#fauxpause

This was supposed to purely be Jason & Dick. Like the planned speaking parts were ONLY Jason, Dick and (briefly) Joker. Every other character who talks invited themselves to the story as they appear.

Later; “You cannot tell what drugs you’re on based on licking your teeth.” “Can too.” “…” “…” “Fuck off!” “Haha!” 

I borrowed/ripped/riffed off so many direct quotes in here from the comics. Last Laugh, Forever Evil, Batman 635, Spyral, Gotham Wars, Nightwing Vol 2. They’re not meant as Easter Eggs or anything I just genuinely got lazy with the character’s spoken lines because finding character voice is HARD. 

I left it intentionally vague as to what Bruce is up to, what he’s thinking, and why he’s doing what he’s doing. Jason is an uncharitable narrator when it comes to Bruce generally and is especially so on this topic in particular so… make of that as you will. I think I put in enough hints for people to draw a few different conclusions but I’m curious to see what people think.

On that note, this fic feels more than a little rushed to me… but I really, REALLY, tried to avoid making it a chapter fic. I finally dropped the cut off where it was because I realized my drafted ending might not be everyone’s cup of tea. 

I had too much fun with the very real idea that the reader knew Dick killed the Joker but Jason’s POV is that it would be such a leap for anyone to put those pieces together in the absolute chaos that ensued. A burning, collapsing building and a Scarecrow event meant that the chances of someone finding the corpse should have been low. Even then, logic ought to dictate that Jason was the killer… except everyone else who would hold Dick accountable knows about Last Laugh! So it’s really NOT a giant leap in logic to find a gun, the Joker shot to death, and one of Nightwing’s gloves and go “oh.” / “oops, he did it again.”

Head Count of “Who Knows About Last Laugh” in Canon:

Stephanie! This was her first canonic meeting of Nightwing. :D 

Tim. He pulls Dick off Joker’s corpse. 

Barbara. She and Dick meet and actually talk through the pros/cons and consequences of Dick killing the Joker after they believe he’s killed Tim. Dick approaches that chapel with full premeditated intent to kill. He gets cold feed, goes for an arrest, and then Joker antagonizes Dick by saying Jason’s name. And Dick beats that SOB till his armored gloves fall apart and Joker’s heart stops beating. 

Helena B. aka Huntress. Bruce makes her revive Joker. 

Bruce. He shows up and moralizes and demands they save the Joker.  

A note - can anyone confirm if it's "the Joker" or just "Joker"? I've seen it both ways over the years now and am just unsure now.

Dick’s firing speed and accuracy aren’t impossible but they are absurd, especially given the conditions he’s operating under. He is, however, canonically a crack shot based on commentary from back when he first took the Officer Exams and later during his time in Spyral. Jason has good reason to be surprised by it given his knowledge about Dick’s weapons of choice is very limited (based on his missing memories and the fact that Dick has not spoken to anyone about Spyral period.) 

Dick’s grip strength is not a joke given his childhood and regular practice on the trapeze as well as martial arts, free climbing and other activities. I’m relatively certain he can break thicker bones (never mind the delicate bones in hands and fingers) with his grip alone. Jason is absolutely going to be bruised to shit. I didn’t use the phrase ‘bone bruise’ lightly here. 

Dick’s immunity to Fear Toxin appears in only one set of comics but the fact that he’s resistant to Fear Toxin has been referenced a few times in addition to the fact that it pisses Jonathan Crane off almost as much as it fascinates him. (This is partly why he goes out of his way to pose as a Dr during the Ric Grayson Arc!) 

Dick, waking up: Huh, the come down sucks but that trip was actually super cathartic.  The news, still screaming: Multiple heroes, scattered around and also asleep with their weapons at hand: Jason, conked out right next to Dick: Dick, processing all that again from the top: …Oh. Oh, fuck. 

Dick is never, not once, at any point, certain that he’s awake during the course of these events. He plays it off relatively well at points but he is tripping balls and suffering from blood loss. He’s aware enough to know he’s been dosed and wounded and pretty much nothing else. Which says a lot about the choices he makes and leans into, or at least it does for me. 

Jason has yet to win a fight against Bruce and he’s at a disadvantage here given I’ve: blown him up, punted him through a wall and floor, had Joker whale on him decently badly, put Jason through some shock and re-traumatized him, left him to baby sit Dick while processing, shocked him again with the news that Dick did kill the Joker at one phase and everyone else knew about it, and then threw Bruce at him. 

