Gifts From the Sea, a Batman fanfic by Raberba girl
Batfam Bingo 2019: AU: Zoo
Chapter 56 - In the Eyes of the Law (part 1) [rough draft 2]
The Metahuman Rights Act continued to develop. Superman gave testimony early on, asking for the bill to be extended to cover people of extraterrestrial origin. Wonder Woman testified on behalf of Earth natives whose special powers could not be explained by science. Green Lantern described some relevant practices already in place on many civilized alien planets. King Arthur insisted that sea people of all kinds be covered rather than only mer. Dick gave testimony as a mer himself, proving his human-level intelligence with fluency in two human languages and submitting various test results as further proof.
Later, others stepped up. Martian Manhunter and Starfire added their stories to the record alongside Superman's. Cyborg nervously spoke as someone who feared losing his protections due to the massive extent of his life-saving body modifications. Beast Boy and a visibly terrified Robin, in costume, spoke up on a related issue, as recognized American citizens who had nevertheless suffered due to their extra-human abilities.
At the same hearing, Bruce, who had come partially as moral support for Jason and had made sure there were several meta friends in attendance in case something went wrong, testified as a baseline human who spent a lot of time with metas. He made sure to mention that he intended to legally adopt Dick as his son as soon as the mer became officially eligible for adoption. He also submitted Dick's school records as yet more evidence of intelligence, showing that the mer had completed schoolwork alongside ordinary human students the same age as him. Bruce had a lot of other evidence as well, including records of the abuse of mer under ABAZ's care.
As soon as Bruce finished speaking, Tim, who had refused to be left behind, crawled out of his hiding place in Bruce's bag. Alarmed cries rang out as the octo-mer, clad in a long-sleeved shirt and protective sunglasses, scaled Bruce's body and perched on his shoulders to sign, "I am a mer. I am not an animal. I am smart. I can't talk with my mouth, but I talk with my hands. I want to be safe. He *pointing to Bruce* is Dad." Then he slithered down to hide in Bruce's shirt.
Bruce wrapped his arms protectively around the damp lump on his front and glared at everyone who looked horrified. Tim was a good kid, he didn't deserve to get looked at like that just because he had tentacles instead of legs.
"Wh- What was that?!" one of the congressmen burst out.
"He is another child I intend to adopt, Timothy Wayne, an octopus mer," Bruce declared. "He agrees with Dick in that he is an intelligent being deserving of legal rights and protections as a person."
"Yeah," Dick said loudly, followed by Beast Boy's firm "Absolutely." Robin gave a fierce nod and put a hand on Bruce's shoulder.
Arthur stood up and added, "Timothy is a person of the sea and therefore one of my subjects."
The chairman called the room to order and then tried to clarify the octo-mer's testimony. Tim refused to come out of Bruce's shirt, so the ASL interpreter who had come for Dick's sake watched a replay of the video footage and interpreted Tim's signing for the record.
After the hearing, most of the Justice League left, but Bruce and the kids met up with his parents, who had attended in support of their grandchildren. "Mother, Father," Bruce greeted, embracing his parents with only one arm because he needed the other to support Tim's weight. He did his best to ignore the reporters who were quickly gathering.
"It's been too long, son," Thomas said, then turned away to respond, laughing, to Dick's excited greeting.
"Oh, lad, I've got you at last!" Martha cried, crushing Robin in a hug. The boy was too squashed to hug back and his face was red, but he was beaming.
"Grandpa! Grandma! This is my girlfriend, Kori!" Dick announced. "She's AMAZING!"
"Starfire of Tamaran," Bruce said, feeling it best to stick to code names while in public. "And this is Beast Boy, Aqualad, Cyborg, and Raven." When his parents looked at him questioningly after greeting the others, Bruce added, "Raptor elected to stay home and help hold down the fort."
"Oh, a shame," Martha said with real regret. She had met Damian through vidchat, but had yet to see him or his sister in person. "And you didn't bring the baby, either?!"
"No, Mother, I'm sorry," Bruce said, wincing at a fresh burst of questions from the reporters who'd overheard the word 'baby.' "We wanted to stay mobile." He was stressed and on high alert, feeling exposed here in the heart of a city without legal protections for so many of his loved ones. The clamoring reporters and flashing cameras were not helping - he didn't understand how his parents were able to so effectively ignore them.
