A week and a half had passed since the invitations had been sent out to the Gordons', Vicki Vale, Police Commissioner Michael Akins, Mayor Marion Grange, Thomas Elliot, and Silver St. Cloud.
Since the day James received the letter, he had been dreading tonight. He had hoped the upcoming days would drag on in order to avoid this dinner party.
But of course, the days had sped by and the night had arrived sooner than he anticipated.
"I don't think I am going to go..." James reluctantly said, hours before the party. "I would feel unwelcome."
"James... Don't start," Sarah warned, laying out her dress on the bed. "I have already started getting ready."
"You and J.J. can go, I won't be upset," He explained. "But me going would just be uncomfortable for everyone."
"It will only be uncomfortable if you make it uncomfortable," She reminded, going into the closet.
"I doubt Richard wants to see me as much as I want to see him," James scoffed. "After our last meeting, he is only going to be curt with me. There's just too much bad blood between us."
"Hey, mom!" J.J. called from the other room. "What do you think of this tie?"
The young man came scurrying over to the master bedroom, carrying a red tie in hand. He was met to the sight of his parents practically glaring at each other.
"J.J., your father doesn't want to go to the party." Sarah's tone was filled with exasperation.
"What? Why?" He looked at James.
"I was trying to ignore this subject, but your mother knows exactly why I don't want to go." The man glowered at his wife.
"You're taking it out on me?" She scoffed in disbelief. "How many times do I have to tell you that I didn't give the GCPD permission to release the sketch?"
"I wish I could believe that." James sneered, narrowing his eyes.
"Dad, please go. I really want to go; mom wants to go," J.J. pleaded.
"Which I don't understand. You weren't very fond of Bruce. Why the sudden affection for Richard?" James questioned, never taking his eyes off Sarah.
"Richard isn't his father," Sarah remarked coldly.
"It almost sounds like you're defending him," James accused.
"Well, it almost sounds like you're jealous of him," She retorted.
"Enough!" J.J. interrupted, seeing where this was about to go. "Can we just go to the party? Have a good time and forget about what's happening at home for once?"
Sarah glanced at her husband expectantly, waiting for his usual, pessimistic answer.
James sighed. "Alright, but we are not staying long."
The Gordons' were the last ones to arrive at Wayne Manor, which was made abundantly clear upon pulling up in the paved driveway.
James gave a skeptical glance- a glance offering the chance to turn back- to Sarah as they walked up to the front doors, but she either didn't notice or ignored it.
He gave a hesitant knock, drawing back as the door instantly swung open.
"James. I'm so glad you could make it," Bruce smiled at the man before turning to the woman beside him. "And Sarah, you look lovely."
"Thank you," Sarah returned Bruce's smile, causing James's frown to deepen.
"You must be J.J. I don't think we have met before," Bruce stretched out his hand to the young man.
"I hadn't realized the resemblance between you and your sister..." Bruce trailed off, pretending to grow saddened. "Seeing you brings back so many memories."
As soon as he said this, Sarah lowered her head while James continued looking at 'Richard' aloofly.
"I apologize, that was tasteless of me," Bruce quickly stated, ushering the family inside.
Music and laughter could be heard from the dining room, but as soon as the Gordons' stepped foot inside the laughter instantly died. The guests looked at each other uncertainly, whispering to each other about the latest guests.
"Ahem," Bruce announced, entering behind the family. "Now that everyone is here, why don't we start with the salads and soup?"
The Gordons' took their seats silently as the food began to be brought out by waiters. The guests continued avoiding eye contact with the family, especially with James.
"I hope you all don't mind that I had tonight's dinner catered," Bruce stated, taking his seat at the head of the table.
"Oh, not at all. It looks delicious!" Vicki complimented.
"You don't have servants, Mr. Wayne?" James suddenly asked.
"Yes, I do," Bruce answered, following a moment of tense silence. "But I gave them the night off."
"That's very thoughtful of you," Silver praised, taking a bite of her salad.
After a few minutes of eating, James spoke up again, noticing 'Richard' hardly consuming what was in front of him.
"Are you not hungry, Richard? Or are you just saving room for dessert?"
"James," Sarah hissed, scowling at him.
"Oh, no," Bruce laughed. "I have problems with my digestive system, so I cannot eat a lot. If I do, I will get sick."
"Your father had the same problem," Thomas recalled. "Strange, considering you two weren't blood-related."
"You should go see a doctor," Vicki suggested worriedly. "This isn't normal."
"I have, but they haven't the faintest idea what it could be," Bruce revealed.
"That's because you aren't going to the good doctors; only the quacks," Thomas chuckled.
"Well, that might explain the paleness," James muttered, causing everyone's head to snap in his direction.
"Excuse me?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud," James chuckled at himself. Sarah merely closed her eyes in aggravation.
The sounds of silverware clinking against the plates were all that followed during another moment of tense silence.
"What are we doing here, Richard?" Barbara asked as they approached the bank of the river.
"We need to find something," He answered, looking in the distance. "Something we buried here a long time ago."
"The only thing we buried here was that girl. Julie Madison," Barbara hesitated. "Why would you want to find her? There's probably nothing left but bones."
"That should be good enough." Richard waded into the water. "Follow me."
