"

"Overworked as ever," sighed Nightwing as he turned to his girlfriend, "He probably wouldn't recognize you in costume, you know."

"I figure it's best we not risk it."

"Probably."

Nightwing had just come down from the roof of the police department, where he had spoken with Commissioner Gordon.

Nightwing heard someone coming down the street. He nodded his head upward. Batgirl nodded. The two swiftly ascended the fire escape and made their way to the roof of the building next to the police station.

"There was one thing though," noted Nightwing.

"What's that?"

"He said Batman missed their past few meetings," said Nightwing, "That doesn't sound like him. Has he been acting strange?"

Nightwing spent most of his time leading the Titans in Jump City. When he was in Gotham, he generally acted independently of Batman. Batgirl and Robin, on the other hand, worked directly with Batman most of the time.

"What?" scoffed Batgirl, "Like being weird and distant?"

Nightwing stared back blankly.

"Sometimes you actually are a little like him, you know," noted Batgirl with concern.

"This is serious. Has Stephanie noticed anything?"

"I don't think so, Dick."

"I'm going to check out the batcave," decided Nightwing, turning away and preparing his grappling gun, "Listen for my check in."

"You're not going to try reaching out to him first?" asked Batgirl.

Nightwing had already left. Continuing that conversation further would only needlessly distress Batgirl. If this was nothing, Nightwing would find out shortly and put this behind him. But for now Nightwing had to assume the worst. Even if Batgirl thought Batman was acting normally, no one knew him like Nightwing. Ghosting on Commissioner Gordon, or neglecting anything involved with protecting Gotham, was not Batman's MO. Even if he wasn't up to something, someone else might be.

Nightwing arrived at the foot of the waterfall blocking the rear entrance to the batcave. He quietly climbed his way through the landscape and into the cave. He moved a rock to reveal a hidden keypad, which he used to deactivate the security measures. Batman would certainly figure out he did this, but Nightwing would deal with that when he came to it. He had to figure this out for now.

Nightwing crept through the batcave, looking around for any sign of Bruce in or out of costume. Nothing. Nightwing made it to the supercomputer at the center of the cave and accessed it, checking the logs. The computer had only been used once in the past week. This was strange in and of itself, but the reason it has been used was even stranger: to access one of the batcave vaults.

The vaults were where particularly dangerous or coveted items were kept. They included the Kryptonite that Batman kept as a contingency against Superman among numerous other equally important items. Nightwing felt his pulse briefly accelerate before he took a deep breath and calmed it down. This was getting more concerning. Nightwing unlocked the specific vault in question and walked over to see what was inside it.

Opening the large metal door, he peered inside. There was a podium in the back of the vault, where a rock of shiny black material in a distinctive jagged shape sat.

"A White Dwarf Star fragment," realized Nightwing quietly.

Nightwing turned on his heel and drew a batarang. Batman was standing several feet behind him.

"Just what the hell is going on!?" demanded Nightwing.

Batman ran at Nightwing. Nightwing threw the batarang. Batman caught it midair and tossed it aside without missing a beat. There were only a handful of people capable of using those weapons so deftly. Once his facial features were in view, there was no doubt about it. This was Bruce Wayne.

Nightwing dove to the side. Batman responded by redirecting his sprint and running up the side of a wall before leaping into the air and throwing three batarangs at Nightwing at once. Nightwing sprinted away, but Batman had thrown the batarangs with that in mind and two of the weapons still sliced Nightwing's back as he ran. The body armor of the suit prevented the blades from tearing through, but the edges still managed to painfully cut into him.

Nightwing grimaced as he rolled behind a rock, pushing past the pain to focus on the situation. He heard the footsteps. Batman was running at him again. Nightwing grunted as he leapt out from behind the rock and slid down low in front of Batman, planning to take him out at the legs. Instead Batman managed to leap clean over Nightwing and land on the other side of him ready to fight.

Panicking, Nightwing rose to his feet and threw a punch at Batman's face, but the caped crusader effortlessly pushed it aside and followed up with a punch of his own that caught Nightwing in the side of the jaw. He followed this up with another punch to the other side of Nightwing's face before landing a haymaker that knocked Nightwing to the ground. Nightwing repositioned to get back up, but Batman stomped down on the back of one of his legs. Nightwing screamed out in pain as he collapsed. Batman hadn't broken the bone, but it was still brutally painful.

Before Nightwing could recover from any of this, Batman delivered a full force kick to his gut. Nightwing coughed as the pain blasted through his body with enough force to propel him off the ground and into the cave wall behind him. Nightwing cried out as he hit the wall, the impact burning through his skull before he fell face first onto the ground.

Nightwing's brain was screaming at him to move and get out of there. He needed to regroup. He needed to fight back. He needed-

CRACK!

"ARGH!" screamed Nightwing, clutching his side.

Batman had delivered another kick to Nightwing's side, this time audibly cracking several ribs upon contact. Nightwing coughed weakly as his body let out one last shiver of defiance before powering down completely, leaving Nightwing barely aware of where he was and utterly incapable of moving.

Nightwing had always suspected Batman could hit harder than he had ever done in training, but the magnitude was still a lot to process. The places Batman had hit him all shrieked in defiant pain, insistent that Nightwing could power through it. Nightwing tensed up as his body once again failed to move, cementing the fact that he was completely and utterly beaten.

What was I thinking… he thought as his vision faded, I didn't stand a chance against Bruce. I never have…

He had no sense of time after that. He wasn't sure if he ever truly passed out. He remembered the next thing he heard though.

"...Dick?" came Barbara's voice.

She let out a shrill gasp at the state Batman had left her boyfriend in.

J'onn J'onzz, also known as the Martian Manhunter, stood at the control center, a platform suspended high above the central lobby surrounded by computer monitors and keyboards. Beyond it was an enormous window, through which the striking facade of Earth could be seen against the black starry space beyond it. This was the Justice League's satellite headquarters: the Watchtower.

In addition to the planet, Martian Manhunter could also see one of the Watchtower's shuttles approaching the station. Ze stared at it until it reached the docking bay. Once it did, ze levitated into the air and flew through the base to meet the arrivals.

Green Arrow, Black Canary, the Flash, and Batman all disembarked as the shuttle's back door opened, allowing the four to hop down onto the floor of the hangar and approach the Martian.

"Was everyone successful?" ze asked.

All four superheroes nodded.

"Superman is assembling everything outside," explained Flash.

"Excellent," nodded Martian Manhunter, "Let's wait for him in the meeting room."

The Justice League gathered in their main meeting room: a large, several story room with an enormous round table and seven chairs at equidistant points, each bearing the emblem of one of the Justice League's members: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Martian Manhunter. A large monitor hung high over the table on the far end of the room.

