02. What the Hell?

Summary: Things move forward, but not before a short trip back in time…well, not literally. And someone else shows up.
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"YES! Whooooooooo-Hooo! Yesyesyesyes-YES!"

"Is that Tim?" The rather surprised female voice questioned through the phone. "What's with him? Seems rather…chirpy."

Offering a small chuckle in return, Alfred Pennyworth, family butler of the Wayne family and de-facto mother goose to all the creatures of the manor and the cave below, both of the non-flying and flying variety. "Ah, yes Miss. Barbara. Master Timothy does seem in high spirits. I take he passed the test set by Master Bruce."

"Test? What sort of test?" As far as she knew there wasn't any Bat-check-up coming up. Then again, with Bruce who knew when such an occasion would arise? He was as random in his testing of both himself and his partners, as the Joker was in coming up his nefarious plans. Then again, it all did work on in the end…well, thankfully, not for the Joker.

"A rather impromptu one Miss, not to mention important…even more so than usual." Alfred returned. "With Master Dick called away on a Titans emergency, Bludhaven required patrolling and Master Tim volunteered do it."

"So?"

"By himself."

"Oh." Lounging on the other end, dressed to chill in her oversized Bat-Chick T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts, chewing on one end of her reading glasses, the redheaded Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Batgirl's heart jumped a beat at the mere mention of his name. Dick. Moreover, coming along with the Titans, it worked as a one-two punch, literally socking the wind of her.

Just another fond reminder of what could have been as a cold slap of what the harsh reality was.

Barbara knew that just as Bruce was with the League so was Dick with the Titans. In fact, while both men were founding members of their respective teams, unlike Bruce's permanently temporary status in the League, Dick was both a permanent member of the Titans as also their leader. There was nothing odd or surprising for him to go on a mission with them. In fact, starting as the Teen Titans, the now 'Adult' Titans had been a part of Dick's life since his days as Robin.

'Yeah, just another day at work,' Barbara groused to herself. 'Just another day at work…with her.'

It wasn't like they had been dating or anything. In fact, Barbara herself was seeing…had been seeing someone else, that is until that someone, namely one Jason 'I-wanna-be-a-detective' Bard, upped and left for the Police Academy. Maybe that's what had attracted her to him in the first place. However, even before they ended it, her...relationship with Jason was just slightly above friendly. Unlike…

'Unlike what? Unlike with Dick?' There was no answer to that question. 'We were…are just friends. Nothing more. Not now anyway.' She frowned.

Yet, Barbara couldn't lie to herself at the tug she felt on her heart at the merest thought of the erstwhile partner of the Batman and now guardian to Gotham's younger, uglier sister, the port city of Bludhaven.

'Its all her fault.' She had even tried being bitter and blaming the other woman. She really truly had, only to realize that to do so just wasn't in her nature. Moreover, there was another rather big obstacle in pulling the whole spiteful-bitch routine. 'Why does she have to be so nice to everyone.' And that was it.

Of all the people she knew barring Superman…maybe, Kory Anders, Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran and Starfire of the Titans was easily the friendliest and most welcoming person that Barbara had ever met.

At first, she had thought that all the caring, politeness, warmth, naiveté, the slightly ditzy mannerisms; they all might be a front that the alien princess used to put people at ease or maybe a routine that was put forth specifically for her benefit. That maybe Dick had told Kory about their past

'Yeah Babs sure. What past? The one where he had a crush on you and you just like any sixteen-seventeen year old girl were mooning on the older man, the suave debonair Bruce Wayne and the dark brooding Batman. The past in which by the time you got enough sense to actually realize what…who you really wanted, it was already too late.'

As for Kory, less than an hour with her was enough for Barbara to realize that indeed she was all she appeared at first glance…All that and much more. Heck, the way she bent over backwards to accommodate another person's wishes so as not to hurt or even as far as possible inconvenience them, even the Man of Steel would not be able to reach those levels.

Still, if she had at least looked… 'Aaarrgh. Looked like anything but a super-freakin'-model.' For Barbara, if only Starfire hadn't been this good, this beautiful, this everything nice, then there would be something she and Kara could have bitched…ahem, gossiped about.

'Kara. Hmph.' Now that was yet another point of contention. 'Why did she have to go and stay behind in that thirtie- "

"…patrol the city." So lost had she been in her thoughts that Barbara missed all of Alfred's explanation.

"Huh? What? You said something Alfred?" She apologized. "Sorry, zoned out for a bit there."

