Click!
The moment the door opened and Terry Long saw who it was on the other side, he scowled. "I have—"
"The suit has been dismissed on grounds of false claims. The restraining order was never properly issued," Donna answered before he could finish. "Please let me in, Terry."
Not expecting to hear the word 'please' like that, and perhaps remembering that his ex-wife was a superhero, Terry complied. Donna walked measuredly into the house, observing the surroundings. Not a lot of pictures, she noted, and of those that were present, only one had her. Of course — Terry would want to minimize the influence she had on his family, considering the way their relationship and marriage had ended.
"Why are you here, Donna?" Terry (and Rhea, it was weird to have her ex-husband share a first name with her lover's son) demanded, hands on his hips. "If you're thinking about taking Robert away, let me make something clear — I don't care about how many fancy pants lawyers you get with help from your rich friends like Grayson. I'll fight tooth and nail to make sure my son doesn't become another casualty of your thrill-seeking."
Donna stared at him for a long moment, before sighing. "I'm not here to take Robert away, I'm just asking for visitation rights. That's it. Is that fair?"
Terry felt his nostrils flare. "I said—"
"I retired from the Titans, Terry," Donna continued, as if he hadn't started talking at all. "Or semi-retired, to be more accurate. They can call me in case of a major emergency, but I'm no longer an active member of the team. I've even moved out of Titans Tower."
Her ex-husband's jaw dropped, a picture Donna allowed herself to enjoy for a moment. "I—but—why?"
She had been waiting for that question, and had prepared her response in the coming weeks as she gathered her courage. It was quickly decided early on that Terry Long couldn't be trusted with the truth, not with how his relationship with Donna had gone, but a kernel of it would do in this case. If Terry did find out somehow, Donna would come clean, but for now… "My priorities changed. My son needs me in his life, more than the world needs me to be a superhero — a full-time one, at least. So I decided to leave the Titans. Unfortunately, something else is going on right now that requires my attention, so I won't be able to visit as often as I would like, but once it is settled I intend to fully devote myself to Robert."
"And you couldn't do that during our marriage?" Terry suddenly blurted out, the anger causing him to lose his cool.
"No, I couldn't," Donna replied smoothly. "Because I was young, Terry. Too young. That's why we didn't work out. You were ready to settle down, and I wasn't. I'm sorry for that, especially now that I am ready. Unfortunately, it's not going to be with you."
And now there was a flare of jealousy with that anger. "You've already found someone else?"
"Yes," Donna answered, refusing to say anymore.
Terry swallowed. "And are you going to bring him to meet Robert?"
"No, not yet. It's too soon for that." Donna hesitated. "But…one day, yes." It was not like she was going to marry anyone else. At this point in her life, Donna couldn't think about being with anyone but Jason. She had waited far too long to be reunited with him, one way or the other.
"…Fine, but only because keeping you away from him would just hurt him. He still asks for you." Terry glared at her. "But if your superheroics put him in any danger—"
Donna scoffed, cutting him off. "Terry, even if I had remained retired, he would've been in danger. You knew full well what you were getting into when you married me. I won't deny I was selfish for going back to this life, but don't go acting like I tricked you into this. You and I both know I didn't and the courts would agree." That final word said, she handed him something. Terry took it with some reluctance, recognizing it to be some kind of device with a button on it.
"What is this?" he asked.
"An emergency beacon," Donna told him, turning to leave. "If you're in any trouble of any kind, push the button and it will summon the nearest available superhero to your location and to your aid." She glanced back at him one last time, and Terry was startled to see the fire in her eyes. Donna had always been a fierce woman, tempered by her sweetness and compassion, but this was something else. Never before had Terry felt so small under her gaze. "Let me make something very clear to you, Terry Long. If you use your grudge against me as an excuse to refuse help from another hero and put our son in danger, then all bets are off — I will have Robert's custody transferred over to me, permanently. I will not have your pride put my son in danger. Understand?"
Slowly, Terry nodded.
"Good."
With that final word said, she left.
(She wasn't ready to face her son yet.)
