A/N: 2021.05.15

Posting at 3:30 AM. Yep. Feels like the old days.

Chapter 4

Entering the Bat Cave felt odd for Dick and Selina. It was almost like stepping into a time warp. To a place where time had frozen.

Dick looked around the Cave. He stared the display cases. He walked over and put his hand on the glass where his Nightwing costume was featured. "Wow." He turned and looked at the rest of the Cave. "It's like nothing ever changed in here."

"Disturbing as that is," Selina remarked.

Dick rolled his eyes.

"Well, you know what they say about the more things change," Terry said.

"You're right." Dick smiled. "Congrats on the wedding, by the way. And your daughter. She's beautiful."

"Thanks."

Dick looked at Bruce, who had a stern, simmering look on his face as he sat at the computer.

Dick grinned, "Yep. Figured that was waiting for me." He pressed a button near the shoulder blade of his suit, causing his mask to retract. Selina did the same on her suit, retracting his own mask. Despite their ages, it was vastly evident that Dick and Selina kept themselves in shape. And Bruce could see that time and their ages had not diminished the fire in their eyes.

Selina studied Bruce, "Hello, Bruce. You could really benefit from some skin cream."

Bruce just huffed. Their sass hadn't lessened either, much to his chagrin.

"He's so mad right now!" Terry said, excitedly. "And for once, it's not my fault!"

"Or mine, and that feels weird and wrong," Basem noted.

"Who is Red Hood?" Bruce asked Dick.

Dick chuckled, lowly. "Straight to business. As always. His name is Tyson Manix. He's 22 and he came to us about five years ago to train."

"Where did you meet him?"

"On a case in Coast City, years ago, when he was a kid."

"Coast City?" Terry asked. "I thought you lived in Blüdhaven."

"That never stopped us from helping kids all over," Dick replied. "That being said, we used to live in Blüdhaven. Me and Selina operate out of National City now."

Basem jerked his head back. "Since when?"

"A couple of years ago."

"And who watches Blüdhaven now?" Bruce asked.

"My grandson," Dick answered.

"You were married?" Terry asked.

"Yep," Bruce and Basem said, simultaneously.

"With three kids," Basem added.

"On that note," Bruce said, "I'm sorry about Beatrice."

Dick looked down then back at Bruce. "Thanks, Bruce."

"Beatrice was your wife," Terry surmised.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Dick smiled. "But… I have a lifetime of wonderful memories with her. And our life was happy."

"I'm glad," Bruce nodded.

Dick chuckled, "Thanks. I may miss her but… days are still pretty good!"

"I do my best to help with that," Selina declared. "…especially since we're married, after all."

"I'm sorry, who's the what now?" Basem asked, immediately.

Selina and Dick hit buttons on their suits, revealing their left hands and showing their wedding rings.

Basem stared in wonder with his mouth ajar.

Bruce glared at Selina and Dick for a while before rolling his eyes, "You have got to be kidding me."

"We wanted to tell you," Dick admitted. "But… well… you know."

Bruce exhaled, harshly.

"When did this happen?!" Basem shouted.

"A year ago," Dick replied.

Basem thought back. "Is this why you missed my wedding?!"

Dick shrugged, nervously, "Kinda."

Basem groaned and rubbed his face. Bruce just shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, while Hayate let out a nervous exhale.

"I kinda wanna laugh," Terry admitted.

"Terry!" Basem shouted.

"What?! This kinda thing never happens to either of you! And, once again, none of this is my fault!"

Basem groaned again, smacking his forehead.

Bruce exhaled and released his grip. "Let's get back on topic." He looked back at Dick and Selina, "What can you tell us about Red Hood?"

"Just that he's our problem," Selina replied.

"Then why is he in Gotham?"

Dick sighed. "We think… to make his own mark."

"In Gotham?" Bruce asked.

"Yes."

"We've established this is Gotham," Selina said, curtly.

"I'm starting to see why they got divorced," Terry mused.

"And you didn't think to warn me that he might be showing up?" Bruce asked Dick and Selina, ignoring Terry.

"I didn't know where he was going, really," Dick shrugged. "We trained him to be a hero and he wanted to do it on his own. He just… up and left the mansion one day."

Terry blinked, "But… why'd he pick Gotham?"

"Best guess? High-crime rate. Gigantic city. Home of Batman. Why wouldn't he?"

Bruce took a deep breath and exhaled.

Dick exhaled, "Alright, Bruce. I know that disapproving exhale. I heard it enough my entire life. What else do you wanna know?"

"What training did you give him?" Bruce asked.

"A lot."

"And we trained him," Selina declared. "Stop pretending I'm not here."

Bruce just glared at her.

"Training young heroes is our thing and we're damn good at it. Some of the evidence is standing right there," Selina pointed at Basem.

"I really wish I wasn't the example here," Basem groaned.

