No sooner had Batman stepped out of the car, when he several hours later returned to the cave, than a sudden draught tugged at his cape and Superman landed beside him.
"Your article should give the circulation a nice boost, Bruce," Superman said and flashed a smile. "Lois was quite impressed that you managed to get a few comments straight out of the mouth of the Dark Knight himself, in such a short time. He's not known to be talkative to the press, from what I've heard."
Batman grunted as he walked away from the vehicle. Truth be told, he had felt rather silly, pretending he had interviewed himself like Clark did all the time. On the other hand, it was pretty tame compared to some of the stunts he pulled as playboy Brucie Wayne…
"Too bad you've already handed in your resignation," Superman continued.
"Hnh. We've stopped the crime and given the Gazette another chance. The case is closed, as far as I'm concerned."
"Sure, but it was kind of nice, working together as civilians."
Batman grunted in agreement as he removed his cowl and gauntlets. He gave Superman a sideways glance.
"Alfred should be well on his way with dinner if you care to stay."
Since Lois was in town, he half expected the man to decline the offer. But Superman only considered a moment before he answered with an easy grin.
"Alfred's food and your and Dick's company? Count me in, Bruce."
Batman didn't even have time to blink before Superman's imposing figure had been replaced with Clark Kent in a slightly dishevelled costume.
"I'll go up and see if Alfred needs a hand with something. He can't be prepared for a guest for dinner, after all."
Bruce stared after Clark's disappearing figure with a small frown. There was something going on…
It only took him a few seconds to reach the logical conclusion – Clark wanted a chance to talk with Alfred alone. Which could spell trouble.
Well, it was a good thing he had upgraded the security in Wayne Manor since his arrival back in time, by installing surveillance equipment in strategical positions. Such as the kitchen. And pretty much all the rooms in use.
He really had been naive, back in the days, to leave the Manor practically unprotected, Bruce thought as he went further into the cave to where Dick was training on the uneven bars. And there was still the question of putting up more motion sensors around the place.
"Dick. It's time for you to go up and change and get ready for dinner. Clark will be staying for dinner," he tempted.
As predicted, this was enough to get the boy quickly jump down on the floor. Dick picked up his towel and water flask and started for the shower, but stopped when Batman turned the other way to go back to the Batcomputer.
"Aren't you coming, Bruce?"
"I need to finish a few things. I will be up presently."
Dick shrugged and headed for the changing room; hanging out with Superman was high enough on his list to make him ignore his guardian's obsessive behaviour for a while.
While the sound of Dick's steps faded, Bruce sat down by the computer and brought up the camera feeds from the rooms and corridors on the ground floor. He might not have time to listen in to everything that Clark had to say, but he needed to be prepared if something came up during dinner. And everything the cameras and microphones picked up was saved for a while if he wanted to look into it more thoroughly.
The computer screen filled up with several small pictures of video feeds; he eliminated them one by one until the feed from the camera hidden over the kitchen door was the only one remaining, and the grainy picture filled the screen. Clark was already in there, sitting at the table in front of the window, while Alfred was coming in and out of the picture while he was working. He had probably offered to help and been turned down, if Bruce knew the two men.
At least his timing was perfect – Clark had evidently just started talking.
"…refuses to talk to me. You must have noticed it too? And I can tell from Dick's behaviour that he thinks there's something up with Bruce, too."
Bruce couldn't help his pulse from rising, even if he had expected this. This could end badly – Alfred and Clark knew him better than anyone, in this time. Not that they really had a chance to guess the truth – who in their right mind would believe that someone all of a sudden had the mind and memories of his future self – but things could get complicated if they ever went from words to action.
The loudspeaker from the kitchen feed was silent; Alfred hesitated to answer. He would not feel comfortable discussing his employer and surrogate son with someone outside the family; Bruce knew that. But the man was also pragmatic enough to acknowledge when there was a problem and to take help or form alliances to overcome it.
"Do you know anything about it? Or at least, do you know enough to tell me I shouldn't worry?" Clark pressed.
Alfred finally spoke, hesitantly.
"Do you have any reason to suspect that Master Bruce is a danger to himself or Master Richard, sir?"
Clark stared over the room with furrowed forehead; almost straight at the camera, in fact. Clark Kent in his own time would have checked the room for surveillance equipment because he knew that Bruce had them everywhere, but this Clark wouldn't suspect Batman to bug his own family.
"No, when you put it like that… But he talks differently, he grunts more than he's ever done, and Dick is already picking up that particular habit. Imagine if he hands it down to the rest of the kids… The next generation of the Justice League will communicate with one-syllable words, at best."
