Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bruce couldn’t believe this was really supposed to be his future. He was lying in a medical cot within a sterile white room that was quite possibly in the middle of enemy territory. The brightly costumed people around him were all tense and talking over each other in a blatantly terrible showing of disorganization. A few ran out to deal with the apparently minor threat of a chainsaw-wielding intruder, but most stayed glued to the doorway with some kind of fanatical curiosity on their faces. He counted at least five hovering there. The three nearest to him within the room also remained, tension obvious in their stances. Based on their costumes, he suspected them to be Superman, Wonder Woman, and Flash, all of whom he was supposed to meet with in less than a week’s time. However, Bruce thought as he squinted closer, this Flash looked somehow different from the one in his files. He was somewhat lanky, with narrower shoulders than Bruce had expected… he almost appeared younger.

He knew the Flash theoretically had super speed. Was it possible that the Flash was also some kind of meta-human with the ability to age backwards or change time? Or did he come from another dimension or planet filled with similar people, and this was a different person altogether? What might have happened to the original Flash, if that was the case?

Bruce sat up in his scratchy sheets, somewhat surprised to find himself unbound. He tried to swallow down the metallic taste of ozone in the back of his throat. His body felt strangely devoid of any debilitating injury, he realized, though he just barely managed to refrain from massaging his temples when a pounding headache immediately made itself known upon his change in position. He’d have assumed this was all some kind of trap, and that the proposed “Justice Society” was secretly a front, except for, well…

“Robin,” he said. “Report.”

The unsettlingly adult-looking version of his son came forward as the rest of the heroes fell silent. He kept a firm grip on the child who was wearing something that undeniably resembled the Robin costume. However, this boy was wearing much more adequate padding, actual pants, and had added a black outer lining to his cape which was clearly for camouflage purposes; this was a vast improvement in Bruce’s opinion. He briefly mourned the fact that Dick would still not allow him to add anything his son deemed “too restrictive” to his own version of it.

“They’re telling the truth, B,” Dick told him earnestly. “You’re twelve years younger than you should be.”

Dick was looking at him with those same cornflower blue eyes out of his oddly older face. It was like staring into the funhouse mirror version of his own thirteen year old boy, and Bruce did not like it at all. It made his stomach sink with an emotion he refused to identify while the pain in his head spiked.

“How do I know this is real?” he growled defensively, though the protest was half-hearted at best. Dick knew it too, if his exasperated expression was anything to go by.

“Have you noticed any time skips? Visual distortions? Inconsistencies with the rules of reality?” he rattled off. “Do you remember anything nefarious happening right before this?”

“There’s always something nefarious,” Bruce grumbled. “And Flash looks too young.”

Dick laughed, loud and clear. If there was ever any doubt that the man before him was his son, that doubt vanished into the air like mist. Dick’s face looked just like John Grayson’s, Bruce thought, and his laugh was the same as his mother’s in the one recording of their show he’d been able to procure for Dick’s 10th birthday.

Dick beckoned the Flash forward, then turned toward the door and called “Barry, get in here!” in a loud voice that did nothing for Bruce’s poor head. Superman and Wonder Woman crowded against the walls to make room for the new person in his small medical room, but Dick and the child remained close to the head of the bed. To Bruce’s surprise, he soon found himself with two Flashes at his bedside, one clearly old enough to be the original Flash, and the other most likely his successor.

“Are the powers genetic?” he asked.

Young Flash chuckled and leaned against Dick in an uncomfortably familiar manner. “Nah, I’m just an idiot.” Dick ruffled Young Flash’s hair and gave him a sneaky little squeeze before disengaging. Ah, Bruce realized. It’s like that.

Elder Flash smiled at the two young heroes indulgently. “He recreated the failed science experiment that was responsible for my powers in his garage when he was fourteen. He didn’t realize I was also secretly his uncle. He’s been my sidekick ever since.”

Bruce hummed in acknowledgement. Somehow it was unsurprising that such a child might be perfect for Dick, though he’d reserve judgment until he found out whether or not he’d properly threatened Young Flash yet.

“Who is this, then?” He finally asked, turning to the child. The… oddly familiar child, now that he considered him more carefully.

The tension in the room abruptly skyrocketed, and Bruce glanced around at the crowd in the doorway who were all practically falling over themselves to listen in. It was very uncomfortable.

Suddenly a deep booming noise vibrated through the halls and floor, accompanied by several unintelligible angry yells. A bulky, heavily-armed man in leather armor and some kind of crimson motorcycle helmet barreled through the crowd as if he was knocking down bowling pins. There was a chainsaw strapped to his back and a quick efficiency to his movements that spoke to years of intense training.

“Nightwing!” The helmet distorted his voice so that it came out with the mechanized whine of a robot. “Have you seen—oh thank Gotham.”

He took a predatory step toward the child and Bruce tensed, but the red-helmeted man got no further. Superman was suddenly there, pinning the man to the wall in an unbreakable hold.

“Who are you?” Wonder Woman asked from over Superman’s shoulder in a deadly calm voice.

He struggled against the hold. “Let go of me,” he growled. Bruce noticed the man’s arm coming up for some kind of attack, but before he could decide whether or not to shout a warning Superman was already stumbling back, a shocked and openly pained expression on his face.

“Kryptonite?” Superman managed, before falling back toward the clogged doorway looking rather ill.

Something shifted, and suddenly a jaguar was leaping over Superman’s shoulder and toward the villain, looking ready to tear him to shreds. At the same time, Wonder Woman stepped forward with her fists raised. The Flashes had already disappeared, and in half a second Bruce saw the man fall to the ground as though a swift force had kicked him to his knees.

He rolled on the floor with the growling jaguar on top of him, letting his tough leather armor block its teeth and claws as he turned it away; Bruce worried that he would pin the jaguar to the ground, but thankfully Wonder Woman stepped in to aid them and Young Flash appeared with a pair of chunky-looking handcuffs as well.

Wonder Woman stepped forward, looking rather majestic as Young Flash handed over the cuffs. Bruce watched as both Flashes set themselves at her back, and the jaguar transformed into a dark-skinned young woman standing at the ready on her left. The remaining heroes blocked the door, ready stances indicating that they would not be so easily knocked aside this time. “Surrender,” Wonder Woman said, “or we will be forced to hurt you.”

The villain looked up from his place on the floor, and Bruce got the feeling that if his face was uncovered he’d be spitting at her feet.

“I’d like to see you try,” he hissed.

The tension in the room raised further, and just as everyone looked ready to spring into action again, Dick stepped in between the villain and the team, hands raised to either side. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said with a strained smile. “Let’s all just take a deep breath here.”

“Step aside, Nightwing,” Wonder Woman said. “This man must be apprehended by the Justice League for his infiltration and unprovoked attack on our headquarters.”

