Dick was having cereal for dinner, again.

It wasn't enough to fuel him, not even close, but maybe having several bowls of the stuff, coupled with the scoops of protein powder he had mixed into the milk would offset that. He was aware it wasn't healthy, but there was too much going on in his brain to dedicate any time to making an actual meal.

And to add to the stress, he knew something was slipping his mind all day. Something important, but he couldn't put a finger on it because every time he tried to recall what it was, every other thing he had been trying to keep at bay flooded in.

Even now, as he shoved another spoonful of colorful shapes into his mouth and tried to ignore the powdery texture of the milk, his mind swam with thoughts of Kai in the hospital bed, Blockbuster's elusive plans, what the hell beams in the ceilings with holes meant, conversations with Perseus with her hair blowing in the city wind looking strangely sad, Redhorn's weird selection for security detail, and then, at the bottom of the list, not due to unimportance, but because his training ensured he properly prioritized ongoing issues, the fact that Percy still had not called him, even she said she would.

Well, she hadn't actually promised anything, his brain pointed out, unhelpfully. Should he call her instead? Or was texting a better option? Which was more casual? Dick didn't usually have an issue making the first move, so why was he hesitant this time? What was stopping him? Maybe, he grudgingly observed, his prioritization skills weren't as sharp as he thought they were.

His watch buzzed with a silent reminder, indicating it was almost time for patrol, and he suddenly felt most of his worries melt away. He had noticed the phenomenon recently but was unable to explain it. Fighting bad guys had always been somewhat therapeutic for him, but lately, every time he found himself stepping onto his fire escape and flipping off, he felt his face lift a little. It was strange, sure, but he wasn't going to complain about being in a good mood.

Dick finished the rest of the bowl and drained the milk into the sink, vowing to never attempt to make cereal a balanced meal. It took him a few minutes to find his second escrima stick, but once he had recalled shoving it in the hall closet for some unknown reason, Dick strapped them both to his back and climbed out the window. Launching himself off the railing, he grabbed onto a high ledge and, right on schedule, felt his lips form a small smile.

LINEBREAK

"Same time tom—"

An incredibly loud and offensive alarm blared from the street below, cutting off the rest of Dick's question. It beeped three times in a row at maximum volume, then quieted by a few decibels and continued to ring.

"Well," Perseus said, amusement coloring her tone, "That's just unlucky. Last one?"

Dick snorted in response, then held his arm out, gesturing her to go first. She took the lead, jumping off the side of the building to a railing on the opposite side. He watched as she then dropped the rest of the way down, tucking into a roll and coming up standing. He had noticed that she preferred that way of landing to the more commonly used one among other powered heroes. Dick silently agreed, not everyone had bones made of steel.

"Mind if we join the party?" he heard Perseus say, startling the man shoving a flat metal ruler down the window of a car.

Something nagged at his brain again, but then Dick leaped after her, the wind blowing past his ears, and it was forgotten. The man squeaked in surprise at the second arrival, freezing in place as he and Perseus caged him in from the front. He made one last half-hearted attempt to break into the car, to which they stared incredulously at the audacity, before Dick unclipped his escrima stick. Perseus pouted.

"You got to punch how many people tonight?" Dick reminded her, "At least give me this one."

Her expression smoothed out. "Okay," she agreed easily.

He lightly jabbed the man's stomach, and the thief jolted and collapsed.

"But then you get to carry him to the station," she added.

Dick fixed her with a look of absolute betrayal. The precinct was so far from their current location, and they both knew that.

"I need my beauty sleep," he protested, crossing his arms and being careful not to step on the unconscious man on the ground between them.

Perseus snorted. "You really don't."

Then she froze.

Dick watched, fascinated, as a flush creeped up the side of her neck, and although her mask covered most of her cheeks, he betted they were just as pink.

He grinned and leaned closer. "Why not?"

Perseus scoffed, trying to dispel the embarrassment. "Because, it won't help. You're a lost cause."

He wasn't sure why he found her slip of the tongue so amusing, but once he started teasing her, he found it hard to stop.

"Oh, really?" he replied, raising his eyebrows, "I thought maybe you—"

"Do you wanna to walk to the precinct alone?"

Dick shut his mouth immediately.

He held eye contact with the other hero for another second or two, watching the blush, unfortunately, fade, before sighing and reaching down to heave the car thief onto his back.

They walked a couple of blocks, side by side, down the dark streets. It was late enough that even the main roads were deserted, but Dick insisted they stuck to quiet alleyways anyway. The silence was comfortable, even if Perseus, true to her word, did nothing to help ease his burden. The man's arms hung uselessly over Dick's shoulders, swingingly aimlessly with his footsteps.

"Oh!" she exclaimed quietly, still a few streets over from the station, "I picked up that communicator from my friend this morning. I also told him about Kai and he's already started setting up a bedroom." She snorted. "Hope the kid likes hot wheels."

Dick paused in his steps just briefly, but then resumed his pace. He had already suspected that her tech contact and mechanic friend were the same person, based on the two conversations, but he hadn't really expected her to outright confirm it. He wondered if she even realized she had done it. Then he frowned, something else coming to mind.

"Didn't you say he lives in Texas?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

Dick shrugged. "It's just far, that's all," he pointed out, sending her a sideways glance, "How many hours is that flight again?"

She froze in place, a briefly panicked expression taking over her face. "Um," she stammered, "Not long?"

Dick laughed, which relieved her enough to continue their journey. "I'm guessing it has something to do with him being the right person to look after Kai?"

