DuncanVerse fic
Jan. 11th, 2007 12:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sylph_ficsTitle: Consequences and Truths
CoWriter:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
merfilly
Characters: Dinah Lance/Slade Wilson,previous 'ship
Rating: R
Word Count: 9,525
Continuity: Strictly AU
Disclaimer: DC Comics owns
Notes: Don't read if you don't like the OTP of Wrong. And this assumes an affair that began during Birds of Prey issues 44-46, and a lack of Infinite Crisis
Previous: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five
Dick closed his eyes at the ruckus he could hear from inside the house. He'd let Rose kick him out of Duncan's hospital room and headed home via the transporters, hoping for a little peace... but it didn't sound like he was going to get it. He could hear Kory and Mar'i's voices inside, along with Lian and Roy.... This was so very much not going to be enjoyable. He walked through the door, costume exchanged for civvies, and tried to figure out how much of a storm he'd just walked into.
The quietest person in the house was Cerdian, amazingly. He was sitting there, face showing that thoughtful brood that only Atlanteans seemed to pull off with such dignity. Kory snapped a vexed look at her former lover, then back to the girl who shared so much of her temperament. Dick flicked a look Roy's way, checking to see if Kory'd started in on him yet, then cut in. "Duncan's going to be all right, they think. He's been awake, mostly to check on everyone." He wasn't waiting for three worried teammates to start... asking for updates.
Nighstar beamed with relief, "Thank goodness..."
"Yes," Cerdian and Lian said, almost in sync. Cerdian was the one that continued. "I think I understand why it was a secret," he began.
"I don't! It made him a threat to the team, and the Titans should have known!" Starfire snapped.
Lian rolled her eyes. "Aunt Kory, Slade's been leaving Titans and Outsiders alike alone for years! It wasn' our business!"
Dick sighed softly, "Kory. Slade didn't know. We were never going to tell him, but Duncan took things out of our hands right before he joined the Titans."
"Is that why he never told us?" Nightstar asked, her pretty head cocked curiously to the side.
"His momma chose to make it a secret." Lian moved over to sit with Cerdian, away from the still not happy Roy. "And, yeah, I think he should have let the team know." She matched gazes with Kory. "Our team. But done is done. He's a Titan, he belongs to us...and like it or not, his father is the reason we all got off that street alive," Lian said, defying Kory to debate the point.
The older woman glared at Lian, then snapped her eyes to Dick and Roy. "You have had this potential threat on your household, where our daughters live for years. And it never crossed your mind what kind of retribution there would be if he learned on his own?"
Cerdian just stayed silent, his thoughts carefully hidden as he listened, weighing everything he learned.
"It would've come down on Canary, and she was willing to deal with it. Her life, her son, her choice, Kory. And Slade wouldn't come after my kids if he was pissed at me for keeping Duncan from him." As far as he was concerned, that was a simple fact.
"I don't share that faith, Richard," she informed him. "Mar'i, get your things...it is time we go home."
"Starfire," Cerdian said, catching her attention. "I'll be expecting my team member at the Tower tomorrow morning," he told her in no uncertain terms. "We have things to discuss."
Lian hid her smile as Cerdian proved exactly why he was the leader, and not her. When he chose to, he was a force of nature, compelling people to give way, with clear logic. As a former Titan herself, Starfire was unable to refuse him on the grounds he had set.
Nightstar wrapped herself around each of her fathers in tight, close hugs, then went to go pick up the medicines she'd been given and the coat she generally didn't bother with. "I'll see you tomorrow Tempest, Dart... Has anyone spoken to Offspring yet?" She'd been too worried to think of it, until now.
"I got in touch with him," Cerdian said. "I asked him to be available to Tommy."
Kory's face was still livid, but she came and hugged Lian, then Cerdian before facing her teammates. "This is going to have a long reach," she said. "And he has not usually been good news for us in the long run."
Roy shrugged, and she almost took pity on him, knowing the frustration he had to have felt over Dinah's choices, which made her as culpable as Dick in all matters relating to Slade.
Nightstar nodded. "Good. Tommy will need it." She watched her mother with her fathers, shaking her head slightly. Father generally knew what he was doing.. there must have been good reason behind his choice, and until she heard differently, that was what she was going to believe.
"I know it is, Kory," Dick said softly. "It's already happening... but all we can do now is see how it shakes out."
Kory shook her head one more time, then moved close and pulled both men to her, kissing them. "Be careful." She Moved away, grinning just a little when Roy patted her backside with a hint of his former humor, and took Mar'i home.
Cerdian looked at Lian. "Want me to leave?"
"No, if you're here already I don't have to worry about your mother pestering you over whatever garbled version Uncle Arthur wound up hearing." She laid her head over on him, closing her eyes. They were friends, had been all Cerdian's life, it seemed. Right now, she worried for her little brother, and Cer was more comfort than her agitated fathers.
Dick sighed and leaned against Roy, shaking his head. "Rose's guarding Di and Duncan," he relayed to his mate. "Life's going to be so interesting, the next few days." He really wasn't looking forward to some of the people that were going to want to give him hell... Batman topped that list, though Oracle, Huntress, and most of his Titans weren't far behind.
"Yeah." Roy just stroked Dick's arms and hair as he nodded. "Going to be hell for a little while, but they'll get over it. Di leaving the League like she did is going to bite some asses though." He appreciated that Kyle had gotten in touch to tell him that little piece of information, of exactly how Dinah had left. "She was one of the better field leaders, and a lot of the younger members trained under her."
Lian bit her lip to hear what Dinah had done; she knew the woman lived for only two things. One was her family; the other was being Black Canary as fully as possible.
"Robin's apparently bucking the Bat's orders... Di's got an open invite on the Outsiders," Dick shared with a small, wickedly amused smile. "You're right, it is, and she was."
"Dinah may damn well quit," Roy grumbled. "Just to keep from having to go through this shit again."
"No she won't," Lian said firmly. "She can't."
"Nah. She won't let Bruce have the last word," Dick said with a shrug.
"True." Roy closed his eyes after flicking a glance at Lian, watching with vague amusement as Cerdian coaxed her into laying against him on the love seat they had taken.
"This may sound like a stupid question," Cerdian began. "But he's not my rogue, has never been a rogue to my country. Why, when three of his children have been heroes, is Deathstroke so intent on murder as a way of life?"
Dick sighed, loudly, and dropped to sit cross-legged a few feet out from his adopted daughter and her... teammate. "It's not a stupid question, Cer. It's a question I ask myself a lot... and I've never come up with a good enough answer. The one he'll give most often is that it pays well, and it's all about the money. Another one is that it's what he's good at... and he is, nobody can argue with that."
"I think it boils down to something none of us can see," Lian said with quiet insight. "Something that shaped him, before he came to the eyes of your generation, Papa. Something none of us will ever know for certain." She shrugged her good shoulder. "It's probably what you and Aunt Di see hiding behind the mask. Why neither of you seem to be able to shut him out. Why Rose has never given up on him."
Dick flicked a smile at his eldest. "You're probably right, Dart..." //Something in Vietnam... or maybe just all of those months of being afraid he wouldn't even walk again... Feeling useless, maybe, during all of that? Not things I'd say to you kids...// "Not that it really matters why. He does what he does... and we deal with it when we have to, stop him when we can." He shrugged.
"Such a waste." Cerdian stroked Lian's hair. "Dart, you need sleep. Lean on me, and I'll get you to your room."
"Sounds good. See you two in the morning," Lian told her fathers, letting her teammate help her to her room. Nor did they hear any other door close; apparently Lian had decided to keep Cer close for now.
Roy sighed softly. "I should be irate that the boy is in our daughter's bedroom, but he's the closest thing to stable she's ever shown a willingness to take."
Dick snorted softly, "Don't I know it? I swear, she learned relationships from Grace... and what good would it do to get pissed off? They're Titans. We all remember what that was like, and at least they understand each other. Leave it--up until the point we overhear something. Then we can bitch. Or, you know, call Garth."
Roy chuckled. "Garth would say Lian corrupted him." The redhead nuzzled his lover. "Bed for us? So we're too busy to hear them if they do?"
Dick nodded. "Yeah. First, phone off the hook and turn off the cells. I'll leave my comm on the emergency band." He went to go do just that.
"Paranoid much?" Roy teased, having already hit the ringers of his cell and the house phones.
"I hate being interrupted... and so do you, might I point out..." Dick said with a grin as he saw Roy'd already read his mind. He headed for their bedroom, flicking a long look over his shoulder. Tomorrow was early enough to deal with everyone else.
*~*~*~*
Raven pressed her hands to her temples, closing her eyes as she struggled against the cacophony of emotions coming from both of her mates and her son. Vic was trying to remain calm, had been doing so, but they had been running the knife-edge of adrenaline since the first warning had come across the comms... She'd thrown them towards their son as swiftly as she could, and finding demons attacking her child had nearly been enough to snap her own control. Let alone what the sight of Deathstroke in the middle of the fight had done to Gar.
She did not understand the one-time friendship he and Wilson had had... but she could not mistake the anger and rage her changeling lover held towards the older man. It had been beating against her control from the moment he recognized him on the field, and neither their son's defense of the man--//of Condor//--nor Nightwing's calm about the situation had helped.
Even hours later, Gar was practically too angry--//and afraid//--to speak, Tommy was glaring at all of them impartially and Vic was attempting to deal with Gar's rage before it pushed her too far. What she would do without his quiet strength, she wasn't sure right now... but she needed to talk to her son. "Tommy."
"Mom." He met her gaze levelly, using every control he had to shut his emotions off from her, a trick that had made it difficult over the years to truly bond to her shy, usually timid son.
She shook her head slightly. She didn't want to fight with her son, and couldn't blame him for defending his teammate, but, "What you did to Wonder Woman..."
"Needed to be said, Mom. How would you like it if I were bleeding all over the place and someone wanted to call you down on something?" //Not backing down, Duncan would fight for me.//
"I wasn't arguing with what you said, Tommy, but you deliberately projected at her to back her away." She'd tried to raise him with better ethics than that, especially given some of the things she had done over the years.
He blinked once before he looked down from her eyes. "I couldn't help it. Duncan needed his mom."
She couldn't help the small smile, and she laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, easing the sternness of her words. "Don't do it again, Tommy. You know better... but you're right. He did. Tommy... can we trust him?"
//Flash of white hot anger for doubting.// The emotion slipped free, with strong loyalty, before Tommy nodded once. "He's Duncan. He's always watched out for us. Always made sure we got the best of the best, too. We're his, and he's ours and that's how Titans work... right, mom?"
Raven flinched back from the flare of white rage, and sighed softly. "Yes. It is... and that gives me something to work on your father with. Titans Together, after all."
She'd never wanted to raise a child under the banner of that battle cry... but they all had, and it had built them quite the team. Her generation had had their issues, their villain's children and walks on the dark side... it seemed to be the kids' turn, now. "Why don't you call Mercury and Hermes, make sure they're all right?"
"I need to. Hermes is not happy, and I'm sure Mercury is wound up," Tommy told her. His voice made it clear he knew how Wally's son felt, but he was guessing at Mercury.
"Go on, then." She stroked his hair gently, lightly, then re-settled her shields and went to go find her lovers, putting the matter of Tommy's certainty about Hermes' feelings aside for later thought.
Tommy went to the phone in his jacket pocket and dialed Hermes' number. It still amused him that he...the green skinned kid...actually lived under his proper name but neither speedster answered very quickly to their birth names.
When Hermes' phone was not picked up on third ring, he switched to Mercury's. He bet his friend had either lost the phone in the course of everything, or he was still taking the lashing from Wally over the day.
After a few moments, the speedster girl picked up. "Hey, Tommy..." her voice was oddly quiet.
"Hey. Everything okay now?" He kept his own voice quiet, trying hard not to think in the direction of his parents' room.
"...D's gonna be okay, and my arm'll be better in a few. Hurts, though. Think bro would rather be there than here... 's it safe, yet?"
"Safer. Mom talked to me. Don't think Dad is willing to while he's ramped up. And Vic... is trying to play peacemaker, as usual."
"K. I'll be there with him in a minute. Then I gotta figure out some stuff."
"I'm going over to my room on the team floor," Tommy said. "One less mind for Mom to deal with."
"Okay. Seeyouthen."
Tommy hung up, and slipped away to get to his room before they showed up.
It wasn't long at all before they were in his doorway, Hermes carefully supported against his sister's body. Their silver-gilt speedster's usual bright smile and quick wit was nowhere in sight, and despite what was obviously her best attempt at shielding him, there was a new, raw core of pain in her as she stood there.
Tommy helped get Hermes down on the bed, so he could rest his leg out, then carefully, slowly hugged Mercury, opening his shields enough to let love, comfort, and hope flow out to her. "He probably did not have a choice, Mercury, on not telling you," Tommy said softly.
"It's not that, Tommy. I know D didn't. It's dad," she curled up against him, soaking up the comfort he offered.
The smallest Titan nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can imagine if Dad's reactions are anything."
"He tried to make me leave the team. Leave D." Some of her usual brazen personality reasserted itself as she tossed her streaked hair a little. "Got a shock about that. Like I listen to him? He's never around anyway."
Tommy laughed softly, pulling back to go sit on the edge of the bed. "Hey, he'll either get over it, or he won't. Your mom won't let the second happen, I bet..."
"Yeah, Mom was already tearing into him," Hermes said, shifting to where he was almost but not quite touching Tommy's hand.
She grinned, remembering some of the things her mother had had to say, and nodded, dropping onto the floor to look at them both, putting away her anger and hurt at her father with Tommy's help. "It was pretty serious, but yeah, he'll either get over it or he won't... No skin off me."
"We've got each other," Tommy said. "No matter what." He could not remember life without the others of his team; being the youngest, he had imprinted on them almost as quickly as he had his own parents.
"Yeah, Tommy...we do. And Sis...you should get to D. He's gonna need you there, I bet."
"Yeah. We do," Mercury agreed firmly, nodding sharply. "Huh. Yeah, I probably should... though, Ravager's there..." She hopped up, brushed her cheek over Tommy's hair, patted her brother's good leg, and buzzed back out the door--then stuck her head back in, grinning, "You two behave, kay? Don't need anyone to have more reason to be mad at us..." Then she really was gone.
