J took a step forward. “C-Colin?” she stammered, as she stared up at the beast before her.

Colin (or Goliath?) gently got down on all fours, so that his face came right up to meet J. In contrast to everything else about his appearance, Goliath’s eyes still seemed to retain some humanity. They seemed to be saying “It’s okay, J. I’m still me”.

J still couldn't quite believe it, and that said a lot. How could this be? How could Colin Wilkes and Goliath be one and the same? Colin/Goliath seemed to notice J's uncertainty, and gently nuzzled her outstretched hand.

"Magnificent, isn't he?" said Damian, coming up behind J, slightly startling her. "I imagine that you have a few questions? Don't worry, I'll be happy to answer them once we're in the air."

"In the air?" Repeated J. "You mean he's going to…?"

"Fly us back to Metropolis." Said Damian, matter-of-factly. He turned to look at Goliath. “Come on then, let’s get you ready.”

Damian strode over to the large harness and saddle hanging on the wall by the nest, and Goliath lumbered after him. They began the process of attaching them to prepare for the flight to J’s hometown.

While they did this, J sat back down on the bed and tried to comprehend what had just happened. Colin’s knowledge of the superhero community suddenly made a lot more sense. He was practically a superhero himself. A “member of the Bat-squad” as Colin had said earlier.

But that raised more questions than it answered. How did he get his powers? How exactly did they work? How many people knew his secret? These weren't the only questions on J’s mind. She was pretty sure that Damian had found Goliath years ago, before he became Robin. He had adopted Goliath as a pup which then grew into a giant dragon-bat over the years. Surley, this wasn’t the same Goliath. Was he?

J couldn’t help it. She couldn’t just accept that her new friend was also a giant mythical creature without asking a couple of questions first. She walked over to them and began helping Damian with the harness. She opened her mouth but her vocabulary seemed to escape her at that moment and all she managed to say was “....How?” while gently petting the fuzzy dragon’s head.

Damian paused in the process of tying on the saddle to consider the answer. “That’s a long story Jo-, J.” He caught himself before addressing his friend by her old name. “Colin and I were friends for a while, and we started dating just before… the Crisis.”

“Oh…” muttered J.

The Crisis of Infinite Earths, or The Crisis for short, (because it’s not like there’d ever be more than one incident as bad as that… right?) was a sensitive topic among the superhero community. A massive battle across the multiverse so important that it was now taught in schools. Millions across the universe had died, including Barry Allen AKA the Flash, who J had been close to when she was little.

“Yeah...” Damian sighed, stroking his dragon-boyfriend’s head, before walking around him and checking the straps. “During the Crisis… I’m not sure when it happened exactly… but for a while… Colin disappeared from our universe… Completely. I’d lost him… and I couldn’t even remember him…” Damian wiped a tear from his eyes, glad the domino mask would stop any running makeup.

“Eventually, the crisis was over” continued Damian. “As the universe corrected itself, Colin tried to come back… But, by some strange twist of fate…. I’m assuming some cosmic wires must have been crossed, he came back… as Goliath.”

“But, I thought that you adopted Goliath before you became Robin?” said J. “How can they be the same?”

“Of course, before the crisis, Colin and Goliath were separate entities.” explained Damian. “The crisis merged them into one being. Again, I didn’t realize it for a long time… Some things began to jog my memory though… I never knew what exactly, but when I started to remember Colin, Goliath started acting different.”

Colin/Goliath was practically purring and nuzzled against his tiny boyfriend. “Much more affectionate for one thing.” Damian said with a chuckle.

J carried on listening to Damian, who was clearly enjoying the shocked look of enthrallment on her face. “Eventually,” continued Damian, “After about a week of my memory growing sharper and Goliath acting warmer and happier, Colin finally figured out how to control his powers and was able to shift back into human form. I finally had my Habibi back.” He kissed the top of the dragon-bat’s head. “Plus, now I have a boyfriend who can transform into a giant winged beast at will! How cool is that?”

J still couldn’t completely follow the story. “How the heck did he figure out that he could transform like that?”

Damian smirked. “Even before the crisis, Colin had superpowers of his own. Only back then, he merely transformed into a larger, stronger version of his human form.” He gently stroked Goliath's red fur. “If anything, the universe gave him an upgrade.”

J blinked in stunned silence at the two of them. Gradually, things began to make sense, albeit in a way that only someone who lived among superheroes could comprehend. “Soooo…. He’s Goliath… and Colin...? She asked slowly. She smirked at Damian. “Did you wish really hard?”

Goliath let out a grunting noise which might have been laughter. Damian scowled at the two of them. “Oh, Shut-up! The pair of you!” he snapped, though J was sure that she saw him grin slightly, as he made the final adjustments to the harness. “Are you ready to leave?” he asked.

“Uhh… sure.” said J. She had to admit, it was weird climbing onto the back of a creature that she knew was also the boy who she had just been speaking with. But Colin didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he seemed excited to finally have a chance to stretch his wings.