The other hero nodded furiously, slightly picking up the pace, and Dick dropped the subject. He couldn't lie, he did have other questions about this friend of hers, and as much as he wanted to ask them, he wasn't going to be nosy. If her friend was a meta, he was probably unregistered, based on her hesitance to share information, and Dick understood that. Besides the 'destructive' comment she had made, the guy didn't seem too bad, especially if Perseus thought so highly of him, and Dick was probably going to meet him at some point anyways to confirm it himself.

When they finally reached the destination, Dick's legs strained a little from giving a grown man a piggyback ride for twenty minutes. He knew Perseus caught the slight sigh of relief he let out after dropping the guy off at the back entrance, but thankfully said nothing as they zip-tied him to a stationary pole.

Dick straightened, stretching out his back, and when he returned to an upright position, Perseus was holding out her new gadget. It was strange looking, the same bronze color as one side of her sword and about half the size of a standard phone. She pushed the device open, and, as a small keypad slid into view at the bottom, the screen lit up.

"Is that code?" Dick asked, trying to get a better look at the buttons.

"Nope," Perseus answered, "Greek."

She held the device out to him to enter his secure number, but Dick, amused and a little disappointed in his language skills, pointed out that Greek was not one of the many tongues he knew and recited the number instead. Perseus pressed a few extra keys after that, and Dick felt his wrist vibrate.

"What'd you save me as?" he asked, peeking at the screen, but it was still no use. Was that really Greek? He had enough experience with the alphabet through math to know that it looked a little different than he was used to.

"Bird brain," she smirked at him, and flipped the phone closed to indicate that the decision was final.

Dick scowled in response, finding the initial message she had sent and saving the unknown number. "Fish face," he announced, at her curious look.

Instead of protesting, however, she just laughed, as if delighted by his choice. He found his mock annoyance fading fast in the face of her amusement.

"So, same time tomorrow?" he asked, finally getting back to his initial question, reminding himself that he was supposed to have called it a night an hour ago. He was probably going to be more tired than usual in the morning but couldn't find it in himself to regret it.

Perseus brought a hand up, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Actually, I'm going to visit a friend in Gotham. Maybe the day after?"

Dick blinked, a little surprised, but nodded. "Yeah, okay, see you then."

He watched the other hero wave goodbye to him and disappear around the corner. Then, he narrowed his eyes. Tomorrow...Gotham...Why did that sound so—

"Shit," he realized, closing his eyes briefly.

Bruce's gala.

LINEBREAK

When he first moved out of the manor, Dick thought that meant freedom, independence, and no more required attendance to high society events. Turns out that was all just a big scam, because what it really meant was no more of Alfred's cooking and an even greater responsibility to said high-society events because he had to 'make up for his absence in the Gotham tabloids and keep up the Wayne family pretense'.

From his right side, Jason flagged down one of the waiters and downed two glasses of champagne in one go before grabbing a third and letting the man leave to refill his tray. Dick eyed him warily but said nothing, in order to keep the peace. Tim, on the other hand, had no such qualms.

"Did I miss your twenty-first or something?"

"You weren't invited," Jason responded, coolly, "'Sides, I was dead for a year remember?"

Dick winced at the reminder, but Tim just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that math still doesn't add up," he pointed out, adjusting his cuff links.

"Says the idiot who dropped out of high school," Jason shot back. He unlatched his jaw, pouring the last glass straight down his throat, and Tim watched on, disgusted. "Only way I'm getting through this, is drugged."

He grabbed another glass from the same waiter who had returned, and this time, Dick did open his mouth, because while he understood the sentiment, they were already getting way too many looks from Bruce's 'friends'. However, before he got the chance, the man himself breezed by and snatched it out of Jason's hand without spilling a drop.

"Thank you for attending," Bruce said lowly, pawning the alcohol off to a different waiter, "All of you."

"You did not give us a choice, Father," Damian sniffed, making everyone look down to acknowledge him.

"Still," Bruce insisted, before allowing himself to be whisked away by some important mayoral office employee.

Cass, who had appeared silently in father's shadow stayed behind to join the rest of her siblings, giving Dick a quick hug, which he returned in full force. The five siblings made quite a sight, as always, in their expensive, immaculately tailored suits and intimidating expressions. Dick tugged his tie a tad loose, his time away from the manor having lowered his immunity to fancy attire.

"At least," Cass said softly, looking far more comfortable than the rest of them, "It is for a good cause."

"Half of the people in here actually contribute to global warming," Tim snorted without amusement.

"True, but that's why they're here," Dick grinned, "So Bruce can guilt trip their pockets empty."

At least, he thought mentally, adding on to Cass's pros, this gala was hosted at some event venue in the center of the city instead of at the manor. The Gotham high society basically trashing their home was something Dick felt very negatively about, even if he didn't technically live there anymore. He voiced his thoughts to his siblings.

"That just means I can't lock myself in my room when Brucie makes an appearance," Jason grunted. He tried to grab more champagne, but the waiter shook his head and pointed at Bruce before steering clear of them.

Dick hid a smile, instead choosing to survey the ballroom. The party, as usual, was decorated to perfection, with small candlelit tables lining the walls and extravagant chandeliers that were practically begging to be swung on. He reeled that urge in immediately and stopped looking up.

The gaggle of guests was the usual crowd; the mayor and his family, his cabinet of advisors, the other rich families that took residence in the city, some heads of out-of-town companies that Wayne Enterprises did business with, and—

He froze.

There was no way.

A tall older man who was previously blocking his view stepped aside, and Dick inhaled sharply. It was.

All of his siblings heard the sound, heads snapping over to what he was looking at. Dick's feet started to move forward before he could even process what he was doing.

Behind him, Damian scoffed. "Tt, predictable as always, Grayson."

Jason groaned, annoyed. "Not another redhead."

Tim just snickered.

