Mun just saw DKR. Spoilers likely in comments.

[wing_of_night]

No. Don't you dare. If you think your headache is bad now, you make me relive "Knightfall" and you'll have a much bigger one on your hands.

Comments

[butwhytho]

That bad? Really?

[wing_of_night]

Yeah. That bad.

[butwhytho]

You wanna talk about it at all?

[wing_of_night]

No offense, but not really. It's... I'd just really rather not.

[butwhytho]

[Hey, it's no big deal. Also, he's talking to Peter Parker. You know, incorruptible (Venom was an exception!) Good Guy. He's not about to press.]

Sometimes talking doesn't do anything anyway; it's fine.

[wing_of_night]

[Nobody is incorruptible. ...Except Batman. Which is why it was so hard for Dick to watch it the first time around.]

I appreciate the sentiment though. To understand the whole story, though, kinda gets too much into the whole secret-identity thing. I used to think that what was said here stays here, but... this whole Dark Knight Rising thing has me a little paranoid.

[butwhytho]

[Maybe Bruce was having a...bat day. PETER PARKER, KING OF PUNS]

Paranoia? [He has Spidey sense for that.] It could be good, to have a bit of that, especially if there's valid justification for it.

[demon_brat]

Good thing mine has a lot lined up to read before that. I'm guessing.

[wing_of_night]

Yeah. Let's just say we don't exactly make a very good team.

[Small, if sad, snort goes here.]

Alfred said you're too much like me. ...Except for the whole, y'know, killing thing.

[demon_brat]

I'm like you? That makes no sense, Grayson.

*stop being so upset. You're freaking him out.*

We make a good enough team for Father to leave us operational, so stop that.

[wing_of_night]

That was my reaction when Alfred said something too.

[Okay okay, geez. He puts on a strong front, or at least tries.]

It's... complicated. But I guess you're right. No use worrying about it now. Everything turned out alright in the end.

[demon_brat]

Grayson.

Is this one of your self-confidence slumps or something?

*if it were a normal person, it might have been something like, 'talk to me.' But... Well. It's Damian.*

[wing_of_night]

I'm fine, Damian. It's nothing.

[Time to take the kids focus off him. HAIR RUFFLING AHOY!]

You know me. When it comes down to wearing the mask and doing my duty, that comes first.

[demon_brat]

*And Damian ducks away, thought not batting the arm away.*

You are an idiot, you know?

*is there a fondness to the insult? Just a tinge?

... and then he stills.*

You're missing him.

[wing_of_night]

I've been called worse.

[There's a pause as he shakes his head.]

Not as such... I just feel like I should've been there. Who knows, if I were there, maybe Bane wouldn't have...

[demon_brat]

You can't change the past, Grayson.

If you could have been, you'd have done your best to help. It might have made a difference. But you do not control all circumstances, and attempting to will lead to madness. Attempting to guess how things would have been is even worse.

And in the other universe, you were never allowed to exist. If you were there, it would have been a different story. You *fingerpoke in the direction of Dick's chest* do what you can. If you try to stretch yourself even thinner, you'll make it worse. Stick to your own reality.

Understood?

*arms crossed and actually expecting for his words to be heeded. Because he's a little monster, still. But he IS sort of trying to help...*

[wing_of_night]

[There's a moment of silence before Dick lightens up and snickers a bit.]

You sound exactly like your father. ...Thanks. I needed that.

[demon_brat]

>Tt.<

*loooking down, because he can't really show either that he's relieved or just how much praise that is, but he nods. The fact that it hepled is... good, at least.*

[wing_of_night]

[And playful punch to the shoulder is go.]

Maybe there's hope for you yet.

[demon_brat]

Hope for what, though?

[wing_of_night]

Hope that you won't turn into a total brat.

[demon_brat]

Isn't it a bit late for that?

[wing_of_night]

Oh, you're already a brat, that's for sure. That's why I said 'total.'