“Unprovoked?” The helmet made a scratching sound that may have been a scoff. “It was your heroes who attacked me!”

“I think,” Dick said, talking over him, “That this is all one big misunderstanding.” He turned toward the villain and Bruce made a mental note to have a chat with him about putting known aggressors at his back. “Why did you come here?”

The room fell quiet as everyone turned expectantly. The man, apparently sighed and his shoulders loosened. “Robin went missing.”

Dick nodded a little ruefully. “Me too. We really should have made a better contingency plan, huh?”

“Contingency plan?” Squawked a man wearing an aggravatingly glowing green costume. “Who is this guy? Why do the two of you have contingency plans?”

The villain, if he was in fact a villain, shifted as though to get off the floor. He turned slightly, appeared to catch Wonder Woman’s eye, and smoothly transitioned to sitting with his legs crossed instead. “The name’s Red Hood,” he said.

The people in the doorway suddenly began to chatter like an excitable swarm of teenage fangirls.

”That’s the Red Hood?”

“I can see why Batman might tap that.”

“Do we really think this guy is an okay dad?”

“Is he here because he’s worried? That’s so sweet!”

The noise made Bruce’s head throb again, and he gave into the small weakness of massaging his temples. Hopefully no one was watching him anyway.

“Hey!” Dick called over the din. “Hey, how about we move this all to the meeting room? I’ll vouch for Hood, he’s not a threat.”

“Screw you, I am so a threat,” Red Hood said.

“You are an annoyance at best and a soft hearted fool at worst, Hood,” said a young voice. Bruce barely refrained from startling as the young boy stuck his head out from behind Dick’s leg. When had he gotten there?

Dick rolled his eyes. “Robin, that’s two dollars in the jar. Let’s move, people!”

The room slowly began to clear, and Bruce blinked in disbelief as his thirteen year old adult son somehow managed to corral an entire team of disgruntled superheroes, one possibly feral child, and one potential super villain toward the exit.

The man in glowing green and another wearing what appeared to be a Robin Hood costume, arrows and all, escorted Red Hood between them, shooting glares at him the whole way. Red Hood turned back toward Dick, but Dick only waved him forward cheekily and made his way to Bruce’s bedside.

“Up and at ‘em,” he said. “I may not be thirteen anymore, but I know you’d never miss this.”

Bruce hummed in agreement, and Dick cracked a grin. He threw an arm around Bruce’s shoulders to help him up, and despite Bruce’s pride taking a hit at needing the assistance, it was too necessary to protest.

The child was still grumbling as he shuffled along beside them. “Two dollars? It was only one insult!”

“One dollar for the insult and one for the implication that emotions are a weakness,” Dick singsonged back. “Or would you like to take it up with Penny-One?”

The child crossed his arms mulishly. “Hmph. Two dollars is acceptable, I suppose.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Dick led them into a large meeting room with comfortable seats spread around a massive round conference table. Most of the seats had already been filled by the various heroes he’d seen in the doorway and during the fight, and they were chatting quietly in front of a huge window in the genuine space station they must be on. Bruce could see the planet Earth out the window. He was careful to school his expression before anyone could notice, and glanced around the room more carefully.

Red Hood was in the corner, still accompanied by the two men in green. They had been joined by an intimidating woman wearing an all-black skintight suit, who leaned against the one with the arrows with casual familiarity.

An unfamiliar dark-haired woman was also already waiting inside. She was standing near the doorway, and her costume consisted of a rather scandalous imitation of a tuxedo, a beautiful top hat, and a cane which she idly twirled as though it was a baton. Bruce thought she could have used a little more armor and a little less glitter.

“Zatanna!” Dick exclaimed.

“Nightwing!” The woman returned with a smile. She looked between them with wide, amused brown eyes. “You have kept me waiting. Can I see the patient?”

Dick and the child quickly stepped aside reveal Bruce. Bruce reminded himself sternly that Batman never shifted uncomfortably, and he remained perfectly still as Zatanna got rather too close to him and looked him over. “I see,” she said, prodding and poking seemingly random bits of his suit.

“See what?” the child demanded. Bruce could tell the other heroes were all paying rapt attention as well, though they did their best to look unaffected.

He was about to ask for a more thorough diagnosis, perhaps with an accompanying explanation to fix this mess, when Zatanna muttered a string of nonsense syllables and he felt a tingling sensation travel through his entire body. He sucked in a sharp breath as his head swam and spots appeared in his vision.

Bruce blinked his eyes open to find himself supported almost entirely on Nightwing’s shoulder.

“---little warning would have been nice,” Dick was saying. He barely paused as Bruce got his feet back under him, feeling as though he’d been smacked in the back of the head with a baseball bat.

“What?” he managed. His head felt stuffed full, and images of Dick at fourteen years old and nervous for his first day of high school lingered behind his eyes.

Zatanna turned to face him. “You’ve been hit with a pretty standard de-ageing spell. Luckily nothing too complicated. I’ve placed a new spell on you to reverse the process, but it will take some time so as not to stress your body too much and cause damage. You’re a year older now than you were, and during the next couple hours you will gain one year every ten minutes or so until you’ve returned to your normal age.”

The child cleared his throat and Bruce found himself looking down and expecting to see Dick, only to find that oddly familiar face instead. “You will ensure that the rapid aging ceases as soon as he has returned to normal?” The child asked formally.

“Yes, of course,” Zatanna smiled. “The spell will dissipate with no harm done.”

“Good.” The child nodded and strode over to a particular seat, planting himself firmly on the armrest. “Well? Is this meeting going to commence or were you all planning to just sit here?”

Dick laughed under his breath and tugged Bruce along behind him. His son sat in the chair the child was already perched on, and Bruce found himself directed to sit next to them, the seat already engraved with a stylistic bat that resembled his own sigil. With the new memories still swirling in his head, he recognized the seat as the same one he’d been sitting in since the Justice League was founded.

The rest of the group gathered around, everyone taking a seat. Even Red Hood was permitted closer, and after a bit of haggling Dick managed to convince the two guards—Green Lantern and Green Arrow, Bruce remembered—that Red Hood would be safely handcuffed to Dick’s own chair to prevent any further trouble.

“Alright,” said Wonder Woman, leaning forward from her place once everyone was settled. Her eyes landed right on Nightwing and Red Hood. “I believe you have some explaining to do.”

Chapter Text

Dick had been prepared for this eventuality for a long time. Honestly, he’d been prepared for the Justice League to find out about their deception almost since it began, way back when Jason was Robin. He and his siblings and sibling-adjacent people had discussed millions of ways to reveal themselves, though half of them would never have worked. Now that he was finally in the position to explain, however, Dick found himself at a loss for words. He almost looked to his right for help from Bruce, but this strange young version of him wouldn’t be much help. Jason and Damian on his left weren’t much better.

