Chapter 3
Wayne Co. Building
Bruce was all too happy to race out of his office to the Watchtower after a long day of reading and signing papers. He was mildly worried about Clark's requested urgency, but it couldn't be too serious. All of his Arkham foes were in Arkham, and Luthor had been too focused on his new found political career to bother Superman. Ever since the failure of the Invasion, life had been very peaceful for the heroes.
After ten minutes, Batman was storming through the main deck of the Watchtower. Superman met him just outside the main meeting room.
"Bruce, we have a major problem."
"Names." Batman grunted. Superman rolled his eyes.
"Batman, we have a serious problem." Superman repeated. Batman nodded a slight smirk in his cheeks. Clark huffed as they walked towards the med-wing.
"What is the problem?" Batman asked, completely into business mode.
"You." Superman said, equally serious.
"What?" Batman exclaimed. He stopped outside the med-room, giving Clark a confused glare.
"You'll see." Superman muttered. Batman followed the Kryptonian into the med-room.
"Why are we in the Watchtower! Diana, I demand you unbind me!" A black-clad figure snarled at the Amazon princess. His furry was almost tangible.
"I don't know who you are." The same princess replied coolly. Her glare was icy. She looked up as Batman and Superman entered the room.
"I'll leave this bastard to you two." She snapped. Her heels clicked as she exited the white room. Superman nodded while Batman just stared at the figure tied to the bed. The figure stared at him right back. Batman found himself in a staring contest for his pride. He glared back at the man tied to the bed. It took seconds for him to get a theory started in his head, and he could tell the other man had as well.
"Um. Well, Batman…" Superman started. He stopped noticing the intense glaring between the two men.
"What." Both men growled.
"Crap. "Superman finished.
"Unbind me/him." The two Batmen ordered. Superman rolled his eyes as he did as requested.
"Leave me be. I need to verify a few things." Batman said monotone. He wouldn't give this copy cat intruder any hints before the interrogation.
"You are very slow. A fraud could have broken out within minutes nad decimated the Watchtower in fifteen minutes."
"You couldn't escape." Batman pointed out. The opposing Batman narrowed his eyes. Superman rubbed his neck.
"Ok. Just spit out your theory before Oliver and Flash get here. You know how they react to… well; whatever you might call this situation." Clark rambled. The two dark knights shared one more glare before turning to Superman.
"I shall begin." Both said at the same time. Superman's shoulders slumped.
"Or, I can guess. Separate dimension? Time travel? This is actually a really good cosplayer/stalker?" Superman listed. The Batmen gave Superman an 'are you stupid' look.
"It is obviously time travel/a dimensional accident." The Batmen snapped. They glared at each other.
"Shit." Superman said. Then his eyes lit up. "I got it! How old are each of you!"
"43."
"33." They both answered. Superman groaned.
"Ok, how about… What is your real name?"
"You bastard! Why would I reveal my secret identity in front of a suspicious character?" The Batmen snarled.
"Bruce." Superman deadpanned. The Batmen snarled identically.
"Uh… how many Robins were there?" if this was time travel, Bruce should have two less Robins in his count by the years.
"Six." Batman growled.
"Three." The guest Batman gave Batman a very confused look. Six Robins? Impossible.
"So, a dimensional accident is correct." Superman concluded. The guest Batman was startled. Superman turned to the guest Batman, who was standing near the cot he had been restrained to. "You are our guest. I'm guessing, because you're Batman, you know you shouldn't be seen and all… are you ok?"
Batman was rubbing his head. He could hear voices…
Bruce! No! Where is he!
Dick! You're bleeding!
Bruce!
The silence was welcoming as the headache faded.
"Yes."
"How did you get here? We need to get you back." Superman gave a disapproving glance to his familiar Batman.
"I am not sure. Nightwing was fixing a machine, and it exploded."
"Nightwing?"
"Yes. Does he exist here?"
"It depends."
"Richard Grayson?" Both Batman and Superman could hear the subtle amount of hope in the guest Batman's voice. They also both froze at the name.
