Chapter 8

The following morning, Max and Sally came to the Manor, bringing the children in their strollers with them. As the group ate breakfast, prepared by Hayate, the men informed Max and Sally about Nyssa's revelation about Helena. Max and Sally stared at Terry, Basem, and Hayate in complete and utter shock, finding insanely difficult to verbalize their perplexity.

"A daughter," Max finally whispered.

"Yeah," Basem replied.

"Bruce… has a daughter…"

"And Selina never told him," Terry said.

The five of them stopped. The weight of the news hit Terry, Basem, and Hayate as hard as it did last night. For Max and Sally, they could only imagine how much it hurt Bruce when he first heard the news. Bruce saw them as his children, in one way or another, yet to know that he missed out on his own child.

None of them could conceive a greater pain.

Sally rubbed her face, "What the hell's going on?"

"I dunno," Terry admitted. "We're gonna have to deal with this sooner or later."

"The Moirai, Red Hood, the murders, or Bruce's daughter?" Basem asked.

"Oh, damn, that's a lot of stuff!" Sally cried out.

Terry thought for a second. "The murders and the Moirai are kinda the same problem. Red Hood, too. Helena will have to wait until this is over, unfortunately."

"Want me to see what I can find on her?" Max asked.

"Would you? I doubt we'll get much from Selina and I don't think Bruce can handle it."

"I'll bet. Leave it to me."

"Thanks, babe," Terry said.

"But even if we find her, then what?" Basem asked.

"A fantastic question," Bruce said as he entered the kitchen.

They all looked at Bruce, staring at him in a nervous silence.

"I still can't believe I can't hear him approach," Hayate said in wonder.

"Yeah, that skill never goes away," Terry said.

Max got up and walked over to Bruce, hugging him with all she had. "Bruce," Max whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Bruce put one arm around Max. "Not as sorry as I am."

Max released the hug but kept an arm around him, guiding him to the table. Hayate prepared a plate and set it in front of Bruce.

"You need to eat, boss," Sally instructed. "I'm always worried you don't eat enough and news like that on an empty stomach… not a good idea."

Bruce stared at the plate, motionlessly.

"Bruce," Terry said, causing Bruce to look up. "You didn't know."

"That doesn't help," Bruce said.

"Yeah, I figured."

Bruce looked back at the plate. He took a bite of food.

"Feel better?" Sally asked.

"Sal," Max chided.

"I'm nervous, okay?"

"Thank you for your concern, Sally," Bruce said. "But… I'm years from being okay. More so than usual. About 30 years from okay."

"But Terry's right, Bruce," Basem said. "You didn't know."

"It's more than just not knowing. It's the not being there. It's a crime I can't forgive."

"You should," Terry said, simply. "Because… I'm sorry for repeating this but… you just didn't know."

"It's still my fault."

Terry stared at him, "Don't put this on yourself. And don't think your parents and Alfred would hate you for this."

Bruce looked at Terry, slightly surprised.

"I know you, Bruce. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out what's really bothering you about this."

"There is that," Bruce admitted. "But… there's another major issue."

"That being?"

"I have to tell Diana," Bruce declared.

Everyone stopped, staring at Bruce as that realization hit them.

"Oh, shit," Max whispered.

"My thoughts exactly," Bruce agreed.

Terry rubbed his hands together, nervously, "So… how do you think she'll react?"

"I'll put it this way… it was nice while it lasted."

"Give her more credit than that," Max requested. "This is Diana we're talking about. Aside from Superman, she's probably the only other person on the planet who knows how complicated your life is."

"That doesn't make this okay," Bruce replied.

"Stop acting like you abandoned your daughter," Sally declared. "You didn't."

"That's exactly what I did."

"No," Max said, "that's what my dad. Ya know, until a few years ago. I refuse to let you believe you're anything like pre-reformed Joe Gibson."

Bruce took a deep breath and exhaled. "This just won't be easy."

"You were Batman, Bruce," Terry reminded. "Your life stopped being easy around 8-years-old. You handled that, then. You can handle this now."

