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...That's not an easy question to answer.

[ It hadn't been for Bruce, as much as he hadn't understood that at the time. How deeply he'd been caring in his own way, protecting him in all the moments that felt so much like the opposite of that. Bruce would know what to say now. ]

But hey. Clark-

...This is- it's a lot. It would be a lot to handle no matter who you are.

...But if I've learned anything from Batman, it's that the way to lose sight of what's right in front of you is getting lost in the what-ifs. All the dozens of ways Condiment King could be one step ahead of you. [ He reaches out to put a hand on Clark's shoulder, a little awkwardly mid-flight. ]

Whatever comes next, you're not gonna be facing it alone.

Edited 2017-04-13 17:30 (UTC)

Thank you.

[ It wouldn't be so much if he knew what he was doing. Clark's new at being a superhero and a father. It's harder to live a normal life like this. Jon deserves one.

He wasn't expecting reassurance, but looking at Dick, Clark's not sure why he expected otherwise. Dick has a lot of secrets but he's willing to extend trust and faith. He's the second person besides Lois.

Clark holds on to it. ]

If I do get lost, I have a friend.

[ He smiles warmly at Dick. ]

Lay it on me.

[ So Dick tells him.

He starts with the Metropolis villains, the ones who live to make Superman's life hell. He runs through a few of Lex's recent misdeeds as president, his orchestration of the catastrophic mishandling of the No Man's Land crisis, his abuses of power and his leveraging of innocent lives to hurt and manipulate Superman, Batman, and others. He moves onto Intergang and Matello and brushes past Toyman, describing the balloons and toy soldiers of their last adventure in detail, if only because he doesn't really want Clark to have the impression that the regular grind of knocking down bad guys is never any fun.

He moves on to the Joker, mentioning that he'd shot and paralyzed a dear friend of his while studiously leaving out the murder of a child Robin. He runs through the rest of the bat villains quickly - most of them are a lot less dangerous to Clark and his family, and all of them would target Nightwing first anyway. Dick will never let them get past him.

But no one is really safe from Two-Face. Mr. Freeze. Blockbuster. Clark deserves to know what the danger looks like. ]

...can't forget Killer Moth, which- you don't want to underestimate anyone with that big of a god complex, but as long you remember that he's really after attention you're golden. The downside is that I've been hauling his ass off to jail since I was nine, so you can imagine he's pretty immune to humiliation at this point.

[ And he's gonna pause for breath there. He glances at Clark, trying to gauge exactly how... well he's taking all of this. ]

...Yeah. That's... a lot, huh?

[ ooc: if there's anything in there you'd rather Clark not know about just let me know me and I'll edit it out! Also if you need more deets on specific things Dick would have shared in relation to individual people, etc. Otherwise you can assume he kept most of the details pretty vague and run with it as much as you want to! ]

( all good! I'm caught up on Superman's pre-reboot comics. I assume Dick would have mentioned Metallo's kryptonite heart and a few other people by codename only? Clark would have interrupted to ask him to elaborate. )

I asked for it.

[ These others he mentions might go after Nightwing first but they'd have to get through Superman. Clark isn't going to let them hurt Dick any more than Dick would let one of his "rogues gallery" hurt Clark or his family.

He hangs off Dick's every word. All these people are threats, and yet Superman isn't facing them all by himself. He has this Justice League, Batman, and others. There's a community he belongs to of people who aren't like him. They don't have to be to understand one another and work together.

Clark holds to this hope very fiercely. ]

I'd rather know than to have someone here who's dangerous to us.

[ Us. ]

I'll ask Lois if she knows anything about Luthor. If he's who you say in my world too, we should do what we can to stay ahead of him.

It's, uh- less complicated than it sounds, I swear. [ It's really not.

Dick lets the silence settle for a moment. It's not really his place to ask, he knows. But: ]

...So how's he been taking the change?

He knows... who you are, right?

[ ooc: yes! My super knowledge is a little bit spottier than that, so definitely assume Dick passed on anything else relevant that he would reasonably know about up to his weird 90s canon point. ]

He does. He said he's used to alternate realities.

[ Jon's taking it better than Clark.

It's hard on a child to keep a secret like this. Clark didn't mind staying in and reading instead of playing with other children. Jon is more exuberant and outgoing. It's not fair to expect him to avoid childish mischief. ]

Wow. [ It's hard not to be a little impressed by that. And probably it's a big advantage, as long as they're talking about a kid who's probably to be stuck here for a while now.

There's a cheery thought. ]

Well, he's in good company now.

He has a case worker here in charge of him. I think she's genuine.

[ He has no reason to suspect Miss Jones but he's close to paranoid about Jon's safety. Clark listens to him constantly. ]

I wouldn't mind a second pair of eyes.