Wonder Woman was already seated in the room, awaiting the others. Martian Manhunter and the four new arrivals soon joined her, nodding to one another in acknowledgement as they all took their appropriate seats. Superman joined them some time later, taking his seat without saying a word.

"Let us begin," said Superman plainly.

Batman nodded and turned over his wrist to reveal a smart screen built into the glove. He quickly accessed the Watchtower's computers and used the communication system's emergency contact line, and made a phone call using the large monitor. Historically this line had been used to notify world leaders in the case of impending invasions and other global catastrophes. Within seconds, the President of the United States had answered. The seven heroes turned to face the monitor displaying the President.

"Justice League," said the President, "What is the situation?"

"The Justice League is issuing an ultimatum to the United States of America," said Superman, "We have constructed an Atom Cannon. Unless you pledge your full military force to the Justice League, we will use the weapon on your country. You have 24 hours to respond."

Batman ended the call before the President could say anything. It didn't matter. The matter was simple. Either the United States would pledge its military forces to the Justice League within the allotted time or they wouldn't. If they did, the Justice League would use those forces to conquer the world. If they didn't, the Justice League would fire the Atom Cannon and move onto the country with the next strongest military and issue the same ultimatum.

It was only a matter of time before this planet was theirs, just like the ones before it.

"Clayface?" suggested Barbara, "I don't like the thought of him getting into the batcave but-"

"No," insisted Dick, "It was Bruce. It wasn't just his face, it was his fighting style. All the same techniques he's taught us, all the same ways he's taken us down in training, but more brutal."

"So you're thinking mind control?" said Barbara.

"Or possession," sighed Dick, "or hypnosis… Doesn't really narrow it down."

"Doppelgänger from another Earth?" suggested Barbara.

"Haven't had one of those yet," said Dick, "but now that you mention it, it does seem like only a matter of time."

Dick was lying in the recovery suite, a room Bruce had specifically had outfitted for short and long term recovery from injuries. It had all the medical equipment of a hospital room, but a luxurious bed designed to promote healthy posture for recovery. Dick was lying shirtless with an ice pack strapped to his side. One of his eyes had started to bruise into a black eye. Babara had pulled a chair up next to him.

"Also remember that Barry was acting similarly," continued Dick, wincing as he shifted, "with his powers and everything."

Dick and Wally had indeed compared notes regarding their experiences. The Titans were working on the matter as a unit now, with Kara taking point while Dick was out of commission. Barbara had mostly been focused on Dick's recovery, but she and Stephanie had been involved in the investigation as well. Unfortunately, nothing had come up yet.

"If I go up against him again I need you as backup," sighed Dick as he tried to relax his positioning.

"You should not go up against him again," said Barbara firmly, "Dick, there's no way your body can take another beating like that."

"Dick!" exclaimed Wally, appearing in the doorway as the door flung open.

"Jesus," gasped Barbara, nearly falling out of her chair.

"Wally," said Dick after a moment of surprise, "What is it?"

"How bad are your injuries?" he asked, "Can I carry you to Jump City?"

"...sure," nodded Dick after a moment, "Just let me get a-"

Yellow lighting danced around their vision so much that it was impossible to see for a moment. When it cleared, the Titans and Barbara were all gathered on the couch in the communal area of Titans Tower. Kara stood in front of them, ready to talk.

"-shirt," sighed Dick, half naked and visibly injured in front of his entire team.

"Alright everybody," began Kara, "This is bad. It isn't just Batman and Flash. The entire Justice League has gone rogue. They're demanding America's absolute loyalty under threat of obliteration from an Atom Cannon."

Now Dick understood why Batman had gathered the White Dwarf Star fragment. An Atom Cannon was a theoretical weapon, a proposed use of Dr. Ray Palmer's size altering technology to effortlessly bulldoze mass on subatomic levels. No such weapon had ever been built, since Ray refused to help with it and no one else could replicate his work.

"An Atom Cannon?" said Barbara, "How is that possible?"

"There was a break in at a PalmerTech server warehouse last week," noted Roy, "I thought Oliver and Dinah had handled it but now I'm thinking they were the ones behind it…"

"With that information Bruce could probably figure the rest out…" pointed out Dick.

"It's not him though!" insisted Donna suddenly, "It's not Diana either! They would never do this!"

"We know that, Diana," assured Dick.

"Yeah this sucks for all of us," added Wally bitterly.

"Everyone just keeps talking like it's really them," said Donna quietly, "But we should know better. We know them better than anyone…"

The others all looked around, unsure of what else to say. After a moment, Dick stood to his feet, withholding a response to the sharp pain as he did so. Everyone turned their attention to him.

"We have to go," he said, "We have to stop them."

"...how?" asked Roy after a moment.

"With what we know," said Dick, "It's like Donna said: we know the Justice League better than anyone. We're the only ones who stand a chance at stopping this."

"I have some friends at the DEO," said Kara, "I can reach out to them, get us a ride up to the Watchtower."

"Are you insane!?" exclaimed Wally, "Are you guys listening to yourselves!? Fighting the Justice League!? They are stronger, faster, and smarter than us! We're not ready for this kind of threat! That's what they're for! Maybe the rest of you missed this, but Dick and I already tried fighting them. We got our asses kicked!"

"Wally," said Dick firmly, "What choice do we have? Just give up and hope someone else fixes it?"

Wally went to respond. There was nothing to say. Wally wasn't wrong about the odds, but he knew as well as the rest of them that those risks came with the superhero profession. They had to take the Justice League on. He knew it was on them, but the overwhelming sense of powerlessness still consumed him.

"We're just sidekicks…" he managed after a moment.

"No," said Dick, "We're Titans."

Everything around Wally froze as his perception of time sped up until the world was at a stand still. Yellow lightning sparked around his body as he clenched his fists tighter and tighter, taking in everything. This continued for some time until Wally made up his mind about how to proceed. He slowed himself back down so the rest of the world returned to normal speed.

"Eh," smiled Wally widely after a moment, "You're right. We'll figure something out!"

Dick could tell from Wally's subsequent laugh that he was only affecting this newfound confidence. Dick figured that that was alright. Some artificial bravado wouldn't go amiss in this coming mission.

"How soon do we have to move?" asked Barbara, considering Dick's injuries.

"Soon," said Kara.

"We should bring Steph," whispered Barbara to Dick, "We're going to need the help."

"What was that?" asked Wally, ignoring the hushed tone.

"Guys," smiled Dick weakly, "Get ready to meet the new Robin."

"Wow!" beamed Robin, "This is crazy!"

Speedy cocked his head to the side in confusion as he slung his quiver over his shoulder. He had no idea what this new kid was so excited about. The Titans had picked Stephanie up at Wayne Manor before boarding a shuttle from the DEO and beginning their flight to the Watchtower. Stephanie, now changed into her Robin costume, was looking around at her costumed allies in awe.

