Damian looked up as Drake entered the kitchen, sharp retort already on his tongue, before Grayson interrupted.

"Hey, Chloe," Dick said. "Tim finally take a break?"

Damian frowned. Chloe? Perhaps Drake was genderfluid? But Grayson had referred to him in the same sentence.

'Chloe' shrugged and smiled. "Finally, yes. I've been trying to get out for about a week. I'm going to get us some actual food and then try and take a nap before someone else fronts."

Grayson nodded. "Have you met Damian yet?"

Chloe shook their head. "No, I haven't, I've wanted to, though. JJ thinks he's a threat that needs to be taken out, but I think there's just a whole lot of misunderstandings going on, to be honest. Hi, Damian." They waved. "I'm Chloe, I'm one of Tim's alters. Hopefully, you'll be seeing a lot more of me, since I'm one of the few who actually knows how to take care of this body." They rolled their eyes, but there was a touch of fondness.

Damian frowned. "Alters?"

Chloe nodded. "We have Dissociative Identity Disorder. Tim had a pretty bad childhood, so we became a system. Sam and I share the duties of organizer and then there's JJ. You've met him, but he likes to pretend to be Tim. He just thinks it's what's best for all of us. We also have a few littles, but they're pretty shy. You probably won't meet Em until she's a little older, and you probably won't ever meet Ben."

Damian glanced at Grayson, who smiled and explained.

"Tim doesn't like to talk about his parents, he loved them, but they weren't exactly great. His mind split itself into several different people just to protect him from… not them, but definitely the results of their actions."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "Then that's because of them."

Grayson shrugged. "It's complicated, but I think we can agree they weren't good people. Anyways, I think Chloe's been around the longest, right?"

Chloe looked up from the sandwich she was making and nodded. "Yep, as far as I remember, I've been around since Tim was about five, and Ben came shortly after. JJ's the newest, he's been around for only four years or so."

"Are any of you dangerous?" Damian demanded.

Chloe gave him a Look. "We're all dangerous, just like Tim's dangerous, and you're dangerous, and Dick is dangerous, and Bruce is dangerous, too. But we're only a danger to those who deserve it. Our system exists to protect Tim, not to say we don't have our own lives, dreams, desires, but that's what we're here for. If Tim's in danger, we're going to be a danger right back. That's how you met JJ. You attacked Tim, and he came out to protect him and all the rest of us, just like he did all those years ago."

Dick flinched, and Damian's attention snapped to him.

"What happened?"

Dick glanced at Chloe for permission, then nodded to himself. "Tim was captured, tortured, and brainwashed by the Joker. We spent months looking for him, and finally found him as Joker Junior. It didn't end well. Joker ordered him to shoot Bruce, and JJ came out for the first time, shooting the Joker instead, and almost killing him. We thought JJ was Joker Junior for the longest time, that Tim was still brainwashed, just because of the name. We locked him up and did test after test, and JJ stayed out because he thought we were going to hurt Tim.

"He was… not cooperative." He winced. "I mean, he was traumatized just as much as Tim, and here we were, bringing out the handcuffs and the needles. Eventually, Tim, Sam, and Chloe managed to come out and explain what was going on. Bruce still doesn't trust JJ completely, just because he's paranoid. The worst part is that because of the way we handled it, JJ assumes that's how everyone else will react, so he just pretends to be Tim. Alfred's the only one who can tell them apart now, not even Bruce can. Because JJ's afraid of us." Dick smiled sadly at Damian. "Does it make sense now why I've been urging you to apologize with your words?"

Damian thought for a moment, then turned to Chloe. "I… apologize. I was… insecure… in the fact that Drake had everything I ever wanted, including my father's… trust, and I decided to belittle and attack him. I was in the wrong."

Chloe smiled and saluted, dumping her plate in the sink. "I'll relay the message. Now, if you'll excuse me, this body needs some sleep.

Dick nodded, then as Chloe left, he turned to Damian and mouthed 'I'm proud of you.'