A/N:
Ages of major characters:
Batfamily:
Dick Grayson (Nightwing): 19...Barbara Gordon (Batgirl): 19
Jason Todd (Robin): 16*...Tim Drake (Red Robin): 13
*Birthday is in August before the start of this chapter
The Titans:
Donna Troy (Troia): 20...Koriand'r (Starfire): 19
Garth (Tempest): 21...Zatanna Zatara: 20
Raquel Ervin (Rocket): 21 ...Vic Stone (Cyborg): 19
Lilith (Omen): 18...Jade Nguyen (Cheshire): 24
Kara Zor-El (Supergirl): 16...Garfield "Gar" Logan (Beast Boy): 13
Roy Harper (Speedy): 16*...Karen Beecher (Bumblebee): 21
*Continues with the name "Speedy" instead of "Arsenal" due to timeline differences
Other Heroes: Will Harper (Red Arrow): 23
A few quick notes:
-Romantic relationships introduced in this chapter are not necessarily the final romantic pairings; but, that doesn't mean they won't be important for the overall story. That said, Donna and Dick will always be my BROTP and never be romantic.
-This story (starting with this chapter) will contain background slash relationships.
ooooooo
A split of lightning crackles across the sky chased by a roll of thunder, rumbling against the windows to mix with the music.
Wide eyes turn up, pressing closer to the window. "That one was close, right?"
"Nah." Dick smiles, leaning down. "Still a few miles away. Don't worry, the Tower's survived worse than a storm."
Artur's face scrunches up in a frown. "I wasn't scared!"
"Of course not," he reassures. "Good thing, too. Because if the Tower gets attacked, I'm expecting the brave Prince of the Seven Seas to protect us all!"
The four year old puffs out his chest. "I can do it!"
Then, he blinks, turning up to look at Dick. "You'll help, too, though. Right, Nigh?"
"It would be my honor," Dick agrees, suppressing his grin under an air of solemnity.
Artur yawns before frowning, looking annoyed at himself.
"Though maybe after some sleep," Dick says, leading him away from the window. "Come on, let's go find your mom."
"I'm not that tired," Artur grumbles but obediently lets Dick pick him up and carry him out into the crowded party.
The gold "Happy Five Year Anniversary, Titans!" banner sticks out among the balloons, suspended over the noise of a brightly packed common room.
Laughter rings briefly across the music and Dick glances over to see Zatanna, hiding out with Raquel and Lilith by Vic's sound system, subtly jinxing Garth's hair increasingly hideous neon colors, where he gestures wildly to a smiling Tula. Beside Zatanna, Lilith halfheartedly tries to mutter the counter-jinx, distracted when Zatanna leans over to kiss her cheek.
Over on the couches, Jade and Will Harper look to be having at least a semi-normal conversation with Karen, the Titan's newest member, and her civilian fiance Mal while Donna whispers something to Kory. Kory smiles back and Dick's heart skips a beat in a way that should really be embarrassing after three years.
Donna catches his gaze and winks. Dick rolls his eyes, turning quickly to survey the rest of the room.
Kara and Vic are still in the kitchen, talking with their heads close together. Across the counter, Gar makes kissy faces at them until Kara finally snaps and throws a piece of cake at him, catching him across the face. Beside Gar, Tim lets out a small laugh, looking halfway to passed out on the counter. Dick mentally adds reminding Tim about proper sleep habits. Again.
And that only leaves…
Jason-sitting against the wall and talking to Roy, the latter of which still has a princess tiara tangled in his red hair from babysitting Lian that Dick's willing to bet no one's told him about.
Dick smiles, soft and warm, as Artur shifts slightly in his arms.
Just for once, everything is kind of...well, kind of perfect.
He finds Mera on the balcony, hair drenched as the rain continues to pour down outside.
"Have something for you." He holds out Artur in his arms.
She laughs, taking him. "Thank you. I apologize. I meant to take him back by now. It's far passed his bedtime."
"Mom," Artur protests sleepily. "I want to stay at the party more!"
He looks pleadingly up at Dick. "Nigh?"
"Don't look at me. She's the queen."
"That's what everyone says," Artur mutters, turning his head in Mera's arms. A few moments later, his breathing evens out to light sleep.
Mera runs a hand through his hair, glancing up again to look at the rain.
"With anyone else, I'd offer an umbrella," Dick says from under the ledge of the roof.
"Rain's always been my favorite part of the surface world. It's beautiful." She smiles, gesturing back to the window. "Congratulations, by the way. The party's wonderful. Artur will be talking about it for weeks."
"I'm just happy to finally be done talking to reporters for the day." He steps out in the rain to sit next to her. "I'm glad you could make it, though. I know things in Atlantis have been...busy since Orm."
"Yes, well, it's not every day you're informed your loyal brother-in -law's conspiring to overthrow you," the Queen says, voice going hard. She sighs, hand returning to Artur's hair. "That said, Atlantis thanks the Titans for their assistance."
He waves the thanks away. "We're allies. Besides, shared enemy. We're still sorting through all the files we got on the Light."
His fingers twitch lightly on his knee, searching unconsciously for a keyboard, before he steadies them.
Mera catches the gesture and laughs. "The work can wait, Dick. Enjoy your party. Moments like these never last forever." She shakes her head. "I don't think I've seen Tula smile this much since Orm's arrest. Not to mention, Garth."
"Good." He rubs the back of his neck. "I can't believe it's been five years."
Mera pauses, looking back out into the rain or, possibly, somewhere further.
"Being here, on the surface, it reminds me of Arthur in all the best possible ways. Such a strange, wonderful world." She smiles. "Do you know where he took me for our honeymoon?"
Dick shakes his head, vaguely picturing warm beaches and islands
"Switzerland. We went skiing." Mera smirks at his expression. "I know, no one ever guesses. He wanted to show me a place as far away from the ocean as possible. It was amazing, so...so alien, like nothing I could have imagined."
"That sounds nice."
"It was."
She nods, still looking out into the rain.
"...I have a question for you, Dick. A personal one, even for allies. Blame it on the late night if you'd rather not answer."
"I like to think we're friends, too, Mera," he says easily. "Ask me anything."
"A question for a friend, then," she agrees. "Have you ever been in love?"
"In love," Dick repeats, unconsciously leaning back to the warmth of the party before he catches himself. "No. Not yet."
And, then, he hesitates.
Mera raises an eyebrow.
Dick shakes his head. "It's nothing. I haven't been in love, didn't have the time."
"If you did have time?"
He shakes his head again, more firmly. "It doesn't matter. They're dead now. It was just a maybe." He gives a self deprecating laugh, forcing a smile that almost feels natural. "To tell you the truth, I've been kind of trying to move past the maybes. I think...I think it's about time."
Mera smiles softly. "You've always been a brave boy, Dick. It's good to see you're becoming a wise man."
"Good friends help a lot." He winks.
"I suppose they do."
Another flash of lightning cuts through the dark, the thunder rattling the balcony railing. Artur shifts in Mera's arms.
She shushes him before standing. "That sounds like our cue to leave...before the party gets too wild for a four year old."
"I don't know what you mean, Your Majesty," he says innocently. "We're heroes, perfect role models!"
Mera gives him a look.
Behind them, there's the distinctive sound of something breaking followed by a loud rush of laughter.
"I can walk you to the zeta," Dick offers.
Mera smirks, shaking her head. "I believe I can find it myself. It's a celebration, Dick, go celebrate. Ancient Xebel wisdom: it isn't really a party unless something's broken."
"I guess I can't argue with ancient wisdom." Dick stands.
"Granted. In Xebel, a good party probably means a duel to the death," Mera adds, sliding open the door.
"Well, the night's still young."
Mera laughs, casting a glance back at him and waving her hand. The water still drenching him flies to her hand only to be casually flung back outside in a light blue glow.
"Have fun, Dick," the Queen of Atlantis orders him before disappearing off in the direction of the zeta room.
Seconds later, arms fling around his neck from behind and a face lands right beside his ear.
"So, you gonna do it," Donna asks.
Dick grins. "I'm gonna do it."
"Call the presses, I think he's actually gonna do it this time."
He elbows her. "It has not been that many times."
"It's been five times. Five almost times," she counters. "Me and Will actually have a bet going."
"You and Will have a problem," he says but he's grinning. "Have I told you you're the worst best friend lately?"
Donna clicks her tongue. "Au contraire, I am the best best friend and you should tell me daily. By the way, Kory just got finished talking to Kara and is, in other words, completely free if by chance there was something you wanted to ask her."
"Don't rush me. I've got a plan."
"A plan?" She moans, drooping on his shoulders. "No, don't say you have a plan! 'Having a plan' is how you talked yourself out of it the last time. You're Nightwing, go, be spontaneous, adapt, do something!"
