IMPORTANT NOTE! Before you all kill me for taking such a long time to update, let me tell you a few things. A couple of months ago I had to travel to another country to study. I am now back at home, my diploma on my hand. Now, I'm updating all my stories at one time, so if you read more than one, you'll have plenty to read. I'll be trying to update frequently though I'm starting a new job next week. I promise I'll finish every single one of my stories, and I even have more in my mind some of which I've already started writing. Thanks for sticking up with me!

WARNING:This story will contain CP meaning, spanking. If you don't like this then BYE-BYE, thanks for visiting, you can go now. If you don't mind this, then, keep on reading and enjoy.

(This chap has some implied CP…but if you've read so far I don't think it bugs you at all!)

Also, this story is a combination of Batman Begins, and the comics and well, I just got a big bowl and mixed several stuff, and then made it the way I wanted it.

Disclaimer: Sadly, not mine! I'm not that old to have created the Batman universe…or have inherited it….hmmm

XI. Batman the Bad Guy

Curious was only a small adjective to describe eight year old Dick Grayson. He stood there, staring at the French doors.

"Are ya gonna play or what?!" Dave demanded, looking at his surrogate brother.

"Do you think Bruce is in trouble?" Dick asked, ignoring the question.

"Why would Dad be in trouble? He was shot!"

"Well...why would the C'mmisioner be here then?"

Dave shrugged as he threw the soccer ball in the air and ran after it.

Dick was still planted in his spot, looking at the doors and deciding if he went inside to 'investigate' or did as he was 'told' and played with Dave.

It was different though, he told himself, Dave was only a boy. HE, on the other hand, was Wonder Boy, Robin. He had to help Bruce no matter what. He HAD a responsibility, and a big one at that. He had heard Alfred and Bruce talking at the hospital, and Alfred had said that Batman would have to be out of duty for now. He heard Bruce groan, but knew the man had agreed.

Well, they HAD said Batman was not going to do it...they had not said anything about Robin, though. He could still be of help. Bruce sometimes said that Robin was a great help...and Alfred did too!

So, taking his decision he opened the doors and started creeping inside, trying to be as silent as he could...as Robin could.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Dave asked him suddenly, startling him.

"Uh...inside."
"Duh! I can see that! But what for?"

"Uh...the bathroom?" he lied biting his lip. Bruce and Alfred always caught him when he was lying...but this was Dave...

"Oh...I'll go with you then!" He said suddenly trying to go past Dick.

"NO!" Dick suddenly screamed startling the other boy. "That is what GIRLS do, boys don't need to go with someone else!" He protested. This was a mission for only Robin!

"But I need to go too!" The other boy whined.

"Well...I don't want you to go with me." Dick countered as he turned to go inside.

"Don't care!" The other boy reiterated, passing through Dick.

Dick looked as Dave went up the stairs towards where their rooms where. He waited for the other boy to be out of site, before sprinting towards Bruce's study, where he knew Bruce would most likely be. Unknown to him though, Dave was watching where he went to, and sprinted off after him.

Dick looked around every once in a while making sure Alfred was not there, Dave, on the other hand, had to see that neither Alfred or Dick found him.

Dick arrived at his destination, he could hear the muffled voice of Bruce. It sounded kind of serious for him. Not the serious of when he was in trouble, but more the serious of when he talked to another people and he was in trouble.

Just as he got ready to press his ear against the door, Dave made his presence be known.

"What are you doing?!" The boy whispered as he moved to stand before Dick.

"ME?! What are YOU doing here?!" Dick whispered back.

"If Dad or Alfred find you hearing to what you shouldn't, you're gonna be in BIG trouble." Dave stated.

"You going to tattle on me?" Dick asked indignantly.

"No...I'm not a tattle tale!" Dave said as he glanced at the door, just as eager as Dick was to press their little ears against the door. "Do you really think Dad is in trouble?" He asked after a while.

Dick shrugged, and gave place to his urge, leaning against the door, Dave quickly following his lead.

"As far as I know, Mr. Wayne" They heard the strange man say, "and according to my book, Batman doesn't kill…or does it at daylight leaving his sign in the open."

Both boys looked at each other, wide eye. Dave, for his part, had heard stories about Batman, but knew almost nothing about the 'hero' he admired. His mother had once said though, that it took a very foolish man or a very brave man to do what he did, "Or even both, a very foolish and brave man." She had stated. So, why would Batman kill someone?

Dick, on the other hand, knew Batman very well. He was his partner! He felt his heart beat faster as Commissioner Gordon said that. The Commissioner helped Batman, Dick knew that. Bruce had once said that the Commissioner was very helpful, just as Alfred was to Batman. Though no one topped Alfred. So, why would Batman be blamed of anything? Bruce had been trapped in a hospital for a week!