"You guys look so great!" she exclaimed.

"You need to get out of Gotham more," smiled Batgirl.

Robin had never seen so many famous superheroes in one place. It was one thing to hang out with Bruce or Barbara, it was another to be with an entire team of superheroes. She had read all about all of them. She had stomached her fangirl energy for most of the flight so far, but seeing everyone in costume was proving too much.

"We have to stay focused," said Nightwing, "Remember the plan and pay attention. Be ready for anything."

Nightwing, whose bandaging was hidden under his costume, sat at the cockpit of the ship guiding it toward their destination. Half of the DEO's equipment was WayneTech in design, so Batman had taught Nightwing how to operate most of it. This flight was actually pretty simple, since routine trips to the Watchtower were what these ships were made for. They would be there any minute.

"That doesn't look like the Robin costume Dick used to wear," noted Speedy, looking Robin up and down.

"Oh I did wear that one at first," explained Robin, "but that thing was not meant for a body with hips. It rode up constantly. The leggings basically lived rent free inside my butt."

"Um…" muttered Speedy.

"Like seriously," laughed Robin nervously, "just right up in there."

"I see."

Batgirl raised her eyebrows in concern and leaned over to Nightwing.

"Is she… flirting?" she asked quietly.

Nightwing looked over as Robin proceeded to mime plucking a wedgie in both the front and the back while Speedy watched uncomfortably.

"Yeah," smirked Nightwing, "It's crazy. She's even worse at it than you."

"Hey!" scowled Batgirl with a smile, giving Nightwing a playful punch to the shoulder.

Batgirl frowned to herself as Nightwing withheld a wince and turned his attention back to the controls. He hadn't had enough time to recover from his last injuries. Batgirl didn't want to think about what would happen if he took such a beating again. Then again, the odds were pretty bad for all of them.

Everyone gasped and grabbed onto the nearest wall or chair as the entire ship lurched. The team's attention turned to the windshield of the shuttle. Outside in front of the nose of the vessel was none other than Superman, staring them down as he firmly held onto the shuttle with two hands on the nose. The battle against the Justice League had begun.

"Supergirl!" ordered Nightwing.

"On it!"

Supergirl moved so quickly the burst of air nearly knocked Robin and Speedy off their feet. The next thing any of them knew, Supergirl was outside the ship and slammed into Superman from the side. She tackled him away as the ship pulled free. Nightwing quickly accelerated as they flew away from the super beings engaged in a space battle.

Everyone braced themselves as the shuttle flew toward the hangar, only to see that the door to the hangar was shut. Nightwing anticipated this. The plan was to have Supergirl get them in but since she was otherwise occupied, they had to move to their backup plan.

"Kid Flash," said Nightwing, "You ready?"

"No," sighed Kid Flash as he knelt and placed both hands on the ground, "but what the hell."

Speedsters had the ability to vibrate molecules at a variety of frequencies. If done correctly, this could allow one to phase through solid objects. Kid Flash's experience doing this was limited and he had certainly never done it along with an entire shuttle full of people, but he knew as well as any of the others that they had limited options.

"Let's do this…" he whispered.

Sparks of yellow lightning erupted from Kid Flash and engulfed the entire shuttle. Kid Flash clenched his eyes shut and channeled the Speed Force's power into his body, tensing his body as tightly as possible before forcing himself to slightly tremble. He focused this energy into his very being, vibrating himself in and out of physical tangibility. He focused this energy through the whole shuttle. Kid Flash peeked his eyes open just before the nose of the ship neared the closed hangar door. He flinched.

"WOO!" yelled Robin.

"You did it, Wally!" cheered Wonder Girl.

Kid Flash opened his eyes and saw that they were slowly descending to the floor of the hangar, having gotten through successfully. He smiled and sighed as Speedy clasped a firm hand on his shoulder. The shuttle landed and slowed to a stop. Nightwing opened the rear door and they all disembarked.

"I'll go in," announced Kid Flash.

"Alright," agreed Nightwing cautiously, "Everyone on standby."

Kid Flash zipped into the rest of the Watchtower in a trail of yellow lightning. He raced all around the complex, having never been there before. His uncle had told him about it, but the satellite integrated technology from various alien planets and even the future. It was like being in a patchwork building, all different shades of grey accompanied by red circuitry and lacking any architectural consistency. Navigating the entirety of the headquarters took some effort, even at high speeds. Luckily, it paid off.

"I found the cannon," said Kid Flash, touching the communicator in his mask.

Kid Flash stood on the bridge of the observation deck at the base of the satellite. Through the window Kid Flash could clearly see the barrel of the cannon extending from the base of the Watchtower, aimed directly at the Earth beneath them. A massive generator had been constructed in the observation deck, connected to the cannon through the floor of the base. The generator's control panel displayed the Atom Cannon's settings.

"Alright," responded Nightwing, "First be sure to-"

Kid Flash's hair stood on end and his heart rate kicked into high gear as he felt the very energy of the room swell. Jumping to high speeds, Kid Flash spun around in place to see that Flash had just raced into the room. Kid Flash sprinted away, followed by his uncle into the halls of the Watchtower, racing from floor to floor in the blink of an eye.

"I'm engaged in a fight with the Flash," said Kid Flash into his communicator, "Someone else has to take care of the cannon! It's on the observation deck!"

Kid Flash hoped they had heard that. The Speed Force warped reality, so even though Kid Flash was moving faster than speed of sound itself he could usually communicate as if he were moving at the same speed as everyone else. Usually he was able to stop to confirm it though. Kid Flash looked over his shoulder at the expressionless Flash in hot pursuit of him, quickly gaining ground. There was no stopping now.

"You sure this is the right way?" asked Speedy.

"Yes," assured Nightwing, "Batman kept contingency plans to get to various points of interest in the Watchtower in case it was ever compromised."

Having received Kid Flash's message, Speedy, Wonder Girl, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Robin had made their way to the Watchtower's high speed elevator and were riding it down to the observation deck to shut down the Atom Cannon.

"Wait a minute," realized Speedy, "But if Batman knows about those contingencies-"

Everyone braced themselves as a sudden shift in momentum jerked the entire elevator to a stop with an ear-splitting screech. A moment later there was a crash from above, followed by a sword piercing in from the ceiling. The sword forced open a small hole, which two enormous hands ripped open further.

"Diana!" gasped Wonder Girl.

"Speedy!" ordered Nightwing, feeling the elevator shift again.

"Right!" replied Speedy.

The crimson clad archer quickly drew his bow and the appropriate four arrows. First he fired one directly into the floor. The industrial strength projectile latched onto the floor with powerful magnets, connected to the other three arrows via steel cable. Speedy aimed up past Wonder Woman's shoulder and began firing the others up the elevator shaft.