It had been quite a hassle to get Catskills to their liking, while still retaining it's original purpose as a training facility. At least until they realize they could tunnel into the mountain and expand underground. There were worries about structural integrity — the last thing they needed was the base to collapse in on itself or cause some kind of landslide outside — but then Jason did an extensive land survey that was then double-checked by every geological expert they had on hand (which was not quite as many as they thought there would be, but a lot all the same). They could tunnel all they liked, as long as they were careful about it.
After that, it was a simple matter of using the combined might and intelligence of a speedster, a Kryptonian, an Amazon, a Martian, a Xebelian, a Lantern (because despite Jason's claims, Kyle did not leave them holding the bag), and a really smart guy with loads and loads of money. Debates were made about what rooms were needed and what rooms needed to be expanded, but construction started soon enough. The most difficult part, as it would turn out, was actually gathering the materials, seeing as this was supposed to be a secret base. After a quick debate, it was decided that M'gann would be the one to gather everything as she had the ability to conceal her true appearance and make herself invisible.
On top of further constructing the base, other necessities needed to be purchased: new wardrobes, toiletries, furniture, sheets, etc. Jason handled the funding for that, of course — the joys of being rich with a limitless credit card. That, at least, didn't require any subterfuge on their end. Just some large vans and boxes and the nearest shopping center. After some discussion, it was decided that mornings would be spent shopping and the rest of the day and evening spent building. That had been a nice division that allowed them to build a solid schedule around.
With that set, the week flew by, and by the time Friday rolled around they were just about done, just in time for the children to arrive that Friday evening…
…and in time for the Titans to visit that morning.
Dick Grayson hummed as he waited in front of the refurbished mountain base that his brother and best friend and their 'team' (and Dick was not bitter, no sirree) had made as their base/classroom/whatever. Behind him, the rest of the Titans were milling around, waiting for the doors to open. Kori, Toni, and Jesse were conversing quietly by themselves, as were Garth, Wally and Grant. Victor was marveling at the cloaking — he had detected it immediately upon arrival but his scanners hadn't been able to pierce through the shielding and reveal the building beneath. It made him wonder about what other tech the time travelers had added to their base.
And as for the famed Nightwing himself, he felt…conflicted. Things had changed so rapidly in the past couple of weeks he felt his head spinning at it all. It had been bad enough when Jason came home with two more kids that he told them were going to be their new siblings and a wild (if true) tale about how he traveled back in time from a future where their father and all three of his brothers, including Dick, had died in the line of duty, while Jason had been a reformed supervillain who had become Batman that died from lung cancer at age 50. That had been…a lot. And while Dick had missed his little brother and did his best to visit Gotham more now that he was back from the dead and he had three more siblings besides Tim to keep an eye out for, in some ways he was grateful he had his own place in Bludhaven. It kept from thinking about all the… implications about what this meant, about what Jason's own memories held.
(Dick wasn't blind. He saw how his little wing looked at him sometimes. Something told him that even with Kori and his family by his side, his last years hadn't been kind.)
And it had worked. Until the same thing had happened to Donna as well.
It had come unexpectedly. People had still been reeling about Kon, and it had induced a lot of awkwardness between Jason and Tim those first couple of days. But it had passed and Dick had just figured that it was just going to be like when Jason had first come back. There was going to be an adjustment period, Kon was going to part everything he knew and learned as another mentor to his team and help out his own family with their issues like Jason had with his. Not a big deal, relatively speaking.
Then it happened to Dick's best friend too, and suddenly it was a very big deal. Two time travelers showing up so soon, one after the other, had been bad enough, but Donna…he had seen that haunted look in Jason's eyes, and now it was in hers too. She could barely look at them, at him. Donna had been his closest friend, his rock, for years. To see her like that, to have her look at him as if the very sight of him caused her pain, hurt in ways Dick didn't know could hurt. She had also looked happy, of course, but…
Dick had listened to her own little explanation about the future in a haze. He had barely taken note of his own death, he already knew the details, but Wally and Roy's and even Grant's had stung. Jason had alluded to them beforehand, but hearing the confirmation was devastating. And the fact that they were coming so soon, that Lian would've been an orphan before she even turned six (because God knows Cheshire had no right to call herself Lian's mother, not after everything she'd done)…God. No wonder Jason had been so reluctant to part information about the future.
