10. Of Fathers and Sons
Summary: Don't feel like writing one. The title is clear enough.
"Richard Grayson. I have an appointment," the informally dressed by dashing form of Dick 'Nightwing' Grayson winked at his father, Bruce Wayne's secretary.
"Oh, good morning Mr. Grayson," being comparatively new to the job, the younger but still older than Dick woman blushed deeply, her shaking hand reaching for the intercom button. "I'll just…."
A firm hand still her movement. "Its Dick, not Mr. Grayson," deep blue eyes mesmerized her. If something was common between the father-son duo, well apart from their pendent for dressing in tights and fighting crime, their dedication, their fighting skills….etc, etc. it was the way they could literally charm the pants of any woman. "And don't worry about ringing me in, he already knows I am here."
"Yes, of course Mr. Gra…I mean Dick," the woman nodded her head, a single thought running through her mind, 'Where do these men get their looks from? First the father, whew, and now the son, wow.'
Lost in her own musing, she didn't notice that the guest had already left her desk and was entering into the office of the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and one of the richest men in the World.
----
"Oh, tomorrow huh," Bruce Wayne was busy talking on the phone, his back to the door. However, even then, as if by some superhuman power, he detected the silent footfalls, his mind instantly concluding who it was, Dick. Raising his hand, he waved his son over, while continuing to put on his flippant playboy attitude for the party on the other end of the phone line. "Sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to make it. I am leaving for a weekend vacation today and won't be back until next Monday. Oh, I know its Wednesday, but you know me, I get tired with all this work. Oh, not a redhead this time…..simple black hair, but two of them…."
Dick smirked and shook his head. It had stopped being a surprise as to how Bruce could put on a show and change personalities at a flip of a button. However, the amusement factor was still going strong, and would go on for quite some time….most probably ever.
"Yeah, I've got it all planned out," Bruce was building up on this plans with the two supposed guests at his mountain retreat, two raven haired models…twins no less. "Its going to be great. You just join us sometime…..maybe even ask your wife to join us," that was the clincher, as it sounded the death knell for the conversation. "Ok, take care. See you soon." Click.
-----
"You are late," the whole tone, demeanor and body language changed as the chair turned around, a seemingly sort of shadow descending on the man seated in it.
"Yeah, good morning to you to," Dick was used to this, and it didn't affect him any more….well, almost never.
Pressing a button, Bruce cut off his office from the rest of the building. No one could get in or out and there no surveillance on it. He had designed it as such, and the reason he gave was that sometimes he had guests over….during the day…the entertaining kind of guests. Famous for his Don Juan and eccentric ways, no one batted an eye at the unusual arrangement. After all, no one wanted to walk in on their boss getting his rocks off with the bimbo of the week.
"What did Tim tell you?" The tone was all business and all Bat, however, as they were in the office, and even though it had the strictest security, they still refrained from using codenames.
"Well," Dick started a detailed description of the events of the previous night. "He knows something is going on with you, or at your end, in the basement and/or manor. He has been able to discern that much. On that, he got from Cassie what Dinah had told Babs about what went up there, " he pointed towards the roof, his gesture was for the watchtower. "It seems Ollie talked to her."
"I had guessed as much," Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow had been the weak link in the chain locking in the secret of a second Diana being there.
"Yean, he did," Dick nodded and carried on. "Ollie told Dinah about there being a second one," neither the name Wonder Woman nor Diana was mentioned by either Bruce or Dick. "Tim's noticed that you have been off and have taken two consecutive breaks, and is what set off his alarms. That and the fact that you told him to coordinate with Cassie."
"Hmm," Bruce crossed his arms. He would have to go on patrol tonight and run Robin through a couple of strenuous practice sessions. That should be enough to sedate his curiosity. Although he trusted all his team-members, and by team-members, he meant the members of the Bat-clan, he wanted to keep this alternate Diana business as quiet as possible, not only because of any chance of a villain coming to know about it and trying to make use of it, not only because of the possibility that she might be a rogue, or might know rogues who would then attack the mansion, but also because of her claim that she knew….she was engaged to the Alternate Bruce Wayne and was pregnant with twins. That bit of news had the possibility of blowing up the life both Bruce Wayne and Batman….the one in this world, namely HIM.
"He's also seen the change with Alfred," Dick was almost at the end. "He knows that Alfred knows and that he is hiding it."
-----
At getting no further questions or replies or clarifications from his adopted father, Dick put up a question of his own, the question that had been on his mind….ever since Batman had contacted him on their private frequency and told him that the cave and manor was off limits for the next few days. He had also let him know that if either Tim or Barbara asked any questions, Nightwing was just to avoid them and let them know that he would look into it. He didn't group Cassie with the others, because he knew that Batgirl wouldn't be the one to come up with any ideas and/or questions.
"Bruce, what is this all about?"
The look that greeted that question was another patent one of the Batman. Having spent years with the Dark Knight, Dick could grasp and follow the minute changes in his mentor's expressions, and from what he was getting now, he knew that there was an internal battle raging within the man sitting before him, and while one side of him wanted to take his younger ex-partner into confidence, another part wanted to keep things as they were….closed and isolated.
