It had been three days since Richard Grayson woke, and Bruce Wayne was preparing for one of the most difficult discussions he would probably ever encounter within this lifetime. Rubbing his face tiredly, he squared his shoulders, got out of the car that Alfred had opened for him and moved towards the building in front of him. Moving through the house with purpose, towards the lounge room where half his family were waiting.
Tim Drake, and Damien Wayne sat nervously on different sides of the room. Bruce Wayne had never sounded more tired than he had that morning when he told them there was to be a family meeting after he returned from work. The two brothers glanced at each other, whilst they cared about each other there wasn't a history of affection between them, most outward acts of affection within the Wayne household had left with the oldest son. Tim nervously tapped his foot, up and down, a habit that grated on his younger brothers nerves. This was to of character for Bruce, while he often kept secrets it was rare for him to keep them from his family, they were always in the loop, yet this time they had no idea for what to expect. It had to do with Bruce's uncharacteristically distracted attitude the past ten days. He acted like the first few months Richard Grayson had been missing in, yet that time they knew the cause, and his single minded search had made sense, this distraction, whatever it was, both boys had a feeling it would impact on the Wayne household significantly.
Their father walked in, emotionless face, the one he gave to the other Leaguers, the one that always gave them hints as to what he was thinking, yet this time, neither could decipher the tiny give-ways that made the great Batman a relatively open book. The only time he looked like this was when Batman didn't want them involved.
"I'm sure you have both noticed my and Alfred's change in routine these last few days. This is because eight days ago the Bat-cave was hacked, and I received a distress call from Richard. I retrieved him that morning and he has been recovering from severe injury in an offline safe house-"
"-Grayson's alive!"
"-Dick's back?"
The two brothers interrupted their father at the same time, each seized with elation at the thought of the oldest brothers return. Each had missed Richard Grayson and Nightwing, and each had wrongs they intended to right when they next saw the young man.
Bruce scowled at the boys at being interrupted. "Yes Richard is back, and he is recovering. Jason will be bringing him to the Manor in a few hours, and tomorrow I have organised a press-conference to announce his return. You two, you will both stay out Richard's room unless accompanied by myself, Alfred or Jason-"
"- What do you mean stay out of his room unless accompanied not to mention Jason being allowed to see him? Supervised visits Bruce, what you think we're going to hurt him?" Tim's voice shook with hurt. The thought of hurting Dick, especially after seeing the videos. It was unimaginable.
"It wouldn't be the first time." Bruce replied, ignoring the pain in each of his son's eyes. Both had hurt their brother, in some ways they could not even conceive until after the fact. They had broken his trust. They had broken their father's trust. They had broken the rules of the so called 'Bat-Family'. They had betrayed their brother.
"Richard does not need the added stress of you two hovering around him. It would also be a possible trigger that could lead to injury for both you, and him. Something I will not tolerate." Bruce's commanding tine left no room for argument. Their bother was back, but they wouldn't get to see him until he was healed. Healed from what, they did not know. How long it would take, they did not know. All they knew was despite the warning from their father, they had every intention of seeing the eldest son of Bruce Wayne, after all, they each had mistakes to fix.
...
…
Jason Todd grimaced as he pulled up to Wayne manor. Waiting outside for him was Alfred and Bruce, though he could see the window curtains move in one of the upper floors, indicating that the replacement and demon spawn were there and watching. Stopping the van that he had transported his bother in in the agonisingly slow and careful drive back into Gotham, he stepped out of the car and moved to help Alfred pull Dick's bed out of the van, along with his IV.
"How'd they take it." The young man asked the vigilant father, that watched every movement around the injured man in the bed.
"Not well. They will be wanting to visit him without supervision." Bruce frowned at this.
"Like hell they will. I plan on staying in the room next to his. With you undoubtedly on the other side they'd have to get past one of us and while I admit their good. I'm better. They''l never hurt my brother again.
The slight jarring of the portable bed as it went up some stairs woke the drugged up form in the bed. "Bruce?" The slurred word came out, just as they reached his room. "The papers go through?"
Bruce Wayne couldn't help but smile at that question. "Yes Dick, they went through."
Jason Todd just scoffed, rolling his eyes at the exchange. So it was official, his brother was son the a Manic Depressive Asshole that spent his nights dressed in a bat costume, yet the soft smile that reached his brothers lips at Bruce's answer softened his heart. Things were going be ok.
…
...
The Mountain was busy. Mount Justice had been rebuilt after the invasion. It was necessary, the Watchtower had gone down in a blaze of glory, effectively acting as a bomb to stop other invading forces. Now both Young Justice and the Justice League used, worked from and in some cases live in the Mountain. It no longer was just a mountain, the floors went deep into the earth, Batman had even set up a subway of sorts to allow easy access for if (when) the teleports went offline.
Young Justice and the Justice League had merged well together, getting over old pains and forming better communication than before. It had been necessary. Threats both of this world and from other worlds had seemed to batter the earth's heroes, exhausting them. It had become necessary for old enemies, criminals even, to become associates or even members of the League. The most well known of this change in allegiance came from Gotham's Catwoman. Selina Kyle had decided four and a half years ago that the Justice League needed help, and Batman needed a real ally, one that understood how he saw the world. One that understood exactly what it meant to live in Gotham. It seemed that Batman's remaining proteges had forgotten the rules of Gotham, and so Miss Kyle had sought to give Batman some morale support. She had, in effect, become a member of the Bat-family. Entrenching herself deeply into the inner workings of the Justice League, and while some still held suspicion, she was a much needed help in the wars that were to come. Damien and Tim, everyone knew, had taken to her addition relatively well, Damien viewing her with the same disdain he held everyone, and Tim simply accepting it a moving on. Jason Todd, and his return, while had shocked the world, Justice League included, had been the biggest shock, seeming to accept, and even agree with Catwoman. Barbara Gordon had taken Selina Kyle's addition the worst, refusing to have anything to do with the fellow resident of Gotham. The world had certainly changed within the last few years since the invasion.
