Batman stared as his son's entire demeanor changed instantly. Where once the boy had been slightly nervous, there was now outright fear. He wasn't sure if it was all due to his reputation as Batman, all he did know, at this moment, was that he never wanted to see the horrified look in his son's eyes that were currently glued to his own. Where, with a criminal, he would most certainly push this advantage into obtaining the information being hidden from him, he just wanted to fix this. Besides, there would always be later to do some investigating, if it became necessary.
He watched as his son took a step back. Batman stayed where he was, as to not appear as threatening, and most likely failing. Be that as it may, he decided to press on with just why he was there. Though now, he would have to approach things delicately.
"I am here on behest of your father."
Xander stopped short. The look of out right fear turned to one of shock, relief, and then total disbelief.
"My Father?" Xander shook his head. "How in the hell do you know that piece of shit, Tony?"
Batman actually growled slightly in response, causing Xander to take an unconscious step backwards.
"That 'piece of shit,' as you so adequately put it, is not your father."
Xander just stood there, looking at the caped crusader with owl like eyes. It was a few more seconds before another word was spoken, but in the end, it was Xander who broke the silence.
"What do you mean, Tony isn't my father?"
In response, Batman walked over to a nearby table that had a few files neatly placed on its corner. Picking one up, he carried it over to his son who took it from Batman with a bit of reluctance.
Xander looked at the file. It was full of medical information. He leafed through the few pages a few times before looking back up at Batman.
"Umm, what exactly am I looking at?"
Batman walked over to stand at his son's side. "This is some medical information pertaining to both you and Tony Harris." He pointed to some information on the top of the page. "This here shows the difference in blood type." He pointed to the lower portion of the document. "This is a DNA test to show his compatibility as a biological father. You can see what it indicated?"
Xander looked at the results with wide eyes. He nodded his head. "It says that he's not compatible with me." Xander stared at the information for a few more seconds before gently closing the file. He couldn't help the huge smile that was plastered on his face, though he did have one, if not a few, confusing thoughts.
He looked up at Batman. "How exactly did you come by this information? And if you, or my real father, have had this, then why am I only learning about this now?"
Batman looked at the child in front of him, not quite sure how to answer this. After a moment, he decided to go with something that was as close to the truth as possible.
"Your father received this information, only hours ago." Xander's eyes lit up in amazement. "The information in the file you are holding was taken shortly after you were born. We used more recent data to verify all of this. And it all checks out."
Xander looked between the document in his hands and Batman. 'I wonder if Tony ever knew. Mom has always been a nurse. It would have been simply for her to keep all of this from him.' He looked back down to the file in his hands. 'Mom must have sent this to my father when she decided to leave.' He smiled another sad smile. 'She didn't want me to be alone.' It was then that an odd thought struck him.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Batman watched as his son seemed to be lost in thought. A small smile appeared on his son's face, quickly followed by a confused look. It was then that his son asked him a question.
"And why, exactly, are you here?"
"As I said before, I'm here on behalf of your father. Someone needed to be here, and I could get here faster. And after what we found when looking into this town, speed was of the essence."
Xander thought on that for a moment before sending Batman a small smile.
"Thanks for the save by the way." He scrunched his brow in confusion. "What was it that you used on those vampires? It looked like metal, but it was able to dust them."
Batman pulled out a batarang. It was small, black, sleek and looked razor sharp. Where a normal one would have a shape similar to a bat, this one had some sort of metal etched into edged of the batarang, outlining the bat shape.
"This metal alloy, laced throughout this batarang, is called Trinium."
He handed the object to Xander, who accepted the smooth object with much care and delicacy.
"Trinium? I've never heard of Trinium before."
Batman shook his head. "You wouldn't have; it's a very rare and exotic alloy. It is said to be far lighter than steel and over 100 times stronger as well."
Xander looked up from his inspection. "But, how does that allow it to dust the vamp?"
Batman thought it over for a moment. This alloy was a part of a very well guarded secret. He had to tread lightly.
"It is said that the villagers, where this comes from, prey to their 'Spirits' to release their 'Key,' the Trinium. It is an entire religious affair, a gift from their gods, or 'Spirits' as the case may be." Batman watched as his son stared at his batarang with no small amount of awe. "And the end result is what you saw earlier tonight."
Xander was staring at the deadly weapon in his hands while whispering, "Holy Vampire Dusting Metal, Batman!"
