Author's Note: Thank you to soccernin19 (Thank you!), Guest 1( Don't worry, I'll expand on Bruce's death soon but I'm trying to get all my boys where they need to be first. And Jason's interaction with Damian is going to be fun), and Meridianpony (Thank you so much! And the poor boys. I put them through so much torture!) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing.
Batman was dead. Those were the words haunting Oliver Queen as he slowly packed his bags, preparing to leave for Gotham. Dinah had agreed to watch over Starling City while he was gone so his absence wouldn't cause too many problems, other than Felicity and Dinah's longstanding feud. Hopefully they'd be able to put their differences aside long enough to allow Oliver to care for Bruce's children. Oliver had always thought he would die before Bruce. Batman always came off as invincible. So much so, in fact, that the members of the Justice League had often forgotten that the man behind the cowl was completely human. The fact that the man was indeed gone continued to feel like a bucket of cold water poured over his head. It would be a long time before the fact that Batman was dead would stop being a shock.
Bag packed, Oliver made his way downstairs, empty house echoing with his footsteps. His mother was long dead and his sister Thea had vanished to parts unknown never to speak to him again after she'd discovered he was Green Arrow. He'd regretted their split but, despite all Felicity's searching, had never been able to track down Thea to set everything right.
Oliver shook those dismal thoughts out of his head and exited the building, dumping his bag into the passenger seat of his car. He was used to people leaving him by now. John Diggle had married and retired, moving away with his life and young child, and Roy left for months at a time when Oliver had ticked him off. People walking in and, inevitably, out of his life was as common as the phases of the mood but the Batclan operated differently. Aside from the argument which had led to the creation of Nightwing and the tragic death of Jason Todd, Batman's family was tightly knit. Sure they argued but they were family and Bruce's death would be hitting them hard. It would be left to Oliver, Roy, and the mostly unshakable Alfred Pennyworth to keep them together now.
"You're lying." His voice was harsh but trembling slightly with uncertainty. "Someone will come for me."
"Foolish child," came the scornful reply. "You are nothing to them. No one cares for you and no on is coming." Then the figure seemed to soften, a gloved hand lifting his chin so he could look into a single grey eye. "Do not think of them. I promised to come for you and I did. Focus on that."
He tried to do as he was ordered, tried to remind himself that he was nothing more than a clone, but couldn't stop the tears that began to drip down his cheeks. The same hand that had lifted his chin now backhanded him sharply, sending him tumbling back. He let out a soft whimper, a trembling hand lifting towards his aching cheek as he turned wide eyes towards the man. "Emotions are a weakness," was the only response he got before the man turned on his heel and stalked out of the room leaving the trembling boy behind. The child managed to hold himself together until the door hissed shut. Then he collapsed to the floor, trembling and sobbing as if his heart were breaking.
Damian lurched awake, gasping for breath. For a moment the room blurred in his vision before he could calm himself. In a chair next to his bed someone startled and Damian turned to see the young man he recognized from a few tabloid articles, and more importantly Batman's superhero log, as Roy Harper. Harper turned green eyes on the younger boy who refused to squirm under the shrewd gaze. After a moment Grayson stirred, mumbling something in his sleep before stilling again. Damian had the strange urge to reach over and press his hand against Grayson's forehead to feel for a fever but he restrained himself.
The boy startled when a calloused hand settled on his forehead, hand snapping up to wrap tight around a wrist. "Easy there." Harper was laughing at him. Damian could hear it in the older boy's voice and he scowled. "As far as I can tell, your fever's gone but you gave Dick whatever you got." Damian's scowl darkened at what he perceived as an accusation. "Oh for god's sake I didn't mean it like that," Harper snapped but Damian ignored him, already sliding out of bed and barely resisting the urge to stomp. He grabbed fresh clothing and headed for the bathroom. He needed to get cleaned up, if for no other reason than to wash away the fearful sweat he was soaked in after his feverish nightmare.
Jason hesitated on front porch of Wayne Manor, still dressed in his vigilante garb despite the fact that the sun had risen a long time ago. He'd intended to knock as soon as he'd arrived but uncertainty had stopped him. Bruce and Dick might have been willing to welcome him back into the family but the others might not. After all, Jason had been nothing but cruel to Tim since he'd met the boy he'd titled The Replacement. He hadn't met Bruce's only true child by blood yet but he doubted Damian Wayne wanted anything to do with a street kid who'd tried to kill his brothers. The very thought of being turned away froze him. After another moment of deliberation he growled under his breath and stalked away, determined to find some more thugs to take his frustration out on.
Roy wanted to scream. Damian hadn't been awake for five minutes before Roy had accidentally offended the younger boy. The archer had come to make Dick's job easier but it seemed he was failing. The door slid open again and Alfred stepped inside the room, carefully feeling Dick's forehead. There was worry and slight disapproval for how hard the oldest boy had been working in his gaz before he turned to Roy. "Master Tim and Miss Stephanie have gone out for a bit, presumably to see Miss Barbara," the old butler told the archer. "I will return with the proper medicine for Master Dick and if you could ensure that he would take it and stay in bed once he wakes that would be extremely helpful." Roy nodded and thought he saw a hint of a reassuring smile from Alfred before the man left, shutting the door behind him.
Through the solid barrier of the door, Roy could hear Alfred talking to someone, mentioning a Miss Cassandra. Then the door slid open again and Damian uncertainly stepped into his own room. The archer didn't miss how the boy's eyes fell towards Dick immediately, worry written in every line of his posture. It was nice to think that beneath the mask of an icy adult, there was a frightened and insecure child looking to an older brother for help. Slowly green eyes turned toward Roy. For a moment the uncertainty lingered there. Then Damian seemed to push it away, dropping his pajamas into the hamper and leaving the room without another word.
Roy was left stunned, staring at the spot Damian had previously occupied. For a moment he had been thrown back to the time of the Light's invasion of the Justice League. Roy and the Young Justice team had discovered the Dick had been cloned and the clone had been working for the Light. They'd been furious at first, seeing betrayal from someone they'd trusted, but then the clone had turned wide blue eyes on Roy and the truth had spilled out in a frightened, uncertain rush. In the end, the clone had proved himself, stopping a beam that would have destroyed the entire world. Roy had always assumed the clone had died but maybe, maybe it hadn't. The archer turned thoughtful green eyes towards Dick's sleeping form after a moment and murmured, "You have a lot of questions to answer when you wake up."