"What's she talking about?" Tommy asked, puzzled.
"Don't worry about it, Tommy. Just lay down and grab a nap with me, 'kay?" Hermes kept his smile to himself.
*~*~*~
Mercury flitted past the nurses' station and down the hall, then buzzed herself through the wall next to the door, rather than deal with pulling the door open and shut again.
Rose was very alert, tense...until she recognized the girl as Duncan's teammate. She put a finger over her lips, pointing at Dinah who was asleep with her head on her arm on the side of the bed, and Duncan whose eyes were closed.
Mercury nodded, remembering to slow it, and found herself a spot to perch, watching Duncan intently. //You have got to be okay!// Her fingers twined together, twisted through each other, and she wrapped her arms around a knee, trying to be still, though it came as poorly to her as it did to any speedster.
"You seem pretty tore up over my brother," Rose commented softly. "Let me guess...first crush?"
"Best friend, other than my twin. And my 'lead," Mercury replied, equally softly, though her cheeks had gone pink.
Rose smirked knowingly. "Didn't crush on my first Titan lead, but on a Titan lead, yes." Roy had never been more than her employer and friend; Dick had had her eye early on, a fascination replaced with one for Tim later. "Doc says he just needs a little rest."
Mercury nodded... and gave up the fight, reaching out and over to push a few out-of-place strands of hair back into their proper place. "Looks like he's going to need more than that," she said worriedly, looking at all the damage. "He's tough, though. Always was."
"Comes with our genes." Rose snorted then. "And he got the extra dose of stubborn." The Outsider considered if now, with the girl here, would be a good time to go let Daddy know the prognosis.
"Yeah. He is. Out-stubborns me, even, sometimes." That got a bit of a smile.
Rose stood up. "Not about to go to sleep, are you?"
"No. I'm up. I don't want to know what you're doing, either, do I?"
"I'm letting a concerned father know his son is not going to die today," Rose said bluntly.
Mercury sighed, dropping her head into her hand. "I was trying not to know that, but whatever."
"If you accept Duncan...you have to accept who he is. And that is as my brother, as my father's son, just as much as he is Nightwing's heir, and Dinah Lance's kid."
A silver-gloved hand tightened, shimmery lips setting tight against each other a moment. "I just spent the equivalent of five or so hours fighting with my own father over your brother and your father, and my choice to help him. I could really give. a. damn. less at this point what anyone thinks of anything, but borrowing trouble wasn't on my menu either. Duncan's Duncan, and that's enough."
Rose gave her a bright smile then. "Good shot, kid." She headed for the door. "Oh yeah...don't touch Di...she swings."
"So does he, normally," Mercury said with a shrug. "Thanks, though." //Not like she'd hit me...//
Rose walked out of the room, leaving the hospital entirely so she could use the phone without being watched. It was very simple to evade those junior League members already detailed to watch them.
"Rose."
"Daddy. Just checking in." She drew in a deep breath, found a cigarette and lit it. "He's got internal injuries..." She started listing off every injury and how they were handling it to the man. Slade listened attentively, not interrupting her. When she got to the end, he considered just how tough his progeny were when it came to injuries.
"They've got League watchdogs. Dinah quit, by the way, and she's still kinda pissed but she's trying to hide it from Duncan."
"Won't work. Tell Duncan not to worry. I'll be nearby. And I'll handle things."
"Alright Daddy."
"Night, Kitten. Stay with them." He hung up and began considering options.
*~*~*~
Cerdian nodded politely to Dinah as the door opened. "Miss Lance, thank you for letting me come. Grandfather says hello, by the way, and extends an invitation to come see him."
"Thank you, Cerdian; tell him I appreciate it." //Wants the story from me, no doubt.// "Duncan is in the second room on the right."
Cerdian nodded and continued back to Duncan's room, knocking.
"Yeah?" The voice sounded... remarkably strong, given the amount of time it had been since the battle.
The Titan leader walked in, and gave Mercury a small smile. "So this is where you've been," he said, trying his hardest to be easy going.
Duncan tensed slightly, but saw the effort he was making and settled down, propped up against his headboard. "Hey, Cer."
Mercury flicked a smile at her 'official' lead, nodding once, "Yeah. Things are kinda... icky at home, and they don't mind having me--I don't think.."
"'Ry," Duncan growled. "Of course we don't... besides, having you around can be real nice..."
Cerdian hid the smirk at that; he wasn't one to talk, now that he and Lian were actually admitting in certain company a general tolerance for one another. "Duncan...we've got to discuss the other day."
He nodded, and pushed himself further up, face falling into lines that looked more like his father than he really ought to. "I know."
Mercury tried not to flutter too much.
"Why didn't you tell me that was how you anticipated the targets? You damn well should have been taking point in the fights!" Cerdian said fiercely.
Duncan shot him a very long, very level look, shaking his head. "If you didn't notice in our training sessions, you weren't going to listen until I proved it... I think this proved it. Not like it's easy to talk about, either. It just... is."
Cerdian nodded, and drug over a chair. "Try and explain it to me, so I can understand how best to utilize it."
Duncan nodded. "We've called it battle-sense for years. Rose gets premonitions and visions, I just get the next couple of seconds, any time I'm in a fight. Not far enough ahead to really call it precognition, but enough to be a big advantage. Gives me just enough time to get set, or to warn someone else."
Cerdian nodded. "Definitely putting you on point then, from now on." He glanced over at Mercury, then back to Duncan. "Save your hands a bit of talking under my orders?" he said in a sly tone, admitting he had seen it and not acknowledged it.
He nodded. "Yeah, it will. Didn't see the point in making waves, Cer. You're a good field lead, but this'll be a lot more efficient."
The Atlantean prince reached out his hand to Duncan, his face open for once. "I'm proud to have you on as a Titan."
Duncan's smile widened and he wrapped a hand around Cer's. "Thanks. Nowhere I'd rather be."
The older Titan stood up. "Just so you know...I don't forget when I owe my team's lives to someone," he said seriously, skirting the issue that all the adults were going nuts over. "One free ride from the scene is not quite enough to pay it, either. I won't forget." He nodded to both and walked out before Duncan could answer that, his pride stiffening his back, at having to acknowledge a debt, though he was still pleasant when he passed Dinah again.
Mercury nearly fell over, staring at the door with her jaw dropped. "I thought he'd chew me out..." she whispered, stunned.
Duncan shook his head, amazed. //Wow. Now maybe I see what Lian sees in him... Hm. He thinks he owes Dad one... could be useful.//
*~*~*~*
It hadn't taken Nightwing long to pick up on that he was being watched... and it had taken even less time to, mm, persuade the watcher that it wasn't really that smart to be attempting surveillance on him, especially for no better a reason than they had. A little twisting of arms had done that fairly nicely... and his frustration with the situation had actually sent him back into Gotham and down into the Cave to deal with the source of the problem. Said source was flicking through remote camera lookouts around Gotham, setting up in his mind just where his presence would be needed most heavily.
"Bruce. Not happy with driving just one of us off the League, looking to make it three?" Dick asked, leaning against the computers.
"You use any tool you have at your fingertips," the older man growled. "You are less likely to lead to a good capture, but it was worth showing that we were serious this time."
Dick rolled his eyes. "Like he's stupid enough to come around me right now? Please. You're just pissed off that you didn't know, and taking it out on everyone else. Get over it."
Batman slowly turned, face a mask of anger where it appeared beneath the cowl. "You could have brought him in years ago if you had not let him blind you!"
"I hadn't seen him in years, no more than Dinah had... and in case you've forgotten, it takes a lot of people to haul him in!" //Like all three of us? And he was out within weeks? Come on, Bruce. Don't be stupid.//
"I have forgotten nothing." The voice went flat and cold, losing any semblance of passion or emotion. "You can go now, if all you wish to do is whine like a child about measures I deem necessary."
"Whine? No, not interested. Tell you you're being a) petty and b) ridiculous, yes. On a different topic..." Several months of checking photos, friends, and trying to pin down just what had happened to them had lead Dick to complete dead ends, and he'd dropped it for a while, but seeing Bruce still so young himself had brought it back to his attention. "If you didn't know me... how old would you say I am?"
Batman turned to inspect Dick, pulling his cowl back to be objective, ignoring the rest of the speech. "I'd say about 15 years younger than I know you to be."
"Yeah... that's about what I'd have said, too... and about you. And Roy. And Tim... and Alfred. Any idea what the hell did this?"
"Jason." Bruce said it with the 'I Hate Magic' tone he had perfected over the years. "I had noted it in Alfred. Myself, when I cared to think about it. But I don't see you or Tim very often now." Despite being League, they moved in different circles. And Tim...was very much an Outsider.
//Hmm... and whose fault is that, Bruce?// Dick tilted his head, considering. "Blood, huh? Guess that kind of makes sense..." //So, why Roy--not that I'm complaining!//
"I will remember to look into it more fully, to be sure there are no...complications." Bruce's tone was dismissive.
"Thanks. I've been trying to figure out who hung the ax over my head, and what they wanted in return. Nice to know it might be an ally." He wasn't going to bother to fight with him, not now. If he hadn't paid enough attention to realize that there was a large part of the story he didn't know, it wasn't worth the effort. And Dinah didn't need or want him to fight her battles for her. Batman grunted as he returned to planning his night. He would not get into this matter with the accomplice.
Dick sighed in frustration and headed upstairs, wanting to see Alfred. Just because Bruce was being... Bruce, didn't mean he couldn't spend time with Alfred. As long as he didn't have to deal with Talia's brat--//and thank God Tim hung on to our name//--the night still might not be a total loss.
Alfred was just setting a sandwich and cookies down next to a glass of cold milk, smiling when Dick entered. "Master Richard."
"Hey, Alfie. Sorry Bruce's probably been a bear to live with..." he hugged the old man gently, so very grateful to still have him around. "Good to see you."
"And a delight to see you. How are Master Roy and Miss Lian? Miss Mar'i?" Alfred shrugged off the apology on Bruce's behavior; it was normal.
"They're all fine. Roy's... well, Roy," with the smile that said he was still as crazy about the man as ever. "Lian's maybe, kind of, acting like she and Cerdian might try and have something." That was news, after all. "Both the girls are cranky because they're hurt, but neither one got too badly injured, so it's mostly show."
"How intriguing. I always presumed that Miss Lian's fondness for the boy Cerdian only went so far." Alfred smiled. "I am aggrieved to hear they were injured at all."
"That's what I thought, too. Apparently not.... and we all were, Alfie. They shouldn't have been up against him... but, they did pretty well." He shrugged slightly.
Alfred nodded. "I did hear there were...repercussions."
"Just a few," Dick muttered. "And half of everyone's too busy freaking about his parentage to notice that we got--pardon the language, Alfie--one hell of a hero out of it."
"Master Duncan's parentage is hardly a factor when he is, after all, your student, a factor they should remember."
Dick beamed at him, absurdly flattered by the compliment. "Thanks, Alfie... you're right. They ought to. Some of them will, eventually."
Alfred nodded. "Will your family be coming for the next holiday?"
"I dunno, Alfie. That kind of depends on if he's gotten over me doing my best to make sure we got a hero out of Dinah's deal, doesn't it?"
"No, Master Richard, it depends on if you wish to come home." Alfred's voice was firm on that point.
"Alright, Alfie. Alright. We'll see. Here's hoping. Speaking of, I ought to get back to New York." He hugged Alfred, left the crumb-scattered plate, and headed towards the door, making sure Alfred didn't have any other words to say, first. The older man merely smiled; he would make sure things proceeded better than the first salvos in this latest round indicated. Or Master Bruce would shortly find himself without Alfred's help.
*~*~*~
Mercury fluttered around, watching Duncan worriedly. It'd been over a week since they'd gotten mauled, and Duncan's quick healing had him kind-of up and moving... which meant he was pushing himself too hard, in her opinion. He was in the gym, exercising, despite the cast still on his leg and the fact that his ribs weren't done healing... but he wasn't going to listen to her arguments, no sense in wasting her breath.
"Ry... I'm... fine," he gritted out, despite how much it hurt. He wasn't going to get better if he didn't keep pushing.
"You're not fine." Dinah walked in and over to him, taking his hand. As she did, he felt her push a slip of paper into it. "Tearing your body up while it is still broken is stupid, as you have told me a few times, Duncan." She loved on him briefly. "Go get a shower...and Mercury, you need to go be near, just in case."
Duncan palmed the slip of paper as he sighed and reached for the single crutch. "Alright, mom, alright... I'm not going to fall," he protested, and flushed (though it was staged) at his mother's last words.
Mercury blinked, confused, but it wasn't as though she was going to argue with being told to stick close to her... boyfriend. She was still grinning like an idiot at that things were officially that way now, and she hovered near him until they were both through the bathroom door. "So what's really up?" she asked softly.
"Mom slipped me something..." Duncan breathed, finally bringing the slip of paper to where he could see it. "Think you could go grab me the clean clothes off the bed?"
"Sure, D." She went and came back quickly.
The slip of paper had an address on it, upstate, and a time to be there. It was in Rose's handwriting, but the address was possibly the place Slade had taken him to the very first outing they had shared.
"Not long... okay. Up to running me?" He asked, smiling at her hopefully.
Mercury sighed. "Sure. I can do that." She quite unashamedly watched him change, then picked him (and the crutch) up, wrapping him in the speed force as she blurred down through the back of the building and out of the city. Didn't take her long to find the right spot, and she ran into a center hallway of the building. "Here's hoping they didn't spot me moving..."
"Duncan's mother was rather sure you would not be seen," came a steady, very masculine voice. Slade stepped into sight from a back room. "You are welcome to stay," he added. "But Duncan will not be going home until I say so."
Mercury watched him with wary eyes, nodding once. "Probably better if I stick around, anyway..."
Duncan smiled at his father, leaning on the crutch. "Hey, dad," he said as he headed towards his father.
Slade let him close the distance, then drew his son into a rough embrace. "Good to see you, boy." His single eye fixed on the speedster. "Pretty thing you picked for a companion," he said lightly, letting go of Duncan. "Your mother got it to me that you are not being very smart in your rehab."
