"Why no speech?"
"Because we're going out this weekend, Cass," Jason explained, "It's a rare three-day-weekend at Gotham Academy, which means it's the perfect time to visit Clark and his family."
Cass brightened. "Clark! I like Clark."
"Good. That means you'll love his wife and son too. There are few women as formidable as Lois Lane-Kent, and their Jon is a good kid," He gave Damian a pointed look, "He'll be glad to have someone his age to play with."
Damian gave him an unimpressed look.
Despite the initial promise shown during his first few weeks at Gotham Academy, a reconnaissance report from Tim had torn down all of Jason's already faint hopes asunder. Damian hadn't even bothered with the facade the moment he had step foot into the school and fallen under the temporary custody of its faculty. Instead, he had remained his same imperious self and had cowed his teacher and classmates into relative submission. All of his peers were vaguely terrified of him to some degree, which was hardly conductive to his need to socialize.
He needed to meet Jon soon. Jon had done more for Damian's social development than even Dick, acting as an effective mediator between his best friend and other child heroes around their age. Much like his father, people liked Jon, trusted him, and so were willing to give Damian the benefit of the doubt because of him. Thus, when Damian inevitably showed his softer side, the good person he had become underneath, they were able to better tolerate his more abrasive personality traits. That in turn helped him calm down a bit as he grew older, eventually evolving into a polite, kind and considerate man, if a little arrogant and snobbish.
(He was an al Ghul as much as he was a Wayne, after all.)
Jason was in the process of deciding how to broach the topic with Bruce when Clark made a call, asking if the play date was still on the table. It seems that Jon had gotten in a mood this past week. His powers were still in the process of coming in, and they were making things difficult for him at school. It was hard to connect with your peers, after all, when you had so much to hide. Clark hoped that meeting Damian, a child he didn't need to hide anything from, would help.
Bruce had agreed immediately, quickly figuring out that this was the sort of thing Jason would want for Damian. Jason made his appreciation known by making another of Bruce's favorites for dinner that night with Alfred. Then he began planning the trip, debating over whether or not to take a private plane. When he mentioned this conundrum to Damian, the boy had that look on his face that said he was on the verge of another tantrum, so Jason quickly decided private plane was for the best. Another call to Clark confirmed that Lois would meet them at the airport to pick them up and take them to the farm.
The details hashed out, Jason packed the three of them bags and pestered Bruce to make sure he had Dick and Barbara on speed dial in case he needed company. Content that Red Tornado would keep an eye on Tim and help him keep up with his training, Friday afternoon saw the three of them file into one of the many small jets that Wayne Enterprises owned and used. The flight to Kansas was only a few hours, and before they knew it they were landing in a private airfield close to Dodge City.
Waiting for them there was a very familiar face — Lois Lane herself. Jason smiled the moment his eyes landed on her, widening as the gap between them closed with an embrace.
"Lois."
"Jason," The reported greeted him, "It's been a long time. It's good to see you."
"It's good to see you too. I'd like you to meet some people," Jason shifted to the side to reveal his siblings, "My new sister, Cassandra Cain-Wayne, and my new brother, Damian Wayne. Guys, meet Lois Lane-Kent, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the wife of Clark Kent."
Lois pinched his cheek, "Charmer, leading with that." She then held out her hand. "Pleasure to meet you."
Cass stared at her before awkwardly taking the tips of Lois' fingers to shake. She then darted away, hiding her face into her shoulder.
"Forgive her," Jason said as Lois' expression turned a bit bemused, "She's shy."
Lois gave a short nod, then crouched down to face Damian. Her smiled returned, and she held out her hand again. "Hello."
Damian took it politely and gave it the customary shake. "Mrs. Lane-Kent."
"Please, just call me Lois."
"Lois," Damian corrected himself. "It's nice to meet you as well. I take it you're here to take us to the farm?" It was obvious how much he was struggling not to sneer out that last word.
If Lois noticed, she didn't show it. "Yes. C'mon — the car is in the parking lot."
"What is this?" Damian asked, his voice somewhere between awe and horror.
"This," Lois gave an appreciative slap to the hood of the blue pick-up truck, "is old Charlie. He's been with the Kents since before Clark was a kid."