"It's a good plan this time," he reassures. "Trust me. Also, cover for us at the party, alright?"
She sighs heavily. "Fine, fine. You're lucky I love you."
"The luckiest." Dick kisses her cheek.
"Yeah, yeah, just go!' She shoves him over in the direction of Kory. "And, Dick?"
"Mhm?" His throat's gone dry in a way that never happens when he's fighting Gotham's rogues.
"She's not going to say no," Donna whispers. "You've got this, Rob."
He turns, managing a fond smile. "Love ya, Don'."
"Go!" She says, shooing him away.
Dick goes.
Kory's standing in the kitchen, smiling at the crowd in the next room. She sees Dick and then, the full light of that smile gets directed at him.
He swallows. "Hey, Kory."
"Dick," she greets warmly, "the party is excellent, is it not?"
"Yeah, it's...it's great."
Ask her, demands a voice that sounds like an unholy mix of Donna and Will.
"Actually," he clears his throat, "I was wondering if you wanted to get out of here for a bit? There's something I wanted to show you."
Her smile never wavers, if anything, it brightens. "Of course."
Dick grins. "Follow me."
He leads her out of the kitchen-miraculously, with only Zatanna giving him a ridiculous wink-and into the zeta room. He enters the coordinates he still knows by heart and the zeta beam fires up a bright blue.
He holds out his hand to her. "Ready?"
She nods, fingers threading through his.
They step into the light.
Recognized: B-01 Nightwing; B-15 Starfire.
And step out into the dark.
"Computer, turn on the power," Dick calls. "Sorry, it's still on back up."
Kory glances up, blinking in the sudden light, as her smile turns down in mild confusion.
Thunder echoes off rock walls.
"Guess it's storming here, too," he says.
Kory squeezes his hand, still frowning. "Dick, this is Young Justice's old cave, yes?"
"Yeah, um...yeah, it is." He rubs the back of his neck.
The frown clears into comprehension and then, Kory's face softens. "Oh. Is this about the Titan's anniversary? Are you...are you, alright, my friend?"
"I'm fine," he reassures and then takes a breath, steadying himself. "Actually...actually, I'm more than fine. And...and a lot of that's because of you."
No looking back. Time to jump.
He looks up, meeting her eyes. "I need to tell you something. To ask you something. And I...I wanted to take you here because….," he swallows again, "because a few years ago, I hated this place. I hated it. The few months we used it after Tara, I thought I was going to go crazy. I didn't even want to look at it because all of it was just memories I didn't want to think about. And...and it wasn't just here, there was just everything, every step forward, it was just..."
Kory lays a hand on his cheek. "Dick…"
"Sorry," His hand lands on hers, holding it there. "Donna was right, I shouldn't have made a plan for this. I'm not saying it right."
Kory smiles, impossibly gentle. "Then, keep trying."
He breathes. "What I'm trying to say, Kory, is that you make it better. You make everything better."
He finally manages to smile back. "When I met you, I was still trying to look at something other than the past and now...now, I'm not. Now, I'm….I'm trying to move forward and...and it's more than just time. You make me want to move forward. Because...I want to be in the present. With you."
He pauses, glancing around the cave. "And I wanted to bring you here not because it's just the past but because...because it's the first place I really, really wanted to kiss you and I wasn't ready. And, now," he meets her eyes and doesn't look away, "Kory, would you like to go on a date with me?"
She kisses him.
For the second time
And this time, he doesn't freeze.
His hand threads through her hair, angling her face to kiss her back. For a stretch of perfect moments, everything is warm and there's sparks flying up his spine that feel like fireworks.
She sighs into his mouth, pulling back only far enough to show her grin.
She winks. "Salut! Tu es très mignon, oui?"
Dick laughs and says what he wanted to say three years ago. The very first time he heard those words from a beautiful alien girl in a crashed spaceship.
"Et tu es belle."
Then, he kisses her again just to feel her smile.
"Sorry for making you wait."
She kisses him, short and achingly sweet. "You were always worth it."
He moves her closer and the hand that was on his cheek goes back to his neck, pulling him down.
The next kiss is more fire than gentleness. A hand still in her hair. Her hand sliding down his back to pull closer and closer. His heart's beating quickly in his chest and he can almost hear the echo of hers beside it.
He can feel the curve of her lips under his and it feels like everything.
Like jumping off a skyscraper the second before he flies. Like the warmth of the sun and the thrill of fireworks. Like...like finally kissing Kory and having her kiss him back.
Everything's dark around them and Dick feels the hair on his arms stand on end and that's…
That's not supposed to happen, is it?
He pulls back, trying to focus his eyes and….and he can't. Everything's black.
Thunder crackles around the cave, loud and close.
Dick blinks. "Computer, swap to emergency power!"
There's a click and a whirring humm before white light once again fills the cave.
"Dick?"
Dick glances over to see Kory, her hair drifting in the static of the air.
"Is it the storm?"
"I...it can't be." He frowns. "The rock around the cave's at least ten feet deep."
The lights flicker.
Energy runs up his arms.
"Warning: Unknown Energy Impulse Detected."
"Dick!" Kory knocks him to the ground.
CRACK!
Lightning strikes in front of him.
On the floor, Dick blinks, trying to clear the spots out of his eyes as Kory grips his arm.
In the center of the cave is….
...is…
"Is that...is that a ship," Kory asks.
In the center of the cave sits a grey metal machine with sparks still flying off of it.
"Computer, run diagnostic," Dick orders.
"Unknown energy impulse. Zeta and Krona radiation detected."
Dick frowns. "Krona?"
Lightning bursts from the machine in red and white flashes.
"Ta-Da," a voice shouts as lightning zigzags around the space. "Impulse? That's so crash! Catchy, dramatic, one word." A voice by his ear. "Like Nightwing or Robin or….you?" The light flashes around Kory. "Sorry, don't know you. But, hey, new friends! Like Blue Beetle. Hey, is he here? Never mind, Impulse can find that out for himself."
The lightning blurs just enough for Dick to make out a vaguely human shape before it's gone, white sparks shooting around the cave.
"Computer, lock down cave," Dick shouts, heart beating hard in his chest.
It can't be...
"Nightwing, what's happening?" Kory moves to protect his back. "Is he...made of energy?"
"No," he hears himself say, "I think...I think he's…"
The red and white blur returns. "Wow, so retro! Hey, where is everybody, I'm-"
Kory drops low, swinging out her leg in a strike.
"Ha, can't catch me that easy-"
Dick moves on an old almost forgotten instinct, slamming his arm out.
"Oof!" Something-someone-hits into it hard, dropping on the floor.
A teenager in a white and red suit winces up at him.
"A speedster," Dick finishes.
"And a time traveler!" The kid grins. "Weeellllll, okay, more of a time tourist, whatever!"
Kory looks at Dick. "How? Jay Garrick? Another speedster?"
"I don't know." He shakes his head.
"Hey," the kid continues, smiling brightly. "What's the surprise? Half the meat at Comic Con are from my era. Look, look, look, guys, we should all be friends. I'm really one of you. Part of the Heroic Legacy, right? My name's Bart Allen, you know grandson of Barry Allen. The Flash."
Dick's heart shudders painfully.
"That's not...that's not possible."
"What's not to believe?" The kid-Bart laughs, clear and happy. "I've clearly got Flash's speed, his amazing good looks! Frankly, I can't wait to meet him. Ahh, you know, back when he was in his prime-"
"You can't," he says, already shaking his head. "This is...you can't be here. It's impossible."
Bart pouts. "Oh, come on. Is it the space time continuum thing? Cause, frankly, take it from a Flash, that's a lot more stretchy than you'd think. Just let me see him or, hey, even Wally-"
"He's dead," Dick interrupts, harsh words grating over the blood pumping in his ears. "Barry and...and Wally both died. In the Invasion. The only speedster alive is Jay Garrick."
Dick's watching Bart's face. That's the only reason he sees it. He's watching his face and, once, Dick knew how to read a speedster's expressions better than almost anyone on the planet.
The smile drops off the kid's face. Not falls, not gradual. Drops, wiped away as if it was never there at all. Like taking off a mask.
"Oh," Bart says, voice blank. "I'm...I'm too late."
Dick frowns. "Late? Barry and Wally died six years ago. Barry never had any kids."
"He never had…" Something flashes behind Bart's eyes and all of the sudden, he rocks back on his heels, mumbling under his breath, "then...the calculations were wrong...this isn't... not a fixed point, a constant…."
He trails off before looking up, going to attention like he's been attached to an electric current.
"I need to see your news articles."
ooooo
The kid sits in the interrogation room, five tablets and over a dozen books sitting on the table in front as his fingers blur from one to the next so fast his arms are just indistinct flashes of color.