Dick, however, while reluctant to fight Bruce has put Bruce on his back at least twice in the past even when Dick is at a disadvantage. Here, he performs a triple flip (which means Dick was moving at around 65-70mph. I don’t think we emphasize that those flips hit with so much force it can dislocate the shoulders of the person trying to catch the flyer. For the quadruple, to this day, it can rip the skin off their hands in big flaps! Like, the performers have to toughen their skin just to pull it off without maiming themselves and their partners. Also… hitting any flip in the air magnifies the power and Dick would “land” by slamming into his targets. He also is trained in enough martial arts to have altered the set up of this signature, impossible, flip for maximum impact. Because again, Dick is not a gymnast to compete he uses his background and talent for gymnastics to attack people. Very different goals there haha. Here, because we don’t want to kill Bruce, Dick just hits him with a triple instead of a quad. It’s still enough to, as I tried to convey, send Bruce several feet backwards and into the load bearing wall. 

Jason likely has very little concrete idea of what makes the Batsuit tick anymore. He’s well and truly lost that access and privilege. Dick, meanwhile, likely has an exact idea which, yes, does give him an edge in general on Bruce.

Speaking of Bruce and Batman! I tried to be particular in how he was addressed. Bruce is Batman in Jason’s POV because he has the cowl up the entire time. Tim alternates between the two as a tactic and Dick just flat out calls Bruce by name because he’s, you know, pretty sure none of this is actually happening anyway :) 

Bruce has hit Tim exactly once, to my knowledge, outside of training or plot-device mind control etc. So it’s happened, but I don’t think Tim has categorized it as typical of Bruce the way Jason and Dick likely have. 

Also idk if anyone will notice but it was important to ME that I never put Dick fully on his back in this fic. I figure between the rest of the sensory input and the Fear, being on his back would have shot-put Dick back to when Catalina raped him and I just didn’t want to deal with that in this story. Another time, maybe. 

I know she doesn’t appear but Cass is not a combat deus ex machina in my stories. I really hate that’s the take away everyone gets from her story. I respect her abilities and don’t want to come off as detracting from them at all. In a head to head fight? Cass wins. Cass will win 98% of the time against any one of the Bats. Bruce and Dick are her biggest challenges but it seems consistent to say that Cass defeats them far more often than not! HOWEVER, that is in a spar or a direct fight. Dick and Bruce *do not fight like that* in the field. Cass is rash, impatient, and so incredibly sure of herself and her capabilities that she often bites off more than she intends to chew or blunders into traps she cannot fight her way out of in her & Bab’s comics. That set of flaws, because of her martial prowess, is part of what keeps her character engaging. Because of her abilities, Cass’ comic plots and struggles are more inline with the Metahuman comic counterparts: she IS physically capable, so it has to be SOMETHING ELSE that stalls or stops her. And she CAN be stalled, surprised and stopped. TLDR: in an actual conflict, I don’t think Cass can take Dick or Bruce. Absolutely not if they see her coming or expect her to be involved. Cass can cut the whole affair short by forcing that head to head fight before Dick or Bruce are ready — but otherwise I think she gets overwhelmed or trapped or tricked. Cass would be a good staller and a great piece to throw Dick of Bruce off balance… but she’s NOT an answer or a flat to check to either of them if it comes down to an actual, real, fight. Bruce is far more likely to engage as if things are “real” whereas Dick canonically has a (terrible) habit of “going sweet” on allies, including giving them free hits. 

Not mentioned AT ALL here but Damian Wayne DID NOT STAY IN HELL if he was there AT ALL. (FUCK THAT AND FUCK RIGHT OFF DC COMICS) You’re telling me DICK GRAYSON - who canonically has traveled through several hells (thanks John Constantine), knows at least two pseudo-demons and is on good terms with them (Raven and Jason Blood) and is beloved by the largest Greek Mythos presence on the planet (Hypolita, Diana and Donna at least, genuinely respected by Artemis and Cassie as well) - didn’t scour the afterlives or pull strings or make deals to check where Damian’s soul went??? I’d have been less surprised if the Sword of Sin didn’t burn Dick in that vision quest explicitly because Dick made an off panel deal with some equivalent to or actual Lucifer (DC canon character who has a THING for sharp, smart mouthed, MORAL AS FUCK, police detectives) for Damian’s soul.