"Don't tell them anything," he murmured to Dick and Beast Boy, who were preening in the spotlight. Then, to the more uncomfortable-looking kids who were bunching up, trying to use the adult Waynes as human shields, "Just ignore them."
"Ohhh, but at least you brought this little one," Martha was cooing, switching gears to focus on Tim. He'd been peeking out at his grandparents, but now ducked deeper into Bruce's shirt. He, too, was only seeing Martha and Thomas in person for the first time.
"Mother, why don't we go somewhere private first. Text me where and we'll meet you." Bruce nodded at Raven, who opened a shadow portal which most of the Titans dove into immediately. "Boys," Bruce said loudly, getting Dick's and Gar's attention, "we're leaving."
"Be good, D.C.!" Beast Boy crowed, flashing V signs with both hands as he backed into the portal.
They emerged in a sheltered alley, where the kids milled around as Bruce exchanged texts with his parents. He vetoed lunch at the restaurant they suggested, and when he requested somewhere private, Thomas and Martha invited the entire group back to their hotel suite so they could order in.
While they waited for the food to arrive, Bruce re-introduced everyone with their civilian names. When he noticed his mother looking longingly at the octo-lump in his shirt, he said, "It works best if you pretend not to notice him until he feels safe. He'll get too curious not to investigate you eventually."
The prediction proved accurate. An enjoyable afternoon passed as Thomas laughed at the Titans' antics and Martha basked in the company of her grandsons. She gave Tim her diamond necklace, waving off Bruce's warning that it might get broken, and watched fondly as Tim examined the strings of sparkling jewels in his little webbed hands. A tentacle reached out absently and curled around her wrist. Martha raised shining eyes to Bruce and pointed at the limb in excitement.
"You have been deemed worthy," he chuckled.
"I love you, too, Timothy," Martha murmured, dropping a light kiss on top of the boy's head. He peered up at her for a moment, then went back to playing with the necklace.
o.o.o
When the Metahuman Rights Act was signed into law, the Titans celebrated so exuberantly that Bruce forced them to relocate to the Hall of Justice, worried that they'd give away Titans Tower's location. He only meant to inform the League that the Titans were borrowing their headquarters; he hadn't expected the entire team of adult heroes to show up and join the party.
"I brought goodies!" Barry announced, gesturing proudly at the giant mountain of food he'd collected. "Charged it to the League's account~"
"And how much of that are you going to need yourself to make up for all the energy you just expended?" Bruce pointed out. Since the speedster lacked super-strength, he'd had to make many trips.
"Uhhh..." Barry looked at the food mountain, shrugged, then started digging in.
"I brought beer," Hal called, descending with several glowing green cases at his side.
"Which you will dispose of immediately," Alfred ordered. "There are minors present."
"What?! Seriously?" Hal protested, echoed by Roy.
"Ditch the alcohol, Jordan," Bruce snapped. He didn't know the details, but he'd gotten the impression that Roy had...issues to consider. Bruce wasn't about to let the kid get unnecessarily tempted.
When Wonder Woman arrived, Bruce noticed the deep surprise on Damian's face before he noticed the Amazon's companion. "Hello, everyone!" Diana called.
"Dianaaa!" half the people in the room called back, raising non-alcoholic drinks in salute.
Diana, with a fond look on her face, stepped aside to reveal the girl who'd been hiding behind her and put a hand on the child's shoulder. Mara raised her chin and said stiffly, "Hello, cousin."
"Hello," Damian said back, just as stiffly.
"Mara, it's wonderful to see you again," Bruce said, and was pleasantly surprised when the girl smiled shyly.
"Diana, random kid, grab some drinks so we can toast," Hal said. Once everyone was ready, they drank to the signing of the Metahuman Rights Act and then again to honor all those who had been freed by it, whether from literal captivity or from fear.
"Congratulations, everyone," Clark said warmly, exchanging hugs with several of the kids and clapping J'onn on the back.
"Bruce! Does this mean I'm finally getting adopted?" Jason called.