"I didn't handle it the best."

"You still handled it. And for all of your mistakes… you came out of it… pretty well."

Bruce looked stared at Terry.

"Talk to Diana," Terry urged. "We'll make sure you guys talk alone. But tell her the honest truth, everything. And trust her enough that she knows you and let her decide what to do. And know, for a fact, it'll be the right decision."

Bruce let focused on that statement then nodded.

Later that afternoon, Diana came back to the Manor. She and Bruce were in the main room, sitting on the couch. Bruce held Diana's hands and told her everything he learned last night.

After he finished his recount, Diana's mouth fell agape in shock. "A daughter."

"Yes," Bruce replied.

Diana looked around as she tried to grasp that. She looked back at Bruce, seeing how much pain he was in. "Oh, Bruce…"

"I'm sorry, Diana."

"You're sorry?" she asked, confused. "For what?"

"I thought…" he began, "I thought I could make this work. Despite all of the obvious pitfalls between us, I thought maybe something here could be but…" He shook his head. "I just can't."

Diana studied him for a few seconds. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, as soon as she heard about Helena, she predicted what Bruce would say afterward. Making her response all the easier to say. "Nice try, Bruce."

Bruce looked at her.

"You think you having a daughter you didn't know about would drive me away? If you knew and didn't attempt to be her in life, yes, that would be a major problem. This… not a chance."

Bruce huffed.

"You really didn't think I was going to leave you over this, did you?"

"This and I'm about as attractive as a trash-compacted sedan."

"That's your opinion," Diana replied. "And not in my eyes. And stop hating yourself for this. You didn't know about Terry, either."

"That one had very little to do with me," Bruce reminded. "I was married to Selina."

"And you were married to me. And if we had a child, I don't care if I hated you, I would never keep our child from you. Selina did and she was wrong for that. She made the choice to not tell you about your own child. That's not your fault."

"But I should've known. I usually know everything. How did I not know this?"

"Because you don't know everything," Diana insisted. "You never did, Bruce. It's about time you learned and accepted that. You didn't have complete control over everything and sometimes… things did happen that were beyond your ability to control."

Bruce sat in silence as he truly began to come to terms with that. "Tim."

"Among other examples. But, yes. I know that still hurts."

"Even though he and I talk again… I can't… forget what happened to him."

"You don't forget anything. And no one expects you to. But you need to start forgiving yourself. For Tim. For Helena. For Terry. For us. For everything. Yes, even Dick and Selina."

Bruce looked away. "I don't know how."

"Do you know why I'm semi-retired from the League?" Diana asked.

"A long-standing bout with your frustration with men?"

"That's part of it. But, partly, because I was becoming too disillusioned with everything. I've spent the last thirty years just living among humans, not fighting for them as often. I had to see what it was like to just live. Live with them. Not be above them as a hero or a goddess or anything. I needed to be just a person. With that, I learned something."

"What's that?"

"People have to carry on," she answered. "Especially when they're not in control of everything. Which, I've learned, is most of the time. And no one knows that lesson better than you. From the age of eight, you've embodied that lesson. The difference is? You carry on. Alone. With no help. And you carry the weight of guilt of things you simply had no control over. I won't let you do it again. Not this time."

He looked down in sadness. "I failed my children. I can't imagine a way I failed my parents more. That I failed Alfred more."

"And you can make this right."

"How?"

"By finding your daughter," Diana said. "And being a father now."

"She won't need me now. And… she'll be rightfully angry."

"You said the same thing about Terry when you knew he'd find out," Diana pointed out. "And look at you two now."

"That's different," Bruce declared.

"Maybe. But your love for him and Helena isn't. Find her. Talk to her. Be her father now."

Bruce stared into Diana's eyes. "I'm sorry, Diana. For everything. About us. About me."

"I know, Bruce. But you don't have to apologize." She took hold of his hand. "You've more than made up for it."

"A little late."

She kissed him. "Not to me."