Yeah? [ He looks up at Clark, suddenly warmed. It's not a level of trust he takes lightly. ] I mean, sure. Anytime.

I kind of- well, I have a kid brother at home. [ The absence of blood makes no different. Tim is his brother. He would do anything, anything for him. ] He's Robin now.

I get a little of where you're coming from.

You do?

[ He's not surprised to hear this. Dick is a good candidate for an older sibling. ]

I'd like to meet him. If he ever comes here.

He'd love that. [ And the thought brings a bright grin back to this face. ]

...It's funny. As much as I wouldn't want to see him pulled away from all the stuff we've got going on in Gotham, I actually feel like he'd be a lot safer here.

It is safer here.

[ Dick should have people around who know him, too. Clark benefits from him more than vice versa. He's not sure how to close that gap. ]

How big is your family?

There's a few of us now. It used to just be me and Batman. And, uh- Alfred. He doesn't wear a costume, but none of us could get by without him.

[ He's been hesitant to mention Jason. When there's a version of him here already that Dick doesn't know what to do with. When thinking about him at all still fills him with anger. Disappointment. The grief of missed opportunities.

It doesn't seem fair to put that on Clark, when he already has so much to handle now. When Dick should already have it handled himself.

Jason is the closest thing he has to a brother in this place. If anyone would know what to do, it's Clark. ]

...There's been three Robins, actually. We lost the second one.

[ He sets his jaw, studying the horizon intently. Lost is so inadequate. ]

[ Clark lets Dick have his moment. He deserves it.

They're in the business of helping people. Clark can't fathom anything hurting him besides that world engine. It took no thought at all to act against it. For people like Dick, who're human, they take greater risks every day with costumes and masks. Clark doesn't see anyone in Dick's family being willing to walk away when there's work to be done.

Lost means only one thing. ]

I'm sorry.

[ He hopes the other him was there in their time of need. ]

If you want to talk about it, I'm here.

[ A little time and distance has done a lot for the immediate shock and anger of the encounter. In it's place is a lingering sense of guilt. An old ache for the kid who's still dead in his world. The knowledge that somehow he'd failed Jason yet again. ]

...There's a version of him here now.

But he's older now. And he's different. [ He's done terrible things. Terrible things were done to him. He's trying to be a better man. Dick scrubs a tired hand across his face. ]

I didn't handle it well, when we met.

It's hard to lose family.

[ Clark speaks from experience. ]

Anyone, even us, would be shocked at seeing someone or something we thought was gone. Maybe this is a second chance for you both.

Edited 2017-05-01 09:31 (UTC)

It'd be nice. [ It's almost a confession. ]

...It wasn't easy for me to see someone else in the suit, at first. There was... a lot going on between me and Batman.

[ It isn't easy now to admit to just how selfish he'd been. How hurt, how angry, how lost.

But for a Clark that doesn't know, who hadn't been there with him to see it, it's probably only fair for him to try to explain it. He hasn't been the brother Jason deserved. He hasn't always proven himself worthy of the trust Clark places in him. ]

But he needed someone, just like Robin does now. By the time I was starting to figure that out, he was gone.

[ He takes a breath. ] ...Then when he was willing to be upfront about who he is now, it was just- it was a lot to process all at once.

I don't know that I have the right to ask for another chance.

[ It means a lot that Dick would just tell him. This Clark is a total stranger to him and Dick keeps choosing trust.

Clark promises himself he's not going to be more surprised or less grateful. He didn't know what friends were like until he was here. ]

If he told you the truth, he must have wanted you to have one.

Yeah. You're right. [ And in a way that's all he really needs to hear. A little of the tension drains out of his posture, and for Clark he has a small, almost sheepish smile. ]

Man. I'm way overthinking this, huh?

Most of my friends don't actually come back from the dead. [ ha ha ha ]

[ He raises his eyebrows at the comment. Clark will ask another day, when Dick isn't worried about how he's coming off to his long-lost Robin. ]

Birds of a feather.

[ Look at Clark, fretting and overthinking everything his son will face in the future. He'll be all right eventually and so will Dick.

It's been a tough conversation. Clark thinks they shouldn't keep going on a sombre note. ]

Did the other me ever take you flying, for fun?

It was kind of our thing, yeah. [ He casts a glance sideways, brightness returning at once. ]

We worked cases together from time to time. But more often he'd drop by just to see how I was. We'd tour the Andes for a few hours and talk shop.

I think he felt a little bad for me, when I was a kid. I don't know that he ever really got the Robin thing.

[ Clark's not sure he really gets it either. They're too young to be roaming around with the kind of criminals Dick's described. ]

Would you like to, right now?

[ Clark earns a trademark Grayson Smile for that; surprised and delighted. ]

You even need to ask?

Since we're already up here... [ He smiles warmly. ] Shall we?

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