From a certain perspective, Jason could understand Damian's apprehension. 'Old Charlie' was clearly on his last legs, despite the obvious modifications made to him to keep him running. Even so, it was cheaper than renting a car and even though Jason had his own, unlimited credit card on hand, he was still a penny pincher at heart. If the car died on the road they'd just make a call to Clark and fly the rest of the way.
"C'mon, everyone inside," He lugged their bags up into the back of the truck, helping Lois to secure them with rope. After that was done, they climbed into the front seat from the driver's side. Before Jason knew it, the car started and they were on their way to the Kent farm.
It was around two hours and a pit stop later when they finally arrived to the farm. After parking, Jason slid out the front seat after Lois and helped her untie and take out the bags while Damian and Cass took a look around their new surroundings. There was a loud sound indicating the opening of the front door of the house, and Jason looked up in time to see Jon Kent rushing forward, attaching himself to his mother's waist.
"Mom! You're back!"
"I am," Lois laughed, shrinking down so she could hug her son back. "And I brought some friends! You remember Jason, don't you?"
Jon peeked out from his mother's arms to spot Jason, his face lighting up. Struggling out of his mother's grip, Jon ran over to his former babysitter with a joyful smile on his face. Jason chuckled, setting down the bag he was carrying to pick Jon up and throw him into the air.
"Jason!" Jon squealed as he stopped midair and floated down back to his feet.
"Hey Jon. How have you been?"
The boy turned bashful. Ah, there it was. The insecurity.
"I've been okay," the boy said quietly, before perking up, "But what about you? Mom and dad said that you were…"
"I was," Jason sighed, giving a light smile. "But I got lucky. I got to come back. And I plan to make the most of it. So," He took Jon by the hand, "there are some people I'd like to introduce to you."
He led Jon over to Cass and Damian, who were observing some of the Kents' cows side-to-side. They turned around when they heard Jason's footsteps, Damian scowling when he spotted Jon.
"Jon, this is my new sister Cassandra Cain-Wayne — or Cass for short. And this," Jason gestured to Damian, "is my new younger brother Damian Wayne. He's about the same age as you."
Damian cleared his throat. "To be more accurate, I am one year older," he corrected severely.
Jason shrugged. "Same general principle. Anyway, guys, this is Jonathan Samuel Kent, or 'Jon' as he likes to be called. He's the son of Clark and Lois."
"Hi." Jon held up his hand awkwardly. Cass returned the gesture, just as awkwardly. Damian gave a sniff and walked away.
Jon's smile fell. Jason patted him on the back. "It's alright. He's like that with most people. Just be yourself and he'll warm up to you soon enough."
They entered the farmhouse soon after. The home had been expanded over the years to accommodate for Clark's growing family and the occasional guests he brought over for rest and relaxation. A such, there was enough space for them to get their own rooms. At Jason's request, him and Damian shared one while Cass got her own. Damian looked ready to rebel when told this, but one look at his brother stayed him.
After their bags were settled in, they went downstairs and met up with Jon and Lois again, along with two others.
"Mr. and Mrs. Kent," Jason grinned as he grasped the two wizened hands of Clark's mother. "It's been quite some time."
Jonathan Kent frowned, though there was no heat to it. "Now, I do distinctly remember telling you to call us by our names."
"Indeed," Martha nodded along, patting Jason's hands. "It's good to have you back son."
"It's good to be back. I take it Lois has told you about my two new siblings?"
"She has," Jason twisted away so she could see them, "Hello dears. My name is Martha Kent, and this here is my husband Jonathan. We're Clark's parents and Jon's grandparents."
"Hello," Damian nodded politely. Cass said nothing, opting to give another of her tiny waves.
Jason shifted his head so he could make eye contact with Lois, who was standing behind his siblings. The slightest narrowing of his eyes made his intentions clear, which Lois caught on.
"Jon," Lois said, catching the attention of the son standing next to her, "Why don't you take Damian and Cass on a tour of the farm? Get to know each other. Us adults have some things to talk about."