There most of the Justice League, and Young Justice Teams spent their time. the two teams had been watching the news with unusually rapt attention. After the invasion the remaining secret identities (the bat-family) came out into the open. It hadn't been hard to figure out, after Richard Grayson goes missing and Bruce Wayne's refusal to give up on his missing son, and the reappearance of Jason Todd along with the more common communication with Red Hood, it hadn't been all that hard to figure out their identities. Today the League were waiting for the special report to come out of Gotham. Bruce Wayne had called for a press conference, and the only time he did that now days, was when it was about his missing son.
"So even Batman's giving up hope on Nightwing? Kind of depressing, but also expected. After all five years and still no trace? Still, depressing" Garfield muttered under his breath, some of the members of theLeague nodded their agreeance, they all had seen first hand how desperate Batman had been, and to see him finally give up left a bitter taste in their mouths, even if they had expected this outcome after the first year.
Please! Nightwing probably disappeared on purpose, the shit he pulled during the invasion, Ha- Probably can't bare to face us." Wally West retorted, still feeling the stinging pain and turmoil he had experienced thanks to Nightwing's plans during the invasion.
Catwoman hissed at this, "Shut up you stupid boy. Besides we don't even know what the conference is about." In her heart she hoped that Bruce hadn't given up on Richard Grayson, the original Robin, and a young man she had seen grow and thrive.
Some members didn't know how to feel. Sure, the invasion plan had broken a lot of trust in Nightwing, and many of them had harboured beliefs of his retirement, others, the ones that had known him best, believed that the only way for him to have disappeared as he had was if he was forcibly taken, or dead.
"…Bruce Wayne is taking to the stage. Poor man looks exhausted." The camera panned form the reporter to zoom into Bruce Wayne's haggard looking face. "As you all know, the young ward that I took in close to fifteen years ago, Richard Grayson, the young man I see as my eldest son, went missing close to five years ago. I know that law enforcement have worked tirelessly in their attempts to find him, and the private detectives that I hired found no trace of my son. Many have speculated that he, like Jason Todd, ran away. I would like to set to rest any speculation about Richard's disappearance." the entire audience seemed to hold their breathes, and Bruce Wayne's eyes took on an intensity that even the Batman would struggle to attain. "My son was taken. . Though he was returned to me, it turns out that the vigilante Batman had also taken interest in Richard's case and saw fit to find and return my son to me. As of right now I am unaware of the full circumstances surrounding his kidnapping, nor the full extent of the abuse at the hands of his captors, Richard has been healing. I would like to thank anyone who searched for my son, and those that did to lose hope in finding my son. I would also like to announce my official adoption of Richard. We have talked about many things since his return, and the most prominent being the loss we each felt in the years apart. We agreed that after these years, wardship was simply not enough, and sought to have the law recognise our bonds as family. Of course he would like to be here himself, but his injuries prevent movement out of our home. Once again my family and I thank all those who helped search for Richard."
The announcement met absolute silence in Mount Justice. A shocked audience sat staring as the camera returned to the reporter who was gushing about the unexpected news of Richard Grayson's return, his confirmed kidnapping, and his apparent adoption. In the background Bruce Wayne could be seen shaking hands with Commissioner Gordon, seeming to be thanking him for his efforts in the search for his son.
Selina Kyle was the first to move, followed quickly by a shellshocked Barbara Gordon, moving towards the Zeta tubes with the intention of seeing the once missing son of Gotham. Both were surprised to find their access to the Bat-cave suspended. "What the hell!" The red haired woman looked ready to spit fire, and flicked on her communicator with the intention of demanding access to Bat-cave. It took five minutes for someone to answer. It was none other than Alfred Pennyworth who looked less than impressed.
"Something I can do for you Miss Gordon?" his slightly raised eyebrow seemed to indicate that he already knew what this call was about.
"Alfred I want to come and see Dick. Give me back access to the Bat-cave dammit."
The old butler sighed, "I'm afraid that is impossible Miss Gordon, Master Bruce has decided to run certain analysis today and has restricted all access to the Bat-cave, all other Zeta locations including the ones in Gotham should work fine. As for visiting Master Richard, I regret to inform you that he is on bedrest, and is not up to any visitors right now. Besides I cant think of any reasons why he might want to see you after you made your opinion of him very clear last you saw him." He managed to sound incredibly bored and condescending at the same time.
The pain on Barbara Gordon's masked face was clear, yet deep down Alfred felt a small rush of victory in seeing it. He could to forgive her actions from five years ago, while his other young charges had hurt Richard Grayson, Barbara Gordon along wiht other members of the Young Justice team had destroyed him. Selina Kyle snagged Batgirls arm, bringing her face into view of the communicator. "What about me." the impatient woman asked, wanting to visit the boy she had helped mentor (if in a slightly odd way by watching as he chased her after stealing something).
"Miss Kyle, as I said, Master Richard is not ready for visitors just yet, but I'll be sure to contact you when he is."
Slightly pacified by this answer she nodded and moved to return to Gotham anyway. She had no interest being around a bunch of goody goodies today.