"No. He doesn't exist." Superman said, almost robotically.
"Follow me." Batman growled. "We need to get you to a safe place…"
"I think I'd prefer to help, and if you'd bee so kind, a spare uniform. I am willing to not be 'Batman' here, but I require myself to assist in my most immediate return home." The Guest Batman snarled back. Superman left the room rubbing his temples. Two Batmans. Twice the gloom. Woo.
Linelinelineline
Bruce was breathing deeply when the Batman appeared in the small room. He held a small package.
"Alfred had an early suit design in the attic. We fixed it up a bit." He tossed the dark, deep, royal blue uniform to Bruce. Bruce nodded. He ran the material through his fingers.
"Richard Grayson." He said into the darkness. Batman paused at the door. He stepped back and pulled the door closed behind him.
"He doesn't exist."
"If you think your piss poor acting from earlier is going to convince me…"
"I shall refine my statement. He doesn't exist any more." The silence was heavy.
"How… how did he die?" Bruce breathed out the question. Batman sat next to Bruce on the bed.
"It would have been 20 years ago by now…"
"In the circus?" Bruce turned a horrified face onto his counterpart.
"It could have been avoidable. He ran away from the juvenile detention center the morning I went to bring him home…" Batman's voice tapered off. He was lost in sad memories.
"He could be alive…" Bruce offered. He didn't want to think of how Dick, his optimistic, caring, attention-seeking Richard could have survived on the streets; especially after the horror of his parents death. The boy could barely operate. He had been traumatized.
"I assume you know the state of mind he was in. They found an immigrant boy by the docks. He had been beaten to death. He would of starved to death anyway. It was November by the time they found him."
"You know it was him?"
"…yes." Bruce gave Batman a long glance. He knew himself though, and didn't push it.
"Have you ever had a Robin?" He asked. Batman's mouth gave a little jump.
"Yes. Two. Jason Todd and Tim Drake."
"I can see how you could pick up Jason, but how the hell Tim?" Bruce asked. He stood and stripped from his Batman uniform.
"The kid is a stalker. And was an avid Batman fan."
"In my universe, he was obsessed with Robin. Especially…" Bruce glanced at Batman as he pulled up the blue cowl.
"Tim here was also obsessed with Robin, but it was his digging into me and my life that he figured everything out." Batman stood and looked his double over. "We need to think of a name for you. You saw how frustrated Clark was earlier. I also doubt either of us would appreciate going by our real name." Bruce smirked slightly. He had more questions, but it was evident that this Batman was done talking for now.
Bruce looked to his reflection. It was almost impossible to see himself in the darkness of the room. This was a very early suit model. IT hadn't even been personalized yet. Bruce could feel that it had all the updates though. Bruce flexed his arms. With the simple cowl, and dark blue coloring, it reminded Bruce of a very different version of himself that he had once met during a dimensional accident.
"Owlman?" He offered. Batman looked him up and down again.
"Sufficient." He responded. The two exited into the light of the Watchtower.
Linelinelinelineline
'Owlman' and Batman were greeted stiffly by the League.
"Welcome to… Here?" Flash said. He smirked at his own confusion. Owlman rolled his eyes.
"Immature as always, Barry." He grunted. Flash just continued to giggle.
"Hey! Are we all the same in your universe! Since this isn't a time travel incident, you can tell us everything!" Flash suddenly burst out. Owlman frowned deeply.
"Why would I tell you anything?" He growled. The League traded shocked looks.
"Um, our Batman tends to share some details… not a lot, but a few." Wonder Woman said. She still eyed Bruce warily.
"I find sharing information is rather troublesome." Owlman said, crossing his arms.
"We have already covered that our respective universes are rather different." Batman explained. Just then, the Watchtower communications line opened up on the window screen. An unfamiliar black, brown and red uniformed young man appeared on screen.
"Red Rob and I have an issue, Superman!" The young man exclaimed. He looked over his shoulder, and scooted to the side to let Red Robin's face appear.
