The Zeta in the Batcave lit up. Jason and Stephanie neither of whom were in costume turned off their flash lights and grabbed night vision goggles. Jason had a batarang at the ready. Stephanie had a taser. Normally the Zeta had a backup security system.
"It's the big blue jerk!" declared Jason who scowled fiercely, stomped up and kicked Superman in the shin. "Least you could do is keep Luthor and his goons confined to your city!"
Stephanie flipped up the nightvision goggles and turned her flashlight back on. "Friendly little Hoodlum ain't he? How can I help..."
The Zeta lit up again and Martian Manhunter floated through.
Stephanie grabbed her walkie talkie. "B? We got guests!"
"Report."
"Superman and Martian Manhunter, Oh there goes the Zeta again and Flash ... and Wonder Woman. We got a regular JLA convention down here."
"As long as they aren't hostile I don't have time for them. I'm trying to source parts for the transformer, Tim's still shutting down the Reactor. Damian and Carrie are trying to patrol the entire fence line with ATV's and radios. Cassie's helping the nurse with Richard. Alfred's gone to the hospital to get another CPAP because the power surge took out the one we had and there was no back up."
"How's Richard even breathing? Why wasn't the CPAP on a surge protector?"
"They were just flooding his lungs with oxygen at first but I think they switched back to the ventilator. The CPAP was on a surge protector. The surge protector failed."
"But weren't there concerns about lung tissue scarring with any more ventilator use or was it pneumonia? Never mind, I'm sure they are using the best option available. Bat's I gotta lie down. I'm starting to get contractions."
"Regular?! Oh Steph honey, please don't go into labor now."
"They're not regular, my body just wants to rest and re-hydrate I think."
"Keep me posted."
Wonder Woman's eyebrows rose as she watched the heavily pregnant Stephanie waddle towards the elevator.
"Don't give me that look Stars and Stripes. This one doesn't belong to Mr. B." Steph rubbed her swollen belly. "I slept with someone my own age not some old fart like him. Ended up on the street with no where to go. Mr. B's been good to me. Jay, your in charge of the welcome wagon. I'm going to bed. Don't murder the boy blue because Luthor's his arch-frienemy."
"My arch-frienemy?" protested Superman.
"He wishes he were you. He thinks your hot sauce and a side of fries, stud muffin. He'd poison all the sunshine and buttercups to make you dance to his little tune. Kinda like Joker and Bats. Jay's just mad cuz Luthor's the mastermind behind tonight's funfest but not a shred of evidence that would hold up in court can be pinned to him and Bats made the mistake of mentioning that Luthor's your number one. If Luthor were here, he'd kick him in the whoo haa instead of the shin. Nobody is allowed messing with baby bird."
Stephanie made a futile attempt to use the elevator or Batlift as Tim had labeled it. Seriously, OCD and a P-Touch were a bad mix. Everything in the cave was labeled. The Bat Command Console Chair, Bat Uniform Storage, Baterang Locker, Bat leather polish, Bat Showers, Bat Scrap Paper Bin, Bat Laundry, Bat Test Tube Rack... It was very likely the Bat cave was ISO compliant. Finally she swore in annoyance and huffed slowly up the stairs.
Jason looked a little confused as to what he was supposed to do now. He stared up at the heroes perplexed. "Err yeah. Uh what do you want anyway?" He snarked, then he scrunched up his nose in thought. "Would you care for a refreshment?" He asked trying to imitate Alfred. He opened a small bar fridge. "We gots water, sports drinks, granola and bananas... no tea or coffee cuz, duh no power, unless you wanna laser beam eye the water hot or whatever... uh... You can't have the potato. That's for my science fair project. Umm.."
"We are here to help, not to be a burden," Wonder Woman corrected the young child.
Jason shrugged at them. "m'K, whatever. No capes on the main floor there's a civy up there. This is my flashlight you can't have it. I gotta go get some spare batteries."
"Can I borrow the walkie talkie for a moment?" asked Flash.
Jason thought about it for a moment then handed it over. "Yeah, I guess."
Batman had the JLA communicator to non-priority to focus on the local emergency so Flash, choosing his wording carefully as walkie talkies were not the most secure form of communication, was careful with names. "Hey, tall dark and broody, we're here to help. Tell me the hospital and I'll run over and pick up the CPAP and have it back before the Alfred turns another city block. J'onn was going help with the baby. I think Miss W will go keep an eye on the kids on the ATV's and I've got a farm boy here who can help with an extra generator."
The walkie crackled a bit before the response came. "Gotham General, requisition number 9000-18456. The kids are in the south east. Jason can show J'onn to the nursery. He'll need to vouch for you and he can explain the hygiene protocol. I'd prefer if the farm boy took over the reactor shut down so Tim can check his copy of the computer files to make sure the shut down was the limit of the damage. We're running short on fuel anyway so a second backup generator won't help. Civies only out of the basement. We don't know if anyone's watching."
The walkie talkies were not particularly quiet, "Heat milk? Nurz say milk." a soft voice stuttered.
