13. Twos and Threes
Summary: Surprises on both sides.
Late Morning at Wayne Manor,
"Superman was here," Dick Grayson leaned against the back of his chair. Having just gotten up from sleep, seated in the small round table in the main kitchen, he was discussing the man of steel's second visit to Gotham in a week.
"He knows?" Tim Drake questioned and made a face at himself at the duh, looks he got from the others in the kitchen, and his own realization at the sheer redundancy of his words.
"He knows," Cassandra Cain nodded. Still not used to her recently gained power of speech, she kept her verbal communication to a minimum, preferring to use smaller single syllable words.
"What did he want?" Tim turned to the older Dick, who pushed his shoulder length hair from his face, and took a sip of the hot, scalding 'Batclan special' wake-me-up coffee, the caffeine jolt jarring him awake.
"Nothing, just wanted to know if we found anything….or if we need his help or have any options in mind."
"And…." Tim asked expecting more.
"And, I told him that he would have to ask B about that," Dick repeated the cryptic answer he had given the Kryptonian. In a way, it was the truth. Even though, Dick, Tim, Cassie, Barbara an Alfred, all five members of the Wayne household currently present in the room knew that Batman still had a few tricks above his sleeve, they did not knew what his next move was, except for whatever it was, he was going to make it soon. He had started on it after the previous night's patrol and had been working non-stop ever since. The others would have offered to help, if they knew what to help with and if Batman had not ordered all of them out of the cave.
"What do you think he is doing down there?" Barbara questioned, her green silk gown loosely fastened at her waist. She had her trusty laptop in her lap and with the wireless connection built into her special wheelchair; she was keeping up with her Oracle work.
"Who knows?" Tim answered. Looking at Dick and Alfred, the redhead got the same answer.
"Whatever it is, he'll let us know," the teenaged Robin shrugged. "Won't he?"
"If he wants to," Dick spoke from years of experience. "What say, Alf?"
"Indeed master Dick," the kindly butler spoke from years of experience.
"Hey Cassie," Tim turned to the raven haired Cassandra. "Did something happen yesterday night? Something special?"
An arched eyebrow indicated her question, what do you mean?
"I mean, something that shocked him, did he find something overtly interesting, other than the usual obsessive way," Tim elaborated.
"No," Cassandra shook her head. For the past four days, the diminutive but lethal Batgirl had been her mentor's proverbial shadow. It had been Batman's orders for her, and wasn't his life that he was worried about, but Diana. Until he found his fiancé, the Dark Knight had not only to stay alive; he had to stay alive for her. For that purpose, Batgirl was instructed to never outside a ten-second range from him at anytime during their patrolling hours.
An electronic crackle followed by the guttural voice of the master of the house interrupted them, drawing each of theirs attention to the intercom.
"Its ready. Come down," was all was said before a second crackle ended the communicate.
"Let's go people," everyone was up in an instant, except for Barbara, who wheeled herself to the hidden elevator in the kitchen.
"Let's see what's ready."
-----
On, the other side of the dimensional split,
Dick Grayson, adopted son of Bruce Wayne, the alter ego of the costumed vigilante Nightwing, had just wrapped up his nightly patrol and returned to Gotham. Officer Grayson of the Bludhaven Police Department had taken a day off from his day job. 'Family problem,' that was his excuse….Family Curiosity was the real thing.
/Flashback (Previous Afternoon)/
After leaving his office, Bruce Wayne and his son had taken what was in their case a very uncommon and entire unexpected, lunch….together. It had been Bruce's way of getting Dick alone, away from his office, but not at the manor….not yet anyway. Not before, he had prepared him for what awaited him there. Even then, his hints and explanations had been vague.
When they finally did get to the manor and Bruce revealed the secret he had been hiding, Dick's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
It had started in a simple enough manner, with Bruce telling Dick to go the manor's library.
"You'll see when you get there," Bruce's words and the amused smirk not only on his face but also on Alfred's told Dick that it wasn't just a book or something like that.
"Where's Diana?" He looked around, ever vigilant of the fact that the two older man were staying a couple of steps behind him. 'I don't like surprises, I don't like….' He kept on mumbling the whole way there.
Reaching the library, he wasn't surprised to see Diana there, although for a second he thought that she looked as if she had put on some weight.
'Yeah rigggghhht!' He told himself. 'Like Wonder Woman is going to gain weight.'
--
"Wonder Woman," he greeted the plain clothed Wonder Woman.
"Hello Dick," Diana looked up from the book she was reading. Returning the infectious smile Dick flashed at her; she closed the book and got up to meet him.
Taking a couple of steps towards the Amazonian Princess, Dick started to say something…something that he forgot the next instant.
"Hello Dick," he was taken aback at Diana's second greeting, his confusion turning into shock when he realized that the second greeting hadn't come from the woman in front of his eyes, but from someone standing behind him. Either Diana had learned ventriquilism, or…..Whirling around to face the intruder; he nearly fell over himself at the sight before him. Standing, not even five feet from him was a second Diana, a Diana, who, except for the clothes she was wearing, was exactly like the one now behind her.