Dick ignored them all, striding over to the other side of the ballroom, well aware that he looked somewhat like a madman. He didn't care in the slightest. Someone tried to approach him on the way, but he waved them aside, brushing past their look of indignation.

When he was only a few feet away, a woman with curly red hair noticed his advance, and what he was looking at. She raised her eyebrows but tapped her companion's shoulder to turn her around.

The second her gaze fell on him, Dick stopped short, pinned in place by those shockingly green eyes.

"Percy."

He was aware that it came out a little breathless. He couldn't help it. She was here, staring back at him with equal surprise in her wide eyes, and she looked stunning, in a blue dress that matched the shade of his suit perfectly.

"You never called," he felt his mouth move, before he thought out the words.

"Estelle never picked a name," she replied, voice faint.

"Okay time out," her companion interrupted, making a 't' with her hands, "You know Richard Grayson-Wayne?"

"Who?" Percy echoed back.

Dick looked between the two women, one of whom looked confused while the other looked faintly exasperated. He racked his brain. Did he never mention to Percy his full name? Rehashing every encounter that they had had up to this point, he realized with a start that no, he had not.

"Me," he grinned, only a tad hesitant.

"You're a Wayne," she realized, voice forming the words slowly.

He watched her glance back behind him and turned to see his siblings lined up making various expressions between interest and disinterest. Damian crossed his arms and glared, hard. Tim wiggled his fingers in hello, and when he turned back, Percy was returning the wave.

"Ignore them," Dick said hastily, stepping to the side to block her view, "But yeah."

"Oh my gods," she laughed, a hand running through her hair, "Tim wasn't kidding about there being too many of you."

"Gods?" Dick asked, ears perking up.

Percy paused, but her friend crossed her arms.

"Polytheism exists," the redhead retorted, which made Percy smirk at some unknown joke, "I'm Rachel Dare, by the way. Perce is my plus one tonight, but she didn't tell me she already had friends in Gotham. Maybe she should've been yours instead."

Percy's ears turned faintly pink as she shot a glare at her friend. Dick himself felt his cheeks warm slightly at the statement.

"It would've avoided pissing your dad off, that's for sure," Percy pointed out, her glower melting into amusement.

The two women turned in sync to somewhere across the room where a stocky older man in a suit and matching red hair was scowling. His wife placed a hand on his arm to try to appease him, but the expression remained.

Before Dick could ask what about them arriving together was such an offense, all the while hoping with all his might that it had nothing to do with homophobia, for multiple reasons, one much less altruistic than the other, Bruce appeared at his left side. Cass joined him, taking the spot to Dick's right.

"Ms. Dare," he greeted, brightly, and reached out to shake her hand, "I appreciate your contribution to the fund tonight, you have outshined many of the Gothamites."

"It's my father's money," Rachel replied flippantly.

Bruce's grin turned a fraction more real, though Dick and Cass were the only ones to notice.

"Ah, but you are the one who convinced him to spend it," he noted, which Rachel did not argue.

Percy placed a fist to her mouth and sandwiched the word 'bullied' between a few well-placed coughs. Both Rachel and Dick snorted, Bruce turning his gaze to the other woman.

"I'm afraid I don't recognize you, Ms. ..."

"Jackson," she replied, shaking his hand as well.

"Percy," Cass corrected, speaking for the first time.

Dick watched Bruce's expression soften as his daughter reached out and wrapped her arms around Percy's midsection. Dick knew how much faith Bruce placed in Cass's ability to read people, and for good reason. For her to show this much affection to someone, meant more than what could be expressed in words.

"Mr. Wayne," Percy started, holding Cass's hand. Dick's sister looked far too pleased. "Can I steal your daughter?"

Rachel rolled her eyes like she was already used to her friend's antics. Bruce's lips twitched upward in a way that he and his siblings had come to associate with an amused Batman, and Dick nearly gaped at seeing it here, at a Gotham gala.

"Joint custody," the older man allowed, and Percy and Cass shared a delighted smile.

Bruce shot Dick an absolutely undecipherable look, one that he had never seen before and couldn't possibly hope to understand, before gliding away and taking Cass with him, to Percy's dismay.

LINEBREAK

Percy was really not sure what had happened in the last twenty-four hours to put her in this position, and she didn't know if she wanted to wring Aphrodite by the neck or thank her profusely, but probably both. Could she sue for emotional damage, whiplash, to be more specific? Could she even sue gods at all, for that matter?

In another circumstance, she would have asked Rachel but there was someone else here, who was most definitely not privy to that conversation. Because just when she thought she could safely put all her eggs in one basket, Nightwing's, Dick had to show up to this gala, looking at her like that and in a suit. The only people Percy had ever known to wear suits were insufferable gods, titans, and the occasional monster, and none of them had ever looked like Dick.

"So how exactly did you guys meet?" she heard Rachel ask, and forced herself to pay attention to something other than trying to ignore Dick's presence beside her as they walked through one of the quieter hallways.

"Just a lot of little things," Percy tried to deflect, not enjoying the way Rachel was gazing at them like a particularly exciting puzzle.

She loved her friend, she really did, but Percy was not in the right space to explain her jumble of emotions at the moment. Especially not while Dick led them on a private tour of the venue to escape the gaggle of tipsy, rich socialites.

"I think the first time was at that bank," Dick answered, glancing at her and smiling a little.

"A bank?" Rachel echoed, "How boring."

"It was being robbed," Percy shot back.

"Oh, that makes much more sense," Rachel snickered, elbowing Percy in the side, "She's a magnet for trouble."

Percy elbowed her back. "I didn't even do anything."

"Is that why your dad doesn't approve?" Dick asked, laughing at their squabbling.