"You think...the Batman tried to kill me?" They heard Bruce ask, to which both boys frowned.

"It is well known, Mr. Wayne, that Batman always leaves one of those wherever he...strikes."

"Strikes?" Bruce repeated, "I'm sorry, Commissioner, but it seems pretty foolish for me to blame that... lunatic... for what happened to me. What reason would Batman have to kill ME?"

Silence was heard after a while, both boys blinked rapidly at what they had just heard.

"Mr. Wayne, you've been of great help. I would appreciate if this information does not reach other ears."

Taking that as a cue to leave, both boys ran off before they were discovered. They stopped just by the tree house, both trying to catch their breath.

"I can't believe it!" Dave suddenly cried out, "Batman tried to kill Dad!"

"What?!" Dick asked looking at him skeptically, "That's dumb!"

"Didn't you hear what the police commissioner said? He said Batman tried to kill Dad. And I thought Batman was the good guy!"

"You're wrong!" Dick defended, clenching his fists. He knew the truth. Batman couldn't kill Bruce since they were the same person!

"No I'm not!" Dave said taking the same position Dick was in.

"You just don't know a thing!" Dick said. As answer, he received a push from the other boy, which took to another push from him…before both boys knew, they were both rolling on the ground trying to beat the daylights out of each other.

OoO

Bruce stood there, watching as the commissioner left.

"Master Bruce?" He heard Alfred entering moments later.

"He's trying to defend Batman out of this, Alfred." Bruce said walking to the window and glancing towards the tree house both boys were so fond of.

"Sir?"

Bruce just glanced towards his desk, which Alfred took as a clue and walked to it, picking up the picture which held a 'clue'.

"Why would they try to incriminate Batman and kill me?" Bruce asked sounding as lost as he felt.

"For many reasons, sir. As Bruce Wayne, you've not gotten unto the corruption that everyone is in…as Batman you've almost ended that corruption. The only thing is, they don't know Batman's identity…and I very well hope that it stays hidden." The older man said walking towards him. Bruce saw as both boys ran to the tree and stopped there, panting.

"What were those two doing?" He asked pointing to both boys.

"Playing soccer…though I would say they were indulging themselves in other type of game." Alfred said as he started picking up the cups from the tea. "I do hope you're not getting any ideas…you're body is not ready for THAT yet…at least wait another week."

"Just don't let Dick find out about anything…he won't understand a thing." Bruce said sighing and turning from the window.

"Master Bruce…have you ever thought about telling Dave?" Alfred asked after a while.

"I…yeah." Bruce answered, before sighing, "But I don't think that'll be good…not with Melissa's condition and everything that's coming up into that poor boy now. It's enough for him…and Dick has done a good job of keeping it to himself till now." Bruce said with a shrug.

"Do you want to dispose of this or keep it?" Alfred asked, taking the picture from the desk.

"Keep it…put it with the pictures of the family that was killed." Bruce said remembering the case he had not been able to solve yet. "Has Dick talked to you?" Bruce asked suddenly.

"We talk about many things with that young man, Sir, just what specific subject are you enquiring about?"

"He called me Dad, Alfred…I just can't get that out of my mind." Bruce said once again standing and pacing around the room. "When did he start looking at me like that?"

"The same time you started to look at him as a son, Bruce." Alfred said moving to place a hand on his shoulder, "You've raised him since he was six…he had just turned six when you did so, what did you expect?"

"I don't want to take the place of his father."

"He won't blame you for that…and you'll never be able to take his place. I'm sure that if the Graysons were alive they would thank you for what you've done for their child…your child. You've give him a home…a family." Alfred said smiling warmly at him, "And now you better go separate those two before they do real harm to each other." Alfred said pointing towards the window.

Bruce glanced at Alfred with a raised brow before looking out to the boys. It was just seconds when he was out of the room running towards both boys swearing under his breath.

OoO

Bruce looked from one corner to the other. He still couldn't believe he had had to literally stop a brawling on his own house! Well…not that he had never done a thing like that before.

He had walked both boys to his study where he had sent both of them to a different corner. He looked at Dick. The boy's shirt was half ripped from one part, his always messy black hair seemed to be messier and he was currently rubbing his backside where Bruce had smacked him...once.

He turned to look at the other boy. He didn't look any better than Dick. He was also rubbing his rump where he had received not one but two smacks, one when they were both separated, just as Dick, and the other for trying to refuse going to the corner.

He still had to tell the boy about his mother's arrival which would be the next day. Of course, he had not yet find the time to tell Dick either, and to be truthful at least to himself, he was dreading his ward's reaction.

