Life so far in the family headquarters became routine. Ally would wake up at the crack of dawn, usually skip breakfast and go straight to working. She first learnt the ways of the mafia when she was once assigned to accompany a fellow family member on a drug deal. It didn’t take long for her to understand that being strapped at all times especially during risky negotiations was supposed to give her a sense of comfort. On one particular day, she decided to have a talk with DickGrayson, about what else he wanted help with around the HQ.

The conversation went a little something like this.

“Hi sir, it’s been on my mind for a while, but I was wondering if we could have a family party soon? Nothing can beat freshly baked bread, spaghetti meatballs and red wine while bonding with family. It might also help to strengthen the relationships we have with each other. There are still some people in the HQ I don’t really know much about so…”

Ally tilted her head and smiled, an imaginary light bulb above her head. She was motivated to get to know her family members better. It was already hard enough coming in to the office, and only being able to greet them for a few seconds before heading out again.

The never ending pile of paper work seemed to only be growing as file folder after file folder was added on top. It’s no wonder most of us have turned to this life, legitimate business are not worth the trouble with all the red tape and hoops to jump through.

I was just about to reach that breaking point where I was going to trash my desk when I heard the knock on my office door, “Oh, do come in Ally, I could certainly use a break from all of this.” I waved my hand absentmindedly at the mountain of paper work that was threatening to topple over, “That is a wonderful idea! That is exactly what we need around here, it’s been awhile since this place had a bit of life. A party might just be what we need at the moment. Just let me know what you need, anything and everything is at your disposal.”

"Amazing! Thank you so much boss. Well I'll be calling a catering service to prepare the food and gonna buy some decorations make the hq look all nice and pretty. Can you please send everyone a telegram for this family gathering?" Ally was ecstatic. She was happy that DickGrayson seemed very supportive of her idea. There were many things to get done, and Ally wasn't talking about the terrifying stack of file folders on his desk. She frowned, offering to help him organize his files. 

"I don't have anything else to do for today, if you want I can assist you with the gigantic pile of paper work you have here?" She smiled, her vibe cheery and confident. 

“That would be great Ally! Grab that garbage can and drag it over.” I stated dryly with a smile across my face, “They never tell you how much paper work there really is. Had I known, I may have paid a bit more attention in school growing up.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I motioned for her to take a seat, “I’ll deal with this nonsense later, come, have a seat. Let’s talk about this little get together. What are your plans? Going to go for a theme of any sort? I mean, there’s probably a thousand different things we could do with it.”

DickGrayson's dry humour amused Ally and she shook her head, giving a dismissive wave. "Yeah, there's always tomorrow." Ally smiled cheekily. She sat down across from him, crossing one leg over the other and patted her skirt down. She started to think of ways to entice her fellow family members into coming. Everyone had different interests though... but almost certainly knew that everyone had to at least like dressing up nice.

"Maybe a fancy theme party? Cocktail dresses... extravagant suits... wine tasting for anyone who wants to spice up the night?" Ally shrugged as she tried to imagine what that night would be like. A lot of fun, of course. 

She called on Von and beasty to get their opinions too. "We haven't done a family gathering in a while. And we all work so hard, none of us get to see each other much. It'll be nice to have some relaxing fun together. What do you guys think?"

beasty walks into the tower to meet his boss. He sees Dick Grayson and his left hand ally lounging in Dicks office. He turns to Dick and says: 

"I took care of that thing for you."  

He turns to ally and says: 

"Hey, I heard you talking about a party of some kind. That sounds great, I love parties. I'll set the card table up and we can play poker. I just have to clean my gun and get reloaded first."

“Job well done, as always Beasty.” I nodded my head as I pulled off a few crisp, folded bills and slid them to the man across my desk. “There will be another one soon, you can count on that.”

I took a small sip from my whiskey, pondering things as I did, “Formal sounds absolutely wonderful, Ally, I’m sure that we could manage that quite nicely. As far as the drinks, I’ll take care of that. We’ve got a shipment coming in a few days, I’ll make sure a case or two make their way over our way. The twenty first floor is empty, we can set everything up there.”

As Von approaches DickGrayson's office he hears talk of liquor and the 21st floor. He walks through the door and see's Ally and DickGrayson

"Dick's famous imported liquor and the 21st floor!!! It sounds like you two are planning quite the event."

Von pulls a cuban cigar out of his jacket pocket, lights it and takes a drag.

"I can make sure one of my associates show's up with a box of these babies, and some of the best bourbon I can get my hands on as well."

Von takes a few more drags of his cigar before walking over to a love seat in the corner and sitting down.

Ally acknowledged beasty's response with a smile and nod. "Sounds like a plan. And maybe you can teach me poker finally. I've been waiting to blow some cash on a few games!" She giggled, before turning her head quickly to see Von entering the office. As the Titans family party was being planned, Ally felt the excitement intensifying.

The weekend was close to being over, but the night still young.

"Boss, can you please inform the other family members to come tonight? And don’t forget to add that the dress code is formal, nothing more nothing less!” Ally announced, grinning.

Ally stood up from her chair to make her exit out the office. “Tonight is the night DickGrayson, beasty and Von to finally wear your suits and ties that are reserved for the fanciest of occasions… see you guys there,” she finally said before going away to get the preparations done on the twenty first floor.

I was a bit early but truthfully, I didn’t really have much to do. After everything that had happened I shut out all of the extra stuff, only focusing on the things that needed immediate attention, this party that Ally set up being chief amongst those things.

I grabbed a fresh bottle of whiskey after getting dressed in my finest three piece suit. I hadn’t really had a reason to use it before so it was nice having an occasion to wear it for a chance.

The twenty first floor was empty when I stepped off of the elevator, nothing but the decorations and a fully stocked, empty bar. I swear if I believed in heaven, this would have been my idea of it. I swiftly cut behind the bar, filling a fresh glass for myself as I waited for the others to arrive.

beasty arrived at Titans tower dressed to kill. It took him 20 mins to set up the card tables and to procure the cuban cigars for the party. This was going to a good time. He brought $1000 with him to gamble with and wasnt going to leave until it was gone or he won. beasty walked in to Dick Graysons office, seeing him pouring out whiskey. 

"Mind if I get a glass, if youre pouring boss?" he asked.