"But…" Jon started, no doubt noticing how Jason was visibly not an adult, but a look at his mother cut away his protests. He gave her a short nod, then moved to leave the house. Damian followed, knowing that fighting Jason was pointless. Cass hesitated a bit, looking back to see Jason pointing with two fingers at his eyes and then at the young children. Message received, she turned away and began exiting as well.
The moment they were out the door and safely out of range, Jason finally released his tense posture and sighed. "I take it you guys won't mind if we talk this over in the kitchen?" He asked.
"Not at all."
Jason turned around and smiled. Clark, leaning against entranceway to the kitchen, happily returned it.
Jason took the cup of hot cocoa with gratitude. "Thank you, Martha."
"Don't mention it, dear," Martha said, then moved back to sit down at the kitchen table with her husband. Clark and Lois were standing side-by-side, leaning against the counter. Jason, meanwhile, had seated himself on the windowsill, partially to keep an eye out for any eavesdroppers.
"How much have you told them, Clark?"
"Just the basics," Clark answered, sounding apologetic. "I figured anything more would be a betrayal of you and your family's privacy."
Jason nodded, then directed his attention to the other three occupants room. "So you know that I'm a time traveler and a former Batman."
"And that you come from a future where most of your family was dead," Lois added, though she hesitated for a moment to continue. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine…" She stopped. She didn't know what else to say.
He didn't look offended. If anything, he just looked tired. "I know. Sometimes I can't help but wish for the family that I'd lost. Then there are times where I want them to stay as they are right now. So young, so unburdened," Jason exhaled, "It truly is a hardship, having this knowledge. Knowing what they could become, what pain they would have to go through to become those people." He took a sip of his drink to calm his nerves. "But enough of that. I take it you want to know what happened to all of you?"
"And to Jon," Clark added.
The corners of Jason's lips upturned a bit. "Don't worry about him. He was just fine by the time I died. He and his wife just had their second kid," he shook his head mirthfully, "You were so over the moon Lois. Practically pelted me with pictures everyday."
Pure joy spread across everyone else's faces for a moment. The thought of two grandchildren clearly delighted Superman and his wife, as much as it did Jonathan and Martha. However, the happiness gradually faded away on Lois' face as realization hit her.
"Just me?" She asked Jason, fear and resignation on her face.
Jason's face fell, and he scrunched his eyes closed, as if remembering a painful memory. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was thinking of.
"Jason," Clark said, imploring him to speak.
Jason let out another breath. He opened his eyes, looking up for a moment and then casting his gaze on the Kents.
"Before you ask," He started, directing his look on the older of the two couples, "You two died of old age, in your sleep. Together. I was around twenty-seven at the time."
Jonathan and Martha exchanged a look, clasping their hands together. Their fate was not a bad one, after all.
"And me?" Clark followed up. It was morbid, perhaps, but he needed to know.
Jason frowned, his gaze lidded. He took another sip. "I was thirty-four. Jon was twenty-five. Your daughter Lara," he couldn't help but smirk briefly when surprise flew across everyone else's faces, "was eighteen. Darkseid had launched another invasion, this one more devastating than ever before. In the end, you ended up giving your life to seal him away in the Source Wall. The Green Lantern Corps later brought your body back to Earth for burial."
"…I see," Clark closed his eyes in acceptance, "Well, there are worse ways to go."
"There are, but who knows? Chances are it won't happen this time around. Maybe Orion will actually get around to killing his dad this time."
"Maybe. How did everyone take it?"
"Hard," Jason admitted. "Really hard. You were loved Clark. Missed. No one thought there could be anyone else that could fill your shoes, but ultimately someone had to." He looked wistful. "Gotham needs Batman. But the world? The world needs Superman. It will always need Superman."
Clark pursed his lips at that statement, "So, Jon…"
"No." Jason shook his head. "Not yet, at least. He was the third Superman. The second was Conner Kent — Kon-El."
"Oh," Clark paused, "Not that I disapprove, but…" It was obvious what he wanted to say. The question was also on the face of his present family.
Why wasn't it Jon?
"It was because of Damian," Jason answered for everyone. "Despite their age difference, Jon and Damian were best of friends. Practically family. So, when they were kids, they made a promise. That they'd be Batman and Superman together."