Duncan leaned against his father. "Good to see you, too. Missed you..." His face went indignant, "I know where my limits are," he protested. "Haven't hurt myself," //yet. much...?// He then backed up and grinned at the compliment. "Isn't she? Mercury, you kind of met, but this's my dad. Dad..."
"Kayla West. But then, you probably already knew that," she said with a grin, actually offering her hand to him.
Slade accepted, shaking it briefly, before nodding. "Settle in today; see the house. No working out." His glare fell evenly on both of them. "Tomorrow, Duncan, you begin fixing your body correctly. Under my care."
Duncan wasn't even going to attempt to argue. "Alright, Dad. Same room?" He figured so, but easiest to check. "If 'Ry can stand me limping around, I'll show her the place. No you are not packing me all over the house," he growled at the impish look on his girl's face. "No."
She grinned, amused. "Alright... I'll remember you said that when you can't walk tomorrow, too," she promised sweetly.
"Smart girl, too," Slade said, agreeing with her assessment of Duncan come the next day. "Same room. The one across from it is available for Mercury." He afforded her the dignity of the name she preferred. "I have work to finish." He returned to the room he had been in, closing the door behind him.
Duncan grinned, and headed towards his room, waving a hand at rooms as he passed them. "Dad likes you!"
Mercury tilted her head, "Yeah?"
"'Ry. He complimented you. Twice! Yeah, he likes you." That pleased him immensely.
She thought about that for a sec, then grinned. "Guess that's cool. This place is big..." She hadn't meant it. If he couldn't walk by the time therapy was done, she most certainly would carry him, unless he got stupid and male about it.
"Yeah, I'd noticed. Didn't seem near this big when I wasn't stuck using this thing," he tapped the crutch in frustration. "Here's my room, that'd be yours..." He really, really wanted to sit down, right now.
Mercury nodded, stuck her head in, then followed him into his and stretched out on the bed next to him. "Are you sure about being here?"
"Yeah... probably smart. Dad'll make sure I don't overwork, mom wouldn't."
She shook her head, and nuzzled into him, curling up against his good side. "Okay. Long as you're sure." //God, people are going to go ape. I don't care. Duncan says it's safe.//
`~`~`~`~`
"Dinah." Oracle's voice was firm. "Why hasn't Duncan been out of his room in two days?" She suspected she knew the answer.
"I sent him somewhere to recover, O. Without my hovering, or his teammates worrying."
There was a long pause. "I see." Oracle sighed. "He's a mass murderer."
"Only if you add all his victims together. Tends to take them on in very small numbers typically."
It was clear that Oracle had seen through the evasion, and equally clear that Dinah had confirmed who had her son...their son, Oracle forced herself to think.
"O...don't interfere in my private life. I'm coping with the watch dogs on me, but my son needs his father right now. Let it go."
Not long after Oracle's comm call, Dick came knocking at her door. Dinah opened it and let him in, giving him a tired smile. "Hi Dick."
"Hey, Di. I'm kind of surprised you haven't called me to come drag Duncan out of the gym... is he actually behaving?" Dick didn't look like he'd been sent... he looked worried.
Dinah sighed and led the way to her kitchen. "Rose handled things for me."
Dick's eyes widened, "He's... okay. Well, then." He wrapped an arm gently around her waist. "You doing okay?"
She leaned into him, feeling heavy. "No." She sighed. "I swear to god this is driving me insane. I'm feeding the juniors they send, and they keep quitting, but Bruce just won't get the hint."
Dick ran his hand up to her shoulder, and started rubbing it, feeling the tight knots of stress there. "I'm sorry, Di. I tried... I'll give it another shot, though." If he had to, he was going to go over Bruce's head. He frowned, rubbing her back. "He took this personally... really personally, and I still don't understand why--you don't have to tell me, either."
Dinah's eyes darkened slightly, memories of an almost might-hav-been there. He had come the closest to luring her from the one she wanted to be with right now, but his mission had demanded more than she was willing to give to him. "It's no real bother, I guess. It's not like I should be seeing Duncan's father anyway."
"It is a bother, and it's not right. He wouldn't do this to anyone else, and he shouldn't be doing it to you. I'll see what I can do." He kept an arm around her, shrugging. "Maybe you're right... but it's hurting you."
She shrugged it off. "It's not worth it. There's a history there, and he does, in a way, have a point."
Dick snorted. "Point or not, you don't deserve this... and then there's the fact that none of those kids could possibly handle Slade if he decided he wanted to come to you." He shrugged. This was getting dealt with, one way or another.
Dinah slid him a drink and a light snack, taking one for herself. "I know. The watching...it's not really there to catch Slade...it's to keep him away from me."
Dick shook his head, and ran his hand over her shoulder. "Which is just several levels of wrong... You're really missing him..." it wasn't, actually, as idle an observation as it sounded. He was worried about her.
Dinah looked down, hiding her face because she could no more lie to Dick than to Roy. "It's wrong of me. Wrong on so many levels. I'm fully aware of Deathstroke's list of crimes, both known and suspected." She shook her head. "But when it's Slade, none of that seems to matter." She was deeply in love with an amoral, cold-blooded killer, and it cut across her own morals to admit that.
"He can be two very different men. I know... and you can't control who you love, Dinah." He kept holding her gently.
She laughed bitterly. "I sure know how to pick them. From an irresponsible playboy to a brooding crusader to a sociopath."
//Ooooh. So that's it.// Dick sighed. "I'm sorry, Di... You know, you really can just talk to me," he offered. "I do listen pretty well, and I'm worried about you."
"Not really much to say. I'm in love with Slade, wish to hell and back I could change the world so he was that man I see in him all the time." She hugged him tight. "But wishes don't come true when you've already gotten so many miracles in life."
Dick hugged her back. "Mmm. We've gotten a few. Okay, Di. Let me know when Slade sends him home, okay? I have some bending of the brat's ear to do."
Dinah grinned at that. "Alright."
He petted her hair gently, then headed back towards the door. He needed to make a quick trip home, then he had a visit to make. It took a bit, but before long he was transporting up to the WatchTower.
As usual these days, the WatchTower was humming. While the children had been growing up, other heroes had appeared, made a name, come into the League. It seemed like there was not a city in the World that could not boast at least one costumed hero. And at the center of all of it, there was J'onn, still teaching, still comforting, still watching. Nightwing headed down to the Monitor Womb, figuring that was where J'onn would be. He couldn't believe the martian would be involved with this, and figured he was probably his best bet for getting this taken care of.
When he arrived, the man was watching the rack of screens, but he focused on Nightwing. "Yes?"
"Hey. Do you know what Batman's got some of the junior League members doing?"
"He borrowed several younger members for monitor duty," he said in turn. "Surveillance to gather information, he told me."
"Tell you on who?" He was very carefully keeping his temper under control out of courtesy to J'onn.
Now J'onn looked direcly at the Former Boy Wonder, reading certain tell-tales. "I have a distinct feeling this is not something he cared to inform me."
"You're probably right. They're watching Dinah."
J'onn's face flickered with annoyance. "Thank you for informing me of this." He turned inward, and contacted Bruce, Diana, and Clark, letting them know he would expect them in the briefing room in half an hour or else.
"You're welcome... didn't think you'd be part of that... and you might want to remind certain people that if Deathstroke wanted, those kids would be dead. I thought about it. See you later, J'onn."
"Be safe, Nightwing." He nodded at the implications.
"Of course." He headed back down, whistling cheerfully to himself, to the utter bafflement of several passing League members. Roy was going to be rather pleased with this bit of meddling, or his missed his guess by a mile.
`~`~`~`~`
Dinah was in her flower shop, tending to a more delicate arrangement than usual, as her clerk tended the customers. The bell above the door rang as a statuesque, elegantly dressed woman walked in, blue eyes searching the shop. "Is Miss Lance in?" her voice asked the girl at the desk.
Dinah's ears pricked from the work table, and she glanced up. She stiffened minutely, then rose from her bench. "I am, miss..." She was adept at playing the identities game now.
"Diana Prince," the other woman said with a small smile as she walked over to offer her hand. "I believe we have some friends in common..."
"Come; I have an office that is comfortable." The blonde led the way, letting Diana enter before she closed the door, and let her temper show in a brief flash of her eyes. "Why did you come? I have done nothing!"
"Your watchers have been removed," Wonder Woman told her, her own eyes dark. The meeting between the Manhunter and her old friends had... not gone well for them. "Much as I... dislike your choices, we have no right to so invade your private life."
Dinah carefully masked her surprise. "Fine. I'm just glad they aren't wasting their time anymore."
Diana nodded once. "That point was also made. It was... unbefitting any of us, and... I am sorry. I still don't understand... but that makes no difference. Be well, Dinah."
Dinah shook her head at that. "Be safe, Diana. I'm here, if you ever choose to use my skills."
Her eyes flared a moment, but she nodded. "We'll see." Message and apology delivered, even with most of her pride intact, she turned to go.
Dinah bit back the sharp, biting comments that had bubbled to the top of her mind as Diana left. She had her pride as well, and she was neither going to insult this woman nor try to make her understand. With the watchers removed, she would not feel so trapped.
*~*~*~*
Slade watched as his son shakily dropped to the mat, exhausted from the difficult positions he had worked through. It had been a strenuous week, as Slade taught him how to work around the injuries, then retrained him to use the healed muscles and bones as well.
Duncan rolled enough to look at his father, panting. If he didn't know just how important this was--and that no-one had ever accused his father of sadism--he'd think the man was enjoying this... but neither one of them were.
"Please tell me we're done? At least for now?" Practically everything he had hurt... but he knew it hurt a lot less than he would have if he'd been doing this on his own. And dad understood the enhanced healing he was working with, too, which was another plus to being here.
"Get that girl of yours to work the muscles again." Slade tossed the boy a towel, letting some pride sneak into his eye.
That drew a grin, even through how much it hurt. "That sounds like the best idea I've heard all week," he said as he mopped his face and neck with the towel, slowly twisting around enough to sit up. "Soon as she decides to come out of the shower, I will. Have I mentioned that I really, really hate this?" He prodded his still-damaged leg in frustration. "Not the time with you," he amended hastily, "just the being hurt." //I am so tired of not being able to go with her!// Mercury'd gotten a Titans call a few hours ago. She was back, now, and safe, but knowing his team was out there without him... was a big part of what had driven him to yet another session.
Slade nodded. "That shower'd do you some good too...the water's already hot, after all." The older man kept a perfectly straight face. If the kids were or were not sleeping together, he could care less. But it was a father's prerogative to twit the boy over his relationship.
"Da~ad!" Duncan yelped, flushing at the insinuation--and trying to hide just how appealing the idea was. "I swear, you and mom both is more than anyone ought to have to put up with!"
"I'll be sure to tell your mother, when we see her." The man managed to repress most of the fact he wanted to see Dinah out of his voice, but Duncan was not the student of Dick Grayson for nothing.
"Good. Maybe if you're there she'll leave me alone about 'Ry." He didn't sound like he held out a whole lot of hope along those lines, though. //Hope someone gets something done about the stupid people watching the house...//
"Can you walk to your room, or need a hand?" Slade had made it clear he did not look down on accepting help that was truly needed.
"I... think I can walk, but I'd take a hand up..." He'd be much happier just staying on the mats for a while, but he really would be better off in bed, so... He reached up as his father came close. The strong hand that helped him up then reeled him closer, offering assistance as Slade sensed his son was putting on a tough face again. "I'm going out tonight. Make sure you and Mercury stay inside."
Duncan didn't argue. The standing up had made his head swim a little, and he let himself lean on his father as they moved. "Okay. I can do that..." //Wish you wouldn't. Really wish you wouldn't. You know they're hunting you... Why do you keep doing this?// "Be careful?" was all he would let himself say.
"Just need to meet up with someone," Slade told him, offering an explanation to ease Duncan's conscience and worry. //Damn, kid...got me going soft in my old age. But hell, the hunt gets less challenging every year.//
"Aah. Okay. We'll stay in, anyway." //That's not so bad...// He leaned against his door before he opened it, and dropped onto the bed once they reached it. "Thanks for the help in."
"Anytime, kid." Slade squeezed the boy's shoulder and left, going to keep his meeting with Dick, wondering just what his Robin wanted.
*~*~*~*~
Dick walked into the park, eyes casually searching for Slade. He'd picked the open location in the small town because the... discussion just might get more interesting than either of them would want to have observed, or overheard. But this late at night in a small town, no-one else ought to be around. The mercenary stepped out of the shadow of a tree and walked over, on guard. He had already surveyed the park and the town three times, and been convinced this was not an elaborate trap to bring him in.
"How is he?"
"Healing. Fast."
"Who's surprised by that?" Dick asked, fighting the urge to sigh at the terse, tense tone. "Would you relax? I'm alone, not wired, and worried about my student and his mother."
That drew a reaction, even if Slade did clamp down on it. He shifted and stood slightly more relaxed. "Duncan is safe. What is wrong with his mother?"
"The League was having her watched--I'm sure you knew that one--and it... upset her more than I've seen her... ever. They've been called off... at least for now, but..."
Slade grunted. "She's a private woman in some ways." He crossed his arms on his chest.
"Yeah. She is... and missing you is hurting her enough that she let me see it." He looked right back at him, arms lightly at his sides. "It tore her apart to leave you the first time, and she won't do it again... but I'd love to know how you can stand to make her suffer, if you care half as much about her as she loves you."
Slade could not quite hide his anger at the words Dick threw at him... or the fact they had hit so well right on target. "She's one of you, and I am me...not exactly a match that is appropriate," he said in a very cold tone.
"Then either let her go--and break her heart for good--or do something about it, you stubborn--" he snapped his jaw shut, shaking his head once. "You're as crazy about her as she is about you, and you know as well as I do there're ways you could fix that damn record of yours, if you were willing."
Slade watched him silently. He knew just what Dick was referring to, knew he could broker the right kind of deal to give him license to hunt, and to have his family in the clear. He also knew Dick was right; When Dinah had chosen him as a lover, neither of them had ever meant for it to be more than a way to blow off the tension of their shared adventure. It just had been too easy then, and even more so now, to respond to one another on deeper levels.
