Bruce never explicitly tried to keep any of his boys' adoptions a secret. It was pointless. The media always found out. But at the same time, he avoided taking the boys out so soon after their adoptions for fear of the paparazzi overwhelming them with questions and flashing lights.
Unfortunately, he didn't have much of a choice this time. Alfred had offered to volunteer at Dr. Leslie Thompkins' clinic for the day, and Bruce couldn't keep delegating his duties at Wayne Enterprises.
"No offense Bruce but I hate your office." Jason muttered, rubbing the forming bruise from the cheek pinching secretaries. "I don't understand why we're here at all." Damian sulked as he slumped into a chair. "Mother used to leave me on my own for weeks on end."
"Well you're not with your Mother now. None of you boys are responsible enough to left home alone." Bruce told them and sat at his desk. "But your office is boring." Tim whined. "Can we at least hang around the city for a few hours? Please Dad?" Dick begged just as eager to get out of the office as his brothers.
Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. On the one hand, he didn't like the idea of his boys walking around Gotham unsupervised and especially didn't like the idea of letting Damian out of his sight on the boy's first day in public.
But on the other hand, he needed to get some work done, and there was no way that was going to happen with the boys around. "Alright, but keep your phones on. And Tim and Damian, hold your brother's hands."
Damian mumbled something about useless precautions for children, but the older boys nodded their agreement and dragged him to the elevators. "I'll text Barbara to meet us at the arcade." Dick said on their way down.
"I hardly see how wandering aimlessly through the city will be any more interesting than staying in Father's office." Damian complained. "Like it or not, Little D, you're one of us now." Jason grinned. "That means you're gonna be in public with civilians."
Damian made a face at that. He already wasn't too fond of having to interact with his brothers on a daily basis. He didn't even want to imagine what school with common simpletons would be like. "Come on Dami. You gotta learn how to play nice." Tim told him.
"Hey Tim!" An energetic voice called from down the block. The boys turned and saw Stephanie running to meet them. Tim immediately pulled his hand from Jason's and shoved it into his pocket.
Steph nodded hello to Dick and Jason before noticing Damian. "You must be the new little brother I heard about." She smiled down at him before giving Tim a light punch in the arm. "I thought you said he was vicious. He's adorable." She laughed and ruffled Damian's hair before anyone could stop her.
Damian squirmed away from her. "Touch me again, and I'll kill you." He threatened. Most people would have taken aback by such a remark, but Stephanie was not most people. "Sorry Dami-Baby, but it's gonna take more than that to get rid of me." She grinned.
Stephanie called her mom to let her know she'd be spending the rest of the day with the Waynes and Barbara, and they headed to the arcade. The perfect place to let Damian get accustomed to being around other people.
Under normal circumstances, they would have spent the majority of their time playing games, racking up high scores, and winning prizes, but today their focus was teaching the youngest Wayne that he could not say and do whatever he pleased just because he was capable of fighting anyone who opposed him.
After stopping the fifth fight of the day, Barbara suggested they go and get lunch before they got kicked out. The kids all agreed on pizza and headed to a parlor down the street.
As they sat down, Damian realized he'd forgotten to get something to drink and went to choose one. Once he found something to his liking, he headed back to their table when someone bumped right into his shoulder and kept walking.
Damian charged out the door after his 'attacker' despite his brother's shouts to come back. Damian saw the man slip down an ally, but he was gone without a trace by the time he rounded the corner. The footsteps behind him alerted Damian that he was no longer alone.
"What were you thinking?" Grayson scolded as he and the others caught up. "I was attacked." Damian insisted, not seeing what they were so upset about. "You were not attacked." Drake said, rolling his eyes. "He just bumped into you."
"He needed to be taught a lesson." Damian huffed. "You can't just run off by yourself like that." Barbara told him. "Gotham is dangerous, no matter what time of day."
"You should listen to the girl." A gruff voice sneered from behind them. The kids all whipped around to see a tall, dark figure in a ski mask pointing a gun at them. "Hands where I can see 'em." He ordered, and everyone complied. Everyone except Damian.
There was only one opponent. Even if the others weren't as skilled fighters as he was, the gunman was still outnumbered. Why were they surrendering? He glanced at Grayson, hoping to get the signal for a strategic attack. Instead, his eyes were pleading the younger boy to cooperate.
Damian raised his hands over his head. The gunman marched them down the ally to a van waiting at the other end.
III
The kids all kept quiet as the van drove for what felt like an eternity.
