24. Meet the Kids

Summary: Memory of a happier time…hope for the future.


Standing before the full-length mirror, in the process of fixing his, for once, gel-free hair, Tim Drake cursed as a pair of larger, stronger hands yanked him away and to the side.

"Hey!" The protest went unheeded as Dick Grayson stepped up the mirror and began fixing his own tie.

"Butt out pipsqueak."

"Hey, its my room," Tim protested, trying unsuccessfully to get some mirror-space. "Alfred!"

Standing a few feet from them, with two lovely ladies by his side, one seated on a wheelchair and the second, younger one, just a foot away from her, the Wayne family butler looked less like an actual butler and more like a grandfather, which when all was said and done, he was. Having raised Bruce Wayne, and then his eldest son, Richard and now Tim and Cassandra, Alfred had got pretty used to these displays of boisterous camaraderie. While Cassandra spent most of her time at the Clocktower with Barbara, and Dick in Bludhaven, Tim was a permanent resident of the manor, one of the three people living in the seventy-five room manor. That is without counting the two ballrooms, three dining rooms, two libraries, one mini-weapons-museum, arts museum, two media rooms, two industrial capacity kitchens, spa, a mini sports complex, three swimming pools; one conference room and last but not the least the two living rooms, and Bruce Wayne's private study, which was attached to one of the libraries, his personal one.

All that, and the over dozen leveled Batcave….and only three people.

---

"Master Richard," although his voice carried no admonishment, the fact that he had used his proper name was signal enough for Dick.

"Sorry mom," Dick flashed a sheepish grin. However, even as he stepped away from the mirror, he upsided the back of Tim's head, his actions eliciting yet another volley of complaints from the youngster.

"Why didn't you get ready at your place?" Tim complained as he set about at fixing his 'do'.

"Yeah, well…" A knowing smile passed between Dick and Barbara. Only recently embarking on an intimate relationship, the couple spent a lot of time together…well, just like any new couple….one who fights crime. Even though the attraction had always been there, even when Barbara was still a sophomore at Gotham University and Dick was just finishing up at Hudson. The only reason they did not act on it, was Dick's falling out with Bruce. It all ended one dark night when finally having had enough; Dick struck out at his mentor, both figuratively as well as physically. The simple fact that Barbara told Bruce before she told Dick about her being Batgirl and that Bruce already knew about it but kept it from Dick, only added to the proverbial shit hitting the fan.

What happened that night took years to recover from….and even then, things weren't' the same again. Dick never wore the Robin costume again. Tim held that mantle now. Not only did he walk away from the Batman that night, he walked away from everything that was there in his life…a life attached with the Batman and Bruce Wayne and everything that came along with it….came around it….including Barbara.

He moved to San Francisco, to the Teen Titans, and six months later; six months after Robin appeared for the last time, a new costumed hero, the black and blue clad, Nightwing made his appearance….and so did a new woman in his life, Koriand'r. An alien princess from the planet Tamaran, Koriand'r….Kory to her friends, had had an association with Dick for as long, if not more, as Barbara…and just as with Barbara, the undercurrent of romantic attraction had always been there between the two, something to which their teammates, Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg would whole heartedly attest to.

It would be quite sometime before Dick, as Nightwing would return to Gotham. In that time, he not only came into his own as a man, he also established himself in and as the protector of Bludhaven, Gotham's sister city to the south…and joined its Police Force.

----

Time passed and it was just three months now that the couple finally picked up from where they so abruptly left off. Although they had mended some fences and their friendship, things did not move on the other side…until now. Invited back to her world, Starfire had taken the Titans with her. Once there things took an ugly turn when in accordance with her parents' wishes and their promise to the warring side….Kory acceded and had to marry the son of the other king. Broken hearted at angry at just about everyone, Dick left Tamaran…but not before saying some things to Koriand'r that he now felt sorry about. What he realized now, and what in his anger and pain he missed out then, was that even after suffering so much as a child, the fact that Kory still retained her innocence was a marvel….and just as she did not change that way, so didn't her love and obedience towards her parents. It was for that love and her responsibility towards their kingdom that she sacrificed her personal happiness…and her love.

Her haunted cries calling after him still echoed in his ears and it would be a year before Dick was finally able to move on…even if it were still not complete. Although his first love had been Barbara, his first true…complete love had been Starfire. With her, he gained a sort of maturity that he would always be thankful for, a maturity that was helping him now…in his renewed relationship with Barbara.

As for Barbara, just as she knew Dick's love for her, she also knew that even after the way things ended between Dick and Koriand'r, and even with her still being on Tamaran, the two of them still cared about each other, having established a place in the other's heart that they would retain….till the end of their days.