For ANYONE wondering about Damian, he’s in ch2 but for those who don’t want to read: Damian does not know about Last Laugh but he does hear (probably from Alfred) about Bruce’s plan to bring Dick in for murder. Damian makes a choice that no one besides Stephanie and Dick would guess at, and makes the tactical retreat to gain allies. Which is basically Dick’s old “everything has gone to shit and I am gone” rule for his Robin. In this case, he first shouts for Superman (settles for Clark tbh) and then goes to locate the Titans et. all with Jon’s help. ;) Damian very much gets a surprise/wake up call at just how much credit being Dick’s Robin (and Robin generally) gets him in the broader hero community. 

Dick is genuinely only a few degrees of separation out from every character in the DCU. It’s ridiculous and I think it should get mentioned more often. He’s 100% the guy that everyone at least knows of or knows someone who does know him. He’s the DCU’s designated “I know a guy.” He was also the heir and little brother to the original JLA, the extended JLA, the Titans and then the mentor figure to the Titans & Titans/Young Justice crew among OTHER heroes and vigilantes as well. He is, as canon as said a few times, the must trusted hero. Which lends the idea that if Nightwing decided someone needed to die…? (Barbara was NOT joking about that whole “No jury would convict him” thing…) 

Dick is Alfred’s youngest son, not his grandson, and it shows. I mean, absolutely fuck Tom King and disregard all of his “writing” but I 100% buy that as a reason as to why Dick inherited all of Alfred’s wealth. 

Some of the combat was hard to write… I toed the line there on describing it for a reader and keeping it in Jason’s limited third person POV. 

For the specific scene with Bruce vs Jason… Bruce and Jason are facing the same direction. Bruce has just stooped to reach for Jason’s helmet, as Jason has clearly not gone to back up the footage yet and the damage caused by Joker may have meant that it was the sole copy. Jason approached Bruce from behind and tried to kick him in the head. It would have done damage, but not a TON because of the armored cowl and Jason was aware of that but wasn’t thinking super clearly and anticipated having more time to respond after the hit. Bruce dodges and throws a jab at Jason’s bare face with the arm closest to Jason. In this case, Bruce is now standing slighting infant of Jason but due to the sideways doge is almost entirely next to him. Jason sees the punch coming, but because his weight and momentum are still falling forward from the kick he cannot dodge. He turns his head and torso instead to dodge as much as he can and to lessen the blow. Jason’s arms are up for the kick and also to grab at Bruce if he tried to stand immediately after. This means that Bruce’s thrown punch also goes over Jason’s bent elbow and forces Jason further forward and takes away more of his control/balance. Jason does manage to turn his head and torso, but Bruce still connects - knuckles to jaw/cheek. Bruce then ducks a little to spin an elbow into Jason’s center mass with a huge amount of power and a lot of his weight behind the blow. This snaps two of Jason’s already tender ribs (referenced in the landing at the beginning of the chapter) and throws him around a bit more. This all is supposed to happen very fast. In fact, none of the combat in this fic lasts for more than a few minutes apiece if that. I think the longest part of any fight with active movement is when Tim is physically mediating between Bruce and Jason. 

Bruce 100% has kryptonite on him and is prepared use it on Clark right up until Clark announces that he’s in contact with the entire JLA who have been made aware of what’s happened and are waiting on their arrival. Bruce, at that point, was armed to take out the home team and had his usual stock of ‘oh shit’ back up plans… but he is by no means equipped to take out the entire JLA and whoever else this has leaked to today. So Bruce hangs out in air jail and schemes. 

I will be making a separate notes post for the Second Chapter as I’ll be dragging in a pile of heroes and have notes on them that won’t make it (fully) into he narrative. I’m also debating as to whether to stay in Jason’s POV or if I should swap over to Damian’s… Hm. 