That evening, Terry, Basem, and Hayate were at the computer. They had one screen running searches for the Moirai and any reports on the police scanners. They were also analyzing the blood samples they had taken from the Moirai members that had been captured and from the information on Thalia's blood.

"All three of you are gettin' sloppy." Terry turned around to see Dick, Selina, and Nyssa walk in. "Heard you coming a mile away."

Basem and Hayate looked at the group of them, as well. "That's the sound of guilt," Basem said, angrily.

Dick looked down then back at Basem. "Didn't know you could be mad at me, B."

"Mad. Disappointed. Ashamed. I would say pick one, but all three apply to this current abysmal situation."

"Basem…"

"I'm not done, Dick!" Basem declared. He exhaled, harshly. "You said… when the suggestion was made I move here, you said Bruce would be a hard case. And you were right. He's also caring. He gives a damn, no matter how hard he tries to hide it." He stopped. "I've seen how he smiles with my son, with Terry's daughter. I remember the look on his face when he walked Max down the aisle at hers and Terry's wedding. His look as he sat at mine. I can repeat, word for word, his speech at Max and Terry's wedding and how actually grateful he was to be there. You talked so much about how horrible Bruce can be, you left out the human side. And you had the nerve to tell me about him keeping secrets when you knew he had a daughter you never told him about!"

Dick and Selina looked down, ashamedly.

"I really can't believe either of you. I really can't! How could you?! How?! What in God's name would make you think that this would ever be okay?! Yeah. Bruce keeps secrets. Yeah. He's hurt people in the past. But nothing… not a damn thing he's done has ever warranted you keeping him away from his CHILD!"

Basem's shout echoed throughout the Cave.

Terry looked at Nyssa, "And I don't care how pissed you are at Selina, Nyssa. You handled this completely wrong." He motioned toward Selina, "Her being a lousy mother doesn't mean you get to make Bruce feel like a failure of a father." He stood up. "Did it ever occur to the three of you that this bullshit way of behaving is more Bruce than Bruce is or ever was? Or that all this was reason Tyson… Fawzi… whatever, ran away in the first place?"

"The thought crossed my mind," Dick replied.

"And mine," Nyssa admitted.

"Bruce has done some messed up things," Terry admitted. "No one's denying that. But that doesn't make it okay to respond in kind. Add to it… this was way worse than anything he's done to any of you." He looked at Selina, and, sarcastically, said, "Oh, no. He arrested you for being a thief and couldn't trust you because you repeatedly lied to him. Wow, he was so unreasonable. And you guys were married and got divorced. Man, that's so horrible. You really shouldn't tell him you're having his baby and keep that secret for the rest of his life and hers." He looked at Dick, "And you. So your ex was Batgirl and he didn't tell you. So he was a control freak and always had to have things his way. Yeah, I agree that sucks. But you left and became your own hero. But what? You still weren't over it? After 50 years?! And, then, your best response was… 'hey, let's not tell him he has a kid'? That seemed like a fair trade off to you?" He looked at Nyssa, "If nothing else, you owed him the truth, the second you knew it, for not hunting down and killing you just for being related to Ra's al Ghul. Yeah, Bruce doesn't kill, but the hell Ra's put him through, I can get why he would be tempted. And you should've told him in a way that didn't make him feel like a complete failure. Granted, I have no freakin' idea what way that would be, but I'm still right."

Terry studied them. "I'm not the president of Bruce's fan club. Honestly, he tends to irritate the shit out of me. But I'll be damned if I ever co-sign on hurting him like all of you did. It was a shitty thing to do. You all played a game. And it's not just Bruce you hurt. It's Helena, too. And B's right. Shame… that should be the only thing the three of you feel right now."

They all looked down in sadness.

"It seems nothing will be resolved right now and, regrettably, we have other concerns." Hayate looked at Terry and Basem, "To business?"

Terry sighed, "Right. We think the Moirai are after Fawzi 'cause they think he's a metahuman. Why?"

As Dick and Selina sighed, Nyssa declared, regrettably, "Because… he is. On the most base-level of the definition."