Dick watches from the other side of the one way mirror.
"How long has he been doing this?"
Dick glances up. "Five hours. Only things he's said since is asking for more books."
"Who is he?" Will's hands tense on tightly crossed arms. "Another clone?"
Dick shakes his head. "We checked. According to everything Mera, Jade, Tula, and Zatanna could find, there's nothing. No magic. No clone. His DNA matches with Barry's, Iris'...even trace familiarity with Wally's. Whatever else is happening, he is Barry's grandson."
Will shakes his head. "That's impossible, Dick. They never had any kids. We would have known. Wally would've known. Crap, Batman would have had files on it."
"I know that."
"Have you told...him?"
Dick drums his fingers. "Donna and Lilith are going now."
Will nods, returning to staring at the interrogation room and the sole occupant inside.
Dick gives him a small smile. "You know we've got this. If you want to go home and be with Lian?"
Will shakes his head. "It's fine; Roy's watching her. Kid's almost more overprotective than me. Besides, this is about….," he shrugs, "you know. I've gotta be here. For him."
Wally.
"Yeah," Dick leans his weight on the rail in front of the mirror. "I know."
For a few moments, the two stand and watch in silence. The only sound the slight whirring of pages turning at rapid speed.
Eventually, Will shifts. "He kinds of looks like him, doesn't he? I mean it's mostly Iris and a bit of Barry but..."
"Bone structure's more narrow," Dick says, "...but, the nose is the same."
Will smiles back. "Not to mention-"
"The hair." Dick grins. "Bit darker, but, yeah. Hey, remember when Wally-"
"-showered at the Batcave, grabbed the wrong bottle, and dyed his hair black." Will finishes
"Exactly!"
Will rolls his eyes. "He pouted about it so much, we had to convince Zatarra to jinx it back."
Dick snickers. "And then, he spent the rest of the day trying to find a scientific reason on how it wasn't really magic!"
"Nerd." Will snorts out a laugh.
"Yeah," he agrees, voice fading out into a soft smile.
Will turns back to the mirror. "He's quieter than Wally."
"He's focused," Dick counters.
"He looks...I don't know. I can't read his reactions." Will rubs the back of his neck. "What do you think he's thinking?"
Dick hesitates, only briefly, before typing in a command and pulling up a recording in the corner of the mirror. "That's the thing. I noticed something a while ago. He's not reacting in real time, watch."
He slows down a recording of Bart from an hour ago. On the screen, the face glitches, moving too fast for the cameras to entirely catch but enough to show that it's changing. Dick plays the recording at normal speed and the expressions smooth out, creating a single look of basic concentration.
"They're micro-expressions," Dick explains. "He's processing everything at hyper-speed."
Will frowns. "But, that would mean…"
"I don't think he's slowed down since he got here."
"Wally didn't do that," Will says.
Red light. The heat of a ship core stinging across his tick of a countdown.
"I've got an idea, okay?"
Dick shakes the memory away. "No, he didn't."
A rapid knock at the mirror interrupts them.
"Hey," Bart says from the other side. "I think I'm ready to talk now."
ooooo
Bart fidgets at the other side of the table, foot tapping rapidly enough that the sound's just a hum.
Dick starts first. "We have your blood results."
Bart grins. "And, let me guess, nothing weird or magicy or cloney except rapidly repairing cells. Told you."
"You're the grandson of people who, as far as we know, never had kids," Dick states. "You can see how that leaves us with more questions than answers, right?"
He shrugs. "Time travel's weird."
"Yeah, we're going to need a bit more than that." Dick leans back, trying to appear as open as possible. "You mentioned that the calculations were wrong. What calculations? How did you know who I was but not Starfire? What did you mean you're late?"
Instead of answering, Bart stares at him for a second, taking in details in a way too fast for the normal human brain to process.
Finally, the grin softens into a hesitant, barely there smile that, for the first time, looks honest.
"Wow, you're really him, huh," Bart says. "Dick Grayson."
Dick stills. "How do you know that name?"
"Wally told me."
"That's not possible."
"No," Bart agrees quietly. "Not in this timeline." He flickers and, a second later, there's a piece of paper and a pen in front of him and Dick's not sure where he got them. "I wasn't lying. Time travel is weird. Even for speedsters and we barely exist in normal time frames as it is."
"What does that mean?"
"It's frequencies. That's all anything really is, right? Reality, time, it's just being in line with the right frequency. And then, the speedforce is basically just the energy generated by those vibrations." Bart gives a sheepish smile. "I don't suppose you know any quantum physics?"
Dick raises an eyebrow. "I'm assuming you do?"
"I...um, yeah," the kid who can't be older than thirteen shrugs a little bit stiffly. "I read fast and...and I really, really needed to know."
Dick takes the logical leap. "For the time machine? You built it?"
"...yeah."
"Why?"
"Because I needed it," Bart says with a shrug. "It's like this. Speedsters don't really need a time machine to travel through time. We're part of the speedforce, we already have trouble staying on the right reality frequency as it is. We practically time travel by accidentally every time we move a bit too fast to lose the correct vibration."
Dick blinks. "I think we would have noticed if Barry and Wally time traveled every time they broke the sound barrier."
Bart shakes his head, a flash of light running excitedly behind his eyes as he starts talking faster. "You don't, though! That's all the speed is! Swapping frequencies to vibrate at a speed faster than your reality! I mean, yeah, go too fast and you can get lost or-"
"Get lost?"
"It doesn't happen much." Bart waves a hand, distracted. "Molecules always have a pull to their own original frequency, even for speedsters. That's part of what the machine does." He pauses, lost on a tangent. "Then, of course, if you do it by accident, there's Lightning Rods..."
"Lightning Rods?"
Bart looks up, eyes focusing on Dick again, as he abruptly settles.
"Yeah, Lightning Rods." He shrugs. "They're….a home frequency, a grounding force. Someone a speedster can find the frequency of even when they're lost in between. Like Grandma Iris or Great Grandma Joan." Bart shakes his head again. "It doesn't matter. Not every speedster has one, they're just a fail safe."
He turns back down to the paper and draws two horizontal lines a few inches apart. "The point is moving through time's not really a problem for speedsters. It's changing time. Messing with your own timeline without causing a paradox." Bart taps his pen at the end of the first line. "That's why I needed the machine...it's not really about travel, it's more….like a tuning fork. I needed to separate myself from my own timeline, become a fixed point, so any changes I made wouldn't affect me."
Dick looks down at the paper before turning to Bart. "What did you want to change?"
Bart hesitates. "It's not really important anymore."
He make an arch, connecting the end of the first line to a point in the middle. "I just wanted to go back, to become a fixed point. But, instead," He extends his point through the middle until it runs through both lines. "I didn't just affect my past, I made myself a constant. Every timeline, every frequency. I'm...it's like an inevitability. So, now, here...I'm in the wrong timeline."
"So, you're saying…," Dick leans back, trying to process. "You're from a different world, a different….a different reality."
Bart nods. "That's what I wanted the news articles for. The best I can tell things here started diverging six years ago."
"When the invasion happened," Dick's breath catches. "The invasion didn't happen in your universe?"
Bart's expression flickers again, running through expressions too fast for Dick to catch.
"Not exactly," Bart says slowly. "It just happened six years later. Different events, different heroes, different ...different deaths." He clears his throat. "I...I came back to save my grandfather, the first casualty. I thought maybe if I saved him, then the invasion….wouldn't have gone the same way."
Dick blinks, taking in the stiffness in Bart's voice, the fidgeting, the hidden expressions, everything since the kid got here.
And then, very carefully, he asks, "Did we lose? In your timeline, did we lose the invasion?"
Bart tenses and then, too fast, he grins, bright enough that it's blinding.
"Lose?" He laughs. "Of course not, we're heroes! Heroes never lose, right? Nah, they definitely kicked some alien butt just took a bit longer than it did here."
Dick doesn't answer.
"I just came back because…," Bart's smile dims just a bit, wearing down and the next line comes out more as if he's quoting rather than speaking, "because that's what heroes do. Save everyone we can, no matter what we have to do."
Dick doesn't pretend to understand quantum physics; but, he thinks he has a pretty good understanding of people. Of lies and hopes and truth and pretending and how there's a lot less difference between all of them than what people want to believe.
So, he lets it go.
And, instead, he clears his throat and asks the question he has to know. "Can you rebuild the machine? Would it work again? Fix the equation?"
Can you stop the invasion that happened here?
Dick asks because he needs the answer. Needs to know even….even if he has no clue what to do if it's-
"No," Bart cuts off his thoughts. He looks at Dick and smiles the same small smile only this time, Dick sees the sharpness around the eyes, darker and desperate almost like-Bart blinks and it's gone. "I can't. It was a one chance shot. The machine did what it was supposed to do, it realigned my molecular frequency with here. Trying to do it again? It would destroy the molecules. I'm sorry"
Dick nods, not knowing if he feels relief or despair so he tucks both away to analyze later.