Wonder Woman, not intending to let him do so, dove into the elevator, grabbing her sword and readying it as she did so. Wonder Girl was the only one fast enough to respond, tackling Wonder Woman into the wall of the elevator before she could reach Speedy. Speedy finished firing the last arrow just as a loud crunch! signified the end of the elevator's relationship with the shaft. Everyone except Wonder Woman gasped as the elevator dipped into freefall before swaying back and forth on the cables connected together by the arrows Speedy had fired.

"Where are we?!" yelled Nightwing to Batgirl.

Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl's fight had resumed. In the tight quarters of the elevator, the enormous muscle bound Wonder Woman was engaged in a wrestling match with her smaller sister, pinning her to the floor but straining to hold her down as the whole elevator swung back and forth.

"We're on the right floor," called back Batgirl, checking a small datapad embedded in her glove.

"Got it!" chimed in Wonder Girl, gritting her teeth through the smile.

Wonder Girl rolled back for leverage and then delivered a full force double kick to Wonder Woman's gut. The impact dented Wonder Woman's red armored chest piece and smashed her through the walls of the elevator and the shaft itself, propelling her into one of the hallways of the Watchtower, where she momentarily stumbled as the young heroes quickly raced in through the new entrance. Once everyone was all through, Speedy noticed Wonder Woman's sword lying on the floor of the elevator. He clicked a button on his utility belt. The cables all disconnected, sending the elevator plummeting and taking the sword with it, leaving the Amazon unarmed.

"I've got her," assured Wonder Girl, putting herself between Wonder Woman and the others, "You guys go after the cannon!"

"Um," muttered Robin as she turned to look down the hall, "Guys?"

Green Arrow and Black Canary rounded the corner. Both were as expressionless as the other members of the Justice League. Speedy found it unsettling to see Oliver in his bright green tunic, tights, and hat without a trace of humanity on his face. Black Canary was similarly uncanny, lacking her usual confident air despite the iconic black boots, fishnets, shorts, and jacket.

Nighting ran at the duo. Batgirl and Robin both reached out for him but it was too late to say anything. Green Arrow drew and fired several arrows at Nightwing. The former circus acrobat nimbly dodged the explosive, incendiary, and boxing glove tipped projectiles with a veer to the side and a dive into a somersault right to his opponents' feet.

Black Canary nearly caught Nightwing in the side of the head with her boot as she delivered a swift roundhouse kick in his direction. Narrowly dodging the bow, Nightwing kept his momentum going and raced past both Justice League members. Black Canary and Green Arrow spun around to pursue him, but both halted when an arrow whizzed past within an inch of Green Arrow's face.

Black Canary and Green Arrow turned back to Speedy, who stoody ready alongside Robin and Batgirl. Wonder Girl was still facing off against Wonder Woman. The Titans let out battle cries as they charged the opposing superheroes.

Nightwing stepped onto the Observation Deck. Superman was engaged in battle with Supergirl. Flash was doing the same with Kid Flash. Wonder Woman, Black Canary, and Green Arrow were fighting the others behind him. That left only two members of the Justice League to worry about.

"An interesting attempt," mused Martian Manhunter.

The Green Martian was a humanoid differentiated from humans by the green skin, irregular brow and eye sockets of the skull, and the featureless red eyes in those sockets. Truth be told, Nightwing wouldn't have been able to read Martian Manhunter's facial expressions even under normal circumstances. He certainly couldn't interpret zyr now.

"We anticipated many different responses from your planet," said Martian Manhunter, "but among them I would not have thought this one likely. Surely you must understand that the Titans stand absolutely no chance."

"Who are you?" demanded Nightwing calmly, "How are you controlling the League?"

"His injuries aren't very severe," commented Martian Manhunter.

"I didn't think further damage was necessary," said Batman, "Evidently, I was wrong."

Nightwing's heart leapt as he spun around to see Batman standing directly behind him. Nightwing panicked and threw a punch. Batman casually dodged the attempt before punching Nightwing in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying back onto his back. Nightwing scowled and clenched his teeth as the pain overwhelmed his body, tensing him up too much to stand.

"This time I will kill him," said Batman.

Nightwing cried out in pain as he fought past it and got to his feet, running at Batman. Batman raced forward to cut Nightwing off. Nightwing pivoted and bent back to dodge Batman's punch. Batman, now over Nightwing, slammed his elbow down onto his damaged rib cage. Nightwing screamed out in pain as Batman's blow crashed him into the ground. Batman casually stood up straight as Nightwing continued to scream and writhe in pain, unable to properly move his body.

"Your team is made up entirely of apprentices to your opponents," said Martian Manhunter, "You were doomed to fail from the start. Your very name is a lie. You're not titans. You've merely convinced yourselves that you are by standing upon the shoulders of giants."

Batman approached a weak and trembling Nightwing to deliver the finishing blow.

Kid Flash ran and ran and ran. He desperately looked over his shoulder, knowing it would only serve as a reminder to the ground Flash was gaining on him. It was only a matter of time. The Flash was the master of using the Speed Force. Kid Flash had only started learning how to use it in the past year. Flash would catch him; it was inevitable.

Damn it! cursed Kid Flash to himself, I knew it! I knew this was pointless! This is exactly what's going to happen to each and one of us! What were we thinking!?

Kid Flash considered how this could be the end. He could die. He found himself in a panicking spiral of regret and shame as his mind raced through the memories of all his shortcomings and failures. There was no way he could do this. He never stood a chance.

Then different memories started to surface: the sense of excitement when Donna first declared the Titans a team, the look of gratitude on Dick's face when Wally had cheered him up after fighting Bat-Mite, and even the small sense of accomplishment after he had phased the shuttle into the Watchtower.

There was a chance. It was a small one, but they could win this. The more Kid Flash thought about his time with the Titans, the more sure of it he was. Outrunning Flash wouldn't do anymore. He needed to think of something different.

He thought back to the layout of the Watchtower Dick had shown everyone before the mission. Kid Flash recalled one of his own suggestions when they were formulating the plan.

"What if we supercharge the Watchtower's generator?" Wally had suggested.

"Like with the Speed Force?" Dick had responded.

"Yeah I figure I could overload it."

"If the Atom Cannon is connected to it," Barbara had said, "Yeah. That'll do it! It'll release a pulse that would reset the cannon, making it temporarily inoperable."

"Or electrify anyone nearby," added Dick.

The Atom Cannon had turned out not to be connected to Watchtower's generator, instead having a generator of its own. This meant Kid Flash couldn't shut the Atom Cannon down with this strategy, but the generator could still release that pulse. It was a long shot, but this was the only idea Kid Flash had. He hoped it was a good one.

Kid Flash made his way to the engine room in the core of the Watchtower, Flash hot on his heels. Kid Flash came to a full stop directly in front of the generator, halting the momentum of his speed and containing it in a cluster of yellow lightning in his hand. Flash zipped by but quickly redirected to return and finish off his sidekick. Kid Flash released the yellow lightning, containing the stored up energy of all the built up speed, and thrust it into the engine.

