Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the Dresden Files.
Difference
"Talking"
"Thinking
Wayne Manor was quiet. That, by itself, wasn't unusual. The Wayne family weren't the kind of people who threw raging parties just because. For them, there was nothing wrong having a slow afternoon. (The fact that most of them were up at all hours of the night notwithstanding). But this was different, and it centered on one member in particular.
Naturally, it was Jason who spoke first. "Alright, what's up with the Demon Spawn?" He looked at everyone across the dining room table. "He's been acting odd ever since he came back."
That was true. Nearly a week ago, during a fight with Felix Faust, Damian had been caught by a dimensional rip and disappeared. The Justice League worked nonstop for two days straight in order to open the same rip and rescue him. Damian emerged with no injuries, which his father was glad to see, but he had been in the other dimension for nearly two weeks.
Aside from a description of the other dimension, Damian hadn't spoken of what happened. Once he returned to Gotham, he all but disappeared into his room. He still went out on patrols with the rest of the family and attended school (to his annoyed displeasure), but that was it.
That had been three days ago. Now, with the rest of them waiting for dinner, Damian still hadn't joined them. "Has anyone seen him today?" Dick asked, looking around the table.
Tim considered his coffee. "I think I might've seen him in the morning," he said. "I'm not sure."
That wasn't surprising to Jason. "Half asleep again, Replacement?" He got a glare as a reply, which he dismissed.
"Y'know, I think I heard him at his computer last time I walked past," Stephanie remarked, leaning back in her chair. "It sounded pretty insistent. I wonder what he found. Maybe fanfiction."
Bruce had a hard time believing that one. Damian considered anything written after the 20th century to be not worth his time. And that was when he was feeling generous. "I don't believe that he would be reading fanfiction," Bruce said.
"Well, it's better than the alternative."
Everyone took a moment to consider her words. Once the reactions settled in, Stephanie didn't try to hide her snicker. "You're not seriously saying that the Demon Spawn found porn?" Jason asked her. He was torn between horrified and amused at the idea. He couldn't even comprehend that idea. And yet, it lingered in his mind.
He wasn't the only who had that problem. Dick rejected it outright. "No! Damian hasn't found porn! He's only twelve!"
"Thirteen," Cassandra corrected.
"Still too young!"
"Yeah, for the good stuff," Stephanie remarked, just adding fuel to the fire. "Maybe he's figuring what happens when the clothes come off. I mean, a striptease—"
"Enough," Bruce declared. "We are not discussing this anymore." He certainly did not want to discuss about whether or not his youngest son had discovered porn.
But it wasn't done, not yet. "Besides," Tim remarked, "you think with all the women we work with, porn's gonna work for him?" That was a good point, even if a disturbing one. Bruce could freely admit that many of the women he knew were very attractive. But it was a fact of life, just like the women he fought were beautiful and dangerous.
Stephanie shrugged. "So, all he needs to do is find the right web—" Cassandra pushed against her shoulder and frowned. She took the silent hint, throwing her hands up. "Alright, alright, I'll stop." But it was definitely something to tease Damian about later.
"Master Bruce," Alfred said, stepping inside, "your presence is required downstairs."
Everyone became alert at that. "What's the problem?" Bruce asked, coming to his feet.
"Master Damian was trying to use the Batcomputer to track somebody."
While none of them were surprised Damian would use the Batcomputer, it was the subject which had them puzzled. "Okay, so who's Harry Dresden?" Dick asked, staring at the name on the screen.
"The computer's still searching," Tim told him. Alfred had found Damian only after he started the search.
Jason rolled his eyes. "Yes, we can see that."
"Shove off."
"Why would I?"
"Aw, and here I thought it was porn," Stephanine bemoaned, albeit with a mischievous grin.
"Tt, Brown, your insinuations are pathetic," Damian said. "I have no need of such filth." Everyone stood between him and the computer, yet he acted as if there was no problem.
"Apparently. That's why you're looking up this guy."