"If you're up for it, we can head to Gotham tomorrow," Bruce promised.
"YES!"
o.o.o
Bruce took his entire family to Gotham, as well as Kori and Raven.
"Oh, goodness!" Martha exclaimed, clutching at her husband's arm. Both of them stared at Goliath's massive form towering over them.
"It's all right, Mother," Bruce said. "Goliath is Damian's companion, he won't hurt anyone."
"A quite well-behaved creature, I assure you," Alfred added.
"Oh...my...!"
Damian cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Goliath," he said imperiously, "this is my honored grandfather and grandmother on my father's side. Greet them." His voice changed to something closer to a whine as he added, "Without any saliva, I know you can be decorous when you try."
Goliath lowered his head. Martha raised a tentative hand; Thomas quickly set his own over hers to lower it, hesitated, then raised his other hand in substitution. Goliath very delicately touched his tongue to the man's palm.
"WITHOUT saliva, I said!" Damian raged.
"Quite all right, lad," Thomas chuckled nervously, wiping his hand with a handkerchief. In the background, a couple of panicked-looking servants were hauling away a third one who had fainted. Thomas said solemnly to Goliath, "Welcome to Wayne Manor, sir."
Goliath snorfed politely.
Martha flinched at the sound, but she immediately giggled and patted the dragon-bat's furry cheek. "Thank you for taking care of my grandson."
"Speaking of which," Thomas said, turning to Damian with a pleased grin. This was their first face-to-face meeting.
"Hello, Grandfather. Hello, Grandmother," Damian said stiffly. Bruce knew him well enough by now to be certain that the arrogant look on the boy's face was a cover for his nervousness.
"Hello, darling!" Martha exclaimed, glancing at Goliath for a moment before enveloping the boy in a hug. "Oh, that sounds uncomfortable. Just call me Grandma or Nana or Meemaw or whatever you like, dear." The subsequent expression on the boy's face was hilarious.
(Bruce noticed that from that point on, Damian was careful to never call Martha anything at all while in her presence.)
Thomas, in the meantime, was trying to coax a smile out of Athanasia, but she wasn't having it.
"She's, uh, shy," Bruce said euphemistically. "She'll warm up to you eventually if you're patient."
"Really patient," Jason added.
"Ohhh, the little darling," Martha crooned. She smiled at Ravi. "And who's this handsome gentleman?" Ravi blinked in surprise.
"This is Ravi," Bruce explained. "He's, uh-" He caught himself just in time from introducing the poor man as Asia's nanny. Ravi was technically a servant, guardian (in a literal sense), teacher, and caretaker of the al Ghul heirs, but 'nanny' more accurately described the work he did these days. "He looked after Damian and Athanasia when they lived with their mother, and he accompanied Asia when she came to us."
"Thank you for your service," Thomas said warmly. "It's quite appreciated."
"Oh, absolutely," Martha added. Ravi bowed his head in acknowledgment.
Alfred had already disappeared into the house as soon as he'd greeted his employers. Goliath was given the run of the grounds behind the back gardens. Martha, graciously waving away the servant who stepped forward to do it, personally escorted everyone else to their rooms. Dick, dragging Kori along with him, broke off partway and headed in the direction of the swimming pools.
The afternoon was spent unpacking, relaxing, catching up with the Waynes, and in Bruce's case, starting all the paperwork that needed to be done. He got sucked into it for longer than he intended and was startled by the dinner bell.
"There's time, Bruce," he murmured to himself. "The kids are safe. There's time."
o.o.o
"Father!"
Bruce was preoccupied fighting to not fall asleep into his breakfast. "What, D'minin?" he mumbled. It was way too early for anyone to sound so excited.
"Look at this!" Damian shoved a phone in his face. Bruce squinted at the screen, too bleary to decipher anything on it. "They're having a seminar on the Hunger Method! Here, in Gotham City! Tomorrow!"
"Tha's nice," Bruce said vaguely. He had no idea what the boy was talking about.
"It will be very instructional, Father. If we could train Ace to communicate with us, we could- Perhaps we could use him on the team! As a spy!" Damian gestured at Ace, who was panting cheerfully at his feet.