Yellow light flooded the engine before a series of yellow sparks preceded a burst of Speed Force that collided with both Kid Flash and Flash the moment before the older hero could begin a proper attack. The lights across the entire Watchtower flickered. Both Flashes fell completely unconscious.

Supergirl careened through space from the impact, using her powers to halt her momentum in time to redirect and dodge another punch from Superman. She massaged the side of her jaw, still aching from the punch.

Superman spun around and unleashed a whitish blue stream of heat from his eyes. Supergirl responded in kind and the two lasers collided halfway them, emitting an even brighter light at their point of contact. Supergirl strained to retain the attack, but she soon felt his energy overtaking hers. Then the brightest point in the stream rushed toward Supergirl and exploded in a massive burst of energy.

Supergirl clenched her teeth in pain as she flew through space, hair singed and tights mostly burned away from the heat of the attack. Before she could react, Superman had slammed into her and pinned her to the exterior of the Watchtower. She grabbed his head and forced it away just before he unleashed his heat vision at point blank range. Supergirl had redirected the attack to inches from her face, but fought against Superman's head as he fought against her grip and continued to fire the lasers in hopes of cutting into her from the side.

This was it. Supergirl was at her limit. She had expended just about all of her energy. Superman had lived under this yellow sun for years before she had. His body could process and use far more of that power and far more efficiently than she could. She was doomed from the start. There was simply no way to overpower him. She tightened her grip though, determined to at least hold Superman off as long as possible for the sake of the others. She felt the skin on her face start to burn as the heat vision got closer and closer.

Then Supergirl noticed something. There was something grey emerging from the front of Superman's shirt. It looked organic somehow, maybe even…

That's it! realized Supergirl.

She knew what was happening. It all made sense now. With a renewed sense of conviction, Supergirl used her powers to propel herself downward while pushing away on Superman's face. The laser passed harmlessly over her head before Superman deactivated the attack to look down to her.

Supergirl flew back up and slammed into Superman's chest before he could attack. Rather than grapple with the Man of Steel directly, Supergirl pulled out his collar and grabbed the alien inside. She ripped the starfish shaped creature out of Superman's shirt, flinging it into the side of the Watchtower.

Supergirl approached the creature. She recognized it from the DEO database as Star-ø, a parasite that conquers planets by controlling the most powerful inhabitants and subjugating the rest, eventually turning the entire planet into hosts. She watched the singular red eye shut as it went into hibernation, lacking the strength to do anything else without a host.

Supergirl grabbed the creature. The DEO had a program for establishing symbiotic alien relationships. They'd work to find a way for Star-ø to live off a host without denying another sentient being's free will.

Supergirl turned around and saw Superman floating behind her, frowning. He didn't look confused, but ashamed. He must have understood what was going on. The two of them nodded and flew toward the hangar. They could handle this now. The Star-ø had a well-documented weakness.

"Ah!" cried Wonder Girl, slamming into the metal wall.

The young Amazon groaned as she fell to the floor, leaving a dent where she had struck the wall. She gasped as Wonder Woman rushed over. Before Wonder Girl could respond, Wonder Woman had kicked her several times in the gut. She guarded it with her arms, but the blows still took the wind out of her every time.

Down the hall, Speedy was trying to take aim at either Green Arrow or Black Canary. Both were engaged in hand to hand combat with Batgirl and Robin. The older heroes had the edge, but the fight seemed far from over. Speedy was hoping to even the odds with a little distant intervention, but the close quarter nature of the fight prevented him from being able to safely hit his target.

Speedy turned the other way when he heard Wonder Girl cry out. Seeing Wonder Woman standing over her little sister's beaten body, Speedy drew an explosive arrow and fired without question. Wonder Woman effortlessly caught the arrow in the air, allowing it to harmlessly explode in her hand.

Speedy drew and fired again. This time Wonder Woman used her bracelet to knock it away. Speedy fired again and again. Wonder Woman deflected each one without concern, approaching Speedy as she did so. Just before Speedy fired his ninth arrow Wonder Woman grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. Speedy coughed as he grabbed the woman's enormous arm for leverage.

"Titans!" came Supergirl's voice over the comms, "The Justice League is being controlled by starfish-shaped parasites on their chests. They're vulnerable to electricity. I've got Superman here with me and am coming to assist."

Electricity, huh? thought Speedy weakly, vision, growing dark, Easy enough…

Speedy grabbed an electrified arrow from his quiver and activated it immediately. Electricity coursed through Speedy, Wonder Woman, and the parasite attached to Wonder Woman's chest. Though Wonder Woman herself was largely unaffected, Speedy and the parasite both convulsed in agony.

Wonder Woman, coming to her senses, gasped and dropped Speedy. She then immediately pulled the weakened creature out of her armored chest plate and tossed it aside. She looked around, taking in everything that was happening. Wonder Girl was writhing in pain, Speedy was unconscious on the ground from the electrification, and Batgirl and Robin were still fighting their opponents.

Green Arrow fired an arrow at Robin, which she narrowly dodged only to fall when the arrow pinned her cape to the wall. Batgirl went to help, but Black Canary used the distraction to grab the back of Bargirl's head and slam her face into the ground. Green Arrow prepared to fire another arrow to finish off Robin.

Wonder Woman flew down the hall at unbelievable speed, grabbing both Green Arrow and Black Canary by the collars of their costumes and dragging them to the far end of the hall before slamming them both into the floor. When she stood, she clutched Green Arrow's parasite wriggling in her hand before she tossed it aside and turned to Black Canary.

The leather clad siren unleashed a scream. Everyone cringed in pain and covered their ears, eardrums being violently assaulted by the vibrations in the small, echoing space. Wonder Woman gritted her teeth and teared up. Her proximity to the attack and enhanced hearing made the experience even more unbearable for her, but she powered through and reached for Black Canary.

"Gak!" coughed Black Canary

Wonder Woman had grabbed Black Canary's throat with just enough force to silence her vocal chords without causing any damage. Using her free hand, Wonder Woman tore open the front of Black Canary's shirt to reveal the slithering starfish underneath. Wonder Woman yanked it away and tossed it aside before releasing Black Canary, who leaned against the wall in exhaustion.

When Black Canary gathered her bearings, she noticed that Batgirl and Robin were red in the face and turned away from her.

"What?" she asked.

Wonder Woman casually pointed at Black Canary's shirt, which had been completely torn open to reveal both of her boobs clearly to everyone else in the hall. Black Canary rolled her eyes. She forgot how much that bothered other people.

"Hey," smiled Green Arrow, "No complaints here."

Black Canary flicked Green Arrow's nose and pulled her leather jacket over the exposed nipples. She zipped it up as Green Arrow continued rubbed his nose in pain.