Damian picked up the clothes that Colin had been wearing and put them into the duffle bag, which he then strapped to the harness. He then clambered onto the front of the saddle, as Goliath made his way onto the service elevator. Damian pressed a button on his utility belt and the elevator rose up.

A moment later, they emerged into a cave in the side of the cliffs below Wayne Manor. Goliath made his way to the mouth of the cave and spread his wings. “Ready, Goliath?” asked Damian. The dragon-bat grunted. “Then away we go! Hold on tight, J!” Damian shouted over his shoulder. With no more warning than that, they took off, out of the cave and into the darkening sky.

It wasn’t the first time J had flown. Her dad had taken her up into the sky many times and she always loved it. She also knew that her developing powers would mean that one day, she would be able to fly herself. In short, she loved flying.

Flying on a dragon-bat, however, was making her seriously begin to question that love. She clung for dear life to the saddle as they lurched into the evening sky. Each beat of Goliath’s wings threatened to throw her straight off.

“Calm down, J” said Damian. “We’ll level out once we gain some altitude.” J was grateful for her super-hearing, or else she would probably not have heard Damian.

Sure enough, as they reached a higher altitude (J estimated around 1500 feet), Goliath eased into a gentle glide and J was able to sit back comfortably in the saddle. In the distance, J could already see the lights of Metropolis. Now that she could relax, J found the flight to be rather peaceful, as she gazed up at the evening sky.

Damian turned to look at J. “We should arrive in just under 20 minutes,” he said, shuffling over to sit next to J. “In the meantime, Do you have any more questions about Goliath?”

J couldn’t help but laugh at how casually Damian had asked that, “Not at the moment Damian. I think all my questions got shook off on the way up here! That take off was a bit rough compared to what I’m used to!”

The beast gave a growl that made Damian smirk, “I think he’s trying to say you don’t get to criticize his flying until you know how.”

J smiled at that, petting a hand in the huge beast’s fur, “Well that answers one question. He can’t talk in this form.”

“Correct.” Damian nodded, “Colin is still Colin in all this bulk, but he is much more driven by emotion and instinct like this. When he merged with Goliath, their minds became one as well. Colin’s mind hasn’t overridden Goliath’s. They’ve simply merged together! Their memories, experiences and emotions are one and the same and, when in this form, Goliath’s instinct becomes stronger. Does that make sense?”

J could barely keep up with all this new information, but she nodded, which seemed to satisfy Damian.

A thought occurred to J, as she tried to think of a change of subject. “Colin told me about his moms. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy” she said. “Do they know about this?”

Damian raised an eyebrow, then smiled. “So that’s what you were talking about in the cave. Yes, they know.” He looked down at Goliath and stroked his fur. “When Colin came back, I wanted to get him away from that terrible orphanage as quickly as possible. Especially from the worthless excuse of a nun who ran the place.”

J nodded, “He told me about a lot of her. Calling him a girl, insulting his moms… glad your dad gave her the boot.”

Damian chuckled dryly, “With the kind of luck Baba has with people who hate him, I would not be surprised if that old crow that got fired comes back as a super villain. The Mother Superior or something like that.”

J laughed a little, though she knew enough about their bizzare lives to know that was actually very possible. She considered for a moment if she should say something about being a girl to Damian after all. They wouldn’t be alone like this again for a few days…

“Anyway” continued Damian, “I’d previously heard from Baba and Oracle that Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy had reformed and were looking to settle down and adopt a child. I saw this as an opportunity for Colin, so I told them about him.”

J nodded. “I guess now that they're Colin’s moms, they’re more okay with him being… well like this!” She gestured to Goliath. Something then occurred to her. “Wait! If they know that Colin is Goliath, and that he’s dating you, have they figured out….?

“That I’m Robin and Baba is Batman?” finished Damian, “Yes. We believe that they already suspected us, but adopting Colin was what confirmed it. Obviously, two former supervillains knowing our secret would have been a major cause for concern a few years ago, but there is plenty of evidence that they truly have reformed. Baba trusts them and so do I.”

Below them, Goliath grunted. “Of course, beloved” replied Damian “You trust them as well, and frankly, that’s all that really matters.”

“Trust… Yeah. Trust in a person is the most important thing…” she paused in thought, “Damian… Can I tell you thomething important?” lisping as she nervously spoke.

Suddenly, Goliath tensed underneath them and Damian noticed “Hold on J. What’s wrong Habibi? Something coming?” The dragon growled looking towards an oncoming blue and red blur.

“Dad…” J sighed, knowing Superman would meet them in a matter of seconds. “Sorry, Damian, I’ll need to tell you about this later.”

Before Damian could even try to respond, the Man of Steel had approached them and was flying alongside the dragon and the two young passengers, “Oh! It’s you two!” he laughed. “I thought Bizaro had got himself a new pet or something. I….” it seemed he only now realized that Damian was still wearing his black ballerina’s outfit. “Uuhhh... is that a new uniform, Robin?”

