Chapter Text
Bruce was at a loss.
Everything had been normal that night. Gotham was thrumming with crime and the sky was full of smog. The Bats were patrolling, same as ever, with Oracle giving directions over coms. “Take this alleyway and head over to the corner store on the fifth. There’s an ongoing robbery going on. Looks like two gunmen, three look-outs, and five hostages. Including the one employee on the schedule for tonight.” Oracle said. Batman hummed in acknowledgment before taking the alley. When he arrived at the scene, he perched on a nearby rooftop to assess the situation.
There were three lookouts just like Oracle had said. One was on the far left. He was leaning against the window of the convenience store, smoking a cigarette. The other two were doing their jobs as lookouts. The smoker was distracted and would have been easier to take out if he wasn’t right in front of the glass. As for the two gunmen inside, one had gone into the back room with the employee, presumably to find a safe. While the other kept a close eye on the hostages.
Batman came up with a plan of action quickly.
He watched from the shadows as the goons were loaded into the backs of police cars. The civilians were now in the hands of the police, Batman slunk away to continue his patrol. A buzz sounded through the coms. “Hey B something’s-” Tim was cut off. More static came through the comm as Batman began to feel dizzy. He stopped running and tried to regain his balance. Shit. Had one of the goons been carrying a tranq? He didn’t feel one and his suit was made of (blank).
As Batman tried to think through the fog, he brought a hand up to his coms. “Oracle… I’ve been-” The wind was knocked out of him as the ground came to meet his face. Everything went black.
Subconsciously, Helena was aware that time travel was possible. Sensibly, she thought it was something that could only exist in the past. Only in the age of the Justice League could heroes travel back in time. She didn’t think it was something that could happen now, much less to her. Or well near he- whatever. Apparently, these boys were the Bats. As in The Bats. Or so they claimed to be. The teen boy in the Batman suit was supposedly Bruce Wayne and the youngest had a darker complexion and a scowl. So, most likely ‘Damien Wayne’. The other three were a little more difficult to pick out. The only things telling them apart were which suit they wore and a slight height difference.
They had relocated to the main lounge room inside the academy. Empty for the next- she turned around to view the wall clock, thirty minutes. “So, I’m really supposed to believe that you,” she pointed at “Batman”. “Are the Bruce Wayne?” The boy tensed at the mention of the Billionaire. “Bruce Wayne?” He asked in a dark tone. Helena hunched in on herself. “Well yeah. I mean- everyone knows Bruce Wayne is Batman.” The young Dark Knight stiffened.
That was when “Nightwing” apparently decided that was the appropriate time to butt in. “Okay, what exactly do you know about Bruce Wayne and the Bats?” He clasped his hands together and pointed two pointer fingers at her. Helena’s eyes narrowed at the supposed vigilante. “Everyone knows the Waynes were the Bats,” She crossed her arms. “After Doomsday killed a good chunk of the Justice League, a lot of heroes' families came forward with their identities.” The boys became tense. The youngest boy, Damien Wayne if they are to be believed, stepped into her personal space. “What lies. The Justice League would never fail. We would all be dead if they did.” The small boy pulled a sword from his back and held the blade to her throat. Helena tipped her back. He sneered at her, “How about the truth this time.”
Helena swallowed thickly to rid the lump in her throat. She met his eye with a glare that she hoped showed just as much malice. Helena was trained to handle these types of situations. She knew what she was supposed to do. And yet she found herself drawing a blank. She should have seen this coming. Unknown hostels that were in an unfamiliar situation were bound to make brash and emotionally charged decisions. Helena opened her mouth to speak just as the “Batman” brought a hand to the boy's shoulder. “That's enough Robin. Let her go.” Helena saw the boy's breath hitch before he backed off with a huff.
“She is lying! The Justice Le-”
“We have no context, Robin. The League could be-”
“They are fine! We are the ones who are-”
“Robin!”
Helena found herself flinching at the tone. The other … bats looked between the dynamic duo warily. While they were distracted, Helena looked from her spot on the lounge to the far wall. Where the emergency call button sat comfortably in a large sunspot on the wall. She gave herself a generous time estimate of 14 seconds. The boy dressed like Red Robin had joined the argument. “How likely is it that all five of us would travel at once? The odds of even one or two of us making it would-” The “Red Hood” roughly covered his mouth, the movement making his too-large helmet move like a bobblehead. “Odds are nice an all Red, but this ain’t a math problem. Look,” he pointed at “Batman”. “It was obviously some superpowered-magic bullshit that brought us here. Contact Justice League Dark and have someone send us back.” “Batman” made a noise of acknowledgment. “It's not that Simple Red Hood.” Helena slowly turned her attention back to the button. She leaned further towards the wall.
‘Red Hood’ scoffed, “And why the hell not?” Helena tuned back in just as ‘Batman’ seemed to be giving a long-winded explanation. She looked from the wall back to the “Bats”. She knew it was likely that they hadn’t actually stopped paying attention to her position. If she ran, they would probably catch her before she even stepped off the couch. The young girl shifted her position to get a better look at the clock. It was currently 12:45. Lunch would be over soon. It was then that Helena realized how hungry she was. She turned her attention back to the ‘Bats’. Maybe it showed a lack of self-preservation on her part, but Helena loudly cleared her throat to get their attention. It worked.
They all stared at her in silence. Helena sat up, “Ahem, ah. Okay. I would like to introduce myself,” She paused. “I am Helena Wayne. The second biological child to Bruce Wayne and heir to Wayne Enterprises and the Batman legacy.”