The three older boys had been kidnapped for ransom dozens of times, and the girls were both level-headed enough not to panic. When their transport finally stopped, the young hostages were forced into a cage in the corner of the room.
"Hey Boss! We got 'em!" The man who'd been driving yelled. A tall man with dark eyes and a scarred face came in and looked from his lackies to their captives. "Why are there so many?" He barked at his men. "Wayne don't have this many brats."
"The littlest one's new. Wayne's bastard." The driver replied, and it was only Dick's hand clamping over Damian's mouth that kept the boy quiet. "And them?" The boss demanded, eyeing Stephanie and Barbara. "I know Wayne ain't got no girls."
"Please just let them go. Their parents don't have any ransom money." Tim dared to pipe up. The gunman reached for his weapon, but the boss stopped him. The last thing they needed was damaged goods. The kidnappers left the kids to stew for a while before they made the ransom call.
"Just when I thought you couldn't be any more pathetic." Damian hissed once he was sure their captors were out of earshot. "We could have easily overpowered the fool in the ally. But you let him take us to a secondary location. You disgrace my Father's legacy."
"You just don't get it, do you?" Dick chastised, and Damian stepped back, startled by Grayson's sudden loss of temper. "How do you think it would look if a few kids took out an armed man? People would ask questions." The oldest boy continued to berate.
"I-I did not consider this." Damian said softly. "You would have if you'd quit being such a thick-headed prick." Jason snapped. "You have to pick your battles." Stephanie chimed in. "If you don't, you put everyone in danger." Tim finished.
Damian nodded meekly, feeling very small under the glares of his older brothers and pseudo sisters. "I understand." He whispered. "You'll learn soon enough." Barbara assured him. "For now, we need to get out of here."
A quick sweep of their cage revealed no weak spots in the bars, and there was nothing within reach they could use to pick the locks. "It looks like we're gonna need them to let us out." Dick muttered. "Protocol Circa Beta." The others nodded.
Just as they had practiced maneuvers for patrol, the Wayne children had come up with ways to get out of daily scenarios ranging from class to hostage situations. Circa Beta was decidedly Damian's least favorite.
III
"What's with this racket?!" The gunman demanded in response to the sudden wailing he'd heard from his captives. The kids were still huddled in their cage, looking back at him with wide, scared eyes. The littlest boy was curled up in one of the bigger boys' laps and was bawling into his chest.
The kidnapper grinned wickedly. "Aw, is this baby's first ransom? Does the baby want his daddy?" He sneered, rattling the cage. The little boy didn't look up, and the tormenter grimaced. "Hey, pipe down ya little brat, or I'll give ya something to cry about." The boy still did not look up.
The gunman slammed his weapon onto a table, snatched a ring of keys from the far wall, and stalked over to the cage. As soon as the lock clicked open, the girls sprang up and tackled the man to the ground. Jason went straight for the gun and kept it trained on their former captor.
The other boys did a sweep of the perimeter before declaring the area clear. With the boss and the driver passed out in the next room, escaping for the dingy warehouse was child's play.
"Gotta say," Steph grinned once they stopped a few blocks away. "That crying was pretty believable Dami."
"Your's and Gordon's takedown was proficient as well." Damian complimented. "Don't pat yourself on the back just yet. We still need to get back to the main part of the city." Tim reminded.
The kidnappers had been smart enough to empty their wallets, but after a bit of scrounging, they did manage to scrape together just enough for bus fare. While it was hardly the fastest way home, the long ride gave them time to concoct good cover stories for the girls.
"I love hanging out with you guys." Stephanie whispered to Tim as the bus pulled up to her stop. "Never a dull moment."
Damian fought to keep his eyes open, but the lulling motion of the bus ride was getting harder to resist. "You know, no one would question a civilian kid taking a nap." Dick whispered to his little brother.
Damian gave him a contented nod as he leaned over to use his shoulder as a pillow.
III
"Where have you four been?" Bruce demanded as his boys slipped into his office. The sun was starting to dip behind the buildings, and he had been calling their phones non-stop for the past hour. "Our batteries died." Jason shrugged his boldfaced lie.
"Sorry Dad. We had to walk slow the last couple of blocks. Didn't wanna wake Dami." Dick said, shifting his resting brother in his arms. Bruce retched out and took his youngest son from his oldest, cradling him close to his chest.
"He actually let you pick him up?" Bruce smiled, almost not believing this peaceful child could be his son. Dick smiled back. "He had a long first day out."