//Oh, Joey, forgive me for this one...// Dick's eyes narrowed, watching Slade watch him, seeing the knowledge in his eyes, and took a breath to take his last, best shot. "You're going to have to decide, Slade, one way or the other... your family, the son that loves you, and is probably worrying about you... or your pride and your hunt. I really hope you've got the sense not to make the same mistake twice--they both deserve better."
The man made a small grunt. "I'll consider what you've said, Grayson." His voice was gruff, displeased that the younger man had pushed things into such personal territory.
"Good." Dick moved closer, into his space despite the danger that put him in at the moment, given what he'd said, and looked up at him. "It'd be nice to have you around more." He missed the challenge of fighting Slade, but the stakes were too high right now, had been too high...
"Kid, you might want to be careful what you wish for," Slade said in a tone that let Dick know the matter had eased from direct confrontation to a later reminder why it was never good to bait Slade on his emotions.
"You ever going to stop calling me that?" Dick complained lightly, then shook his head. "What's playing it safe ever gotten me?" //Yeah, I know you're pissed, but you're listening, too. And I can say what Dinah won't and Duncan can't.//
"I could go back to calling you 'Robin' in that tone of voice you always hated," Slade pointed out. "And you let your mate still call you far worse." He reached out, just to show he was still Slade, still the man that had always been on the edge of Dick's life, and ruffled the still jet black hair. "You're a kid, just a kid who did pretty well for himself."
Dick glared up at him at that almost-threat, teeth skimming back from his lips in frustration. "Don't even... and, well, I've got an equally long list of insulting things to call Roy when he starts in on me." He'd held still for the touch, even leaned into it, amazing on the surface... and not at all to anyone that knew either of them. "From you, I'll take "pretty well" as a compliment."
Slade gave just a hint of a smile. "I should head back. Don't want Duncan getting it in his head to hit the mats without me, and don't trust him not to take advantage of my being gone."
"You probably should, yeah. If he has... let me know about it. I'll have a chat with him when you bring him home."
Slade nodded. "Dick...you did good by my son." It was the closest he could come to an honest thank you before he turned away to leave.
"I tried. And had a good kid to work with," Dick said with a smile. //He was yours. How could I not?//
Slade just smiled to himself and went back to his car, mulling over the issues Dick had raised. Dick headed home, more than fairly well pleased by how things had gone. At least he had the man thinking about it. He'd taken a risk, ripping open those old sore spots... but if it got them to somewhere that Dinah was happy and Duncan had his father without needing to resort to his speedster girlfriend to visit him, he'd consider it a job well done.
CoWriter:
merfilly Characters: Dinah Lance/Slade Wilson,
Rating: R
Word Count: 9,525
Continuity: Strictly AU
Disclaimer: DC Comics owns
Notes: Don't read if you don't like the OTP of Wrong. And this assumes an affair that began during Birds of Prey issues 44-46, and a lack of Infinite Crisis
Previous: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five
Dick closed his eyes at the ruckus he could hear from inside the house. He'd let Rose kick him out of Duncan's hospital room and headed home via the transporters, hoping for a little peace... but it didn't sound like he was going to get it. He could hear Kory and Mar'i's voices inside, along with Lian and Roy.... This was so very much not going to be enjoyable. He walked through the door, costume exchanged for civvies, and tried to figure out how much of a storm he'd just walked into.
The quietest person in the house was Cerdian, amazingly. He was sitting there, face showing that thoughtful brood that only Atlanteans seemed to pull off with such dignity. Kory snapped a vexed look at her former lover, then back to the girl who shared so much of her temperament. Dick flicked a look Roy's way, checking to see if Kory'd started in on him yet, then cut in. "Duncan's going to be all right, they think. He's been awake, mostly to check on everyone." He wasn't waiting for three worried teammates to start... asking for updates.
Nighstar beamed with relief, "Thank goodness..."
"Yes," Cerdian and Lian said, almost in sync. Cerdian was the one that continued. "I think I understand why it was a secret," he began.
"I don't! It made him a threat to the team, and the Titans should have known!" Starfire snapped.
Lian rolled her eyes. "Aunt Kory, Slade's been leaving Titans and Outsiders alike alone for years! It wasn' our business!"
Dick sighed softly, "Kory. Slade didn't know. We were never going to tell him, but Duncan took things out of our hands right before he joined the Titans."
"Is that why he never told us?" Nightstar asked, her pretty head cocked curiously to the side.
"His momma chose to make it a secret." Lian moved over to sit with Cerdian, away from the still not happy Roy. "And, yeah, I think he should have let the team know." She matched gazes with Kory. "Our team. But done is done. He's a Titan, he belongs to us...and like it or not, his father is the reason we all got off that street alive," Lian said, defying Kory to debate the point.
The older woman glared at Lian, then snapped her eyes to Dick and Roy. "You have had this potential threat on your household, where our daughters live for years. And it never crossed your mind what kind of retribution there would be if he learned on his own?"
Cerdian just stayed silent, his thoughts carefully hidden as he listened, weighing everything he learned.
"It would've come down on Canary, and she was willing to deal with it. Her life, her son, her choice, Kory. And Slade wouldn't come after my kids if he was pissed at me for keeping Duncan from him." As far as he was concerned, that was a simple fact.
"I don't share that faith, Richard," she informed him. "Mar'i, get your things...it is time we go home."
"Starfire," Cerdian said, catching her attention. "I'll be expecting my team member at the Tower tomorrow morning," he told her in no uncertain terms. "We have things to discuss."
Lian hid her smile as Cerdian proved exactly why he was the leader, and not her. When he chose to, he was a force of nature, compelling people to give way, with clear logic. As a former Titan herself, Starfire was unable to refuse him on the grounds he had set.
Nightstar wrapped herself around each of her fathers in tight, close hugs, then went to go pick up the medicines she'd been given and the coat she generally didn't bother with. "I'll see you tomorrow Tempest, Dart... Has anyone spoken to Offspring yet?" She'd been too worried to think of it, until now.
"I got in touch with him," Cerdian said. "I asked him to be available to Tommy."
Kory's face was still livid, but she came and hugged Lian, then Cerdian before facing her teammates. "This is going to have a long reach," she said. "And he has not usually been good news for us in the long run."
Roy shrugged, and she almost took pity on him, knowing the frustration he had to have felt over Dinah's choices, which made her as culpable as Dick in all matters relating to Slade.
Nightstar nodded. "Good. Tommy will need it." She watched her mother with her fathers, shaking her head slightly. Father generally knew what he was doing.. there must have been good reason behind his choice, and until she heard differently, that was what she was going to believe.
"I know it is, Kory," Dick said softly. "It's already happening... but all we can do now is see how it shakes out."
Kory shook her head one more time, then moved close and pulled both men to her, kissing them. "Be careful." She Moved away, grinning just a little when Roy patted her backside with a hint of his former humor, and took Mar'i home.
Cerdian looked at Lian. "Want me to leave?"
"No, if you're here already I don't have to worry about your mother pestering you over whatever garbled version Uncle Arthur wound up hearing." She laid her head over on him, closing her eyes. They were friends, had been all Cerdian's life, it seemed. Right now, she worried for her little brother, and Cer was more comfort than her agitated fathers.
Dick sighed and leaned against Roy, shaking his head. "Rose's guarding Di and Duncan," he relayed to his mate. "Life's going to be so interesting, the next few days." He really wasn't looking forward to some of the people that were going to want to give him hell... Batman topped that list, though Oracle, Huntress, and most of his Titans weren't far behind.
"Yeah." Roy just stroked Dick's arms and hair as he nodded. "Going to be hell for a little while, but they'll get over it. Di leaving the League like she did is going to bite some asses though." He appreciated that Kyle had gotten in touch to tell him that little piece of information, of exactly how Dinah had left. "She was one of the better field leaders, and a lot of the younger members trained under her."
Lian bit her lip to hear what Dinah had done; she knew the woman lived for only two things. One was her family; the other was being Black Canary as fully as possible.
"Robin's apparently bucking the Bat's orders... Di's got an open invite on the Outsiders," Dick shared with a small, wickedly amused smile. "You're right, it is, and she was."
"Dinah may damn well quit," Roy grumbled. "Just to keep from having to go through this shit again."
"No she won't," Lian said firmly. "She can't."
"Nah. She won't let Bruce have the last word," Dick said with a shrug.
"True." Roy closed his eyes after flicking a glance at Lian, watching with vague amusement as Cerdian coaxed her into laying against him on the love seat they had taken.
"This may sound like a stupid question," Cerdian began. "But he's not my rogue, has never been a rogue to my country. Why, when three of his children have been heroes, is Deathstroke so intent on murder as a way of life?"
Dick sighed, loudly, and dropped to sit cross-legged a few feet out from his adopted daughter and her... teammate. "It's not a stupid question, Cer. It's a question I ask myself a lot... and I've never come up with a good enough answer. The one he'll give most often is that it pays well, and it's all about the money. Another one is that it's what he's good at... and he is, nobody can argue with that."
"I think it boils down to something none of us can see," Lian said with quiet insight. "Something that shaped him, before he came to the eyes of your generation, Papa. Something none of us will ever know for certain." She shrugged her good shoulder. "It's probably what you and Aunt Di see hiding behind the mask. Why neither of you seem to be able to shut him out. Why Rose has never given up on him."
Dick flicked a smile at his eldest. "You're probably right, Dart..." //Something in Vietnam... or maybe just all of those months of being afraid he wouldn't even walk again... Feeling useless, maybe, during all of that? Not things I'd say to you kids...// "Not that it really matters why. He does what he does... and we deal with it when we have to, stop him when we can." He shrugged.
"Such a waste." Cerdian stroked Lian's hair. "Dart, you need sleep. Lean on me, and I'll get you to your room."
"Sounds good. See you two in the morning," Lian told her fathers, letting her teammate help her to her room. Nor did they hear any other door close; apparently Lian had decided to keep Cer close for now.
Roy sighed softly. "I should be irate that the boy is in our daughter's bedroom, but he's the closest thing to stable she's ever shown a willingness to take."
Dick snorted softly, "Don't I know it? I swear, she learned relationships from Grace... and what good would it do to get pissed off? They're Titans. We all remember what that was like, and at least they understand each other. Leave it--up until the point we overhear something. Then we can bitch. Or, you know, call Garth."
Roy chuckled. "Garth would say Lian corrupted him." The redhead nuzzled his lover. "Bed for us? So we're too busy to hear them if they do?"
Dick nodded. "Yeah. First, phone off the hook and turn off the cells. I'll leave my comm on the emergency band." He went to go do just that.
"Paranoid much?" Roy teased, having already hit the ringers of his cell and the house phones.
"I hate being interrupted... and so do you, might I point out..." Dick said with a grin as he saw Roy'd already read his mind. He headed for their bedroom, flicking a long look over his shoulder. Tomorrow was early enough to deal with everyone else.
*~*~*~*
Raven pressed her hands to her temples, closing her eyes as she struggled against the cacophony of emotions coming from both of her mates and her son. Vic was trying to remain calm, had been doing so, but they had been running the knife-edge of adrenaline since the first warning had come across the comms... She'd thrown them towards their son as swiftly as she could, and finding demons attacking her child had nearly been enough to snap her own control. Let alone what the sight of Deathstroke in the middle of the fight had done to Gar.
She did not understand the one-time friendship he and Wilson had had... but she could not mistake the anger and rage her changeling lover held towards the older man. It had been beating against her control from the moment he recognized him on the field, and neither their son's defense of the man--//of Condor//--nor Nightwing's calm about the situation had helped.
Even hours later, Gar was practically too angry--//and afraid//--to speak, Tommy was glaring at all of them impartially and Vic was attempting to deal with Gar's rage before it pushed her too far. What she would do without his quiet strength, she wasn't sure right now... but she needed to talk to her son. "Tommy."
"Mom." He met her gaze levelly, using every control he had to shut his emotions off from her, a trick that had made it difficult over the years to truly bond to her shy, usually timid son.
She shook her head slightly. She didn't want to fight with her son, and couldn't blame him for defending his teammate, but, "What you did to Wonder Woman..."
"Needed to be said, Mom. How would you like it if I were bleeding all over the place and someone wanted to call you down on something?" //Not backing down, Duncan would fight for me.//
"I wasn't arguing with what you said, Tommy, but you deliberately projected at her to back her away." She'd tried to raise him with better ethics than that, especially given some of the things she had done over the years.
He blinked once before he looked down from her eyes. "I couldn't help it. Duncan needed his mom."
She couldn't help the small smile, and she laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, easing the sternness of her words. "Don't do it again, Tommy. You know better... but you're right. He did. Tommy... can we trust him?"
//Flash of white hot anger for doubting.// The emotion slipped free, with strong loyalty, before Tommy nodded once. "He's Duncan. He's always watched out for us. Always made sure we got the best of the best, too. We're his, and he's ours and that's how Titans work... right, mom?"
Raven flinched back from the flare of white rage, and sighed softly. "Yes. It is... and that gives me something to work on your father with. Titans Together, after all."
She'd never wanted to raise a child under the banner of that battle cry... but they all had, and it had built them quite the team. Her generation had had their issues, their villain's children and walks on the dark side... it seemed to be the kids' turn, now. "Why don't you call Mercury and Hermes, make sure they're all right?"
"I need to. Hermes is not happy, and I'm sure Mercury is wound up," Tommy told her. His voice made it clear he knew how Wally's son felt, but he was guessing at Mercury.
"Go on, then." She stroked his hair gently, lightly, then re-settled her shields and went to go find her lovers, putting the matter of Tommy's certainty about Hermes' feelings aside for later thought.
Tommy went to the phone in his jacket pocket and dialed Hermes' number. It still amused him that he...the green skinned kid...actually lived under his proper name but neither speedster answered very quickly to their birth names.
When Hermes' phone was not picked up on third ring, he switched to Mercury's. He bet his friend had either lost the phone in the course of everything, or he was still taking the lashing from Wally over the day.
After a few moments, the speedster girl picked up. "Hey, Tommy..." her voice was oddly quiet.
"Hey. Everything okay now?" He kept his own voice quiet, trying hard not to think in the direction of his parents' room.
"...D's gonna be okay, and my arm'll be better in a few. Hurts, though. Think bro would rather be there than here... 's it safe, yet?"
"Safer. Mom talked to me. Don't think Dad is willing to while he's ramped up. And Vic... is trying to play peacemaker, as usual."
