Gifts From the Sea, a Batman fanfic by Raberba girl

Batfam Bingo 2019: AU: Zoo

Chapter 49 - A Productive Mission (rough draft 2)

Bruce was a mess of anxiety while the teams were en route and wondered if he was going to have to take some sleeping pills and hide from the whole thing until it was over. However, he couldn't quite bear the thought of being unconscious while three of his children were on a dangerous mission, then he heard through his comm that they'd arrived at the island, and suddenly it was like all his anxiety got shut behind a locked door and he needed to be helping.

He had been pacing with Silkie in his arms, the larva's wiggly warmth a comforting distraction from his thoughts, but now he deposited the creature in the box-nest Kori had left for him and took a seat at the computer.

Tim, whose use of technology had improved by leaps and bounds, was already fixated on the screens, watching and tapping. He occupied himself with fewer fidgets than usual while he was on the computer, which indicated that it took up enough of his attention that he didn't require additional stimulation. Currently, though the measuring spoons were dangling loosely from one limb, all eight of his tentacles were completely still.

"Kid Flash, do some preliminary surveillance and then report," Bruce said. He and Dick had argued over the team assignments but had finally worked out a compromise. Dick had agreed for his own reasons; Bruce, not daring to voice his satisfaction, was glad that his eldest had ended up with the two overpowered Justice League members; that Jason, who'd become a ranged fighter since joining the Titans, was basically just on guard duty with Speedy; and that Damian was accompanied by Wonder Girl and Starfire, who both had super-strength and could fly. Kid Flash, as the only one on the mission with super-speed, would either be working alone or joining other teams as needed.

A few seconds later, Kid Flash reported, "There's a big computer on the fifth floor just a little south of the center. Lots of people around, I can help you knock 'em out when you're ready, Cyborg. Some kind of dorms on the west side, second and third floors, and a few fancier rooms on the east. Too many locked doors in the basement. I can vibrate through them if you guys want me to get a closer look."

"Help Cyborg first," Dick said.

"I'm taking the eastern personal quarters," Raptor said quickly.

"We'll try the basement, then," said Green Arrow. He had insisted on coming when he'd heard that his ward was preparing to infiltrate the League of Assassins.

"Good," Dick said. "Cyborg, say when you're ready."

There was some silence as Bruce watched the trackers moving around. Tim switched between the camera feeds of various team members' masks, the measuring spoons in his tentacle starting to click. The noise stopped again when the view from Cyborg's feed showed Kid Flash zooming around the control room, knocking out personnel. As soon as the last one fell to the floor, Robin and Speedy started working to secure them and Kid Flash vanished out the door.

"I'm in," Cyborg reported a minute later. A data transfer gauge popped up on one of Bruce's screens.

With the help of some of Vic's programs, Bruce was able to hack into the League of Assassins' surveillance system and then pass control of it over to Tim. Although there were fewer cameras than usual, it was better than nothing. The octo-mer signed to Bruce whenever he noticed anything of interest, and Bruce passed it along to whichever of the team members it might be relevant to.

Bruce himself was primarily working with Cyborg to locate and identify useful digital documents in the League' computer network. Like the surveillance system, there were far fewer documents kept digitally than most organizations had, but there was enough to make it worth the effort. The rest of the Titans continued searching physically.

"Definitely labs down here," Kid Flash reported, and Bruce glanced at the tracker screen to see that the speedster was now with Green Arrow's group in the basement.

"We've gotten through the first door," Green Arrow said. "You kids can speed this up a bit, though." He didn't say anything more through the comm, but since his team included Raven and Beast Boy, Bruce assumed those two were using their abilities to get past even more doors.

"I believe these are Mother's quarters," Raptor said quietly.

"Oh!" Starfire suddenly exclaimed, but didn't elaborate.

"Starfire, what happened?" Bruce asked urgently.

For a nerve-wracking moment, there was no answer, but then Wonder Girl said, "Our team's going to go radio-silent for a bit."

"I'm keeping an eye on your vitals," Bruce said. "Check in with me if there are any injuries." He only received a grunt of acknowledgement.

Things were quiet for a little while, and the lack of interruptions meant Bruce's horror had uninterrupted time to grow. He was skimming through lab reports, trying to determine if there was anything currently in the labs that would be worth retrieving other than whatever might remain of his genetic material. What he'd just read was the fourth detail that indicated some of the 'specimens' were people.

"Arrow, have you made it into the labs yet?" Bruce asked.

"Yes."

"Have you seen any test subjects?"

"Some, yeah."

"These poor things have been locked up for who knows how long!" Beast Boy said indignantly.

"Animals or humans?" Bruce asked.

"All animals so far," Green Arrow said, and Bruce limited his connection to him only.

