No Warning . . .
"Are you going to capture Bruce?"
Carl looked down in surprise at the little boy standing beside him. He was checking out the truck with its cages as Carl and his three other partners readied themselves to go after two adult wolves and their pups.
"Um, I think you must be confused," he told the boy. "We're here for the wolves, not Mr. Wayne."
"That's what I meant," the boy said with a shy smile. "I call the black wolf Bruce. I haven't yet named the white one, but I've been thinking hard on it." The child sneezed abruptly, and he wiped his nose on his sleeve.
Carl stopped and stared at the kid. He was cute; flushed cheeks, and a black mop of hair that wanted to fall in his very blue, blue eyes. "What's your name, kid?"
"Me? I'm Dick. Bruce is my guardian," Dick proclaimed, pointing at himself with his thumb. "Not the wolf, Bruce, but the person, Bruce."
Carl grinned. "Is that so?" He hadn't known Bruce Wayne had a foster kid or whatever. The boy called him his guardian. "And you've been naming the wolves, have you?"
"Sure! I'm the one who found them, after all," Dick said. He was frowning at the rifle that Hans had taken out of the back of the second van. "You aren't going to hurt them, are you? They didn't do anything wrong! Bruce was just protecting his family."
Hans stopped by Carl. He had swung the rifle over his shoulder. "I heard the black one killed a guy. Wolves are dangerous, you know, kid? You should be careful around them."
"Bruce never hurt me. He never attacked big Bruce either; just the bad man," Dick declared.
"Dick, that's enough," Mr. Wayne had stepped out of the front door to greet them. "Let the men do their work."
"But he's got a gun! He's going to shoot them!" Dick spun around. "Don't let them hurt the wolves, please!"
Carl put his hand on Dick's shoulder. "It's not a regular gun, Dick. Hans is carrying a tranquilizer gun. It will only put the wolves to sleep so that we can transport them safely."
He shot Hans a scowl. This was Wayne's kid! It wouldn't do to piss off a billionaire's kid because that was the way you ended up pissing off the billionaire, too. And an angry billionaire could mean trouble for everyone.
"Did you hear that? It isn't going to hurt the wolves. Now, you need to run inside. You aren't supposed to be out here without Alfred or myself." Mr. Wayne beckoned the boy.
"But you're here now," Dick pointed out to him.
Wayne smiled; knowing he had been caught. "Needless to say, you still should be inside for this."
"But . . ."
"Dick." Wayne's smile disappeared and the boy huffed.
"'Kay," he pouted; his shoulders slumping as his bottom lip slid out. He sniffled, and wiped his nose on his sleeve again. Mr. Wayne winced, and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket; handing it to the boy.
Carl felt a twinge in the area of his heart. He was a real sap for kids and animals. He squat down beside Dick and turned the boy to face him.
"I promise . . . We won't hurt a hair on Bruce," Carl told him; he winked at Wayne's startled expression. "You said you've been thinking about a name for the other wolf? The female? You have any ideas in mind?"
Dick didn't look happier, but he was apparently satisfied that Carl and the others weren't murderers of innocent wolves. His head bobbed with an answer.
"Why don't you whisper it in my ear?"
Dick looked back at Bruce and at the man's nod, he grinned and leaned forward to whisper his choice of a name for the white, female wolf.
Carl's eyebrows went up. "Really? Are you sure about that?"
Dick nodded. His eyes twinkling; happy again. "It fits."
Carl laughed and stood up. "You can go inside without worry, kid. We'll take good care of your wolves for you."
Dick waved and scampered back through the huge door that marked the entry to the gargantuan house that Wayne called home. Carl met Mr. Wayne's gaze. The man was curious, but didn't ask. He'd probably wait to ask the boy, Dick, himself.
"You want to lead us around to the maze, Mr. Wayne?" Carl asked.
He had been with the team that had combed the property two day prior for the black wolf. They had tried checking the maze, but had only met with dead ends. He had almost gotten lost in the process. Luckily, there had been some snow on then, and he had managed to find his way back out without a rescue, but it had been a little hairy there for a while.
And to think . . . They might have missed the female and the pups!
*HERE BE THE STORY "THINGS CHANGE"*
It was several days later that found Bruce on the phone in his study.