"K. I'll be there with him in a minute. Then I gotta figure out some stuff."
"I'm going over to my room on the team floor," Tommy said. "One less mind for Mom to deal with."
"Okay. Seeyouthen."
Tommy hung up, and slipped away to get to his room before they showed up.
It wasn't long at all before they were in his doorway, Hermes carefully supported against his sister's body. Their silver-gilt speedster's usual bright smile and quick wit was nowhere in sight, and despite what was obviously her best attempt at shielding him, there was a new, raw core of pain in her as she stood there.
Tommy helped get Hermes down on the bed, so he could rest his leg out, then carefully, slowly hugged Mercury, opening his shields enough to let love, comfort, and hope flow out to her. "He probably did not have a choice, Mercury, on not telling you," Tommy said softly.
"It's not that, Tommy. I know D didn't. It's dad," she curled up against him, soaking up the comfort he offered.
The smallest Titan nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can imagine if Dad's reactions are anything."
"He tried to make me leave the team. Leave D." Some of her usual brazen personality reasserted itself as she tossed her streaked hair a little. "Got a shock about that. Like I listen to him? He's never around anyway."
Tommy laughed softly, pulling back to go sit on the edge of the bed. "Hey, he'll either get over it, or he won't. Your mom won't let the second happen, I bet..."
"Yeah, Mom was already tearing into him," Hermes said, shifting to where he was almost but not quite touching Tommy's hand.
She grinned, remembering some of the things her mother had had to say, and nodded, dropping onto the floor to look at them both, putting away her anger and hurt at her father with Tommy's help. "It was pretty serious, but yeah, he'll either get over it or he won't... No skin off me."
"We've got each other," Tommy said. "No matter what." He could not remember life without the others of his team; being the youngest, he had imprinted on them almost as quickly as he had his own parents.
"Yeah, Tommy...we do. And Sis...you should get to D. He's gonna need you there, I bet."
"Yeah. We do," Mercury agreed firmly, nodding sharply. "Huh. Yeah, I probably should... though, Ravager's there..." She hopped up, brushed her cheek over Tommy's hair, patted her brother's good leg, and buzzed back out the door--then stuck her head back in, grinning, "You two behave, kay? Don't need anyone to have more reason to be mad at us..." Then she really was gone.
"What's she talking about?" Tommy asked, puzzled.
"Don't worry about it, Tommy. Just lay down and grab a nap with me, 'kay?" Hermes kept his smile to himself.
*~*~*~
Mercury flitted past the nurses' station and down the hall, then buzzed herself through the wall next to the door, rather than deal with pulling the door open and shut again.
Rose was very alert, tense...until she recognized the girl as Duncan's teammate. She put a finger over her lips, pointing at Dinah who was asleep with her head on her arm on the side of the bed, and Duncan whose eyes were closed.
Mercury nodded, remembering to slow it, and found herself a spot to perch, watching Duncan intently. //You have got to be okay!// Her fingers twined together, twisted through each other, and she wrapped her arms around a knee, trying to be still, though it came as poorly to her as it did to any speedster.
"You seem pretty tore up over my brother," Rose commented softly. "Let me guess...first crush?"
"Best friend, other than my twin. And my 'lead," Mercury replied, equally softly, though her cheeks had gone pink.
Rose smirked knowingly. "Didn't crush on my first Titan lead, but on a Titan lead, yes." Roy had never been more than her employer and friend; Dick had had her eye early on, a fascination replaced with one for Tim later. "Doc says he just needs a little rest."
Mercury nodded... and gave up the fight, reaching out and over to push a few out-of-place strands of hair back into their proper place. "Looks like he's going to need more than that," she said worriedly, looking at all the damage. "He's tough, though. Always was."
"Comes with our genes." Rose snorted then. "And he got the extra dose of stubborn." The Outsider considered if now, with the girl here, would be a good time to go let Daddy know the prognosis.
"Yeah. He is. Out-stubborns me, even, sometimes." That got a bit of a smile.
Rose stood up. "Not about to go to sleep, are you?"
"No. I'm up. I don't want to know what you're doing, either, do I?"
"I'm letting a concerned father know his son is not going to die today," Rose said bluntly.
Mercury sighed, dropping her head into her hand. "I was trying not to know that, but whatever."
"If you accept Duncan...you have to accept who he is. And that is as my brother, as my father's son, just as much as he is Nightwing's heir, and Dinah Lance's kid."
A silver-gloved hand tightened, shimmery lips setting tight against each other a moment. "I just spent the equivalent of five or so hours fighting with my own father over your brother and your father, and my choice to help him. I could really give. a. damn. less at this point what anyone thinks of anything, but borrowing trouble wasn't on my menu either. Duncan's Duncan, and that's enough."
Rose gave her a bright smile then. "Good shot, kid." She headed for the door. "Oh yeah...don't touch Di...she swings."
"So does he, normally," Mercury said with a shrug. "Thanks, though." //Not like she'd hit me...//
Rose walked out of the room, leaving the hospital entirely so she could use the phone without being watched. It was very simple to evade those junior League members already detailed to watch them.
"Rose."
"Daddy. Just checking in." She drew in a deep breath, found a cigarette and lit it. "He's got internal injuries..." She started listing off every injury and how they were handling it to the man. Slade listened attentively, not interrupting her. When she got to the end, he considered just how tough his progeny were when it came to injuries.
"They've got League watchdogs. Dinah quit, by the way, and she's still kinda pissed but she's trying to hide it from Duncan."
"Won't work. Tell Duncan not to worry. I'll be nearby. And I'll handle things."
"Alright Daddy."
"Night, Kitten. Stay with them." He hung up and began considering options.
*~*~*~
Cerdian nodded politely to Dinah as the door opened. "Miss Lance, thank you for letting me come. Grandfather says hello, by the way, and extends an invitation to come see him."
"Thank you, Cerdian; tell him I appreciate it." //Wants the story from me, no doubt.// "Duncan is in the second room on the right."
Cerdian nodded and continued back to Duncan's room, knocking.
"Yeah?" The voice sounded... remarkably strong, given the amount of time it had been since the battle.
The Titan leader walked in, and gave Mercury a small smile. "So this is where you've been," he said, trying his hardest to be easy going.
Duncan tensed slightly, but saw the effort he was making and settled down, propped up against his headboard. "Hey, Cer."
Mercury flicked a smile at her 'official' lead, nodding once, "Yeah. Things are kinda... icky at home, and they don't mind having me--I don't think.."
"'Ry," Duncan growled. "Of course we don't... besides, having you around can be real nice..."
Cerdian hid the smirk at that; he wasn't one to talk, now that he and Lian were actually admitting in certain company a general tolerance for one another. "Duncan...we've got to discuss the other day."
He nodded, and pushed himself further up, face falling into lines that looked more like his father than he really ought to. "I know."
Mercury tried not to flutter too much.
"Why didn't you tell me that was how you anticipated the targets? You damn well should have been taking point in the fights!" Cerdian said fiercely.
Duncan shot him a very long, very level look, shaking his head. "If you didn't notice in our training sessions, you weren't going to listen until I proved it... I think this proved it. Not like it's easy to talk about, either. It just... is."
Cerdian nodded, and drug over a chair. "Try and explain it to me, so I can understand how best to utilize it."
Duncan nodded. "We've called it battle-sense for years. Rose gets premonitions and visions, I just get the next couple of seconds, any time I'm in a fight. Not far enough ahead to really call it precognition, but enough to be a big advantage. Gives me just enough time to get set, or to warn someone else."
Cerdian nodded. "Definitely putting you on point then, from now on." He glanced over at Mercury, then back to Duncan. "Save your hands a bit of talking under my orders?" he said in a sly tone, admitting he had seen it and not acknowledged it.
He nodded. "Yeah, it will. Didn't see the point in making waves, Cer. You're a good field lead, but this'll be a lot more efficient."
The Atlantean prince reached out his hand to Duncan, his face open for once. "I'm proud to have you on as a Titan."
Duncan's smile widened and he wrapped a hand around Cer's. "Thanks. Nowhere I'd rather be."
The older Titan stood up. "Just so you know...I don't forget when I owe my team's lives to someone," he said seriously, skirting the issue that all the adults were going nuts over. "One free ride from the scene is not quite enough to pay it, either. I won't forget." He nodded to both and walked out before Duncan could answer that, his pride stiffening his back, at having to acknowledge a debt, though he was still pleasant when he passed Dinah again.
Mercury nearly fell over, staring at the door with her jaw dropped. "I thought he'd chew me out..." she whispered, stunned.
Duncan shook his head, amazed. //Wow. Now maybe I see what Lian sees in him... Hm. He thinks he owes Dad one... could be useful.//
*~*~*~*
It hadn't taken Nightwing long to pick up on that he was being watched... and it had taken even less time to, mm, persuade the watcher that it wasn't really that smart to be attempting surveillance on him, especially for no better a reason than they had. A little twisting of arms had done that fairly nicely... and his frustration with the situation had actually sent him back into Gotham and down into the Cave to deal with the source of the problem. Said source was flicking through remote camera lookouts around Gotham, setting up in his mind just where his presence would be needed most heavily.
"Bruce. Not happy with driving just one of us off the League, looking to make it three?" Dick asked, leaning against the computers.
"You use any tool you have at your fingertips," the older man growled. "You are less likely to lead to a good capture, but it was worth showing that we were serious this time."
Dick rolled his eyes. "Like he's stupid enough to come around me right now? Please. You're just pissed off that you didn't know, and taking it out on everyone else. Get over it."
Batman slowly turned, face a mask of anger where it appeared beneath the cowl. "You could have brought him in years ago if you had not let him blind you!"
"I hadn't seen him in years, no more than Dinah had... and in case you've forgotten, it takes a lot of people to haul him in!" //Like all three of us? And he was out within weeks? Come on, Bruce. Don't be stupid.//
"I have forgotten nothing." The voice went flat and cold, losing any semblance of passion or emotion. "You can go now, if all you wish to do is whine like a child about measures I deem necessary."
"Whine? No, not interested. Tell you you're being a) petty and b) ridiculous, yes. On a different topic..." Several months of checking photos, friends, and trying to pin down just what had happened to them had lead Dick to complete dead ends, and he'd dropped it for a while, but seeing Bruce still so young himself had brought it back to his attention. "If you didn't know me... how old would you say I am?"
Batman turned to inspect Dick, pulling his cowl back to be objective, ignoring the rest of the speech. "I'd say about 15 years younger than I know you to be."
"Yeah... that's about what I'd have said, too... and about you. And Roy. And Tim... and Alfred. Any idea what the hell did this?"
"Jason." Bruce said it with the 'I Hate Magic' tone he had perfected over the years. "I had noted it in Alfred. Myself, when I cared to think about it. But I don't see you or Tim very often now." Despite being League, they moved in different circles. And Tim...was very much an Outsider.
//Hmm... and whose fault is that, Bruce?// Dick tilted his head, considering. "Blood, huh? Guess that kind of makes sense..." //So, why Roy--not that I'm complaining!//
"I will remember to look into it more fully, to be sure there are no...complications." Bruce's tone was dismissive.
"Thanks. I've been trying to figure out who hung the ax over my head, and what they wanted in return. Nice to know it might be an ally." He wasn't going to bother to fight with him, not now. If he hadn't paid enough attention to realize that there was a large part of the story he didn't know, it wasn't worth the effort. And Dinah didn't need or want him to fight her battles for her. Batman grunted as he returned to planning his night. He would not get into this matter with the accomplice.
Dick sighed in frustration and headed upstairs, wanting to see Alfred. Just because Bruce was being... Bruce, didn't mean he couldn't spend time with Alfred. As long as he didn't have to deal with Talia's brat--//and thank God Tim hung on to our name//--the night still might not be a total loss.
Alfred was just setting a sandwich and cookies down next to a glass of cold milk, smiling when Dick entered. "Master Richard."
"Hey, Alfie. Sorry Bruce's probably been a bear to live with..." he hugged the old man gently, so very grateful to still have him around. "Good to see you."
"And a delight to see you. How are Master Roy and Miss Lian? Miss Mar'i?" Alfred shrugged off the apology on Bruce's behavior; it was normal.
"They're all fine. Roy's... well, Roy," with the smile that said he was still as crazy about the man as ever. "Lian's maybe, kind of, acting like she and Cerdian might try and have something." That was news, after all. "Both the girls are cranky because they're hurt, but neither one got too badly injured, so it's mostly show."
"How intriguing. I always presumed that Miss Lian's fondness for the boy Cerdian only went so far." Alfred smiled. "I am aggrieved to hear they were injured at all."
"That's what I thought, too. Apparently not.... and we all were, Alfie. They shouldn't have been up against him... but, they did pretty well." He shrugged slightly.
Alfred nodded. "I did hear there were...repercussions."
"Just a few," Dick muttered. "And half of everyone's too busy freaking about his parentage to notice that we got--pardon the language, Alfie--one hell of a hero out of it."
"Master Duncan's parentage is hardly a factor when he is, after all, your student, a factor they should remember."
Dick beamed at him, absurdly flattered by the compliment. "Thanks, Alfie... you're right. They ought to. Some of them will, eventually."
Alfred nodded. "Will your family be coming for the next holiday?"
"I dunno, Alfie. That kind of depends on if he's gotten over me doing my best to make sure we got a hero out of Dinah's deal, doesn't it?"
"No, Master Richard, it depends on if you wish to come home." Alfred's voice was firm on that point.
"Alright, Alfie. Alright. We'll see. Here's hoping. Speaking of, I ought to get back to New York." He hugged Alfred, left the crumb-scattered plate, and headed towards the door, making sure Alfred didn't have any other words to say, first. The older man merely smiled; he would make sure things proceeded better than the first salvos in this latest round indicated. Or Master Bruce would shortly find himself without Alfred's help.
*~*~*~
Mercury fluttered around, watching Duncan worriedly. It'd been over a week since they'd gotten mauled, and Duncan's quick healing had him kind-of up and moving... which meant he was pushing himself too hard, in her opinion. He was in the gym, exercising, despite the cast still on his leg and the fact that his ribs weren't done healing... but he wasn't going to listen to her arguments, no sense in wasting her breath.