"We're not done yet," said Wonder Woman.

"Right," nodded Batgirl, "There's still two members of the League under their control."

"Kill him," ordered Martian Manhunter.

Nightwing lay motionless on the ground. The bruises on his face were clear and distinct now. His weak breathing caused his body to tremble with every inhalation. Batman drew a batarang and stabbed it down at Nightwing's neck. At the last second Nightwing pushed himself away, rolling aside just before the point of the batarang skewered him. He got up and limped away as quickly as he could.

"What are you doing?" asked Batman, "Just give up."

"Come on, Batman…" managed Nightwing weakly, clutching his throbbing side that seemed to burn with every breath, "You taught me better than that…"

"You're right," said Batman.

Batman whipped the batarang at Nightwing. Nightwing went to dodge but the weapon was moving too fast and struck him directly in the shoulder, piercing into the flesh and staying there. Nightwing screamed out in pain just before Batman ran over and delivered a sidekick to his stomach, sending him flying across the room onto his side. Every injury screamed as he landed hard on the floor across the room, batarang falling out of the wound and clattering to the ground beside him. Nightwing's vision was starting to grow dark.

"Your mentor did teach you better than this," said Batman, "I have access to his memories, you know. I know he taught you to know your strengths and weaknesses. I know he taught you never to let your emotions cloud your judgment. Just because you feel like you can win, doesn't mean it's true. You're physically weaker. Your entire team is objectively inferior."

"...there are also things Batman didn't teach me," managed Nightwing, "Things I had to learn for myself."

Batman calmly approached Nightwing, firmly placing his boot on his neck and preparing to snap it with one final blow.

"For example," croaked Nightwing weakly, "It's not emotions that cloud your judgment. It's mistaking your own prejudice for objectivity. You're wrong. Batman was wrong. I have faith in my team. We will win."

Batman tensed his leg. Before he could stomp, a blur of red and blue whisked him away. Martian Manhunter went to respond, but he was struck by a similar attack. Soon both Justice League members were pinned to the far wall by Superman and Supergirl, who each tore the final parasites off of their allies and freed them from control.

"Told you so…" smiled Nightwing as he drifted out of consciousness.

House music played quietly over the observation deck's speakers. Tables with drinks, snacks, and other party favors had been set up across the room. The members of the Justice League and Titans were milling about along with a few guests. The Star-ø specimens had all been properly detained and acquired by the DEO, including the one on the unconscious Flash. Now it was time to celebrate.

Barbara and Stephanie had changed into their favorite party dresses and were chatting it up with Roy, Oliver, and Dinah. Roy was wearing a collared shirt tucked into khaki shorts. It was a rough look and only looked more ridiculous next to Oliver's sleek suit, which Dinah had of course picked out for him. Dinah herself was rocking a more casual look with black skinny jeans and the same black leather jacket from her costume.

In another part of the room, Donna was introducing Wally and Linda to Diana, Steve, and Etta. All three A.R.G.U.S. agents were wearing suits of their own. Etta's was a dark green with a skirt that emphasized her butt, something she was extremely aware of and willing to bring attention to. Diana had rolled up the sleeves of her white jacket, making it clear just how much muscle the pantsuit was hiding. Steve had loosened his tie and was on his third drink. Linda was positively gushing over all three of them and repeatedly assured them she wouldn't be reporting on them or the event. The first assurance was comforting. The fifth, though well intentioned, had raised concerns.

Kara chuckled at the sight. Dressed in her nicest cyan sweater, thick rimmed glasses, black skirt, and matching tights and flats, she was relaxing in the corner alongside her cousin. Clark beside her was also dressed in his own nerdy chic, wearing a loose beige sweater over black jeans and brown loafers. He had forgone the glasses and still styled his hair as he usually did while he was Superman.

"So," said Kara to her cousin after a bit, "Can I call you by your name now or what?"

"You can call me Kal here," he said after a moment of consideration.

"Your civilian identity is still a secret to them then?" clarified Kara.

"Most of them."

"Have you considered changing that?" asked Kara, "We don't really have secret identities on the Titans you know."

Clark thought for a moment. He had been thinking a lot since the fight had ended. The teams had invited their guests up to join them not long after the victory, but something had clearly been bothering Clark that whole time.

"We were on a deep space mission pursuing a distress signal," he explained, "We sent Flash to investigate the derelict ship. When he came back, he was different but none of us could put a finger on it. There was something off but none of us knew him well enough to know for sure. None of us even knew his face. We didn't know who in his personal life might know and we certainly couldn't warn them. When others started acting similarly, I realized I didn't know who I could trust. I couldn't tell who was friend, who was foe, or who was… being controlled by an alien parasite. It was something of a wake up call."

"The Titans are my best friends," said Kara, "I trust them with my life."

"I know," smiled Clark, "I'm jealous. The Justice League needs to make some changes. No doubt about that. Flash, er, Barry has already opened up to us about his identity. He even brought his civilian girlfriend to the party."

"I saw," nodded Kara, "Another journalist. Is dating a reporter a requirement of being a superhero that no one told me about?"

"It's in the fine print," chuckled Clark.

"Ugh," frowned Kara, "Seriously?"

"It wasn't that bad a joke."

"No, that."

Clark followed Kara's line of sight and saw that Oliver and Dinah were passionately making out, having knocked multiple bowls of snacks off of a table to make room for Oliver to plant Dinah's butt there. He was slowly crawling up on top of her as she pulled his face into hers.

"Yeah, those two have never been ones for subtlety," smiled Clark, "They stopped hiding their identities from the rest of the League years ago."

"That's nice…" said Kara with a polite unease, "...could they get a room or something?"

"I'll go talk to them."

Meanwhile, Linda and Diana's friends were still hitting it off.

"I am such a big Wonder Woman fan," beamed Linda, "This is like a dream come true!"

"Thank you," smiled Diana proudly back, "It is always an honor to inspire young women such as yourself."

"I still can't get over the time you forced Dr. Poison to surrender with a wet willy!"

"Yes!" laughed Diana loudly, "She made quite an amusing sound!"

"I taught her that one," added Etta smugly.

"Unfortunately," said Donna quietly.

"That and the wedgie, the noogie, the swirly," listed Etta, "You know, the important techniques."

"Swirly?" asked Diana, "I don't believe I know that one."

"Don't worry, I'll teach you that too."

"Please no…" whispered Donna.

"YEOW!"

Linda and the others looked over to Wally, who was sadly readjusting his pants and underwear as Barry and Iris walked around from the other side. Iris had a huge grin on her face. Linda chuckled.

"Again?" whined Wally, blushing as he heard his own voice crack.

"Sorry," shrugged Iris, "I heard her say 'wedgie' and I couldn't resist."