"Thank you, Commissioner," Bruce spoke into the handset. "I appreciate you researching this on my behalf."
Alfred entered the study and stood quietly; waiting for the call to end before interrupting.
"Did Commissioner Gordon have the information that you were seeking, sir?" Alfred asked this as Bruce hung up the phone.
"Merely confirming what I already knew, Alfred," Bruce said. "The teens involved in the wreck had been drinking. Only one had been injured, but not seriously. That was why there had been no reports of the accident in the emergency room. The boy driving had the car in the shop the next day, however." This was how Bruce had found him.
"His father is Howard Millner," Bruce told the butler.
"He lives not far from here," Alfred noted. The multi-millionaire owned a car manufacturing plant in Gotham City, and owned an estate that abutted the Wayne estate. "What was the boy doing on that road?"
The road in question cut through the property leading out to the cliffs. There was seldom, if ever, any through traffic for that reason. It was how the wolves and the hitman that came after Dick got onto the property.
"Apparently, he and his friends were taking advantage of the Millners' absence to have a little party," Bruce stood up and reached for the coffee that Alfred had brought with him.
The butler pursed his lips in disapproval. "One would imagine that he could have found a place on the Millner estate for such an event."
"Perhaps," Bruce said, sipping the hot beverage gratefully. "But not if he didn't want his father finding out. The people that Millner employs would have likely ratted the boy out to his parents. I have a feeling that if we took a trip to the cliffs, we might still find the evidence of young Geoffrey's little get-together."
"How did he get his car to a shop without the incident being reported to the police?"
Bruce snorted. "I'm sure Geoffrey's allowance is more than sufficient to ensure the tow-truck driver's and the repair shop's silence."
"Are you going to report to Mr. Millner of his son's extracurricular activities when he returns? We wouldn't want a repeat of this event since the entrance to the Batcave is located not far off of that road." Alfred tidied up as Bruce finished his drink.
"It is a private road, and has a sign designating it as such as well as it being 'no outlet'. I am assuming that that is part of its appeal to the younger set," Bruce said thoughtfully. "An automated gate should take care of the problem."
"One wonders how long such activities have been occurring on the property, does it not," Alfred asked.
Bruce shrugged. "Probably since before either of us were born, Alfred. But you're right. It cannot be allowed to continue, even if the entrance to the cave couldn't be reached from along it. Those cliffs are too dangerous."
"I find it hard to believe that the Batman wasn't aware of the presence of youngsters." Alfred collected the empty cup.
"I've known about it for years, Alfred, since I was in high school. But I had placed a road block on it about a mile before the turnoff to the cave. The kids have either moved it during their ventures or driven around it." Bruce stood and moved around the desk. "It has never been an issue before. I intend that it will never be an issue again."
"Very good, sir," Alfred nodded. "Should I contact the company that performed the wall's repair with the job?"
"That should be satisfactory," Bruce said. "In the meantime, I promised Dick that we would go see how his wolves are doing."
Alfred smiled as he followed the master from the study. "Does the young master know that the Gotham City Zoo has agreed to take them in temporarily until a proper habitation can be located?"
"Not yet," Bruce smiled. "I want it to be a surprise."
Because Dick still had a price on his head, Bruce had rented the zoo out for the morning at a substantial fee and with an equally generous bonus. The boy's love of animals was becoming increasingly obvious, and Bruce figured that more trips to the zoo would be occurring in the future.
He frowned at the thought of how much time in the future was allotted to them. Dick's stay at Wayne Manor was intended to be a temporary alternative to his stay in the detention center, which everyone agreed wasn't the ideal place for an innocent, eight year old boy to be housed. Once Zucco was located and brought to trial, the need for the continued price on the child's head should be eliminated; freeing social services to find a more suitable and more permanent home for Dick.
But . . . hadn't he just promised the boy forever?
Bruce sighed. Yes he had. There was an understanding there now between the both of them. To allow the child to be taken from him after this would destroy any trust Dick had left. Without trust, Dick would likely find himself at odds with every authoritative figure that entered his life. The idea that the next time he met up with Dick would be as the Batman left a foul taste in his mouth.