"Are you ready to talk to me before jumping into the other's throat?" Bruce asked sternly walking to the front of his desk where he half sat there, his arms crossed. He watched as both boys turned, not even walking out of their respective corners.

"If you really want to stay there, you should just turn and face the corner again." He said knowing both boys hated that kind of punishment, just as he expected they both walked towards him, Dick taking the initiative.

"Well…I'm waiting." Bruce said once both culprits were standing before him.

"It was his fault!" Both boys said in stereo pointing to the other.

"Yes, I'm sure it is." Bruce said sarcastically, "What I want to know is why."

Both boys looked at each other before giving their answer at the same time. "Hold it!" Bruce said at the mess, "Dick you first." Why was it that both boys refused to talk at a point, but when one wanted to talk both wanted to be the first?

"He said mean things about Batman!" Dick accused.

"I did not! I just said the truth!" Dave defended, "You just don't care about Dad!"

"That's not true! You just don't know a thing!"

Well, maybe that was not what most would recommend, but Bruce had discovered it was the best way, though confusing, to get the truth from the boys.

"I DO know that Batman tried to kill him!" Dave suddenly blustered out.

"What!?"

"Now you did it!" Dick accused.

"Where did you get such an idea from?" Bruce asked the boy, though he had a very good idea just where from.

"Um…well…"

"Well what, David?"

"You see…it was Dick's idea!" Dave pointed out.

"Richard?" Bruce said looking at the other boy who had visibly paled.

"He followed me!" Dick pointed out. "And you left me out of it." he muttered.

"You don't listen to conversations you're not supposed to." He scolded glaring at both boys who were looking down at the floor. "You both know that!" He had a good idea of what to do with both boys but a slight pain through his back reminded him of his condition. Though he could still do it with his left arm…

Sending Dick to one of the room's corners he settled down in one of the chairs, dragging a very reluctant and nervous Dave with him. Loosing no time, he soon had a bare Dave over his knee while his left hand did all the talking needed. Soon afterwards, Dick followed the same destiny. He had to admit though, these spankings hurt him way more than it hurt them…he would have to take some painkillers for his shoulder later on.

After both boys had calmed down, and both had had their little snuggle, he sent them both to have a bath before dinner. He still needed to talk with both of them. For a reason though, he was not looking forward to it.

Looking up at his wall clock he noticed it was almost dinner time. He moved down to the Batcave, he now had two cases to solve.

OoO

Bruce sat there, looking at the pictures from the family. The first night he saw them he had had trouble sleeping. It seemed that one of the kids from the picture was looking directly at him, his brown eyes burning into his. He was decided to solve this case, no matter what it took him.

Glancing down, he studied the batarang that the police had 'found'.

"Something unusual, sir?" He heard a familiar voice behind him.

"This is original, Alfred…it's not fake, it's not stolen…it has my mark." Bruce said sighing before turning to look at the older man.

"Well…you do throw those without caution." Alfred said before starting to rearrange some of the papers lying carelessly around. "But you know what they say…secrets are hard to keep…specially the hard ones."

Bruce looked at him as a thought stroke him after those words. It was true, specially between the villains…secrets were very hard to keep, if not impossible. They were never reliable, they didn't trust in others…not that he did, but they usually needed help from others and ended spilling one or two things, and from all the villains he knew, there was one-a villainess to be exact- which he trusted.

"Alfred, have you heard of Selina?"

"Sir?"

OoO

Bruce looked from the doorway at one of his boys. Dick sat there, looking sadly at Eleanor who was sitting on his lap. Just as he expected the boy was ready for bed.

Clearing his throat he noted how Dick glanced up at him before looking down at his 'friend' again.

"Ready for bed, chum?" Bruce asked as he moved to sit close to the boy. Usually Dick moved to the middle to make space for Bruce, today though, the boy just sat there.

"Are…" He trailed off, looking up at his guardian.

"What?" Bruce asked, trying to encourage him to talk. "Go on, you know I don't mind questions."

"Are you still angry?" he finally asked in a small voice.

"I'm not pleased with what you did…both, listening to conversations you shouldn't or fighting with Dave, but I was more disappointed than angry." Bruce answered placing a hand on one of Dick's feet. "Hey, you were punished, weren't you?" Dick blushed deeply as he nodded. "So, it's over with. Don't do it again, and stop thinking about it."

It seemed that was the right thing to say as Dick moved over so Bruce could sit besides him. He wasn't even done getting comfortable when he felt Dick lean against him, clearly looking for the warmth only a parent can provide.

"I'm really sorry." He said suddenly.

"Hey…didn't I just tell you to forget it?" Bruce said half-sternly with a raised brow.

"Uh-uh, not 'bout that."

