Dick whistled as he slung his gym bag over his shoulder and made his way to the apartment Bobby Drake was staying in. He had messaged the other, privately, to make sure Monday was good and come Monday morning⊠Dick went to collect. His ribs were healed up (again) and he had gotten his range of motion back in full to where he could risk a public gym. At least he wouldnât make a fool out of himself.
A brisk knock was given and he stepped back to be in view of the peephole should the occupant be worried about such a thing. Dick, personally, didnât use them for learned reasons. Perfect way to lose an eye. The tune he whistled was stuck in his head because he hadnât been joking about disappearing into Beat Saber all weekend. He was determined to rig the controllers to a couple of his sticks and see how he fared that way with the comforting weight. Then again, heâd have to probably create his own and compensate for theâfocus, Grayson.
Well, Bobby certainly felt popular. People had been coming over to check on him since he arrived, Enid had given him a tour of the new base of operations, and now he had another visitor. Honestly, the welcome wagon was nice (much better than getting the cold shoulder, right Bobby?). It felt familiar, but he was used to being on the other side. How many mutants had he rescued in the last year? He brought them to their new home and helped situate them. Now it was his turn to adjust. Would it be easy or difficult? Would he miss home? Honestly? It was too early to tell. Bobby hadnât yet discovered if he would be go with the flow or too frozen to adapt. One thing he would do, however, is avoid confronting the issue altogether. Cue gym.
âComing!â Bobby called from the living room when he heard the knock. He scooped up the phone heâd been given and stuffed it in his pocket and went to the door. He pulled it open, dressed in one of the few outfits heâd bought since arriving: a grey crop top and electric teal active shorts that were dangerously short. Heâd pulled his white socks up his calf in the current fashion and bought some basic kicks that werenât terribly fancy.
What had he been expecting? Hard to say with a guy who went by Dick but the first impression? Definitely not bad. Not bad at all.
âHey, thanks for coming to grab me. StillâŠfiguring my way around this version of San Fran,â Bobby admitted sheepishly with a toothy smile. âItâs familiar in some ways andâŠnot in others. Bobby, by the way, which you knew. ButâŠyou know.â
"I'd been to San Francisco before now," Dick said by way of greeting, giving a grin. "One of my brothers moved there for a bit, with his friends." The lie was so easy since it skirted the details of the truth. The Teen Titans were friends and Tim had been leading that iteration when the tower in San Francisco had been built. "But, really, most big cities feel like home to me."
His own attire was the simple grey sweatpants/blue T-shirt combo that he preferred and his sneakers were the same ones he'd picked up via Target delivery that first day. Dick had shown up in his Nightwing uniform; he couldn't very well go shopping in that. "And, yeah, I know. I'm Dick," he said, the grin still in place as he offered his free hand to shake. "Which you knew." Dick couldn't help the amused wink, meant to disarm what could potentially be an awkward moment. "I'm borrowing my brother's car since I've only got my bike at the moment. We didn't see a point in us both getting four wheels," Dick added with a small shrug. "You familiar yet with where the garage is?"
âYou sure are,â Bobby replied with a laugh, charmed in spite of himself. He shook the offered hand, making sure to give it a nice strong grip. He pulled the door shut behind him. âLead the way.â
âI was born and raised in New York,â Bobby continued, falling into stride with Dick as they walked down the hall to the elevator, âso I totally get it. Went to school at UCLA, so I feel like Iâve done the crown jewels of both coasts. Definitely used to big cities for the majority of my life. I did some work in San Fran back in my universe. Oddly with one of the ladies thatâs here, but I donâtâŠthinkâŠitâs the same one from my universe. Is that confusing or are you chill with the whole multiverse thing?â
He pressed the call button and the elevator dinged and opened shortly after. Quicker than most buildings, that was for sure.
It was easy to walk and listen; Dick didn't need to be on when he was in civilian mode. "I'm in the same boat with the multiverse difference," he admitted with a small, dismissive wave of his free hand. They got into the elevator and Dick squashed the usual feeling of hating being in a box without enough room to move if something happened.