Instead, he looked around at the Justice League members gathered in the huge meeting room. Everyone was staring at him with various emotions ranging from frustration to bafflement to hysterical amusement on their faces. Superman was on Bruce’s other side, looking almost like he’d blown right past confusion and landed straight in exhaustion territory. Next to him sat Wonder Woman, directly in front of the window, with Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern to her right. None of them looked particularly thrilled.

“I guess…” he trailed off. His eyes continued, skidding past Barry and landing directly across the table at his amazing boyfriend. Wally gave him an encouraging nod, his mouth twitching in a way that threatened a smile, and Dick felt himself relax as the words came to him more easily.

“I should probably start by introducing my baby brother,” Dick decided. “Everyone, this is Robin!” He threw some jazz hands in Damian’s direction, who shot him a venomous look in response. Jason snorted on his left, and Dick noticed Aquaman leaning a little away from him on the other side, closer to Vixen and Cyborg. Dick caught Vixen wince out of the corner of his eye, even as Cyborg was clearly only holding in his hysterics by a thread. Hopefully Jason didn’t notice that anyone here found him intimidating, or he’d be insufferable for months.

“Robin?” Green Lantern spluttered. He nearly fell into Barry’s lap as he craned his neck to get a better view. “But Robin’s an adult!”

“What makes you say that?” Dick asked innocently.

Aquaman’s forehead creased, and his mouth puckered in a frown. “Robin has been known as Batman’s partner since before the League began twelve years ago. Even if Robin had been a teenager when he started, he would have to be at least in his mid twenties by now.”

Dick couldn’t stop a laugh. “I am! Good guess.”

It took only a second for the penny to drop. “He called you Robin,” Black Canary said, nodding toward Bruce, who looked utterly lost. Dick tried not to think about the fact that Bruce was currently only about three years older than he himself was.

“Are you saying you used to be Robin?” Vixen gaped at him. “There’s two? Is this one your son?”

Cyborg audibly snorted, but attempted to pass it off as a cough when Hawkgirl turned to glare at him.

Dick gulped and tried even harder not to think about becoming a parent at age twenty five. Bruce took you at twenty four his brain whispered, and Dick shut down that train of thought immediately. He did not need to contemplate whether Damian could be his kid.

Luckily, Damian jumped in for him before the pause could grow awkward. “Ridiculous, mutt,” he said, turning up his nose. “I come from the superior bloodline of the al Ghuls, only strengthened by the blood of Batman.”

“That’s another dollar, kiddo,” Jason muttered. Damian scoffed, but Dick raised an eyebrow and he subsided with a pout.

“In more… polite terms,” Dick said, turning back to the group. “Robin is Batman’s biological child.”

Muttering broke out across the room, but none looked more shocked than Bruce himself. “Talia?” he whispered.

“Yep,” Jason laughed. “You have terrible taste, B.”

“This Talia person,” Green Arrow asked, despite Black Canary clearly elbowing him behind the table, “is she by any chance the famous Oracle?”

Dick caught his brothers’ eyes, and couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubbled up inside him as Jason barked out a sharp laugh and Damian made a face of disgust. “Definitely not,” Dick said.

More people than he was comfortable with looked way too disappointed by that statement. Dick was pretty sure money was already changing hands under the table.

“...Oracle?” Bruce looked afraid to ask.

The lights flickered once. Dick snorted. “She’s our tech expert. My former girlfriend, actually. I think you’ve met her before.”

Bruce stared at him for a moment longer before his eyes widened. “His daughter?”

“Yep,” Dick said with a grin.

“Whose daughter?” Barry asked, blinking at them innocently.

Dick shot him a smirk. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Barry reared back, as if grievously offended. “I bet Wally knows!” he said.

“I’m sorry, are you my boyfriend? No. So you don’t get all the insider information.”

Superman cleared his throat, and Dick abruptly realized he was in the middle of an explanation.

“Right,” he muttered. “So anyway, Robin is a title that has now been passed down to my brother, here.”

Cyborg, the traitor, leaned forward, a terrible smile igniting on his face. “But aren’t Robin and Batman supposed to be Partners? Care to tell us about yourself and Batman, Wing?”

Dick winced, and he was sure everyone saw it. Damian, on the other hand, bristled at once. “Are you implying that Batman and Nightwing are romantically entangled?” he cried, jumping to his feet and drawing his sword. “Who dares impugn their honor?”

“Actually,” said Barry unhelpfully, “We were assuming that Batman was romantically entangled with Robin. Nightwing might have been involved, though, we weren’t sure.”

Dick felt adrenaline rush through him, slowing the world around him and allowing him to focus with crystal clarity on every microexpression as Damian transformed into a force of pure rage. He let out an incoherent screech that barely registered to Dick’s ears as all his muscles tensed and Dick sprang into motion. He tackled Damian to the floor just in time. They landed in a tangled heap between Hawkgirl and Zatanna, with Black Canary and Cyborg jumping up beside them to help. A sharp little elbow jabbed Dick in the kidney and a small green boot managed to bruise his shin, but Dick held strong.

“You—oof—had to make things worse, didn’t you?” he grunted around Damian’s incandescent howls.

Barry shrugged, apparently unconcerned about the murderous child out for his blood only a few seats away. “Couldn’t help it.”

With a little help from Zatanna and Cyborg, Dick managed to wrangle Damian back toward their seats with minimal injury to all parties. Hawkgirl shot Damian a disgruntled glare as she straightened her wings, but luckily his brother didn’t seem to notice. Instead, Dick deposited Damian directly into a snickering Jason’s arms (“Hey!” said Jason) and sat back with a sigh. Perhaps it would have been wise to let Damian in on the joke, he thought. Then again, this behavior was exactly why they hadn’t.

“Um,” Vixen glanced around. “Is anyone else concerned about just handing Robin over to the random crime lord that invaded the Watchtower?”

“Yeah, what’s up with that, Nightwing?” Green Arrow agreed. Superman and Wonder Woman nodded, watching him expectantly, while Martian Manhunter smiled serenely behind their backs. Beside them, Green Lantern looked ready to blow a gasket, with only Barry there to hold him back.

From the corner of his eye, Dick saw Jason somehow manage to shrug around his armful of gremlin, keeping a firm hand over Damian’s mouth. “Sometimes the only ones you can trust to babysit are family,” Jason told them. “Not that I appreciate babysitting.” He glared pointedly in Dick’s direction.

“You as well?” Wonder Woman said. “Truly, I did not know Batman had so many people in his family.”

Everyone processed that for a second. “Wait a minute,” Green Lantern spluttered. “You knew Batman had a family?”

She blinked. “Of course. Was it not obvious? He communicates with Robin frequently enough, as well as someone called Agent A.”