"Well, he doesn't approve of any friends outside of his social circle," Rachel said slowly, smirking, in a way that made Percy want to throw something at her. Dick raised his brows, expectantly, but something in his posture had relaxed. "But he hates Percy especially, says she's a bad influence."

They had stopped now, in front of some historical painting Percy could not bring herself to care about even though Dick had explained it on their last loop around this hallway.

"Rachel..." Percy pleaded.

"Probably has something to with her past as a wanted terrorist."

Dick paused, mouth open. He closed it after a moment, but then his brow furrowed, and it opened again.

"You're dead to me," Percy said to Rachel, then turned to Dick, "She's lying. Well, she's not lying." He looked even more confused. "So, technically, I was, when I was twelve, but I'm not anymore. Wanted or a terrorist. Wait—hold on, I was never a terrorist, but I was wanted, I just—" Percy's hands waved around helplessly. "Just—look it up."

Percy wasn't usually one to be embarrassed about her past. It was so long ago, and so much had happened since then that now, it seemed inconsequential. She and her 'kidnapper' were even on semi-good, won't-resort-to-murder-at-first-sight, terms. It normally didn't matter when other people knew about it, from the news or just by a harmless search, which had happened on a few occasions before, but it was different this time.

She watched Dick's reaction carefully, watched his eyebrows slant down even more, before finally, he started to laugh.

She blinked, not having expected that.

"Holy shit, I remember seeing that in the news," he said, between a breath, "That was you?"

At her nod, he doubled over again, clutching his stomach. Percy exchanged a glance with Rachel, who shrugged. Suddenly, he sobered up.

"Is your mom okay? Are you okay?" Dick looked immensely concerned about something that had happened over a decade ago, but still, it felt... nice. "What about your kidnapper?"

Percy tried not to smile as she waved it off. "She's fine, I'm fine, he's fine, we're all fine—"

Rachel elbowed her sharply.

"Except for the kidnapper. I don't know how he's doing."

Dick looked so, so confused again, and Percy smiled nervously.

"About him, who—"

A strange sound came from the end of the hall, around the corner, and they all quieted instantly. Percy slipped a hand into her dress pocket and watched Rachel reach for a small dagger Percy knew she had beneath her skirt. Dick's hand didn't go to any weapon, but he still tensed and took a quiet step toward the source of the sound.

Then, they heard something else. A spray of gunfire, followed by several distant screams.

Percy withdrew her hand. Monsters didn't use guns. She turned to Rachel, directions for battle on her tongue, but Dick was already springing into action, hands guiding them further away from the main ballroom.

"There's a maintenance closet at the end of the hall," he whispered urgently, "Don't make any noise. I'll go in to see what's happening."

Percy's first instinct was to argue. There was no way she was going to hide and let someone else put themselves in danger when she knew what she was capable of, especially Dick. She wasn't going to let him go in alone and unarmed.

Suddenly, she paused. She had a third option now.

"Okay," she agreed easily, and Dick sighed with relief, pushing them closer to the room.

"Are you serious?" Rachel demanded, looking between the two, "We're not just going to hide!"

Percy mentally cursed herself to Hades and back. She had not told her friend about her recent nightly activities, and it had come back, like her choices and mythological monsters usually did, to bite her in the ass. Rachel looked at her, incredulous and baffled by her decision. This wasn't the Percy she knew.

"I'll be fine," Dick assured them, "I'm a cop, and I know Gotham."

"Let him do his job, RED," Percy urged, dragging her friend by the arm into the little room.

Rachel glared back, confused, but kept her mouth shut as she was ushered inside.

"Hey," Percy called out, head sticking out the door. Dick met her eyes. He was nervous, she could tell, but determined, and it made her stomach clench. "Be careful."

Dick gave her one, short nod, before shutting the door.

When Percy looked back, Rachel threw her hands up.

"What in Hades was that?" she cried, "You just sent him out there into gods knows what mess!"

"I just needed an excuse," Percy explained, stepping to the back of the closet and moving a box off the shelf.

"For what?" her friend accused.

Percy yanked her duffel bag out from its hiding spot. Under Rachel's watchful eyes, she unzipped it and held her suit out by the shoulders.

Rachel stared at it, then at her.

"Are you for real right now?"

"Surprise," Percy replied weakly.

Rachel dragged a hand down her face in utter disbelief, not caring that she smeared a little bit of makeup along the way. "You—" she started, then shook her head. "We're gonna talk about this later, extensively."

Percy found herself nodding. "Later."

She heard her second phone buzz from inside the bag, and dug it out, sliding it open to read the message.

Bird brain: joker attack in gotham

Bird brain: you near wisteria hall?

Bird brain: need backup

Percy typed out a quick reply, the phone translating her words to English before sending them out.

"It's the Joker. Nightwing's on the scene," she said, before looking up, "Can you coordinate with the GCPD while I go help him out?"

Rachel nodded, realizing that she didn't have the means to fight a mortal villain. As she pulled on her suit, Percy made a mental note to talk to Annabeth about letting demigods carry at least one non-mythological weapon, just in case. Securing the mask firmly onto her face and pulling her hair back with unprecedented speed, she opened the door a crack and peeked outside.

Rachel tugged her arm and gave her a stern look. "There better be a later, Perce."

Percy grinned, gave her a gloved salute, and slipped out.

LINEBREAK

She found Nightwing standing with his back pressed up against a wall a few meters down from an entrance to the main ballroom. She whispered her arrival before he had the chance to startle and snuck over to hide next to him.

"That was fast," he breathed, at the sight of her.

She noticed some of the tension in his shoulders ease as she settled by his side.

"I was in the area," she muttered back, "Where are Batman and the others?"

"Off-world, on other missions, etcetera," he explained, tapping away at the device on his wrist, "That's why I took Gotham for the night."