He argued with himself that he was more than likely overstating the potential for trouble and exaggerating the results. Dickie was a good boy. One broken promise wouldn't ruin the child's potential for leading a happy life as an honest citizen . . . But, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, it could.
It could, and it was that one, small, infinitesimal possibility that Bruce couldn't live with. Of all the failures the system produced, it would be this one . . . thisone that would eat him alive should it come to pass.
Dick had been chatting excitedly throughout the ride. If he noticed Bruce's distraction, he didn't complain. And when they stepped out of the back of the Bentley, the boy slid his tiny hand into Bruce's and smiled happily, trustingly, at his guardian.
The feeling that hit Bruce in the chest wasn't a twinge so much as it felt like a battering ram.
Forever . . .
Bruce swallowed his bile and hurriedly shepherded Dick out of the open and through the gates of the zoo. They made their way over to a lemonade stand as they waited for Alfred to park the car and join them. Bruce had been surprised at Alfred's easy capitulation to the boy's request that he accompany them on the tour, but apparently Alfred was feeling the same effects of the boy's charm that Bruce had succumbed to at some point during these last couple of weeks.
He could even pinpoint the moment that it had happened to him. When Dick had been rattling off his numerous elephant facts as he had carefully wrapped Bruce's fingers around a rock just so . . . And the childish glee he had shown when Bruce had skipped the rock across the water for the first time.
Dick had just been so happy for him . . . His joy over helping Bruce succeed in that tiny task had literally spilled over, the child's body unable to contain it all, and onto Bruce! It had been years – years, God! – since he had felt anything like it that Bruce hadn't quite recognized it at first. The warmth that had filled him; the joy . . . It had rocked his world and nearly sent him to his knees!
And he had craved the opportunity to experience it again ever since.
And he had! The evening that he and Dick had spent building a snowman had kept Bruce warm enough that he could have shed his coat and gloves without feeling the bite of cold. And the simple contentment of reading to the boy as he curled trustingly into Bruce's side as Dick had drifted off to sleep . . .
There it was again. Trust. He, Bruce Thomas Wayne, a man whose heart he had thought had withered and been buried with his parents, had earned the trust of a young, orphaned acrobat and discovered that his heart hadn't left him after all; that it had learned to beat again in the care of another one such as he. Perhaps . . . Perhaps it was possible that between the two of them, that Bruce and Dick could learn to heal the devastating pain that so primal a loss brought.
Forever . . .
He would need to contact CPS tomorrow and see what he needed to do to make Dick's stay with them of a more permanent nature.
"Come on, Bruce," Dick's happy voice cut through his brooding thoughts. "Let's go! The animals are waiting!"
"After you, chum," Bruce smiled as the child tugged him forward by the hand.
"No," Dick grinned and corrected, "together! All of us, together!"
Alfred caught Bruce's eye over top of Dick's head as they embarked on their tour of the zoo. The knowing gleam in the older man's gaze said that Alfred was well aware of the thoughts that had been swirling Bruce's mind almost non-stop over the last several days. By the look of it, Bruce decided that his butler no longer thought that having a young boy in the household was such a terrible idea.
"Wolves! Look, Bruce, they have wolves here," Dick cried out.
The boy's excitement had yet to wane since they had started. It had grown steadily throughout the morning despite the brisk chill in the air. Bruce thought that it had peaked at the elephant enclosure, but it was building again as he spied the newest addition to the zoo's compliment of animals.
"So they do, Dickiebird," Bruce acknowledged agreeably. "You want to go see them?"
It was a rhetorical question as both men knew the answer already.
"YES!" Dick shouted with enthusiasm.
Chuckling at the boy's exuberance, Bruce and Alfred allowed Dick to hurry them forward.
"I wonder how Bruce is doing," Dick asked.
"Why, I'm doing very well. Thank you for asking, Dick," Bruce smirked at the boy.
Dick rolled his eyes, grinning. "I meant Bruce the wolf," he clarified, "and his mate and pups."
"Oh," Bruce nodded, knowingly, "the wolf! Well, in that case, why don't you see for yourself?" He waved at the new enclosure.
"What?" Dick spun around and looked over the railing.