He knew, intellectually and emotionally, that the future had not been kind. Jason's words that first night home still echoed in his mind even now. But now it was really sinking in. The darkness of what was to come hadn't just touched his brother — it had touched everyone. Including his best friend.
In light of all that, Dick supposed he shouldn't have been surprised about Donna's decision to leave the team. She had her son to devote herself to, and decades of pain and loss she wanted to leave behind. It was the same reason why Jason had yet to fully devote himself to being a vigilante again; he went back into the game because all of his family was in the game, but if it weren't for that, Dick was certain he'd hang it all up and leave it all behind. Donna wasn't out completely, as seen with her mentoring Cassie, but when it came down to it, as much she loved the Titans, she loved her son more. They weren't the priority anymore.
And, well, there was whatever she had going on with Jason. Dick still didn't know what to think about that. Roy was still moody about it, even if he had yet to confess what exactly Donna had told him. She'd probably tried to let him down gently, but, well, it was hard to get over the fact that one of your childhood best friends and the woman you were close to falling in love with was leaving you for the younger brother of your best friend. Even factoring in the extraordinary circumstances they were all in.
Maybe this visit could help them process that.
(Or maybe it would just make everything worse. Dick realized that, at this point, just about anything was possible.)
"Dick."
Dick took the hand offered to him, squinting slightly. "…Kaldur, right?"
Kaldur, dressed in a simple blue shirt and jeans, nodded. He let go, and then offered it again to Garth, smiling. "Garth."
Greetings and introductions were exchanged — it appeared that Kaldur only knew a few of them personally. From what Dick could see, he had met all but Toni and Grant (which, if Dick remembered correctly, was because the former retired and the latter died before Kaldur's superhero career had even started), and was the most familiar with Garth, Kori, and Victor. Garth was not surprising, but Dick couldn't help but wonder how he knew Kori and Victor so well. Maybe he was a member of the Teen Titans during his time as Aqualad?
"Please," Kaldur started, breaking Dick out of his thoughts, "come in."
The cloaking shimmered as they were guided through the gates. The Titans stared up at the base, slightly impressed. Jason's team seemed to have redone the outside as well as the inside, repainting the outside of the building to rid itself of the derelict gray. With the whites, yellows, and soft golds, it made for an elegant, dignified feel which somehow complimented the the forested backdrop the Appalachians made. It was certainly different from the technological marvel that was the JLA Watchtower and the sleekly modern Titans Tower. Even the classical, old-fashioned Brownstone of the JSA wasn't quite the same.
"We're almost done with reconstruction," Kaldur explained as they approached the front of the building, "We just need to finish the Holographic Simulator Room underground."
"You're building an HSR?" Victor asked, astonished. Not even the Tower had that — they didn't have the power to handle it, mostly because Dick didn't want the team to be beholden to Bruce. As far as anyone knew, the only HSR in existence was located on the Watchtower.
"We are," Kaldur confirmed. "Jason has the schematics for the clean energy generators that WE will develop in about a decade or so. He's already sent a copy of them over to Lucius, but the originals are still with us. Along with him, Wallace and Kon are already familiar with the technology so it was a simple matter to build them in order to power the building, including the HSR."
"Along with keeping you off the grid completely," Wally noted.
Kaldur hummed in agreement as he placed his hand on a scanner next to the front door. The grand oak doors snapped open immediately, allowing them inside. With a gesture from Kaldur, the Titans were welcomed inside.
"Everyone should be in the kitchen right now. Jason and Donna are cooking breakfast, and I think Kon is setting the table. Wallace is doing a quick check on the construction site underground — he'll be willing to let you work with him after breakfast is over," Kaldur added when he saw the look of glee on Victor's face, "and M'gann should be in the kitchen with Jason and Donna, probably trying to sneak in some chocos before breakfast."
"What about Kyle?" Wally asked, noticing the missing name.
"Not here," Kaldur stated bluntly, before elaborating. "He left with the Lanterns yesterday and went off to space. He's eager to restart the Corps as soon as possible."
"No!"
Everyone's head turned towards the direction of the kitchen. The third Aquaman sighed.
"No, M'gann, no! No chocos!"
M'gann stared defiantly at her friend as she slowly lifted a choco from her personal box and put in her mouth. Jason snatched the box from her hand before she could begin to chew, glaring then. He then blinked as he felt the box begin to slide out of his grip and looked back to see it beginning to float towards the ceiling. He tried to grab it again, only for it to dodge him and continue to float higher and higher until not even he could reach it.