----

"When is Bruce getting here anyway?" Finally finishing with his tie, Dick turned to Alfred to get his tie knot checked. It was a habit formed over years….that even now, made an occasional appearance.

"He is currently on his way back from New York," Alfred updated the others on Bruce's whereabouts. Even though, he had already informed them about his being in New York, he had neglected to mention his business there…knowing that it would automatically be associated with some matters of Wayne Enterprises. The real reason, both for Bruce's seemingly impromptu visit to New York and an organized family meal, was in fact something entirely different…and one involving a certain Amazonian Princess.

---

"He's going to be alone, right?" Tim piped up, yet another dollop of gel in his hand. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

"What do you mean?" Dick's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "This is a family affair. Right Alfred?"

"Y…."

"You remember the last time such a family affair happened?" Tim beat him to the punch. At the confused looks he got, he elaborated. "Remember Susan?"

"Yuck!" Barbara blanched at the name.

"The plant lady." Dick surmised with a smirk. "With an emphasis on the plant than on the lady."

"Yeah, well, remember how he was with her?" Tim shuddered at the memory. "Remember how lovey-dovey, how ooh-and-ahh, and how these and that…."

"Enough with it boy dunderhead," Barbara cut into his impromptu theatrics. "Get on with it."

"What I mean is…" Tim heaved a heavy sigh. "What if it's the same all over again? I mean, what if he is deciding on giving up the Bat yet again…or worse…."

"You mean getting married….again," Dick amended with a lop sided grin. "Although, technically speaking, his marriage with 'Susan' wasn't a marriage at all...seeing that she was a plant."

---

As the boys ribbed at each other, Barbara cast a furtive glance at Alfred hoping for some sort of a reaction…but getting none, except for the slightly amused smirk, which she assumed was on behalf of Dick and Tim's antics.

"I assure you Master Tim," Alfred stepped as his buzzer beeped twice. It was a signal for Bruce's impending arrival. "The prospect of Master Bruce's matrimonial, although highly attractive, does not seem to be visible…." Silently he added. 'Yet.'

"Yeah well, I wouldn't be so sure Alfred," Tim reiterated his point. The only other person, besides Alfred, to be privy….well, closest to both Bruce Wayne and Batman's day to day activities, Tim had observed how over the past couple of months the usual parade of Bruce Wayne's girlfriends had withered away. In fact, as far he knew, there had been only two, with one of them lasting only a few weeks. "What's the name of the chick….uh, lady," he corrected himself at the pointed look from Alfred, the grins and chuckled from the others not helping things one bit. "That Bruce Wayne seems to be courting nowadays."

"Its Diana something…." Dick piped up before Alfred could answer. At the questioning looks he got, he shrugged his shoulders. "What? I keep an eye on things."

"Diana Prince," Barbara completed it for him. "She is a visiting curator, whatever that means, at the newly opened Museum of Ancient Greek History in New…..York." Realization dawned on her. However before she could express her point, Tim leapt in.

"Well, at least she is better than the last bimbo…what was her name…uh, umm…oh yeah, Rhea Lyta or Lyte something. The only thing she was 'Lyte' on was her top storey. I mean, I saw the video footage of her with Bruce, and let me tell you, she looked as dumbstruck as a deer caught in headlights."

All this time, Alfred as well as Cassandra remained silent, a cleverly disguised bemused expressions on their faces. While Cassandra did not know the details, she knew this much…whoever the mystery woman was, there was more to this Diana than met the eye. She came to know about it when, during a nightly patrol, a mysterious black clad figure appeared out of thin air and flew down to where the Batman was. Even though they had been beyond her hearing, the fact that not only did the Batman not attack her, but for the minute that the stranger was there, his body seemed to lose some of its ever present tension. That alone was enough to tell her that he trusted this Diana, she caught the name as she swung away, had Batman's trust in a way that very few people did. Once she was gone, Batman returned to normal and resumed his patrol…but not before Cassandra caught a fleeting ghost of a smile curve his lips. He never mentioned that he had seen her eavesdropping on him and Diana…she never spoke about it either….and the matter ended there.

As for Alfred, he knew both about Ms. Diana Prince and about her predecessor Ms. Rhea Lyta…after all, he had been there when they were born in the first place. Rhea Lyta was the first identity that Bruce and Diana created for her. The 'Rhea' came from Hera, while the Lyta came from Diana's mother 'Hippolyta'. A redhead, Rhea was a retired actress who used to body double for many of the more famous ones. Anyone seeing Diana's nearly six foot tall, voluptuous, god given figure would and did buy that story…in an instant. To add onto that ruse, they also included the story that having retired herself, Rhea was looking to establish her own school cum modeling agency to help newcomers.