The glass railing separated the spectators from a large grassy region with a rocky waterfall built into the hillside. Tall pine trees covered about a quarter of the enclosure and a manmade den was cut into the hill that lead into an interior section that could be accessed by zoo personnel.
In the middle of it all stood an enormous black wolf and behind him lay his white mate with their five pups. The pups were an assortment of colors; black, white with a touch of black tipping its tail, a couple of black and white mix, and one that was gray and white. They were tumbling and climbing on their mother, while one adventurous pup, a black and white one, nipped playfully at its father's tail.
"It's Bruce!" Dick squealed in his surprise. "They're here!" He glanced behind him at his guardian. "Did you know," he asked. "Did you know that they were coming here?"
Bruce, the man, nodded with a small smile. "They told me they were bringing them here while they researched a good area to relocate them. This way they can be checked over to see that they are healthy and can be tagged so that their progress can be monitored in the wild."
Dick turned and waved to the wolves. "I wish I'd have known. I could have brought Bruce a treat."
"Perhaps you might be allowed to assist in preparing their food, Master Dick," Alfred suggested.
"I can feed them?" The boy's eyes sparkled at the thought.
"Ah, no; not in the actual feeding," Bruce quickly corrected. "Like Alfred said; in the preparation. Here's someone now who might tell us if that would be allowed."
A young, blonde woman wearing a tan coat that proclaimed her a member of the zoo's personnel approached the trio.
"Hi, you must be Dick" she greeted them all, but zeroed in on Dick. "I'm Heidi. I'm Gotham City Zoo's resident expert in wolves. I heard you are the person who discovered this beautiful pack for us." She was carrying a wooden sign with her, but it was angled against her leg; making it impossible to read.
Dick shook her hand. "I saw him from my bedroom window. They were sheltering in Bruce's maze."
Heidi's eyes lit up as she turned to greet Bruce and Alfred. "Bruce Wayne, I presume? And this is . . .?"
"That's Alfred," Dick interrupted. "He's Bruce's butler!"
"Manners, Master Richard," Alfred corrected gently.
Dick ducked his head. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just so . . ."
"Excited. Yes, we can tell," Alfred smiled as his way of forgiveness.
Heidi was eyeing the butler. "So, you're Alfred! I wondered where that came from. The butler?"
"And cook, and housekeeper, and . . . Oh," Dick ducked his head again; shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. "Sorry."
"Yes, Alfred's all of those things and more," Bruce said, placing a calming hand on the child's shoulder.
Heidi laughed. "Well, that explains a lot."
"Indeed?" Alfred raised a questioning eyebrow.
"You seem to know quite a bit about us," Bruce noted.
Heidi laughed. "Not quite as much as you might think. The team that had collected and transported the wolves only told us so much. I think this might explain a few things," she said, turning the sign around and hanging it up on the enclosure's railing.
It proclaimed the inhabitants of the enclosure as American Timber Wolves with information on the animals in general and these animals in specific. Everyone's eyes widened to see that the sign introduced the two adult wolves as "Bruce" and "Alfred".
"We've been meaning to name the pups, too," Heidi smiled as she knelt down by the boy. "I think one of them should be named after you." She pointed out at the playful group. "Which one would you like to be your namesake?"
Dick's eyes, already huge, widened even more. "Really?"
"Yes, really," Heidi encouraged.
All of them watched the pups tumbling about, particularly the gray, the white, and one of the black and white pups. If any should represent the young acrobat, Bruce thought it should be one of those three.
"Definitely the white one has my vote," he murmured softly, to which Alfred agreed.
Dick tilted his head as he considered it. Biting his lip, he turned to Heidi.
"C-Could I name two more instead, please," he asked her quietly.
"I don't think that would be a problem," Heidi told the boy. Her eyebrows drew together as she contemplated the suddenly serious child in front of her. "Which ones?"
Dick pointed to the other two pups rolling about playfully. "Those two," he said. "The gray one is a boy, right?"
At her nod, he continued. "That one should be John, and could the black and white one there be Mary?"
"John and Mary?" It was obvious that she hadn't expected the boy to continue the series of common names. "Is that what you want?" She looked up at the large man standing so protectively over the child.
Bruce nodded. "I think those would be quite appropriate," he said, giving the boy's shoulder a comforting squeeze.