Optional Plot Twist: That wasn’t Jack Napier aka the Joker — it was some poor schmuck dosed up and convinced he was the Joker, set up BY the Joker to run this. It goes better than the clown ever expected! And Bruce’s lecture gets a realistic edge to it… and the Joker stays at large… and now Jason and Dick see Bruce acting as if he PROTECTING Joker? Hmmm could be awful! :) I’m undecided~ 

Peonies, for those of you that care, are associated with a LOT. Healing and attraction (greek mythos), romance (bridal bouquets), bashfulness, shyness, as well as wealth and rank (Chinese, but specifically the myth about the Empress and her decree). ;)

For those wondering about the “meanly arrested fall” part, Dick has previously used a device that lets him throw people off buildings as it deploys a line and a safety harness after either a few seconds or a few dozen feet. In this case, you’re welcome to imagine Jason’s winded horror and confusion as Dick flips for momentum/force and drop-kicks his ass off a lethally high building. And then leaves him dangling there, hyperventilating but unharmed in the vigilante equivalent of air-jail (until Jason can reach a knife and bust a window and swing himself to some solid ground). Dick spent the time it took for Jason to get out of that yeeting Jason's guns through different building's windows.

When I say "Bruce had never truly considered the possibility [of Joker's death]" I mean just that. The man has plans written, of course, but he's never really thought it would ever actually happen. So Dickie was trained on that one. The contingencies, the worries. (Will the corpse explode? Would he have traps set? Where. When. How do you contain them. Disarm them. How do you dispose of a body so contaminated that blood transfusions are known to kill even at minimal exposure?) (Dick's Happy Childhood.)

Dick also isn't referencing Bruce when he says "step up and do it for me," as Dick feels he solved his parent's murder sufficiently himself. Jason is the one who assumes Dick meant Batman. Which is why he misses what Dick is actually offering him and is blind sided a few days later.

Jason spends most of this fic alternatively trying to work out why the fuck Dick is hanging around, if Dick knows and is playing a long con because obviously he doesn't actually CARE. He does the ground work, stalling his own plans incidentally, and figures out Dick is staying with Selina and isn't at the Manor or in contact with the bats and -- I just genuinely pictured Jason's side of his being like a solid 70% him hyping himself up and then holding back the urge to either kill Dick or twist any emotional knife he can reach. Like he's there, surrounded by these bags of take out and Dick talking shit with him on a roof and the first six meetings Jason internally is genuinely like... "No! No, I can't just yet! Have to hold it in." and then well, you know how this one goes.

The title is blatantly the song 'Options' by Cameron Whitcomb and it's an oddly Nightwing song in my mind :)

I just imagine Dick looking at a gun, his escrima sticks, a sword, a Talon's knife, Ra's sword, a batarang, and a gold chain necklace all lined up. "My favourite vices I used to need Lined up on the countertop, and they're calling out to me Would I still survive it, or have I lost my edge? … It helps me cope knowing I could be that version of myself Could disappear for a week, for a month, for a year Wake up at home or in a coffin It's nice to know I got options")

BASIC PREMISE

In this AU, Grant does not die while attempted to murder the Titans. The Titans ping that Ravager is showing signs of cardiac failure (at least TWO of them possessed the ability to hear guy’s heartbeat) and communicate as such to their team members. They still can’t STOP him via combat; but they CAN send Wally out to get a tranq and, with Dick being read up to speed, several other drugs and tools to keep Grant both sedated and level. Turns out that anesthesia and cardiac problems have a looooong history of working around one another so this work-around is IRL plausible. Crazy but it's a comic... also not totally beyond Dick Grayson’s canon abilities/knowledge. A stretch but not that far of one given all of canon!

Grant survives, but ends up in custody of the Titans. Unfortunately for them, Grants near death experience did what his childhood trauma failed to do and activated his meta gene. Now possessing an enhanced healing factor and literal hysterical strength (which means he's just really hurting himself by over doing it and then healing inhumanly fast. It's not technically "super strength" the way Slade's, and late Rose's, serum and latent gene works), Grant escapes the Tower (the Titans do let him go, Dick has sensibly, if creepily, chipped him and his clothes).

HIVE is not at all impressed. Their plan was for Grant to die trying so they could hire Slade at a bargain deal. For ease of concept, let's say they assume Grant's death while he's with the Titans and call Deathstroke up anyway.

Grant escapes while Slade is still observing his new targets and assume his eldest son is dead. The hilarious "I'M OKAY" meet up ensues and Grant gets to spend time with Slade (Dad! Noticing me!) ... but eventually sees senses that what he wanted from his Dad and what he’s going to get are two different things. 