Bruce peered at the dog for a moment, baffled. Then he laid his head down on the table and mumbled into it, "Come back later, Dami. Please. Later."
Once he'd imbibed an adequate amount of coffee, he tracked down his son and asked, this time with more brain cells activated, "All right, Damian, I apologize for earlier. Please explain this thing about Ace again."
The Hunger Method, apparently, had been developed by a speech pathologist to teach dogs how to communicate via buttons with pre-recorded words and phrases. Someone who had successfully used the method to teach his dog how to 'talk' was scheduled to give a seminar about it, outdoors so that attendees could bring their pets if they wanted to. Damian wanted to go. He was trying to frame it in a way that sounded useful and productive, but it was obvious his real motive was simply that it sounded interesting.
"You don't have to persuade me, Damian. I'll take you."
"Y...You will?"
"Of course." The subject matter sounded far-fetched, but it wouldn't do any harm and Damian sounded really excited about it. Bruce knew how much the boy loved animals. "It's okay to do something just for fun."
Damian hugged him. Bruce blinked in surprise, then smiled and hugged him back.
Later that day, Jason was alternating between doing schoolwork and reading books in the library; Bruce sat on the opposite couch to keep him company and to assist if necessary. When Jason started a history assignment he didn't need any help with, Bruce killed time by reading up on the Hunger Method. He almost immediately stumbled across the speech pathologist's book and skim-read the whole thing in one sitting, pausing occasionally to help Jason once the boy finished his history lesson and started on math.
Bruce could see now why Damian was so excited, particularly when he started looking up videos and saw the Hunger Method in action with his own eyes. "Jay, do you want to go into town with us tomorrow and watch a seminar about how to teach dogs to talk?"
Jason frowned at him like he'd lost his mind. "What?"
Once Bruce had explained, Jason agreed to go, and Dick (who was already bored) wanted to go as soon as Damian started rambling to him about it. Kori indicated that she planned to accompany her boyfriend by default, and the two of them convinced Raven to come along as well by promising her a trip to a bookstore that specialized in rare, antique, and collectible items.
"You should ask before you use my money to bribe someone," Bruce said wryly.
"Please, Dad?" Dick asked, his sweet and hopeful smile failing to hide the laughter in his eyes.
Bruce made a show of being reluctant. "Well...I suppose so. Only because I love you."
"Love you~"
The next day, they all piled into a car and headed to Robinson Park, where the seminar was being held. Bruce, Jason, Damian, and Raven were riveted. Dick and Kori got so bored that they took Ace farther out and started throwing a frisbee for him to chase. Bruce kept track of their distant laughter and occasionally looked over to make sure they were safe. (They always were.)
Afterward, the kids chattered almost nonstop in their excitement, though Bruce tried to nip their practical plans in the bud. "Damian, this method takes quite a lot of time and patience to implement, and we're not going to settle in Gotham. Mother and Father won't be able to spare adequate time to work with him, and it's not an appropriate thing to ask of the servants. It wouldn't be fair to Ace to introduce him to the possibilities but then abandon him once our business in Gotham is finished."
"We could take him with us," Damian said, as if it was a perfectly reasonable thing to suggest.
"Damian, Ace is not our dog. Maybe someday, when you're older and have a pet of your own, you can try it, but not now and not with Ace."
"But-"
"Damian," Bruce said sternly.
"Yes, Father," Damian sulked.
It was late enough that they decided to stop for lunch before heading to the bookstore. Bruce, seeking privacy, ordered their meal to go, but people came up to talk to Dick and Kori and take pictures while they waited for the food to be prepared.
Raven had prudently disguised herself with a hoodie and Jason looked perfectly happy to be unrecognized by the fans, but Damian was watching with narrowed eyes (probably envying the praise more than the invasive attention itself). Bruce grasped his youngest son's arm and murmured in his ear, "Don't let on that you're part of the group."
"Of course, Father."
They were still waiting when a very oddly-dressed man entered the restaurant, wearing a bodysuit, a pair of briefs underwear over it, and some kind of tank on his back which was attached with hoses to the strange guns in his hands.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the man announced, "Drop your forks and prepare to cower before the uncanny Condiment King!"