Jason turned back to glare at his Martian friend harder. By that point, M'gann had started chewing, a small smirk on her lips.
"You," he began, pointing at her, "are horrible."
His friend responded by pointedly swallowing the cookie, then tipping over the box and catching another one in her mouth. Jason threw his hands in the air in defeat.
"Fine! Go ahead and ruin your appetite for all I care!" He huffed, turning back to the stove. Donna, who had been watching the scene was also keeping an eye on the food, laughed.
Kon, having just finished setting the table and was now sitting next to M'gann at the kitchen counter, snorted. "You're such a dad, Jay."
Jason groaned. "Don't even start. Please."
Poor Jay. Don't miss your old nickname?
"Forgive me for being concerned about your lifestyle choices!"
"You are forgiven," Kaldur said solemnly as he entered the kitchen with the Titans in tow. Both Jason and Donna immediately lit up.
"Dick!" The second Batman laughed as he pulled his older brother into a hug. Dick happily returned it, before letting go to hug Donna as well.
"How's the new house?" Dick asked after they separated.
The couple exchanged a look. "It's been good," Donna finally answered. "Things have been busy lately, and Kyle just ditched us—"
"That deadbeat layabout," Jason grumbled. M'gann used her powers to float her box of chocos back down and smack him on the arm with it.
He did his share. You know how much he has on his plate. She chided him, before floating the box over and reaching in to stuff her mouth with another cookie.
"Would it have killed him to wait until we were done with the HSR, though?"
"—but it's been good," Donna continued, ignoring the sideshow. "We've got all the essentials, the kitchen is fully stocked to handle everyone's appetites, we've updated the security system and we've got all the lesson plans prepped. We even managed to almost completely refurbish and expanded the base. Other than the HSR, we're just about ready for the kids when they arrive tonight."
"That's…good." At least, as far as Dick could tell. He felt someone tap his shoulder, and upon seeing Kori's expectant look, he cringed slightly. "Right, right."
He moved to the side to allow the rest of his team to file into the kitchen and greet their former teammate, and turned to observe the rest of the room. Jason was arguing with a silent M'gann (who Dick assumed was using telepathy), who was still eating chocos, a box of them floating above both their heads. Next to them, Kon and Kaldur were watching them with amused looks on their faces, especially when Jason tried to snatch the box again and was left fuming when M'gann once again floated it out of reach. It was a surreal sight.
Whoosh!
"Wow! Now this is a party!"
"Wallace?" Wally blinked as he turned around to his baby cousin leaning against the entrance of the kitchen, wiping out a warm, wet cloth over his face.
"Hey Wally," Wallace cheerfully greeted his kitchen. "Just got back from the HSR. Is breakfast ready?" He directed the question towards his teammates, who shrugged and glanced at Jason.
Jason broke off his seemingly one-sided argument with M'gann and sighed. "It's always food with you people. What am I, your personal chef?"
"Yes," all his teammates bluntly responded, no remorse.
"I hate you all."
With everyone present and the greetings over, the group transferred over to the dining room for breakfast. Jason refused the help of the speedsters in carrying the food ("It's nothing against you, I've just had bad experiences with Wallace," he explained, jabbing his thumb towards their sheepish cousin.) and instead had Kon and M'gann float everything in with their telekinesis. Plates and utensils were passed around, and soon enough everyone is digging in.
"This is good, Donna," Roy complimented as he took a bite of his waffle. "You really outdid yourself here."
Donna shook her head, smiling. "Oh, it wasn't me. I helped, sure, but it's Jason who did most of the work. These are his recipes after all."
Roy scowled upon hearing that, while Grant blinked and glanced at Jason, who was sitting next to Donna, seasoning his eggs. "Seriously?"
Jason shrugged. "Ran a diner for a couple years before I had to commit to being Batman. I had it run by an employee afterwards, before handing it off to my eldest when she turned eighteen and told me she had no intentions of going to college," he explained. Carrie had always enjoyed cooking the most out of all his children, after all.
"Jason has very firm opinions about self-care, and especially about cooking," Kon added, smirking. "All his students are required to learn as part of their training."
