Takes place before the previous chapter.
"… a scourge to our fai-fair city, summoned by Satan himself. A false prophet who-who tried to deceive us with his duplicitous protection so he could drag our-our chil-children to -" Barbara trailed off into laughter
Dick groaned. "It's not funny, Babs! They just keep getting worse and worse. I bet this is about that pastor we put away for embezzlement."
"They called him the antichrist!"
"BABS!"
Bruce hid his smile in his drink as his protégés continued to bicker back and forth in his ear.
The argument was routine by now. A month couldn't go by without someone raising a fuss over Batman either because someone with connections was taken down by the Bats or because the Court wanted to have another go at Dick. Barbara always got a kick out of the theories people would come up with for who Batman could be or how they could take him down, while Dick took personal offense to everything revolving around Batman being a villain. This meant the two ended up having the exact same fight at least once a month.
As repetitive as the argument was, though, it was still more interesting than any of the conversations Gotham's elite were having around him. For example, he was currently hiding from Mrs. McNeal since he was too sleep-deprived to keep his mouth shut around bigotry and the woman was complaining to everyone who'd listen about the woman her recently disinherited granddaughter married (Sabine Bellerose was a wonderful woman and he hoped her and Senga were doing well at Wayne Health's California division). Then there was Janet Drake blathering on to Michelle Davis about her latest find on the other side of the ice sculpture Bruce was hiding behind. That woman managed to reduce incredible archeological discoveries entirely down to their monetary value without managing to disclose anything actually interesting about the items.
"How hard would it be to fake an emergency to get me out right now?" Bruce whispered, miming a sip of his wine.
"Alfred said that if you don't stay at least four hours, you'll have to cook for yourself for a whole week," Dick reminded him.
Bruce was honestly considering taking his punishment when Barbara added, "And he'll go on vacation for that week if we help."
"Which means no ready meals for Babs and I'll have to put up with your cooking. Sorry, B, but you're on your own."
He sighed and took an actual drink. Then he ducked out from behind the ice sculpture and made his way across the banquet hall when he noticed Alicia Mathews spotting him. He was not in the mood to listen to her telling him for thirty-seventh time that it was such a shame that he hadn't settled down and had kids yet (despite the fact he was twenty-nine) or her suggestions for sweet, appropriate young women that would make wonderful wives (including her daughter, who was closer to Barbara's age than his).
Honestly, though, even if he wanted to settle down, he'd only ever developed an attraction to two women in his whole life. The first was so devoted to her father that their relationship fell apart, which was probably for the best considering the League had ties to the Court. If Talia got close enough to Bruce to discover he was Batman, he couldn't trust that she wouldn't tell her father and in doing so place Dick in danger. On the other hand, Selina could be and was trusted with Bruce's son, but he knew she valued her freedom too much for him to risk their relationship by proposing they move onto something more serious than rooftop chases and the occasionally shared bed.
"How bad is Bruce's cooking?" Barbara asked. "Does he live up to the stereotypes of rich people not knowing how stoves work?"
"No, he knows how stoves work, but he's got white-people taste buds."
Barbara snorted.
"And Alfred does too, but at least he knows how to use spices for my stuff. Plus, he gets distracted and leaves stuff cooking for too long. One time he put water on to boil and the water was gone by the time he remembered. And another time -"
"Yes, thank you, chum. I think she gets the picture," Bruce muttered.
"Anytime, B!"
Bruce redirected his escape towards the bar in hopes of getting something stronger to drink. He couldn't actually risk getting drunk in such company, especially with his protégés in his ear, but he trained hard to be sure he could get a little tipsy without worry.
All thoughts of alcohol left his head, though, when he spotted a certain pair of reporters.
The kids' snickers cut out at his grunt.
"Who is it?" Batgirl asked, all traces of humor gone. "Someone from the Court?"
"There's always a few people from the Court at these things," Nightwing corrected. "The better question is how high up are they and why are they unexpected?"
"Our unexpected guests actually play for the other team," Bruce grunted, casually readjusting the sunglasses hanging from his breast pocket in a way that would give the hidden camera inside a better look at the bar.
"Huh," Batgirl said before typing could be heard over the comm.
"I thought Perry White placed a ban on Gotham after that reporter got caught in an explosion four years ago," Nightwing pointed out. "And why would those two even be here? The society pages are below Clark Kent's paygrade, let alone Lois Lane's."
