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Free Day | Neal is Any DC Character | Outsider POV | Miscommunication leads to Identity Reveal
It all started with a woman walking into the White Collar office on the twenty-first floor. Everyone looked at her strangely, but Dick Grayson, alias Neal Caffrey, felt his stomach drop. He didn’t know her, didn’t recognize her, but he knew a cape when he saw one.
“Uh, can we help you?” Peter asked, obviously thrown by the blonde. “This is White Collar, and usually supers don’t…”
“Good, I’m in the right place.” She said, with a broad smile. “I need to borrow your CI.”
“Our CI?” Peter repeated, eyes wide. “What did he do?” Peter turned toward him, and Dick barely even realized that he had stood. “What did you do?”
“I have no idea.” Dick, Neal , admitted. “Let alone what could have gotten the attention of a Lantern Corps.”
She floated over toward him. “You haven’t done anything wrong.” She reassured him. She held out her hand. “I’m…” She paused, looking around at the agents, obviously weighing the idea of giving her name. “I’m Red Lantern. I’m your sister-in-law.”
Neal opened and closed his mouth several times, not sure what part of that to touch first. “I didn’t know any of my siblings were married.” He tried, shaking her hand. It was possible, the last one he had spoken to was Tim, and that was over a year ago.
“You wouldn’t have known.” She answered, easily. “The brain damage had him almost catatonic for years, and then after his dip in the Pit, he was too full of pit-rage to go home.” She admitted. “He’s been doing better, has mostly got a handle on the Lazarus Syndrome, but…”
“ Jason? ” Neal breathed, feeling his stomach drop. “ Jason is alive again?”
The blonde smiled at him, obviously happy with that fact, or maybe it was his reaction she was happy with. “Yeah.” She admitted. “He tried to get your dad to kill the Joker, but…” Red Lantern winced. “It didn’t go well. Your dad stabbed your brother.”
Neal felt his palms sting, and vaguely registered that it was from his own nails. “He. Did. WHAT ?!”
“ Yeah…” Red Lantern replied. “It was bad, but I really don’t know what's up with your dad. Like…I don’t get what's the tension with him and the Joker. At least when you got with a rogue, it wasn’t one who beat your kid with a crowbar and then blew him the fuck up.” She blew out a breath. “Like is it just coulrophilia? Is it just his villain thing?”
Neal was still trying to figure out what was happening and translate it back into anything that makes sense. “Jason is alive and he wants to see me ?” Neal repeated. “I was a shit brother.”
“Batsy let slip that you beat the Joker to death once, because of Jason, and that he resuscitated him.” The Red Lantern explained. “After he was healed and had the rage worked off…his only request was to see you.” She swallowed. “He said that the father he thought loved him didn’t care enough to avenge him, but the brother he thought hated him loved him enough to try and put the clown in the ground.”
“He didn’t let me know about the funeral.” Dick remembered, angry. “I confronted him about it, that he didn’t even try to tell me my baby brother was dead, that he had buried him without me, but he backhanded me and told me to leave my keys to the house.”
“Asshole.” Red Lantern held out her hand again. “So, what do you say? Want to go see your little brother? Warning, he’s gonna tower over you.”
“Little Wing?” Neal said, his jaw unhinging, holding out his hand to where fifteen-year-old-Jason had come to on him.
The Red Lantern laughed. “Red.” She said, holding her hand about four inches above his head. “And he’s broader, built more like your dad than you.”
“Bullshit.” Dick said, with a shake of his head, finding that almost harder to believe than the rest of it. “He was always small. Agent A said that because he was malnourished early, it was likely he would always be small.”
“Dunno.” Red Lantern admitted. “I didn’t meet him before he was murdered. My guess is that when he went into the pit, it basically factory reset his body to his genetic physical prime. When I met him, he was already capable of slamming me into a wall.” Her smile turned wicked at that, but it obviously wasn’t aimed at him so much as a memory. “Which he’s done more than once.”
Dick swallowed hard. “And he wants to see me?”
“If he didn’t, I wouldn’t be standing in the middle of an FBI office.” Red Lantern shot back. “So, are you in?”
“He's my baby brother.” Dick said, wiping the tears that had started from his cheeks. “ Of course I’m in.” He paused for a minute. “And then I might need to go visit the Cave.”
“Oh, I’m tempted to do that last one, but if we do, I’ll probably be best stepping away unless Kal-El shows his face.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I guess I’ll have your back.”
“Neal…” Peter said, breaking into the conversation. “I…you have a radius. You can’t just disappear with a random…person who claims to know a brother we didn’t even know existed. A brother you think is dead .”