"Elaborate," Basem commanded.

"It's… why he's so proficient with his reflexes," Dick explained. "That and he's slightly stronger than he should be and he has a crazy tolerance for pain." He motioned toward Nyssa, "She told us about it and we used to watch him to see what his limits are."

"Was he born with the metagene?"

"No," Selina answered.

"Then how?" Terry asked.

"An early experiment on him," Nyssa answered. "When he was an infant. He was stolen from me. But only for a month. When I found the perpetrators, I dealt them a swift and terrible justice."

"And you never asked them why they chose him?" Terry asked.

"I didn't care. Plus, I'm the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. What more of a reason did they need?"

Basem looked at Terry, "Couldn't be that easy."

"Yeah," Terry agreed. "Because if she killed everyone who knew… how do the Moirai?"

Bruce, Diana, and Ace walked back into the cave, getting everyone's attention. As they approached the computer, Terry moved from the chair so Bruce could sit down, with Diana standing by Bruce and Ace sat at Bruce's feet.

"Nyssa said someone kidnapped Fawzi as a baby and experimented on him," Terry said to Bruce. "He's a metahuman. But there's gotta be more to it than that for them to do all this. What do you think?"

Bruce didn't respond.

Basem folded his arms. "Hey. The Lazarus Pits."

"You know of those?" Nyssa asked.

"Who doesn't?"

"They could have altered his DNA somehow," Hayate realized.

"Bingo," Basem nodded.

Terry looked at Nyssa. "Did you ever use a Lazarus Pit?"

Nyssa froze. "A few times."

"And, to clarify, you don't want to be like Ra's al Ghul?" Terry raised an eyebrow.

"I never said I wasn't foolish at multiple points in my life."

Terry exhaled, "Alright. Whatever. Did Fawzi ever use a Pit?"

Nyssa looked around as she became crestfallen. "No, not directly. But… I did… when I was pregnant with him. I… had a dangerous… rather deadly encounter with one of my brothers. He wanted control of the Society of Shadows. I nearly died. I went to a Lazarus Pit. I didn't know I was pregnant at the time."

"Did anyone else know?" Hayate asked.

"Just Fawzi's father."

"Did you ever tell Fawzi any of this?" Terry asked.

"No," Nyssa replied.

Terry groaned. "Well, that's just great."

"He's the target and he doesn't know why," Basem said.

"One of. Don't forget the other metahuman."

"How does this connect to the murders?" Hayate asked.

"That is still the question, isn't it?" Terry replied.

An alert went off on the computer, causing everyone to look up at the screen.

"The Moirai," Terry whispered.

"They could be hunting Tyson!" Dick said.

"Fawzi!" Nyssa corrected, angrily.

"Oh, give it a rest, will ya?!" Basem shouted.

Terry looked at Dick, Selina, and Nyssa, "All of you stay here. We'll handle this."

"We're going with you," Selina said.

Terry laughed, sarcastically, "Yeeeeaaaah, no. You're all staying here. I'm not dealing with all of you fighting each other and running off Red Hood. We got this." He looked at his mentor, "Bruce."

Bruce's mind was still clearly elsewhere.

"Bruce!"

Bruce looked up at Terry.

"We need you to spot us," Terry explained. "I know this is hard for you, but…"

"But you need me," Bruce said. "You're right." He turned toward the computer. "We have work to do." He started typing on the computer.

"Bruce…" Basem started to say.

"B, no," Terry said. "Let's get ready. You, too, Hayate."

"But…"

"Come on."

Basem looked at Bruce, who was still working, then at Terry. "Okay. Okay. You're right. Let's get to work."

"Diana," Terry said.

"Yes?" Diana asked.

Terry motioned toward Dick, Selina, and Nyssa, "If they try to leave, you can break someone's leg. For the record, I don't care who tries to leave and whose leg you want… to break."

Diana stared directly at Selina. "Terry." She looked at Terry, "You are an angel, and I will hear no argument to the contrary."

"I try," Terry shrugged.