Clark shook his head, but his lips twitched in a small smile before he continued.
"And he keeps the cards closer to his chest – I had to force him to admit to trying out some kind of surveillance equipment in the League headquarter."
Clark fell silent for a while and glanced in Alfred's direction, probably looking for a sign of agreement or dissent. Bruce couldn't see if and how Alfred reacted, but Clark resumed talking.
"When we took on The Mole and his gang, his fighting style was slightly different from what I'm used to. He was more… explosive, I suppose you could say. With shorter and quicker movements. And he used a few new moves; a type of pushkick and a hipthrow I've never seen before. I guess he could have learned new techniques since the last time we worked together in the field… But from what I've picked up on the Gotham news, he's been unusually violent at least twice. Don't get me wrong – I don't think he'd ever be violent to Dick. Quite the contrary; it seems to me he uses excessive force when Dick is in danger."
Batman felt something twist in his gut. He wished Clark was right about that – at this time, he had been right, he would never have used violence towards his young ward. But less than ten years from now, he would – no, had, not would, not this time – strike Dick down with a powerful punch.
In his memory, he could still see the young man's head jerk from the hit and his body fall to the ground – the hurt and shock when he looked up at his guardian.
And that wasn't even the last time he had hit his boy...
Alfred had walked into the picture again and was now standing by the stove, slowly stirring something in a pot.
"I have noticed Master Bruce's new speech pattern. And Master Dick has been upset with him several times lately; but the lad is soon a teenager, after all. It is a time of transition and growing autonomy. They are very alike in their stubbornness; I fear Master Dick's maturation will be a difficult time in this house."
It was evident to Bruce that Alfred was trying to convince himself, rather than Clark. When the butler commented on his behaviour to Bruce's face, the underlying criticism had been evident.
"So you're telling me there is nothing to worry about?"
"Master Bruce has changed the way he works. He spends more time with his computer, looking for information and planning. Since it is beneficial for him to be better prepared when he goes out and makes him a more efficient crime fighter and, one might hope, helps him and the young Master to stay safe, I do not consider this a problem… Even if the change has come rather suddenly."
Clark shrugged.
"Well, it's Bruce, all right. I've used my x-ray vision to confirm that it's not a body double, or something, Unless body doubles come with exactly the same scars as their counterparts, of course."
"… Indeed…"
"Uhm. Just the scars I know about from when we've changed at the same time, of course… On his torso and arms…"
"Quite."
Alfred disappeared from the picture again, and Bruce could hear the sound of him opening one of the cupboards. Clark started to rise from the table, looking after the butler.
"Alfred, at least let me set the table? Please?"
"… Very well, sir. But I suppose I need not remind you that we do not use powers in the house?"
"Not to worry, Alfred," Clark chuckled. "I might not be a train-aholic in Bruce's class, but I think I can carry some plates and glasses all the way to the dinner table."
Batman considered whether he had seen enough for the time being; he could check the recording later, after all. But when he heard the sound of Dick walking up the staircase, he decided to stay a little longer and see if Dick was drawn into the discussion.
Clark returned to the kitchen only moments before Dick rushed in, obviously eager to spend some quality time with… one of his favourite superheroes.
"Smells great, Alfie! Bruce was still by the computer; I hope he won't miss dinner."
Clark seemed intent on not dropping the subject. He turned towards Dick with raised eyebrows.
"Bruce spends a lot of time on the computer, nowadays, Alfred tells me."
"He sure does," Dick agreed. "It's the new love of his life. But I guess it pays off because he finds out a lot that way. He must have hacked some new source of information because he's always telling me you can only get out of the computer what you put into it with hard work."
"What's he used it for, lately?"
Dick went over to the stove and took a sniff over the pot before he answered.
"A few weeks ago, he found out that the Gotham lighthouse was the headquarter for a gang of robbers in less than an hour. And when I asked how he knew that Mortimer Drake was The Cavalier and that the Penguin was going to rob the Pinchbeck penthouse, he said he had the Batcomputer to thank for that. I've been using it more too, and it really can be a great help. Do you want me to do something, Alfred?"
"Master Kent has already set the table, but thank you, Richard."
"Mhm. Tell me about tomorrow's Gazette, Clark?"
"Oh, Bruce wrote the piece. Lois was quite impressed, you know. He even found time to get a few comments from The Batman about the bust."
The boy laughed.