"What 'bout then?" Bruce asked trying not to make his amusement to obvious.

"'boutcallingyou'Dad'." The boy mumbled in a rush.

"I might have many gifts… trying to decipher that annoying mumble of yours is not one of those. Care to repeat?"

"When you were shot…" Dick started his face starting to turn crimson again, his voice almost audible.

"What are you talking about?" Bruce asked bewildered, "That was definitely not your fault."

"NO! Not THAT!" He said, clearly annoyed.

"Then WHAT?" Bruce asked raising a brow.

"'bout…calling you…you know." Dick said with a shrug.

It was then that comprehension dawned in him. Clearly, the boy had been thinking about it as well.

"You mean when you called me 'Dad'?" Did the boy regret it? And just the thought of it made Bruce's heart brake.

"Yeah…I know you don't like it." Dick said after a moment of silence.

"WHAT?!"

"I mean…with Dave and all…well…you're not…I mean, not tenillachy!" the boy said in a mumble of words, not even noticing the mispronunciation of the word 'technically'.

"Dick…Richard…" Bruce said sitting up a bit and trying to stop the talkative child. "I'm not mad about it…it actually made me happy." He said once he had the boy's attention.

"Really?" The boy asked with round eyes.

"Yeah…once I was not half-dead." Bruce joked lamely, though it made the boy smile. "You can call me whatever you want. If you want to keep calling me 'Bruce', it's ok with me… as well as if you want to call me 'Dad'." He explained, realizing until now how much he dreaded the rejection from this child, his child.

"You mean…I can call you whatever I want to?" Dick asked a huge smiling featuring his face.

"Yeah, whatever you want to." Bruce reassured smiling as well.

"Even…um…Dude?" Dick asked cheekily.

Even though he shouldn't have, Bruce couldn't help but laugh. "Don't over do it either, kiddo." He answered ruffling his boy's hair.

As answer, he felt Dick attach himself to his middle. Even though they were sitting side by side, Bruce hugged the boy, enjoying immensely every moment with this boy, just as he did with his other son. "Thanks…Dad." Dick whispered and for a moment Bruce thought his heart would stop and couldn't understand how it was possible that a person could feel all the happiness he felt at the moment.

OoO

Dave lay in his bed, waiting for his dad to get into the room, his mind full of questions. He was confused and now more than ever he wanted his mom. She always knew how to make him feel better…even though he was not a baby anymore.

For the last months he had been living with his father Bruce, his 'brother' Dick and his 'grandfather'-as he had come to think of Alfred- he had been more than happy. Though, he had been mesmerized of the thought of Batman. It was every boy's dream to see the superhero. Now, though, he wondered why would his superhero try to kill his dad…not that his dad was his favorite person now, after all his dad had punished him mere hours before…even though his bottom felt as if nothing had happened.

He looked at his mom's picture which was at his bedside table. He missed her…and he knew there was something wrong with her. Just because he was eight didn't meant he was stupid. He had imagined there was a very strong reason for his mom to go and leave him with his dad.

"He's not a bad guy, right?" He asked his mother's picture, though he didn't expected an answer.

"Who?" he heard his father ask from the doorway.

"Batman." Dave answered turning to look at his father. "He's not bad, is he?"

He looked at his Dad, it was clear for the eight year old that the man was thinking about his answer. He never quite understood that of adults. Why would they need to think so much? Though his mother had told him countless of times he needed to think before he acted…but that was another thing.

"No, he's not." Bruce stated simply moving to sit at one of the chairs and motioning for the kid.

"But why would he want you dead. You're not a bad guy either!" The kid said sternly, a frown on his young face.

"He didn't shot me, Dave. I'm sure of that." Bruce soothed. "Now, I need to tell you something." He said just as Dave leaned a bit against his leg.

"What 'bout?" the boy said as he started to now play with the buttons of his dad's shirt.

"Your mom." Bruce said immediately having Dave's whole attention. "She's coming tomorrow."

Dave's whole face showed the happiness only a child can have when given such news. "Really?!" he asked excitedly just as his dad nodded, "YEAY! That's great! Wait till she sees the tree house, or meets Mr. Ryan, or…wait…she's coming to take me with her?" Dave asked, his happiness suddenly disappearing. He had just found his father and even though he was strict at times-to strict to his liking-didn't meant he wanted to loose him!

"Dave…son…you're mom will be with us for some time, a couple of months maybe." His dad said. Dave was so excited by the news he didn't even notice the sadness in Bruce's voice. For him, things were good. His mom would be with him and for the first time ever he would be able to have both a mom and a dad at the same time, and to top it all, Batman wasn't the bad guy. Well, at least that was what his dad said, and he had to trust what he said, right?