"It's a practice we've been doing for about twenty years now," Selina declared to Bruce, "as though you didn't know. After all, I needed something to keep me occupied after my last marriage broke up."

"Ouch," Terry whispered.

"Besides, it looks I'm not the only one who went and picked up a spare child to distract myself with!"

"Ooooh!" Terry hooted, covering his mouth with his fist. "Hard punch to the body."

"This is so awkward," Basem rubbed his temple.

"Really? I didn't notice. I'm havin' a great time!"

Bruce shot his eyes over at Terry, who just smiled.

"Tyson's just trying to make his mark, Bruce," Dick continued, getting Bruce's attention. "Why else would he use the Red Hood persona?"

"I was wondering about that, too," Terry added.

"Seriously," Basem said. "You think he could use a name that's more… impactful."

"True. But… say he makes it work for him. I mean… if he can turn 'Red Hood' from a kinda known Gotham thief to well-known Gotham hero, that's doing something."

"Good point."

Dick smiled at them, Terry in particular. "He's young… but smart, Bruce. And to be as close to Basem as he is speaks to his character."

"Dick, we need to find Red Hood," Basem spoke up.

Dick took a deep breath and exhaled, "It's not gonna be easy. We trained him pretty good."

"Who else trained him?" Bruce asked.

Everyone looked at him.

"You saw it, as well?" Hayate asked.

"Yes," Bruce confirmed.

Terry groaned, "Oh, good! It wasn't just me."

"Of course, it wasn't just you," Basem said.

"How many did you count, Hayate?" Terry asked.

"While he primarily stuck with Aikido, I counted, at least, three other blends," Hayate answered. "Pencak Silat, Krav Maga, and he slipped into jujutsu without even realizing it."

"I counted some different ones besides the Aikido, I just couldn't tell what they were."

"I saw the Krav Maga and jujutsu but I didn't know the Pencak Silat." Basem shrugged, "Not as familiar with it. The Aikido was pretty obvious."

Dick and Selina stared at them, stunned. They looked at each other then back at the trio. "All of you saw that?" Dick asked.

While Terry and Basem shrugged, Hayate nodded, "I couldn't help it. I noticed in my first encounter with him. Then when I observed him this evening and in our previous escapade he involved himself in."

"That's a word you don't hear often," Terry noted. "Nice!"

"Thank you."

"And, save for Aikido, those three styles are not ones you two are masters of," Bruce said to Dick and Selina. "So… who else trained him?"

"All you need to do is focus on finding him," Selina declared. "That's all that matters. Nothing else concerns you, Bruce!"

"Aaaaaand now he's mad," Terry said, referring to Bruce.

"He wasn't before?" Basem asked.

"He was annoyed before. Now he's livid."

"Great. This is gonna be fun."

The door to the Cave from the mansion opened and everyone looked to see Diana walking down the stairs. Diana approached the gathering, staring at Selina.

"Oh, dear," Hayate whispered, nervously.

Terry slowly smiled and whispered, "I honestly thought this couldn't get better. I have never been so happy to be wrong."

"Well," Diana said. "This is… interesting."

"Diana?" Dick asked.

"Dick. Good to see you."

"Wow! You, too."

Diana looked at Selina again. "Selina."

"Diana," Selina replied.

"Just curious… what are you doing here?" Dick asked Diana.

Diana looked at Bruce, who nodded. Diana looked back at Dick, "Me and Bruce have… decided to rekindle our relationship."

"Oh, my God," Dick said, immediately.

"Actually, trying in a relationship," Selina folded her arms. "Wow. That's novel for you, Bruce."

"Your words carry bitterness, Selina," Diana pointed out. "A brave move to make in front your current husband. Yes, I did see the rings as soon as I walked in."

"What's it to you?"

"That perhaps you should worry more about your own relationship than ours."

"This is might the greatest day of my life," Terry whispered. "Not counting my wedding and Grace being born."

"You just suck the seriousness out of every situation," Basem pointed out.

Terry looked at Basem, indignantly. "Said Nightkettle to Batpot."

Basem paused. "Damn. That was actually funny."

"Actually, that was a good one," Dick chuckled. He looked at Diana, "So, are you back in active service, too? Or just on the streets in town?"

"I help when I'm called upon," Diana answered. "However, I'm not in Gotham to involve myself in the defending of the city. This city has beyond exceptional and extremely capable guardians. I would never dream in getting in the way of Terry, Basem, and Hayate. They protect this city, amazingly. I'm simply here to support Bruce."

"Didn't need the speech," Selina rolled her eyes.

"Just making myself clear. Nothing more."

Selina held her glare at Diana.

"Max is gonna be pissed she missed this!" Terry whispered.

"Sally, too," Basem added.

"Does this… rather unexpected reunion have anything to do with your cases, Terry?" Diana asked.