"Cassie, the backup generator is already overloaded don't plug anything else in. There's a chem pack in the first aide kit in the garage. That should do it."
"Father there is a small group over by the orchard. They appear to be inebriated teenagers do you want me to engage them? They are on our property."
"Call Carrie in to back you up. Have her stay out of sight, then talk them away. Might be nothing, might be something, make no assumptions Damian. Don't blow cover." The radio chatter continued with Batman orchestrating his family through their various tasks.
Flash disappeared.
Jason huffed. "Alright. You know where the reactor is?" he asked Superman, who nodded and strode off. "Wonder Woman you can borrow some of Steph's clothes. I'll bring you something after I take Mr. John to see Dickie. Mr. John your gonna.." Martian Manhunter morphed himself into a civilian guise. Jason's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he grinned widely. "That is seriously cool. I wanna be a Martian when I grow up."
Jason mounted the stairs at a quick pace with a back pack of batteries and his flashlight. J'onn followed listening as very detailed instructions were given as to how carefully he had to wash his hands and how no street shoes were allowed in the room and you have to wear a gown and a face mask and be quiet because loud noises freak out little babies and no playing with matches in the nursery because the oxygen tank could explode the whole place sky high and you gotta be gentle or I'll shove a baterang where the sun don't shine...
Diana who was following was trying very hard to keep a straight face because as unpolished as Jason was he was trying very hard to be helpful. Gotham was one of the scariest most crooked cities out there and Bruce's foster kids were Gotham's street sweepings. These were Gotham's unwanted lost children that Bruce was trying to rescue. Expecting polite manner and refined speech was perhaps a little unrealistic.
Jason actually decided to toss some of Stephanie's clothes in for Wonder Woman before taking Martian Manhunter to see his brother.
Wonder Woman slipped on the yoga pants and long sleeved t-shirt declaring "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," right across her chest. She slipped the cloths on over top of her armor, and slipped off her tiara. She couldn't help but glare at Jason a little.
"Whatcha givin me the evil eye for?" he demanded huffing and leaving with Martian Manhunter who was trying hard to look the other way. "Didn't think you'd want her preggy cloths."
When J'onn got to the nursery he saw a small girl who looked to be of Asian descent. She was maybe eight or nine and was carefully cuddling the tiny baby under her shirt while a nurse fussed nearby.
"The eggie's heater don't work right now," explained Jason with a worried frown. "Bruce won't let me touch him till I shower with hot water and all. He don't think I got clean enough. Cassie's keeping him warm." Jason knelt beside his baby brother. "Birdie it'll be okay. We won't let nothing happen to you. Dad'll fix your eggie real soon."
"Don't touch Cassie. She don't like it, okay," Jason explained to Martian Manhunter.
"Cassie, I am a doctor. I need to see your brother," explained J'onn.
J'onn very gently took Richard from the young girl. He paused for a moment then whispered to Jason. "Dark glasses please. quick like a bunny." He borrowed a stethoscope from the nurse and closed his eyes listening. He also reached out to the small child's mind. Richard's tummy hurt and his chest was very sore. It hurt to breath and he was cold.
After Jason passed J'onn the dark glasses, the Martian looked at the child properly shifting through the complete spectrum his eyes glowing red behind the glasses. The poor little fellow's bowels were obstructed, he had the beginning of pneumonia, he'd not healed completely from his heart surgery so the surgical scars were still very tender and he still had a tiny leak in his heart that the surgery had missed. He was also slightly cooler than he should have been.
J'onn was cold blooded so he couldn't warm the child but with surgical precision he used his telekinesis to repair the tiny hole in Richard's heart, and while he was at it he eased Richard's tummy troubles.
"He needs a fresh diaper and we need to start a round of antibiotics. He's got the beginnings of pneumonia."
The nurse filled the room with soft baby nonsense while she changed a very full diaper. Richard kicked his feet happily feeling much more comfortable.
J'onn prescribed the antibiotics based off of the weight listed on Richard's chart and gave the tiny baby a small smile. His role as hero had left him called upon to use his powers in many strange ways. You helped me poop. I feel much better. I'll love you forever. That, was a new one.
Outside the nursery door the distinctive zip hum of a speedster arriving was followed by a knock on the door.
"CPAP delivery!" called Barry cheerfully.
J'onn and the nurse soon had the ventilator switched out for the CPAP. Gently touching the infant's mind again J'onn noted the CPAP eased the ache in Richard's chest at least a little.
J'onn whispered to the two children for a moment, "Mr. Allan tends to be a little warmer than most and Richard's cold. Do you think we should let him cuddle with your baby brother for a little while."
Two very serious faces nodded at Dr. John.
"I get the most awesome jobs sometimes," commented Barry unbuttoning his shirt. Richard was gently tucked against the speedster's bare chest where he'd be warmest then he was covered with Cassie's handmade blanket. Barry buttoned his shirt around the tiny baby and cooed at him with a goofy grin. "Who's the cutest tiny little sweetpea I've ever seen? You are. Yes, you are."
Jason and Cassie grinned right back at him.