“Peter…” Dick managed, wiping his hands over his face. “A super has walked into the White Collar office and just told me that my baby brother who was murdered by the Joker when he was fifteen and I was thousands of miles away is alive and wants to see me .” He swallowed hard. “And was stabbed by our father. If you care about me at all , as a person , not even as a friend, please . I need to see my brother .” While he had never expected it, in this situation, neither Neal Caffrey or Dick Grayson were above begging.
Peter seemed to be debating this. “I have to go with you, if you’re going to leave your radius.”
Red Lantern shrugged. “I can carry both of you.”
Peter glanced at her, doubt in his voice as he spoke. “You can?”
“I’m Kryptonian.” Red Lantern said, with a wave of her hand. “The two of you wouldn’t even make me break a sweat.”
“Jay is married to a Kryptonian.” Dick said, shaking his head. “That’s ironic considering he always teased me for Superman being my favorite hero.”
“Kal-El is an asshole.” Red Lantern said, with an eyeroll. She took a breath and sighed. “Sorry, I don’t think there are any capes without some kind of family issues.”
“Truer words.” Dick said with a shake of his head. “And Superman had the least, just finding out he was adopted as a teenager.”
“So, let’s go.” Red Lantern replied. She held out both arms. “I can bear hug the both of you, or you can hang off my back, Neal, if you think you can hold on.”
“I can hold on.” Dick agreed. “Keep hold of Peter.”
“Then let’s make our way to the roof.” Red Lantern agreed.
Peter had wondered what it would be like to be Superman. He thought that every person who had seen the hero in action or on the television wondered what it would be like to fly like he did. Leaving the FBI field office being carried by a Kryptonian as she flew them through the sky was an addictive feeling. It felt like the rush from the chase mixed with the stomach-drop of knowing something was happening that you were not supposed to be doing. His animal hindbrain kicked in and told him he was up far too high. The flight went quickly, especially when Peter had neglected to ask where exactly they were going.
He had to admit he felt some dread when the bridges came into sight and he realized that they were going to Gotham City of all places, but then he realized that he should have known. The Kryptonian who had introduced herself as Red Lantern had said that Neal’s brother had tried to get their father to kill the Joker. The Joker was headquartered in Gotham, and when he was incarcerated, he was incarcerated just outside Gotham in Arkham Asylum.
“Safehouse sweet safehouse.” The Kryptonian announced as they landed on top of a decrepit apartment building that had definitely seen better days.
“Ready to burn?” Neal asked.
“If necessary.” She agreed with a nod. “Though I’m hoping this reunion goes a bit better.”
“Well I’m not gonna stab him.” Neal scoffed, still obviously angry about that fact.
“Good, because I have no desire to go through that again.” Red Lantern replied. She led them over to the door that allowed access to the building from the roof. The building looked decrepit, but a biometric sensor beeped as she opened it and let them inside. The top floor was obviously a gym, and Dick chuckled at the sight of a beat up car hanging where most gyms would have a punching bag. They took the stairs down to the next level and Red Lantern smiled, a bit warily as she opened the door to the floor. It was originally a group of apartments, that much was obvious, and yet it had been remodeled to make the entire floor an apartment, like a penthouse. “We’re back!” She called into the apartment.
“Good.” A voice said from close by and Peter had to admit he started as he realized that one word came from a cat. “He stay. I good kitty.”
“Yes, you are.” Red Lantern replied, scratching behind the cat’s ears. “This is Agent Peter Burke of the FBI and…”
“Nightwing.” The cat replied. “ His littermate.”
Dick wanted to facepalm. Had he just gotten outed as Nightwing by a cat ? And here he had been grateful to Red Lantern for catching on and keeping his identity hidden in the FBI building. It had been years since he had been Nightwing anyway.
Red Lantern tilted her head at that, and nodded. “Come on.” She said, after a moment, when it became clear that the cat was done talking. She moved them through the apartment easily, and opened the door to what was obviously a super’s headquarters.
The man sitting at a long steel table was methodically cleaning an armory of guns, but Dick recognized more than that. The man was doing it in the same way that Slade often did. Yes, he was breaking down, cleaning, and putting together his guns, but he was doing it as a form of meditation. Familiar movements by rote that did not require thought and allowed him to smooth out his thoughts. He found himself stepping forward cautiously. “J…Jason…?”
The man looked up, and his gaze was the bright, unearthly green of the Lazarus Pit. His hair had a white streak in it, and Dick was forcibly reminded of Ra’s Al-Ghul and the white hair he had over his ears that always looked like feathers to the bird-themed hero. “Little Wing.” He choked out, reaching out his hand.
