Chapter Five
"Toni?" Robert asked from where he was by the front door.
"If they are whom I believe, then they are no threat to me. Alfred Pennyworth is a butler of an old friend of mine. I can only say for sure whom four of them are and not really any good guess on any others that may be with them."
"Roger that. I let Mills know." Robert paused as he spoke to Bryan through their ear pieces. "They are being let through the gates. He'll lead them inside once the gates close."
"Do you want us in the room?" Deckard asked.
"That won't be necessary, although I know at least one of you will be eavesdropping. Please try and be a bit discreet." Toni said with a smirk. They all made sounds of slight amusement before three of them disappeared into the rest of the house. Deckard stayed, waiting for Bryan to get back in so the two could get some training in. Toni couldn't help it as she stood and her eyes locked onto the three broad shouldered men that followed Bryan into her home. She absentmindedly noticed an older Alfred as well as six others but her eyes were locked primarily on her friends.
"Thank you, Bryan. I'll take it from here." Toni saw him nod out of the corner of her eye before he and Deckard disappeared towards the gym. "Well, well. I was not expecting old friends to start crawling out of the woodworks after so long. What brings you with your entourage to my door?"
The three men exchanged glances and smiled softly at her snark.
"Our best friend goes missing for three months and you think we aren't going to immediately come and check on her when she comes back?" Oliver asked. Toni raised an eyebrow at the three of them.
"Oliver, I haven't seen you or Bruce in over five years, Lex for one, and I don't even remember the last time I've talked to any of you. Do forgive me if I find it hard to believe. And who else did you bring with you to darken my door? Alfred, it is wonderful to see you." She always had loved Alfred. He filled that void for her when Jarvis passed. He also called to check on her once a month before she had went missing just to make sure she was taking care of herself.
"Miss Stark," Alfred said as he came forward and hugged her. Toni allowed herself a moment to relax into the grandfatherly hug before pulling back and letting her eyes land on the six unknowns.
Bruce cleared his throat causing her eyes to dart to him. "As I'm sure you probably remember, I adopted a few boys over the years although you've never met them." Toni hmm'd absentminded as she moved forward to introduce herself as her three friends eyed her uncomfortably. The three men were always caught off guard with her, always surprised at what their genius best friend said or how she reacted because they nor anyone could predict that.
Toni came to a stop in front of the eldest looking one. Four of the boys had black hair with two having blue eyes and two having green eyes.
"Bruce, I believe you have a type… you might wanna see a specialist on that," she heard a choked sound as well as muffled laughter from those around her as she met the eldest's gaze. "As I'm sure you are aware, my name is Toni Stark, you are?"
She held out her hand which he shook in a strong shake.
"I'm Richard Grayson, call me Dick, everybody does." Toni quirked an eyebrow.
"On purpose?" Dick sighed and drooped his head slightly.
"Yeah, on purpose. My parents had called me that so its what I've always gone by."
"Okay, Dick, thank you for allowing Bruce to drag you out here to welcome me home." He smirked and nodded. Toni moved on down the line. This one appeared to be a middle brother whom was practically vibrating in place.
"Kid, you okay?"
"Yes! I can't believe I'm meeting the Toni Stark! I can't believe B has been your friend for years and this is the first time I'm meeting you! I have so many questions. Is it true you created a functioning AI?!" The kid jittered excitedly. Toni felt a bit of warmth in her heart at the genuine excitement and intelligence she could see in this teen.
"It is. In fact, would you like to meet him?"
His eyes lit up.
"Can I?!"
Toni smirked.
"Introduce yourself and find out."
The kid hesitated before doing so. "I'm Tim Drake…"
JARVIS spoke without Toni having to prompt him, the AI having been monitored the interaction since her guards had left the room.
"Hello, Mister Drake, I am Just A Really Very Intelligent System, or JARVIS, for short. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Toni watched as her friends' kids jumped at the sudden voice sounding around them. Toni saw Tim's eyes light up immediately.
"You are my hero!" Tim exclaimed darting forward and impulsively hugging Toni, firing off questions in such a fast sequence that Toni could barely make them out. Toni stiffened slightly in surprise before wrapping an arm around him in return. It took him a second but he finally calmed down and realized exactly what he was doing. He withdrew from her and almost darted right to Dick's side as he looked at the ground in embarrassment. "Uh, sorry. I sometimes can't contain myself when I want to learn something new, especially when it comes to technology."
Toni quirked her lips in amusement. "Don't worry about it, I get it. I will be more than happy to answer your questions, JARVIS might be inclined to do so as well." His eyes darted up at that, excitement once more sparking his eyes.