While Rhea was created for Diana to cut her teeth on the 'hiding in plain sight', 'secret identity' bit, Diana Prince was what she finally chose as her own. With the name went the auburn wig, wild hairstyles, green contact lenses, beauty mark on her chin, a slight variation on her nose and overtly large false eyelashes…all giving way to Diana's natural beauty. A pair of slim eyeglasses and a reserved hairstyle brought out Ms. Prince.

----

"This could ruin everything," Tim huffed as the group made their way to the living room. "What if he marries that museum relic and gives being you know who….and (gulp) makes us give up too."

"No one is giving up on anything." Bruce Wayne's baritone voice sounded from the shadows as, dressed in a custom designed, impeccably fitted suit, Bruce stepped in from the other door. He was alone.

"Oh, didn't see you there," now it was Tim who was looking like a deer, not the caught in headlights one, but the skittish, about to be get his ass chewed out one.

"You weren't supposed to," came the expected answer.

---

"I asked you all here…" Bruce began as everyone, except Alfred, who stood in attention, occupied a seat in the smaller 'private' living room. What each one of them noticed was that Bruce was nervous, actual sweating in the palms, butterflies in the stomach, nervous…and it set them on their guard.

"I-I…" Bruce fumbled with the speech he had prepared and rehearsed. After a couple of more tries, he finally gave up on it and adopted his usual blunt, direct and to the point, 'Bat-way'.

Walking away to his study, he pulled the door…holding it for the person on the other side. As that person stepped into view, for all four younger members of the Bat-family…time grinded to a halt.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Diana."

---

"We are ready."

Both Dianas looked up at the red-and-blue garbed form of Superman.

Pooling their time and resources together, Batman, Superman and the Martian Manhunter, not only cut down on the construction time, but also able to retain the secrecy they had worked so hard to keep.

The first thing they did was build the portable emitter that allowed the visiting Diana to 'carry' around the hologram, along with all its data, of the Batman from her world.

Marveling at the science behind the wristwatch style device, which clamped onto Diana's bracelet, they also noticed that along with its own inbuilt power source, the emitter also gained power from Diana's body heat. The technology, usually found in some specialized watches, had been perfected to a very high efficiency level. Moreover, just as with the other emitters, Diana could control the size of the hologram a feature that she had been using for almost the whole time she had had the thing on.

Batman's programming necessitated her being in vicinity of where the program ran….within a radius of ten meters. Therefore, as the three Leaguers worked on getting the communicator built, the two Dianas remained in the same room. Diana had just about finished telling her counterpart of her formal introduction to the Bat/Wayne family, when Superman stepped up to the sound proofed area of the watchtower workshop.

"Ready?" Diana echoed even as her twin switched off the emitter and pushed herself off the plush chair Flash had run-up for her and her twin. Among the other common factors between her world and this one, one thing that brought a smile to Diana's lips was that just like there, the Flash here was just as jovial, caring and an all around nice guy….even if his jokes most often then not missed the mark.

"The communicator," Superman gestured towards the work area. "Its complete and seems to be running just fine. We can try to make contact now."

"Thank you," the plain clothed Diana expressed gratitude towards her host.

"Uh-" for a second there Clark did not know how to respond to it. One part of him said that it was just like with the Diana from this world, while the other pointed to the ring on her finger and the bulge of her midsection and said it was not so. These were two entirely different people, with different lives, memories….loves.

In the end, he settled on a simple you are welcome as the trio started towards where the communicator had been set up.

----

Elsewhen,

Their mouths still hanging open, their eyes bugging out of their sockets, the four…three rather, Dick, Barbara and Tim, dumbly stared at the visage of the person Bruce had just introduced to them. Even without her tiara and costume, with just her indestructible silver bracelets shedding some light on her possible identity, the flowing hair and instantly recognizable face and smile were enough to tell them that this Diana, the Diana Bruce seemed to be dating, the Diana he had invited home to introduce to them was the same Diana that the whole world knew as the superhero Wonder Woman…Princess of the Amazons and Ambassador of their nation of Themiscyra.

"Wuh…wuh…wuh…" was Tim's glib comment.

"Oh, my…." was Barbara and as for Dick, he was a bit clearer with his thoughts.

"Holy Amazonian Princesses Batman."

-

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Note: Will get to the League introductions soon…just not yet. Next chapter, back to the present.

The whole Barbara-Dick-Koriand'r dynamic (although set in the animated universe) is a mixture from the comics and a little bit from the Teen Titans animated series. Although never clearly stated, it is more than clear that the Robin in that series is Dick Grayson and not Tim Drake.

As for the couple of choice, it's an equal split between both Kory and Babs.

Spoilers: Batman Gotham Knights (1x05 - You Scratch My Back, 2x05 - Old Wounds, 2x08 – Chemistry)

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