"I have my reasons," he snapped. "And they do not concern you."
"Brat, you're using the Batcomputer to find this guy," Jason said, throwing him a side look. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out you're only doing it because your regular computer didn't find squat."
The glare he sent his older brother could've burned a hole through metal. "Wonderful job, Todd. It appears you've been using the training my father has graced you with. Tell me, was it difficult?"
"Boys, stop," Bruce ordered. "Damian, why were you searching for this man?" His son only frowned in response. So, he had to think about it. The first answer he came to seemed to be the obvious one. "Does this have to do with you being in the other world?" One of the first things Damian did confirm was that he did land on another Earth.
Damian's frown considered him for a moment, then everyone else. "I'm not telling them." It wasn't much but it was a way in.
He took it before anyone could argue. "Everyone, go back upstairs."
"Oh, you've gotta…" Jason trailed off as his father looked at him. Even without the mask, Batman's glare could make anyone stop talking. "Fine."
There were plenty of grumbles, with the exception of Alfred, Cass and Dick, as everyone left. Damian didn't talk once they were alone. Bruce stayed between him and the Batcomputer. "Damian, what happened over there?" he asked. "Who is Harry Dresden?"
"…The man who stopped you from becoming an orphan." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture.
It was only thanks to Bruce's training and years that his hands didn't shake. The photo showed him as a teenager, no older than 15. Every detail was as he remembered, down to the eyes and hair. There were two differences that stood out: the fact his younger self was smiling, happily, and his parents sat beside him, smiling just as happily.
The fourth person drew his attention. Even though he was sitting down, Bruce could tell he was a tall man, perhaps taller than him. His features would best be described as craggy, and it was clear he cut his own hair. A leather duster rested on his shoulders, well-cared for. Yet even though he was smiling too, there was a hint of weariness in his eyes. He expected trouble and wanted to react accordingly.
"Explain," Bruce told Damian after finally pulling his eyes off the picture.
"The night your family was accosted by the mugger, he was there. He stopped it. He saved your parents lives. In return, your father took care of his injuries until he was able to be taken to a hospital. More than that, your younger self became his student, learning criminology and investigation." He smirked. "That much didn't change about you."
He ignored the humor, focusing on what was important. "How do you know this?"
The smirk faded. "The rip dropped me right in front of your family and Dresden. Thankfully I was in uniform, and their world has superheroes. Dresden accepted my explanation of alternative worlds and refused to press further. According to him, we were already dancing close to breaking a law of magic. He kept me close so I wouldn't get lost." His derision showed just what he thought about that.
"And that allowed you to see my alternative self and his family." It wasn't an accusation, only a statement. Damian fell silent and considered the screen again. What Bruce had just learned clicked together and he understood what his son had been trying to do. "You were looking for our version of Dresden."
"…Yes."
"Why?"
He considered the ground for a moment. "If he was able to save your family in one world, why couldn't he have saved it in this one?" For a moment, however brief it was, Damian wasn't trying to be the adult he projected. He was a thirteen-year-old boy that wanted answers.
That was a state of mind Bruce was all too familiar with. "Damian, our words are not the same." He learned that lesson the first time the multiverse had been discovered. "All it takes is one moment to make the difference."
"Father, I am very much aware of how the multiverse operates. I still wish to know what that difference is." His lips tightened into a scowl Bruce knew all too well. "Just how was it that our Dresden failed to do what the other could?"
Those words told Bruce more than what was spoken. Damian interacted with the other Waynes. He must've seen how close and loving they had been. Not only that but he compared it to the family he had.
If Bruce was less of a stoic, he might've winced or showed remorse. He knew that their family wasn't the best. He tried but there were times he treated his sons and daughters as soldiers rather than children. That led to problems far more damaging than they should be. Jason's death and resurrection stood out far too much for Bruce's liking.
Seeing the difference, he knew Damian wouldn't like it. And it would've made him incline to do something drastic. "Did you reveal yourself?" he asked.