"Bruce, we have had our….disagreements," Dick finally adopted his Nightwing voice and decided to make the first move. "Yet, I have always stood by you and honored the trust you placed….place in me. However, if I don't know what secret I am guarding, how do you expect me to keep the others away. Babs is going to find out…sooner or later she will. As yet, the story is that, it is some sort of shape-changer. That is what it seems you guys fooled Ollie into believing, and that is what Dinah, Babs, Cassie and Tim know. However, I don't believe that to be the case."
'You don't?' The raised eyebrow of the older man seemed to ask.
"Alfred is the odd man out," Dick pointed out the involvement of the Wayne's butler, his next words revealing that he had done some digging of his own. "And so is Leslie."
At the reaction he got he continued further. "I did some digging of my own. Nurse Jenkins gave me a nice tidbit of information. It seems that Leslie has taken up temporary residence in the manor."
"Yes," Bruce gave a single nod. From all he had heard, he had reached a decision, but was delaying so that he could see how far had his best and oldest student gone by himself. "And…"
"And, we all know how Leslie feels towards our line of work," that was polite and cleverly disguised way of saying, Leslie Thompkins liked the Batman as much as she liked real bats, which was not all that much. "So, unless it is Alfred who is sick, which I know he is not. If that would have been the case, you would have contacted all of us and you wouldn't have been here in the first place to begin with. You wouldn't have left the mansion until the time he had recovered. It cannot be you, because you are here and if something had happened to you, Alfred would have done the same and called us."
"Go on," Dick clenched his teeth. The great detective was milking him for information. 'Ok, Bruce lets do it your way,' he thought and carried on.
"And last but not the least, you seemed to have forgotten….no you don't forget and you don't neglect….hmm, maybe except in this case," Dick felt like rubbing his hands in glee. "You do know who my two best friends in the superhero community and overall are. Don't you?"
Bruce gave a silent nod. Wally West, Flash and Donna Troy, Wonder Girl, those were the two people in question. One of them was present personally on the watchtower, and the other…well, the other had a direct, irrefutable source, her sister, Diana. The same Diana, who right now was in his house, keeping and eye on her double.
"What did they tell you?" Batman needed to know where the leaks were…..and had to do something to plug them.
"Don't worry, Wally didn't say anything," Dick decided to take the speedster first; after all he was currently a league member and would be facing the Batman directly. "If it wasn't me or you, no one could make heads or tails or what he told me, and even I made the connections after Donna told me…after I got Donna to tell me about Diana's recent move to the manor. She only told me because she thought that if you hadn't told me already, you would, so there wouldn't be any harm in her telling me in the first place."
Once again, silence reigned in the room, broken only by Dick's so tell me Bruce, comment.
Reaching forward, Bruce pressed a button to disengage the security locks and another to call his secretary. "Crystal."
"Yes Mr. Wayne," the female voice squeaked from the other side of the door.
"Cancel all my appointments for today and forward any incoming calls to Lucious."
"Yes sir," that ended the conversation.
Standing up from his plush leather chair, he started towards the door, Dick walking by his side. He was going to show him what the whole deal was.
"Dick."
"Yes Bruce."
"Keep this to yourself."
"Do you even need to say that?"
"No, I guess not."
"I know, just as I know its your habit to say it."
Silence
"Just like this."
"Just walk."
-----
Elsewhere, (on the 'Animated' earth)
"What do you want?" Batman growled at the darkness, his words drawing out a blue and black clad figure.
"Bruce," Nightwing, stepped out of the shadows and towards his mentor, his hand rising to rest on the older man's shoulder stilling his movements.
"What do you want?" The same blunt tone asked the same question for the second time, gloved fists tightening at his sides.
"I….we, we want to help," Nightwing took off his mask. "Help in finding Diana and getting her back."
"No," came the clipped answer. Trying to break away from his son's grip, Batman found that it too had firmed up.
"Bruce…..please," this time it was a son talking to his father. "You can do all the analysis yourself; just let us help by doing the rest, by doing what we can. We want to help."
Getting no answer except for the slumping of previously squared shoulders, Dick get go of the caped crusader, and spoke into his communicator. "Alfred."
Seconds later the mechanical whine of the elevator sounded through the cave, ending with an audible and echoing thump. As the door opened, three familiar forms came into view, Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain and Barbara Gordon, Robin, Batgirl and Oracle, respectively.
They had given their mentor the time they felt was appropriate for him, not to grieve or steel himself, but to do a major part of the work, not because they couldn't do it, but because they knew he wouldn't let anyone else do it….not even the most skilled detective among them, Dick.
Taking the lead once again, Dick stepped forward, speaking both for him and for the others accompanying him.
"We will get her back Bruce."
Note: Ok, I always wanted to do a good Bruce-Dick scene. They work so well together...the quintessential 'Dynamic Duo'.
Hope you liked it. Review an' let me know!