"He forced us to learn too," Kaldur casually stated, buttering a piece of toast.
"Because you were going to make me your kitchen slave otherwise!" Jason complained.
"You're our kitchen slave anyway," Kon retorted, before downing some milk.
Over at the other side of the table, Wally and Jesse watched, stunned, as Wallace wolfed down three stacks of pancakes in record time. "And I thought I was bad," Wally commented, looking down at his own full plate.
"Wallace, I know this might sound hypocritical," Jesse started, trying not to turn green, "but don't you think you should…slow down?"
"Don't bother," M'gann told her, using her telekinesis on her knife to spread a dollop of jelly on her English muffin while she mixed her oatmeal with honey with her spoon. "We've been trying to make him slow down for years. Unfortunately, your dear cousin has managed to master the art of stuffing one's face at superspeed, so there's really no point anymore."
Wallace swallowed down the last of his pancakes and scowled at her. "I'm a growing speedster! Even with my powers, there's only so much time in the day for me to eat!"
"Wallace, you're forty-eight," M'gann deadpanned. "You are many things, but growing isn't one of them."
"Says you!"
Wally frowned. "Wait, you're forty-eight?" That was more than twice Wally's age! Hell, he was pretty sure Wallace was older than Aunt Iris now.
Wallace shrugged. "That's how old I was when I died," he replied, filling his plate with another stack of pancakes.
Jesse glanced at M'gann. "What about the rest of you?" she asked, curious.
"I honestly have no clue," M'gann replied, sounding apologetic. "Neither Uncle J'onn nor I are exactly aware of how long ago it was when Mars fell. The years kind of blurred together."
"I'm sixty," Kaldur answered, when Jesse turned to glance at him.
"Forty-one," Kon chimed in.
"Sixty-five," Donna added serenely.
"I was fifty when I first came back, though I'm pretty sure that I passed my birthday somewhere in there," Jason commented, cutting his eggs with his fork. "So I'm fifty-one."
"What about Kyle?" Dick asked.
"He's sixty too," Donna answered after a moment, doing some quick calculations in her head. "He's two years older than Jason and died eight years after him."
"You do realize this means that all of you are older than the current members of the JLA, right?" Roy pointed out.
"Yeah. So?"
The Titans exchanged looks. "And this does not… disturb you?" Kori asked, speaking cautiously.
All of the future heroes shrugged. "We've lived pretty wild lives," Wallace replied, reminiscing, "I won't deny that this probably the weirdest thing that's ever happened to us, but honestly, you get used to it."
"Just wait," Jason told them, "Give it a couple more years, and you'll see what we mean."
The Titans didn't find that statement particularly comforting.
"So what are you guys planning on doing with Young Justice and the others this weekend?" Dick asked his brother as Kon used his telekinesis to clean the table, carrying off leftover to the fridge and dumping crumbs and other small bits in the trash before placing the dishes in the dishwasher. Jason usually preferred to hand wash his dishes, but considering he was now living with six other adults (one of whom was a speedster) and was liable to any number of guests, the dishwasher was the only way to go.
They were sitting together in the living room by themselves, talking. Wallace and the others were giving everyone else a tour of the building, showing them what changes they made and everything. Dick had been planning to go with them, but decided not to after Jason asked him to stay behind so they could talk in private. Jason apparently had something to ask him.
"Well, I'm not teaching this weekend, just chaperoning," Jason said as he directed Kon where to put each plate of leftovers. "Neither is Kon — he's going to Themyscira with Clark to visit Kara tomorrow. Donna, however, gets the kids all to herself for Saturday as punishment for their little stunt with the rescue mission."
Dick winced, remembering how harsh Donna could be during training. "That's mean, Jay. Though I can't say they don't deserve it. What about the rest of the days you have them, though? You've got them through Wednesday, right?"
"Yup. They get to start enjoying their spring break on Thursday. As for the rest of the days, Wallace and M'gann get them on Sunday, then Kaldur gets them Monday and half of Tuesday. Then they get the rest of Tuesday off, and as for Wednesday, I was meaning to talk to you about that."
His older blinked, and pointed to himself. "Me?"