[demon_brat]

Ri-i-i-ight.

[hippie_shifter]

"Considering you've all but flipped off Trigon on multiple occasions, I'm guessing it's bad."

[wing_of_night]

It's... not the same kind of bad. It's one thing to be defiant in the face of an ancient demon from a hellish dimension. ...It's another to watch someone you care about so much suffer.

[hippie_shifter]

"Yeah, that is. I also know you and Batman fight some of the nastiest people out there - way, way out of my league. I...heard Bane injured Batman very badly, and that some other, even scarier guy took over for a while. But that's all I ever cared to ask."

[wing_of_night]

Yeah. Bane went out of his way to 'break the bat' as he put it. Figured out who Batman is, and called him out on his front lawn. ...Broke Batman's back. Bane is easily one of the deadliest of his enemies.

[hippie_shifter]

She cringes visibly. "And even with Doc Mid-Nite, Doc Thompkins, and all they can do, that kind of injury leaves you much weaker than before."

[wing_of_night]

For anyone else, maybe. Batman isn't one to let something like that slow him down though. He may not have any super powers, but his endurance is inhuman...

[hippie_shifter]

"I suppose you'd have to have that kind of determination to fight the likes of Joker."

"Mun saw the film with me, and..." Aurora shakes her head. "I came to Gotham after No Man's Land and all that. It's why I was able to get scholarships and grants at Gotham U studying urban farming and botany. Seeing the bridges go out and the idiots who were gonna shoot schoolkids was really unsettling. And the justifications and crap Bane was spouting about being a 'liberator' and 'freeing the people.' All he did was play right into the hands of the rich and paranoid. Now, anyone in that world trying to argue against the hoarding of wealth by the few at the expense of the many, or even someone trying to stick up for better working conditions, will be lumped in with him. It makes me so mad!"

[princess_andr]

"Sorry, dear one. I know well about that time, and none should have to relive the sadder parts of their past. It may make you the man you are now, but there is no point past it. X'hal knows I prefer not to look back on parts of my own."

[wing_of_night]

I'm just glad I had friends like you to help me through it. I honestly don't know how I would've managed without you, Kory.

[princess_andr]

That big smile. "Titans Together is more than a battle cry. It's our ability to work together as friends, family that makes us formidable. As strong as your mentor is, he is weak in the fact he feels he must work alone. You, Tim, and even Jason have had to bring him to his senses more than once."

[wing_of_night]

And you have no idea how much it means to have such amazing friends. And the thing with Batman is... well, he's got a heart just as big as yours, Kory. Just, with what he's been through and being aware of his own limits, he doesn't want to risk anybody he cares about getting caught in the crossfire or being used as bait or tortured to get at him.

With Tim, Jason, Steph, Babs and me, it took him a while to accept it, but he knows that we made the choice on our own. If he thought he pressured us into it, he'd never forgive himself. Now, though, I think he's learning that we're stronger together. The League has helped him a lot in that regard.

[princess_andr]

"I certainly hope so. Our choices will mean a short, but meaningful, life. The hall of statues testifies to that much, and may X'hal welcome them all to her fields. There's not a single one of us who did not choose it with our eyes open - some more than others."

[wing_of_night]

If nothing else, I'm glad I took up the cape and cowl just because I met you and the others. Don't get me wrong, Batman is an awesome mentor and dad and all, but he's certainly not much for conversation. ...And not nearly as easy on the eyes as you are.

[princess_andr]

"Thank you. I think my breasts have improved with age." She's grinning as she says it. Kory may be many things, but "subtle" isn't high on the list.

"And Earth is a marvelous place. Fascinating people, vibrant cultures...and men with incredible legs."

[wing_of_night]

[Dick snickers at that. It's that glorious lack of subtlety that he loves in Kory.]

They are marvelous, no argument there. Personally, I'll have to take your word on that. I'm no expert on the legs of men. I'm usually too busy staring at yours.