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On second thought, Bruce challenging all of his kids to a snowball fight wasn't one of his brightest ideas

Bruce Wayne would never say he didn't have regrets.

Some shaped future decisions he'd make, shaped the way he viewed the world from that point on. Others were little moments of embarrassment that he buried deep underneath other memories.

While his kids were involved with some of his regrets, namely decisions he'd made that had gotten them hurt or in trouble, the kids themselves were never one of them. He never regretted taking in a single one of them.

Until now.

He hid behind the barn, cold and wet.

This really shouldn't have surprised him. They could be ruthless towards an opponent when needed. Maybe he'd been hoping a little that at least one of them wouldn't be out for blood, but no such luck. It was a naive thought really. He hadn't trained them to give quarter to an enemy, no matter the circumstance.

Bruce needed a plan of attack. He could flank them but he would need to know where all of them are and- well- he didn't. The best strategy would be to take them out one by one. They were less formidable on their own.

His main concerns would be to take out the strategists, the others could plan but not like Tim, Dick, and Barbara could.

Bruce could tell who planned each attack. They were extremely well thought out. He was honestly proud.

Jason would plan his attack to the minute detail but he had a tough time articulating his thoughts to others. He'd been going for a more frontal assault which was proving to be effective. This had likely been Tim's idea.

Bruce decided he'd need to go for Jason first. Duke and Cass should still be with him given the first move.

He moved slightly through the trees, looking for a sign that one of them was near, waiting. That's when he saw a shadow crouched low out of sight for anyone else. He stooped down to get some ammo. He isn't sure when or even how he had gotten looped into this insanity. He packed the snow tight and readied his aim.

The shadow hadn't moved.

One shot.

Bruce leaned back ready to throw before a snowball landed in the middle of his face. He fell back, twisting slightly and scrambled to move back out of sight. He could hear Jason laughing as he retreated. Another one soared, hitting him in the shoulder. Just out of the corner of his eye he saw Duke preparing to launch another before Cass stepped seemingly out of nowhere a few feet in front of him.

He froze.

Her face remained completely neutral.

"Cassie-" Bruce began a hopeless plea.

She smiled slightly, it was filled with bad intentions. Mischievous intentions.

Bruce readied himself. He couldn't be stalled long, he could hear Jason and Duke coming up from behind.

Each move he made was immediately countered. She dodged and parried each of his moves, delicately dancing out of the way each time. It was always an honor to watch her. Bruce would actually be enjoying the lighthearted sparing if Damian had decided to join in throwing snowballs as hard as his arm would throw.

He let out a cry of victory whenever one hit him, Bruce unfortunately could get around Cass to get to Damian. Cass suddenly shifted on her feet, jumping out of the way as Jason slammed into his side practically throwing him into a snow drift.

"I thought we wouldn't be doing that." Duke called out as he got closer. "Like this was supposed to be in good fun. Not to the death."

"It's always to the death." Damian commented.

"You've been here long enough, you should know that." Jason added on as he circled Bruce.

"Well yeah I know that for sparing. None of you give me a break, it's kinda frustrating." Duke continued moving opposite Jason. "But this was just supposed to be letting off steam. Just, you know, having a good old fashioned snowball fight."

"Yes, against Bruce because he thinks he can beat all of us just because he's Batman." Steph adds on. Bruce isn't sure when she shows up.

As Bruce, finally, gets to his feet he notes that Cass had completely vanished along with Damian. Jason and Duke were on either side of him standing just out of his peripheral with Stephanie standing directly in front of him armed with two snowballs. One in each hand.

"Gotta prove we can beat Batman with no help." She continues, keeping direct eye contact.

The way the three of them surrounded him severely limited his options. He'd needed to be quick. He tightened his muscles, Jason was the main problem. Jason was their muscle. If Bruce can move past him he can vanish in the foliage and regroup. Come up with a far better strategy.

Some payback would be needed.

He swings out, throwing loose snow towards Duke to temporarily (very temporarily) stun him as he catches the snowball Steph throws and sends it towards Jason. It's messy and a little dirty but it gets the job done. He's out of there.

Bruce tries to think what the next best option would be.

He still thinks separating them is best but he needs to go for the head of the snake. He needs to go for Tim, Dick, and Barbara. Taking out Tim would remove the strongest strategist but the other two could more than compensate. They'd led Justice League teams before.

Dick was the strongest of them when it came to one on one with Bruce directly. He knew how Bruce thought and responded far too well.

Barbara played dirty. She went for wild out there plans because no one else thought of them. Hard to have contingencies for things you don't think about.

Tim knew how to slip away easily. Just because Bruce corners him doesn't mean he'd be able to take Tim down, he's very good at holding the fight just long enough that he can get out of the way and direct it towards his advantage.

