Chapter 16- Now We've Got a Plan

Dick Greyson was tired of waking up groggy in places he doesn't recognize. At least nothing hurt at the moment, which was better than he'd felt since he was arrested.

"I'm sorry," someone mumbled.

"What?" Dick croaked. His throat felt raw and his mouth tasted like something died.

A polar bear appeared and offered him an ice chip. "I'm sorry," it said again and Dick's mind finally caught up. The bear was Bepo, first mate of the Heart Pirates.

"Bepo, stop apologizing," Law said as he strode in, still carrying his ridiculously long sword. The doctor pulled on some surgical gloves and started examining Dick without a word.

"How'd it go?" Dick asked as flinched under Law's poking.

Law ignored him for a moment to order Bepo to transfer some equipment and supplies to the Sunny. Finally he acknowledged that Dick was awake. "Other than no one mentioning how fast you'd burn through my anesthesia, it went perfectly as expected. You will regain full use of your shoulder and ankle with appropriate physiotherapy and I think you'll find improved dexterity in your left hand and grip strength in your right. You had some old breaks in your fingers and wrist that I was able to correct."

Dick blinked stupidly as his still slightly drugged brain processed that. "Wow," he said finally. "Thanks, doc."

Law shrugged off his thanks. "It was an intriguing surgery. I hadn't tried to fix such old damage before and your musculature was fascinating. What kind of activity builds up your shoulders like that?"

"Oh, um, acrobatics and trapeze, I guess. I grew up in a circus before becoming a vigilante."

"Fascinating," Law said as he finished writing something in his log. "Well, let's get you off my ship before some of those fools decide to force their way in to see you." He called up his room. "Try to stay relaxed and still," he ordered but before Dick could responsond: "Shambles"

Instantly, Dick was laying in the little bed in the infirmary on the Thousand Sunny while Dr. Chopper fussed with an IV pole and other less savory aspects that come with major surgery. The little guy squeaked when Dick appeared.

"He should have given me a warning," the diminutive doctor tutted in annoyance as he set to getting Dick situated comfortably. "I admire his skills, but he really needs to be more careful with his patients."

Dick chuckled, settling into the comfortable bed, and letting his eyes drift closed. "That's why you're my doctor, Dr. Chopper. You'll take good care of me," he said softly.

"Jerk," Chopper snapped, his fur glowing as he blushed. "You won't make me happy, calling me your doctor." The tiny reindeer squirmed happily, a smile stretching across his face involuntarily as he finished hooking Dick up to all the equipment, including a very nice heart monitor that Law was letting them borrow. Chopper really hoped Franky could build him one just like it after the other captain takes it back. The little reindeer's smile softened as he saw that his patient was sleeping. He transformed to heavy point to reach over and smooth the hair on the young man's face. He was looking better already thanks to Chopper's medicine and Sanji's food. There was no doubt that the hero would recover stronger than ever.

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Dick slept until dinner. Chopper and Law took turns checking on him, while Damien camped out in the room to keep watch. Meanwhile the rest of the crew went about their business as normal.

When Sanji called everyone to eat, Law was checking Dick's sutures, and his general disregard of his patient's comfort woke Dick up.

"You have the worst bedside manner," the hero groaned as Law rolled him over a little to check his back for any unexpected bruising.

"Pirate," the surgeon shot back, deadpan.

Dick rolled his eyes and tried to sit up. He was in a lot less pain than he expected and he glanced at the IV with respect.

Luffy poked his head in. "Sanji says to come eat if you can, or he'll send someone with food if you can't. But not me, because I'll eat it, but not all of it I promise. Probably."

Law shook his head at his fellow captain. "Good thing we don't have to test your restraint, Strawhat-ya. He can join us for dinner if someone carries him. Absolutely no weight on that ankle or lifting that arm until I say so."

"Yosh! I got you!" Luffy barged the rest of the way in, and with surprising delicacy picked up Nightwing to carry him into the galley. Law ran a hand over his face and did his best to shrug off the crazy that Luffy just carried around with him.

Dinner devolved into the usual chaos of any meal on the Sunny. Food, good natured insults, and compliments for the chef flew freely, though of course not a crumb of food was wasted between Luffy's appetite and Sanji's watchful eye. A bubble of peace developed around the recovering Dick, and the girls who joined him to avoid the chaos, while the rest of the room was free for all. Law joined their corner after nearly losing his hat to an enthusiastic gesture from Franky as he discussed a man's romance with Jason.

"Should have returned to my sub when I had the chance," he complained as he ate.

Nami laughed. "Luffy would've brought you back and Sanji already fed your crew, so you would be stuck with leftovers, if there are any."

Law didn't bother answering as he ate his rice balls and glared at his fellow captain.

After dinner they all gathered around the transponder snail, including Penguin and Bepo, whose idea it was for Franky to use sonar, and Law as Dick's doctor.