"Well, it might be a charity event, but it's also in Gotham. Maybe he thought if anyone could survive it'd be Superman's girlfriend. And she usually brings Kent along to assignments she doesn't want to be on," Batgirl said as the typing increased.
"Stay out of my files," Bruce ordered.
Ignoring him, she continued, "Or maybe not. Check your eight."
Bruce stopped at a table, leaning against it and sipping at his wine. To his left, entertaining a group of women, was Oliver Queen.
"Why would Queen be in Gotham? Ever since his return, he's barely ever left Star, let alone the West Coast."
"He's been making more trips lately," Bruce reminded Nightwing.
"Wait, you think this could be a Justice League thing?" Batgirl asked. "What would bring them to Gotham? There's no way something big enough to get their attention could have gotten past us."
"I don't know. Queen could just be trying to spread out his appearances so no one connects them to his other work, but I'm going to look into it just in case." Bruce downed the rest of his wine and swayed drunkenly towards the group. "Ollie! What a wonderful surprise to see you here! How's what's-her-name? Diana?"
Annoyance flickered across Queen's face faster than most would notice before he donned a similar smile to Bruce's. "Dinah."
"Right, Dinah! Smart girl, and smoking to boot. How's she doing?"
Selina leaned closer to the painting she was pretending to inspect as she studied the security cameras around the room.
"Tell you you're the greatest/But once you turn they hate us," came from Selina's pocket and she quickly pulled out her phone, standing up straight.
"Hey there, handsome. If you're calling for fun, I'm a little busy right now, but -"
"I'm not," Bruce grunted, very clearly in Bat-mode.
"Pity," she sighed and started heading out of the gallery. "What's going on now?"
"The League is in town."
"Ugh! You're ex with them?"
"Not that League."
She raised an eyebrow as she passed the valet her ticket and a twenty she'd slipped out of Bruce's wallet during their last encounter. "Wait, are you talking about Metropolis and his boy band. Why would they be here?"
"We're not sure. I haven't found any reason for them to be here, but I have found evidence of all five of their founding members in Gotham. It can't be a coincidence."
She hummed and slipped in her car with a wink to the valet. Once she connected her phone and got on her way, she said, "I suppose this means I shouldn't hit The Violet Rose."
"Selina."
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the warning, handsome. Think I'll split town until the boy scouts leave."
"Can I ask where you're going?" he asked hesitantly.
Appreciating how he was trying to curb his need to know exactly where everyone was, she decided to throw him a bone. "Well, I did hear from a pretty reliable source that Coast City is currently without their hero. It's the perfect chance to slip into their natural history museum to swipe that stolen Aztec statue and return it to Mexico."
"And the Firestone Jaguar?"
"If there's time."
"Cat."
"Bat." She chuckled at his silent sigh. "What are you three going to do? I thought you made it pretty clear you didn't like other heroes in your territory."
"This isn't Superman or Flash chasing one of their rogues past city borders. If the League's here, it's something big. I told Batgirl to lay low until they leave and we're doing the same. Everyone except Harvey and Cobblepot are either in Arkham or Blackgate right now so I'd rather skip patrol for the next week or two than risk one of the kids getting dragged into an alien invasion or something of that nature."
"Alright. If you want, I wouldn't mind taking your little bird with me," she offered, half of her wanting to rile up her Bat and the other half just as worried about the (her) kitten getting caught up in an alien invasion or whatever else the League could be dragging into town.
"No."
"Come on, Bat. You know I'll take good care of him and we'd only be doing a little bit of B&E, for a good cause."
"Until I know what's going on I want to keep everyone close, just in case."
"Hm. Should I feel insulted that you're not trying to keep me close then?"
"Would you stay if I asked?"
Would she? Selina tapped her fingers against the steering wheel. "Maybe next time. A pretty kitty's calling."
He grunted.
"Love you too, Bat." She chuckled when he grunted again, but she sobered up after a moment. "Be safe, Bruce."
"You too, Selina."
Selina hung up the phone then called Maven to book a flight to California.
"He really doubled down on the plan this time, huh?"
Batgirl shoved Nightwing off the building then turned to Batman. "Any news on what the League could be up to? I've been looking everywhere, but besides tonight things have been absolutely silent. Cobblepot's focused on the lounge, all the other big names are still locked up, and all the lower-level thugs have spotted the League's less than subtle flybys and have gone to ground. Aside from Two-Face, everything seems quiet. And they can't be here for him or they would have shown up tonight."