If he had reaction at or question about the sudden squeak in her voice, Alfred did not let on. What he did do was repeat himself…slowly. "As I said, Master Tim has been going through the tests to get the 'green signal' from Master Bruce."

"Green signal?" Barbara mused aloud, wondering what all had she missed out while thinking about Dick and his… 'Ugh. Not again. Stop it already.' She admonished herself. "Green signal for what Alfred?"

"For Master Tim to do an independent solitary patrol of the 'Haven."

"Bruce is allowing Tim to go solo? In Bludhaven?" Had the Bat finally flipped his cowl? Tim was a barely...

"By the sound of it-" Alfred cut in, stopping as a jubilant Tim ran past him towards the changing rooms, hooting the entire cave and its residents up. "-I think he just did."

"One second Alfred!" Tim yelled after him. "One whole second. That's how much I beat Dick's first time solo record by. Yes! The winner and newly crowned champion, Tim 'The Wonder Boy' Drake."

"Wonder Boy?" Barbara echoed in surprise. "Since when did he start using that?"

"It's a new one for me too Miss," Alfred's reply held an amused smile. "Last week it was 'Crime Detective', and earlier this week 'Robin of the Night', though both of them met an early demise."

"Oh. Why?" Not having much to do, on either end, the duo were relaxing with the friendly conversation. Well, at least Barbara was. As for Alfred, he was standing ramrod straight, the phone held properly at his right ear.

"For the first one," halting for a second to recall Tim's exact words, Alfred continued, "for the first one he said that it reminded him too much of a certain Mr. McGruff, the Crime Dog. As for the second and I quote, 'Robin plus night equals Night Robin, which will come down to Nightbird.' Since we already have one set of 'wings' flying into the Night, the young master once again set upon his search for a proper title."

'Nightwing.' The name brought back memories of when she had first heard it, when she had first seen him as Nightwing…after the other Titans had already seen it. After Kory had seen it…felt the light sensitive Nomex-Kevlar of the new costume. Felt it on him. Felt him.

Hmph.

"Alfred…" she needed to stop doing this and get out there. Neither Dick nor Bruce had asked her to patrol Bludhaven. What if she was supposedly on a break, they still could have asked her? It would have felt nice. Bruce she could understand. He would never ask anyone to do anything for him, and especially not if it meant for something that either of his sons had asked from him. But Dick? He could have. He should have.

"Yes Miss."

"Tell…Tell Tim to swing by the house on his way to Bludhaven."

"Miss?"

"Tell him I'll be ready and waiting. Don't tell Bruce…or Dick anything about it. Not yet anyway."

A second of silence followed her barely concealed plea.

"Very well miss."

---

A few hours later,

'Oh man, please don't let have anything happened to him.' Feeling his heart jumping up to his throat, Tim pushed his Robin-cycle even faster; his sudden burst of speed causing the Batgirl costume clad Barbara to speed up too to stay along side him.

Cutting through the sparse late night traffic the appropriately colored black and red custom motorcycles tore towards their destination, the last transmitted location of their mentor. As per the signal, he wasn't moving...in fact he hadn't moved for quite some time…For the better part of almost two hours.

They had been near the Bludhaven docks when the call came in, the even toned but, to them, clearly worried informing them about the situation.

That had been twenty-seven minutes ago.

For the Batman to remain in one place or even one pose for long durations of time, it was nothing out of the ordinary. What was odd that unless there had been a last minute change, tonight's patrol wasn't supposed to have any such stakeouts. What was even more surprising was that just before he went offline, Bruce had been talking to Alfred…thinking about returning to the cave. He wanted to run some stress simulations on the design of the next iteration of the Batwing. He was trying to make it to go just that bit faster…half a 'mach' faster. That would once again put the Batwing ahead of the fastest Javelins of the League. Give it back its edge...not to mention allow its owner to fluff up his Bat-chest and fly fast and proud.

"This is all my fault," Barbara caught mumbled self-blame through the two way communication link-up.

"Hey! Blunder Boy," she deliberately yelled out aloud, almost as if was trying to get him to hear without the helmet transmitters. "Stop doing that."

"What!" Though unseen, the scowl was clear to her.

"Stop this 'all my fault' pity party routine. I get more than my limit of this type of whining from Bruce and Dick. I don't want you sending even more my way. So, shut up, button up and get to work."

The awkward silence that followed her outburst almost made Barbara think that maybe she had gone over the line. Tim wasn't like Dick or for that matter Bruce. He was an independent entity…one growing to be his man. Maybe she had…

"Wait till I tell Bruce that you said that he whines…" the still tense but thankfully controlled voice quipped at her. "…and Dick too. You are so gonna get it."