“Ah ah ah, Dickiebird.” Jason said, not pulling away but not reaching out to him either. “Follow your protocols. What do you need to make sure I’m not Clayface or a clone?”
Dick shook his head, trying to understand this. “Protocols?” He repeated. “What the fuck do you mean protocols, Jay? I just found out my little brother is alive , how the fuck am I supposed to remember B’s protocols? I haven’t talked to him in years . I haven’t seen him in even longer.”
“Are you saying Deathstroke doesn’t have protocols for if someone he killed comes back to life?” Jason asked, his eyebrow raising.
Dick snorted at that. “Yeah, kill the fuckers first if they show up looking like they’re going to attempt to kill us. If not, wait for the person who hired him in the first place to call again.” He ran his hand over his face. “And now I’m probably never getting back to the white collar team. I’m a nonviolent CI for them. Me having a history of beating mass murderers to death probably means I’m fucked.”
“Well at least Deathstroke’s way is effective.” Red Lantern said with a snort, making herself a seat on the steel table.
“Try, ‘Wing. I want to prove it, beyond any doubt for you.” Jason suggested, his eyes changing from that haunting green – becoming more teal, as if Jason’s natural blue was fighting with it.
Fuck , what were the protocols? Something that only they would know? But Dick had been such a bad big brother. He was pissed off at Bruce, angry with the kid given his name and his colors without so much as a by-your-leave, angry that Jason had been adopted when Dick had remained only a ward. He hadn’t done much with Jason, and had regretted it ever since. “When we had a free day, what did I take you to do?”
“I think you mean free night .” Jason corrected, but he laughed anyway. “We went trainsurfing in Blud.”
“And then I blindfolded you for the third round and you tried to sucker punch me.” Dick said with a laugh that had something grinding underneath it.
“I actually sucker-punched you. Don’t say it like I didn’t actually clock you, Dickhead.” Jason argued, but he was smiling.
Dick held out his arms. “Little Wing?”
Jason rose from behind the table of guns, coming around in front of it, and Dick felt his jaw unhinge. “ Fuck, she wasn’t kidding about how big you are.”
Jason honest-to-god laughed at that, and while it was deeper and gruffer than the kid brother he had known, it was enough to make Dick start crying. Refusing to be embarrassed – he was allowed to be emotional about his baby brother coming back from the dead thank you very much – he dove toward Jason and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him tight against him, before he began sobbing in earnest. “I’m so sorry, Jay.” He managed, muttering it out. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when B benched you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when the Joker…” He broke off with another sob.
“You were in space, Dickhead.” Jason said, by way of comforting him. “The Titans needed you.”
“ You needed me!” Dick argued. “The Titans would have been fine. I was the only pure human on the team. I was just…strategy. I was gone and you died .”
“So what, you would have handed Joker two Robins instead of one?” Jason asked, still holding tight to the hug. There was a beat of silence, before he said quietly: “B said you killed him.”
“Beat him to death with my bare hands.” Dick said dully. “And the whole time he was mocking you, said that he hit you harder than I was hitting him. If you’re thinking it was the heat of the moment, Jay, it wasn’t. I went there to do it.”
Jason’s arms tightened around him. “Thank you.” He managed, his deeper, gruffer voice even rougher. “At least someone fucking cared.”
“You’re my baby brother.” Dick said, for what felt like the thirtieth time since Red Lantern had shown up on the twenty-first floor of the FBI building. “I never really forgave myself for not being a better brother to you. I was so mad that B fired me, that he gave you Robin, but you brought honor to my family’s colors, Jay. I’m just sorry that it got you killed.”
“No.” Jason said slowly. “It wasn’t you. It was Sheila Haywood.” He spat the name. “She was tangled up in embezzling from the relief organization she was working with, and Joker was blackmailing her. I outed myself to her and her bright idea was that if she handed the Joker Robin on a silver platter, he would forgive her debt. He needed to cover his tracks, though, and so she had to die too.”
“Bitch.” Dick swore, meaning it whole-heartedly. “B buried her beside you. We should have her exhumed and thrown into the harbor.”
Jason laughed again, wiping his eyes. “We don’t know what all the chemicals in the harbor would do.” Jason said, shaking his head. “And since I don’t seem to stay dead, I’d rather not trigger any latent meta-ability her corpse might have.”
Something in that statement made Dick’s soul shiver. “Jason…how many times have you died?”
