A/N: Jason discovers something about his son. What could it be? And why does Jax seem to be interested in metal balls? Jax and Jaylyn his twin sister are about 6-9 months old. Since the newest and youngest members of the "Bat" family are still babies, their thoughts are indicated by a single quote. This story will build a little slower, but I hope you will enjoy it.
Element of Surprise
Prologue: A New Toy
Jaxon Thomas Todd-Wayne couldn't sleep. He wanted to play, but the toys in his crib didn't excite him. They were all soft. They weren't shiny. He lifted his head and pushed himself up so he could sit looking of the playpen that he and his sister were lying in. He wished he could climb out and go over to the corner of the room and pull out a toy from the toybox, but those toys didn't excite him either. He thought about all the shiny objects he had found in the Manor. They had been placed at his height in light sockets, shiny blinking objects that contained something he hadn't felt before. That's what made him excited.
As a sliver of moonlight passed across the window behind him, its light hit something on the door to the hallway just right. Jax's eyes became wide, and his gaze became fixated on the object. He had not noticed it before. It was shiny and round, and something inside Jax stirred to life. He thought about those shiny devices that he found. It was as if he had been drawn to those objects without even knowing why. They had wires, and buttons, and lights. The objects also had metal, shiny bright metal, just like the round, shiny object glowing in the moonlight that was stuck to the door.
'What is it called?" Jax thought to himself. 'Of course, a doorknob.'
He wanted to touch that doorknob, to feel the metal in his hands. He wanted to play with it. He imagined all the fun things he could do with that metal knob. In his mind, Jax was reshaping that knob, turning it into whatever he wanted. He imagined turning the knob into a long pole so he could use it to climb out of his crib. He then turned it into a spear, and he hunted down the wild animals who wanted to eat his sister. In truth, the wild animals were just stuffed animals that Mom had given them. His most favorite thing he did with the knob in his mind was to turn it into a net so he could catch the jelly fish he loved so much. They were so fluid, bouncing and floating in the water. They looked like clouds to him; their long tentacles were like streamers blowing in the wind.
'I need to ask Aunt Samantha to get me my own jellyfish,' he thought.
Jax's thoughts returned to the knob. 'I want that knob.'
But how to get it? Was the question he had yet to figure out. Even though he was now crawling, Jax he couldn't reach up to the knob yet. His legs weren't strong enough to hold him. Even when he tried to stand, Jax would end up sitting on his rump. Jaylyn would laugh at him when he tried. He had to try. Jax reached up, his little hands grabbing the mesh of the playpen. He pulled himself up trying to reach the edge when he ended up on his little tush once more.
'Hehehe." Jaylyn giggled when she saw her twin brother trying to stand on his two pudgy, stubby legs. 'Just give up. It's easier if you let Mommy or Daddy carry you.'
'I want to walk like they do.' Jax stated.
'Why?'
'So, I can reach that,' Jax said, pointing to the knob.
'Why?' Jaylyn asked, again.
'Don't you want to?' Jax replied with his own question.
'Why do you want to reach that round thing? It's not a toy.'
'I want it,' Jay persisted.
'We already have a whole lot of toys,' Jaylyn pointed out. 'I like my dolls.' Jaylyn grabbed one of the dolls that had been given to her and hugged it.
'You would, you're a girl.' Jax retorted.
'What's that got to do with it? I've seen Caine play with dolls.'
'Boys call then action figures,' Jay stated.
'It's still a doll," Jaylyn fired back. 'Besides, you can't have that ball. That's something the big people use to exit the door. It's attached.'
'Then I'll find my own,' Jaxon replied. He continued to stare at the shiny object until the moon passed the window and the light no longer shone on the doorknob, giving the doorknob an unearthly glow. Once the doorknob was in darkness, Jax laid back down, closed his eyes, and started to fall asleep. 'Yeah, I'll find my own,' he said as his dreams took shape. And true to his word, he did find one. A metal ball hiding under a table. It was round, and shiny and just his size. He was going to have so much fun.
Continues with Part 2: Twin Nightmares