Purururur Purururur Ka-chink

"Speak quickly," came the gruff voice of Batman. The snail glared at the assembled pirates.

Dick snickered. "That doesn't get any less funny."

The snail's expression softened just a touch. "How are you feeling? How did your surgery go?" Batman asked as gruffly as ever, but if you know him, there was a little worry and care hidden inside the tough exterior.

"Feeling great. We should bring back some of these drugs. They work better than what we have back home with less side effects," Dick answered with a grin.

Law shook his head at his patient. "They are still as addictive as most painkillers and are hard to synthesize. I'll leave notes and a sample with Dick when I leave. The surgery was a success. As long as he refrains from over exertion and follows through with physiotherapy, he will make a full recovery."

"That's good to hear," Batman said with relief. "What is the likelihood of infection or complications?"

Law glared at the snail, insulted at the implications real or imagined. "With my abilities, the likelihood of infection is less than 10%. And Dr. Chopper has some excellent antibiotics. We would never be so negligent."

"Good," Bats said the way that meant the topic was closed. Law sat back, temporarily mollified. "About getting you home, Red Robin has some ideas. Also, something has come up, so I won't be leading the mission."

Jason snarled, an almost animalistic sound. His hand reflexively grabbing his gun as he fought back the green from the pit. "What's more important than your sons?"

The snail glared harder. "This isn't my choice, Jay," shocking Jason out of his rage with the nickname. "Darkseid, or someone claiming to be Darkseid, is back and going after the League."

"Darkseid?" Damien said quietly. Even he feared the despot and he knew better than most because of how close he was to Superman's son. Darkseid had a personal grudge against Superman. "Is Jon okay?"

"For now, but he and Conner will be the muscle for Red Robin as he builds your return doorway," came the unexpected answer.

The strawhats watched in bemusement as Damien got noticeably excited, and Jason smacked his face. "B, this is not a healthy place for children, not even Kents."

"It's been decided," Batman said before just leaving, avoiding the argument entirely.

In his place, Tim's much more cheerful, if a little sleep deprived expression took over the snail. "So, I have some ideas for a signal. What do you have to work with?"

The rest of the call was quick and to the point, and left everyone satisfied with the beginnings of a plan. Law was the only one not happy, since his sub was needed for a few more days before he could leave. He stomped off, with Penguin and Bepo trailing after him. The poor polar bear mink apologized for his captain until Law snapped at him to catch up.

"Well, Ussop-bro and I will be working on that receiver," Franky laughed as he stretched and posed. He was so excited to work on something new that he could barely contain it. That started the emptying the room of most of the pirates back to their usual tasks.

Jason stood up and glanced at Dick in question. His older brother smiled and waved him off, so he took off to help Franky. Damien settled in next to Dick and glared at everyone. Then the oldest and youngest heroes were left with just Sanji, who was busy in the kitchen and the women

"Who are we meeting?" Nami asked as she accepted a fancy drink from Sanji.

Robin hummed amusement as she accepted her own specially made coffee. "Jason did not seem enthused," she added.

"Jason is a man who simultaneously hates heroes and wants to be one. Superman represents the best of them, so Jason avoids him on principle. That and he's friends with the man's insane opposite clone," Dick explained. "It's awkward."

Damien huffed, but he was kinda excited to introduce his best friend to these people. "Jon is Superman's son and Conner is tangentially related. Todd is just being childish."

"And they are your friends?" Sanji asked as he put a little desert down for Damien and Dick.

Dick laughed. "Baby bird and baby Supe have their own team. It's cute." He frowned at the little cake and his wrapped hands until Damien gave in and fed him a bite. "Delicious! Thanks, Sanji. And Conner and I go way back. I was on the team that first freed him."

That had Robin leading forward. "Freed?"

Dick nodded. "Conner is a clone, so we found him in a lab and we broke him out and he joined the team. He'll love you guys. He's all about freedom and personal choice and stuff like that."

"Wait, I thought you said Jason was friends with a clone?" Nami asked, confused.

Dick gave her a mischievous grin. It was fun to finally see the pirates off balance from hero strangeness. After the craziness of the Grand Line, most of their stories had been brushed off as "We've seen weirder." Even Poison Ivy's man eating plants was laughed at by Ussop, who had apparently trained on an island filled with crazy plants.

"Bizzarro was Luthor's first attempt at cloning Superman. He didn't come out right and it took a lot of time and effort to turn him into a better person and Jason's team has been a big part of that. But he still talks in opposites and doesn't get along with the heroes, but he's fighting the good fight and coming into his own. But Luthor learned from his mistakes. So, Conner is only half Superman, the other half is human, which made him more stable."

Nami blinked, her drink frozen in midair as she processed that. "Half human? What's the other half?"

Dick laughed. "Alien."

Behind him, Sanji dropped the pot he was cleaning with a clang. "Alien? We're meeting aliens?"