He took a deep breath. "And then Damian died."
Jason didn't need to say anything else. Jon was no doubt devastated by his best friend's death, and the idea of being Superman without his best friend to be Batman must've been inconceivable to him. Genuine sorrow passed on the faces of the Kents as they thought of the grief the youngest member of their family had gone through.
"Even after he was gone, Jon wanted to be close to him. Six months later, he showed up at my doorstep, and asked for the Nightwing mantle."
"Nightwing?" Lois asked, perplexed.
"Damian succeeded Dick as Nightwing when he was eighteen," Jason explained, "By that point Dick had been Batman for three years, and Bludhaven was in need of another protector."
"So Jon wanted to succeed Damian as Nightwing to honor him," Clark surmised.
"Yes. And he wanted my blessing," Jason smirked, "I only gave it after he went through training. Nightwing might be inspired by a Kryptonian legend, but it still began as a mantle of my family. And my family has standards for its solo crime-fighters. Very high standards."
"You didn't hurt him too badly, did you?" Jonathan asked him wonderingly, a little concerned and a little amused.
"Nothing he couldn't handle," Jason assured him.
Clark crossed his arms. "So Jon became Nightwing. And when I died, he wanted to stay as Nightwing, so Kon became Superman in his place. So I take it Kon eventually retired and passed on the mantle to Jon?"
Jason opened his mouth, but no words came out. Clark saw his expression, and faltered. "No. Not him too."
The third Batman swallowed, and he fought to keep his tears at bay. "It was eight years after you died. I was forty-two. Kon had gotten married two years ago, and he and his wife just had their first baby, a son, when…" It was obvious how painful this was for Jason, but he pushed on, "He died a hero, saving the multiverse. You would've been so proud of him."
Clark slumped back onto the counter, head in his hands. The mood of the kitchen plummeted once more.
"You were close with him," Jonathan Kent noted, a statement more than a question.
Jason smiled brittlely at him. "He was my best friend. We didn't get off on the right foot at first, but after Tim…well, it didn't feel right. But we didn't really get close until he became Superman and we started working together more as members of the Justice League. Losing him felt like losing another brother." A kind of pain he, unfortunately, was all too familiar with.
"So," Lois started, voice sad, "After Kon-El died—"
"—Jon became Superman," Jason finished for her. "By that point Damian had been dead for close to fifteen years. Jon missed him, would always miss him, but he couldn't keep mourning him forever. Not when the world needed him more than ever before."
The room fell silent. Always, always silent.
Fittingly, it was broken by a crash.
A very loud crash.
A crash from outside.
Jason turned around to look out the window, and sighed in annoyance and resignation.
"—And that's it. That's the farm," Jon said, spreading his arms open. "So?"
"So what?" Damian asked dryly, hostility thinly veiled.
"What do you think about my home?"
Damian scowled at him, "Charming," he said in a way that suggested otherwise, "Despite the company."
Jon's expression faltered. He looked down for a moment, before looking up hopefully at Cass. "What about you?"
Cass blinked, before smiling widely and patting him on the head in an affectionate gesture. Jon's face morphed into confusion.
"Uh…thank you?" She liked the farm, right?
The third of their trio scoffed. "She's just being polite. My sister's first set of parents were poor caretakers — she can barely speak and has poor understanding of speech. Take the gesture with a grain of salt."
Jon crossed his arms, turning away from Cass to stare back at Damian. "You use a lot of big words," he observed.
"Tt. The level of my vocabulary is hardly noteworthy. You just lack the sufficient intellect to comprehend it." Damian shook his head in disgust. "And to think you're the son of Superman. How ashamed he must be."
Jon barely understood any of that, but he did get the gist. "You just called me stupid, didn't you?" He accused his companion, feeling his frustration boiling over.
"Oh," Damian smirked nastily, "so you do have a brain in there. How surpris—"
Whatever he had left to say was cut off when he was launched away from the ground. Jon, luckily for Damian, had enough self-control not to use too much of his strength. The flight was short and the fall only mildly irritating, especially for someone with Damian's…enhancements.