"What the fuck," Jason said in blank disbelief. Bruce pulled out his phone and dialed the police.
"Take out your wallets, cash, jewels!" the lunatic ordered. "Toss 'em here on this table!"
Instead of making any move to obey, the diners were chattering to each other about this bizarre development and some had their phones raised to take pictures and videos.
"I said COWER AND COUGH UP YOUR WALLETS!" the condiment man bellowed. He aimed his guns at two different tables and fired.
A stream of yellow paste shot out of one gun and a crimson substance blasted out of the other, both hard enough to knock their targets out of their chairs. Cries of alarm echoed throughout the building. "I mean business!" the condiment man declared.
Dick picked up a nearby napkin dispenser and hurled it hard enough to knock the mustard(?) gun out of the condiment man's hand. The would-be robber gnashed his teeth in rage and aimed his ketchup gun at the mer. Raven raised her hand to form two small shadow portals, causing the stream of ketchup to magically redirect. The ketchup exited the second portal right over Condiment King's head like something out of an old Looney Tunes episode.
The man sputtered in outrage, wiping ketchup out of his eyes. Then his face twisted viciously and he pointed his gun at the Titans again. Even though the stuff seemed relatively harmless, Bruce still instinctively moved to shield his kids.
"Mommy! Mommy!" a small girl wailed in distress, "The bad man's going to hurt the mermaid!"
"It's okay, sweetie, the bad man can't hurt anyone, he's too silly," the mother soothed.
"I BEG YOUR PARDON?" the condiment man bellowed. He swung around and fired a blast of ketchup powerful enough to shove the mother and daughter right up against the wall of their booth. The little girl, distressed and squashed and soaked in red goo, burst into tears.
"Oh, hell no." Jason stormed over to the Condiment King. The man turned toward him just in time to get punched hard in the face.
The onlookers cheered as the villain crashed to the floor. "You hit me," Condiment King wheezed, sounding shocked.
Jason went over to help comfort the little girl and Dick said cheerfully, "Kori, bring him here." The Tamaranean obligingly floated over and picked up Condiment King by the scruff of his neck, then brought him over to her boyfriend.
Dick, meanwhile, set the brakes on his wheelchair and slid to the floor to do a few stretches, then used his arms to hop back into his chair and then onto a nearby unoccupied table. He called out, "Who wants to see him get hit with a fish tail?" The diners cheered loudly again. Dick grinned, swept his arm to clear the table, peeled off his sleeve, then launched himself up onto his hands. He did a few airflares, then walloped the condiment man with his tail.
Everyone cheered again, including one of the police officers who were entering the building (the other officer just looked Done).
Condiment King was arrested and there was some more delay as the diners congratulated Dick and his companions. Finally, however, Bruce managed to collect their order and herd the kids to the car. A few blocks away, they found a nice spot to eat and have a lively conversation.
At dinner that night, Martha innocently asked her son, "How was your day, dear?"
"Ridiculous."
"Oh?" she said in surprise.
"I mean, the seminar was good, but then we had to thwart an attempted robbery by a man wielding ketchup and mustard guns."
Martha had to look up the news on her phone before she could be persuaded that it wasn't a joke. Then she laughed hard enough to cause reflex tears, and despite his exasperation, Bruce found himself smiling as well.
o.o.o
Dick had been getting fan mail ever since his days at the zoo, but not all the messages he received were positive ones. After the second or third time he read a hateful letter, he had stopped opening most of his own mail, so Bruce screened attempts by outsiders to communicate with his son.
"Huh," he murmured, "now that's a name I haven't seen in a long time." The card seemed like it had been designed for graduations, but was vague enough to be multi-functional. A handwritten message had been scribbled on the card's inner blank half.
Dick,
That meta protection law went through, congratulations. Real proud of you, kid. Glad you seem to be doing all right. Best of luck. Say hi to your dad for me.
Mark
Once Bruce had finished going through all the correspondence, he brought the keepers to Dick, who was lounging in the indoor pool as Jason read to him. The selkie paused and Bruce nodded to him in acknowledgment before addressing Dick. "I brought the mail. You got a card from Mark."
Dick frowned. "Who?"