This epiphany probably occurs after a few ass kickings by the Titans too where Nightwing ends up fighting Deathstroke (despite the girls on the team being more or less walking weapons and therefore more logical answers) and completely ignores/by passes Ravenger (correctly) as the lesser threat. ((Grant ends up having Draco Syndrome and Slade finally is like “Say less about Nightwing.”))

Joey and Addie (Grant’s little brother and his mom) ally with Dick a la canon which is the eventual tipping point for Grant. 

Joey moves in and brings his “fussy” (Joey’s word) older brother with him. Grant falls fast and hard for Nightwing, much to Joey’s amusement ((Which, awkward, he’s been a main antagonist)) (((Roy was the one who usually, somehow, ended up having to fight Grant in close combat and so Roy is the most against it.)))

Joey flirts more with Dick because of this! Dick canonically thinks the way Joey flirts/woos is how he’d like to be treated and so there’s a lot of shit Joey gets to give Grant over Grant’s more fumbling attempts. Grant becomes the grumpy, awkward, den-mother of the Titans.

WORLD BUILDING

The Titans are now an international team with Towers and contacts spanning the globe. Dick is the nexus of this.

He jokes that it's only because he’s one of the few who can speak with anyone from any given place at a time vs an actual leadership role. No one else is laughing at that because it’s palpably untrue. This shift made the Justice League (re: Bruce) very twitchy but just as in canon they were unable to shut the Titans down. Here, the Titans don't collapse in on themselves and so kept growing.

The UN actually has far more contacts with the Titans vs the Justice League (which still calls itself the JLA). The Titans and their respective Towers are, much to the disagreement and constant bickering in the aforementioned UN, unaffiliated with local governments. They can work with governments and agencies but are not beholden to them. The Titans, more or less, have carved out what’s technically Titans Sovereign territory. ((Dick is thrilled to no longer have to juggle multiple, international, tax returns for teen superheroes.))(((Because, yes, Dick canonically had the Titans registered and paid their taxes. The nerd.))) The real reason isn’t the tax benefits thing (though Dick and Victor loudly disagree as the two who most often had to figure those forms out) but because the local governments very quickly attempted to use the Titans in their area as military assets. ...One or two Titans died due to this. And despite them willingly fighting for their country, the resulting backlash on their less willing team members and the government’s use of their image and deaths pushed Dick to step in as Nightwing. The long standing rule now is that if your country goes to war with another country (hopefully not another Titan’s country) you can take leave of the Titans to fight… but you do so as a civilian in your civilian ID with all the risks that accounts for. ((It’s not a pretty answer and Dick is grateful that it hasn’t happened more than twice. Still two times too many. I as author am aware, especially now, that this is also not a great answer but it's the one I have.))

TLDR: The Titans are international, and a huge group, and at this point Dick is the face and defecto Leader of Titans Global vs the original Titans Tower and team. He networks, helps train, oversees, and organizes dozens of Titans. Which are all of his favorite parts of the job, really.

Canon Changes (Drastic) Mirage goes differently, as Miriam struggles to impersonate Grant. Dick still downplay's Miriam's SA's of him and it still creates problems in his relationship. Dick is also, eventually, raped and assumed the whole time (just as in canon) that Miriam was his actual partner. She again reveals that it was her and that Dick should have "been able to sense the difference" but this time, with both Kory AND Grant baying for blood the other Titans are corrected early and harshly. There's still fall out, and Dick is still raped in a place he assumed was safe with his rapist wearing the face and mannerisms of someone he loves... but it's acknowledged as rape and blame is not slapped on the victim instead of the rapist. (Miriam has all of Dick's life floating around in her head as well as false memories of a long standing relationship with him. YES she had every tool available to fool him and NO IT'S NOT DICK'S FAULT THAT HE WAS RAPED.) (We are also not blaming Kory for how canon went down either - not happy I need to say this bit out loud as I assumed that was obvious but of course she's allowed to have feelings about those events. Holy shit. Kory's support is what is actually pivotal in this AU.)

Jason Todd still calls Dick's cellphone despite knowing Dick is off planet... here, though, Dick has left his phone with his boyfriend/husband. Grant interferes with Jason's plans to run off to Ethiopia. Several possible routes: (1) Grant stops it cold. (2) Jason runs off anyway and Grant either (a) succeeds in calling out Sheila Haywood and stopping Jason before there’s ever a warehouse handover or (b) In rescuing Jason after Jason goes to the meeting after Grant said NO. Or (3) Fails to save Jason, even if he was there. Especially if he was there.