"Wh…wha…" his head darted between the door Diana and the other Diana, his momentarily stunned mind taking a couple of seconds to catch up. Finally finding his voice, he turned to father, a realization of what Ollie had told Dinah lighting up his face, he blurted out.
"Holy double vision Batman."
---
After the initial shock, things had gone smoothly, with Bruce explaining to him that the other Diana was 'supposedly' from another dimension and that during a fight against Toyman she had been somehow sent through the dimensional barrier into their world. What Bruce failed to mention was the relation this Diana had with the Batman on her world.
Suspecting something more, especially from the amused headshakes, he was getting from Alfred and both Dianas, Dick had promptly asked his question. "Is that everything?
"No." The reluctance in Bruce's voice did not go unnoticed by his son. "There is one …two other things."
"What are they?" Dick's natural curiosity raised its head.
"Ask her," Bruce gestured towards the new Diana.
"Yes Wonder Woman," Dick was still confused as to how to address the two Wonder Women.
"On my world….on the earth I come from," Diana's eyes flitted towards Bruce. "My I am engaged to be married."
"Oh…Wow. Good for you," Dick still didn't realize what was so special about that. Okay he never gave much thought to it, but if her twin, his friend and teammate Donna could get married, then why not Diana.
"I am engaged to…" Diana was getting a kick out of this, a feeling that her unborn children seemed to share. "Bruce Wayne….to Batman."
"Huhn," Dick's mind went blank, as he repeated his earlier ping-pong spectator action, his head alternating between Bruce and Diana. "Oh….huh….Oh. You….you…"
Deciding not to prolong his stunned state, Diana revealed the other thing Bruce had hinted about.
"And we are expecting twins."
---
"WHAT!" This got a clear and nicely yelled out reaction as the already frazzled Dick, almost fell out of the chair he was sitting on.
"I had the same reaction Master Dick," even Alfred seemed to be taking equal amusement at his predicament.
"You are going to have kids?" Dick's words were both Bruce and Diana…both Dianas.
"Yes," the pregnant one answered with a bemused yet motherly smile.
"Not me," the other one shook her head.
"With the OTHER Bruce Wayne," the Bat answered for the billionaire.
"Hmmm…okay," the younger man nodded in understanding. His lips curving up in a smile, his eyes lit up with their usual mischief. "So, let me get this straight," he turned to the new Diana. 'Now I get it,' he recalled his thought of her being heavier. "You, who I take are Wonder Woman on your earth….you are engaged to the Bruce Wayne on YOUR world," he stressed on your, for the benefit of the Bruce Wayne in the room and to yank his chain.
"Yes," Diana nodded.
"And you are going to have kids, not one but two of them," two fingers were lifted up.
"Yes," another nod from the raven-haired beauty.
"Hmmm…wow," a full-fledged grin formed on the young man's face this time. "Princess Diana of Themiscyra and Bruce Wayne, Wonder Woman and Batman, who would have thought….I wouldn't have thought that."
"You will keep this to yourself," Bruce's words came like a cold shower.
"I know that," slightly irritated at being reminded again, Dick shrugged it off. He was too amused and happy for that. "Anything else?"
"Else?" Diana looked at him, her brow creased in confusion.
"Anything else that is different about the world you come from. I mean…." His police communicator going off interrupted his sentence. "Sorry," he apologized and stepped out of the room.
---
Returning a minute later, he apologized once again. An emergency had come up and he had to report back.
"I'll swing by later," he started to say, but realized that he wouldn't have the time to do so. After his shift ended, his night-wing shift would begin. "Uh…tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow."
/End Flashback/
---
'Almost there,' Dick smiled to himself. 'Just one detour and I'm there.'
"Hey, beautiful," he stopped in front a raven-haired beauty standing on the curb of a near empty street. "Want a ride?"
"Is that the best you can do?" Twin sapphire orbs stared at him from behind dark glasses.
"Hey, it worked with the others," the pseudo-Casanova act was still on. "So, what do you say?"
"I say, you are ten minutes late," all seriousness gone, the woman flew over to the other side of the car and got in. "Now step on it."
"Aw come on Donna, give me a break."
-----
Back on the other Earth (JLU Animated Earth),
"You think this will work?" Tim whispered to the taller man standing next to him.
"He thinks so," Dick answered, his eyes glued to the humongous screen of the Bat-computer.
Summoned into the cave, they were surprised at the mechanical contraption that greeted them. Neither Tim nor Dick had ever seen it…..only Alfred and him too only once.
Suddenly the static on the screen was replaced by a face….a familiar masked face. It was the face of the man seated in front of the computer, except that it wasn't him.
"Never expected to see you again," the other Batman easily covered on his surprise at seeing his 'League' twin.
"How are the others?" It was clear that the conversation was just known to the two men having it. The onlookers just stared dumbly at the Batman on the screen, his uniform slightly different from the one present with them.
"Still de-powered," came the blunt answer. "What do you want?" Straight to the point.
"I need your help."
Note: Well, if the holy double vision got you….try triples. Who is this third Batman? You know him, you've seen him….and the hint I gave is clear enough.
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