Damian was grumpy.
Not that he would ever admit it, but, yep. Judging from the way he growled at his milk like he was some sort of wild, feral beast, he was indeed, grumpy.
And Steph was very, very amused.
During their stay at their host's headquarters, the Bat-kids weren't allowed to roam free anywhere, in case they caused panic and confusion to the locals. So they had no choice but to hole up here, sharing the awkward silence with the Young Justice of this dimension.
Steph had tried to lighten up the conversation many, many times, along with Kid Flash, but the rest seemed to be less willing to communicate with the sullen, quiet, Bat-Family.
Not that she could blame them, but still.
They weren't half bad once you get to know 'em.
It was their third day today, and sipping her milk, she was one of the earliest of the residents in the headquarters to wake up.
Not counting the rest of the bat-family, of course.
Cassandra and Damian might as well have woken up at the crack of dawn (as she strongly suspected they might have, though never bothered to confirm, knowing she wouldn't get a straight answer anyway). Cass was meditating peacefully in the middle of the living room, looking like she had stepped right out of a zen garden. She looked so holy and calm, that anyone else wearing black wouldn't have fit in.
But she did. Nothing suit Cass more than the black of her suit - nothing.
Damian was always off training in the gym, probably. She wasn't sure, but it seemed as though he was always changing the bandages on his hands.
Tim was sitting along the dining table, eyes fixated on holograms of some sort, calculating, double-checking, thinking, thinking, thinking.
She was almost certain that there wasn't a time when his brain wasn't in a rush, frantic flurry of cold, hard logic. He was one of the most technical and detective-leaned Robin Bruce had ever had, and she could see the stark differences from all the other Robins.
Now back to right now.
Damian was growling at his milk, Cass was staring at her plate of eggs and ham, Tim was calculating again, and herself? Well, she was staring at them with desperation, glancing at the YJ people from the corner of her eye.
They looked almost as lost as she did.
Jason Todd was bored.
He was lying on the thin sheets of his 'cell's bed, weakly guarded by some low-rate teen hero whose skills weren't mature enough to compare to those back in his own universe.
He had counted, up till now, 52 weak spots in the 40 minute shift, and 102 chances he could've slipped out and away, unnoticed, unseen.
He could've taken so many chances that it was sad. The worst thing was, every time he tried to talk or make banter to his 'guard', all he got was dead, radio silence. It was like no one was there.
But there was definitely someone out there, and judging from the harsh breathing and heavy footsteps, it was the Superboy of this dimension.
"Conner, was it?" he tried, for the hundredth time. It wasn't a surprise when he was greeted with silence yet again.
"Look here, if you wanna make it look like you aren't there or anything, I suggest you try to lower yer breathing," he drawled, looking at the blank white walls of the ceiling, "It's like hearing a dog panting, kiddo. It just won't cut it."
It was silence yet again for Jason, and he sighed.
"No offence or anything, just some lil' age old advice from ol' Red Hood. No need to pay heed, but coming from a former bird, you won't last a second out there in the real world, Con. Not without proving you and yer' gang of kiddos inexperienced."
He heard a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the door, and he knew he hit a sore point.
Still, there was no retort, and he embraced the sweet sound of nothingness again.
"I mean c'mon. Is it just so hard to believe that you guys aren't as good as you always thought to be? I mean, are you just so arrogant?"
If there was one thing Jason knew, it was how to push buttons. It was his specialty of sorts-break into their defences with his seemingly brainless taunts, make them panicked, lost, and aggravated. This way they made more mistakes and it'll be easier to take them down.
"What...do you know...about us...anyway," he heard a low voice grit out, "That...you can just...talk about us like that."
Jason perked up a bit. Finally, a response.
"Look here kiddo, I'm not saying I'm a pro or anything," but he surely considered himself one, "but you kids are so new to the business I can almost smell where you bought your latex. Not that Latex is bad or anything...I'm just saying'.
"Now I may not know much about over here," he waved a finger lazily, gesturing at the surrounding area that he considered this universe, "but I do know that i've been in the business longer, much, much longer than all of you combined."
Outside his cell, Conner grunted.
"Even Robin?" he asked.
There was a brief silence where Jason considered the motive behind this question. Did anyone in the Batfamily tell these kids about his dirty history? Was Superboy trying to get something out of him?
Maybe he was paranoid. But he didn't survive up till now by taking stupid risks. Despite his demeanour, he was still logical in his thinking.
in fact, being both reckless and calculated at the same time made him one of the more unpredictable Bats, making him one of the more dangerous ones too.
After a moment's consideration, he drawled out his answer.
"Especially Robin."
Back in Gotham City, everything was chaos.
Harley's plan of bombing the major hotspots in Gotham was a big success, and civilians and tourists unused to the Gotham crime was set in a panicked flurry, all demanding to take the latest plane or train home.