"One of them, yeah," Terry replied. "The Red Hood one. Although I think a third case got thrown on tonight."

"You guys have another case?" Dick asked.

"That's none of your concern," Bruce declared.

"Wow, haven't heard that sentence from him a long time," Terry noted.

"It's been even longer for me," Dick mused. "Yeah, I didn't miss it."

"You're only here to give us information on Red Hood," Bruce declared. "Nothing else. Gotham is under control."

"Yeah," Selina said. "Because you finally learned you can't do everything on your own." She looked at Terry, Basem, and Hayate. "Still never stopped you from collecting children."

"Watch your tone, Selina," Diana warned.

Selina looked at Diana, "An opinion, princess? One you would like to share?"

"Here we go!" Basem ran his hand over his face.

"Oh, dear…" Hayate whispered again.

Terry stepped forward, "Okay, look, while I was having fun with this, fun's over 'cause we're not doing this right now." He looked at Diana, "I get it, Diana. You and Selina aren't gonna get along. But can you guys fight this out later? We've got way more on our plate than just Red Hood." He looked at Bruce, "I don't care if they're here, Bruce. Those ninja guys said 'Moirai'. That's a very big deal, considering the last time we heard that name."

Bruce looked at Dick and Selina then back at Terry. "You're right."

"Did we get any more information about them?"

"Not much." Bruce turned back toward the computer, hitting a few keys and causing information to fill the screens. "The Moirai have been popping up on the radars of police and law enforcement agencies for the past few years."

"We've heard the name a few times," Dick declared.

"So have I," Diana admitted.

"But nothing ever enough to make them standout as a major threat or gain any concrete information on them," Bruce added. "The intelligence community wants to declare them as ghosts."

"Sadly, we know they're all too real," Hayate mused.

"Yes. Sadly."

"The Moirai, the murders, and the Red Hood," Basem folded his arms. "Bruce, this is about to be messy."

"It's not already?" Bruce asked.

Terry stood contemplatively, folded his arms, and let out a long sigh.

Basem looked at Terry. His shoulders slumped, "Dammit."

"What?" Terry asked.

"You think they're connected."

Terry thought for a second. "Two of them, at least, if not all three."

Selina blinked and stared at Terry, disbelievingly. "Who are you, Bruce junior? You have no reason to believe that."

"No, but I don't like the timing. And the Moirai make me paranoid. I don't know what to tell you."

"Why paranoid?" Dick asked.

"'Cause the last time they were here, they almost blew up Gotham, almost killed Basem and maybe Sally, and did kill a bunch of cops and innocent people. Granted, they had help, but we had two of their morons to deal with. I heard there's a lot of 'em. I don't like this."

"I'm not looking forward to another round with 'em either," Basem admitted.

"We'll make sure Sally and Stephen are safe, Basem," Hayate reassured.

"You both can come back to the mansion," Bruce said.

"Thanks, Bruce," Basem nodded.

Terry fell still then shook his head, "I don't think you have to worry about that."

Everyone looked at Terry. "Why?" Basem asked.

"If they wanted you or Sally, they already know who you are, right? That Thalia chick… she was Moirai. If you're on their target list, you'd be an early hit."

"He's got a point," Dick agreed. "He's really smart, Bruce."

"Why are people so surprised by that?" Terry asked.

"Should we answer categorically or chronologically?" Basem asked.

"Shut the hell up."

"You do have a point, Terry," Bruce agreed. "All the same, we'll all keep our eyes open. And if this really is the Moirai… we need to find out what they want. And stop them. Fast."

Washington, D.C.

Amanda Waller was riding the elevator down to beneath the bottom floor of the NSA headquarters. Once the elevator reached the sub-basement floor, the doors opened, revealing NSA Special Agent James Bennet.

"Ma'am!" Bennet saluted.

"Good to see you, James," Waller greeted.

"You, as well, ma'am."

They walked down the hallway. "Are they ready?" Waller asked.

"Most of them, ma'am," Bennet answered. "Tiger's dragging his feet. Do we know where we're headed yet?"

Waller smiled and looked at Bennet. "Gotham."

Bennet paused. Then groaned. "Of course, we are."

"What's wrong, Special Agent Bennet? Not looking forward to seeing Batman again?"

"Of course, I am, ma'am. Always a…" Bennet gritted, "…pleasure… to see Batman."

Waller chuckled. "I can tell. Get them ready, Bennet. Assemble… Task Force X."

A/N: For all my comic fans out there, the Beatrice mentioned is inspired by Beatrice "Bea" Bennett from the comics. Her first Appearance was in Nightwing Vol. 4 #50 (December, 2018); she was the owner of the "Prodigal Bar" in Blüdhaven and became Dick Grayson's girlfriend when Dick was amnesiac after she allowed him to live in her building.