The son of Batman groaned and shook his head, clearing the cobwebs. Jon blanched once he'd realized what he'd done. He ran over to Damian and bent down to help him up.
"I'm so sor—" He was cut off by Damian twisting his arm and throwing him on his back.
"Hey!"
"Consider that payback," Damian spat out, wiping dirt from his mouth. Jon roared and moved to charge but before he could, he was picked up by the scruff his neck.
Damian moved to laugh at him, only to be picked up himself. "Cass!"
Cass shook her head. Instead, she shifted her hands so both boys were facing the house — and the people in front of it.
Jon let out a small "Eep!" when he spotted the twin glares his parents were sporting. Damian would've mocked him for it, had he himself not been paling at the absolutely livid glower on Jason's face.
"Damian," he hissed.
"He started it!" Damian pointed at Jon, quickly passing the blame.
Jon momentarily lost his fear to throw a dirty look at his age-mate. "No I didn't!"
"You pushed me first!"
"You kept being mean to me! You called me stupid!"
"Of course I did! I try not to be too much of a liar."
"Why you—"
"ENOUGH!"
The argument ceased immediately. Everyone stared at Jason, who was grimacing as he massaged his temples, a visible tick on his forehead.
"You two. Apologize to each other. Now."
The look of quiet fury quelled any more protests. Cass set the boys down, gently guiding them so they'd be facing each other. Both of them tried to look anywhere else, Jon to the sky and Damian to the ground, where he was scuffing the heel of one of his shoes on.
"Boys."
Jon, unsurprisingly, caved first. He straightened his back as he looked at his rival and spoke strongly. "I'm sorry for pushing you."
Damian looked up, and after some clear hesitation, sighed. "And I apologize for insulting you," He was about to stop, until he saw the knowing look on Cass' face, "And throwing you on your back." He added.
"I accept your apology."
"And I yours."
"Good," Jason moved forward, scowling at them both, "Because you'll be serving your punishment together. If that's alright with you," he directed towards Lois and Clark.
"Go right ahead," Lois waved him off, Clark nodding alongside her.
"Very well. Now then," Jason rubbed his chin, "What's the best way to punish a half-Kryptonian hybrid and an ex-baby assassin?"
Both boys shivered when they saw an evil grin slowly dawn on his face.
"Why," Damian asked the world. He was dressed in some old clothes of Jon's, with overalls, boots and gloves to complete the ensemble. Jon was standing next to him in a similar outfit, looking resigned.
"Because you wouldn't learn otherwise," Jason answered for him, showing no sympathy. He held out two shovels, both with handles short enough for them to hold. "Shovels for both of you. You're not leaving until all of the manure is piled away outside."
Jon opened his mouth—
"No powers. And don't think you'll be able to get away with it just because I'm not here to watch you. I will know." With that parting warning, Jason left the scene, leaving the barn door open just enough to make sure the smell was able to filter out.
The boys shared a collective grumble and began their work, staying silent throughout. This lasted for about twenty minutes before someone found the lack of sound too monotonous and broke.
"Why do you hate me?" Jon asked as he paused in his shoveling.
This caused Damian to stop as well, and he looked back at Jon. Instead of glaring, there was a more contemplative look on his face. "I don't hate you."
"You certainly act like it."
The vitriol briefly flared back in Damian's body before he calmed it down. He did not want to suffer anymore punishment. "Well, I don't. Believe it or not, I don't care." That said, he returned to shoveling.
Jon stared at him for a moment and then looked back down at the ground. "You know, I was really excited to hear you were coming here. I thought I'd finally be able to make a friend."
Damian didn't say anything to that, just kept shoveling away.
"It's not that the kids at school are mean and all. It's just that it's hard talking to anyone when you can barely say anything at all about yourself. And with my powers — I'm always so scared I might hurt someone, so I can't really play with anyone else."
The shoveling finally stopped, but Damian still didn't turn around.
"I thought you'd be different. You're Batman's son, Dick and Jason's little brother. If there's anyone I could be honest with, it was you." Jon sighed. "Guess I was wron—"
"All my life, I was trained to kill."
Jon stopped speaking, mouth agape as he stared at Damian's back.