He focuses instead on the kid in front of him. Bart Allen, grandson of the Flash. Wally's cousin.
A notification blinks on Dick's wrist and he scans it before dismissing it.
"So," he says to Bart, "you're here to stay?"
Bart nods, letting out a small laugh. "Guess I'm a pretty crappy time traveler, huh? Everything I came back to stop, already happened. Not...not really sure what to do next."
Dick smiles. "I've got an idea on where you can start."
ooooo
Jay Garrick's sitting in the Tower's meeting room. He stands when he sees Dick.
"Dick, it's five in the morning. You kids got me out of bed." He frowns. "If this is about the JSA, I think we both know where we stand on the matter. Power plays like calling me to the Tower before the sun's even up won't change my mind. So unless you've decided to stop-"
"I haven't," Dick interrupts. "It's not a power play. It's related to Barry...and Iris and Wally."
Jay stills, motionless in a way speedsters almost never are.
"What's new to say," he asks. "They're dead. Just like Joan."
Dick sits down across from him. "Barry and Iris' grandson time traveled into the old Young Justice cave last night."
Jay looks up. "Barry and Iris never had kids, Dick."
"No, it's...it's complicated." He sighs. "We ran blood tests, checked for magic, checked for cloning. He is who he says he is. His name's Bart, short for Bartholomew Wallace Allen."
Jay swallowed. "How? Where is he?"
"Like I said, it's complicated. He's stuck in this timeline. Right now, he's in the Tower common room; but-"
That's all he gets before Jay disappears in a blur of light.
Dick restrains another sigh. Speedsters.
He hurries into the common room, only to find both Bart and Jay standing completely frozen on either side of the room, staring at each other.
Jay speaks first. "You're...you're really here?"
"Um, yeah…," Bart presses his lips together, eyes wide. "I'm Bart. Are you...are you Jay Garrick?"
Another flash of movement and then, Jay has Bart in his arms, holding him tightly as Bart carefully reaches back to return the hug.
"Yeah, kiddo, I'm Jay. I'm family."
ooooo
Dick steps out of the zeta and into the batcave with an odd feeling of peace, the feeling of something settling back into place.
And, then, he ducks as a batarang nearly hits him in the face because both of his brothers are beings of utter chaos and destruction.
"I can't believe you lost my tablet," Tim yells. "It has all my homework files on it, Jason! All of it!"
"I told you I don't have your stupid tablet, Tim!" Jason glares. "And, so what? It's homework, just do it again! You're the genius. I thought you worked ahead!"
"I did, asshole! It's my homework for the entire semester" Tim jams a finger into Jason's chest. "I lent it to you Friday for the Two Face thing!"
"And I gave it back!"
"Then, where is it?"
"How should I know?"
"Because you lost it!"
"I gave it back! Maybe if you checked the toxic waste plant you call a room, you'd find it!"
"Well, maybe if you-"
"Hey, guys, I'm home," Dick says dryly. "Miss me?"
Both look over at him in unison before immediately, going back to glaring at each other in what's obviously a heated internal debate of whether to continue the argument or question Dick about the sudden existence of literal time travel.
It's kind of cute in a way. Like beta fish that'll kill each other if he leaves them alone for too long.
"So, is the kid actually from the future," Jason asks.
Ah, so it looks like time travel won out. Dick gets the feeling it was a small margin.
"Yeah," he answers. "But, not our future. Different timelines. It was kind of confusing and dealt with a lot more quantum physics than I know what to do with."
Tim's eyes light up and Dick hides a smile.
"Wait a bit before you start interrogating him, Timmy. He's still with Jay Garrick."
Both Tim and Jason give him looks like he just told them the Riddler should run for mayor.
"Jay Garrick?" Tim makes a face. "Wait, like leader of the JSA Jay Garrick? That Jay Garrick?"
"It's really not that common of a name," Dick deadpans.
"But, he hates you."
"He doesn't hate me," Dick corrects. "It's more of...a profound and long running disagreement about basic tenets of my life."
Jason crosses his arms. "Dick, five months ago, he used the shitstorm from the whole Speedy thing to argue teen superheroes violate the Geneva Convention."
"Which he lost. By a lot."
"Because you were forced to give a speech to the entire UN that the Titans are the only reason we found Roy," Tim argues.
Dick momentarily wonders if it makes him a terrible brother that his life is so much easier when Tim and Jason are at each others' throats rather than teaming up against him.
"Don't you guys have school," he tries a bit desperately. Bless Gotham Academy for starting their semester weeks before Dick and Babs' at Gotham University.
Tim shakes his head.. "Not for another hour."
"Punctuality's important."
"Dick!"
"Okay, okay, maybe Jay hasn't had the best history with the Titans. But…," he sighs, "look, it wasn't always like that. Not back when he had Wally, Barry, all of them."
Dick quirks his lips up in a hopeful smile, like the kind he remembers Superman making. "Who knows? Maybe Bart's the push Jay needs to remember what the Titans stand for. Would be nice if the JSA could be an ally again, wouldn't it?"
Jason gives him a look. "You don't actually believe that, do you?"
The smile drops and Dick shrugs easily. "Nah, but it doesn't hurt to be optimistic. Besides, Jay's literally the only family Bart has left. What else was I going to do?"
Neither Jason or Tim come up with an argument so Dick's counting that as a win.
Jason falls back in the rolling computer chair, the momentum spinning him in tight circles.
"Nope, something's still weird. Gut instinct."
Dick rolls his eyes. "We dress up in costumes, fight criminals with incredibly dedicated motifs, and I just met a kid from another universe. Something's always weird, Littlewing."
Jason slows briefly in his spinning to glare at the nickname.
"No, Jason's right," Tim pipes in before making a face like the previous words literally pained him. He pushes through to focus on Dick. "You're being really positive about this."
"I'm always positive," Dick argues. "I'm an optimist!"
Jason snorts loudly.
"Fine," Dick corrects. "I'm a pragmatist that's abnormally optimistic considering I live in Gotham."
Jason gives it to him.
"More positive than usual," Tim says suspiciously.
Jason stops spinning. "Oh, shit, you finally asked out Kory, didn't you?"
Dick smiles widely. "Maybe.
Tim's eyes widen. "Wait, really?"
"Finally," Jason moans. "Also, thanks, you just won me twenty buck. Roy bet you'd chicken out again."
"I told you I was going to ask her at the party." Dick groans. "Did everyone make bets?"
"I didn't." Tim grins.
"Tim's my new favorite."
Jason rolls his eyes. "Suckup."
"She said yes, by the way," he adds. "You know, just in case anyone was curious."
Jason waves him off. "Yeah, yeah, no one had a bet riding on that."
"We're going out to dinner Friday," Dick says and if his smile gets a little bit dopey, well...whatever, he deserves this one. He just needs to check with Alfred about his plan and make sure Barbara can cover patrol for-
He blinks, looking around the cave. "Hey, wait, where's Babs?"
Tim and Jason exchange a loaded look that Dick can't translate
"Er, she left earlier," Tim says. "She was, ah, tired."
Dick frowns. "I wanted to tell her how it went."
"I think she guessed," Jason mutters. He looks up, pointing a stern finger up at Dick. "Just leave her alone right now, okay?"
Feeling oddly confused, Dick obligingly holds up his hands in surrender. "Alright, got it! Wasn't planning on bothering her, I'm glad she's getting some sleep." He narrows his eyes. "Speaking of which. Tim, what did Alfred say about staying up late on-"
"Oh, yeah, school," Tim says, grabbing Jason's arm and almost dragging him to the stairs. "I love school! So full of...of knowledge! We should get going so we don't miss all that learning!"
Jason lets himself me pulled to better judge Tim. "Timbo, I'm say this for the good of the family. We've gotta work on your deflecting."
"Shut up, Jason."
Dick hides a smirk, watching the two disappear up the stairs and up to the manor.
It's cute that Tim thinks he can escape.
ooooo
Two days later and Dick's still in a fairly spectacular mood.
The Titans made another breakthrough tracking down files on the Light. Gotham hasn't been any crazier than usual. The JSA's been fairly quiet. And he's only forty points behind Jason in the family's ongoing and intensely heated online Scrabble game-no one can actually beat Jason in Scrabble, it's impossible, he's like a human thesaurus.
And-okay, fine, he can admit what the main reason is-he has a date with Kory in a few days.
He whistles under his breath while washing the dishes, one of the few things in the kitchen that Alfred actually trusts him with.
Around him, the manor is empty in the increasingly rare phenomenon of actually having time to himself. Jason and Tim are still at school, Alfred's gone to pick them up.