Xander looked up to see Batman quirk his head slightly after hearing what he said. He smiled sheepishly at Batman, before giving the batarang back to its owner. There was another brief pause in the conversation. After another minute of silence, Xander got the topic back to where it had been before.
"So, when do I get to meet my dad?"
Batman looked at him for a moment before wordlessly walking back to the table where he had retrieved the file. He picked up a medium sized envelope. He stared at it for a moment, as if weighing his options, before bringing it over to Xander.
"I realize that all of this is a lot to take in at one time." He handed Xander the envelope. "In there is an invitation to a charity banquet in Los Angeles tomorrow night. Your father will be there. And, should you want to meet him, you can do so there."
Xander opened the envelope and found the fancy invitation inside.
"If I want to go, how do I get to LA?"
"Your father will send a Limo for you."
"And just how would I get in contact with him?"
Batman reached into his utility belt and handed Xander a small metallic object that had the bat insignia on it.
"That is a special communications device. It uses several satellite relays, and can reach me almost anywhere in the world." Xander stared, with wide eyes, at the small device. "With that you can contact me whenever you want. And if you decide to meet your father tomorrow night, just contact me. A limo will be sent to your house."
Xander shook his head. "Ah, no." Bruce's heart almost dropped, but outwardly, he remained an impassive expression. "If I do decide to go, I'd want the limo sent over to the high school, not to my house."
Bruce inwardly let out a deep breath, and it took even more willpower not to plaster a large smile on his face. He wasn't positive, but he had a good feeling that his son would be contacting him wanting a limo.
"You aren't going to tell me who he is?"
Batman looked at him for a moment. "Why don't you just make sure that this is what you want, before you do something prematurely? Rushing into this may cause a bigger mess than you both intended." Xander looked slightly downcast, but nodded his assent. "Come on, I'll drive you home."
Xander's thoughts were a million miles away as he got into the specialized car. It wasn't until the car suddenly jerked that he became aware of his surroundings. He looked over at Batman, who was smirking slightly.
Xander looked at him curiously. "What is it?"
"You should probably put on your seatbelt."
With that said, Batman pressed down on a small red button. Within seconds the batmobile was zooming down the streets of Sunnydale, a blur to all those who would have been on the streets at this early hour.
Inside the car, the outside scenery seemed to blur as well, not that Xander was paying much attention to it. He was trying to put his seatbelt on, but the damned thing seemed to have a mind of its own. After what seemed like forever, the thing finally 'clicked' shut. With a sigh of relief, he settled into his seat; only for the batmobile to stop a few seconds later.
"We're here."
Xander looked back and forth and in all directions. He glanced behind him, as if seeing an imaginary trail. 'How the hell did we get here so fast? How freaking fast were we going?' He was going to ask Batman, until he caught the smirk being sent his way.
After a moment, Xander smirked back.
"That was for the entire, 'Holy Vampire Dustin Metal' bit, wasn't it?"
He received no answer, but the cockpit slid open. Without another word, both men got out of the car and silently made their way from their concealed location, not far from the Harris residence.
Xander took a few hesitant steps toward his front door before turning around.
"I'll call you tomorrow with an answer."
Batman nodded. "Call on the earlier side. It takes a while to get from Sunnydale to LA."
'Not if you take the batmobile, then you could get there in 20 minutes.' Outwardly, Xander just replied with an Ok.
He took a few more steps towards his house. When he turned around again to say 'Thank you.' Batman was nowhere in sight. 'That is so much cooler than when Angel does that, well, did that.' Xander shook his head and went inside.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Batman watched from the shadows as his son went into the house. His son had only been in there for a few moments when some shouting began. The sound of glass breaking was heard soon after.
Before Batman could react, the door swung open and Xander practically dove into the bushes on the side of the house, basically rendering him invisible. A few seconds later, a drunk and beer stained man with a beer gut stumbled to the front door. He was shouting and mumbling incoherently. All the while Batman seethed from his concealed location.
After a few short moments, Anthony Harris slammed the door closed. It was only a moment later that Xander was making his way up the side of the house using the lattice to climb to the second floor. Within a short time Xander was in his room.
The light was turned on, and then was turned off 10 minutes later. Batman waited another 10 minutes, not even moving in the shadows. When he was sure that not a motion came from within the house, he stealthily made his way towards the house. With a cold rage burning inside of him, he made his way in. He and Tony Harris were going to have some words.
