Bringing My Children Home

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Disclaimer: I am only borrowing the Bat family to practice my art.

Chapter Eighteen

Jason

"Well, that was eventful," Jason said, leaping to his feet as those caught in the Gala finally arrived home, hours later. Stephanie and Cass had had to return, to play the shocked and horrified daughters, while Nightwing had to give the police their report, disappear and reappear as a badly shaken Richard Grayson, so Jason and Damian had had a few hours to await their return. Both were anticipating the scolding they knew was coming, but they had not discussed it.

Tim, looking tired, but the least ruffled by the whole affair, shrugged. "At least it puts him back in prison."

The darkening round bruise on his forehead made Jason glare at him. Of course, it made sense for Tim to distract the goons when Dick had more chance of getting out to help, but no one was happy that it had come so close. Bruce had a hand on the teenager's shoulder, looking like he did not want to let go. Cass and Dick were wrapped around Stephanie, who was the most disturbed by the nights events.

"Who came up with the idea to put Cass in the Spoiler suit?" Bruce asked.

"I'm sorry if it was wrong," Stephanie blurted. "I couldn't sit back while it was my fault. Cass wasn't going to go if I wouldn't stay back, not until I suggested we switch roles."

Every pair of eyes fell on her, even Damian's. She shrank a little under the gaze.

"That was smart. Now everyone who knows you created Spoiler, thinks you gave it up once your dad was in prison. You showed someone else had the suit, and gave the illusion that it was mere chance you weren't in that room," Tim said. "We'll do a few interviews, explain what you did, maybe mention that Batman threatened to have you exposed if you didn't give it up, so you handed it off to a street girl trying to protect her people, who was much better at it."

"Play the silly blonde who just wanted to get back at her father?" Stephanie said, and then nodded. "That works."

"There are more than a few questions I want answered," Bruce interjected. "However, I believe we will discuss these after a good night's rest."

"Pillow Party!" Cass shouted. She grabbed Tim and Jason's arms to race them up the stairs.

"What about one in your room, too, little bat?" Dick offered. "I have fruit loops and Steph has chocolate."

As Tim was too tired, and too understanding, to protest the projected invasion of his room by Jason and Cass, Jason had time to wonder why the lines of division in the family seemed much blurrier than before. Bruce looked exhausted, but Jason knew he would not sleep much. After that evening, with the threat to Stephanie, and the danger Tim had run, Bruce would be up every hour to check on them all. He did not look too mad. Jason thought he might be able to talk his way around his decision not to argue with Damian. Alfred had not put up an argument either, when Damian began to suit up.

Bruce

Even though questions hung over all their heads, and nothing of the previous evening had been physically taxing, even for those who had fought, they were all in bed until late morning. No one in Gotham would be surprised that the Waynes secluded themselves after the traumatic experience. There would be a host of things to sort out, from dealing with Aunt Kane, letting Stephanie give a sheepish interview to explain the birth of Spoiler, probably deal with the speculation of who Damian's hooded vigilante was, probably have a host of superheroes calling to check on them, figure out how Arthur Brown had afforded the services of twelve thugs for hire, etc.

That next morning though, was quiet as they sat down to a late breakfast. Some probably wanted to avoid the conversation, others probably wanted to sort it out after caffeine, and others wanted to eat their breakfast in peace. Bruce let the silence go on, glancing around the table every now and then. It was good to see them all there, safe and sound.

Despite certain frustrations, Bruce felt a momentous pride in them all.

"Miss Gordon is here to see the family," Alfred announced. Tim groaned and let his head fall onto the table. The butler looked fondly at the teenager. "She does not appear to be too angry."

"Say, I think I left my window open in my bedroom and it looks like rain," Jason said.

Bruce grabbed his wrist.

"You have the most to explain. It's going to happen. Should an actual cloud appear, we can always let Damian go close your window."

"I wouldn't. He set a sensor in the window that fires a paintball gun pointed at the spot. Apparently, too many people were using his window as easy access to the backroom roof," Tim informed them.

"Well, aren't we all in a good mood today?" Barbara Gordon exclaimed, as she wheeled herself into the dining room. "Since Jason isn't scrubbing a car, Tim hasn't finished his coffee, and Damian isn't in time out, I suppose the explanations haven't happened, yet."