Nightwing placed a finger to his ear, and tilted his head, listening.

"Okay. I'm in contact with Oracle, who has control of the cameras inside," he told her, glancing left and right down the hall to make sure they were still alone. Percy had no idea who that was but nodded along. "Joker's holding some people hostage, the Waynes, and a couple of other people who haven't left yet."

Percy jolted slightly. Was Dick in there with his family? Had he gotten caught trying to get them out?

"Is anyone hurt? How many goons?" she asked, hoping that her voice came out steady to the other hero, "And what's the plan?"

"No injuries so far, and five. On the bright side, he was just put in Arkham a few days ago, so I think this is more of a rage-induced tantrum and less of a planned-out scheme. Even so, he's dangerous," Nightwing grimaced, "He'll get inside your head."

"You have experience with him, right?" she asked, getting a nod in return, "If you can keep him distracted for a while, and take out some of his men, would that be enough for me to get the drop on him?"

Nightwing gave her idea a few seconds of thought, then tilted his head again, listening to whoever was in his ear. "Oracle says the south entrance is your best bet. The hostages are all rounded up on the east side, so as long as you keep the fighting away from that wall, they'll be okay. She'll send you a message when to come in."

Percy didn't ask how Oracle would do that. Another question for another time.

"Is D—"

She shook her head, cutting herself off. That was a bad idea. If Dick was in there with the rest of them, then they would get him and his family out. If he wasn't, then he was likely somewhere else in the building, or hopefully outside, coordinating with the police.

"Okay," Percy nodded, instead, "I'll wait for her signal."

She squeezed his left hand once in solidarity, catching the grateful look he sent her way, and took off to the south entrance.

LINEBREAK

"This is a fucking disaster," Dick whispered over the comms.

"No, no it's not," Babs replied, and he could hear the way she rolled her eyes, "He's just being pissy, it could be worse. And," she stressed, "You have backup, who, by the way, is not someone I knew about before today. Who—"

"Later," he hissed back, "When Jay isn't trapped in there with his worst nightmare."

"Right, of course," she said, voice changing as she snapped back to business, "When you go through those doors, he'll be on your left. Goons one through three straight ahead, four and five guarding the hostages. You ready?"

Dick took a deep breath, steadying himself. He had fought the Joker before, many times, both with other heroes by his side and without. He preferred the former and wished the plan had been for him and Perseus to burst in together, but that would ruin the element of surprise. Focusing on the reassuring feeling of the weight of her hand in his, he brought his escrima sticks out, and on Babs's signal, kicked in the door.

True to her word, all the players were exactly where Dick had been told they'd be, and he launched himself at goons two and three first, throwing one into the other before they had the chance to react. They both slid across the floor, bodies colliding together painfully.

"Ah! Ah! The big bird," Joker exclaimed gleefully at his stunts.

Dick straightened to face him, aware of goons four and five readying their guns at the group of hostages. He couldn't turn around to look without leaving his back to the Joker, but he trusted Bruce and the rest of his siblings to keep everyone under control.

"Aw, no need for that," the villain continued, gesturing to his men behind Dick, "Settle down, he's just come to play!"

"What do you want, Joker?" Dick snarked, watching goon one shift at Joker's side, finger on the trigger, "Come to donate to climate change?"

The Joker grinned in response, red-stained lips parting to reveal yellow teeth. He had clearly dressed for the occasion, in a three-piece purple suit, and the ugliest-looking shoes Dick had ever seen in his life.

"Just you?" the man pouted, and Dick resisted the urge to gag at the display, "Where's the rest of the flock?"

"Ha! I can take him, boss," goon one laughed, and raised his gun.

The Joker suddenly snarled, leaned over, and snatched the weapon away. Before Dick could stop him, he fired a round of bullets into the goon's body. Everyone in the room flinched and Dick heard several of the hostages behind him gasp. He gritted his teeth.

"Sorry about that, folks," the Joker announced, in a drawl, "Good help these days, it's hard to find."

"What do you want?" Dick reiterated, trying to tempt the man over to the south entrance.

His grin didn't fade, just widened, stretching the cut-up skin even further.

"What I always want, of course!" he spread his arms, one still clutching onto his ex-goon's gun, "A robin!"

Dick's fingers tightened around his escrima sticks, but he said nothing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bruce holding tight to Jason's arm, Cass on the side, fingers clamped over his shoulder.

"That's too bad," Dick replied, finally, stepping even further to the left and getting the villain to circle the room slightly, "It's just me today."

The Joker raised the gun and let off a few warning shots, near Dick's feet, but he dodged them easily. Instead of looking annoyed at missing, his smile widened further.

"Ah, ah, but you're a part of the set," the Joker giggled, drawing a horizontal line in the air with the gun. "Four little baby birds on a line. Mama flies away and I shoot one down, bam!" He fired his gun into the chandelier, and tiny shards came raining down. "The others fly away, but they always come back, for mama."

The Joker shot at the ceiling three more times in succession. Larger pieces of glass fell to the ground, and the hostages flinched at each impact. Dick clenched his jaw harder. If he went for the villain right now, the goons behind him would shoot into the crowd. But the Joker was positioned almost directly in front of the second set of double doors now. He just needed to buy a few more seconds.

The villain narrowed his eyes at the lack of reaction from the hero. He raised the gun again, but this time, pointed it directly at the crowd, swaying it left and right.

"Tell me when to stop, Nightwing," he snarled, "Or I'll choose."

Dick took a step back, closer to the hostages, but Joker realized exactly what he was doing.

"Fine!" he screamed, "I choose!"

He leveled the gun at the second chandelier, the one directly above the hostages, and cocked the trigger.

"Now," Babs whispered, in his ear.