If he's honest, Dick kind of hates when the manor's quiet. He always has, ever since he was a nine year old trading the colorful business of the circus for dark steady walls. It's too hollow. Like an itch beneath the surface.
Usually, Barbara's here. But, this week he practically hasn't seen her at all except for patrols.
Almost...almost like she's avoiding him.
Which is weird and worrisome and something he very badly wants to investigate, except for the fact that Tim, Jason, and Alfred keep insisting he leave it alone even though it's Babs!
Behind him, the sound of something rattling drifts from the dining room before it abruptly stills.
Dick's hand tightens on the knife he's washing as he stops his shoulders from tensing.
No footsteps.
There's a creak on the loose floorboard behind him.
Dick spins, knife flying at the sound
...and caught, a few inches in front of a face.
"Bart?!"
"Yeah?" Bart says, looking wide-eyed at the knife in his hands. "Geeze, who were you expecting?!"
Randomly showing up in complete silence? Slade, usually. But there's not really a way he can say that and it sound normal. So, instead...
"Bart, why did you break into the manor?"
Bart shrugs, sitting the knife down. "Technically, it's not breaking in if you vibrate through the door."
"I've got a whole stack of meta B&E laws that would beg to differ," Dick rolls his eyes, "and that still doesn't answer the question."
Between blinks, a stack of files appears on the kitchen counter.
"I finished comparing the timelines," Bart says, hopping up on the counter and swinging his legs. "Hey, have you ever thought of a zeta-shield?"
"A what?"
"A zeta-shield, it's kind of like an energy field that blocks out interplanetary zetas to Earth?"
Dick pauses, looking over the files. "Your universe had one?"
"Yep, there was a thing with the Light and the Justice League and Rimbor and then, the Kroloteans, and then-anyway, not important, I think I can set up the basics if you want? "
"Do it. See if Tim can help with the programming."
Bart grins. "Working with Robin? Awesome, that's so crash!"
Dick smiles back. "Red Robin, technically. Jason's Robin."
"Jason?" Bart blinks. "Right, Jason Todd who's ali-ah, Robin! And definitely, not Red anything."
Dick's quirks an eyebrow.
"Just timeline differences." Bart shrugs. "Kinda still adjusting, ya know?"
Dick watches him. "Sure there's not something you want to talk about?"
"Yeah...yeah, I'm sure," Bart says with an easy grin. He's stopped swinging his legs. His hands are tense on the counter.
Dick lets the conversation move on.
"So, how's living with Jay," he asks, turning back to the dishes.
"Um, great?"
Dick snorts. "Next time, try to say it less like a question."
Bart huffs, running a hand through dark auburn hair, not noticing how it makes it stick up on ends, and the gesture is so shockingly familiar that Dick's next breath catches in his lungs.
"It's great, really. He's...he's Jay Garrick! The Jay Garrick, original Flash! I mean how awesome is that? Wally used to talk about him all the time but…," Bart trails off. "Jay's awesome; but, I get the feeling he doesn't want me to be a hero. And by 'get the feeling' I'm kinda saying that as a massive understatement."
Dick bets. "What do you want to do?"
"Be a Flash," Bart says immediately. "It's all I've ever wanted."
"Then do that. Jay….Trust me, for all he disagrees with teen heroes, Jay's always loved his family."
Bart makes a halfway affirmative hum, sounding more contemplative than anything.
Dick finishes washing the last dish and starts drying. "Jay's JSA wasn't a thing in your world?"
Bart shakes his head. "Ah, nope, wasn't exactly a thing people were worried about."
Dick snorts. "Good. Makes me want to ask my alternative self for tips on how they avoided that."
"You can't, you were dea-," Bart freezes.
Dick's hands stop halfway through drying a plate.
Bart's stares at him, wide-eyed.
"Oh," Dick says quietly. Then, he shrugs, going back to drying the dish.
Bart winces. "I'm sorry. I-
"It's fine, Bart."
"I don't even know any details. Wally never wanted to-"
"Bart," Dick interrupts, putting down the dish to lay a hand on Bart's shoulder, "listen to me, it's fine. I should've expected that."
Bart stops, skittish eyes glancing up.
Dick smiles, as reassuring as he can possibly can make it. "It's alright. I wasn't supposed to survive in this timeline either."
"….what?"
"Someone needed to stay behind to blow up the ship core," he says. "There wasn't enough time to get out. I was the team leader; it was my responsibility. I knew that going in. It was fine."
"Then, how…?"
Dick turns back to the dishes, picking one up so he can stare at that instead.
"I've got an idea, okay?"
"Wally saved me," Dick says, voice carefully blank. "He vibrated us through the walls. We didn't...we didn't know he could do that. He'd never managed it before."
Bart swallows. "How did Wally die?"
Dick smiles in a way that's nowhere close to humor. "He tripped. Right outside of the ship. I got knocked out of the debris radius. He didn't. Just chance, really."
There's a small shift of sound and Dick looks up to see Bart, face smooth but arms wrapped around his legs tight enough that Dick wouldn't be surprised if it left bruises.
"Hey," Dick says in a much calmer voice, "tell me more about your Wally, though." He grins. "Hard to imagine the dork I knew as an actual adult. What was he like?"
Bart blinks, tension slowly draining to be replaced with surprise and then, contemplation.
Finally, Bart smiles.
"Kind," he says succinctly. "The kindest person in the universe."
Dick smile softens. "Yeah...that sounds like Wally."
The bang of the front door opening cuts across the kitchen.
"Dick?" Tim's voice calls out.
"In the kitchen," he answers.
A second later, Tim pops into the kitchen only to be near tackled as Bart all but flings himself at him.
"Ack!"
"Tim," Bart nearly shouts in his ear, "Red Robin, the very reddest of all the Robins, my science bro, the spicy cheese to my nachos. Ooh, did I tell you Jay got me nachos? So crash! Aww, now I'm hungry again!"
"By the way, Bart's here," Dick says innocently.
"Thanks for the warning," Tim responds dryly, trying and mostly failing to pry Bart off of him. "Also, Jason zeta'd to Roy's, he said he'll be back by patrol."
"Got it." Dick hands him the file on the table. "Hey, how do you feel about programming a zeta shield with Bart?"
Tim's eyes light up, giving up on his fight to page through the schematics. "Bart, these are yours?"
"Hmmm, yeah, mostly, my timeline had something similar," Bart says lazily from where he's hanging off Tim's shoulders.
"These are great."
Bart holds up his hand to fist bump Tim's. "What did I tell you? Science Bros!"
"And does Mr. Allen wish to stay for dinner," Alfred asks from the dining room.
"Huh?" Bart blinks. "Oh, yeah, dinner. Sorry, forgot...I can't, I told Jay I'd be back in like an hour." He glances at the clock before wincing. "Or maybe three hours. Sorry, I gotta-"
"Run," Dick suggests.
Bart grins. "Exactly."
And, then, in a blur of color, he's gone and the files in Tim's hands are flying around the room.
Tim sighs, leaning down to pick them up. He shakes his head, smiling slightly. "Bart's kind of weird, isn't he?"
Dick helps him. "Timmy, I think that's an understatement."
"Yeah, but...like, I don't know," Tim shrugs. "Almost like he doesn't view the world quite the same."
Dick's pretty sure he knows the reason for that. But, if there's one thing he's learned in a decade of masks and secret identities, it's that some secrets aren't his to tell.
So, he shrugs. "Or maybe he sees it better than any of us."
Tim frowns, probably at the implication that he doesn't understand something. He hates things like that.
"Think it's the time travel," he asks, "Well, I mean, duh, of course, it's the time travel. What else could it be? Really, if you think about it the psychological implications a time traveler entails are fascinating, not to mention the physical, biological, oh, even the chemical…"
Dick cuts him off with a grin. "Tim, get some sleep first, running theoretical experiments on our friends can wait until later. By the way, I found your tablet."
Tim's head shoots up. "You did! Where?"
"A cereal box."
"...sorry, what?"
"I know. Best prize I ever got was a decoder ring."
"Um…"
"Tim," Dick says, handing him the last of the papers.
"Ah, yeah?" Tim smiles sheepishly.
"Go get some sleep."
"...I guess I could use a nap before patrol," Tim admits as reluctantly as possible.
Dick rolls his eyes.
ooooo
Dick's staring in the mirror and nothing feels right.
A red shirt and a blue shirt are hanging in either of his hands. He still hasn't picked a jacket. Plus, a piece of his hair's sticking up in a way that probably defies gravity and not, for once, in a good way.
He's...he's nervous.
He's really, really nervous that everything is about to go horribly wrong.
"The blue one."
Dick looks up and Barbara's leaning on his door frame.