"To be fair, they're only less than subtle for Gotham," Nightwing said, flipping back up onto the roof. "And no, we haven't. You-Know-Who even took a turn through the bars to see if there were any rumors about outsiders in Gotham, but there wasn't even a whisper, let alone the gossip storm that something like that always turns up."
"We must be missing something. I want you to be ready for anything," Batman said, pulling out his grappling gun. "Don't go anywhere without your gear. Even class."
"Today was actually the last day before a three-day weekend," she said as she and Nightwing followed their mentor's lead. "I was gonna see if I could stay at the manor. I can get deeper into the dark web on the Batcomputer than on my rinky dorm room setup."
"Your father -"
"Thinks I'm going camping with a friend. Besides, he's busy. The criminals aren't the only ones who've noticed the League's here. GCPD is freaking out and they're getting calls demanding answers from everyone who feels entitled enough to the Commissioner's time. I think he's half-tempted to pull out the old signal and slap an S on it in hopes of getting an answer."
"Let us know if he does so I can get popcorn and find a good spot to watch," Nightwing snorted as they landed on a building near the Batmobile's hiding spot.
"No. I don't want either of you to get anywhere near the League's business. Understood?"
The two rolled their eyes but nodded.
"Good." Before Bruce could say anything else, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he spotted a flicker of light out of the corner of his eye. "MOVE!"
The teens jumped to the left and he leaped to the right, tossing a batarang at the ground as he went.
A yellow streak of lightning shot past where Nightwing had just been, snagging the boy's arm as it went.
The batarang exploded into a mass of white webbing, which splattered across the rooftop and just managed to catch the streak.
The Flash yelped as he struggled against the adhesive substance and Nightwing broke the hero's grip. He and Batgirl quickly slipped into the shadows as Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter flew up.
Without wasting a moment, Batman threw two more specialized batarangs. Both popped, one in a cloud of yellow powder that engulfed the lantern and the other in a ring of accelerant that ignited as it fell around the martian.
The two fell to the ground as the dust drained the Green Lantern ring's powers and the flames sapped the martian's strength.
Batman was tying up the lantern when someone landed on the roof behind him. He finished up then turned to see Green Arrow fighting Batgirl, his bow nowhere to be seen. He threw a bola at the Robin Hood-themed vigilante, but a blast of red knocked it out of the air.
"You're coming with us, Batman," Superman said as he flew down to the roof.
"I don't think so," Nightwing chirped and a bola shot out of the darkness to wrap around the kryptonian. The weights glittered green as Superman collapsed onto the roof with a groan.
"You guys get all the fun toys," Batgirl huffed as she backflipped away from Arrow, giving Batman an opening to tie him up. She turned to the shadows a moment before a grinning Nightwing stepped out of them. "Kryptonite bolas and yellow powder batarangs? Seriously?"
"It's not like we just carry them around with us, and we haven't seen you since the League came to town," the boy said, shrugging.
"Did you guys expect to fight the League?" she asked, turning to Batman. "Because I would have liked a warning."
"No," he grunted, eyeing the League members.
"But best to be prepared," Nightwing added. "Do you want to find out Ivy can control Superman and not be armed with kryptonite bolas?"
"No, and that's why I want one!"
Batman tossed her one of his and pointed at the League. "Watch them."
"You got it, B!" the two said, giving teasing salutes.
Then Batgirl leaned against Nightwing and gestured to Flash with her head. "How much do you think he has to eat in a day?"
"I guess it depends on how much he's been running around."
Batman ignored their antics and grabbed Superman. "Why did you attack my team? I thought we'd come to an agreement. You stick to your city and I'll stick to mine."
"You're kidding right?" Flash snorted.
The Bat kicked away the knife Green Arrow had been using to try to free himself and scowled at the speedster. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"
"That agreement was before you started abducting children, Batman," Superman groaned, giving him a weak glare. "I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and overlook the rumors when they first started to spread out of Gotham, but then you took Richard to Atlantic City for everyone to see."
Batman mentally pinched the bridge of his nose. Bring wasn't exactly the right word. He had gone to Atlantic City to nab Clayface. The other two had followed him against orders. They were just lucky it hadn't been a Court trap as Bruce had feared.
"Wait, you're here about the Graysons?" Nightwing said, voice angry and face blank.
Batgirl's eyes widened, then she gave a scowl to match the one Batman was wearing.