"No," Damian answered. The fact he spoke quick and couldn't maintain eye contact was telling.
"What happened, Damian?"
"…Your parents figured it out, at least partially."
This would've been the moment everyone started doing damage control. But they couldn't do that because they were dealing with multiple worlds. Bruce could already feel the headache building. "How?"
"Your mother told me she knew her own eyes, especially when she was looking at them." Damian would never admit it, but he had been caught flat-footed by that. If there had been a reason to disguise their eyes via a mask, that would be it. "They thought I was your younger brother."
Not that would he admit it, but that image made Bruce nearly snort with laughter. Damian was a tough challenge as a son. As a brother? That would've been much worse. Damian's interactions with his brothers were a big enough clue. But he had to focus on the important part. "What did you tell them?"
"I corrected them." His eyes found his father with a determined glint. "I would not let them think wrongly of our connection. That much was owed to them." They were his grandparents. They deserved to know that much of the truth. "They promised to keep the secret to themselves. Your mother said, 'Why spoil our own son's future?'"
Yes, that would've been something Bruce's mother would've said. He could see that little smile she wore whenever she was amused. And if she and his father knew about the rest of his children, they would've enjoyed it. "Did you reveal anything else?" he asked, still focusing on the important part.
"No, Father. Nor did they ask. The fact they had a grandson was enough for them." And it had been. For the rest of his time in that other world, the elder Waynes treated him with care and kindness, even in uniform. The other Bruce had remarked if he stayed any longer, he might end up getting adopted. He might've been joking but it still stuck Damian with a hammer's power. It had also started him considering just how things were different between the worlds.
Meanwhile, conflictions arose in Bruce. One part of him worried about what Damian could've revealed. The other was glad he had a chance to meet his grandparents and they loved him all the same. He put them to the side and considered the photo again. "Tell me about this Dresden."
It was an order and Damian responded in kind. "He's a private investigator that also specializes in magic. He apparently advertises himself as a wizard." Which he found ridiculous, as his snort showed. "He was thought to be a fraud but as the world's superheroes took prominence, the masses started revising their opinions."
"Where does he stand in the magical world?"
"From what I gathered, competent but has a bad habit of fighting beings stronger than him." His eyes rolled at that part. Damian believed that fighting someone stronger without proper planning was an exercise in suicide. Yet Dresden did it constantly and without thought. "He's also apprenticed to a woman known as the Scarlet Witch and is also her lover."
"Did you meet her?"
"No. I was told she was in the United Kingdom, dealing with a family matter." Although, if what he understood was correct, that could mean a lot of different things. "Are there any other questions, Father?"
He had several, but most of them were pushed to the side. "Only two. Do you think my alternative self will become Batman?"
Damian rolled his eyes. "He's you, Father. That isn't even a question. The only difference will be that he'll more prone to asinine pop-culture references and humor. And I will certainly blame Dresden for that."
A smirk quirked at his lips. "You saw it firsthand."
"There was a case. I helped." That was all he would say about the matter. The fact that he ran across Todd's alternative self (who was years older than he should've been) during said case, or that he inadvertently introduced his father's younger self to both his mother's and Selina Kyle's alternatives (all three being the same age and intrigued by each other) would stay with him and him alone. "What's the second question?"
Bruce considered the photo again. "Why are they at a Burger King?" That was the part which baffled him the most.
Again, his son rolled his eyes. He didn't hide his derision. "It was Dresden's birthday." He had found the whole day absurd. But he wouldn't deny it had been a good day.
The Batcomputer beeped, getting their attention. The search was done.
And it had found Dresden.
Bruce reached the console first, forcing Damian to stand at his side. He opened the file and considered the information. So did his son. "…That's it?" he finally said. "That's why I couldn't find him?"
Bruce didn't blame his small outburst. The information was concrete. It had found Dresden.
It just hadn't found Harry Dresden.