"I love that Kid Flash's aunt gives him wedgies," laughed Linda.

"Yeah," muttered Wally, visibly blushing, "Hilarious. If you'll all excuse me, I have to go fix this."

Wally zipped away to the bathroom. Kara, taking note from across the room, followed him at the same speed.

"Hey!" cried Wally.

He had turned around to see Kara had seen him indiscreetly pluck his underpants out of his butt.

"What was that?" asked Kara, "You could take Iris on no problem. Why do you let her do that to you?"

"Barry made me promise not to," sighed Wally, "otherwise he'll get back at me but worse."

"Wow," realized Kara, "That sucks."

"You're telling me," sighed Wally, "Now a little privacy, please? My boxers are bunched up in the front too and I'd like to fix that part without an audience."

"...sure thing," agreed Kara, now deep in thought.

Elsewhere, Barry had made his way over to the punch bowl, where an unexpected but familiar face was pouring herself a cup.

"Sara Lance?" said Barry.

"Barry!" smiled Sara widely, "Hi! How's it going? How are you? Where's Dinah?"

"You just missed her," said Barry, "I think Superman just ushered her and Oliver into the bedroom. The other Legends here as well?"

"Yup."

"I didn't realize you guys had helped the Titans out with this."

"Oh," chuckled Sara nervously, "That's because we… um.. Didn't."

She took a sip of her drink and looked away.

"You weren't a part of the mission?" clarified Barry.

"No," admitted Sara.

"...then why are you at the afterparty?"

"Oh you know," mused Sara, still avoiding eye contact, "We were just in the neighborhood, so we figured-"

"In the neighborhood?" asked Barry, raising an eyebrow, "of the Justice League's Watchtower?"

"You know what I mean," smiled Sara, shifting uncomfortably, "In the time period!"

"Then why didn't you help out?"

"Time travel is… Very complicated, Barry."

"I know how time travel works, Sara. You could have helped."

"Hm."

"It's just that the last time you guys crashed one of our parties, Leonard Snart froze Oliver's balls to his own bed."

"Is Ollie still not over that?"

"Don't think so."

"Hm."

" ...is that guy with you?"

Sara followed Barry's gaze and saw John Constantine furiously stuffing party snacks into both his mouth and the pockets of his trenchcoat.

"John!" she shouted, walking after him, "We talked about this!"

Barry sighed and poured himself his own cup of punch. He nearly spat it out a moment later when Iris waddled over to him, white underpants pulled up and out of the front, back, and sides of her skirt and wrapped up all around her shoulders in an incomprehensible knot, forcing her body into an awkward squat. Her otherwise sleek tan colored suit looked rather ridiculous now.

"A little help?" she whispered.

"Did Wally do this?" asked Barry angrily, placing his hands on the underpants and phasing the material to unknot it.

"No," groaned Iris, stuffing the stretched out material back into her skirt, "Supergirl."

"...oh."

"Can you, you know," asked Iris quietly, still readjusting, "Teach her a lesson?"

"Yeah I'm not messing with that."

"What!?"

"She's almost as fast as I am! And like a billion times stronger. No way."

Iris let out another angry groan, grabbed a beer off of a nearby table, and stormed away angrily.

"Aw," smiled Wally, having watched the conversation unfold from across the room, "You did that for me?"

"Of course," smiled Kara back, "I've got your back dude."

The two shared a fist bump. Barry looked over and glared at Wally. Kara glared back. Barry averted his gaze and went about his business. Kara and Wally shared another smile before she walked off and Wally was joined by Linda.

"Wow," she said, bumping her hip into Wally's, "Supergirl's got your back, huh?"

"Guess so," chuckled Wally."

"That's pretty hot."

Linda punctuated the sentence by wrapping an arm around Wally's waist and pulling him into her. Wally felt himself blushing as his heart raced with excitement. He did a quick look around the party before the two quietly scurried off to find an available bedroom somewhere on the Watchtower.

With Oliver and Dinah gone, Roy and Donna had reconvened at another snack table.

"Thanks for saving me back there," whispered Donna with a smile.

"Oh, right," chuckled Roy awkwardly, "You saw that, huh?"

"Sure did," she winked, "I think the new Robin did too."

"...excuse me?"

"She's been looking at you pretty much since we took off in the jet this morning," said Donna, "She looks good in that dress too, don't you think?"

"I… Um…"

"Here," offered Donna, saying nothing else as she placed her drink on the table and walked away.

Roy watched Donna approach Barbara and Stephanie, who were chatting it up at another table. After a few seconds, Donna nodded in Roy's direction. Stephanie immediately turned and looked at him. Barbara chuckled. Then Stephanie approached as Roy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, not knowing what to do.

"Hi!" she smiled.

"Hi!" smiled Roy nervously back.

"...crazy day, huh?" blurted Stephanie after a moment.

"Yeah," said Roy, "I guess so."

Stephanie looked good in her Robin costume and all, but seeing her in a low cut party dress was a lot for Roy to handle. She had done her hair and makeup too. Roy suddenly started to feel very insecure about his polo shirt and khaki shorts.

"...so Donna mentioned that you could show me Titans Tower?" said Stephanie.

"Did she-? I mean, I guess so," said Roy.

Is Donna trying to set us up? he wondered.

"Yeah?" smiled Stephanie widely, "Think you could show me where ya'll hang out and stuff?"

"Yeah," said Roy, now confident, "Totally!"

"YES!" cheered Stephanie, pumping her fist, "I am TOTALLY gonna get to sleep with Speedy!"

Roy blinked. He had no clue what the proper response to that would be.

"...did you mean to say that out loud?" he asked after a moment.

Stephanie's eyes widened and her cheeks turned bright red. Donna and Barbara couldn't hear the conversation, but Stephanie's face alone was enough to make them both burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, Sara had finally gotten John's attention at the artichoke dip bar.

"We're not even supposed to be here," lectured Sara quietly, "We can't be openly stealing their food!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said John, washing down some of the dip with a swig from his flask of whiskey.

"Listen," continued Sara, "I know you're new to being a Legend and all, but there's a certain decorum even we have to follow, you know!"

Leonard Snart silently strafed up behind Sara.

"We have to go," he said plainly, not making eye contact.

"Why-?" began Sara.

"LEONARD!" roared Oliver as he ran into the room, half naked and frost still emitting from the front of his pants.

"Again!?" cried Sara, grabbing both John and Leonard by the arm and forcefully dragging them away, "Seriously?!"

"Can't help it," smiled Leonard without a hint of remorse.

J'onn, who sat in zyr own seat on the far side of the room, let out a long sigh as ze took in all of the antics that ze had just seen. J'onn had been watching the party by zyrself from the corner, unsure what to make of most of the guests.

"Never a dull moment, huh?" chuckled Clark, approaching J'onn.

"I need a vacation," said J'onn.