Dick valiantly fought down his laughter at everyone’s dismayed expressions; of course Wonder Woman would show them all up without even trying. Green Arrow’s head thumped onto the table in despair. Superman’s face was in his hands. Vixen groaned, “I can’t believe this.”

“You said it,” Hawkgirl grumbled.

Bruce cleared his throat. Dick paused. Even behind the cowl, Bruce wasn’t looking well. “Robin,” he said hoarsely. “I remember you at sixteen. Did we… are we better?”

“Of course that’s what he’s worried about in all this,” Jason grumbled.

Dick just gave him a smile. “Yeah, B. We’re better now.”

Bruce nodded slightly, then looked between them calculatingly. “How many kids do I have?”

Damian drew a deep breath, and at that moment Dick realized that Jason had let go of his mouth. “I am the only true—mmph!”

“Can it, brat, that’s another dollar,” Jason said, hand once again firmly in place. Damian struggled, but his little fists were no match for Jason’s heavy armor, and Dick figured even Damian knew better than to draw a real weapon on a family member in the middle of potentially hostile territory.

“Damian is your only biological child,” Dick told him kindly. “But in total you have five. Officially.”

"Five?" Green Lantern wheezed. Barry patted him on the back sympathetically.

"Are they, like... okay?" Green Arrow whispered too loudly, staring between Dick and Damian with something like fear, which was honestly a little offensive. Dick was going to start grinning creepily at him from the shadows just for that.

“Officially?” Black Canary interjected. “What does that mean?”

“Eh,” Jason managed to free one hand and make a so-so gesture before returning to Damian containment. “Emotionally he’s got at least two more, and that’s not even counting the new foster kid.”

“Foster kid??” Green Lantern screeched, shaking off Barry’s calming hand on his shoulder. “You’re a foster parent in your spare time?” He stared at Bruce, bug eyed, but Bruce just shrugged helplessly.

“Batman is a good man,” Martian Manhunter said decisively. “And he has never projected romantic feelings when discussing Robin in the past. I find myself unsurprised by this revelation.”

“You couldn’t have shared that little tidbit with us earlier?” Hawkgirl rolled her eyes at the other end of the table.

Martian Manhunter blinked innocently. “It goes against my own morals to share the emotions of others without their prior consent or sufficient cause. I only share this now because the conclusion is obvious to any who are familiar with Batman and his principles. Now no one may pass unwanted slights against his character.”

“Preach it, man,” said Cyborg.

Superman politely cleared his throat. “Is one of those children you mentioned called Batgirl?”

“Why do you ask?” Dick said, heart rate picking up in anticipation. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

“So she’s not?” said Green Arrow. Then he turned to Jason, looking at him without overt suspicion for the first time. “Is she actually your daughter then?”

Dick choked on a laugh as Jason spluttered incoherently. “How old do you think I am?” Jason managed hysterically. “Actually, no, don’t answer that. No, she’s one of the unofficial kiddos. Well… I guess all of them are.”

“All of them?” Barry said. “So there are more than one?”

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Green Lantern said, squinting at them through his mask. “How many are there?”

Jason shrugged. “Just three.”

“Are they all acolytes of Oracle?” said Aquaman.

Dick couldn’t help the sly smile. “In a manner of speaking, they are.”

“In a manner of—oh for goodness sake!” Vixen said, throwing her hands in the air. Dick heroically held back his laughter. “How about this: are any of them robots?”

“Robots?” Bruce was looking increasingly alarmed.

Damian crossed his arms with a huff. “Preposterous. I have already heard enough of your ridiculous theories to last me a lifetime.”

“So…” Green Lantern ventured after a second, “They’re not robots?”

“All human, born and raised,” Jason said. Bruce looked so greatly relieved that Dick almost felt bad for the amount of heart attacks they were giving him.

“All Batgirl at different times, mind you.” said Dick, taking pity on the rest of the team. “For now it’s just Oracle, Black Bat, and Spoiler.”

“So there is a connection!” said Hawkgirl with triumph.

“Sure,” Jason said. “Spoiler’s the most recent, same age as Red Robin, but they’ve all been Batgirl at some point or another.”

“Is Spoiler the one in the purple?” Bruce asked quietly.

Dick blinked. Even when he was only a few years older than Dick, Bruce still managed to surprise him. “How’d you know that?” he said. “Your memories haven’t gotten that far, have they?”

Bruce shook his head. “I’ve only just remembered your seventeenth birthday,” he admitted. Dick winced. “But there’s a girl in purple hiding in the ceiling and someone dressed similarly to Robin with her. I assume those are the two you’re talking about.”

”What??”

“Pardon?”

“Are you saying our security is compromised?” Aquaman’s deep voice rose above the rest. He turned toward Jason threateningly, looking one second away from reaching for his trident. Damian, the only thing standing between the Atlantean King and his target, leapt to his feet and bared his teeth.

“Be careful who you threaten, fool,” he hissed. “Raise one hand against him and the rest of us will come down on your head.”

Aquaman paused, looking a little startled, and glanced around the rest of the table as if to say, Can you believe this?

“Nightwing,” Wonder Woman spoke up, and Dick snapped around to face her. She raised her eyebrows a little sardonically. “Is the Watchtower compromised?”

Dick shrugged. “If you count Batman’s kids knowing how to get in, then… yes? But no one else can.”

Green Arrow leapt out of his seat. “Get down here right now!” he shouted at the ceiling.

Black Canary put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. “Not the best way to handle young adults,” Dick barely heard her murmur before she raised her voice louder. “Hello up there. Would you mind coming down so we can meet you properly?”

“We have already met your brothers,” Wonder Woman added, also addressing the ceiling. “We would be honored to meet you as well.”

Dick looked up and locked eyes with Tim through a ventilation grate. He gave the subtle signal for ‘all clear’ and Tim shot him a tiny nod in response. A second later, Red Robin gracefully descended onto the table, cape billowing behind him. Spoiler tumbled down on his heels. She casually got to her feet, glanced around with a smirk, and nonchalantly shoved Damian back down so she could perch on Jason’s armrest right between Aquaman and the boys. Dick could see the eyeroll go through Tim’s entire body as he stepped forward with great dignity and stood at Dick’s right shoulder, far too cool to sit on an armrest or pull out a folding chair from the corner.

“Red Robin,” Superman nodded. “Good to see you again.”

“You as well,” Tim replied.

Jason grunted. “Of course, I get threats of imprisonment and immediate alarms, but all you get for busting in is ‘good to see you again.’”

“Maybe that’s because we went with subtlety instead of charging in with a chainsaw,” Steph said, stroking her chin in mock thought. “You know, just an idea.”

“Shut up,” said Jason. “You were at least forty percent responsible for the chainsaw in the first place and you know it.”