"I look forward to it, thank you." She winked and turned her attention onto the youngest whom resembled a young Bruce Wayne almost exactly except the green eyes and slightly darker complexion.
"I am Damian Wayne, the blood son. How did you escape your captors?" He glared into Toni's eyes trying to intimidate her. Toni smirked and winked down at the almost mirror of Bruce.
"If I haven't told my closest friends and bodyguards how I escaped, what makes you believe I'll tell you? And you totally remind me of a young Bruce, it's giving me flashbacks."
Toni ignored how his nostrils flared at her ignoring his question and turned to the last of Bruce's brood. This one was the most muscular of the bunch, closest to Bruce in physique. He had a white streak running through his black hair that made him distinguishable from the others.
"Jason Todd." He grunted with a nod that Toni returned, recognizing that that was all that she would be getting out him. She turned her attention onto the twins now.
"And whom do you belong to? Oliver, I'm assuming?"
"How could you possibly of guessed that?!" Oliver protested from behind her. She glanced at him over her shoulder.
"It's like you all forget that we've known each other for a couple decades. Lex does not have a parental bone in his body, the twins obviously do not have the features that Bruce's children have, so by process of elimination that leaves you. Keep up, Oliver." Toni turned back to the twins. "As I'm sure you are aware, I'm Toni Stark."
"I'm Roy Harper."
"I'm Ray Harper."
"Great!" Toni clapped her hands as she stepped back and observed the six additions to her friends' families before turning on her heels and moving towards her three friends. "Come, come. No reason to be standing on ceremony. We're all friends now, aren't we?"
Slowly but surely they filled the couches with Toni sprawling on a love seat by herself and stretching so none would sit by her. How she sat though, allowed her friends whom were sitting closest to her on the couch, to see something glowing faintly beneath her shirt.
"What is that light, Toni?" Lex asked leaning forward to maybe get a better look at it. Toni didn't even have to glance down to know what they were talking about.
"Its the lights reflecting off of the metal necklace under my shirt."
"Toni, we might seem stupid compared to you at times, but we aren't that stupid to believe that." Oliver admonished causing Toni to stick a tongue out at him and him to smirk slightly.
"Toni." Bruce demanded softly, knowing that if he let Toni and Oliver have their little squabble, all of their attention would be moved from what started it to begin with.
Toni met his blue eyes with her own honey brown.
"We might be friends, Bruce, but we aren't that close, not any more. You cannot show up on my door demanding answers to things that I obviously don't want to talk about. Now, am I happy you came to see me? Absolutely! I am beyond ecstatic to see you all, to meet your sons, especially when I thought I was going to die or never escape my captors." She paused as she saw Robert come into the room behind them. "Robert? Everything alright?"
"Yes, but it appears you have some orders that are needing to be dropped off? Delivery drivers are at the delivery gates."
Toni's eyes lit up as she began to think about her new project. "Perfect! Let them in and sign for them for me, please."
"You got it. Is there a list or something for me to check off?" Robert asked.
"JARVIS will check and make sure everything is there, don't worry." Robert shot her a look, knowing now that she is most likely working on something big in secret that she didn't want to let anyone know about.
"You got it, boss. Bourne, Shelton, come help me with this!" The three bodyguards disappeared outside. Toni turned her attention onto her friends once more and raised an eyebrow.
Bruce sighed, defeated and knowing he lost the topic of discussion for now. He nodded once and leaned back as Luthor began to talk to Toni. Bruce knew that she was hiding several things, some of them big, and he hoped to help her with anything she might need. He hadn't realized it until he walked into her home and saw her standing there alive and mostly well.
He had had flings, entertained brief romances with Selina and Talia and a smattering of others. But now he knew for certain.
Bruce Wayne loved Toni Stark.
Oliver laughed as Luthor told a story about one of his inventions causing a few of his scientists to have burned off eyebrows but Oliver couldn't take his eyes off of Toni.
The light hit her just right, her image being halo'd gently by the sun coming through the windows. Oliver knew he had loved Dinah when they were together years ago and have had some serious girlfriends since then. But hearing her snark, hearing her interact with his and Bruce's sons made him realize a very important thing.
Oliver Queen loved Toni Stark.
Luthor drank in Toni's laughter at his stories, having come to the conclusion years ago about his feelings towards her.
Lex Luthor loved Toni Stark.
May the lord help whoever almost took her from them because once the three billionaires got their hands on them, it would be game over.