Arrow looked at the boy with sadness. "Kid, I know -"
"You don't know anything," Nightwing snapped and Batgirl grabbed his shoulder.
"Nightwing, Batgirl, fall back."
They shared a look.
Batgirl shook her head. "Not happening, B."
"I'm sick of this. The Justice League came after you! The Justice League!" Nightwing said, throwing his hands in the air. "All because people are too stupid to realize the truth!"
"The truth is that you're Richard Grayson," Green Lantern said.
"That's not my name."
"Batman might have done something to make you think it wasn't, but it is. Batgirl knows it."
She set her hands on her hips. "Batgirl can speak for herself."
"My name is Nightwing."
"That ain't a name, kid," Arrow said.
"It's called a secret identity for a reason, Robin Hood. I'm not telling you my actual name."
"I'll give you a hint, it's not Richard Grayson," Batgirl said.
Arrow looked shocked by that. "He got to you?"
She stepped forward. "B didn't -"
"Down!"
The two immediately dropped and rolled away as the Flash shot past them.
"Great, now he's going to be on us all week about taking our eyes off the prisoners," Batgirl groaned as she pulled out a bola.
"At least you don't have to live with him," Nightwing sighed, pulling out a batarang.
"Do they ever stop talking?" Green Lantern asked.
"No."
"But you love us anyways, B," Nightwing said, flipping into the shadows with Batgirl as Flash came back around.
"Ninjas," the speedster muttered as he tried to figure out where they went.
"Don't just stand there!" Arrow shouted and Flash darted off just in time to dodge a batarang that exploded into sticky webbing.
He went to Martian Manhunter, spinning around him to put out the flames. By the time he finished, the Bat had tossed Superman aside and slipped into the shadows as well.
"I'll find them. Free the others," the martian said, taking chase.
He couldn't feel the bat, but the others' minds weren't so heavily protected.
He landed in front of them, hands raised in a sign of peace. "I do not want to fight you. I just want to help."
The boy went to throw a weapon, but the young woman stopped him.
"Hold on." She stared at Martian Manhunter and he could feel her thinking. "Martian Manhunter. J'onn J'onzz. Powers: Shape-shifting, intangibility, telepathy, telekinesis, and literally inhuman strength and durability. All courtesy of your green martian heritage. Am I right?"
"Yes. You seem to know a lot about us."
"B's paranoid," the two said together, then the girl continued, "And you mean it about wanting to help?"
"Yes."
"Then stop fighting us."
"We just want to protect you from Batman, and we can."
"Evidence says otherwise, but B isn't hurting anyone. He…" The boy glanced at the girl. "He's my dad. And I'm sick of everyone treating him like a criminal."
"He kidnapped -"
"You're a telepath. So read our minds," the girl said.
That gave the martian pause. He didn't like reading the minds of innocents. He didn't really like reading anyone's minds without good cause. Humans were so protective of their mental spaces and he'd learned to respect what they considered a private space during his time on their planet.
"You want me to read your minds?"
They both fidgetted and the girl sighed. "No, and B is definitely going to kill us for this, but if it will put all this Grayson stuff to rest, then do it. Just stay away from anything about secret identities. Ours and B's."
He looked to the boy, who nodded.
So he reached out.
In the girl's mind, he saw labs and mindless assassins that were as good as dead.
In the boy's mind, he saw a couple cheerfully discussing their son's future.
In both minds he saw a dark figure shielding them.
Batman was facing off against Arrow and Superman when an arrow froze in midair a foot from the Dark Knight.
"Stand down, Justice League," Martian Manhunter called and the group turned to see him, Batgirl, and Nightwing floating down next to the incapacitated lantern and speedster.
Batgirl looked nervous, but Nightwing was thrilled. "Look, B! I'm flying!"
Batman grunted and plucked both kids from the air as soon as they were close enough. They easily settled on either side of him without the martian trying to stop them.
"J'onn?" Superman asked, eyeing the kids.
"We were wrong. Batman is on the right side."
"Excuse me?" Green Lantern voiced the confusion filling the other's faces.
"There has been a misunderstanding."
"He kidnapped -"
"There is more to the situation than we were informed," Martian Manhunter said, cutting over Arrow. "I cannot say much without betraying the trust the children have placed in me, but the child was taken because his parents were about to deal him great harm. He is now placed somewhere they cannot reach him."
"Nightwing -"
"Nightwing's civilian identity is not Richard Grayson."
"Like I told you," the boy chirped.