"We'll be in the Watchtower in thirty seconds, just a heads up." Bruce could only assume Red Robin was still Tim Drake, but who was the other kid?
"Understood." Batman replied.
True to their words, the two young vigilantes arrived within thirty seconds.
"Clark. Call the YJ team. We'll need them, and fast." Red Robin announced over the zeta tubes.
"Sure thing Tim." Clark said, securing Bruce's suspicions. He already had an idea of who the new hero could be.
"Sparrow…" Batman started. 'Sparrow' huffed. Batman paused and began again. "Red Sparrow, what happened?" Red Sparrow was staring at Bruce though.
"Who's that?" He asked. Red Robin also stared in confusion.
"Alternate universe Bats." Flash provided.
"How is there a Young Justice team?" Bruce asked. Everyone gave him confused looks now.
"From how it is in my universe, there shouldn't be a YJ team with the people present today." Only the Batman understood what Bruce was implying.
"Wally, now retired, hooked up with Speedy, now Arsenal, and they terrorized Chicago. For their protection, along with Gar, or Aqualad, we started a team for them to train in."
"It has gotten really popular!" Flash added his two cents.
"Not Kaldur?" Bruce asked.
"The Black Manta's son? No. Unfortunately, his father got to him first for betraying him." Clark's answer was regretful. Bruce paused. The Invasion must have gone very differently for these people. Bruce was quiet. He didn't hide his staring at Red Sparrow. He wanted to question the boy, but he would wait for consent. Red Sparrow hesitated, then walked over to Owlman.
"You have questions?" He asked. Clark was busy gathering League members now.
"And you have answers." Bruce responded. Red Sparrow nodded and the two walked a little a ways to speak.
"Are you Jason Todd?" Bruce asked immediately. Red Sparrow scowled.
"Yes."
"How did Batman find you?"
"Um, I was stealing his rims. Jackass told me he would save me since he couldn't save some other kid. He doesn't talk about the other kid much, but it must have to do with the spare suit he has hanging in the cave. The suit was cool. I used that suit as the model to my Robin costume."
"How did you become 'Robin'?"
"Jeesh! This is an interrogation! Bruce, my Bruce, and I were all shalaxing one morning after he brought me in and was trying to trick me into not being his partner. We made a bet, I had to come up with a name in two minutes, or I couldn't go with him. I saw a Robin in the trees. Bruce, told me about some religion of Robins being rebirth and shit. I swang with it."
"Why…why did you stop being Robin?" Bruce asked. Jason paused, hearing the hesitation in Owlman's voice.
"Joker had my mom. I had to get her. Batman tried to hold me back. I ran out and he chased me. I had yelled at him and ran out. I should have snuck out. I wouldn't have been able to save her from the explosion if I had…"
"No. If you had snuck out you would have died." Bruce said. His intense stare unnerved Jason. It didn't take Jason long to figure out why.
"Oh. Well, after him stopping me, and my mom dying alone… I couldn't stay with him. I was too angry." Jason whispered.
"How old were you?"
"16."
"How old are you?"
"25."
"What about Timmy?"
"Timmy?"
"Red Robin? Why isn't he Robin still?" Jason laughed.
"Interrogate the replacement for that!" Jason spun and walked away. Bruce watched him.
So, that's what Jason would be like if I hadn't failed him.
"I assume you'll question me next?" Tim was right next to Bruce.
"Why did you stop being Robin?" Bruce started. Tim snorted.
"Please, do you expect any sensible 23 year old to run around like a traffic light?" Bruce had to stifle his smile. Here seemed a happier world for his younger children. But… Dick…
"That and Batman's real son was too annoying to put up with."
"Who?"
"He's been around three years now. He's mellowed out a bit. He is grounded to the manor for failing a test last week. And for him it's finals week. He has to score great to make it up to Bats." Tim concluded. Bruce nodded. His son?