"Ry... I'm... fine," he gritted out, despite how much it hurt. He wasn't going to get better if he didn't keep pushing.
"You're not fine." Dinah walked in and over to him, taking his hand. As she did, he felt her push a slip of paper into it. "Tearing your body up while it is still broken is stupid, as you have told me a few times, Duncan." She loved on him briefly. "Go get a shower...and Mercury, you need to go be near, just in case."
Duncan palmed the slip of paper as he sighed and reached for the single crutch. "Alright, mom, alright... I'm not going to fall," he protested, and flushed (though it was staged) at his mother's last words.
Mercury blinked, confused, but it wasn't as though she was going to argue with being told to stick close to her... boyfriend. She was still grinning like an idiot at that things were officially that way now, and she hovered near him until they were both through the bathroom door. "So what's really up?" she asked softly.
"Mom slipped me something..." Duncan breathed, finally bringing the slip of paper to where he could see it. "Think you could go grab me the clean clothes off the bed?"
"Sure, D." She went and came back quickly.
The slip of paper had an address on it, upstate, and a time to be there. It was in Rose's handwriting, but the address was possibly the place Slade had taken him to the very first outing they had shared.
"Not long... okay. Up to running me?" He asked, smiling at her hopefully.
Mercury sighed. "Sure. I can do that." She quite unashamedly watched him change, then picked him (and the crutch) up, wrapping him in the speed force as she blurred down through the back of the building and out of the city. Didn't take her long to find the right spot, and she ran into a center hallway of the building. "Here's hoping they didn't spot me moving..."
"Duncan's mother was rather sure you would not be seen," came a steady, very masculine voice. Slade stepped into sight from a back room. "You are welcome to stay," he added. "But Duncan will not be going home until I say so."
Mercury watched him with wary eyes, nodding once. "Probably better if I stick around, anyway..."
Duncan smiled at his father, leaning on the crutch. "Hey, dad," he said as he headed towards his father.
Slade let him close the distance, then drew his son into a rough embrace. "Good to see you, boy." His single eye fixed on the speedster. "Pretty thing you picked for a companion," he said lightly, letting go of Duncan. "Your mother got it to me that you are not being very smart in your rehab."
Duncan leaned against his father. "Good to see you, too. Missed you..." His face went indignant, "I know where my limits are," he protested. "Haven't hurt myself," //yet. much...?// He then backed up and grinned at the compliment. "Isn't she? Mercury, you kind of met, but this's my dad. Dad..."
"Kayla West. But then, you probably already knew that," she said with a grin, actually offering her hand to him.
Slade accepted, shaking it briefly, before nodding. "Settle in today; see the house. No working out." His glare fell evenly on both of them. "Tomorrow, Duncan, you begin fixing your body correctly. Under my care."
Duncan wasn't even going to attempt to argue. "Alright, Dad. Same room?" He figured so, but easiest to check. "If 'Ry can stand me limping around, I'll show her the place. No you are not packing me all over the house," he growled at the impish look on his girl's face. "No."
She grinned, amused. "Alright... I'll remember you said that when you can't walk tomorrow, too," she promised sweetly.
"Smart girl, too," Slade said, agreeing with her assessment of Duncan come the next day. "Same room. The one across from it is available for Mercury." He afforded her the dignity of the name she preferred. "I have work to finish." He returned to the room he had been in, closing the door behind him.
Duncan grinned, and headed towards his room, waving a hand at rooms as he passed them. "Dad likes you!"
Mercury tilted her head, "Yeah?"
"'Ry. He complimented you. Twice! Yeah, he likes you." That pleased him immensely.
She thought about that for a sec, then grinned. "Guess that's cool. This place is big..." She hadn't meant it. If he couldn't walk by the time therapy was done, she most certainly would carry him, unless he got stupid and male about it.
"Yeah, I'd noticed. Didn't seem near this big when I wasn't stuck using this thing," he tapped the crutch in frustration. "Here's my room, that'd be yours..." He really, really wanted to sit down, right now.
Mercury nodded, stuck her head in, then followed him into his and stretched out on the bed next to him. "Are you sure about being here?"
"Yeah... probably smart. Dad'll make sure I don't overwork, mom wouldn't."
She shook her head, and nuzzled into him, curling up against his good side. "Okay. Long as you're sure." //God, people are going to go ape. I don't care. Duncan says it's safe.//
`~`~`~`~`
"Dinah." Oracle's voice was firm. "Why hasn't Duncan been out of his room in two days?" She suspected she knew the answer.
"I sent him somewhere to recover, O. Without my hovering, or his teammates worrying."
There was a long pause. "I see." Oracle sighed. "He's a mass murderer."
"Only if you add all his victims together. Tends to take them on in very small numbers typically."
It was clear that Oracle had seen through the evasion, and equally clear that Dinah had confirmed who had her son...their son, Oracle forced herself to think.
"O...don't interfere in my private life. I'm coping with the watch dogs on me, but my son needs his father right now. Let it go."
Not long after Oracle's comm call, Dick came knocking at her door. Dinah opened it and let him in, giving him a tired smile. "Hi Dick."
"Hey, Di. I'm kind of surprised you haven't called me to come drag Duncan out of the gym... is he actually behaving?" Dick didn't look like he'd been sent... he looked worried.
Dinah sighed and led the way to her kitchen. "Rose handled things for me."
Dick's eyes widened, "He's... okay. Well, then." He wrapped an arm gently around her waist. "You doing okay?"
She leaned into him, feeling heavy. "No." She sighed. "I swear to god this is driving me insane. I'm feeding the juniors they send, and they keep quitting, but Bruce just won't get the hint."
Dick ran his hand up to her shoulder, and started rubbing it, feeling the tight knots of stress there. "I'm sorry, Di. I tried... I'll give it another shot, though." If he had to, he was going to go over Bruce's head. He frowned, rubbing her back. "He took this personally... really personally, and I still don't understand why--you don't have to tell me, either."
Dinah's eyes darkened slightly, memories of an almost might-hav-been there. He had come the closest to luring her from the one she wanted to be with right now, but his mission had demanded more than she was willing to give to him. "It's no real bother, I guess. It's not like I should be seeing Duncan's father anyway."
"It is a bother, and it's not right. He wouldn't do this to anyone else, and he shouldn't be doing it to you. I'll see what I can do." He kept an arm around her, shrugging. "Maybe you're right... but it's hurting you."
She shrugged it off. "It's not worth it. There's a history there, and he does, in a way, have a point."
Dick snorted. "Point or not, you don't deserve this... and then there's the fact that none of those kids could possibly handle Slade if he decided he wanted to come to you." He shrugged. This was getting dealt with, one way or another.
Dinah slid him a drink and a light snack, taking one for herself. "I know. The watching...it's not really there to catch Slade...it's to keep him away from me."
Dick shook his head, and ran his hand over her shoulder. "Which is just several levels of wrong... You're really missing him..." it wasn't, actually, as idle an observation as it sounded. He was worried about her.
Dinah looked down, hiding her face because she could no more lie to Dick than to Roy. "It's wrong of me. Wrong on so many levels. I'm fully aware of Deathstroke's list of crimes, both known and suspected." She shook her head. "But when it's Slade, none of that seems to matter." She was deeply in love with an amoral, cold-blooded killer, and it cut across her own morals to admit that.
"He can be two very different men. I know... and you can't control who you love, Dinah." He kept holding her gently.
She laughed bitterly. "I sure know how to pick them. From an irresponsible playboy to a brooding crusader to a sociopath."
//Ooooh. So that's it.// Dick sighed. "I'm sorry, Di... You know, you really can just talk to me," he offered. "I do listen pretty well, and I'm worried about you."
"Not really much to say. I'm in love with Slade, wish to hell and back I could change the world so he was that man I see in him all the time." She hugged him tight. "But wishes don't come true when you've already gotten so many miracles in life."
Dick hugged her back. "Mmm. We've gotten a few. Okay, Di. Let me know when Slade sends him home, okay? I have some bending of the brat's ear to do."
Dinah grinned at that. "Alright."
He petted her hair gently, then headed back towards the door. He needed to make a quick trip home, then he had a visit to make. It took a bit, but before long he was transporting up to the WatchTower.
As usual these days, the WatchTower was humming. While the children had been growing up, other heroes had appeared, made a name, come into the League. It seemed like there was not a city in the World that could not boast at least one costumed hero. And at the center of all of it, there was J'onn, still teaching, still comforting, still watching. Nightwing headed down to the Monitor Womb, figuring that was where J'onn would be. He couldn't believe the martian would be involved with this, and figured he was probably his best bet for getting this taken care of.
When he arrived, the man was watching the rack of screens, but he focused on Nightwing. "Yes?"
"Hey. Do you know what Batman's got some of the junior League members doing?"
"He borrowed several younger members for monitor duty," he said in turn. "Surveillance to gather information, he told me."
"Tell you on who?" He was very carefully keeping his temper under control out of courtesy to J'onn.
Now J'onn looked direcly at the Former Boy Wonder, reading certain tell-tales. "I have a distinct feeling this is not something he cared to inform me."
"You're probably right. They're watching Dinah."
J'onn's face flickered with annoyance. "Thank you for informing me of this." He turned inward, and contacted Bruce, Diana, and Clark, letting them know he would expect them in the briefing room in half an hour or else.
"You're welcome... didn't think you'd be part of that... and you might want to remind certain people that if Deathstroke wanted, those kids would be dead. I thought about it. See you later, J'onn."
"Be safe, Nightwing." He nodded at the implications.
"Of course." He headed back down, whistling cheerfully to himself, to the utter bafflement of several passing League members. Roy was going to be rather pleased with this bit of meddling, or his missed his guess by a mile.
`~`~`~`~`
Dinah was in her flower shop, tending to a more delicate arrangement than usual, as her clerk tended the customers. The bell above the door rang as a statuesque, elegantly dressed woman walked in, blue eyes searching the shop. "Is Miss Lance in?" her voice asked the girl at the desk.
Dinah's ears pricked from the work table, and she glanced up. She stiffened minutely, then rose from her bench. "I am, miss..." She was adept at playing the identities game now.
"Diana Prince," the other woman said with a small smile as she walked over to offer her hand. "I believe we have some friends in common..."
"Come; I have an office that is comfortable." The blonde led the way, letting Diana enter before she closed the door, and let her temper show in a brief flash of her eyes. "Why did you come? I have done nothing!"
"Your watchers have been removed," Wonder Woman told her, her own eyes dark. The meeting between the Manhunter and her old friends had... not gone well for them. "Much as I... dislike your choices, we have no right to so invade your private life."
Dinah carefully masked her surprise. "Fine. I'm just glad they aren't wasting their time anymore."
Diana nodded once. "That point was also made. It was... unbefitting any of us, and... I am sorry. I still don't understand... but that makes no difference. Be well, Dinah."
Dinah shook her head at that. "Be safe, Diana. I'm here, if you ever choose to use my skills."
Her eyes flared a moment, but she nodded. "We'll see." Message and apology delivered, even with most of her pride intact, she turned to go.
Dinah bit back the sharp, biting comments that had bubbled to the top of her mind as Diana left. She had her pride as well, and she was neither going to insult this woman nor try to make her understand. With the watchers removed, she would not feel so trapped.
*~*~*~*
Slade watched as his son shakily dropped to the mat, exhausted from the difficult positions he had worked through. It had been a strenuous week, as Slade taught him how to work around the injuries, then retrained him to use the healed muscles and bones as well.
Duncan rolled enough to look at his father, panting. If he didn't know just how important this was--and that no-one had ever accused his father of sadism--he'd think the man was enjoying this... but neither one of them were.
"Please tell me we're done? At least for now?" Practically everything he had hurt... but he knew it hurt a lot less than he would have if he'd been doing this on his own. And dad understood the enhanced healing he was working with, too, which was another plus to being here.
"Get that girl of yours to work the muscles again." Slade tossed the boy a towel, letting some pride sneak into his eye.
That drew a grin, even through how much it hurt. "That sounds like the best idea I've heard all week," he said as he mopped his face and neck with the towel, slowly twisting around enough to sit up. "Soon as she decides to come out of the shower, I will. Have I mentioned that I really, really hate this?" He prodded his still-damaged leg in frustration. "Not the time with you," he amended hastily, "just the being hurt." //I am so tired of not being able to go with her!// Mercury'd gotten a Titans call a few hours ago. She was back, now, and safe, but knowing his team was out there without him... was a big part of what had driven him to yet another session.
Slade nodded. "That shower'd do you some good too...the water's already hot, after all." The older man kept a perfectly straight face. If the kids were or were not sleeping together, he could care less. But it was a father's prerogative to twit the boy over his relationship.
"Da~ad!" Duncan yelped, flushing at the insinuation--and trying to hide just how appealing the idea was. "I swear, you and mom both is more than anyone ought to have to put up with!"
"I'll be sure to tell your mother, when we see her." The man managed to repress most of the fact he wanted to see Dinah out of his voice, but Duncan was not the student of Dick Grayson for nothing.
"Good. Maybe if you're there she'll leave me alone about 'Ry." He didn't sound like he held out a whole lot of hope along those lines, though. //Hope someone gets something done about the stupid people watching the house...//
"Can you walk to your room, or need a hand?" Slade had made it clear he did not look down on accepting help that was truly needed.
"I... think I can walk, but I'd take a hand up..." He'd be much happier just staying on the mats for a while, but he really would be better off in bed, so... He reached up as his father came close. The strong hand that helped him up then reeled him closer, offering assistance as Slade sensed his son was putting on a tough face again. "I'm going out tonight. Make sure you and Mercury stay inside."
Duncan didn't argue. The standing up had made his head swim a little, and he let himself lean on his father as they moved. "Okay. I can do that..." //Wish you wouldn't. Really wish you wouldn't. You know they're hunting you... Why do you keep doing this?// "Be careful?" was all he would let himself say.
"Just need to meet up with someone," Slade told him, offering an explanation to ease Duncan's conscience and worry. //Damn, kid...got me going soft in my old age. But hell, the hunt gets less challenging every year.//
"Aah. Okay. We'll stay in, anyway." //That's not so bad...// He leaned against his door before he opened it, and dropped onto the bed once they reached it. "Thanks for the help in."