"Arrow, don't let Beast Boy just recklessly set any animals loose. You'll have to either leave them where they are or terminate them." It would be irresponsible to release animals with unknown alterations into the wild. This was why he hadn't wanted tender-hearted Garfield in the labs, but Raven was a better choice for that team, and Gar had wanted to be with Raven, and Dick had fiercely taken their side after he'd had to give in to Bruce sending Donna with Damian.

"I know, B," Arrow said. "I'll handle it."

"Anyway, keep an eye out for non-animal test subjects. These documents indicate there were several at one point, and if Raven's not limited by distance, I'm hoping she can send any rescued survivors to safety through her portals."

"Assuming they're not violent."

Bruce swallowed. He felt sick at the idea of leaving any suffering captives behind, but if they put his kids in danger... "Use your best judgment. I'll see if I can find anyone here who'd be prepared to take charge of them." He made phone calls for a while, trusting Tim to bring his attention to any important developments. Once he finally hung up with a metahuman social worker who'd just given him a promising address, he noticed that Silkie had escaped the nest. He moved the larva back, fed him in the hope that he'd get sleepy, built up the nest more securely, then went back to making phone calls.

The mission ended more noisily than they'd hoped. Dick, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter ended up in a fight with a group ninja and a lengthy argument with the last one standing. The team in the labs clearly hadn't followed instructions, because at one point, Bruce found himself moving various cages and tanks out of the way as lab animals were deposited from shadow portals. Cyborg's data transfer was interrupted, at least two teams had to flee explosions, and Wonder Girl's team had encountered Talia and evidently picked up at least one passenger whom they refused to give Bruce any details about.

However, everyone escaped with no casualties, most of what they'd gone in to acquire had been successfully retrieved, and they were all heading home, so the mission had been more or less a success. Bruce leaned back in his chair and looked at Tim, who was fiddling with some controls on the computer and simultaneously rummaging in the box by his chair for some fidgets. "Good night's work, hm?"

"It's fun," Tim assigned. "Do again tomorrow."

Bruce smiled wearily and looked around at all the lab animals huddled in their cages and tanks. "I think we need a longer break than that."

He and Tim were helping Alfred prepare post-mission snacks for the team when Bruce heard thumping from the floors above. He wiped his hands, picked up Tim and Silkie, and went to meet them all. Alfred came behind him, pushing a cart full of food.

They converged in the living room, and Bruce halted in surprise and dismay when he saw more people than he'd expected. Damian was arguing hotly with a girl in ninja garb who looked close to his age, and an old man stood quietly behind them, carrying a sleeping baby.

"Syl'Khee!" Kori soared over and scooped up the larva. "Hello, my little bumgorf! Did Bruce take very good care of you?" Silkie made a garbled sound and wiggled happily.

As Kori continued to cuddle the larva, Bruce locked eyes with Dick and gestured pointedly at the newcomers, glad that at least he was already wearing a domino mask because of Oliver. Dick smiled back. "More family!"

Diana broke into the argument. "Mara, no one is accusing you of that," she said, setting her hands on the girl's shoulders and drawing her backward.

"They're all barbarians here who don't care about honor, anyway," Damian snapped at the girl, then marched over to Bruce. "Father, I have returned, and our mission was successful."

"Thank you, Damian, you did well," Bruce said automatically. His eyes flicked to Oliver, who was handing a canister to Vic.

"Bruce!" Gar piped up, "Where are all the animals? They got here safely, right?"

"In the communications room," Bruce sighed. "Do not let them out into the wild." Gar, Damian, and Garth immediately left, presumably to see to the rescued animals, and many of the other Titans were either eating or dispersing. J'onn was speaking into his comm, making a report to someone at the Hall of Justice. Bruce headed toward Alfred, who was talking to the gentleman with the baby, but Diana reached out to him as he passed.

"Bruce," she said, "this is Mara. I would like to take her as a ward, if you agree - she seems to be of some relation to you."

Bruce stared at her, then at the girl, who raised her chin. "Any ties between me and this fool are so thin as to be irrelevant."

"I'm sorry- Who are you?" Bruce demanded, arms tightening anxiously around Tim.

"I am Mara al Ghul," the girl stated proudly, "granddaughter of the Demon's Head and his heir once I have defeated Damian."

"Their rivalry is violent enough that I thought it might be better to separate them," Diana said. "I would be happy to take charge of her training, I think there is much she can learn from my sisters and me."

"Are you...my daughter?" Bruce asked, feeling sick with dread.

"No! My father is Dusan al Ghul, not some useless American civilian."

Bruce exhaled soundlessly in relief - so she was only related to him indirectly through Damian.

"She did not want to come with us," Diana continued, "but that compound was no place for a such a young warrior. Talia al Ghul agreed and sent the children into our care with her blessing, though I think you might not agree with her about the arrangement being temporary."