"Yeah, you. See, we're thinking of doing a field trip for Wednesday and we're planning on splitting the kids up. Kon is going to ask Clark tomorrow if he can take the powered kids, including Stargirl, to Metropolis. I was hoping I could take Tim, Cass, and Cissie to Bludhaven to spend a night in your city, with you as a guide. I understand if you say no, and I'm sure we can ask Green Arrow instead, but…" Jason shrugged.
Dick crossed his arms. "Sure. I don't mind. But why not Gotham?"
Jason gave him a deadpan look. "Other than the fact that our dad is the most territorial superhero on the planet, Gotham wouldn't fit for the purpose of this field trip. It's to teach them what it's like to be an individual hero guarding their own city. Gotham, with its disproportionate amount of insane, gimmicky rogues, is not representative of what a normal, non-powered superhero usually has to deal with."
"I don't know, Jay. Anything I can teach them, you probably could on your own."
Jason sighed. "Dick, you taught me a lot, but you didn't teach me everything you knew. And besides, I'm not asking you to teach them specific fighting and investigation techniques, just general lifestyle decisions and experiences." He looked his brother dead in the eye. "I need you to show them why a city like Bludhaven needs a hero like Nightwing, and not, say, Superman."
Dick flushed at the implicit compliment, but nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I can do that." He inhaled slightly, and adopted a more calculating look. "In fact, I could probably use the backup. I'm planning a big drug bust on one of Blockbuster's major suppliers that night. Been casing the place for the last week, and Wednesday is the best night to do it."
"How have things been going with Blockbuster by the way anyway?" Jason asked curiously.
"Well. All the info you gave me has been really helpful, even if some of it was incomplete. I've managed to take down half of his operations thus far, and with these new files you've gifted me, I should be able to take down the rest before Christmas."
"That's good," Jason commented, looking pleased. "That means we won't have a repeat of last Christmas either."
"Oh, c'mon Jay. You're still mad about that?" Dick sounded exasperated.
"Yes. I expected so much better from you Dickie."
Dick rolled his eyes. "Right. Anyway, back to the education thing — I know Donna is in charge of combat and physical conditioning, you're in charge of tactics and strategy and Kon has empathy, but what about the others? What do they specialize in?"
Jason leaned against the wall. "Wallace is in charge of general knowledge. Not just science or history, but also the general specifics of the superhero life: team dynamics, significant conflicts, general trends in supervillains, that kind of thing. M'gann, meanwhile, is in charge of teamwork — helping them get to know each other, trust each other, develop their team dynamics, etc."
"And I guess whatever Kaldur specializes in is why you all gave him the most time with the kids out of everyone?"
Jason nodded. "Kaldur specializes in environment adaptation. Learning how to survive in any environment and use it, no matter what kind it is, to your advantage — no matter how disadvantageous it might be to you personally." Jason shrugged. "As a native of Atlantis, it's one of the most important skills he's developed over the years."
Dick couldn't help but agree, thinking about how Garth had struggled to contribute during the early years of the Titans. He was fine when they were near bodies of water, but when they weren't? There was a reason he had sought out the most diverse training out of all of them. Magic, after all, was a gift few had and even fewer had the patience to master. "What about Kyle?"
"Emotional control," Jason answered, looking slightly apprehensive. "That's actually one of the reasons why we're still debating how much he's going to teach them. On top of being busy reforming the Corps, some of Kyle's teaching methods wouldn't be conductive to their development as teenagers. While it's important for them to learn how to handle their emotions in the heat of the battle, the last thing we want to do is stunt their emotional growth." He gave a meaningful look to Dick that his brother returned. We don't want them to be like Bruce.
"Well," Dick finally said, clasping an appreciative hand on his younger brother's shoulder, "whatever you decide, I'm sure it'll be good for Tim and his friends. I'm glad you're doing something like this, Jay. God knows how much I wished we had this kind of training when I was a sidekick."
Jason's face pinched at that, an indescribable emotion flashing through his eyes before it was gone. He gave his brother a well-practiced smile. "Thanks, Dickie. I'm glad you approve."
A little more world building, for when the kids get there next chapter. You'll get to see how Wallace, M'gann, and Kaldur teach the chapter after, if I'm correct. And of course, Jason and Dick bonding!
Next chapter: The Titans' visit continue.