She smiled meanly, while Bruce and his three older sons looked determinedly at their breakfast, Stephanie and Cass gave her sheepish smiles, and Alfred slipped out of the room.

"Why are you all afraid of her?" Damian asked. Everyone groaned in disgust at his bluntness.

"I can explain that, Damian," Babs said sweetly. "Bruce knows he has to keep me happy, because I can lock him out of his own systems, Dick and Jason know to keep me happy, so I don't send them into smelly places, Tim touched my system without permission, and Cass and Stephanie came up with a risky plan on the fly."

"Well, throw everything out at once, why don't you?" Jason snarked.

"I'm not sorry," Tim announced. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Our plan worked, too," Cass added.

"Barbara," Bruce declared, "we will finish breakfast, and coffee, then we will go downstairs and review everything we have on last night."

A smirk was his answer, as she shoved the chair next to Tim aside and rolled there, accepting Alfred's offered cup of coffee and plate of waffles.

Damian

He had seen them in action before, but taking a part had revealed something more about his Father and the strays. Father might be the leader, but none of them were his complete servants. There had been a lot of jokes about Father's orders, but the sight of Drake causing the distraction, of Spoiler appearing, of Damian's very presence, made him realize this was different from the do or die orders of his grandfather. Father had not had a hand in any of these. He had in fact, specifically ordered Spoiler out of the field when it came to Steph's father, and Damian was not even allowed in the cave.

Or had not been allowed. No one questioned his presence as they entered the command room off to the side of the main cave area. The command room was full of computer stations, with a large table in the center of the room. He had not fully examined this room previously, since there were more computer bays nearer the training mats and work benches, and these were used more often.

"Batman and the knights of the Oval table," Todd announced.

Here there was no question of who sat where. Father was at the head, Oracle at the foot and the others were lined up between them. There were more seats than people. Someone had created signs that were taped to the back of the chairs, with the different symbols for the different heroes.

"What is this?" Damian asked Brown.

"This is the official room of Batman and Co," She said. "When the Justice League puts out a call, and the various families check in via video conferencing, B wanted a specific room, separate from the rest."

"It has come to be our conversation room, for when things might get tense," Dick added. "The formality allows some of us to keep our tempers in check."

"There are more spots at the table than us," Damian pointed out.

"Alfred will be here in a moment. Lesley is occasionally involved, as is Catwoman, and both Wonder Woman and Superman are allowed a place at certain times," Grayson replied.

"Will I have a real place here?"

"Here we go," Drake muttered under his breath.

Father ignored Robin, who looked less angry at Damian, than afraid of Oracle.

"I would like you to, Damian. You have lived with us for five months. You have learned restraint, and proved you are capable of learning. At the very least, we believe you want the chance," Father answered Damian. He leaned forward, pressing his fingertips together. "You do not fully understand what we do here, or fully believe in our mission."

Feeling small and insignificant, Damian cringed, wondering if he had lost his chance with the actions of last night. He had been terrified for Father, and Grayson, and Brown. He had not stopped to think that going out, even with Todd's tacit agreement, might be the end of his stay here. It hurt, to know the others could disobey and get away with it, but he had to toe the exact line. Yet, he could not have done it differently. If he lost Father, if he lost Dick, even if he had lost Stephanie…

"I cannot apologize for last night, Father," He announced, squaring his shoulders as firmly as he could. He had not been following Mother's orders or Father's strictures last night. Last night, he had followed his own choice.

"I understand that," Father replied. "I would not have allowed it, but it was not my choice last night," a glance at Todd reminded them all who had not put up an argument, "and you did well. You saved lives last night. I am proud of you for that."

Warmth ran through Damian's chest. Grayson reached over and ruffled his head, which was normally irritating, since it messed his hair up. Today it was nice, an acknowledgement that Grayson was pleased with him, too. Brown was also beaming on him.

"Have I earned a place?" Damian asked carefully.

"You have no need to earn a place in the family. We have given you a place. As for a place on the streets, I am not ready to allow that," Father replied. As the warmth died away and Damian wondered if the fight with Drake would keep him out of Father's work forever, Father sighed. "You are too young, Damian. The others were all thirteen or fourteen before they were on the streets. More than that, most of what you know is lethal. You have to train to make your movements effective, but without killing."