"Donna Troy," he explained, belatedly. "She was a friend of mine back home but she's not from the same universe as I am but we just sort of roll with it. The core pieces are there and that's enough to go on. Which of the ladies here did you work with back home?" The doors opened to the garage and Dick stepped out, reaching into his pocket to pull out the keys he'd taken from their spot on the counter on his way out. Jason could deal. He gave a merry little spin of them around his finger. Clearly the idea of a multiverse wasn't new. Nevermind that he'd nearly died during multiversal bullshit.
âHer work name is Black Widow. Not sure if sheâd want me spoiling her identity. Some vigilantes are pretty particular about that for some reason.â Bobby laughed and waggled his eyebrows, signaling he was joking.
âIn my, uh, work circle weâve got a couple longtimers who are from alternate universes. And peopleâs kids from different futures. That one is still weird. Anyway, most dimensions Iâve been to have been designed to kill me so this one seems pretty chill in comparison.â Bobby scratched the side of his jaw, âThough I hear itâs not all sunshine and rainbows. Even though it should be sunshine and rainbows âcuz, ya know, itâs San Francisco. Very gay. Which car is yours?â
God, wasn't that the truth? March had made it impossible to keep his identity a secret and the number of people who knew seemed to keep growing. It made Dick uncomfortable even though it wasn't like knowing Dick Grayson being Nightwing meant his connection to Bruce Wayne outed his adoptive father as Batman. The only people in this place who even knew of Batman already knew that he was Bruce Wayne.
He cracked a grin at the running commentary about San Francisco and it being very gay."None of them," Dick smirked but hit the key fob to disarm Jason's car as they approached. "But he won't mind me taking this." He jerked his chin toward the parking space next to it. "These are our bikes. If he needs to go somewhere, he can walk or use that." Dick tossed his gym bag in the backseat before sliding into the driver's seat and getting his seatbelt on. "We've got options as far as gyms go. I sort'a picked one at random. Plenty of other options if we hate it."
Dick started up the car and took a moment to appreciate the rumble of the engine. Jason had been tinkering, clearly. "So," he asked, putting the car in reverse and backing out with ease. "Longtimers from alternate universes? Kids from different futures? Sounds like it's never boring. Not so sure I can get behind the idea of multiple dimensions being designed to kill you." He glanced at Bobby before putting the car into drive and getting them going as the wheel moved smoothly under his palm. "Like what?"
âPerfect!â Bobby cheerfully chirped as he slid into the passengerâs seat. He buckled his seatbelt and sat back, causing the hem on his already dangerously short shorts to slide up his thigh. âWow, I havenât been in a real car in, like, forever.â It reminded him of the old days. Maybe LA, but that whole era was kind of a flop. No, what came to mind were the real old days, his childhood on Long Island.
âTo answer your questionâŠuh, thereâs been quite a few.â Bobby drummed his fingers on the window sill for a moment to collect his thoughts. âThereâs the Age of Apocalypse.â He brought his hands together and then drew them apart. Tiny shards of ice drew from his parallel palms, forming the hulking shape of Apocalypse that floated and slowly rotated between Bobbyâs hands. He was none the wiser, but Apocalypse looks a lot like Darkseid.
âBasically itâs a dystopian alternate future where the world is dominated by survival of the fittest. You fight, evolve, or die. Ruled by this douchebag, Apocalypse, whoâs old enough that the pyramids came from the sand that chaps his buttcheeks.â
Bobby collapsed his hands together and the ice turned into water that clung to his fingers. When he opened his hands again, the water began to take a new shape until it froze into the shape of a circular arena or coliseum with large television screens at the top.
âThen thereâs Mojoworld, another dimension that sort of exists inside and apart from television and radio signals. The tyrant there feeds on views, so he kidnaps people to play his sick television games. Thereâs always gladiator bloodsports or survival horror involved.â
Reabsorbing the ice back into his palm, Bobby sat back and drummed his fingers on the window sill again. He stared outside at the passing buildings. âAlthough honestly my world is dangerous enough as it is.â
Dick was glad he knew how to multi-task and didn't need to keep his attention fully on the road. He was familiar enough with heroes and villains who could generate or otherwise control ice but he couldn't just come out and say so. Besides, the truth was easy: "Okay, that's--pardon the pun--really cool."