Tim Drake still shows up on their doorstep one evening. Grant is the adoption instigator there, surprising even himself. And as opposed to Jack Drake threatening Bruce Wayne with a gun, Grant helps himself to Jack's nice scotch one evening and the two have talk... neither Tim nor Dick are impressed but depressingly it works (and then Jack is murdered).

Dick's Territory As well as overseeing his new “home” city. TBD but it’s not Bludhaven. I’m leaning towards Chicago or New York. New York is classic Titans and Nightwing - they had a temporary base there at one point. Would also let me work in my favorite cracky ideas of 'Elloise of the Plaza Hotel' reference character as one of Nightwing’s NYC benefactors. But Chicago probably works better...

FUN DETAILS OF THE HUSBANDS AU

Dick's Side Projects These are my usual HC's for how Dick affords his NW gear but... Dick has built up a strange fortune via a bunch of enterprises that he like, sets up, fixates on, makes profitable, then passes over to a team he hand picks and moves on to the next thing.

(1) "Big Red’s Garage" (based on Roy) BRG is a low-income community focused work/trade opportunity. Skill training is given on site. One of the work requirements in all the contracts is that they have to stay clean. There’s decently rigorous testing. These garages start up on the West Coast, but spread relatively quickly once Dick gets the systems (both literal computer wise and literal application wise) down.

(2) [NAME TBD] A Coffee Chain  Idea was developed when he started taking college classes + the number of times the Titans crashed for lack of coffee or wanted a late-night to 24hr coffee shop. Dick, being Dick, actually went ahead and did it. Dick, being Dick and also a dick, did not tell the Titans that the coffee shop they started frequenting was his. There are, of course, hero themed drinks based on locale (the Titans from Dick’s era are the Staple drinks though now some have faded from memory that people know the drinks better than Dick’s now dead friends…) and also a lot of fan-produced hero-merch is available for sale in each location.

(3) A health cereal brand  Because he could.

(4) He's an investor and tech-partner in Joey's start up I usually write Joey working on technology to help those with speech related disabilities or impairments. Dick lends a hand, largely because he's usually both nosey and competent, and I usually have Joey thank him by shunting paperwork his way. Whenever Dick refuses to heal or rest, he gets "promoted" at the company. By the time Joey dies, Dick is in the c-suite... which made him vey sad (as it meant Joey died upset with him on some level).

Children The idea that Grant wants kids, but not his genetics (trust issues, for a start) and Dick wants to make his husband happy (and has always wanted family). It starts with Garfield and Rachel (using a mix of canons here). Then Jason. And then, later, when Donna has her son Robert (aka "Rob," the same nickname used for Dick by the original six Titans) they take him in. The prophecy regarding him becoming a Lord of Chaos can kiss their ass (defy fate). ((Robbie's entire existence is tragic in ever iteration. It would be nice to both let Donna divorce her much older (author-insert, eheobophile) husband and win custody over her kid and not worry too much over the world ending prophecy of days. I also personally have mixed feelings about the motherhood role the authors place on Donna... so while I still adore the strong feelings she's written as having about her son, I sort of like this route as a way to circumnavigate the classic 'motherhood as pinnacle' trope.))

Eventually, after a very long period of time and multiple discussions; Mari (Nightstar) Grayson also exists. Grant and Kory almost had issues because Grant is easily jealous and insecure. But Kory is amazing and doesn’t take Grant’s shit and calls him out. So many conversations between Grant and Dick but Grant eventually feels secure enough for Mari to exist.

I also imagine that Rose stays with them on and off and, eventually, it is likely that Respawn (who I always name Reed) will make an appearance one way or another.

Grant took Dick’s last name. GG = Grant Grayson for a few reasons. First, his dad is essentially immortal. Joey kept Slade's name, despite the divorce. (Dick is like… you don’t want to keep your mother’s name? Grant in point of fact does not.) Later, Grant argues that even Rose took Dad’s name!

The real reason? Dick isn’t “the Last Grayson” anymore or ever again.