"Every single day. No breaks. I was told that it was for the best. That I was descended from two great families, that I was meant to rule the world. For seven years, that was all I'd ever known."
"And then," and now, there was the slightest hitch to Damian's voice, "One day, my mother came for me. I didn't see her often, usually just when she wanted reports on my progress. If I was doing well, she'd have a treat for me. A new weapon. A new house. A new servant. But this time, she didn't have anything for me."
"Instead, she said she was taking me away. That it wasn't safe for me anymore, that I needed to go with my brother. I was aware, of course, that my father had adopted a few strays, but she had never addressed them as if they were my family. I was so confused, but mother's word was law so I obeyed."
"When I met my brother — Jason — I was so confused. He was kind to me, considerate, but sometimes he'd look at me with so much sadness. To my surprise, I found that I didn't like it. And then he introduced this girl and said she was going to be my new sister, and when I asked him about my father, he said words that tore my entire world to shreds. I was never meant to rule the world, just be another meat sack for my grandfather to occupy when his own finally failed him." Those words were spoken much more bitterly than the rest.
"Now," and here, Damian finally turned to look at Jon, "My father's family is all that I have left. And though they try not to show it, I can tell they are displeased with how I've been raised, the behavior I display. They wish for me to be kinder, to make friends." He shrugged despondently.
"But you don't know how," Jon stated knowingly. He, after all, was the same.
"No," Damian confirmed, rubbing his arm. "I was taught that I had no need of friends. Allies, subordinates, yes. But not friends. Friends were an unnecessary distraction. I do not know where to start."
"Well, that makes two of us," Jon responded, sighing. For a long moment, the two boys stared at each other.
"He engineered this," Damian stated bluntly.
"He totally did," Jon agreed instantly.
"And it worked."
"Yup."
Damian shook his head. "I don't know whether to be impressed or furious."
"How about both?" Jon suggested.
Damian briefly thought that over. "Sounds prudent."
Jon shrugged in agreement, then exhaled, looking over the manure. "So what now? We still have to shovel all of this."
"Perhaps not," Damian said, looking around the barn, "He said you couldn't use your powers. He said nothing about anything else."
"Like…"
"Like that machine over there," Damian pointed at the manure vacuum.
"…You really think that will fly?"
"It's worth a shot."
"You used the manure vacuum," Jason noted.
Damian looked completely unrepentant. Jon smiled sheepishly.
"Well done," Jason smirked, causing both to let out breaths of relief. "Though next time I'm not going to leave such an obvious loophole, so try to behave?"
"No promises," Damian said, with Jon echoing him.
"I'll take it. Now go clean up — Martha has made some of her famous apple pie for you."
Damian frowned. "Pie? The last pie we tried was not up to par. It tasted like pure sugar."
Jon, meanwhile, looked completely ecstatic. "Oh man, you're going to love it! It's warm and gooey and sweet but not too sweet and it's got this great cinnamon aftertaste…"
The half-Kryptonian hybrid continued to extol the virtues of his grandmother's signature confectionery as they moved to wash up. Jason watched them go for a moment, leaning against one of the supports of the porch and smiling nostalgically.
"So," Clark asked from beside him, having been watching from the front doorway. "How did you figure out they used the vacuum?"
"Easy." Jason took a comm piece out of one of his ears and presented it to his father's best friend.
Clark shook his head. "Just like your dad."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Compared to the explosive start, the rest of the weekend felt rather mundane in comparison. Time was spent exploring Smallville, where Jon happily introduced many of the sights to Damian. Unlike his initial meeting with Jon, Damian made the effort to try and appreciate what Jon was showing him, and found that he was enjoying their shared activities in spite of himself. The nights were spent eating more of Ma Kent's Alfred-level cooking and watching old movies on the Kents' television.
Sunday morning saw them packing, preparing to leave for Gotham. Jon managed to squeeze in the car by removing the car seat (much to Damian's genuine pleasure), and the ride to the airport was generally more pleasant than the ride from it two days before. It wasn't long before they found themselves back on the private airfield. The flight's sole attendant grabbed their luggage and made up the stairs to store it, while the Wayne siblings said their goodbyes to Lois and Jon.