"Always go with the blue, it's your color," she says.
Dick manages a smile. "You sure?"
"Definitely." She walks forward, looking at the jacket choices he has laying on the bed. "Listen to me, Dick, you're an absolute disaster when it comes to fashion. Remember your first design for the Nightwing suit?"
"It wasn't that bad," he argues halfheartedly, putting on the shirt.
She hands him the black jacket. "It had neon yellow and a collar up to your ears. It deserved to be burned."
"Pfft, you and Jason said that when I wanted to grow a mullet, too."
Barbara gives him a probably mock look of horror. "I forgot about the mullet! That would have been terrible. What is this? The 80s?"
"I could've made it work."
"Maybe, Boy Wonder, maybe." She winks, stepping forward to smooth the collar. "But, even for you, that's a big maybe."
Dick smiles softly. "I missed you, Babs."
Her smile fades. "I had something I needed to deal with."
"I would've helped," he tells her. "With anything, Babs, just say the word. I promise."
"I know, Dick." She shakes her head. "But not everything's yours to fix. You trust me?"
"Always."
"Then, let it go," she tells him firmly. And then, she smiles. "Besides, I'm back now and you need to get ready for your date."
Dick sighs then grimaces, looking back in the mirror. "Why am I so nervous, Babs? I've known Kory for years. This should be easy. So, why am I like this?"
"Because it's important," Barbara says. "Important things are worth being nervous over."
She reaches up, fixing the last wild strand in his hair "But, for what it's worth, I think you've got this."
"Why's that?"
She steps back and smiles. "Because you're you and Kory's smart enough to know that's pretty special."
Dick swallows, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "Thanks, Babs."
"Anytime." She looks down. "Hey, just promise me one thing, okay?"
"What?"
She meets his eyes.
"Don't you break her heart, Dick Grayson."
ooooo
Kory's laugh catches in the wind as she wraps her arms tighter around his waist. "Dick, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise!" Dick grins back, gunning the motorcycle on the long, mostly empty roads outside of Coast City.
Kory laughs again, pressing her face into his back and Dick swears he can feel the smile even through his jacket and shirt.
"Just five more minutes," he says, more to remind himself than her.
Kory hums, unhurried, arms still tucked around his waist as she leans on him to watch the road fly by.
The next five minutes seem both unfairly long and unreasonably short. Dick wouldn't trade them for the world.
"We're here," he says, pulling up to park at the dark, deserted building.
Kory looks up. "Oh...oh, I remember this! Is not this the place…"
"The Cult of Kobra destroyed a few months ago? Yeah," Dick nods, looking up at the observatory. "They rebuilt it, should be open to the public next week. I asked and, well, they said they wouldn't mind us using it for the night. I, um," he blushes, "I thought maybe you'd like to see the stars?"
Kory looks at him and smiles, eyes shining as she leans forward to kiss his cheek.
"That sounds wonderful," she whispers.
Dick smiles back, his entire face feeling warm as they go through the back door the staff promised to leave open and into the main observation deck, big curved windows shaping to form a dome, only broken by the telescope splitting through the middle.
This far away from the buzz of the city, there's nothing but stars, thousands upon thousands of lights stretching and spilling across the dark of the room like there's nothing else around except the observatory.
Kory spins around the room, mouth open but with no words as she just watches, glowing ever so faintly almost like she's one of the stars herself.
"It's beautiful," she says."
Dick's throat gone dry. "Yeah."
He holds up a small basket he'd stashed earlier. "I brought food."
If possible, Kory's smile brightens even further. "You made dinner?"
"Alfred helped with the menu," Dick admits with a grin, sitting by the telescope and passing her the basket. "Ah, and possibly a lot considering that it's actually edible."
Kory sits next to him, moving to lean on his shoulder. Tentatively, he reaches his arm around her.
"This is perfect," she says.
Dick leans into her. "Well, Alfred's a really good cook."
Kory laughs. "Not just the food. Everything. It is wonderful, Dick. Thank you"
"I'm glad you like it." He threads his hand with hers. "Thanks for coming."
She hums. "It would have been perfect wherever you took me."
"Why's that?"
She smiles, stretching up at the same time he looks down until her lips land softly on his.
Like fireworks. Like the sun on his face. Like the thrill before he jumps.
"I believe you know," she says when they finally break apart. She takes a sandwich from the basket. "Or, at least, I hope you know now. There is nothing to fear, Dick. There is no place I would rather be than here with you."
Dick watches as she tilts her head back, eating her sandwich, as she smiles up at the stars. She's warm against his side, her smile is still bright, and her red hair's always that vivid red and, for a second, Dick thinks wildly that being around Kory is like having something as otherworldly beautiful as a constellation close enough to touch.
"I really like you, Kory," Dick whispers back and finally relaxes enough to just watch the stars.
They finish their dinner just like that, together and watching the sky and talking about both nothing and everything until the moon's high in the sky.
Hours later, Kory yawns. They're both tucked under the telescope, Dick listening as Kory idly points out different solar systems using the most insignificant star alignments as navigation points.
She points to a slightly bigger star, one that Dick can recognize. "Over there is the Regulus system, a few light years away from Bolovax Vik, one of the research planets."
He smiles. "On Earth, that star's part of Hercules."
She tilts her head, bemused. "Hercules?"
"It's a story." He catches her hand and traces it against the rest of the stars in the constellation. "Apparently, it's supposed to be shaped like a man. The Greeks had a myth that he was such a great hero that the gods commemorated him by placing his image in the stars." He grins. "My mom used to tell me about the stars when we were traveling. Hercules was always one of my favorites."
"Did he really exist," she asks, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Nobody knows. I just like the story, everyone needs their heroes." He pauses briefly. "Like the League used to be."
Kory glances up at him. "And like the Titans?"
"I hope so." He laces his hand with hers.
She smiles back. "The new speedster-Bart-his grandfather was part of the League, right? The Flash after Jay Garrick?"
"Yeah, Barry Allen was one of the League's founding members. Just like Jay was for the old JSA...and like Wally was for Young Justice."
He pauses again. "The Flashes were...I don't know, it's hard to explain, especially after all the stuff with Jay...they just...they made everything seem better. They helped people believe. Gave them optimism. Hope."
"Like Superman?"
"Kind of." He shakes his head with a small smile as he tries to find the words to explain it to Kory. "It was more like...when Superman showed up somewhere, everyone knew it was going to be alright, that they were going to be safe because Superman could handle it. With the Flash...," Dick's lips go up in a grin, "the Flash gave you the kind of hope that you could get through it yourself, no matter how dark it got. They all did that, even Jay during his time."
Kory hums thoughtfully. "That seems like a lot to live up to."
"It is." Dick nods.
The topic falls down to a comfortable quiet. Kory, still leaning against him, lets out a small yawn, eyes flickering closed briefly before they come back open by force of will.
It's getting late. They should probably head back to the Tower soon.
But, until then, he leans down to press a kiss into her hair and she moves in just a little bit closer, neither of them making any move to leave.
Above them, the sky is clear except for the stars.
ooooo
"You're smiling!"
Dick turns and pulls his mouth down in an exaggerated scowl just because.
Donna snorts and Dick's lips quirk back up.
"Indeed, I am. You sure you aren't the detective, Don'?"
Dick moves over so she can sit beside him on the back of the sofa. In the Tower kitchen, Bart and Tim are still bent down over a tablet, running the final tests to bring the new zeta shield online.
Donna sits. "Maybe I am. Want to trade? Warning, you'd have to do the lasso, too. It's a must."
"Pft, shows what you know. I've always wanted a lasso!"
She taps her chin in faux consideration. "Nah, still no dice. Please understand, it's not you, it's Gotham. I'm not touching that shitshow with a ten foot pole."
"I'd throw in a Robin or two? Think of it as a Buy One, Get One Free Special."
Donna smile gets sharper. "I'd counter for Babs?"
"Ouch, no way. She's like the entirety of my impulse control."
"Looks like the deal's off then, Former Boy Wonder."
Dick nods. "Fair...Hey, you think Zatanna would be up for it? It's the fishnets. I could totally work the fishnets."
Donna breaks off into a loud laugh, elbowing him. Dick just grins back.
She raises an eyebrow. "So, I take it the date went well? Come on, give me the details. I've earned them!"
Dick maintains his poker face because ever so occasionally he feels the urge to live up to his name. "Hmm, I don't know about that. I'll have you know there's a gazillion other reasons I could be in a good mood."
"Is that so?" She narrows her eyes.
"Who knows? Maybe a gazillion and one."
Donna sighs. "Darn, well, that's just too bad."
And then, she drops it.
Dick frowns suspiciously. "And why's that, Don'?"