Home Grant and Dick have a town-house/condo. Three levels. With dry-erase walls on the first floor with notes and photos and magnets given and left and written by all their friends - and children. Grant says, often, that they have so much space because they have too many kids. To be fair to Grant, there was a point in time where most nights of the week he and Dick ended up on the sofa because 3-5 teenagers were piled in their bed and the guest bed contained 2-4 “grown” Titans. To be fair to Dick, that tapered off after two years or so as the kids found their feet and either started going to college or moving out to help organize the other Titan branches.

Dick is not a Cop (anymore). Grant’s biggest won argument is, of course, Dick quitting the police force. He quietly put up two photos in the back-entrance by the kitchen. It’s two headshots, side by side; one of a 17-year old Slade Wilson in his military uniform and one of a 19-year old Dick Grayson in his officer uniform. Both of the young men in the photos are smiling and proud of themselves. Grant has replaced the photos twice and they won’t be moved a third time. Between those photos on a small wall between the garage and the kitchen is a plaque commemorating a victory to Grant Grayson and a tiny article detailing Detective Grayson's retirement. (Dick stuck it out through to detective, got what he needed from the force i.e. routed out an amazing amount of corrupt cops, and then quit after getting better people in power.)  

Misc Details Grant wears his ring obsessively/proudly. It’s nth metal, which is beyond absurd. Grant’s genuinely not sure if Slade donated it or if Dick won it off him (in combat) but he’s very sure that Dick got it from Deathstroke one way or another. The other, more reasonable alternative, is that Dick got it via his connections to the Hawks but Grant is well aware that is the Red Herring here. 

This is really just me wanting fluff. Fluff and appreciation and no one (except for Joker) having any lasting injuries. It completely ignores the actual repercussions I think would ensue because this isn't a serious fic. 

Cyborg Quietly Took Over the Watchtower and No One Noticed (Except Dick) They totally know where to send it, but Cyborg (Victor Stone) is in charge of that and figures that jump scaring the paranoid trigger happy former crime lord only now participating vigilante is a bad idea. Especially after why they’re meeting.

Victor wasn't yelling at the Flashes, he was shouting instructions at them. They were running (kind of literally, ha) inputs into the computer to help manage and launch the video feeds because Victor is amazing but that was a lot of people to manage. 

This is also why we don't see Victor ramping up for war despite pretty much being able to take total control of the Watchtower. He's in on what's about to land on the Justice League and is the actual proverbial 'tip of the spear' here. 

Purple Ray Ex-machina We fix Dick’s bad knee because why not. There’s no reason that should be a thing. And Diana gets to use it (her own creation in at least one iteration) on someone she loves. 

J'onn J'onzz's Canon Booty Shorts J’onn is mostly covered by his cape. He’s wearing a cross-harness, a belt, and some tight briefs. He’s right there with some of Starfire’s outfits for coverage and while I love that for him (and am MAD the movies and TV shows have altered it! C’mon!! You kept the catsuits!) it does need to be said. Cannot believe I’m going to tag for J’onn J’onzz and his canonic booty shorts.

Ohana Yes, Diana and J’onn go to the medbay to hold Dick’s hand and help him feel better. That’s their baby (brother). They watched him grow up. They’ve seen him win and lose battles, grades, board games, friends, baby teeth. YES they are gonna go HOLD HIS HAND in the middle of this MESS.

Trapeze depends on good grip strength and trusting in your partner’s hands. So you bet itsy bitsy Robin was still testing adults by their grip and it was his way of saying hi/bye/I’ve got you. 

The Hawks are dead here. I’m so sorry :( 

Wally and Oliver are the Most Likely to Throw Hands at Batman and I a wanted to honor that specifically. Also, I like to imagine that they consider it some sort of extreme sport and are keeping track of their respective 'points.'

Starfire is the Most Likely to Punt a Bitch Into the Sun

J’onn is is like yes :) I am happy to take my human nephew to the super secure base with my buddies from the horrible ol’ days :) also :) fuck :) you :) Have some consequences :) 

Tempest is, as usual... At Arthur, reserved and formal and composed: My king... Sees Dick Grayson: MY KING!!!

Raven is in Dick’s shadow. Jason looked away just before it grew four red eyes and wings, because I loved that visual from the 2003 cartoon.

No idea if any one noticed, but yes! Bruce is in that meeting without the iconic horns on the cowl! Just the broken remains of them.