None of them would be easy opponents. Especially with the addition of Damian, Jason, Duke, Steph, Cass, and Harper out on the field looking for him. Waiting.

Going after Tim would push Dick and Barbara closer together, which he didn't want. The fight would essentially be over if that happened. They would come after him simultaneously.

Going after Barbara posed the almost exact same problem with Dick and Tim.

But going after Dick would take too long and definitely couldn't be done without getting caught. It might not necessarily push Tim and Barbara together (although that was also a very real and likely possibility) it would guarantee the others getting involved and the game being over in under two hours.

Embarrassingly short. Bruce's pride was also at stake. If he lost in under two hours they would never let him hear the end of it, and they would make sure the League knew too. He may not say it out loud but the idea of Green Lantern or Flash getting that information shook him to his core.

No, he would need to hold out for a while. At least make it a challenging loss. This would not be a quick victory. They were too efficient for him to do that. He was incredibly proud of the corner they'd pushed him in.

He needed to find a place to hide. The Manor would be impossible. Not only is it cheating, it is completely in the open and being watched by an assortment of them. The Barn was locked and he didn't think he'd be able to pick the lock to get inside before he was caught and even if he was there was no good escape route if he was found.

Maybe he could hide out near the property line. It was far enough away that he may be able to stall the inevitable for a good six hours. That could at least help him save face a little. The victory on their part would at least be less embarrassing. Maybe they'd get tired enough that he could take a few of them out. Do 'last man standing' or something like that.

Of course that idea was laughable stupid. He's just as tired as they are and they have the advantage of numbers. They can avoid tired, he can't.

He began his silent journey to the property line before the hairs stood up on his neck. He never could fully turn off those Bat-Senses. He was being followed. And not just by one person.

He froze and stood tall.

This was the last stand. He was going to fail. But he would do it with his chin held high.

"If I can make one request." He called out. "I should be able to at least look all of you in the eye. Only a coward strikes in the dark."

"I suppose that's fair." Tim admits as he steps into view on Bruce's left.

"We are currently at one-hundred and twenty minutes on the dot." Harper notes, rather gleefully. "Fastest time yet."

He's completely surrounded.

"You could yield." Barbara offers. She stands like she's trying to seem friendly. Bruce knows better. "We wouldn't tell anyone you surrendered."

He doesn't respond.

Jason barks out a laugh. "Smart. She may not have told, but I certainly would've."

"Any last words?" Dick asks, his voice dripping with faux sweetness.

Bruce inhales deeply but doesn't say anything.

Dick glances just past him, at someone behind him. Cass Bruce thinks. "Alright. Let him have it."

Bruce was bullied in school. Snow balls would be thrown his way, sometimes with rocks in them, he was no stranger to this. Bringing kids into the house had only increased the likelihood of getting hit with random snowballs.

He remembers random snowball fights with Dick and Jason when they were much younger. How much fun they'd had even though it ended with everyone cold and shivering. He remembers a little Dick saying how he'd get Bruce next time, or kid Jason telling him to watch his back and start another one the next day when Bruce got out of his car.

None of that, however, could prepare him for what essentially felt like drowning in snow. None of them had rocks (thank god, he wouldn't put it past a couple of them) and some of them weren't being thrown at full force especially after Bruce hit the deck.

"OKAY!" Bruce calls out amongst the chaos. "I yield! I surrender! Enough!"

It all stops immediately.

Tim, Duke, and Dick are instantly helping him up and getting all of the snow off of him.

Bruce tries to straighten himself out slightly. "Resistance was futile anyways. Very good, all of you. I am impressed."

"Dammit." Jason commented. "Say that again. I wasn't ready."

All of them were very clearly proud of themselves.

"Alfred is going to be a little upset that you're soaking wet." Duke tells him.

"Well, it is our fault a little bit." Steph adds as she begins to make her way back to the house.

"Did you even have a strategy to take us out?" Tim asks him.

"Of course I did." Bruce lies immediately.

"That would be a no." Harper shoots back as she skips past them to then turn and start walking backwards to face him.

"I had a plan, I had several plans." Bruce tries.

"Wow, you had no idea what to do." Dick realizes. "That's it. I think we're ready to take out the JLA."

"About time." Damian comments, perhaps a little too gleefully.

Bruce doesn't comment. He doesn't feel it's needed. He knows if something serious were to happen they were more than prepared to handle whatever happened. But it was nice to see it in action occasionally.

He did have notes for their take down which he already knows won't be taken seriously in the slightest. They never are anymore. But that's okay. Today was fun. And sometimes Bruce knows he needs to sit back and just enjoy the fun.

Half-way there. 15 stories to go