"No, this has something to do with Bruce, doesn't it?" She snapped.
"Barbara," Richard sighed. "Just do what I say. Asking questions is just going to bring more trouble."
"Yeah, I guess I should know that by now," She grimaced, remembering how her curiosity got her into this situation.
How it got her killed.
Barbara slowly followed Richard into the water, feeling nothing but wetness around her. The water should be cold, but it had no temperature.
They swam through the black water as Richard tried to remember exactly where he tugged the body out.
"I think it was here." He suddenly dove beneath the surface. A few minutes passed before he suddenly came back up, splashing his arm for Barbara to follow. She obeyed, surprised at how clear she could see in the dark water.
She could see Richard was already pulling something back up from the bottom. She swam up to him, and he handed her some of the brownish bones.
Once Barbara reached land, she practically dumped the bones on the ground. Richard was much more careful as he had the skull and didn't want to break it.
Barbara remained quiet, staring at the remains of Julie Madison. Thirty years had passed and all that was left were a skull, part of a rib cage, and the femurs.
This is what her body should have been like.
It was strange how the decay and rot would never come to her own body. She would never experience true death.
"I didn't think we would find them," Barbara admitted softly. "It should have been impossible."
"I don't know what we would have done if we wouldn't have," Richard frowned.
"You mean, what Bruce would have done?" She corrected.
Richard didn't answer. Instead, he picked up the bones and placed them on the river's edge. The remains were partially covered by water, which gently lapped against them.
The guests had gradually relaxed over the course of the evening. Laughter and mirth had appeared once again in the dining room. Sarah had started talking to Silver and Michael while J.J. spoke with Thomas.
All except James were interacting and socializing with one another.
This did not go unnoticed by Bruce as he interrupted his conversation with Vicki to ask J.J., but more James, about the attack.
"J.J., I saw the sketch of your attacker in the newspaper. Are you any closer to figuring out who it was?"
"No, we're not. I think I might have spotted him around Gotham, but I could never confirm it," J.J. replied, finishing his dessert.
"I hope the police find him soon. Someone like that has no business running around Gotham." Thomas shook his head, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"He bears a striking resemblance to your brother," James remarked. "I know I only met him once, but when I saw that sketch I knew right away it looked like Jason."
"Yes, you are right. The attacker does look like Jason. But of course, it couldn't be him," Bruce laughed. "He couldn't still be a child."
The rest of the table joined in the laughter since it was so ridiculous to believe a child from thirty years ago was still a child.
Even James laughed, but it was all a farce.
"You're right. He would have to be immortal," James grinned slyly at Bruce, who was no longer laughing.
"So you didn't get an invite either?" A voice spoke from the dark, forcing Barbara and Richard to abruptly turn around from the river bank.
"I know you," Richard whispered as a figure with a red helmet stepped forth.
"I would hope so! We only lived with each other for six years!" It scoffed, studying Richard closely.
Barbara shifted her eyes to Richard, seeing the realization creep across his face.
"Jason?!" He exclaimed. "You're alive?!"
"That's right, Dicky-bird!" Jason took off his helmet, revealing his face. "But I bet Bruce didn't tell you that! Neither did Barbara."
"You knew?" Richard looked to her in complete shock.
"I just recently found out." Barbara glanced between the two boys.
"But you didn't tell me," Richard accused.
"Can you blame her?" Jason pointed at Barbara incredulously. "You've been keeping secrets since the day you two met! I wouldn't have trusted you either!"
"If anything, blame Bruce. He's known- or at least suspected- for some time now. My face has been all over the newspaper, but I guess he hadn't shown you that," Jason continued, coming closer to the pair.
"He probably burned it," Richard said bitterly to himself.
"For being the golden child, he sure doesn't tell you a lot," Jason mocked sadistically.
"What was it you mentioned about an invite?" Barbara questioned, turning her attention away from a sulking Richard.
"Oh, you don't know?" Jason smirked; his eyes glowing eagerly.
"Jason. Don't," Richard cautioned gravely.
"Bruce had to get you two out of the house somehow," Jason continued, ignoring his brother's warning. "There's a party going on."
"Jason..." Richard snarled through his bared fangs.
"You didn't tell her, Richard?" Jason chided.
"Tell me what?" Barbara demanded, glaring daggers at Richard.
"Your family is at Wayne Manor." Jason's smirk only grew wider.
Barbara looked at Richard desperately. She didn't even need to ask; she already knew it to be true.
"You told me I would see my father again," She seethed; her face changing into its predator-state. "And yet, you deny me my last chance! I believed you! I thought maybe somewhere in that blackened heart of yours you had some affection for me! I thought maybe your loyalty to Bruce only extended so far! How stupid of me! To ever have faith in you! To ever believe in you! You are nothing but his lapdog!"
"No," She slowly let her claws and fangs retract, composing herself after her outburst. "You're worse. You are exactly like him. You only care about yourselves."
"To ever trust the word of a demon, that was my first mistake. But it will never happen again," She vowed, walking away from the both of them.
"Your family isn't just your dad anymore," Jason called to her, which made Barbara stop in her tracks.
"You have a brother now," He finished just as Richard slashed his claw across Jason's face.