Jason screwed up his mouth. “We’re not sure.” He admitted. “Anywhere between two and seven is the current guess. After I dug my way out of my grave, I was wandering the streets for at least six months before Talia found me. We know when I stumbled out of the cemetery, that I was struck by a hit-and-run driver and in the hospital asking for Bruce, but not mentally there enough to respond to anyone. Whether the accident was death number two, or I was just injured is a toss-up. The League spotted me when some homeless punks tried to shake me down and I pulled out some of the moves you taught me. They took me to Talia, where she tried to help me regain my mind and train until Ra’s was threatening to put me down or send me away, and then she dunked me in the Pit. There’s no way to know if I died at all while on the streets.”
“And then there was a few nights ago.” Red Lantern said, obviously not pleased.
Jason waved her off. “I still say that doesn’t count.”
“I’m the one who found your body, Jay.” Red Lantern reminded him. “It counts . I had to call Guy to talk me down. When Guy Gardner is the voice of reason and calm, it counts. ”
Dick felt his stomach twist. He didn’t want to know. He knew he didn’t want to know. At the same time, though, he knew that he had to know. “What happened a few nights ago?” When it didn’t look as though his brother would answer, he looked him straight in his now-teal eyes. “Please, Jay, I need to know.”
Jason frowned, but opened a few of the snaps on the tactical suit he was wearing, exposing his neck. Exposing a very vicious , obviously deep scar on his neck. It was made by something sharp, and the blade was not completely straight.
It had been years since Dick had seen a wound like that, and he had never seen one in someone’s neck but he knew what caused it. There was only one weapon of that shape, only one with that many cutting edges. He felt rage burble up in his gut, and not knowing what to do with it, he slammed his fist hard on the steel table, making the guns on it jump with the force of the blow. “ Te malavel les i menkiva! ” He spat harshly, as harshly as he had ever spoken to or about anyone.
The rage was going to choke him, and everything else seemed to be behind some kind of filter, like he was staring out at everything through a fishbowl. He reached into the inner pocket of his suit, and drew out his non-FBI approved phone. The burner that had only one number programmed into it. Breathing hard and trying not to hyperventilate, he hit the speed dial and speaker, muttering more Romanes oaths under his breath.
The phone rang once and then connected to no greeting. That didn’t matter to Dick. “Tell me I’m not allowed to kill Batman.” He said, plainly. “You need to talk me down right now.”
The phone was silent for a moment, before there was a sigh. “And how would you do it?” A voice asked, dispassionately. “You’ve been out of the game for years, Prihor . Run me through the plan.”
“I would do it while he was in civilian form, leaving work. Headshot to avoid the low-profile body armor.” Dick could barely hear his own voice, clipped and mechanical.
“You wouldn’t want to see his face while you did it, little bird?” The voice asked, dispassionate.
“He saw Jason’s face and slit his fucking throat . I don’t think he deserves to see mine.” Dick growled, actually growled . “If he did see me before I did it, he’d lay the ‘ whys’ at your feet instead of looking at his own actions.”
There was a pause on the line. “I thought the second Robin was killed by the clown.”
“Turns out I don’t stay dead, Deathstroke.” Jason said, breaking his silence. “Even if the bat tries to put me down.”
“Join the club then.” Deathstroke said with a scoff. “But, Pui, you’re running on anger right now. You’re blinded to the results of those actions. You kill the Bat, and we would forever be on the run. You’ve liked your life as Neal Caffrey. You need to have people around you, damn extrovert that you are. You would have to leave all of your friends. Burke, Berrigan, Jones, you could never see them again. We’d have to go to the wind and the League would come after us and never stop.”
“Us?” Dick found himself saying.
“Us.” Deathstroke agreed. “But you would still be lonely.”
“But it would be right .” Dick argued.
“Perhaps. To some. Others see killing someone who comes back as no crime at all. Murder means little to them if the death is not permanent.” The voice said. “You would only have a rare free day. Does your brother want you to sacrifice everything you’ve built since you hung up Nightwing? Have you asked him?”
“No, he hasn’t.” Jason said instead. “And no, I wouldn’t want that for him. Dickhead needs his people.”
Dick took a deep breath. He looked in his brother’s eyes, now back to their normal, natural blue. He meant that, Dick could tell. He had needed to be told what the consequences would be. “Thanks, babe.” He said after a minute. “I needed that.”
“I’ll be home tomorrow. Don’t do anything stupid tonight.” Slade responded.
Dick turned to look at Peter Burke, whose face was a myriad of emotions, but still looked like he could be pushed over by a feather. He worried that that ship had already sailed.