Chapter Text
The silence lasted about three seconds.
Then the room exploded.
“Hah— what?!” Beast Boy barked.
“That is not possible!” Starfire gasped.
Roy choked on his drink.
Jason blinked once. Twice.
“…Bats,” he said slowly, “did you forget another kid?”
Every single person in the room turned at the exact same time.
First they looked at the newcomer.
Then they looked at the current Damian Wayne standing beside Jon Kent.
Then back to the newcomer.
Then back again.
It kept happening.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
For nearly five full minutes the entire room was stuck in a bizarre loop of staring between the two Damians like they were watching a tennis match.
Even the Justice League wasn’t immune.
Finally, Clark cleared his throat.
“…Bruce.”
“I know.”
Batman did not stop staring.
It took approximately ten minutes for the League to decide the obvious course of action.
Testing.
Batman, Cyborg, and Oracle ran scans.
Flash took blood samples at super-speed.
Superman checked biological markers.
Wonder Woman stood nearby, quietly watching for lies.
The results came back quickly.
Cyborg’s holographic screen flickered.
“…Well,” he said.
Everyone leaned forward.
“DNA match.”
He pointed to the second scan.
“And this one.”
Another match.
Superman folded his arms.
“They’re telling the truth.”
The glowing boy — older Jon — waved awkwardly.
“Told you.”
Across the room, younger Jon Kent looked like his brain had short-circuited.
“…I get hotter??”
“Focus, Kent,” younger Damian snapped automatically.
But even he looked shaken.
“So,” Nightwing said slowly, “future kids. Start talking.”
Older Jon rubbed the back of his neck.
“Right. Okay.”
He pointed at himself.
“So I'm Jon.”
Then he gestured beside him.
“And this is Damian.”
The medical coat boy gave a small nod.
Roy raised a hand.
“We gathered that part.”
Jon continued anyway.
“So— we were in the Watchtower back home helping Cyborg fix a prototype time machine.”
Cyborg blinked.
“…I do not like where this is going.”
Jon winced.
“Yeah, well. We were calibrating the thing when someone burst into the lab.”
Future Damian sighed tiredly.
“And slammed directly into the control panel.”
Several Titans groaned.
“Buttons were pressed,” Jon said.
“Many buttons,” Damian added.
“Important buttons.”
“And then,” Jon finished, “the machine activated and sucked us into the time stream before we could shut it down.”
Blue Beetle stared.
“…That seems like poor design.”
Cyborg rubbed his temples.
“It was a prototype.”
Jon quickly continued.
“But it’s fine! It’s totally fine. Our League will notice we vanished immediately.”
Damian nodded.
“They will correct the temporal displacement and retrieve us.”
There was a pause.
“…Eventually.”
Casual Chaos
While they talked, something odd started happening.
Future Damian wasn’t standing still.
He moved.
Calm. Efficient.
Without interrupting the conversation, he walked over to Nightwing.
Dick had a deep cut across his arm from the earlier battle.
Future Damian opened a medical pouch hidden in his coat.
“You’re bleeding.”
Dick blinked.
“…Thanks?”
Future Damian wrapped the wound neatly with precise movements.
Then he turned.
Jason’s arm was hanging oddly.
Future Damian grabbed it.
Jason squinted down at him.
“You gonna ask permission or—”
POP.
Jason’s shoulder slid back into place.
“…OW— okay that worked.”
Future Damian calmly secured the arm into a splint.
Around them, heroes slowly realized something.
They all knew each other.
Every movement he made was casual.
Familiar.
Like he had grown up around all of them.
Dick tilted his head.
“…We should probably go civilian.”
Roy nodded.
“Yeah, less confusing.”
One by one, heroes powered down.
Capes vanished.
Masks came off.
The Watchtower suddenly felt less like a battlefield and more like a very weird family reunion.
Young Damian finally stepped forward.
Arms crossed.
Eyes sharp.
“You claim to be me.”
Future Damian raised an eyebrow.
“That is correct.”
“The League has confirmed your DNA.”
“Yes.”
“But DNA can be stolen.”
Future Damian nodded approvingly.
“Also correct.”
Young Damian stepped closer.
“How do I know you are not simply a villain pretending to be me?”
The room quieted.
Future Damian studied him.
Then—
He bent down.
And whispered something into younger Damian’s ear.
No one else heard it.
But Damian Wayne —
----------
Turned bright red.
Bright.
Red.
Future Damian straightened calmly.
“Is that sufficient proof?”
Young Damian refused to look at anyone.
He nodded stiffly.
“…Yes.”
The room erupted again.
“What did he say?!” Beast Boy yelled.
“I demand context!” Roy shouted.
“You will receive none,” Damian snapped.
Younger Jon pointed accusingly at his future self.
“Oh no.”
Future Jon blinked.
“Oh no what?”
“If he gets a secret,” Jon said, “I get one too.”
Future Jon groaned.
“Jon—”
“Tell me something only I would know.”
Future Jon hesitated.
Then sighed.
“…Fine.”
He leaned forward.
Lowered his voice slightly.
“You and Damian went on a secret mission last week.”
Jon froze.
Future Jon continued.
“To Saudi Arabia.”
Several League members blinked.
“…For intelligence gathering?” Batman asked.
Future Jon shook his head.
“No.”
Jon looked horrified.
Future Jon smiled.
“You went to play an illegal underground Mario Kart tournament.”
The room exploded.
Beast Boy collapsed laughing.
Roy wheezed.
Jason clapped slowly.
Dick turned to Bruce.
“…They went where?”
Jon Kent covered his face.
“Oh my god.”
Future Jon shrugged.
“You got second place.”
Jon peeked through his fingers.
“…Who beat me?”
Future Jon pointed beside him.
Damian.
Future Damian smirked slightly.
Jon groaned.
“You cheated.”
“Skill,” Damian corrected.
And somewhere in the Watchtower…
Batman was staring at the two boys.
One small.
One older.
And both of them—
His son.