"Yeah yeah whatever." The momentary panic passed, Barbara lightened up too. "We'll see who is gonna get it. Wait till I tell them about how you left those two goons hanging…half submerged in water."

"Hey! Its not like you stopped me or something." Truth be told even though she was teasing him about it, Barbara herself have enjoyed the look on those men's faces when Tim told them that in high-tide sharks roamed those water. She would bet anyone that as soon as they got out of the lockup, they were going to get the next ticket back to where they came from…Star City. Heh, they might even decide to foot it out, anything to get away from Bludhaven, and its Killer Tiger-Squid Sharks.

"Sure thing Wonder Boy?" She teased back, both of them internally thankful of the other's presence. With all but a few miles left until they reached Batman's location. "You know if you are going to use that name you might have to change your costume…and partner."

"Huh?"

"Yup," this was sure to get his goat. "If you plan on going by Wonder Boy, you'll have to trade in your red-yellow-and-blacks for a red-blue-golden ensemble…and maybe even wear a corset." Gotcha kid.

"Huh? Corset? What's a corset?"

When playing a joke on someone, it helps that if that someone is able to get that joke. This is one of the few cardinal rules of joke telling and playing. Behind her full-face black Bat-helmet, Barbara Gordon harrumphed at just having the air let out her joke's proverbial tires.

"Never mind pipsqueak. Just drive."

---

A few minutes later,

"Can you see him?" Pulling up a hair's breath after the older, more experienced Batgirl, Robin pressed the button that caused his grapple rope to pull back and coil inside the gun.

"Nope." Forget Batman, there wasn't even a real bat, or any other creature for that matter, on the roof of tallest building in Gotham, the headquarters of Wayne Enterprises.

Or so they thought.

"Umm-Uhnnn…"

"What's that?" Robin whirled around at the sound.

"What? What's what?" Batgirl hissed. A batarang already in her hand, she instinctively reached for her utility belt, for her personal 'Batgirl-ized' accessory, her Can-o'-Mace. Whoever it was, first she'd hit him, or seeing as it was Gotham, hit her, then mace them and for a coup de grace execute a right hook followed by a solid kick at the back of the knees…or in a man's case, to the groin. Forget the Joker, Riddler, Scarecrow or any one of those punters; that maneuver of hers would even take even Bane down….well, maybe not him, but all the others for sure.

"Uhnn…"

"That." Tim gestured towards a rather dark corner. "Don't you hear…"

"It's a baby," Barbara sprinted towards the direction of the mewling.

'A baby?' Tim rushed after her. 'What would a baby be doing here…and that too at this time of the…'

His thoughts trailed off as nearing Batgirl he saw her straighten up and turn around towards him. Sure enough, as clear as the moon in the night sky, nestled within her arms was a barely six-month-old baby.

As for the sex of the child, its state of dress or rather undress, clearly gave away what sex he was.

"Ooh, he's soooo cute?" Barbara crooned, pushing up her cowl a little bit so that her masked appearance wouldn't scare him. "Ooh, yes you are...yes you…" she tickled under his chin, only to have the baby sneeze and wrestle away from her gloved fingers.

"Hey, stop doing…" Tim admonished her, trailing off midway as he looked around for any clue as to who left this baby here. "Huh!" He moved towards a very familiar looking cape lying on the ground.

Following his gaze, Barbara also caught sight of the cape. "Looks like Batman left him here." Even as she spoke the words, Barbara sensed something not quite right. She knew that no matter how hard and cold he might act and sometimes even be, Bruce would never leave a child this way, unguarded and open to the elements…or worse. If nothing else, he would get it either to the Police or at least to Leslie.

"Yuppp…Uh.' Tim gulped. Still bent over he looked over his shoulder, first at infant then at Barbara and then back at the infant.

A full head of jet-black hair, that strong squared chin that only a Wayne could have, tell tale blue eyes and that inborn piercing stare…

"Oh spit," the realization hitting him like a fully loaded tractor-trailer, Robin feel onto the hard cold concrete, staring dumbly at…at...

"Robin! What happened?" Barbara pulled the baby closer, instinctively closing in on herself in fear of his safety.

"Tha-That Th…" the teenager gulped his eyes once again doing the whole baby-Batgirl-baby-ground-baby routine. "That baby…"

"What about the baby?" Barbara queried. Lifting the infant up to get a better look, she was just checking for any injuries when Tim dropped the bomb on her…the revelation almost making her drop the baby herself.