The south entrance burst open, a dark figure tackling the Joker to the ground, and Dick lurched his body to the right, throwing himself at one of the goons.

LINEBREAK

The instant Percy heard what the Joker said about the four birds on a line, her vision went red. She would have nearly kicked down the door right then and there had her phone not buzzed with a message from the Oracle telling her to wait a few more seconds. She knew she was impulsive, but there were innocent people in there who she couldn't put in danger. So, Percy reined in the anger, for now, feeling it bubble up under her skin instead.

The Joker had killed a Robin. She didn't know which one, but it was someone in Nightwing's family, and she would make him pay.

The second she received the signal from Oracle, she slammed her body into the doors, and they flew off their hinges, shattering into pieces on the ballroom floor. She didn't stop, and let her momentum take her directly to the Joker, shoving his body as hard as she could into the cold marble.

"You did what to a kid?" she seethed, her fist coming down into his face.

The villain grinned back, teeth bloody.

"What's this? A new player?" he exclaimed, bringing his gun up and pulling the trigger.

Percy grabbed it and redirected the shot into the ceiling, before ripping the weapon from his grip and tossing it to the opposite end of the room.

"You're fun girlie!" he cried, only being able to dodge half the punches she rained down on him, but he continued talking like he wasn't aware of the pain. "What's your name?"

"Why won't you shut up," she snarled, flicking her wrist to summon a knife.

As she swiped forward and he jumped to the side to dodge the strike, Percy snuck a glance to the other side of the room, where Nightwing was trying to keep both the goons from opening fire on the hostages. He kicked one into the wall, but the man just got up for more.

"Aw, are you mad because I killed a Robin?" the Joker cackled, and Percy attacked him again in response, trying to dig her knife into his shoulder, but he pressed something in his sleeve and a strange liquid squirted from his lapel.

Percy instinctively reared back, knowing with her powers that it was not water.

"Oh come on," the villain whined, put out that she had dodged the acid, "He was fifteen, that's not even that young!"

Only fifteen. The rage returned in full force, clouding her vision.

Throwing her knife to the side, Percy lunged bare-handed this time, before he had any time to react, grabbing him by the collar and slamming his back into the ground. She picked him up and pushed him down again. The Joker continued to cackle, so she used her other hand to strike him in the jaw. He coughed, a few droplets of blood coating his chin, but still smiled through everything.

Percy grabbed his hair, greasy green strands between her fingers, and stood up, bringing the Joker's body with it. His legs flailed weakly, trying to stand up, but he couldn't find proper footing after she had broken his ankle. His hands clawed at her fingers, but she refused to let go.

Percy unsheathed Soteria from her back for the first time that night, letting it hang by her legs, as she regarded the man before her in disgust.

"You gonna kill me, girlie?" the Joker rasped, then giggled, "Batsy won't like that."

He was a monster. And he was a mortal. He was both.

She looked up, just in time to see Nightwing, deliver a final blow to the second goon, securing his wrists and kicking the gun away. But the hostages were all watching her. Cass and Tim and Mr. Wayne and Rachel's parents and several other faces she didn't recognize. She locked eyes with Nightwing, who froze, seeing her current position.

Percy glanced back at the Joker, who had stopped struggling in her grip and just hung loosely despite the pain of his hair being yanked from his scalp. He blinked up at her, a sinister smile stretching his lips.

"No matter what you choose, I win."

Percy raised Soteria high, bronze and steel both gleaming under the light of the broken chandelier, and swung.

LINEBREAK

Dick watched the sword arc down, heart hammering, as if in slow motion, but when it descended towards the Joker, it found its target all at once, and then it was over.

The Joker's body collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Dick gaped, his eyes flitting rapidly between the body and Perseus, who stood eerily still behind it, looking immensely satisfied.

"Holy fuck," he heard Tim whisper from somewhere nearby.

Dick took an unconscious step forward. "You—"

Suddenly, the Joker stirred, and he sat up, hands reaching up to feel his neck, his face, and extending up towards his head. When his fingers found the top of his scalp, his smile dropped.

"My—my hair," he wailed, pressing his fingers against the remaining stubble.

There wasn't much left, Dick noticed. She had cut the top section clean off in one precise motion, drawing only a few drops of blood. The side and bottom strands fell limply over his shoulders. From above, Perseus unclenched her fingers, and the residual clumps of acid-green hair sprinkled down onto the Joker, who contained to clutch at his face and howl.

Dick's mind helpfully supplied the word to describe it, skullet.

It was so ridiculous, he couldn't help it, Dick snorted, as the Joker tried to gather the fallen hair and force it to stick back to the top of his head. Then, he laughed, covering his mouth and snickering into his hand. His shoulders shook, and when he glanced back up at Perseus, who shot him another grin, he doubled over again, this time hearing her join in.

In his periphery, Dick heard Jason chuckle, a strange, strangled sound, until he outright guffawed. He turned back to the crowd of ex-hostages, where more people were trying to muffle their smiles at the absolutely absurd scene. Even Bruce cracked a strained grin, which despite being fake, wasn't something he would have done had he still been on edge.

The Joker whipped his head back and forth, surveying the scene.

"You're laughing," he whispered, then furrowed his brows. "At me." He snarled, furious, limbs wobbling as he tried to hoist himself up into his feet, "I put on shows for you all the time, and you never laugh at my jokes. But you think this is funny? You're all the same, you're all—"

Dick watched Perseus bring the hilt of her sword down onto his bald patch.

"Oh," she said, wrinkling her nose at the unconscious sight before her, "There's the off button."

LINEBREAK

As Dick secured the Joker in an inescapable hold with a pair of handcuffs, multiple zip ties, and several feet of rope, Perseus rocked back and forth on her heels, eyes flitting around the room. She was nervous.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, pulling the last tie tight, and joining her visual search.