According to the Batcomputer, Henriette Dresden was a police detective in Chicago, a part of their Magical Crime Division. She worked often enough with a Lieutenant Karrin Murphy from Homicide that they were considered partners. She did have magical powers, having registered them when she joined the police, but she wasn't on the same level as Zatanna or Dr. Fate.
That said, her skill in recognizing and analyzing magic was top-tier. According to her peers, she was like a bloodhound. Once she had the scent, she wasn't going to let it go. She also didn't appreciate it when other magical beings tried something in Chicago. Apparently, her chasing John Constantine out of town with a baseball bat had already enter local legends (it also answered the question of why Constantine was suddenly limping three years ago).
Bruce considered all the information and knew what his son was stuck on. "Did you assume that Dresden would be in Gotham because the Waynes were here?" he asked.
Damian opened his mouth, then closed it. He tried not to be embarrassed but it was still obvious to his father. "…It seemed the most logical conclusion." And why he had scoured the internet the past few days.
The deciding factor stood out at them both. It wasn't because the alternative Dresden had been at the right place at the right time. It was because the alternative Waynes lived in Chicago, not Gotham.
Once all the information had been read, Bruce closed the file and encrypted it. Setting the Batcomputer to standby, he turned to his son. "I will not tell the others about Dresden," he began. "Simply that he was a person you met that warranted a search here."
"Tt, that might satisfy some of them but not all." He could already imagine Drake digging through what information he could find, searching for the answer. Todd will probably try a surprise interrogation at some point.
Bruce agreed with the sentiment. "Which is why I will not tell them anything." His son looked at him again, eyes widening just enough to show his surprise. "This was your find, Damian. Your secret. If they ask you, it is your decision to tell them or not."
"I…understand, Father."
"Good." He stood up and guided his son away from the Batcomputer. "Now, let's head back upstairs. Alfred's put dinner on hold long enough."
For the rest of the night, no one talked about Damian's use of the Batcomputer. There would be plenty of time for that another night. And they had patrols to do.
When he went to bed, Damian already had three plans on how to handle his family asking about Dresden. There was a fourth but it depended on how Cass would act. Ideally, he wanted to keep this secret to himself. It was something for him, a chance to have known his grandparents in some way. But, as much as he would say otherwise, he knew his brothers and they wouldn't let up.
Still, there was one part he could keep to himself. He had handed his father one picture but kept the other. It would be locked away so only he'd be able to see it. He took one last look before putting it away, burning the image into his memory: Thomas and Martha Wayne standing tall and proud with him in front, out of uniform.
He could still feel their hands on his shoulders. They were warm, and full of love.
End
Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.
After reading the Child of the Storm series by Nimbus Llewelyn, a thought struck me: what would happen if Harry Dresden from that universe somehow ended up in the DC-verse and saw what happened to Bruce Wayne if he hadn't been there to save the Waynes? I asked Nimbus and he had said that he hadn't really thought about it and given that he's leery of people writing in his 'verse, I didn't push.
But then a twist occurred in my thoughts: what if I flipped it around? Instead of Dresden, one of the Batfamily winds up in Nimbus's 'verse. So, here's the chapter depicting the aftermath. Technically speaking, I did not write in his 'verse. Not only that, but Nimbus was aware of this chapter existence once I had written it. If he wishes to use what few and vague references I have used for a possible story, that is up to him.
Admittedly, I don't read a lot of Batman comics, so I don't know what exactly the Batfamily is like. The closest example I have is Wayne Family Adventures, which I know is a lighter and softer version, more focused on humor, and the occasional fanfiction. So, what I've got in my head is that the Batfamily might have issues, and sometimes want to kill one another, but they're still family.
Does anyone have a good explanation for why whenever the masks come on, the superheroes' eyes go white? I'm sure there is one, it might even have a technical reasoning, but I could not think of one. Which was why I had Damian's mask just be a mask and how Martha was able to recognize why they looked so familiar.
I'll see you all next chapter!