Drop Baby Bruce.

"That's Batman." Tim exclaimed, his voice coming out in a choked squeak. "That's Bruce." He clarified softly.

"Wha-Oh…" Barbara stared at the tights, tunic and utility belt that Tim held up in his hands. "Oh God!"

"We are so…"

---

"And that's how we found him and brought him back to the manor," back in the present, Tim finished telling Superman, Wonder Woman and the other present Leaguers what all he knew about the rather peculiar condition of his mentor. "Babs…I mean Batgirl, she had to go back home, and with Nightwing away with the Titans, well, the rest is all Alfred's doing…" he looked gratefully at the aging Alfred, who even despite cradling the young Master still managed to look both caring and sternly-proper, both at the same time.

"So you don't know who…" Glancing at the infant that until a few hours ago had been the dreaded Dark Knight, he hesitated while collecting the right words. "…who did this to Bruce?"

"No Sir," the teenager shook his head, not even noticing the 'sir' slip into his response.

"So…hmm," Wally trotted up to Alfred and looked over his shoulder, feeling rather stupid at the nervousness rising within him, that special one that he attributed solely to his proximity to Batman. "What do we call him now?" he grinned at the confused look from his teammates. "Well, we can't call him Batman. Maybe Bat-Bab-"

"WAAHHHH-UuaANNHH," he didn't even get to finish his sentence, his words drowning as the cries of Baby Bruce reverberated through the room.

"What?" Shocked silly at the child's outburst, Wally himself looked ready to burst into tears. "What'd I do? I swear I didn't…"

"Ahem," Drawing baby Bruce closer, Alfred amicably but clearly put some definitive distance between him, his charge and the 'pushing the panic button' Wally. "Master West…your mask if you will."

"What? Oh, this?" A swift swipe and the mask was off. "Sorry. Guess he got scared, huh? Sorry. Wait a minute…" a grin lit up his face. "He's scared? He's scared of me. Hey guys, guess what. I just scared the Batman…the Batman is scared of me. Huh, huh!"

"Sure thing jiminy," -WHACK- Green Lantern, John Stewart put in his two cents, along with a green-handed smack to the back of the head of his younger teammate. "Stop scarin' the kid."

"Hey!" Wally exclaimed, only to cover once again as renewed cried sounded from the baby.

"Wally!" Clark's voice and tone carried all the effect of a father warning to a rather frisky child.

"Uh-sorry big guy," and just like a child reacting to his old man's warning, Wally West, the Flash, the Fastest Man Alive, quickly apologized and quietly occupied the empty space next to Tim.

"J'onn?" Superman turned to his Martian teammate, hoping to get some telepathic insight into what had occurred with Bruce.

As for Diana, all through Robin's recounting of the last few hours and then Wally's antics her eyes had been intently gazing in rapt wonder at Bruce. Even though she knew that she should be worried about his condition, and worried she was…yet there was something within her, a kind of insider knowledge, which told her that everything would work out in the end.

'After all, it is the Batman,' she mused, smiling as little chubby hands reached up to grab the adult fingers that were fixing the his blanket.

Getting up, she excused herself from her conversing teammates and hesitantly headed towards the duo in the opposite corner, stopping short as a pair of bright blue eyes turned towards her and instead of leaving, stuck on her…almost as if trying to draw up an old lost memory, one that would bring some recognition about who she was.

For a second, at least to Diana, it looked as if the infant would burst out into tears again. Instead, her flashed her a soft smile, closed his eyes and a couple of seconds later was off sound asleep.

"He's looks so peacef-" Diana started to whisper to Alfred, and as with Flash her voice too got drowned by another one, one that not only woke Bruce up but also caused the others to react quickly, each one of them preparing to face the intruder….all except J'onn. Grasping his head he doubled over, just missing hitting the ground as Clark reachd down and grabbed him.

BHWOOSSHHH

"Finally." A high pitched voice sounded from within the fast dissipating smoke. "I was getting bored waiting for so long. So? Who got…oh hey! It's the green one. Nice."

Even as she turned towards the intruder, Diana face contorted into an angrry scowl, her hands balling into white-knuckle fists. 'What is she doing here?'

"Circe!"

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Note: Yeah yeah, I know this is supposed to be my 'light' fic, but there's gotta be some drama. Suffice to say that it won't get more angsty than this…at least not until the end. Even then…nah, this level is just fine.

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