Part 2
An hour later, the young crimefighters had returned to Wayne Manor. The plane was squared away, Alfred had re-checked all of their bandaging efforts, and then it was upstairs and into civilian clothing so that the balding butler could press a soothing tea blend onto each of them. None of the youngsters was ready to face what lay ahead of them at this point. For that matter, not one of them took note of the vehicle that set itself down outside the mansion's main entrance as dawn was breaking, or the people that Alfred opened the door for.
Not until the elderly butler coughed and got Dick to lift his head, anyway.
"The hell-?!" The young man's startled exclamation brought the other two out of their numbness, getting Barbara to gasp and Tim's jaw to drop. Then the preteen was leaping out of his chair, ignoring the teacup shattering on the floor, as he made a beeline for the man at the head of the group that had entered the sitting room.
"BRUCE!" To his credit, the bruised and slightly singed man didn't make a single noise of discomfort as the boy crashed into him. Instead, he dropped to his knees and enveloped a babbling Tim in a tight hug, muttering reassurances to the boy that yes, he was alive and here, and no, he wasn't going anywhere else any time soon. Barbara and Dick joined them, the former also giving Bruce a hug while the latter merely clapped him on the shoulder. Both were smiling from ear to ear.
Alfred, too, was looking rather pleased and relieved, while the League members standing behind him were all grinning at the little scene. Eventually, Bruce noticed this. He shot the other heroes a glare, and carefully disengaged from the hugging, though Tim remained close to his side. The two groups spent a few minutes explaining what had happened to them, before Bruce insisted his three partners go and get some rest to recover from their long night, as he and the others had a few last things to clear up.
Barbara and Dick headed to the bedrooms reserved for their use without complaint, but Tim paused long enough to shoot a grateful look at Superman and give his mentor one last hug. Bruce had a hint of a smile on his face as the boy started up the stairs, which quickly reverted to a scowl when Clark nudged him, smirking.
"Any of you bring this up again, I guarantee you'll regret it." The Dark Knight warned them. And then it was time to return to serious matters.