"Well, everyone knows that the Bat and Bruce Wayne are really close friends…"
Dick had his back to the camera, but Bruce would wager anything that the boy had winked. Clark answered with a quick, almost automatic smile.
"He used some pretty impressive moves, today. Do you know if Bruce is studying for someone new?"
"Not that I know. But you know Bruce – he's obsessive with improving. Perhaps he's found some new ideas online? You can find anything if you know where to look…"
"Uhm. Dick… You don't look… on anything, do you?"
"Hm? What… oh. Ouch! Only in the line of duty, Uncle Clark!"
Bruce shut down the window from the video feed; it seemed that Clark didn't want to worry Dick by talking outright about his misgivings, something that Bruce was grateful for. It the three of them joined forces, he would get a hard time. Not to mention his dinner would probably have been ruined by an extensive interrogation.
Talking about dinner… He still had to shower and change, and he could tell that dinner was almost ready. Alfred would be disappointed in him, Bruce thought with a small sigh, coming late to the dinner table when he had invited a guest.
"Master Bruce. Impeccable timing, I was just about to call and ask if you intended to join your guest for dinner. I told them to start while the food was hot," said Alfred when he hurried into the dining room, where Dick and Clark were already seated at the large table, in front of each other.
"Sorry I'm in late, Alfred. I just had some finishing up to do."
"One might almost think that you knew exactly when the food was ready to put on the table."
Alfred was going to find the security camera in the kitchen any day, Bruce thought resignedly. If he hadn't already done so… Still, he had never intended to keep it a secret. It was meant as a security measure, after all, not to spy on his family.
He sat down at his usual place, at the head of the table, picked up the knife and fork and tucked in.
He had hoped that eating, and the presence of Dick, would be in the way of awkward questions, and it turned out his wish was fulfilled. The boy's curiosity about Bruce as a journalist kept them occupied throughout most of the meal.
Of course, Clark had already spoken his mind the day before; the question was whether he intended to try and pick up the conversation on the way out. Bruce mentally prepared himself to dodge a new set of questions when he walked his guest down to the Batcave, but to his relief, Clark opted to talk about how to follow up on the story for the Gazette to keep the circulation up.
Bruce was under no illusion that Superman was going to drop the subject forever, but perhaps he didn't want to tip his hand that he had spoken to Alfred just yet. And the man was a reporter through and through, after all; he would probably look for corroborating evidence from several sources before he raised the question a second time. After all, Alfred hadn't, while Bruce was listening, really said anything to fuel Superman's unease.
"Well, Bruce, as always, it's been a pleasure," said Superman as he prepared to leave the cave. "I'll see you soon, I hope? At the next League meeting, perhaps?"
Bruce had to fight a reflex to clench his jaws.
"I'll do my best to be there. Unless I am needed in Gotham," he answered, silently hoping for a moderately serious emergency.
Not an Arkham breakout. But a crime, puzzling enough for the police to ask for his help, would make an excellent excuse. The Justice League came with its own set of challenges for someone wanting to keep a secret, after all. Martian Manhunter's telepathy and Wonder Woman's magic lasso could both expose him.
Still, he had kept secrets from the League before. He could do it again if he had to.
With a final goodbye, Superman disappeared in his customary blast of air and Bruce felt as if he could relax for the first time in hours.
He certainly was not going to invite the man over for dinner and give him a chance to confer with Alfred, and perhaps even Dick, again in a hurry, he promised himself as he walked over to the computer.
So, not that I expect anyone to sit on needles if this fic isn't updated regularly every weekend or anything ;-) but I thought I'd give you a thumbs-up that it will take a while before the next chapter is up.
I've decided it's not dark and gritty and angsty enough for a DC fanfic, so I'm going to change direction, just like the owner company does every once in a while; make Bruce forget he's from the future so when he by pure chance sees Tim and his parents murdered he'll just feel a strange emptiness he can't explain; kill off or at least severely maim Alfred; perhaps make Dick a murderer...
Just kidding. I am, however, travelling for a few weeks over the winter holiday; the next update can be expected mid-January.
Dick growing up was a difficult process. Alfred comments on it in Nightwing # 53. And Bruce in Batman # 615 (Hush). And there is that time in "Knightfall: Prodigal", of course.
The infamous fight where Bruce punches Dick and tells him to leave the key with Alfred is in New Titans # 55 (surely one of Bruce's most asshole stunts ever), and you can find a couple of panels on my Tumblr. (by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, art George Pérez and Romeo Tanghal).
See/read more at
tumblr com / blog / northoftheroad
