Bruce walked into the daycare facility across the street from his corporate building located in Paris, France. He was in town for a meeting but something, call it instinct, his gut, or whatever, was pulling him to this daycare.
He'd seen a little boy in the window as he drove up to the building yesterday. He'd nearly totaled his car at the sight of him; a carbon copy of the first robin, Dick Grayson. His storm blue eyes shone furiously and his inky black hair framed his round face almost angelically. Just as he stopped the car to get a closer look the little boy hopped down from wherever he must've stood and scurried away.
That was yesterday and he could've brushed it aside, he knew as well as anyone Dick was in Bludhaven and was anything but the toddler he'd seen yesterday. He was a grown man, moving up in the world, making his own decisions and checking in occasionally.
He would've forgotten about the little boy, if the sight of him didn't haunt him in his sleep and with every waking step since he'd since him. He would've gotten on his jet back to Gotham, headed home and never thought of it again if he were any other person but he was Bruce Wayne, the Batman, and he was someone who trusted his hunches.
He walked up to the receptionist and a small smile pulled at her lips.
"Bonjour," she greeted him warmly.
"Bonjour," he replied, "Parles-tu anglais?" he asked.
"Yes, can I help you?" she asked.
"Please," he replied, "I'm moving here from America on business and I'm interested in sending my son to this school. I was wondering if I could get a tour of the place."
She nodded slowly, "I'm sorry, we don't give tours on weekdays. Perhaps you can return another time."
Bruce smiled politely, "Well that's unfortunate, I'm working within a very small window of time. Isn't there anything you could do for me?"
The woman smiled sympathetically, "I'm sorry but we don't give tour while the children are here. It's a safety precaution for the children. I am sure you can understand." She replied. "The earliest I could get you on a tour is this weekend and even then our daycare is heavily sought after, so there is a great chance you'd end up on our waitlist."
"That's a shame, I'm too sure my son would love it here and it's so close to my office and you said the daycare is open on the weekend?" he probed.
"On Saturdays yes, but most of the children from the surrounding neighborhoods come for free events and that is when we do our tours. Should I pencil you in for this Saturday Mister…?" she asked
"Mr. Wayne," he finished for her, "Bruce Wayne."
Her eyes flew open, "Bruce Wayne?" she said her French accent only accentuating her surprise. "Bruce Wayne of Wayne Inc.?"
"Yes," he said charmingly. "You've heard of me?" he asked with feigned innocence.
"Wait one minute," she said getting up from her desk and running into the office behind her. When she returned another woman stood by her side and stuck out her hand.
"Mr. Wayne," she said, "It is an honor to meet you. Your company donates to our facility every year and it would be an honor to have any child of yours attend our daycare."
Bruce shook her outstretched hand and smiled, "Thank you, as I told Ms.-"
"Renee" the receptionist finished for him. "My name is Renee."
Bruce nodded, "As I told Ms. Renee here, I am interested in sending my son, Damian here." He smirked a little at the thought of Damian attending a preschool. "Of course I would want a tour of the building and would like to talk to some available staff if possible."
"Of course," the woman agreed, "My name is Trisha, I am the headmaster here. Please follow me." She said.
"Thank you," Bruce said.
They toured the entirety of the building and Bruce still hadn't seen the little boy from the window. He turned to Trisha who was still talking about the design of the facility to ask a question.
"Is there an outside space for the children?" he asked.
Trisha smiled, "Yes, there is, in fact our level fours are there right now." She beamed.
"Level fours?" he asked.
"Yes, our four years olds and up, most of them will be going to kindergarten next year." Trisha informed him.
Bruce nodded, the boy he saw was small but easily could've been four. He could've simply been small for his age, after all Dick had been small for his age up until high school. This was also the last of the children in the building, so unless the little boy somehow managed to leave unnoticed by him or simply didn't exist, he had to be with the level fours.
He followed Trisha into the elevator and down the hallway that lead him to the outside pay area for the children. About thirty kids ran about and he scanned the area for the raven-haired boy, just as he was about to leave the little boy popped out from behind the playhouse with a dark-haired girl in tow. The little boy froze when he saw Bruce and the little girl stopped beside him, they started whispering to each other and Bruce wondered if the little boy had seen him too.