Somewhere in an abandoned office building, Ivy and Catwoman were lounging about, eyeing the frenzy of Gotham.
"Ugh, of all the places Selina, why here?" Ivy groaned, bending back on the office chair at the department of security's room.
They had snuck into the CCTV room of the tallest business building available, and were looking at the frenzied panic of the people inside, tourists and businessmen alike.
Around the room loitered the unconscious bodies of security guards.
"Well Ivy, sometimes you just have to take what's available. Not my fault Harley chose today of all days to wreck havoc." Selina responded, eyes darting across from screen to screen.
Ivy sighed, and turned her attention to the screens as well, all showing footage of people rushing about screaming in various parts of the building.
"Why did she even hoax a bomb here anyway? I mean, of all the places she could've said, must it be the one with the most screaming people? I mean honey, look at them," she pointed a finger at a woman shrieking her head out in floor 23, "I can practically hear her from over here."
"Ivy, I think that's the point," Selina pursed her lips, eyeing the jewellery some of the women wore, "Make a strong impression. This may not be the most impressive building, but it sure is filled with a lot of rich people."
"There's a function here apparently. Auctioning off something," Ivy said offhandedly, checking her nails.
Selina perked up. "An auction you say? Why, sounds like my kind of thing. Maybe Harley didn't invite us here without a reason."
"Hmm? What did'ya say?"
"I said, Ivy," Selina smirked, putting on her goggles, "We're going shopping."
Dick Grayson was nothing if not persistent.
Bruce and him were chasing false lead after false lead, but he did not want to give up yet.
And neither did Bruce.
It was weird working together with a younger Bruce, when he himself was also a young adult. In his brain, it never seemed to click together that this Bruce was relatively new to the business, compared to the rest of the bat family.
But Batman was still Batman, and while Bruce had created the cowl, Dick himself was new to it. He had never enjoyed heaviness of the cape, and it was one of the reasons why he rebelled against Bruce and created a new identity for himself.
He wanted to get away from the shadow that screamed 'Batman'.
He was not Batman, nor was he only Batman's colourful sidekick. He was Robin. He was Dick Grayson, then he was Nightwing.
And now, in another cruel twist of fate, he was Batman.
He wasn't sure how well his younger self was taking it, but he knew he would have to accept it sooner or later.
Bruce is not going to be Batman forever. He isn't some immortal god, destined to rule the darkness forever. He is just a man, wealthier than most, and smarter too.
But he will get old, and someday, he will pass away, be it kicking and fighting or in his sleep, leaving an undying legacy behind. It was their duty as his wards to keep it alive, even if they have to claw each other apart to do it.
Shuddering as he remembered the fight for the cowl, he did not want a repeat of that. It was one of the most ruthless fights they all had gotten into, and trapped in this foreign dimension now, he was determined to make sure all of them were well-behaved.
"So..." he started, after they had finished scouting out an area and had concluded their results as nothing satisfactory.
Batman grunted his response.
"Conclusion?" he prompted, resisting the urge to roll his eyes in frustration at such a Bruce response.
"Conclusion, the Joker has shown signs of being in this warehouse before, noted by the space dust and signature Joker card. There are also traces of other unrecognisable fingerprints, which my database can't track, and unfamiliar pieces of clothing, believed to be made from Arabian silk with the finest thread.
My computer can't track anymore, but I believe the owner of such silk can only be Ra's Al Ghul. Why he was with the Joker is unexplainable, and the fingerprints found on the did not seem to belong to anyone in my system, which leads to the conclusion that Ra's and Joker are meeting people. New people from your place.
Probably using the same device they used to send you here. What they are planning we do not know, but I do know that we have to stop it. Fast."
Dick nodded in agreement, pondering over these information.
"Bruce...I have a suggestion," Dick started.
Bruce eyed him. I'm listening, it meant.
"How about we let my people on it as well," Dick said firmly, staring him in the eye, "I know I've told you this before, but despite my very reasonable convictions, you do not seem to be convinced by the fact that my team can help us."
"They have been trained by you too, despite how strange it may sound, but they're trustworthy. I put my honour on this."
Dick knew he was throwing a big bet with his big words. He did not know how much he could trust some of the bat family, but he knew that for the sake of all their well beings, he has to make it work.
He knew that Bruce was uncertain with the new people, claiming they had been trained by him, all decked out in high-tech equipment and systems, wearing the Bat-symbol proudly on their chests.
he was uncertain because up till now, he had only known Dick Grayson. He only had Dick Grayson. That was why he let Dick-the-Batman in on his investigations.
Because he was the only element he was sure of right now.
Dick knew it was all up to Bruce, but he prayed he would see the light.
"...Okay," came the answer, after a long silence. "But only if The Team gets in on it too."
Well...here it is...yea...
Sorry for the late wait, and here it is...the chapter...finally...yeah...
So um, please leave a review? And thank you for sticking with me for this journey.