Dick was sure the Justice League was ready to let loose another barrage of questions. Barry and Wally were leaning together across from him, muffling super fast snickers and whispers behind their hands. As his eyes traveled to the left, Black Canary seemed to be coaching Green Arrow on how best to get the answers he wanted. Meanwhile, Zatanna, Hawkgirl, and Vixen were all looking at Cyborg with varying levels of concern; he seemed to be having some kind of minor meltdown that might have been the half-robot equivalent of hysterics. Aquaman was having a staring contest with Steph, and Dick honestly didn’t know what Steph thought she was doing competing with a guy who was literally part fish. Fish didn’t blink, he was almost certain.

That wasn’t even mentioning whatever was going on with Green Lantern on Barry and Wally’s other side, though at least Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and Superman were there to keep him relatively sane.

Before he could open up the floor for their next round of interrogation, however, Dick noticed that Bruce had his I-have-something-vaguely-emotional-to-say face on. He turned to meet his eyes.

Tim noticed it too. “What’s up, B?” he said.

Bruce glanced between the five of them, from Damian and Steph sniping at each other on Jason’s armrests to Tim standing properly at Dick’s shoulder, all gathered around like some kind of messed up vigilante family photo. His eyes lingered on Tim questioningly when he spoke. “Is one of you my… second kid?”

There was a brief pause, like the hush before thunder shook the ground, and everyone turned toward them in a wave around the table. Jason was tense as a live wire.

“Oh,” said Steph, finally turning away from Aquaman, “that’d be this one.” And she patted Jason’s red helmet as though he’d never been any more dangerous than an angry hamster.

Bruce stared. Jason somehow stiffened even more.

“Second kid?” Green Lantern started shouting. “Red Hood is his second kid!?”

“Really?” Black Canary asked at the same time. “That explains so much.”

Superman kept glancing between Dick and Jason. “But that means… he’s younger than Nightwing?”

No matter how much the others shouted and talked over each other, nothing seemed to break into the silent bubble surrounding Jason and Bruce. Dick hoped that for once Bruce would manage to say the right thing.

Finally, the cacophony was broken by Jason’s mechanical voice. “What, Old Man? Got something to say?”

The room fell quiet again, and Bruce’s mouth opened and closed in the sudden stillness. Then, “You got so big,” he whispered, sounding something approaching astonished. “I wasn’t sure… that is, I’m sure Agent A was thrilled.”

Jason shifted in his seat. “Yeah, well. I did used to be a pipsqueak, didn’t I?”

“No one thought you’d ever make it past five feet tall after everything you survived,” Bruce said.

Dick raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t known that, but looking back, it wasn’t too surprising. Jason had been a really small kid, what with the malnutrition and physical abuse that came with being a street kid, not to mention the emotional turmoil that took itself out on his body. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure Jason had still been under five feet when he—

Well.

“You? Only five feet? That’d be the dream,” Steph laughed. “I’d be the one tossing you around!”

“Disgraceful,” Damian grumbled. “I would have surpassed you in growth in a year.”

Jason just ruffled both their hair, probably buying himself time to come up with a response if Dick had to guess. Before it was needed, Cyborg spoke up.

“So I hate to interrupt this little moment here, but uh… my heat sensors are picking up another unknown person nearby. Are you absolutely sure this place isn’t compromised by anyone else?”

Dick looked up and his eyes locked on an eerie white pair that seemed to stare into his soul. Before he could say anything, all the lights cut out and the room plunged into darkness.

Chapter Text

Bruce didn’t hesitate.

As soon as the meeting room appeared compromised by an unknown attacker he was on his feet, gadgets in hand. The memories constantly trickling into his brain were distracting, but certainly not debilitating, and he put all his focus into reacting to the threat in front of him. He couldn’t throw batarangs at someone he couldn’t see, but he took up a defensive stance behind his future children and prayed Dick was covering the other side. Presumably the others also knew how to defend against a threat, based on the custom hero costumes they wore and their presence in this mysterious Watchtower, but Bruce was not about to leave something as important as future family members to chance.

He listened for the attacker to come, but couldn’t make out much over the general din of confused superheroes around him. Couldn’t any of them do something useful, like see in the dark? Or create some kind of light so the rest of them could see?

Something brushed past him. It could have been anything: a draft, Superman flying past, or even Dick silently fighting an attacker, except for the fact that Bruce also heard multiple distinct giggles accompanying the movement.

Some mechanical whirring sound kicked up a notch, and the lights returned to half power. Bruce blinked the spots from his eyes, turned, and blinked again.

“Aw, guys, what the heck,” Dick complained, squirming ineffectually as two newcomers hoisted Young Flash onto his lap. For his part, Young Flash was laughing uproariously, apparently delighted by this turn of events.

They seemed to be out of danger for the moment, if the unconcerned behavior of his children (there were so many—not thinking about that) was anything to go by. Bruce relaxed marginally out of his fighting stance and observed the two unknowns more closely.

The first wore a black bodysuit with yellow armor on top, embellished with a white insignia that looked very similar to Bruce’s own bat. He appeared young; his skin was a deep brown, and the shape of his face gave Bruce the impression that he’d only just grown out of his last remaining baby fat. There was also a distinct lack of any sort of facial hair on his exposed cheeks and upper lip. He looked perhaps a year older than the 14-year-old Jason Bruce could now picture clearly in his mind’s eye. The boy was currently high-fiving Spoiler with a shy grin.

Dismissing the boy for now, Bruce turned his attention to scrutinizing the other invader. She was female based on body type, but he could tell frustratingly little else about her due to the fact that her costume—clearly a replica of his own in protection, assets, and aesthetics—extended up to cover her entire face with a black mask. The mouth portion was stitched shut like some kind of doll or scarecrow, which gave her an inhuman air that Bruce suspected was intentional.

The unsettling feeling her costume evoked would have worked more effectively if she was not obviously currently using sign language to tease Dick about his relationship with Young Flash.

“I am not lonely just because everyone’s sitting with Hood!” Dick protested with the same sort of mock outrage he’d always used when claiming that of course he’d spent enough time studying. Bruce would not smile about something so commonplace, no matter how many of the children muffled snickers into their hands.

However much fun they were having, Bruce needed some answers soon. He cleared his throat pointedly and was satisfied when nearly every head in the room snapped up to face him. “An introduction, if you please,” he said.

“Oh, right,” Red Robin recovered first. He reached over to punch the yellow invader on his shoulder pauldron, saying, “This is our foster brother, Signal. Over there is our sister Black Bat.”

Black Bat did a little wave in Bruce’s direction, appearing oddly sweet for someone otherwise dressed as an eldritch horror. Not a threat, she signed. Just a joke!

“Hm,” said Bruce. He wasn’t sure what else he could say in this situation.