"To say nothing of learning how to defend. You are great at offense for being so short," Todd snorted. "But you seem to think that taking a blow is no great deal."

"If it means I get the job done, why shouldn't I take a blow?" Damian asked.

"Because you shouldn't have to. Yes, there is a time and place for that, but it is not every time and every place," Father replied. "I am not allowing you out in the streets, but I will allow you into the cave now. Dick and Steph will continue to work with you on learning to properly defend, and I will work with you on how to fight without killing."

"Really?"

"Yes. The same restrictions apply to fights however. You may fight to defend, but there will be no attacks," Father said. "I do still want to know how Jason was convinced to let you go."

"I wasn't going to waste my time locking him up, not when the situation was so unknown. Timmy's alert had gone dead, and when we left here, we didn't know Blondie was out of the building before dear old dad arrived. I thought it better to just go and use his skills," Todd announced. "I am not gonna apologize for it."

As conversation turned away from Damian, he sat still, listening intently, but feeling happier than before.

Father had relaxed some of his restrictions. Grayson and Brown were still his allies, Todd might be a worthy one as well. Cain had never stood completely against him, though she was still wary of him. He might have found his place. Maybe he could make a new place, rather than take the one Drake held as the most favored.

"I needed it out there as soon as possible, Babs," Drake said, after her demand for his reason for breaching her systems. "You wouldn't have even listened to my explanation. Even Bruce would at least listen to the idea."

Gordon sputtered angrily, while everyone but Father began to laugh. It was a little frightening, how Drake could be so different depending on where he was. In the manor, he was quieter, and sometimes uneasy, despite how much affection and pride the others showed him. As Robin he was strong, confident, and more manipulative than the others. In the outside world, he was a suave though fragile genius.

If only he could show Damian the secret, so Damian could play those roles, could become exactly what was needed, so the younger boy could earn the same respect, pride, love.

"Still thinking about your alter ego, Brat?" Todd called out, as Damian caught himself adjusting his posture to see if he could fit into a little boy's skin. "He was talking about finding his alter ego, after watching Bruce, Dick, and Tim charm the world yesterday."

"I do not see why you think it is a joke," Damian glared. "I want to be a part of my Father's life work, so I must learn a role to play like you all do."

"We do not always play roles," Grayson protested.

Drake snorted. "You are never not playing a role, Dick. Just because you really believe what you are saying at the time, doesn't mean it's not a mask. We all have our roles – you're the performer, Jason's the resentful street kid, Cass is the disabled girl, Steph's the ditzy blond, Bruce is the inane rich bachelor, Babs is the bitter cripple."

"Wow, thanks for that," Brown laughed.

"Well, what about you? What is your role?" Todd asked, lazily stretching as he stood up.

"I'm the ambitious nerd," Drake replied. "Every role we take has a little bit of the real us in it. The idea is we expand on that, Dick embraces the limelight, even when he wants to hide. Jason could out talk any socialite, but he lets them think he's not well educated. Steph stumbles forward, despite everyone who says no. Cass ignores the world, and does not correct their misconceptions. I know what my mind can do, so I show it off."

"Sometimes, you scare me," Todd laughed. "Obviously you get this more than anyone else. You should help Damian find that bit of him to expand."

That was a bitter pill for both boys. Damian recoiled and went to sneer, but Drake beat him to the punch.

"I don't think he would appreciate that. Besides, it's obvious what role he should play."

"Do share," Todd laughed.

"I would prefer to end this meeting amicably."

Drake walked away then, leaving the rest to stare after him. For a moment, it was a relief to have him gone. Damian bit his lip. As soon as he was out the door, the younger boy wanted to call Robin back, and ask him to tell what he saw in Damian. He could not. It was one thing to live as inferior to Drake, and another to have to acknowledge the teenager's superiority.

"Tt," the preteen snorted, "he must not have any idea of who I am."

Unfortunately, none of those present believed his words for an instant. Everyone looked knowingly at him. He ducked his head, clenching his fists. There had to be a better way than asking his rival for help.

Thanks for reading! Use the awesome review/comment section to let me know what you think. I welcome constructive critiques, and it is so encouraging to hear that you enjoyed my story.

I've decided to finish posting this story this week, before the holidays start, so I will be posting two chapters per day.