"Nngh..." moaned Dick.

"Relax," said Barbara calmly, "It's just me."

"I know," said Dick quietly, "It just hurts to move."

Barbara frowned. She had slipped away from the party to check on Dick, whose injuries were bad enough that he was relegated to a bed in the Watchtower's sick bay. He had bruises on his face and across his chest, which was bandaged and being iced. The black eye had only darkened and swollen more. It was a rough sight.

"Everyone having a good time?" he asked.

"Yeah," nodded Barbara.

"Stephanie not embarrassing herself too badly?"

"I mean she is," smiled Barbara, "but also it looks like she's going to hook up with Roy."

"Really?" grinned Dick, "Huh. Good for her."

"You did an amazing job today, Dick," said Barbara, "Everyone knows it."

"...good for me too, I suppose."

"Barbara," said a stern voice from behind, "May I have a moment with Dick?"

Barbara turned around and saw Batman standing at the entrance to the room, still in full costume. She looked back at Dick. He nodded. Barbara went to step out.

"I'll be brief," assured Batman as Barbara passed him.

"I think he'd rather you be honest," replied Barbara coldly.

Batman remained expressionless as Barbara left. The door closed behind her. Batman approached one of the terminals in the room. After a few keystrokes, the security cameras in the room powered down. Bruce removed his mask and took a seat next to Dick's bed.

"No cameras, huh?" noted Dick, "Still don't trust the League with your identity?"

"How are your injuries?"

"They hurt," admitted Dick, "Not as bad as the time Killer Croc totaled the batmobile, but they hurt."

"Or after your cage match with Bane?" asked Bruce.

"Not that bad either."

"I see."

"What do you want, Bruce?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Alright," sighed Dick, "Good talk."

"I'm sorry."

"...excuse me!?" replied Dick in disbelief.

Bruce scowled. He clearly didn't like how much that surprised Dick. The former sidekick had really not been expecting it.

"...if it's for these injuries," said Dick, "I know you weren't in control. I don't hold it against you."

"Maybe so," said Bruce, "but it was my negligence that allowed the Justice League to be compromised. I'm responsible for all of this."

"Mistakes happen," said Dick, "No one else caught this either."

"You did."

Bruce was staring at Dick. In all the years they'd known each other, Dick had only gotten marginally good at reading the man's facial expressions. Right now he seemed sad, but Dick couldn't be sure.

"...was there something else you wanted to say?" asked Dick on a whim.

"I don't handle rejection well."

"Holy self-awareness, Batman. You don't say?"

Bruce glared. Dick rolled his eyes but stopped talking. He knew this was difficult for Bruce.

"When you left Gotham for the Titans, I didn't take it well," explained Bruce, "I didn't know how to handle it. I was angry with you. I couldn't find a rational explanation for it, but I was angry. So I did what I always do, and I ignored that anger so that it wouldn't cloud my judgment."

Dick studied Bruce's face as the man considered his next sentence. Bruce was clearly struggling with this.

"That was a mistake," explained Bruce, "Ignoring my emotions doesn't make them go away and it doesn't make me impartial. I didn't want you to leave, Dick. Suddenly you were gone and I didn't know what to do. Not only were you gone, but you wanted to be gone. You wanted to be away from me. That was difficult to accept."

"Is that why you secretly paid for Titans Tower and let us think Oliver did it?" asked Dick.

"...you knew?"

"I'm dating Barbara," sighed Dick, "Whether or not you'd ever admit it, she's even better with computers than you are. When she told me, I figured you still felt compelled to retain an influence in my life somehow. It seemed easier to let you have that than to argue about it."

"Hm."

"You really felt like I had betrayed you, huh?" prompted Dick.

"It's illogical," continued Bruce, "but on some level I felt like you owed me for the training I had provided you. When you took that training and made your own life for yourself, it felt like you were taking something from me."

"Bruce…" frowned Dick, "I'm sorry. Did Alfred help you realize that?"

"Bat-Mite, actually."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I were."

"Wow."

"So I did the only thing that made sense to me. I tried to take that thing back."

"By making me quit being Robin," realized Dick, "and then replacing me."

"You have to admit that it helped you out in the end," said Bruce suddenly.

"No I don't."

"Creating the Nightwing persona let you become your own person without ties to Gotham," pointed out Bruce, "It helped you grow."

"That's not how it works," said Dick angrily "I grew despite what you did, not because of it. You don't get to take credit just because-!"

Dick winced. Getting animated had put a strain on his injuries.

"-just because I made it out a better person."

Bruce frowned at the sight.

"Maybe you're right," acknowledged Bruce, "When I was under that thing's control, I was fully aware of what was happening. I felt it. Every step, every word, every… punch. It forced me to think and reflect. Made me consider how it would feel if…"

Bruce sighed. Dick raised an eyebrow.

"It made me consider how it would have felt if you hadn't stopped me," said Bruce, "There are things you can do better than me, Dick. You have a better read on people in your personal life. You're a better leader. You're… incredibly kind. Because of all that, you saved the world today."

"I guess I did," smiled Dick weakly.

"I wanted to ask if you'd come back to Gotham," said Bruce, looking away uncomfortably, "You could have your old room back. Or not. You don't have to stay in the manor at all if you don't want to. We could find an apartment-"

"Bruce," said Dick gently, "it's okay. Thank you. I appreciate it. But I'm not coming back. I love leading the Titans."

"...I understand."

"I'll visit more though," smiled Dick, "We can even work together every now and then."

"...I'd like that."

Dick smiled. Bruce reached out a hand toward Dick. Dick raised one of his own and allowed Bruce to grab and squeeze it.

"Alfred thinks I should see a therapist," said Bruce.

"He's right."

"Hm," frowned Bruce.

"Not a fan of shrinks?"

"In my defense," said Bruce, "my last therapist was a megalomaniacal hypnotist who tried to reprogram me into a drone for his secret army."

"That's right," chuckled Dick softly, "Hugo Strange. That sucked."

Bruce chuckled too. Dick's eyes widened. That was a sight he hadn't seen in years. Then something occurred to him.

"You didn't turn off the cameras to hide your identity, did you?" smirked Dick, "You're just embarrassed!"

Bruce's chuckle became an indignant pout.

"It's okay," assured Dick, "I won't tell anyone. I know this is hard for you."

"...yes. Frankly it's easier to interrogate the Joker."

"I could do an impression of him if you'd like," grinned Dick.

"Don't."

"Are you sure? I also do a mean Oswald Cobblepot."

"Alright," said Bruce, standing up and putting his mask back on, "That's my cue to leave."

Dick continued to smile as his old mentor reactivated the security cameras and walked out of the room. Several minutes later the lights dimmed as the machines sensed Dick's mind begin to drift back to sleep. He closed his eyes and let the sleep take over. It had been a long day.