"Anytime, kid." Slade squeezed the boy's shoulder and left, going to keep his meeting with Dick, wondering just what his Robin wanted.
*~*~*~*~
Dick walked into the park, eyes casually searching for Slade. He'd picked the open location in the small town because the... discussion just might get more interesting than either of them would want to have observed, or overheard. But this late at night in a small town, no-one else ought to be around. The mercenary stepped out of the shadow of a tree and walked over, on guard. He had already surveyed the park and the town three times, and been convinced this was not an elaborate trap to bring him in.
"How is he?"
"Healing. Fast."
"Who's surprised by that?" Dick asked, fighting the urge to sigh at the terse, tense tone. "Would you relax? I'm alone, not wired, and worried about my student and his mother."
That drew a reaction, even if Slade did clamp down on it. He shifted and stood slightly more relaxed. "Duncan is safe. What is wrong with his mother?"
"The League was having her watched--I'm sure you knew that one--and it... upset her more than I've seen her... ever. They've been called off... at least for now, but..."
Slade grunted. "She's a private woman in some ways." He crossed his arms on his chest.
"Yeah. She is... and missing you is hurting her enough that she let me see it." He looked right back at him, arms lightly at his sides. "It tore her apart to leave you the first time, and she won't do it again... but I'd love to know how you can stand to make her suffer, if you care half as much about her as she loves you."
Slade could not quite hide his anger at the words Dick threw at him... or the fact they had hit so well right on target. "She's one of you, and I am me...not exactly a match that is appropriate," he said in a very cold tone.
"Then either let her go--and break her heart for good--or do something about it, you stubborn--" he snapped his jaw shut, shaking his head once. "You're as crazy about her as she is about you, and you know as well as I do there're ways you could fix that damn record of yours, if you were willing."
Slade watched him silently. He knew just what Dick was referring to, knew he could broker the right kind of deal to give him license to hunt, and to have his family in the clear. He also knew Dick was right; When Dinah had chosen him as a lover, neither of them had ever meant for it to be more than a way to blow off the tension of their shared adventure. It just had been too easy then, and even more so now, to respond to one another on deeper levels.
//Oh, Joey, forgive me for this one...// Dick's eyes narrowed, watching Slade watch him, seeing the knowledge in his eyes, and took a breath to take his last, best shot. "You're going to have to decide, Slade, one way or the other... your family, the son that loves you, and is probably worrying about you... or your pride and your hunt. I really hope you've got the sense not to make the same mistake twice--they both deserve better."
The man made a small grunt. "I'll consider what you've said, Grayson." His voice was gruff, displeased that the younger man had pushed things into such personal territory.
"Good." Dick moved closer, into his space despite the danger that put him in at the moment, given what he'd said, and looked up at him. "It'd be nice to have you around more." He missed the challenge of fighting Slade, but the stakes were too high right now, had been too high...
"Kid, you might want to be careful what you wish for," Slade said in a tone that let Dick know the matter had eased from direct confrontation to a later reminder why it was never good to bait Slade on his emotions.
"You ever going to stop calling me that?" Dick complained lightly, then shook his head. "What's playing it safe ever gotten me?" //Yeah, I know you're pissed, but you're listening, too. And I can say what Dinah won't and Duncan can't.//
"I could go back to calling you 'Robin' in that tone of voice you always hated," Slade pointed out. "And you let your mate still call you far worse." He reached out, just to show he was still Slade, still the man that had always been on the edge of Dick's life, and ruffled the still jet black hair. "You're a kid, just a kid who did pretty well for himself."
Dick glared up at him at that almost-threat, teeth skimming back from his lips in frustration. "Don't even... and, well, I've got an equally long list of insulting things to call Roy when he starts in on me." He'd held still for the touch, even leaned into it, amazing on the surface... and not at all to anyone that knew either of them. "From you, I'll take "pretty well" as a compliment."
Slade gave just a hint of a smile. "I should head back. Don't want Duncan getting it in his head to hit the mats without me, and don't trust him not to take advantage of my being gone."
"You probably should, yeah. If he has... let me know about it. I'll have a chat with him when you bring him home."
Slade nodded. "Dick...you did good by my son." It was the closest he could come to an honest thank you before he turned away to leave.
"I tried. And had a good kid to work with," Dick said with a smile. //He was yours. How could I not?//
Slade just smiled to himself and went back to his car, mulling over the issues Dick had raised. Dick headed home, more than fairly well pleased by how things had gone. At least he had the man thinking about it. He'd taken a risk, ripping open those old sore spots... but if it got them to somewhere that Dinah was happy and Duncan had his father without needing to resort to his speedster girlfriend to visit him, he'd consider it a job well done.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 05:51 pm (UTC)Sorry, that needed to be said.
On the other hand, I absolutely love how you're having ppl start to pair up. The idea of Lian and Cer is a little weird, but kinda cute, and I defintely approve of how naive Tommy is being. It's adorable.
Can't wait to see what Slade decides, and I'm definitely hoping for the best.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 10:58 pm (UTC)And yes, yes it did.
*grin* Lian and Cer are... interesting. And Tommy is an utterly adorable little critter.
Slade... is being Slade. Very, very much so. We're all hoping.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-13 01:54 am (UTC)The pairings are interesting to watch.
Slade has much to consider.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 06:43 pm (UTC)And Lian/Cerdian, eh? That should sufficiently piss off Dolphin. Which can only be a good thing.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 07:48 pm (UTC)(I live by the creedo that long-lifers have to have spice to fight off ennui)
As for the younger pair...Lian says it's not like he's her boyfriend. She just trips him tot eh mats and beats him there from time to time. And he makes a convenient pillow. And he's quieter than Luke.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 11:01 pm (UTC)Slade... here's hoping that time has, indeed, taught him a few lessons. He was a much younger man the first time...
*grin* Yes, yes it should, shouldn't it? *amused*
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 07:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 11:02 pm (UTC)And Slade... is at least thinking about it... and yeah. For certain values thereof. Here's hoping Dick hit him hard enough.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-13 01:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 09:10 pm (UTC)LOL. So Dinah. And Dick reasoning with Slade, teasing each other...so much to jump up and down happily about with this fic.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 11:06 pm (UTC)Dick didn't reason with Slade, he slugged him in the gut repeatedly until he listened, then went to him to make up... *shakes head at him* He's insane. Absolutely insane.
So glad you liked it!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-13 01:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 10:32 pm (UTC)Lian and Cer is a pairing I've never considered but I like. Hermes and Tommy make me snicker, Tommy is so BB's son I can see him not knowing exactly what is going on between he and Hermes.
Mercury and Duncan I love. That girl has attitude and I'm so glad she was willing to tell Wally to stuff it, and then to stay with Slade and Duncan. *grins* What she said about Wally being an absentee father must be true if he doesn't bother to notice that his daughter is not in his home or at the tower.
Dick and Slade teasing one another is wonderful and I have so much love for that. Slade ruffling Dick's hair and Dick leaning into it was too perfect. I'm very glad Dick is being so blunt with Slade and making him think when Slade doesn't want to.
Bruce is still an ass, but I understand the need of being so to some degree. Having junior league members follow Dick and Dinah was just stupid though. I'm very glad Dick pointed out just how stupid to J'onn. Also glad that J'onn was not involved in that little fiasco.
Also very glad that the source of their not aging is a friendly one. Jason wouldn't do anything that would out and out hurt anyone. Unless he's possessed.... oh wait... hehe the guys shares his body with a demon. *sigh* Well, it's still possible that another demon could have pushed out etrigan. Joking, don't listen to the voice of evil.
Okay, back to honest review. Raven actually trying to listen to her son was great. I can see her own struggle with her emotions and I can see Tommy being very emotionally closed to her because of her abilities. Gar needs to take chill pill but I hope Rae has some success in calming him, in nothing more than to calm her emotions.
Lovely fic. I'm looking forward to more.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-11 11:17 pm (UTC)Lian and Cer are... mm. Like Dick said, Lian learned relationships from Grace. Hermes and Tommy are many many kinds of adorable, and Tommy's the baby of the group, he has an excuse for being naive.
Mercury and Duncan are a great pair, even if they do both live in my head. She has attitude in Spades, yes, yes she does. And Wally sucked as a parent in this Verse, really a lot. (Also, I think she moved out of the house and isn't talking to him).
Dick is effing insane for saying what he said, then going and putting himself within range of an attack. Absolutely insane. But he's fearless when he's protecting what's his, and that's part of why Slade listened... and pretty much forgave him for shoving knives into old wounds.
Yeah, Bruce is being an ass, and while I can't argue too much with him, Dick and I still aren't impressed. And I was far, far too amused when Dick decided he'd go over Bruce's head to get that mess taken care of. *cuddles J'onn*
*laugh* Jason would do a lot of things that would hurt people, but not that would hurt Bruce, or what's his.
Raven is damn cool, and she's tried to be a good mom.
Gar... not a happy changeling, not at all. He's holding grudges. Rae managed him, though. She's good like that.
Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-13 01:46 am (UTC)Mercury left, I believe...and is refusing to deal with Wally.
Slade and Dick are...good together in this verse. Roy still doesn't like the bond, but it helps keep Slade grounded a little, I think.
And J'onn was furious with the trinity. Clark did not know, but only for turning a blind eye to Bruce.
The aging thing was our way of dealing with the time passage of Duncan growing up but letting the Bats still be active. And Dinah just got the benefit of her immersion in the Pit as slowing her aging...though that's beginning to wear off...
Raven and Tommy was a good scene to write. Tommy is just maturing into a child willing to go back against the adults, to choose his team forcibly. It's good too, as he was terminally shy at first.
More evnetually...the muses are being difficult.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-12 05:34 am (UTC)Excellent continuing character development of both well known characters and new.
And I especially loved the Dick/Dinah scene and the Dick/Slade scene. So much emotion in those.
But, I want to smack Bruce. *g*
no subject
Date: 2007-01-13 01:30 am (UTC)And Bruce needs smacked.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 07:27 am (UTC)Glad you liked!
Ad yes, sooo much emotion there.
*snort* Bruce needs smacked. Preferably hard.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-16 06:31 pm (UTC)No it isn’t, but you’re brave right? And it’s your house, you can kick the undesirables out.
He was sitting there, face showing that thoughtful brood that only Atlanteans seemed to pull off with such dignity.
Maybe it’s something in the water?
He wasn't waiting for three worried teammates to start... asking for updates.
Asking, demanding, it’s all the same to a worried Titan.
"I don't! It made him a threat to the team, and the Titans should have known!" Starfire snapped.
And you haven’t occasionally been a threat without them knowing?
Lian moved over to sit with Cerdian, away from the still not happy Roy.
And yet again, she proves her intelligence.
When he chose to, he was a force of nature, compelling people to give way, with clear logic.
And you aren’t honey? Or do you just like to do that when you have to, so no one suspects you can.
Father generally knew what he was doing.. there must have been good reason behind his choice, and until she heard differently, that was what she was going to believe.
Smart girl.
They were friends, had been all Cerdian's life, it seemed.
Towered kids together! So cute.
Roy just stroked Dick's arms and hair as he nodded.
Soverymarried.
"She was one of the better field leaders, and a lot of the younger members trained under her."
Okay, my mind just went into fifteen different scenarios Dinah could use to take down the JLA from that sentence alone. Probably a good thing she isn’t manipulative.
"Robin's apparently bucking the Bat's orders... Di's got an open invite on the Outsiders," Dick shared with a small, wickedly amused smile.
Of course, since Tim’s brain still is functioning on something other than hormones.
"Not that it really matters why. He does what he does... and we deal with it when we have to, stop him when we can." He shrugged.
Which isn’t often.
Or, you know, call Garth."
And dump it all in his lap? Great idea.
Roy teased, having already hit the ringers of his cell and the house phones.
They know each other so very well.
"I hate being interrupted... and so do you, might I point out..." Dick said with a grin as he saw Roy'd already read his mind.
Teenagers.
//Not backing down, Duncan would fight for me.//
Damn straight. Good boy.
"I couldn't help it. Duncan needed his mom."
Good answer. And he did.
She'd never wanted to raise a child under the banner of that battle cry... but they all had, and it had built them quite the team.
It seems to turn out some decent kids.
His voice made it clear he knew how Wally's son felt, but he was guessing at Mercury.
*snicker* Already bonded and you just don’t know it.
It still amused him that he...the green skinned kid...actually lived under his proper name but neither speedster answered very quickly to their birth names.
Well, there’s the fact you still have a decent relationship with your parents that could play into that.
there was a new, raw core of pain in her as she stood there.
*snuggles* Go talk to Duncan hon.
"He tried to make me leave the team. Leave D." Some of her usual brazen personality reasserted itself as she tossed her streaked hair a little. "Got a shock about that. Like I listen to him? He's never around anyway."
*whacks Wally with baseball bat*
being the youngest, he had imprinted on them almost as quickly as he had his own parents.
Awwww.
"Don't worry about it, Tommy. Just lay down and grab a nap with me, 'kay?" Hermes kept his smile to himself.
*raises eyebrow at him* Gentling him to you sweetie?
though it came as poorly to her as it did to any speedster.
Seemed to come to Barry alright, but after that…
"Best friend, other than my twin. And my 'lead," Mercury replied, equally softly, though her cheeks had gone pink.
So, yes, very much so.
"And he got the extra dose of stubborn."
Which actually squares the stubborn.
part 1
Date: 2007-01-16 07:08 pm (UTC)*laugh* It's Kory. If she doesn't want to go, she won't leave.
Maybe it’s something in the water?
Guess it has to be.
Asking, demanding, it’s all the same to a worried Titan.
And Dick knows this.
And you haven’t occasionally been a threat without them knowing?
Oooh, niceshot! I like it.
And yet again, she proves her intelligence.
Lian's brilliant.
And you aren’t honey? Or do you just like to do that when you have to, so no one suspects you can.
Pretty much.
Smart girl.
Nightstar's very clever sometimes.
Towered kids together! So cute.
Yup. Too cute altogether.
Soverymarried.
Absolutely. For years and years.
Okay, my mind just went into fifteen different scenarios Dinah could use to take down the JLA from that sentence alone. Probably a good thing she isn’t manipulative.
*laugh* Dinah wouldn't. She's still a hero, whatever Batman might think.