Apparently, he was the only one inflicted with that particular problem.

“Are you sure you’re not a robot?” Green Lantern said to Black Bat, staring at her closely.

She gave him a firm nod, then signed something too quickly for Bruce to catch that made Red Robin laugh. Aquaman once again looked as though he regretted sitting so close to Bruce’s family as he tried to inch his chair away from them.

Meanwhile, Hawkgirl was leaning toward Duke, trying to stay out of Bruce’s sight. It was a futile attempt, but he pretended not to notice in order to hear her say her piece. “Are you in a good home? I mean, with…” she trailed off. “He can be a little…”

“Intimidating?” Zatanna suggested beside her.

“Yes, that.”

Bruce tried not to let on how much that worry struck home, and was honestly a little surprised to see that Duke looked almost offended. “B’s great,” he told her shortly, and turned his back. Bruce thought it almost looked like he wanted to lecture her. To defend life at Wayne Manor? It was a warming thought.

With his heart rate finally returning to normal and the danger levels once again minimal, Bruce allowed himself to breathe and sift through the steady flow of memories he’d been ignoring in the face of the threat. Jason should be nearly sixteen, and he needed to know what kind of car he’d settled on buying for—

Bruce felt all the blood drain from his face at once. In his peripheral vision, Martian Manhunter looked up sharply.

Bruce might have swayed.

Distantly, someone called for him, but Bruce was drowning, gasping for breath.

“B! B, what’s going on?”

“He must have remembered something. How long has it been?”

There was a rushing sound in Bruce’s ears. The voices flew past him, but he couldn’t process a single word.

“He mentioned Jay, what, twenty minutes ago… oh. Oh shit.”

Suddenly there were hands gripping Bruce’s shoulders, hauling him up and away from the crowd that had surrounded him. His arms were arranged over two sets of broad shoulders and he was practically carried out of the room. “C’mon, B,” someone soothed him, as though words would do any good at all.

His body thumped down onto something vaguely soft, and Bruce’s whole body crumpled. “He’s gone,” he whispered.

“Hey. Bruce, look at me. Look up, right here,” the soothing voice continued. “We’re in a secure room.” Hands reached up and deactivated whatever safety measures were programmed into his cowl. It was just as well, Bruce thought despondently, as his mask was removed. The eyepieces had become too blurry to see through anyway.

A second voice cursed quietly. “Tell them we’re done, Dick. They can wait an hour until he’s recovered if they want to know everything so bad.”

“We can’t just—” Dick’s voice paused, and Bruce felt eyes on him for a long moment. “He can’t be alone right now.”

“I’ll stay with him. Go.”

There was another hesitation before near silent footsteps crossed the floor and an automatic door swished open and closed. Bruce tried to get his breathing under control in the sudden silence, but it all just kept getting away from him again. If he allowed Jason to— to—

How did he have more kids? Who had let him have more? What was he supposed to do? There was no recovery after this kind of failure.

“Bruce,” someone said roughly, and the hands were back on his shoulders again. “Do you remember what we’ve been doing here?”

“Age displacement.” Bruce waved his hand to indicate mumbo jumbo the way his kids kid kids always did. The voice gave a wobbly huff

“And what family members have you met here in the future?”

“S’not really the future.”

“Bruce.” The person was exasperated now. “Humor me.”

He sucked in a breath, thinking back. “Future Dick,” he said. “A new Robin, and…” he stopped. For the first time, he raised his eyes to the person in the room with him.

The helmet had been removed and placed on the floor, leaving only a dark haired young adult in front of him. “Who are you, really?” he growled. This was the Red Hood. The one who impossibly claimed to be his tiny little dead son. There was no way—but Dick had left them alone.

“It’s really me, Bruce.” And now Red Hood reached up and removed his domino as well, revealing jarringly green eyes within a face that was achingly similar to his own son’s would have been.

Bruce shook his head. “Your eyes,” he said. Red Hood’s hand came up to his own cheek, as if he could feel the imperfection. Some kind of clone perhaps? Or a dimensional counterpart trapped in this world? How had he managed to fool everyone?

But Red Hood only smiled a little ruefully. “Yeah. Ever seen the effects of a Lazarus Pit in person?”

Bruce had. Increased physical prowess, temporary uncontrollable rage, and of course, glowing green eyes. It was too perfect. “Impossible,” he said, but his shaking hands betrayed him, cupping the imposter's face with infinite gentleness. His skin felt warm and real beneath Bruce’s fingers.

“I’m gonna come back, B,” his dead son said, and Bruce was a strong man, but even he had a breaking point. He leaned his forehead into Jason’s and just breathed shuddering breaths, in and out. If this was all some elaborate trap and this man was going to kill him, at least Bruce could have these few moments of glorious delusion first.

Red Hood didn’t kill him. Eventually, the door slid open again and Bruce glanced over to see Dick tiptoeing back in. “Is this real?” he asked, because even after their fight Dick could never be so cruel as to lie. He’d been searching his memories as they came to him for even a hint of a clue, but all he could recall was Tim Drake pulling him back from the brink with an odd sort of determined cheerfulness. That child, who he could only assume was Red Robin now, had formed an unholy alliance with Dick and Alfred in order to gang up on him.

Dick sat down beside him and put a hand on each of their shoulders. “As real as you and me,” he said.

Bruce gasped in another breath, put his head down on Jason’s shoulder, and held his boys as tightly as he dared. “Then thank Gotham Tim kept me alive,” he whispered. “I never thought I’d have a family again.”

Jason stiffened at his words. “Alive?” he whispered, though Bruce was pretty sure it was directed to Dick. He certainly wasn’t up for that particular discussion right now, and certainly not with an alive Jason of all people.

His theory was confirmed when Dick gave the slightest shrug. “We told you, Jay.”

“You told me it was bad, but…” Jason’s arms tightened around Bruce. “Alive?”

“Yeah,” Dick breathed as Bruce felt himself tremble a little harder. “Alive.”

They didn’t talk for a long time. The rest of the kids came in quietly, probably in response to some silent call from Dick or Jason, and Bruce immediately pulled Tim as close as he could. As the minutes ticked by he felt his memories return, along with the rest of his scars, but no one forced him to talk about it. He gripped them all tightly in turns, depending on who his memories were featuring at any given time, but never, not once, did he allow himself to lose hold of Jason.

He didn’t think he could bear it if this was all some kind of dream.

“So,” Dick finally broke the silence after Bruce’s memories had been caught up to the present for a few minutes. “The Justice League is gonna want some more answers.”

“A logical conclusion,” Bruce agreed, “Since your explanation so far has hardly given them any.” He sat up straighter and tried to get ahold of himself.

Steph hopped up onto the back of the couch, leaning against the wall. “In our defense, they haven’t exactly been asking the right questions.”