She pursed her lips. "No, but I—have to go."

Dick nodded slowly. "I guess I did interrupt your plans, sorry about that," he realized, "But thanks, for the assist." Perseus shrugged off the apology. Dick swallowed. "And about what the Joker said—"

"Later," she replied, shaking her head, and Dick sighed with relief.

Maybe later he would tell her, what it all meant, but right now, he needed to get back to his family. Perhaps Perseus was doing the same, he thought, watching her sprint out of the ballroom.

A few moments later, the Gotham police department filtered in, rounding up the unconscious goons and spreading a white sheet over the one the Joker had killed. He pawned the Joker himself off to Gordon, trusting no one else to properly send him back to Arkham. The gala guests who had given their statements first practically fled the scene, whatever courage that had allowed them to laugh at the Joker melting away alongside the adrenaline, until only Bruce, his siblings, and the Dares remained.

Dick's eyes widened. Shit—

The north doors flew open, and every remaining officer trained their gun toward the sound, but it was just Percy and Rachel.

"Where did you guys come from?" he asked, as Nightwing, as casually concerned as possible, hiding his instant relief at seeing them unharmed, "Were you out there the whole time?"

"Some superhero found us, said it was all clear to come back," Rachel explained, catching sight of her parents and giving them a short wave.

The rest of the police, deeming it safe, vacated out into the hall, dragging the perpetrators with them. Mr. and Mrs. Dare pointed to the door, gesturing that they would wait away from the crime scene, and followed the rest of the officers out.

Percy, on the other hand, scoured the near-empty ballroom frantically.

"Have you seen Dick Grayson?" she demanded.

From the corner of his eye, Dick saw Tim stuff his fist straight into his mouth.

"Have you?" she asked him again, eyebrows raised, "Black hair, blue eyes? He's a cop? Said he was gonna go after the Joker before locking us in a closet?"

Percy's hair was a mess, like she had been wrought with worry over his absence. Dick felt guilty, but he couldn't deny that the concern touched his heart.

"Don't worry, he's fine," he soothed, bringing his hands up in a placating gesture.

When it was clear just platitudes would not help, Tim stepped up beside him, and Percy latched onto the familiar face.

"He showed up a few minutes ago, but the vigilantes had already done all the work, so he left earlier with the police," Tim explained, purposefully not looking at Dick.

Dick glared at him through the mask, eyes burning holes through the white lenses, but only his brother was able to tell.

"I figured," Rachel snorted, "What was he going to do unarmed?"

"Oh, come on, RED," Percy laughed a little, shoulders untensing at the confirmation from his family that he was okay, "At least he got us out of the way."

Rachel looked over Dick's shoulder, where Bruce and the rest of his siblings were approaching slowly. "Mr. Wayne, I hope you squeezed as much charity money out of my parents as you could, because I don't think they're ever coming back to Gotham."

Bruce didn't deem that particular joke with a response. Instead, he tilted his head slightly. "They didn't seem too worried about your safety," he observed.

Dick, still Nightwing, just barely managed to stop himself from shooting his father a warning glance, but thankfully, every single one of his siblings did it for him.

Percy, catching on quickly, pointed directly at Cass. "A daughter for a daughter," she challenged.

Bruce sighed in defeat.

Rachel rolled her eyes again and tugged on her friend's sleeve. "Let's go, Perce. It's officially later," she said, which caused Percy to pale slightly.

As she allowed herself to be dragged away, she waved to the Waynes, and Dick had to stop himself from joining in as some of them returned the gesture.

"It was nice meeting you!" she called out, "Tell Dick I'm sorry he missed out on the action!"

The second they were out of sight, Dick held his gloved hands to his face, trying to drown out the sound of everyone around him, including Babs in his ear, cackling at him.

LINEBREAK

Dinner at the manor that night was strangely silent and stilted, at least on Dick's end. Everyone else was behaving as normal, even Jason, which was an achievement given the recent exposure to his largest trigger. Dick, on the other hand, replayed all of the events of the day in his head, wading through the swamp that was his muddied mess of feelings.

They had barely made it to the main course when he hung his head low, hair dangerously close to brushing against pasta sauce.

"Did you have to say that, Timmy?" he mumbled.

Tim looked up confused, from where he and Damian had been trying to sneakily stab each other's thighs with their salad forks without alerting Bruce.

"To Percy," Dick pouted.

"Oh, that," Tim laughed, placing the fork back down. It was tinged red. "It couldn't have been more embarrassing than that day in the alley, you'll live."

He could see the way Jason's eyes locked onto that statement, his brother leaning into the table. "What happened in the alley?"

"Shut up, baby bird," Dick half-snapped, to both of them.

"Are you planning on pursuing her?" Bruce asked, pausing in his bite when the entire table turned to look at him.

The overt interest in their civilian lives was something they had been working on as a family, but still, to see it in action, was strange every time, and Dick figured it would be a few more instances before he got used to it.

"Oh, he's tried, B," Tim snickered, "He's tried."

Dick couldn't decide whether to pout or throw a bread roll at his head, so he did both. Tim didn't even dodge, just let the thing hit uselessly against his temple, smirking the whole time.

"If your luck is that bad," Jason snorted, "Why not go for that new partner of yours, the one who gives killer haircuts."

He grinned at his own words, as Bruce pursed his lips. Dick registered the man's continued distrust of Perseus, despite the debrief they had held earlier which resulted in Bruce agreeing to accept whatever information Dick wanted to give him for an initial file but respect his wishes to not investigate her further.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to defend her at that moment because Jason's stupid little joke made his brain stutter to a halt.