"Mara, do you have any objection to going with Diana?"

"She has some skill. I wouldn't mind training with her until the time comes for me to cut down Damian Wayne in all his inadequacy."

"No one is cutting down anyone," Bruce said firmly. "And yes, Diana, feel free to take her if she wants to go." He wouldn't have thrown Mara out to fend for herself, but he was glad that he didn't have to house her alongside his son, whom she seemed to be so inimical toward.

He continued on toward his original target. Alfred was now cradling the baby with a strange expression on his face, looking as awed and affectionate as if it was his own grandchild he held. The baby's caretaker stood watchfully nearby, and Dick was hoisted up on Jason's back so they could both peer at the baby with great interest.

"What happened here?" Bruce asked. Dick turned to him and his eyes lit up as he made grabby hands for Tim. Jason grunted and let his older brother slide to the ground. Bruce tried to hand over Tim, but there was some resistance, so he spent an awkward minute peeling tentacles from himself as Dick obnoxiously cooed and nuzzled at a grimacing and nearly horizontal octo-mer.

When Bruce finally freed himself, his face was a little hot, though the newcomer looked more curious than amused. "This is Mr. Ravi," Alfred introduced. "He is the child's caretaker in her mother's absence, and this...this is Athanasia." The looks he and Jason were giving Bruce were a little odd, almost anxious, presumably because now there was a random League of Assassins baby in Titans Tower.

Bruce wasn't thrilled about Ravi, who was likely going to be staying, but he had nothing against the arrival of an innocent baby. Far better she be safe in the Tower than housed among assassins. "I hope you're not going to cause any trouble," he told Ravi, absently holding out his arms for the baby without even really thinking about it. Though Ravi seemed tranquil, his background suggested that he was probably a skilled fighter and doubled as a bodyguard for the child.

"I live to serve the al Ghul family," Ravi said with a bow. "My only concern presently is the safety and comfort of Master Damian and Mistress Athanasia."

Bruce was distracted, because he now had a bundle of warm, sleeping baby in his arms. He drank in the sight of her slightly troubled face and tiny, perfect features before Ravi's words actually registered. "Damian and...Athanasia...?"

"We'll take care of her, Bruce, if you're not up to it," Jason said quickly. "Or- Or maybe your mom and dad can look after her if it makes you feel too bad? Obviously we couldn't leave her, I-"

Bruce could not keep standing up. He sat down as carefully as he could, right there on the ground, and held the precious, painful bundle in his arms and tried not to cry.

Vic poked his head into the room. "Hey, Bruce, let me know if it's a bad time, but, just...I ran the analysis? We have the results. If you're interested. Canister's in storage for...whenever you decide what to do."

It was all too much. "I'm really tired," Bruce said abruptly. "I think I should go to bed." Alfred gently took the baby away and Dick, Jason, and Tim followed Bruce in concern. He paused when he was near his room, then looked at his kids.

"Are you mad?" Jason asked tentatively.

"No," Bruce said, feeling like he didn't quite fit in his own body. He looked at Dick and Tim, then changed direction and headed for the pool. He stopped only to take off his shoes before dragging a floating lounger close enough to climb onto it. Dick climbed right after him; Jason pulled his hood on and rested as a furry lump on Bruce's chest. Tim slid into the pool but reached up several tentacles to close around Bruce's arm.

Bruce lay there, drifting, cold from the water that had splashed onto his clothes but warm from the pile of his sons. He watched the reflections playing across the ceiling. Dick finally signed, "You okay?"

"I will be," Bruce murmured. "I just...need some time." Time to adjust to the fact that he had a daughter now, the love he already felt for her warring against the pain of her existence. He hadn't known about her; he'd had no choice in her creation. She'd been conceived as a tool, fated to become a weapon like Damian. Like Mara.

And she might not even be the only one. What was in that canister could have created many more like her, and what was in those reports implied that others had been created - had failed to meet standards and been terminated at Ra's's command. How many more children did Bruce have, hidden in the shadows of the Demon's Head? How many children of his had died, ruthlessly murdered as he'd gone about his life unaware? Had they suffered for long? Had anyone bothered to name them, or had they met their end with nothing more than strings of code printed on their documents and test tubes?

Dick and Jason were both crying now, probably in response to his own tears. "I'm sorry," he choked. "I'm sorry-"

"Not mad?" Jason whimpered.

"No." He tried to tell them how much he loved them, but it was too many words to force out of his constricted throat. He shifted to kiss Jason's fur and Dick's hair, grateful for Tim's grip on his arm. "It's okay," was all he could manage.

TBC

A/N: Mara is Damian's cousin; she debuted in the first story arc of Rebirth Teen Titans. In this fic, she's the girl Damian was sparring with way back in the al Ghul compound.