Of course, since Tim’s brain still is functioning on something other than hormones.
Yup.
Which isn’t often.
True, but he doesn't have to admit that part to the kids.
And dump it all in his lap? Great idea.
More like bitch about his boy and their little girl.
They know each other so very well.
Yes, yes they do.
Teenagers.
Nah. Just long-lifers.
Damn straight. Good boy.
You bet he would, Tommy. And Tommy's a very sweet boy.
Good answer. And he did.
*agrees*
It seems to turn out some decent kids.
Does seem to have, doesn't it? Can't help but feel bad for her, though.
*snicker* Already bonded and you just don’t know it.
*hugs you oh-so-tight for picking up on that*
Well, there’s the fact you still have a decent relationship with your parents that could play into that.
That's the truth.
*snuggles* Go talk to Duncan hon.
Not Duncan. Duncan she understands.
*whacks Wally with baseball bat*
A few dozen times, yep.
Awwww.
Yup. Very adorable green baby.
*raises eyebrow at him* Gentling him to you sweetie?
Pretty much.
Seemed to come to Barry alright, but after that…
Barry seems to have been the exception to a lot of speedster rules.
So, yes, very much so.
*laugh* She's not saying so, though!
Which actually squares the stubborn.
Yep.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 07:06 pm (UTC)Oh yeah, can so see him kicking Kory out…NOT!
Maybe it’s something in the water?
Permanent-stick-up-butt-itis
Asking, demanding, it’s all the same to a worried Titan.
They just can't help themselves.
And you haven’t occasionally been a threat without them knowing?
The very confusing lead up to Warworld, anyone?
And yet again, she proves her intelligence.
She's very much able to think through a hostile tactical situation.
And you aren’t honey? Or do you just like to do that when you have to, so no one suspects you can.
Well, he just hadn't seen what made Cer the leader.
Smart girl.
Exceptionally.
Towered kids together! So cute.
Figuring their age ratio gave me a headache though.
Soverymarried.
Yes. And fun to write that way.
Okay, my mind just went into fifteen different scenarios Dinah could use to take down the JLA from that sentence alone. Probably a good thing she isn’t manipulative.
No…she'd never ever ever manipulate someone…*innocent look*
Of course, since Tim’s brain still is functioning on something other than hormones.
*looks at Tim's bedmates, the reasons he's an Outsider….* Sure…no hormones involved in his decisions *WEG*
Which isn’t often.
Ehh.
And dump it all in his lap? Great idea.
*GRIN* Yeah, I think so…but then I have a Garth in my head who gets very little time on screen.
They know each other so very well.
It's that whole married couple thing.
Teenagers.
Almost as bad as HV Bruce/Dinah/Ollie
Damn straight. Good boy.
Tommy's a very good boy. Very shy still, despite recent use of cajones.
Good answer. And he did.
Those kids scare me with their loyalty issues. Makes it so tempting to let one go evil…
It seems to turn out some decent kids.
I stand by my comment to your last statement.
*snicker* Already bonded and you just don’t know it.
It's strictly a teammate thing…worked with him more…yeah….
Well, there’s the fact you still have a decent relationship with your parents that could play into that.
Raven's kid is the most…normal, of the five.
*snuggles* Go talk to Duncan hon.
He'll make you feel all better….
*whacks Wally with baseball bat*
Sorry…Kingdom Come gave me the idea, and I can't get it out that he sucks as a dad.
Awwww.
My thoughts too.
*raises eyebrow at him* Gentling him to you sweetie?
Hey, for a speedster to be going as slow as he is, so aware of the few years between them…Hermes has my kudos for this!
Seemed to come to Barry alright, but after that…
You know, Jay's not so bad either…
So, yes, very much so.
So right for each other.
Which actually squares the stubborn.
Ain't that the truth?
Part 2
Date: 2007-01-16 06:31 pm (UTC)Good girl. Smart girl.
now that he and Lian were actually admitting in certain company a general tolerance for one another.
Is that what we’re calling it nowadays?
"Just so you know...I don't forget when I owe my team's lives to someone," he said seriously, skirting the issue that all the adults were going nuts over. "One free ride from the scene is not quite enough to pay it, either. I won't forget."
Awww, *gives Cer a cookie*
//Wow. Now maybe I see what Lian sees in him... Hm. He thinks he owes Dad one... could be useful.//
And there you prove you’re your father’s son.
And Tim...was very much an Outsider.
Shit Bruce, what did you do to him?
//and thank God Tim hung on to our name//
Little possessive there? Or did Damian really turn out as badly as he could?
Alfred shrugged off the apology on Bruce's behavior; it was normal.
*whacks Bruce with bat*
"Master Duncan's parentage is hardly a factor when he is, after all, your student, a factor they should remember."
And yet again, Alfred proves he’s the one with any common sense.
Or Master Bruce would shortly find himself without Alfred's help.
Keep behaving that way Bruce. Alfred can move in with Dick and Roy or Tim and Kon.
He wasn't going to get better if he didn't keep pushing.
Correction, he wasn’t going to get better if he kept pushing.
Slade let him close the distance, then drew his son into a rough embrace.
Good Slade. Such a good daddy.
"Kayla West. But then, you probably already knew that," she said with a grin, actually offering her hand to him.
Smart girl. Good at the meeting the parents thing already.
"Only if you add all his victims together. Tends to take them on in very small numbers typically."
*giggle*
She leaned into him, feeling heavy. "No." She sighed. "I swear to god this is driving me insane. I'm feeding the juniors they send, and they keep quitting, but Bruce just won't get the hint."
Of course he isn’t. He’s Batman.
"It's no real bother, I guess. It's not like I should be seeing Duncan's father anyway."
*growlmutterhisss*
"But wishes don't come true when you've already gotten so many miracles in life."
I think you deserve one miracle, just for you.
He couldn't believe the martian would be involved with this, and figured he was probably his best bet for getting this taken care of.
Of course J’onn wouldn’t be. He a)has a brain functioning and B)likes BC.
He turned inward, and contacted Bruce, Diana, and Clark, letting them know he would expect them in the briefing room in half an hour or else.
*snicker* Daddy’s pi~ssed.
Roy was going to be rather pleased with this bit of meddling, or his missed his guess by a mile.
And you shall reap the benefits.
Re: Part 2
Date: 2007-01-16 07:39 pm (UTC)Mercury figured words worked better than slapping her would have. Everyone knows Ravager enjoys testing/messing with people.
Is that what we’re calling it nowadays?
*laugh* They have nothing resembling a normal relationship. He gets stupid/thickheaded/does something she doesn't like, she knocks him to the mats and rides the stupid out of him. They're very slowly admitting that they just might work together okay.
Awww, *gives Cer a cookie*
*gives Cer two cookies, given how much it took for him to do that.
And there you prove you’re your father’s son.
Oh, absolutely and very much so. Never one to forget an angle, is Duncan.
Shit Bruce, what did you do to him?
We're not sure? Well, I'm not sure. Filly might know.
Little possessive there? Or did Damian really turn out as badly as he could?
No Damien. Ibn. And Dick apparently very much dislikes him.
*whacks Bruce with bat*
*helps*
And yet again, Alfred proves he’s the one with any common sense.
As you put it, Alfie rules.
Keep behaving that way Bruce. Alfred can move in with Dick and Roy or Tim and Kon.
*laugh* Much as they love him, they're not so sure they want him living with them... *embarrassed looks all around*
Correction, he wasn’t going to get better if he kept pushing.
*laugh* True, but he's young and stupid.
Good Slade. Such a good daddy.
Very good daddy. When he's sane.
Smart girl. Good at the meeting the parents thing already.
*hugs her* Yep. She figures playing charming is the better idea.
*giggle*
That line seems to have gotten lots of giggles. I happen to agree.
Of course he isn’t. He’s Batman.
Read, "being a jackass"? Or just "incapable of taking a hint"?
*growlmutterhisss*
You said it.
I think you deserve one miracle, just for you.
I happen to agree with that.
Of course J’onn wouldn’t be. He a)has a brain functioning and B)likes BC.
*agrees wholeheartedly*
*snicker* Daddy’s pi~ssed.
Yes, yes he IS. And a pissed off Martian Manhunter is NOT a nice big green guy.
And you shall reap the benefits.
Yes he did. Repeatedly, he informs me.
Re: Part 2
Date: 2007-01-20 02:04 am (UTC)Pretty and talented too, the all around DC girl.
Is that what we’re calling it nowadays?
Better than bed buddies…or mats, more likely
Awww, *gives Cer a cookie*
He prefers his shaped like Lian.
And there you prove you’re your father’s son.
He is and seems to take pride in it…and it makes Dinah get misty to see those kind of moments.
Shit Bruce, what did you do to him?
One word: Rose.
Little possessive there? Or did Damian really turn out as badly as he could?
It's Ibn, but there are still issues there…
*whacks Bruce with bat*
First Wally, now Bruce…ouch.
And yet again, Alfred proves he’s the one with any common sense.
Always and forever.
Keep behaving that way Bruce. Alfred can move in with Dick and Roy or Tim and Kon.
Hmmm…Dinah can afford him.
Correction, he wasn’t going to get better if he kept pushing.
Stubborn cuss of a boy.
Good Slade. Such a good daddy.
When he's sane…
Smart girl. Good at the meeting the parents thing already.
Does a great first impression, actually. Thankfully.
*giggle*
Dinah had to rationalize.
Of course he isn’t. He’s Batman.
And a dick in ways Dick is not.
*growlmutterhisss*
The woman is trying to convince herself she made a mistake…and not to keep repeating it…and failing miserably.
I think you deserve one miracle, just for you.
She got it. Ollie came back. And screwed things up.
Of course J’onn wouldn’t be. He a)has a brain functioning and B)likes BC.
True on both points, so much so.
*snicker* Daddy’s pi~ssed.
And boy was he ever! 3 ½ hours chewing them out after a very disarming start where he made them explain how they screwed up…Clark cracked first.
And you shall reap the benefits.
Eased Dinah's life…of course Roy would be happy.
Part 3
Date: 2007-01-16 06:32 pm (UTC)Finally. Took you long enough.
"Much as I... dislike your choices, we have no right to so invade your private life."
J’onn use his mind powers on them? That sounded almost sensible.
Message and apology delivered, even with most of her pride intact, she turned to go.
Only because Dinah is more mature then you are.
But it was a father's prerogative to twit the boy over his relationship.
So very yes.
//Wish you wouldn't. Really wish you wouldn't. You know they're hunting you... Why do you keep doing this?//
Because it’s Slade.
//Damn, kid...got me going soft in my old age. But hell, the hunt gets less challenging every year.//
That’s because you keep on killing off the ones that aren’t a waste of air.
"Then either let her go--and break her heart for good--or do something about it, you stubborn--" he snapped his jaw shut, shaking his head once. "You're as crazy about her as she is about you, and you know as well as I do there're ways you could fix that damn record of yours, if you were willing."
Um. Dick? Did you take suicidal pills this morning?
"You ever going to stop calling me that?" Dick complained lightly
Dick, he’s your other father-type figure. The odds are about a billion to one against that happening.
"I could go back to calling you 'Robin' in that tone of voice you always hated," Slade pointed out. "And you let your mate still call you far worse."
Bet Dinah calls you some things you wouldn’t want Dick calling you.
He'd held still for the touch, even leaned into it, amazing on the surface... and not at all to anyone that knew either of them.
Again, Dick’s father figure that he’s not ready to strangle from annoyance alone.
Lovely edition, cannot wait for more.
Re: Part 3
Date: 2007-01-16 07:48 pm (UTC)Took her falling in love with the sociopath, yep.
J’onn use his mind powers on them? That sounded almost sensible.
No, he just beat them with logic until they gave in. If he'd used his mind powers, Bruce would have been there apologizing.
Only because Dinah is more mature then you are.
So true.
So very yes.
He embarrassed his son horribly. Which, I suppose, was the point.
Because it’s Slade.
*grumblegrowl from Duncan*
That’s because you keep on killing off the ones that aren’t a waste of air.
Too true. Too true.
Um. Dick? Did you take suicidal pills this morning?
No, not suicidal, but vaguely desperate. Dinah hurting messes with his head as much as it messes with Roy's, by this point, and his boy hurting makes it even worse. (And, well, he wouldn't mind too much if Slade got the chance to be happy, either.)
Dick, he’s your other father-type figure. The odds are about a billion to one against that happening.
*laugh* No fair bringing up the Daddy issues.
Bet Dinah calls you some things you wouldn’t want Dick calling you.
*eyes Slade.* *eyes Dick* *eyes Slade* *snorts softly* What odds were you offering?
Again, Dick’s father figure that he’s not ready to strangle from annoyance alone.
Well, that, and he sank some pretty hard hits, he had to show Slade he did it because he cares... and Dick does that sort of thing physically. "Yes, I know I pissed you off, and I know you could kill me real easy right now, but I trust you more than that, and I only pissed you off because I'm worried..."
Lovely edition, cannot wait for more.
Thank you.*beams gleefully*
Re: Part 3
Date: 2007-01-20 02:32 am (UTC)*giggle* having a kid to protect…from his possibly insane father, I cite Rose for example thereof, will teach you much.
J’onn use his mind powers on them? That sounded almost sensible.
He didn't have to…Clark turncoated one hour into the lecture….
Only because Dinah is more mature then you are.
Correction: tired of dealing with their bullshit.
So very yes.
agreed
Because it’s Slade.
He's just…Slade, just like you said. His Modus Operandi.
That’s because you keep on killing off the ones that aren’t a waste of air.
And won't test Rose to see if she is better yet.
Um. Dick? Did you take suicidal pills this morning?
Said what needed to be said. Hard, but needed. And Slade has usually respected that.
Dick, he’s your other father-type figure. The odds are about a billion to one against that happening.
Everyone in the DCU but Etrigan/Blood are younger than Slade at this point…except J'onn, dependent on the canon involved.
Bet Dinah calls you some things you wouldn’t want Dick calling you.
*grins* Actually…petnames are his forte, not hers.
Again, Dick’s father figure that he’s not ready to strangle from annoyance alone.
Slade looks on Dick as his heir in many ways, with all that entails.
Lovely edition, cannot wait for more.
Thanks…but current project is HV…for which Ollie is thankful.