Damian gave a small shrug, “I don’t think I’ll make this a normal thing. I just thought I looked good and decided to wear it a little longer.”

“I see.” said Superman.

J and Colin could read his face like a book. He was clearly thinking how weird people in Gotham were and was trying to quickly think of a change of subject. “I… I like your ride”, he said suddenly. “A proud and powerful beast.” He patted Goliath on the head, who then growled back at him.

Calling Goliath a beast seemed to annoy Damian more than any potential judgement of his outfit, “Superman! Please do not address my Habibi like that, and do not touch him with his permission.”

“Your ha-?… nevermind…” he derailed the question, looking even more confused but deciding to leave it alone. “Do you boys wanna touch down somewhere? We’re not too far from the Metro-Narrows Bridge. If we stop on one of the towers, I can take Jon home from there.”

J had been expecting him to say her deadname, and had tried to brace herself for it, but it still did nothing to make her feel less uncomfortable. She knew that her dad loved her and would never knowingly say anything to hurt her. But hearing him misgender her made J realise the challenge that lay before her. All of her family and friends had always known her as a boy. How on Earth was she supposed to tell him that she was actually a girl?

“Makes sense” said Damian “Not sure how people in Metropolis will react to seeing a dragon-bat descend from on high.” He turned to the young Kent, “J, what do you think? If we drop you off at the bridge, are you ok to head home with Superman?”

“Uh yeah, sure” replied J, not really listening.

They made their way to the Metro-Narrows Bridge that connected Gotham and Metropolis via Delaware Bay. The bridge was about three miles long and held up by three suspension towers. The tallest of the three towers stood right at the halfway point between Gotham and Metropolis and occasionally served as a rendezvous point for heroes of the two cities. Goliath landed with a thud on top of the tower and Damian and J disembarked as Superman landed gently beside them.

“I’ll be right there dad. Just one quick thing.” J called once getting out of the saddle.

Once both kids were off his back, Goliath began to transform back to his normal self. His fur receded, revealing the nanosuit underneath, as his wings and tail shrunk back into his body. His face shifted back to that of a boy as he flexed his jaw muscles. As he shrunk down to normal size, the nanosuit stayed in place, maintaining his modesty and the saddle and straps fell loose around him. “Aahhh” groaned Colin as he stretched, “Always feels weird doing that!”

Superman stared in disbelief. “Wait, what!” He turned to J and Damian. “It’s a- I mean... He’s just a kid?!”

Damian rolled his eyes. “His name is Colin!” he declared, walking over to Colin and putting an arm around his boyfriend. “He is my beloved, and a proud hero of Gotham City!”

Colin blushed and smiled awkwardly at Superman. “Uh, hi.” he said sheepishly “Nice to meet you, Mr… uuumm… Superman.”

Superman’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Colin and then down the bridge towards Gotham. “Why doesn’t Batman tell me these things?” he muttered under his breath.

“Uncle Bruce likes his secrets.” laughed J, enjoying her dad’s reaction. “I’m just gonna say goodbye then we can head home.”

J walked over to Colin. “Thank you for the talk earlier.” She hugged him tightly, taking him by surprise. “You were such a big help!” she whispered.

The older boy smiled and hugged back, “Any time, J.” he whispered back. Colin looked over his new friend's shoulder and saw Clark and Damian exchange a brief silent look. The two were finally on the same page of confusion and seemed to be simultaneously asking each other “Any idea what they’re going on about?”

J almost seemed to sense their reaction even from behind and broke the hug short. She walked over to Damian and gave him an awkward goodbye hug as well, to try and make her previous action less suspicious. It didn’t seem to work. If anything, Damian just looked more surprised and confused “I’ll see you soon, Damian.” She grinned nervously.

“Yeah… Yeah I’ll see you soon, J.” Damian said, patting her awkwardly on the back, though still a bit confused. They broke apart and J went over to her dad.

“So, you go by J now?” Clark asked, giving his “son” a hug too, feeling he should get in on this.

“Yeah… Just a nickname I feel I like better, for now.” Clark chuckled and picked her up and helped her onto his back. “Works for me. Conner wanted to be called Big C for a while. I like yours better. Hold on tight J.” He waved at the two teenagers as father and child took off into the night.

Once they were a good ways off, Damian turned to Colin, “Colin, what was J talking about?”

Colin shrugged, “Sorry hun. Not my secret to tell. I’m sure they’ll fill you in when they’re ready.” Colin couldn’t help but feel a little deceptive playing the pronoun game like this, but he would keep his silence until J told him otherwise.

Damian was actually pouting and grumbled to himself, “Tt! I’m supposed to be his best friend! Why did he tell you before me?” Hoping to avoid being interrogated by his cute genius boyfriend, Colin began to turn back into Goliath to better hold his silence.