“Hardly adequate interrogation skills,” said Damian. “Practically on par with their investigative prowess.”

Tim snorted. “As much as I hate to agree with the brat—”

“That is a dollar in the jar for you, Drake!”

“—he might be right about this one.” Tim gave the room a bright, mischievous grin. “The real question is: how much are we allowed to tell them?”

Bruce looked from pleading face to pleading face. He sighed, bone deep. “You want to reveal our identities?”

“It’d be much easier to explain our resources and connections if they knew,” Duke pointed out.

Tim bit his lip. “I’d also like to be able to hang out with my friends out of costume,” he said.

“You have hero friends?” Bruce blinked. He was sure he hadn’t approved that.

Tim shrugged. “The Teen Titans are not not friends,” he mumbled. Bruce was fairly certain that Tim’s previous number of actual friends could be counted on one hand. This was a pretty monumental amount of progress for him, he thought. Or it would be, if Tim was permitted to deepen those friendships with more personal information.

Cass waved a hand to catch their eyes, and signed, Dick and Wally can be honest. It would make them happy. Dick blushed, but didn’t refute her.

“Besides, don’t you trust the League?” Steph added. “They're your friends too. Your friends first, actually.”

“Yeah, come on,” Dick said. “I bet Alfred would be thrilled.”

Bruce felt very outnumbered. This was not an advantageous battle position. “There is still the question of your safety.”

“Aw, stuff it, B,” said Jason. “It’s probably safer for these pipsqueaks anyway if all the villains know that they’ve got a whole armada’s worth of Bats ready to have their backs at a moment’s notice.”

“An armada is a gross exaggeration,” Bruce said.

“Fine, a baseball team then,” said Steph with an eye roll obvious in her tone.

Duke summoned a frankly unfair set of puppy dog eyes, immediately mirrored by all the children around him. “Please?”

They’d all gotten that cursed expression from Dick, Bruce was sure of it. Unfortunately, being aware of the source did not lessen its effects. “Fine,” he said. “You can tell them.”

“Yes!” Tim cheered, pumping a fist in the air and then immediately grabbing Steph to swing her around in celebration. Dick picked up Damian—who squawked—and almost managed to force him into joining his happy dance. Cass smiled at Bruce approvingly, and even Duke looked quite relieved. Perhaps this secrecy had been weighing on his children more heavily than Bruce had thought.

The lot of them piled happily back into the Watchtower’s conference room, cheerfully racing each other for the best seats and calling the rest of the League back in from wherever they’d been spending their time. Probably the kitchen, Bruce thought, as his eyes caught on Hal and Barry slipping colorful plastic packages into their pockets on the way in.

Clark meandered over to him as everyone piled back into their seats around the table. “You alright, Batman?”

Bruce watched him quietly for a moment, then allowed his gaze to flicker over his shoulder to where Diana, J’onn, and Arthur were all clearly trying not to hover. He weighed the thought of telling them his secrets, and realized that he felt oddly at peace with the idea after all these years. “I’m alright,” he said, and for once it might have even been true.

Clark seemed to pick up on his thoughts somehow because he cast an easy smile around the room before he turned back to Bruce, eyes shining. “You know you can trust us, don’t you?”

It wasn’t really a question, but Bruce answered anyway. “I do.” He clasped Clark’s forearm in his own for a second, an Atlantean custom that they’d all grown fond of, before letting his cape swish behind him as he pointedly turned on his heel. “Now come sit,” he said. “My children have something more to share.”

When he arrived at his place, Tim and Steph had already squeezed into it side-by-side, laughing and poking at Damian, who sat stiffly on the armrest with what he probably considered to be great poise. Dick and Jason had taken the seats beside them, much more adult except for the way Bruce could see them kicking at each other under the table. Bruce elected to remain standing, leaning his weight against Jason’s chair; Duke took up a similar position behind Dick. “The meeting is back in order,” he said, despite the fact that everyone was already staring at his family. “Nightwing? You had more information you wanted to provide?”

“Right,” Dick clapped his hands together gleefully. “Where to begin…?”

“I’ve got a start,” Hawkgirl said, casually resting her head on a fist. “I’ve been talking to Green Arrow and Cyborg, and we’re pretty confident you implied you’re dating Flash.” She raised her eyebrows. “We were all pretty convinced that Flash had somehow managed to snag Dick Grayson, though. Care to explain?”

“Um,” Dick said, shooting Cyborg a betrayed glance. Bruce knew his friend had been far more privy to Dick’s personal relationships than the others. Cyborg just shrugged and gestured for Dick to go on. It was as good a place to start as any, Bruce figured, except that Wally was clearly not yet aware of the plan.

“We… broke up?” Wally said, voice high pitched and eyes wide.

Vixen gave him a skeptical look. “You don’t sound very sure of that.”

“No way you broke up.” said Hal. He leaned past Barry to poke Wally in the side. “We would have heard about that. You gush about him constantly. Irritatingly often, some might even say.”

“It was recent!” Wally blurted, looking increasingly panicked. Bruce really hoped Dick knew what he was doing with this one. He glanced at his eldest, but Dick somehow looked both exasperated and fond at the same time. Bruce gave up. As long as he was happy, he supposed.

“You regaled Superman and I about your beloved just this morning,” said Diana.

Clark nodded. “That’s true, you said he and his brothers were pulling some amazing top secret prank. It’s why you were laughing at your phone so loudly on Monitor duty.”

Duke snorted. Dick reached over his shoulder to flick him without looking.

“Well, that’s actually because… we’re having a threesome,” Wally said quickly. “Yeah, I’m dating both!”

Steph let out a peal of laughter and Duke started giggling loudly, drawing all attention back to their side of the table. Tim and Jason were chortling as well, though Dick was doing an impressive job of holding it together. Damian, of course, only appeared irritated with the whole debacle, and Cass’ laughter was so quiet the rest of the league might not have even noticed it. Bruce couldn’t stop the upward twitch of his mouth.

“Nightwing?” Green Arrow said. “Got something to add?”

“I have to say, this doesn’t seem like a laughing matter,” said Black Canary.

Dick smiled easily at them. “There’s one obvious conclusion here, and none of you have gotten it yet.”

Wally was turning a somewhat alarming shade of purple. Bruce watched as Dick sent him an obvious thumbs up across the table, and when Wally turned fearful eyes Bruce’s way he gave him a begrudging nod of reassurance. Wally heaved a huge breath and sunk back into his chair.

Vixen was narrowing her eyes at them in thought. “So you’re not in a threesome, but you and Flash are definitely together, but Flash has clearly not broken up with Dick Grayson… are you sure you’re not cheating?”

“Nope!” said Wally.

“Cross my heart!” said Dick, and then he did physically draw a cross over his heart. Bruce rolled his eyes, but let them have their fun.