"How can we be sure?" Superman asked. "Just because the kids say -"
"They did not tell me anything. They allowed me to see into their minds and I was able to put the pieces together from that."
Batman gave the kids a look and they flinched.
"We're dead."
"So dead."
"I made sure not to peer at anything revolving around your secret identities," Martian Manhunter said in hopes of soothing the Bat's annoyance.
Annoyance, not anger. The man clearly couldn't feel anger towards the children, and even the annoyance was fueled by and nearly buried under his concern for them. Especially for his son.
The rest of the team was still a bit unnerved, but they trusted Martian Manhunter's judgment and stood down. They calmed more when Batman gave them a summary of the situation which was confirmed by the martian.
Richard Grayson's parents had been part of a cult that had wanted to experiment on the boy, turn him into a living weapon. Batman had gotten him out and to a safe home before they could, but the cult had connections so he couldn't do it the legal way. Batman was working to take the cult down, but it would take time.
"There has to be a better way," Superman argued, not liking how far outside the law this was looking.
"If there is, we haven't found it," Batgirl said, helping Green Lantern out of his bonds while Nightwing and Martian Manhunter freed Flash. "Sorry to say, but sometimes you can't just beat up the bad guy to save the day."
Green Arrow snorted and Flash bit down a laugh, but Superman and Green Lantern looked unimpressed.
"Kal," Batman said, grabbing the kryptonian's shoulder. "You know I wouldn't have done this without considering every other option. There's a reason you gave me the benefit of the doubt before."
"Could you at least tell us where Richard is so we can be sure?"
Nightwing, Batgirl, and Martian Manhunter turned to Batman, who shook his head. "No. The more people who know his location, the more likely it is to get back to the Court. His safety comes before all else, even my reputation."
A small flicker of guilt passed over Nightwing's face, but only the Bats caught it.
The League met eyes and shared a quick mental conversation before Superman said, "Alright, Batman. Given Martian Manhunter's confidence in you as well as the past experience Flash and I have with you, we're willing to believe you and stand down."
Batman nodded, which Nightwing translated as, "Thanks."
"Though I still think it's a little odd that you seem so prepared to take us, specifically, down," Green Lantern said as he pointedly scrubbed at the powder coating him.
"Welcome to Gotham," Batgirl joked. "We've got contingencies for our contingencies."
"Do you want to be unprepared when you find out Superman's not immune to Spellbinder's hypnosis or Mad Hatter's mind control chips?" Nightwing asked. "Because we don't. And on top of that, there's Poison Ivy's spores, Scarecrow's fear toxin, Stran-"
"I think they get the point, Wing," Batgirl cut in.
"We didn't know why the League was in Gotham so we had to be prepared for any eventuality, including that one of our villains or some unknown outside force had or would take control of you," Batman explained.
"It didn't occur to you that we could be here for you?" Flash asked.
"It had, but it's been two and a half years since I took Richard. I assumed that if any of you were going to get involved, you or Superman would have done so already."
"Right," Superman said, sharing a look with the speedster. "Well, if you won't tell us where Richard is, at least know that we're here to help. If you need anything, let us know."
"Sure," Batman said, but he doubted he'd take the kryptonian up on it. As Batgirl said, the Court wasn't something they could defeat by punching it. It was too ingrained in Gotham. There wasn't one tree to cut down, but hundreds of weeds that they had to be sure to pull up by the roots if they didn't want more to grow back in their place. He knew Superman could be crafty and Flash was smart, but he also knew neither had experience with investigations of that nature. He wasn't as sure about the others, but he doubted they did either.
Superman nodded then the League started heading out.
When Martian Manhunter was the last Leaguer left on the roof, he pulled a device out of a hidden fold in his suit and held it out to Batman. "It is one of the Justice League's communicators. From what I've seen, both in person and through the eyes of your teammates, I believe you could be a good asset to the team, perhaps even a good member."
"I doubt my reputation would do you any favors," Batman pointed out, though he took the communicator.
"Hopefully one day everyone will know the truth, but until then, we all have experience keeping secrets."
Bruce grunted and tucked the communicator into his belt.
"Can I get one?" Nightwing asked, skipping up.
The martian gave him a smile. "Unfortunately, the League has rules against minors."
Nightwing crossed his arms and gave him a doubtful look.
"Something tells me those rules didn't exist before tonight," Batgirl joked, wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders.
"They were implied."
"Sure. For the record, I'm 18."
Batman valiantly resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.