Heidi climbed to her feet. "Well, I don't see why not. John, Mary, and Dick, it is." She looked out at the last two pups; another black and white one and the solid black. "I don't suppose you have names for them as well, do you?"
Dick lifted his gaze to hers. "Really? That would be too much, right?"
Heidi shrugged her shoulders. "You already named the others, so why not those two as well? Keeping it all in the family as it were. Go ahead? Do you have a couple more names?"
Dick's face grew brighter as he considered the last two pups. The second black and white one was batting at its father's tail and weaving between the large wolf's legs.
"Commissioner Gordon," he said as he indicated which one to Heidi.
"What?" Bruce asked, surprised. "Why the commissioner?"
"Because he was nice to me." Dick shrugged. "And he kind of looks like the commissioner, doesn't he? The white on his muzzle reminds me of his moustache."
A laugh was startled out of Bruce. "You're right, kiddo," he said. "It does me, too."
"How about just Gordon," Heidi suggested.
"Okay," Dick smiled.
He looked back at the solid black. This one was an inquisitive, little thing. It was poking its head in several places it likely shouldn't go and then suddenly it began digging a hole.
"What is that one doing," Alfred asked curiously.
"It appears that it's found something," Heidi murmured as they all watched the black's movements.
There was a brief tussle and soon the black pup emerged victorious with a field mouse routed from its winter home.
"Oh, I say," Alfred remarked at the sight.
Bruce smirked. "It looked like he got his man."
Dick jumped a little as a thought lodged in his mind. "I know," he gasped. "I know what to call him!"
"What's that," Bruce asked.
Dick was grinning now. Everyone was looking at him; awaiting his final proclamation.
"Batman!"
Bruce and Alfred exchanged a look. "Um, where did you hear that name, chum?"
Dick glanced up. "He was on the news the other day," the boy explained. "The reporter said he had found this bad guy that the police had been looking for; just like the black wolf pup there found the mouse despite its hiding place. He's going to be a hero when he grows up, just like Bruce was when he caught the bad guy in the maze for me!"
His eyes flicked over to Alfred, but the butler's mien was as inscrutable as ever. Bruce cleared his throat. "I see . . ."
He supposed it did make a kind of sense. Bruce hadn't realized that the boy had become aware of his alter ego as yet.
"Do you think Batman could find my bad guy for me," Dick asked carefully. "I mean, if we asked him? Could he find Zucco?"
"I would bet he would give it his best shot, kiddo," Bruce assured him. "I'm pretty confident when saying that Batman wouldn't stop searching until he found him and brought him to justice."
"Can we ask him, Bruce? Can we?" Dick pleaded.
The day at the zoo had taken on different tone. Unintended perhaps, but one that was necessary and maybe a little helpful in the grand scheme of things. How could he resist those big, blue eyes? It could give the boy some comfort knowing that Batman had taken on his case.
"I'm fairly certain that Commissioner Gordon could send word to him for us," Bruce told him.
"Then, just like the little black pup and the mouse," Dick declared, "Batman will find the rat!"
"Well, since Batman's appellation is already taken, how about we call the pup Batwolf, instead." Alfred suggested.
Dick giggled at the title. "Batwolf! I like it!" He looked up at Bruce. "Do you like it?"
"Ah, well . . ." Bruce hemmed. Alfred was looking far too amused for his own good.
"Well, I do," Heidi proclaimed with enthusiasm. "I'd bet all of Gotham City will love that name, too!"
But Dick's eyes were locked solidly on his guardian. "Do you, Bruce? Do you like it?"
His hand found the boy's head and ruffled the unruly locks. "Even better," he said, "I bet Batman would like it."
Dick threw his arms around Bruce's waist. "Thank you, Bruce! This is the best day ever!" His eyes twinkling with real happiness. "I wish it could go on forever!"
Forever . . .
"Maybe it can, Dickie," Bruce murmured too softly for the boy to hear. "Maybe it can."
REACTIONS?
A happy ending that is merely the beginning of something special . . . something more, perhaps!
Sorry, the last chapter took so long, but I'm hoping that it didn't disappoint. This author would be highly appreciative of any and all reviews given for this chapter and the story over all.
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