"It's not like that—" Dick sputtered uselessly, in the presence of several well-trained vigilantes, "I don't—"

Because it wasn't like that, right? Sure, they fought well together and spent most nights racing across rooftops. And yes, he enjoyed talking to her and found himself looking forward to her company and liked teasing her, but that didn't necessarily mean that he—

"I agree with Todd," Damian interrupted his panicked inner monologue coolly, gracefully speaking a noodle with his fork. When he looked up, he found every family member, including Dick staring at him in disbelief. "Swordplay is a lost art amongst the other so-called heroes of our day, and though I have yet to witness it in battle, it is clear that Perseus wields her weapon well."

Everyone shrugged, settling back into their seats and accepting the argument, it making sense coming from the youngest Robin. Everyone but Dick, whose brain helpfully supplied the memory of actually seeing Perseus fight with her sword, swirling around gracefully like it was an extension of her arm.

"I mean, if you're not interested," Jason shrugged with false casualness, "Then you won't mind if I ask her out."

Dick's face shot up in horror, and Jason just smirked, smug, at the expression. He crossed his arms as if to say, 'yeah that's what I thought.'

Dick knew his brother wouldn't, knew that he was just taunting him, but the thought filled his stomach with dread anyways. And if the idea of Jason making a move on Perseus made his face instantly twist in alarm, then that could only mean one thing. He didn't know how it had happened or when, but somewhere along the way, or maybe even from the beginning, he had started to like her.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The casual touches, the shoulder bumping, the playful arguments as they fought, the fact that he had snuck her onto a league base without a second thought, something Bruce could never find out about, the way she had cupped his face in Kobra's tent, and he had instantly relaxed.

Dick stared down into his food. This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to have feelings for two people at once.

Damian scoffed. "You only say that because of what she did to the Joker."

"No shit, demon," Jason retorted, flicking him in the forehead.

Dick heard his littlest brother scramble for his metal utensils because actual knives were banned from the dinner table.

"She's an unknown," Bruce reiterated, as if Dick hadn't heard the phrase an uncountable number of times throughout his life, and about many other people as well, "You don't know what she's hiding."

"We've talked about this," Dick groaned, looking up, "We're all hiding something, but I trust her to have my back. She's a great fighter, and all she wants to do is help people. She's done nothing to show otherwise."

"She almost killed the Joker today."

Dick met Bruce's eyes and set his jaw. "No, she didn't. I was watching her. Not once did I think she was actually going to do it."

He wasn't lying. He had been preoccupied in the beginning with keeping the goons away from the hostages, but he had snuck glances to check in on her as she brawled with the Joker. Perseus had fought viciously, angrily even, but every time, she aimed to hurt, not to kill. When she brought out one of her knives that he still couldn't tell where she hid, she aimed for the shoulder, even though more vulnerable body parts were open. And when she swung her sword, even if Dick hadn't noticed the angle of the arc, he saw on her face that she wasn't going to end his life.

"I still like Percy," Tim broke the tense silence, and Damian shot him a small glare for his disagreeing opinion. "She's cool. Did you know there was a nationwide manhunt for her when she was twelve?"

Bruce startled, breaking eye contact with Dick to look at his younger son. "She's a criminal?"

"Nope," Tim replied, smirking at Dick in a way that showed just how amusing he found this conversation, "Turns out she was kidnapped. Fought off her captor in a gunfight."

"Shit, really? Should I switch sides?" Jason gaped a little, then thought about it for another second, before shaking his head. "Nah, the Joker stunt still wins out."

"What did I ever do to you, Timmy?" Dick pleaded with his eyes for this to stop.

He was already planning his mental breakdown for later, in the comfort of his own apartment, alone. He couldn't do this now, think about Perseus versus Percy like he was weighing the pros and cons. That was shitty and mean and neither of them deserved that.

Tim looked him dead in the face.

"I don't like vegetables."

"You're a growing boy!" Dick nearly yelled, launching himself across the table, "And you didn't even eat them anyways!"

"Boys," Bruce actually fully groaned, stepping in to try to restrain them, all while Jason chanted for someone to spill blood.

LINEBREAK

Unseen by the rest of the table, Cass sat at the end, chewing silently, watching the drama unfold and observing her eldest brother with sharp attentive eyes.

He was deflecting, wrestling Tim so he didn't have to think about dealing with feelings for two people. She could see it in the way his forehead pinched, and his eyes wandered during the fight.

Cass turned her face left, to meet Alfred's gaze. The older man's expression was unreadable, but his body spoke for him. Exasperated, amused, concerned.

She placed her fork down next to her plate and brought her hand onto her lap. Curling the middle three fingers into her palm and leaving the thumb and pinky pointing to opposite sides, Cass slid her hand in the air horizontally, once to the right and then back to the center.

Same.

Alfred widened his eyes imperceptibly, and tilted his head toward the table, never breaking eye contact.

Will you tell them?

Cass gave him a small, secret smile, and shook her head, a movement so minute Alfred almost missed it. She flicked her eyes once toward Dick.

Eventually, he will see.

A.N. they're idiots, your honor

percy and dick flirting over the body of a guy they just knocked out is everything to me

I would love love love to hear what you thought about this chapter, I have sm to say that I will respond to comments instead of writing a 1k-word notes section

If the vegetable thing lost anyone, in chapter 10 dick gave tim the takeout container with more veggies, and in my head tim is a petty little shit with a bad diet (not that dick is much better tbh)

Sides have been chosen. Here are the final rankings:

Team Nightwing: Sally, (Leo)

Team Dick: Paul, Estelle

Team Percy: Tim, Pre-manhunt bomb Bruce

Team Perseus: Damian, Jason

Team Not Perseus: Post-manhunt bomb Bruce

Team giggling silently in the corner: Cass, Alfred