He was looking between the road and what Bobby was showing off and tried to not give himself whiplash with the double-take at the mention of Apokalips or the resultant shape that looked too much like Darkseid to feel any kind of comfort. It was a recall to conversations he'd had about similarities between certain people and their home being alike with pieces of his home. Dick frowned and managed to listen without any interruption.
"The world is dangerous," Dick finally said, though it wasn't meant to sound dismissive. "In my world, there are teams of superheroes who do battle with the various supervillains and otherworldly whatevers that feel like the Earth is just here to be conquered or destroyed. Gotham, where I come from, often has those types running rampant through the streets and a lot of people get hurt." He shook his head. "But it sounds like it's not just the bad guys that make your world so dangerous. It should be safer here, at least, so... there's comfort in that?" He eased to a stop at a light and let himself look at Bobby. âHopefully?â
It was a loaded question. Too many feelings were tangled up in it, anger and guilt and even relief if Bobby stopped to look closely. He wouldnât do that, not yet. Bobby spent his whole life running from his feelings and he wasnât going to stop now. But, being transparent as ice, it wasnât hard to see the conflict on his face.
âDunno,â he said, injecting all that bravado into his voice so as not to sound sullen. In an instant, all those feelings were covered up. âDepends on how good the pizza is. And how cute the boys are.â
Thatâs right, kid. Make a joke. Bury it all under six feet of snow. There was no need to unload onto a stranger, a good looking one at that.
âDo you do it?â Bobby asked, then clarified, âThe hero-ing thing. I mean, not to suggest I was checking you out or anything, but you definitely have the build for it. Are you and your brother. like, a duo act?â
His fingers lifted off the wheel in a vaguely helpless gesture. "We aren't exactly out here but recent events already let in a few too many and it's probably going to be a moot point at the rate we're going. San Francisco isn't big enough to hide a couple of vigilantes that weren't here before late last year."
The light changed and Dick managed to not gun it; he handled stressful situations just fine. "We aren't usually a duo act but here we are since we're the only Bats around," he added, a wry grin appearing though he didn't look at Bobby. "Though neither of us are going by the names we did when we were under him so I probably shouldn't keep calling us that. And at the risk of sounding absolutely conceited, you're free to check me out. I'm used to it."
âWell, thatâs good. Consent is important.â Bobby snorted, but only because it was exactly the sort of thing he would say. He was used to being objectified and even encouraged it. There was a reason his battle form looked like a nude Greek statue carved from ice. âI havenât been in the cape closet since I was a teenager. But I do know what itâs like to conceal part of your identity, so I suppose I never had to wonder if the grass was greener. Itâs not. Itâs fake grass. And itâs itchy.â
If there was one thing Bobby was going to do, it was make light of any situation.
âSo you are a duo act!â Bobby snapped his fingers with satisfaction. âLet me guess, by dayâŠhandsome bachelors making the city swoon. By night, the crime-fighting duo âPeaches ân Cream.â Your brotherâs the Peaches part, youâre âN Cream of course.â
Dick didn't encourage the objectification but he had heard enough of the commentary over the years and, well, the Nightwing suit was tight. He'd ditched the cape immediately for movement and stealth purposes and it didn't help his case any if he wanted people to stop looking at his ass.
He snorted. "The cape closet," Dick murmured, liking that as a term. "We were careful because it would be disastrous if people connected the dots and, well, they'd be really easy dots to connect. Nightwing is Dick Grayson who is the ward of Bruce Wayne which clearly means Bruce Wayne is Batman and oh look these other kids Bruce took on suspiciously match up against the rest of the Bat-team." Dick felt the thrill of both dread and a strange sense of relief just by talking about it. He was never this open but he hadn't been lying about the situation in San Francisco. It was going to be impossible for he and Jason to keep those identities separate and Bruce didn't exist in this universe. Clearly.
His wry grin was cast at Bobby. "Here, yeah. Duo act. I'm not so sure about the handsome bachelor act. We don't have the financial backing we have back home. And why am I the 'N Cream?" He was almost afraid of the answer. (Not really.)