"Mark Rollins from ABAZ."
Dick pushed backward in disgust.
"No, Dick, he was one of the good ones. He helped us a lot back when he was my boss, and he supported you after that Titans interview."
Dick bobbed silently in the water, considering.
"Let me read you the card." When he finished, Dick slid close and rested his head on his arms at the edge of the pool.
"How did he help you?" Jason asked.
"Well, he seemed more open than most of them were to the idea that Dick might not just be a dumb animal. Sometimes, he covered for me when Dick and I were doing things that management didn't approve of, and he supported Dick even after it cost him his job."
"Huh," Jason murmured, like he couldn't believe a human would be so admirable but didn't know how to argue.
Although Dick was no longer agitated, he showed little interest in the card, so Bruce took it away again. He gave Mark a call to let him know that Dick had gotten it, and they ended up talking for nearly an hour.
"Glad to hear he's doing well," Mark said at the end. "He really changed my life. Looking back on it now, it almost feels like I escaped a cult."
"He changed my life, too."
"Well, that goes without saying," Mark chuckled.
They ended the call soon after that, resolving to stay in touch, and Bruce added the card to his stash of correspondence to keep.
o.o.o
Donna was working with Diana to get their existing documentation adjusted, and Arthur was taking care of Dick's, Tim's, and Garth's registration. Bruce helped the girls he'd brought to Gotham.
The day Kori (legal name now 'Kori Anders') walked out of the administration building with her brand new ID card in her purse, she was stopped on the street by an excited model scout. Kori turned down the offer, but handled the business card carefully and looked very thoughtful afterward.
"You can sign up with an agency closer to home if you want to," Bruce said as they walked. "I just want to make sure you know beforehand what you'd be getting into." Kori would effortlessly meet beauty standards and had unshakeable self-esteem, but she was so sweet-natured and naïve about life on Earth that Bruce worried about her getting thrown into the deep end of an industry like that.
"I will decide later," Kori agreed.
Raven had been born in some sort of pocket universe, but it turned out that her mother was actually from Earth - from Gotham City, in fact. Raven persuaded Angela Roth to come to Earth long enough for Bruce to help her get Raven set up as a legally existing person. Soon after the paperwork was completed, Angela embraced her daughter and returned to Azarath. Raven bid goodbye to her friends and returned to Titans Tower.
"I will go, too," Kori mused at dinner that night.
"What?!" Dick looked up from sneaking Silkie food scraps.
"This is a good house, but I want to fight."
"There's plenty of bad guys here to fight," Jason accurately pointed out.
Kori smiled. "I want to fight strong people." Gotham's few metas tended to be on a smaller scale than those in cities that had superpowered heroes to protect them. Bruce sometimes wondered uneasily if a powerful superhero showing up somehow caused the appearance of supervillains with comparable abilities. Villains never seemed to come out of the woodwork more than a few minutes before a hero went public. It was one of the reasons he was hesitant to be too active as Batman - he shuddered to think what sort of villains a vampire-bat-demon from the shadows would evoke.
Kori stayed for one more day, then kissed Dick goodbye and left in the evening with Silkie. Dick pouted, but a few hours later was willingly engaged in a game with his siblings.
A week or two after Kori left, Dick started commuting between Gotham and San Francisco via shadow portal (or, occasionally, spaceship, speedster, or the 'Boom Tubes' Vic had gained the ability to produce after his post-H.I.V.E. repairs at S.T.A.R. Labs). "Just please, please stay out of the field until you turn 18," Bruce begged. "They might not let me adopt you if they decide my letting you be a Teen Titan is child endangerment."
Dick clearly loved being a superhero, but fortunately, the younger boys were less enthusiastic about the prospect of returning to the field.
"We're due for a vacation, anyway," Jason said, heading toward the library with his current novel and math workbook.
"My paternal grandparents have been neglected. Surely you agree that I must finish paying my respects," Damian sniffed.
"I want to stay with you," was all Tim said when asked.
Personally, Bruce would be happy if all his kids retired from superheroics, either permanently or at least until they were full-grown adults. Watching them fighting supervillains, getting hurt and risking their lives, was incredibly stressful.
TBC