"Oh, nothing." She shrugs. "It's just I'm the only one that was still up at the Tower at the frankly absurd time that Kory got back. I'd tell you what she said but since you're busy with your gazillion and one things, I guess it can wait."
Dick tries to stare her down. Donna smiles back.
The fiercest of Gotham criminals have nothing on one Donna Troy.
He rolls his eyes. "Okay, you got me. Tell me!"
"Details, first."
Dick smiles, dropping his voice to a whisper. "You know the observatory from the Kobra thing? I took her there."
"To see the stars?"
"Yeah. I brought dinner."
She whistles, impressed. "Oooooh, that's a good one."
"Thanks. Now, your turn?"
Donna smiles. "She loved it. I think she's the only one with a smile today that rivals yours."
"Really?" Dick ridiculously feels his cheeks heat up like he's still thirteen years old.
"Yep." Donna bumps her shoulder against his. "I'm happy for you, Rob. Both of you."
Dick can't think of anything to say back so he just lets the silence settle between them.
Unsurprisingly, Bart breaks it. "And…..there! WE GOT IT!"
Tim looks up from the tablet, high fiving Bart. "WE GOT IT!"
Donna and Dick both look over to them.
"The zeta shield's ready to come online," Donna asks.
"Definitely!" Tim grins brightly. "Well, I mean technically we already got it online days ago, but-"
"Yeah, but test pulses don't really count," Bart continues, waving his hands wildly, "basically just a searching signal for the other stations on the network-which is a freaking lot, by the way! Dude, so crash!-rather than-"
"A fully functioning operating system," Tim nods enthusiastically, "which is why we had to calculate a program that would run outside of-"
"But not interfere with," Bart adds. "That's the tricky part!"
"The zetas already within Earth's gravitational field," Tim concludes. "Plus, there was the Watchtower to account for. So, basically-"
"Guys," Dick interrupts, holding up his hands to stop them. "Real question, you're saying the shield's are ready?"
Tim exchanges a look with Bart, already nearly hopping on the toes of his feet, before Tim gives a thumbs up. "We got it, Dick! Ready to activate the shields?"
"Do it! Do it!" Bart chants. "Ugh, why does everything take so loooonnnng!"
Dick rolls his eyes. "Go ahead."
Tim grins, typing in a code on the tablet.
On the screen, what looks like hundreds of tiny dots, signifying the satellite system, suddenly turn a light blue with a maze of lines reaching to connect them.
"We're online," Tim reports. "No zeta access outside of the Earth's perimeter."
Tim and Bart high five again.
"Great work, guys!" Dick reaches out to ruffle Tim's hair, just because his youngest brother will still sometimes allow it. "I mean it. Earth just got a whole lot safer."
Bart's smile flickers for just a second before it's back, looking softer and a bit more genuine.
Donna claps her hands together. "Well, protecting Earth from an attack through zeta I say definitely calls for pizza tonight to celebrate!"
Dick snorts. "You said that about last week's thing with Parasite, too."
"And I was right then like I'm right now," she answers breezily. "I'll text everyone else to swing by later."
"Yeah, yeah, just make sure you order one with-," Dick's wrist beeps with an alert. He frowns. "Jay Garrick's in the Tower lobby."
"Oh, ah, for me?" Bart's brow knits together in confusion, checking his new already slightly beat up phone. "Aw, but I'm not even late this time."
"No." Dick holds up his own phone with a new message. "He says he wants to talk to me."
Great.
ooooo
"Jay," Dick greets the older man in the usual meeting room.
Jay smiles warmly and if Dick tries hard enough he can almost believe it's not even forced.
"Dick." He chuckles. "I hope you don't mind I chose the afternoon rather than barely sunrise this time?"
Dick forces his shoulders to relax. "Sorry about that, I assumed you'd want to know about Bart as soon as possible."
"And you were right." Jay nods firmly before sighing. "It's still hard to believe, honestly. Having Bart. It's like...like having a piece of Barry back again. Of...well, of all of them really."
"I know the feeling."
Jay meets his eyes. "You gave me my family back, Dick. Something I never thought I would have again. No matter what all the two of us have been through recently, there aren't words to express how grateful I am that you trusted me with Bart."
Dick shifts, feeling uncomfortable. "It's not about trust, Jay. It's like you said, Bart's your family. That's not something I can take away. Not something I'd want to."
Jay smiles again. "You're a good kid, Dick, always have been even back when you were running around playing pranks with Wally." He settles. "It's why I hope you'll hear me out."
And here it is, Dick thinks wryly.
"I don't want you to let Bart join the Titans."
Dick sighs. "Jay…"
"Hear me out," Jay insists, "Bart's a kid, Dick. He's the only family I have left. I don't want to-I can't lose him, too. I can't. " He stops, obviously taking a moment to get whatever he's feeling back under control before starting again. He looks up at Dick. "We can work together, Dick. You and me. I know...I know that the history between the Titans and the JSA have been strained to put it mildly, but if we can come to an agreement on this, then maybe we can work together on the rest. I'm willing to lead the JSA back on some of our more strict positions."
"Really," Dick raises an eyebrow. "You'd tell the JSA to back off?"
Surprisingly, Jay nods. "Please understand that it's not that I'm changing my mind, Dick, but….I would do anything to protect Bart. And I know Wally used to be your best friend, you have to feel the same way. Maybe this is what we both need to come together again. To work with each other for better solutions rather than fighting against each other."
"Jay, I never wanted to fight with you," Dick says tiredly. "Not once."
Jay's face softens and for a single second, it's seven years ago and Jay's just the old hero, sitting in the West-Allen's kitchen and laughing along to one of his and Wally's stories.
Dick blinks it away.
Jay regards him seriously. "Then if Bart asks to join the Titans, you need to tell him 'no'."
"I can't."
Jay's face falls. "I hoped maybe this time you'd understand."
"I've always understood, Jay. It's just not my choice to make."
"Don't do that." Jay's lips tightening into a thin line. "Don't try to push off responsibility-"
"Push off responsibility?!" he interrupts incredulously. "Jay, are you kidding me? I'm not forcing people, it's their choice! You were a hero once! How can you not remember what that felt like? The feeling that if you have the power, if you can help people, you have the responsibility to-
"Oh, don't talk to me about responsibility, Dick!" Jay snaps. "You're a nineteen year old kid with a bunch of other kids that have convinced yourselves it's somehow noble to die in a blaze of glory before you've even learned how to live! It's not noble, Dick, it's suicide masquerading under bravado. Bart's thirteen! How can you want him to die that way?"
Dick takes a breath, tries to stay calm. "Jay...I never let anyone do anything. They do it on their own. I just try to help, to have a structure where they can have help. That's all I do."
Jay's fists clench down under the table. His jaw firms.
"If that's all you think you do, Dick, then this was a pointless conversation."
"Isn't it always?" Dick bites back because he's so very done with this. "What do you mean?"
Jay shakes his head. "There's no point in telling you. You still think everything's the same, don't you? That the world's still going to work like it did back then! That if you just train enough, fight enough, believe enough that everything's going to be okay. It's not that world anymore, Dick! Maybe it used to be. But, in this one, people die! Not matter how hard they fight. You don't understand-"
"STOP TELLING ME I DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Dick erupts. "How can you say that? How can you even think that? That out of everyone, I don't understand the risks? I led the team during the Invasion! I saw them die! I saw Batman die! You think you're the only one that understands losing a family? That understands this is dangerous? I DO, JAY! The only difference is that I'm trying to make sure no one else goes through the same while you'd rather hide out with a protest sign-"
Jay's already on his feet. "You're enabling them, Dick! You think the Titans is about heroes? They're glorified child soldiers and you're their leader! How many of them do you think would be out there without you? How many do you think would still be doing this if they didn't have the Titans behind them telling them they should!?"
"All of them!" Dick shouts. "I think all of them would still be doing this! Just like you were before the first JSA! Just like they used to do before the League! Just like me and Roy and Zatanna and Donna and Raquel were all doing before we even started the Titans! Because that's what heroes do, Jay! They help people! And not for some glorified martyrdom or whatever you think we want but because it's something we can do!"
Jay's face is a dark, angry red. "You can't-
Dick shakes his head, disgusted. "You really think if I tell Bart 'no' that he won't still be out there?! The kid runs faster than the speed of sound, is the grandson of Barry Allen, and what?! You think he's just going to quit because I tell him he can't join the Titans. You're not asking me to stop him from being a hero, Jay, all you're doing is asking me to take away the support system! And I won't do it! You want something that'll kill him, because that's what you're asking for, Jay!"
"YOU ALREADY KILLED ONE OF MY GRANDSONS, DICK! I'M NOT LETTING YOU KILL ANOTHER ONE!"
Dick stops so suddenly it's as if Jay just slapped him.
...He wishes Jay just slapped him.