The teacher blew her whistle and the kids ran to line up before her. In spite of the sounding whistle the little girl ran right up to him and chills (admittedly) ran from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes as she looked up at him.
She had the brightest blue eyes he'd ever seen. No, he thought suddenly, I've seen eyes like these before.
He didn't want to believe it but there he was looking at a miniature replica of Dick and of the girl who'd stolen his heart so many years ago with her wavy black hair and bright blue eyes. Could this really be a coincidence?
Bruce looked at Trisha, testing to see if interaction was okay, she smiled at him excitedly.
Bruce squatted down to their level, "Hello," he sticking his hand out.
"Hi," they said simultaneously, though the girl said it boldly and the boy muttered it shyly.
"My name is Bruce, Bruce Wayne." He told them. "What's your name?" he asked the little boy.
"John." The little boy mumbled shyly.
He turned to the little girl then, "And how about you, what's your name?"
"Wyette, Wyette Sindella-Grace" the little girl beamed. "I'm four." She said holding up four fingers.
"Me too," Bruce said.
They laughed and the little boy shook his head, his inky black hair falling into his face. "You're not four," he laughed, "You're too big to be four."
"You're silly." The little girl said.
The teacher blew her whistle again and the boy pulled the little girl towards the line.
"Bye," she shouted as she let the boy lead her to the back of the line.
Bruce waved and then turned to face Trisha. "Are they twins?" he asked her.
"Why yes they are, fraternal twins to be exact, they're two of our brightest students here. They're a great example as to why you should send your son here." She continued.
"Why is that?" Bruce asked as they started making their way back into the school building.
"Because Wyette's very outgoing and John is extremely shy, yet they both flourish here like you wouldn't believe. Your son whether he's shy, outgoing, or in between would do the same here; flourish."
As they reached the door, Bruce turned to face her, "Thank you, I think I've seen it all."
Trisha laughed, "It was nothing but my pleasure Mr. Wayne." She assured him.
"Trisha," he called just as they were about to go their separate ways, "I almost forgot, I work odd hours most nights…..when is pick up time for the parents?" he asked.
"I understand your concern Mr. Wayne, we have a strict pick up time at 2pm. We strongly believe time at home is just as important, if not more, than time at school."
"I couldn't agree more," he smiled as he walked out of the building and glanced at his watch.
He watched from his car as a shapely blonde came to pick up the two children he so subtly caught hair from earlier. He was having Alfred run the tests now, not that Alfred knew who they belonged to or who he was matching them too, but when Bruce assured him that if he didn't find a match from League DNA he could drop it, he seemed all too eager…..well as eager as Alfred ever is.
He also hacked the daycare system and looked up their address, lo and behold it was a P.O. box addressed to a carefully crafted alias.
He noted that she had walked into the daycare, she didn't come in a fancy car like most of the other parents had. This observation only drew his attention more, it was clear from the clothes she wore and the clothes the children had on, she was a woman of reasonable wealth. She could simply be a woman who was down to earth in spite of those things but what it meant to him, was that she lived nearby. Her physique said she was in shape, in peak shape, more so than the usual mother of two and that could have negated his theory but how far could two four year olds go without tuckering out. No more than a mile or two, three at the very best. So he got out of his car and followed from a healthy distance.
His phone rang and he brought it to his ear, "Alfred," he greeted him.
"Sir, it would seem your hunch was correct. The DNA is a match for two Leaguers. Does this mean-"
"I've got to go." Bruce said ending the call.
She stopped at the cross walk and he walked up to her, taking off his sunglasses and placing his hand on the small of her back.
"It's been a long time." He said when she looked up at him in offense and then shock.
"Do I know you?" she asked.
He bent down and lifted his hand to Wyette, who smiled at him and gave him a high five. She blanched at the sight, "I think it's time you've stopped hiding." He said broodingly.
"I think you've got me mistaken for someone else." She told him.
"I've got DNA evidence that says otherwise," he told her. "You know I'm not bluffing."
The light for the crosswalk turned on and she didn't move or reply.
"Let's talk." He said.