“Are you exes?” Hal said. “You seem too friendly for exes.”

Jason snorted. “They are definitely not exes.”

“Can confirm,” said Steph. “They’re disgustingly in love.”

“Well then, the answer is clear!” said Diana, watching Dick with something sharp in her eyes. “Nightwing’s secret identity is this Dick Grayson.”

Cyborg choked, eyes wide. Vixen spluttered and Hal broke into a coughing fit. Even J’onn raised his eyebrows and looked questioningly between Bruce and his children.

“You got it!” Dick cheered. He pulled the domino away, and blinked at them all with joy on his bare face. Then he looked over at Wally. “Sorry to spring this on you, babe, but we figured it was probably about time.”

“No worries,” Wally told him, with an expression Bruce had no desire to contemplate further.

Clark steepled his fingers, and if only he had a pair of glasses to peer over he would have looked sharp indeed. “These other proteges of Batman… you call them your siblings.”

Damian turned up his nose. “Astute observation.”

“Nightwing is Dick Grayson,” Green Arrow still seemed to be processing. “Dick Grayson is Bruce Wayne’s kid. Bruce Wayne has a million kids.”

“A million might be a bit much,” Black Canary said, eyes scanning over them carefully. “But he might have enough to account for most of these.”

“Can we get them all?” said Hawkgirl. “I don’t follow the Waynes enough to mix and match, here.”

“The youngest is Damian Wayne,” Clark said, looking at Robin. Bruce heroically fought down the urge to bristle defensively. “He’d be, what, twelve now? His appearance a few years ago caused a huge stir with the papers.”

“They were all in awe of my superior skills and upbringing, of course,” Damian said. Bruce saw Steph elbow him in exasperation. “Alright, yes,” Damian admitted, though he did not remove his mask, “I am he.”

“Oh shoot, oh shoot,” Green Arrow was saying. “What was that scandal about the other kid… Drake! One of you is Drake!”

“Tim Drake?” Vixen groaned. “Why didn’t I think of that? There was a red alert on you. I was at your house!” She pointed to Red Robin. “It’s got to be you.”

“Does it?” Tim questioned. This time it was him who received an elbow to the ribs. “Ow! Fine, okay, you got me.”

Hal seemed to be near hyperventilating in place. “I can’t believe this. They’re all Waynes? How is this possible?”

“I’m not!” Steph said cheerfully. “No adoption here! Just a family friend.”

“Girlfriend,” Jason coughed obviously. Steph shot him a glare, and Dick smacked him in the shoulder.

“Shut up,” Dick hissed, and Bruce saw him fighting a smile. “They’re too cute to mess with unless it’s official.”

“Uh… too loud, man,” Duke muttered, looking to the chair beside him with fear. Steph and Tim now both appeared distinctly murderous. Bruce prayed the Manor would still be standing after their revenge was enacted.

“So that answers that question,” Hawkgirl said.

Clark narrowed his eyes, focusing in on Cass. “If Spoiler isn’t the adopted daughter then it must be you,” he said. “Cassandra.”

She nodded and removed her mask with a smile, giving a cheerful wave to Clark.

Cyborg began to count them off on his fingers, narrating as he went. “So we’ve accounted for Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Tim’s… friend,” he gave Steph a wide-eyed look, “Cassandra, and Damian Wayne. Oh, and Dick mentioned that Oracle is his ex.”

“They also said Signal is their foster brother,” J’onn said quietly.

Clark nodded. “You’d be Duke Thomas, then.”

“Got it in one,” Duke told them.

“There was another Wayne at one point,” Black Canary mused. Then she shook her head. “But Jason passed away years ago, so that’s impossible.”

Aquaman cleared his throat. “I would not dare call anything impossible after all I have seen,” he said. “And they are quiet, but…” he gestured to Red Hood. “They have called that one ‘Jay’ on more than one occasion today.”

“It’s certainly not impossible,” Zatanna agreed. “Magically speaking, at least, and that doesn’t even count the ways a living person might fake their death.”

There was a long moment where the whole league watched Jason curiously. Bruce was about to just admit it for him when Jason finally pulled off his helmet with a huff. “Fine, you got me!” he said. “Thanks for blowing my identity, guys. What happened to no names in the field?”

“Please, the Watchtower is hardly ‘the field’ at this point,” Dick said. “Anyway, I think that concludes our big reveal! Thank you, thank you,” and he actually stood up and took a bow.

Wally clapped, of course. Bruce sighed. “Does anyone have any final thoughts to bring to the table? No?” he said without pause. “Then we’d better be going. Agent A will be worried.”

“Is Agent A your mom or something?” Hal’s voice echoed behind him.

“He’s our butler, obviously,” Tim called back. Something clattered to the floor and Bruce heard a loud groan, but he refused to turn back until everyone was through the Zeta tubes, out of costume, and safely returned to the Manor.

He was due for a long nap.

Flash: and thats a wrap i guess

Green Arrow: You totally knew! I can't believe you didn't say anything!

Flash: well it was pretty funny

GL: More importantly… do you guys realize what this means?

Superman: That… Batman has kids?

Vixen: That we were totally wrong?

Hawkgirl: That @Cyborg is also totally a traitor?

Cyborg: Hey!

Green Arrow: can’t believe our betting pool was run by a traitor this whole time

GL: No! Batman is mentoring all Brucie’s kids. Brucie’s biological son (with an unknown other parent) calls bats ““Father””

Vixen: Wait are you saying what I think you’re saying

Aquaman: Batman is in a relationship with Bruce Wayne? I did not consider this in the meeting, but it certainly makes sense.

MM: I thought it was implied that Batman and this Bruce Wayne were one and the same.

GL: They must be together! It’s the only thing that makes sense!

Superman: I’ve heard a lot about Brucie and I have to say… him being Batman would be a pretty big stretch

Flash: batman would have to have a sense of humor for that to work

Hawkgirl: I mean apparently he kind of does?

Cyborg: That was like 100% his kids though

Black Canary: Haven’t you all learned that speculating about Batman clearly gets you nowhere?

GL: But it makes so much sense! This is barely speculation at all!

Cyborg: Yeah I believe this one

Vixen: It was pretty clearly implied

Green Arrow: Babe we’ve met Brucie Wayne in person. Do you really think Batman would do any of that?

Black Canary: … I suppose you have a point.

MM: I have not met Bruce Wayne, so I will reserve judgment.

GL: Sounds like the case is closed. It’s been real everyone!

Superman: You say that as if this chat is going to stop.

Hawkgirl: yeah I have a feeling the bats will give us stuff to speculate about for all of eternity

Flash: gotta go congratulate wally but sounds like ill see yall when the next theory drops

Superman: I have a feeling it won’t be long.