"Yup. Six little traffic lights to follow the big Bat. Jason, me, Stephanie, Damian, and Carrie. Though Carrie… she got in the way of one of Talia's schemes for Damian…She didn't make it." Tim was downcast. Bruce cast an expert eye over this young man. Carrie and Tim must have been close.
"And don't get me started on the batgirls!" Tim exclaimed, forcing happiness.
"Batgirls?" Tim stopped. He flushed.
"Damn. Though it might not, I'm kind of spoiling things for you aren't I? I'm turning into Steph." The fond way Tim said Stephanie's name gave Bruce some ideas.
"Yes." He said. He didn't want to hear anymore anyway. He couldn't believe it. How, how could have ever lived without Dick? How did he gather so many children and drag them into his dark life?"
"Bruce," Tim interrupted his sulking, "I'm assuming that one major detail between your life and this world is different, and you can't believe how this world survived." Bruce nodded. Tim kept his eyes focused on his Batman, who was talk with Clark, his face in a frustrated scowl. "I did some snooping a few years back, and I learned one event caused my Bruce to become open. One event, besides his parent's death, made him so empathetic to young children's plight. He always said… for the Last Flying Grayson. The one I couldn't' save."
"I'm not sure in my world, saving him helped him." Bruce mumbled under his breath. Tim didn't hear him.
"My Bruce, well, I don't think he ever got over that. I mean, that's how he found Jason. He was retracing what he thought might be the kid's last steps…" Tim was cut off as Clark called everyone to attention.
"We have a class three emergency. Wonder Woman and I have created three teams to take care of this. Team 3: Wondergirl, Blue Beetle, M'gann, Kon-El and Red Robin. You guys are headed to Louisiana. Because of the nature your job, you will need to leave immediately and be briefed on the ride over to prevent anymore damage and loss of life. Go." The selected group ran through the zeta tubes, where they ended up in Mount Justice and boarded the Bio-ship. Superman turned to the remained heroes gathered.
"John Stewart, King Orrin, Dr. Fate, along with Wonder Woman; you guys are Team 2 and will be heading to Hong Kong for defensive maneuvers. It appears this is the city being targeted. Head over immediately." Superman paused for a breath, in which Batman interrupted.
"I expect you will inform everyone why we are listening to your rather ambiguous orders." It was not a question. Superman's eyes lit up in realization.
"I apologize. The reason why is not yet clear to us, but it appears Ra's a Ghul is targeting an oil company in Hong Kong that had a serious oil spill last year. Knowing Ra's, he has a larger plan in mind, but all we know now is that he is planning to rob Starlabs of their newest laser model. This one is rumored, though not yet tested up to scale, to be able to reflect off a special satellite and incinerate fifty square miles on a designated section of Earth within twenty minutes of it being turned on if it has been preprogrammed." Superman met Batman's cloaked eyes.
Batman frowned. This laser, in his mind, shouldn't have been created, but Luthor was quite skilled at creating what shouldn't be created. Even if the end result was positive, most of what Luthor created shouldn't have been created.
But Ra's a Ghul? Yes the man was an environmentalist, but this was sloppy, and hasty, and not as intricate as Ra's ever planned. There must be more, but by looking into Clark's eyes, Batman knew the laser threat was imminent, so figuring out the rest would have to be put on hold.
Bruce however was practically slack jawed. He knew. He friggn' KNEW. This. This could send him home!
"Owlman?" Bruce blinked, noticing the room was emptying. Superman quickly glanced at Batman, but continued on. "I'd like you to come with us. There is a high possibility that Ra's has hired Deathstroke to help him. The two have pretty close connections. "
"And why would this interest me?" Bruce filed the information away for later use. It might help knowing Slade like working for Ra's.
"If Deathstroke is there, his…partner will be there." Bruce raised an eyebrow.
"Against Renegade, any help will be great." Oliver said, almost pleadingly.
"I shall come with you then." Bruce said.
"We must leave right now." Red Sparrow said, and the group headed towards the zeta beams.