Bobbyâs eyebrows furrowed. âHuh. Kind of a familiar story. Something similar happened with my original team back when we were all kids. But eventually we went public. Hard to say what was the right decision.â He fiddled with his fingers in his lap. âSo if itâs working for you, probably no reason to risk it.â
âHas there been much need for crime fighting over here? I did a little bit of research. Thereâs familiar names, the Avengersâ for better or for worse,â Bobby couldnât help but roll his eyes, âso that means thereâs at least some big world-level threats this universe has faced. And clearly something is causing these bleeds or incursions. Guess I wonder how busy Iâm going to be and if I need to start scouting teammates.â
He chuckled lightly and then leaned toward the window. âThis it?â
"You didn't answer the question," Dick complained good-naturedly. He understood that the Avengers were his universe's version of the JLA and adjacent but Dick still wasn't sure what large threats could be on the horizon. Previous threats were easily researched, at least.
He nodded. "This is it," Dick said and pulled into the underground parking garage. "I think recruiting teammates would be easy. We have a pretty big number here of fighters and supers. I don't know who all are metas, though." Mutants, if he had thought to remember what the similar-universe used to label. Molly Hayes, he remembered (belatedly), was open with that term. "From what I've found, the threats and weirdness is usually centered around the Station or San Francisco as a larger radius."
Dick easily backed into a parking space, hand coming up to brace against Bobby's headrest as he turned to watch out the back window. "Jason and I have kind of been doing out own thing. Mobsters are mobsters, no matter the city. We just aren't running into supervillains which... is a weird break." He put the car in park and undid his seatbelt.
âMaybe I shouldnât just jump right back into it with the opportunity to have thatâŠnot be the center of my life for once.â Bobby unbuckled his seat belt and hopped out of the car, stretching his arms up.
Heâd tried it before, of course. But that was different. The world was different. The way it treated his kind was different. Besides, if he really had diedâ wasnât that the perfect time to start a new chapter? âI guess itâs because âthe lifeâ always finds me, even if Iâm not looking for it. I bet you know how that feels too, right?â He rounded the car and crossed his arms over his chest. Watching Dick get out of the car, Bobby had to blink a few times and let out a whistle.
âOkay, I take it all back. Youâre definitely Peaches.â
Dick let out a startled laugh at Bobby's declaration and grabbed his duffel bag to sling over his shoulder again. He flashed a grin at Bobby but didn't comment because he also wasn't going to walk into commentary about his brother's ass.
"I mean, there's no reason to jump immediately into it," Dick said as they got walking again, casually sliding back into the conversation. "Jay and I can't sit still so we did immediately jump back into it but what we do is most of our lives anyway, everything else was always the back-burner. Which is not healthy, let me tell you, but it's hard to break decades of habit." He gave a shrug and paused before they walked into the gym from the garage because he was going to be very quickly uncomfortable talking about the vigilantism. "If you can, I'd just kind of... enjoy what's here for now. See what you can get involved in and try to plant something solid."
Bobby wasnât the most insightfulâ he didnât have a good read on body language like his friends (or their thoughts, more accurately). Luckily, he was on the same page as Dick about discretion and sauntered into the gym with the resolution to let the topic lie.
âGood advice, sounds like you ought to take it sometime,â he said, sticking his tongue out and giving Dick a wink. âOkay, so whatâs the plan? Meet back here in an hour? Today feels like aâŠâ
He stuck the tip of his index finger in his mouth briefly before holding it up like he was testing the direction of the wind.
âArms and chest day for me.â
He snorted in reply and Dick knew he'd walked right into that one. Yeah, he could probably stand to take his own advice. But he wasn't going to and he was only going to get worse about it though no one else needed to know that.
"An hour sounds good. We're just testing the waters, see if you hate this place or not," Dick pointed out and then thumbed in the direction he was heading. "Calisthenics for me." He flashed a grin and paused to fish out a spare towel from his bag before tossing it lightly at Bobby. "Just in case you need it," he said before checking them both in and splitting up.
Catching the towel in one hand, Bobby threw it around his neck.
âThanks, but I donât sweat.â After a beat, he added cheekily, âUnless I want to.â
He crossed his arms over his broad chest and started walking away. After a second or two, he spun on his heel to catch a glimpse of Dick going the opposite way. He let out a soft whistle and murmured a single word of admiration.