"I'll miss you," Jon said, pulling Damian into a hug.
Damian froze for a moment, but to everyone's surprise he didn't fight the embrace, instead gently patting Jon on the arm. "Your lack of presence will be irritating to me as well," he said, the closest he would ever get to returning Jon's sentiment.
Jon let go of the hug and sniffled, clearly trying to fight back tears. Damian, not one for tears, deftly combated them by handing Jon a slip of paper.
"The number to my cell," Damian explained, "We can text each other."
Lois, who was standing next to Jason, leaned over to whisper in his ear. "You do realize this means we'll have to get Jon his own phone, right?"
"Go ahead and charge us the bill if you want," Jason shrugged, "It's not like we don't have the money, and if it means Damian is no longer living on an island, it'll be well worth the expense."
"I will hold you to that."
"So, did you have fun?" Jason asked once they were in the air on their way home. Next to him, Cass started scarfing down a pack of sweets Martha had given her for the ride home.
"It was not entirely displeasing. I found some amusement, as you previously said I would," Damian answered, eyes looking out the window. "The half-Kryptonian hybrid was a worthier companion than I thought he'd be."
"So you wouldn't mind if I invited him to visit the Manor some time?"
"…I would not be opposed to it, yes."
"Great." Jason clasped a hand on Damian's shoulder. "I'm glad you made a friend Damian. I'm very proud of you."
Damian perked up, and a small smile appeared on his face.
"So how was the trip to the Kents?"
"Hello, Dickie," Jason greeted his older brother, not even bothering to shift his attention from unpacking.
Dick, clad in his civvies, grinned cheekily. "You didn't answer my question~"
Jason sighed, though there was no heat to it. "If you must know, it went well. Damian managed to make friends with Jon. It's the Super Sons come again."
"Super Sons?"
"A nickname people came up with when they started teaming on the reg."
"Oh." Realization hit Dick like a freight train. "Because they're the biological sons of—"
"Yeah." Jason nodded. "It's nice seeing them like that again, as young as they are. I can almost pretend…"
"Jay?" Dick prompted his younger brother when he began to trail off.
"It doesn't matter," Jason shook his head. "So what are you doing here, Dickie? Problems in Bludhaven, or are you just visiting?"
"The latter. Though I do have a bit of an invitation for you."
"Oh?"
"Since you got to meet Tim's new team and all, I thought it'd be fair if you meet mine as well."
Jason paused, a strange look on his face. "The Titans?"
"Yeah. I'm sure you've worked with a fair few of them."
"I have. Remind me, who's on the current roster for the team?"
Dick hummed, seemingly not suspicious. "Besides myself, there's Damage, Argent, Jesse Quick, Kori, Victor Stone, and the rest of the originals — Garth, Roy, Wally, and Donna." He didn't notice how Jason squeezed the shirt he was holding, just a little tighter.
"Anyone else?"
"Well, Lian of course, and her babysitter Chanda is staying with us too. Just in case you don't want her to know your identity and all."
"Right." Jason took in a deep breath. "Right. Okay."
"So…?"
"When do you want me to meet them?"
"How about next weekend?"
Jason paused as he thought that over. "Yeah, okay. That sounds fine. Are we taking the Bat-Plane again?"
"That's fine," Dick checked his phone, "Oh, gotta go. Almost time for patrol."
"Later, Dickie." Jason held up a hand in farewell as his older brother left the scene.
Alone once again, Jason exhaled another breath. He dropped the shirt, holding a hand to his forehead and another to his heart.
He was doing this. He was really doing this.
You always were a glutton for punishment, Todd.
And chapter done. This is probably the smoothest chapter I've ever written. I was pleased by it immediately. The Kents will return, and Damian and Jon's friendship will be touched on more. There's also more to the Kent situation than Jason is saying, mostly because he's uncomfortable talking about it since he isn't quite as close to this generation of the Kent family than he was with the later one.
Next chapter are the Titans, and that one is a bit of a doozy. There's also a new development next chapter that you may or may not enjoy. Let's just say there's some trouble in paradise, and leave it at that.