The Answer is Bruce

This was inspired by Titans (the 2008 incarnation). I believe the scene is from issue #8, but I read it in the trade paperback Titans: Lockdown, so I'm not 100% sure.

Anyway, Joey/Jericho invades one of the bodies of the Titans, but nobody knows whose. To see whose brain Joey has taken over, each member of the team answers their pre-determined secret security question (or tells the system a secret), which is supposed to be something only each individual would know. The idea is that whomever Joey has invaded will get their question wrong because the answer is so secret, Joey (or another person close to the one answering) would presumably not even be able to guess said answer.

This is about Dick's question.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. DC does.

After the debacle with Joey, Dick took some time to think about his security question. Part of him wondered: "did the program really not detect Joey because he had entered my subconscious or was my security question too easy?" For someone who knew Dick Grayson, perhaps any question that could be answered "Bruce" was too obvious. Yet Dick didn't want to ask something trivial such as "what's your guilty pleasure" or "what's your most embarrassing moment." The security question, and its answer, should have a deep emotional meaning. It needed to be about something significant.

Since reflexive thinking was one of his greatest strengths, Dick sat down to ponder his web of relationships. The connections were seemingly endless, and all of them were important. But one in particular stood out from the rest, notable for its longevity, closeness, intensity, and ability to withstand numerous ups and downs. The depth of feeling between the two people involved was unfathomable. In essence, they were (non-sexual) soul mates.

Dick decided to dissect the relationship, thinking he might be able to find a suitable security question among its constituent parts. The questions were manifold, but they all had the same answer.

Who has first claim to your loyalty? Bruce.

Who is the most important person in your life? Bruce.

Who do you admire most? Bruce – despite his flaws. Maybe even because of them.

Who would it hurt the most to lose? Bruce.

Who do you most want to be proud of you? Bruce.

Who are you most afraid of disappointing? Definitely Bruce.

Who has only to say the word and you'll drop everything and run to help? Bruce again, obviously. Dick had already done this several times, and wouldn't even think twice about doing it a dozen more.

Who are you willing to die for? Bruce.

Even if he asked a slightly more juvenile question - such as "who do you love the most?" – the answer would still be Bruce. But Dick wasn't a fan of that question: it implied that love was limited, finite. That somehow the more he loved Bruce, the less he loved other people, such as Alfred, Tim, Barbara, and the Titans. And that simply wasn't true. Dick had an infinite capacity for love; he would always be able to make room for more.

Who is your hero? That would never work. It was excessively trite and bound to cause confusion among the spandex set. After all, if you were a hero, could you then be your own hero? Still, if push came to shove and he was forced to respond, Dick knew the answer would be Bruce. Clark might have been his favorite superhero, but Bruce was the whole package, even if it was hard to see that under the Bat's cold exterior.

Who do you know better than anyone else? Bruce, again.

Who knows you better than anyone else? Bruce, although Alfred and Barbara often gave Batman a run for his money.

Who would protect you, even if it meant risking his own life? Bruce. Dick felt fairly certain there were a few other people who would as well, but he knew, without a doubt in his mind, that Bruce would be there for him. After all, he would do the same for Bruce. It's what partners did – and they were something more than partners.

Feeling somewhat overwhelmed by his own deep-seated emotions, Dick even toyed with the idea of being cheeky and making a mockery of the security system by asking a ridiculous question, yet still giving the answer as "Bruce." Maybe he should try "who was your first kiss?" or "who was your first sexual partner?" Of course, given how widespread rumors about the two of them were, Dick imagined (should security ever be breached) that he would have a lot of explaining to do. It was probably best not to ask any tongue-in-cheek questions.

In the end, Dick decided not to change his secret security question. While it might not have been the absolute best question, it was near and dear to his heart. It was so simple, yet it perfectly summed up everything.

Who is your father?

Bruce.

Always.

I would love to know what you thought when you read that passage in the comic. As I hope I adequately conveyed, my thoughts were: 1) how sweet, further confirmation of how much Dick loves Bruce; 2) how obvious! Everyone knows how central Bruce is to Dick's life. That's probably the easiest question (out of all the Titans) to answer; and 3) this would make a great jumping-off point for a Bruce/Dick slash story. We have no idea what the question is – it could be "who did you first have sex with?"

Any ideas on what the security question was?