Red light. The heat of a ship core stinging across his tick of a countdown.
Jay sighs, the anger draining out of him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Dick. That was ...uncalled for. I shouldn't have said that."
He doesn't say he didn't mean it.
"Just please," Jay says. "Please, Dick, not Bart. Not again. I'll work with you on the JSA, just please don't let him join the Titans."
"Leave."
Jay looks at him, frowning.
"Leave," Dick repeats. "Get out of the Tower."
Jay watches him. Dick doesn't look away.
Jay slowly moves to the door and then outside the meeting room and down the hall, out of the Tower. Dick falls heavily back into the chair.
"I've got an idea, okay?"
ooooo
Smack!
The punching bag swings away with the force of the hit.
Dick doesn't let it swing back before he hits it again, alternating hands.
Right hook. Left jab. Right roundhouse. Left cross. Right uppercut. Left back kick. Right jab.
"The pizza's here."
He doesn't look behind him. "I'm not really hungry, Donna."
"Everyone's in the kitchen."
"I'm not really good company right now either," he says, landing another left cross.
"You want to talk about it?"
"No."
"You want to spar?"
Dick hesitates.
Donna smirks, grabbing his arm and dragging him over to the mats.
She gets ready, sliding back her leg into a fighting stance. "Come on, Rob. Show me what you got. The usual, no holds barred. You're not going to hurt an Amazonian."
Dick gives her a barely there smile, obligingly holding up his arms.
Donna strikes first, swinging her leg down and out in a smooth sweep.
He jumps, landing behind her. She turns quickly and he swings his elbow into her sternum.
Donna blocks, smiling sharply as she uses her strength to push him back. Dick moves with it, flipping back in a crouch and swinging his own leg to catch the back of her knees.
She laughs, stepping back to avoid falling and going for a knee strike that Dick barely dodges.
Her next punch catches his shoulder.
"Good one," he grunts, knocking her arm out of the way and swinging up his leg to aim at her side.
Donna moves back before it does more than glance off of her. "You, too."
She strikes forward and Dick twists around the blow, turning to try to catch her ribs.
She drops the strike, reaching around with her other arm to try to pin him in against her but Dick drops down, rolling back out of range.
"You know whatever Jay said to you has a statistically high chance of being complete bullshit," she says.
"I told you I didn't want to talk about it, Don'."
A jab to his chest, he catches it, flipping over again and trying to pull her with him.
She aims a knee to his ribs and he lets go to dodge it.
"You're not talking about it; I'm talking about it. See the difference?"
Dick sighs. "Donna."
"I know, I know, but you've been in here for hours which tells me that you need to talk about it." Donna meets his eyes steadily. "Let me help."
Dick twists out of the way of Donna's next punch. "It wasn't even anything that new. Jay doesn't want Bart to join the Titans."
His next kick is a feint, waiting until she blocks before he jabs at the side she left unprotected. He does a simple jump back before she can retaliate.
"Ouch, must've been something bad, then. You didn't even add an unnecessary flip to that."
Dick pauses. "What do you mean?"
Donna rolls her eyes. "You usually put on more of a show, even when you fight. It's the performer in you."
He blocks her elbow to his neck. "No chance you're going to let this go, is there?"
"See I would," She blocks his punch and swings out her leg in a roundhouse, forcing him to flip over it. "But, Will even showed up with Lian and I know she's going to want to see her Uncle Dick. I can't let a baby down just cause you're sulking! I'm her favorite aunt!"
Dick narrows his eyes. "Using Lian's cheating."
"Thought it was no holds barred?"
He slips around her next punch and she blocks his knee. He ducks, her kick goes through the air over her head and she moves back to avoid his cross hit.
He takes a breath. "Jay blames me for Wally's death."
"It wasn't your fault, Dick."
"It wasn't not my fault."
"Dick," She catches his next punch and instead of going into another move, she just holds it. Dick stops.
"What happened during the invasion wasn't your fault," she says firmly. "Jay's wrong. Just like he is about the Titans." She smiles slowly. "Now, in my infinite and beloved wisdom as your best friend, I'm going to offer you a choice. Option One: you can stay down her for another however many hours and keep thinking about shit that you can't change and isn't going to make you feel any better. Or Option Two: you come with me, have pizza with people who care about you, and have the strong possibility of watching Lian spit up food on Will's face. What do you say?"
Dick sighs. "Is one of the pizzas Hawaiian?"
"Yes, you savage."
He smiles back hesitantly. "I guess I've been down here long enough."
"Excellent choice!" Donna swings an arm around him before wrinkling her nose. "But, shower before pizza. You stink!"
"I'm getting a new best friend."
Donna laughs. "Jokes on you, I have a no refund policy."
ooooo
"Dih! Dih!" Grabby baby hands reach up to pull at his hair and Dick grins like an idiot.
It's possible that he may be slightly biased but his goddaughter is the cutest baby in the entire world.
"Look, Lian," he says, maneuvering her with one arm before she punches him in the eye again, "this pizza has meat and pineapple on it. Isn't that amazing?"
Lian grins up at him with her adorable chubby smile.
"Stop corrupting my daughter with your pizza blasphemy," Jade says, coming up to sit beside him.
Dick makes faces at Lian. "It's not corruption, it's education. You're the one who teaches her different types of knives."
Jade hums. "I don't see your point."
"Knibe! Knibe!" Lian claps.
Will comes to stand beside Jade. "For the record, I entirely blame you for that being her first word."
Jade leans down to kiss her daughter's head. "It runs in the family."
"DaDa!" Lian squirms in Dick's arms, reaching for Will.
"Hey, Princess," Will acquiesces, taking her in his arms while winking at both Jade and Dick. "She knows who her favorite is."
Jade rolls her eyes, looking to Dick. "Bribery?"
"Has to be," Dick agrees. "It's the only way."
Lian giggles before her mouth turns down in a distinctly unhappy face that Dick unfortunately recognizes.
"And that's our cue to get away from the food," Will says, hefting her up in his arms. "Roy grabbed the diaper bag, right?"
"In the zeta room." Jade nods, pulling him through the crowd surrounding the pizza.
In their absence, Dick scans the room until he finds Bart, who seems at first glance to be busy laughing with Gar and Tim-a fact that would be more convincing if his eyes didn't flicker nervously back over to Dick every approximately 1.2 minutes.
Dick gives it five seconds.
Sure enough, roughly four seconds later, Jade's vacated seat is filled by five feet of vibrating speedster.
"So, um," Bart starts, "you talked to Jay and, ah, then you kind of, sort of, totally disappeared off in the training room so I'm guessing it didn't really go well. Which, um, I guess is understandable and everything I just maybe, possibly wondered what-"
"Jay asked me not to let you join the Titans," Dick interrupts.
"Oh." Bart's shoulders drop. "So, I guess-"
"I refused."
Bart looks up, blinks. "Oh. Ah, I mean why? I mean not that that's not totally crash and, um, so yeah, and-"
"I'm not really in the business of stopping people from being heroes." Dick looks down at his pizza. "Which I guess might be the problem. The point is, Bart, it's your choice. If you chose to be a hero, all I can really do is help."
Bart doesn't say anything. When Dick glances up, Bart's gone back to that silent, intense state that he only seems to do when no one else is watching.
Dick waits.
"I don't...I don't think I really know how to be-," Bart cuts himself off and he looks up at Dick a bit desperately. "Can I...can I tell you something? About...about the place I came from?"
Dick meets his eyes. "You can tell me anything you want."
Bart watches him, looking for something, before cautiously starting, "It wasn't-"
"Intruder Alert! Main Entrance!"
The tower's lights flash bright red and Dick immediately grabs his mask.
"Titans, spread out, groups of two, guard the points of entry!" He glances around. "Where's Red Arrow and Baby Arrow?"
"Already through the zeta," Jade answers smoothly, mask already on and knives out.
Dick pulls up his wrist computer, projecting the video to the front of the room.
Beside Dick, Bart tenses.
"Wait, is that…," Raquel starts.
Zatanna shakes her head. "It can't be. Ted Kord died in the invasion, we saw it."
On the screen, a figure in distinctly familiar blue plated armor flies down the hallways. Dick tracks his path.
"He's coming straight for the common room," Dick says. "Everybody get ready!"
He barely finishes speaking when the blue figure burst in, flying over Karen and Gar's heads, to land in the center of the room.
"Wait, wait! I'm not attacking!" The figure holds up his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean to break in, I promise! I just have no idea how this stupid armor works and I really, really badly need to find all of you! Please! My friend Tye was kidnapped!"
"Who are you," Dick asks, not dropping out of his stance.
The armor's mask comes up with a slight hiss, revealing a panicked Hispanic teenager.
"My name is Jaime Reyes," he says. "And I really need your help."