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Trust was hard to come by in the hero community. In a world full of shapeshifters able to steal the form of others, mind control devices, and clones, even those closest to you could be a weakness. A weakness many heroes couldn't risk having.
However, not a single member of the Justice League thought twice about trusting Batman - the elusive myth of a hero who was always ten steps ahead of them. They trusted that he would do what was right first and foremost, even if it meant putting them and himself in danger.
Perhaps they shouldn't have, in retrospect. Batman knew practically everything about them, from their first words to their deepest, darkest secrets. Yet, they knew nothing about him.
They did not know his age, name, marital status, and whatnot. Not even the mind readers amongst them, such as Martian Manhunter, could get past his mental shields.
Thus, over a decade passed, and not a single person knew anything about his home life.
Not until one random Tuesday, when the founding members of the League, plus a few others, were gathered together for a monthly review of their past cases.
"I don't see why we need to do this," Flash pointed out, digging around inside of a jumbo bag of Doritos. "I mean, barely any supervillains have been active lately - we have nothing to review."
"Well, Lex did try to start his campaign to become president again last week," Clark pointed out, shuffling the scarce files in his hands. "Thanks for sorting that out, Diana."
"You are most welcome," Wonder Woman replied earnestly.
In no better words, Diana had beaten Luther to a bloody pulp, then convinced cheerleaders to perform a 'why you shouldn't vote for Lex Luther' cheer on live tv. So it was safe to say that he wouldn't be running again anytime soon, both literally and figuratively.
"We should talk about marketing," Aquaman announced, looking at his hero colleagues. "Someone is using my likeness to sell cheaply built fish tanks."
Shazam let out a loud gasp, his eyes widening in pure horror. "You mean that the 'Aqualman' fish tank isn't the safest tank for Bubbles and FlipFlip?"
Before anyone could respond, the lights in the room flickered once, then twice. The heroes went silent, visibly tensing at the unusual occurrence. They didn't have several different backup generators for no reason.
A loud screech filled the room, followed by an unknown face lighting up across the screen, making the heroes jump from their chairs. All except for Batman, who rose slowly in a show of confidence and lack of fear.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Justice League of losers," the person plastered across the screen smirked.
"Hey, can you come back in maybe a week with some original material? Thank you," Cyborg called out, visibly rolling his eyes.
A few other heroes snickered at this, which only seemed to anger the villain, whose face scrunched up in distaste.
"Hush, you outdated machine," he snapped, proving that he could, in fact, hear what was going on inside the hall. "I have devised a plan that will bring you to your knees!"
The villain threw his arms into the air, cackling loudly before frowning, looking behind the camera. "Where are my lightning effects, JEREMY!"
"Treat your staff better, dude," Shazam called out, glaring at the screen.
Diana nodded, frowning deeply. "Yes, you are quite the awful employer. I suggest you check yourself."
"Cease! I am a wonderful employer. I pay minimum wage and partial insurance," the villain retorted, huffing as Jeremy made a noise of disagreement.
Batman made a grumble of discontent while Green Lantern spoke up. "Come on, that's nothing! I got better benefits working at McDonalds."
The villain's face scrunched up. "That doesn't matter! What matters is your inevitable doom. I have a spy waiting near nearly every Zeta Tube in the world, while others are monitoring all security cameras in their vicinity, of course. I'm not stupid. Either you give yourselves up, or we'll follow you home and make your families bear whiteness to your deaths."
Martian Manhunter frowned, leaning forward, finally asking the question on everyone's minds. "Does anyone have any idea who this guy is?"
"He's wearing a top hat, an eyepatch, and an ungodly amount of orange, green and purple," Flash replied, snickering. "He's obviously the love child of Deathstroke, Mad Hatter, and The Joker."
"How dare you!" The villain snarled, crossing his arms. "I am Keteke, the bane of heroes, the spreader of blood! I will-"
The screen flashed before turning black, making Keteke's face disappear.
"I've kicked him out and refortified our defences," Batman announced, his voice as deep and growly as usual. "However, we should not take his threat lightly."
Diana shook her head vigorously. "I submit to no man, much less one named Cakey."
"Ooo! We should buy a cake," Flash added, throwing his hand into the air. "I know a great place in France; I can speed over and be back in a jiffy."
Batman pointedly ignored the speedster's idea. "Submission would be turning ourselves over. I'm suggesting that none of you should return home until Keteke is caught."
Clark nodded in agreement, taking his seat once more. "I agree, but you shouldn't leave, either."
"No, the Zeta Tubes go straight to the Batcave, from where I can easily make my way home," the Gotham hero replied, shaking his head twice.
"Can we come stay with you, then?" Cyborg asked, smirking light. He clearly expected an immediate no, but wanted to push a few of Batman's buttons.
"Sleepover at the Batcave!" Shazam cried, acting like an excited child.
Batman stared at them for a long moment, barely even considering the idea. "I don't live in the Batcave."
"Sleepover in Batman's secret non-Batcave house!" Flash and Shazam shouted in sync.
"Absolutely not."
"I will warn each of you once more," Batman announced as the group flooded into the Batcave. "Tell anyone of this, and you shall find yourselves in an intergalactic brothel with amnesia. Understood?"
Bruce wasn't entirely sure what convinced him to agree to his hero colleagues' request. Maybe it was Shazam's puppy dog eyes, or, alternatively, it could have been Diana's legally binding demand for respite. However, deep down, he knew there was a far more selfish reason for the heroes coming to stay with him, and that reason was Superman and his fanbase.
Only, Batman wouldn't let himself acknowledge this reason. At least, not yet.
"Understood," the heroes parroted back.
Batman led them up a few sets of stairs - straight to the Wayne Manor exit of the Batcave, which was the most secure. After inserting several codes, along with fingerprint and eye scans, followed by a visual check of the entrance area, the door slid open.
The heroes poured out into a large, richly decorated office. It looked like something out of a daydream or a home decor magazine. Cyborg whistled, looking around.
"Is that a samurai sword?!" Flash exclaimed, speeding over to the weapon in the class case attached to one of the multiple bookcases.
"It's a Katana," Batman replied, opening the office door. "Come, and don't touch anything."
The heroes followed Batman into an attached lounge room. A lounge room occupied by a rugged-looking young man and a red-haired woman.
"Jason, what are y-" Batman paused, his eyes narrowing in his son. "Are you drinking my whiskey again? You're underage!"
Jason turned to look at his dad, either not registering the heroes behind him or plainly ignoring their existence. "By like four months. Oh, and I died."
Bruce growled lightly, having no appropriate response to that. So instead, he turned to his visibly drunk cousin. "Kate! Why are you letting him drink?"
"Let your kid live, B. Didn't you hear him? He died," Batwoman retorted, chugging her next glass alongside the twenty-year-old.
Batman took in a deep, long breath, then turned to his hero colleagues. "This is my son, Jason, and cousin, Kate."
"YOU HAVE A KID?!" Came the resounding shout from the heroes, all of whom couldn't believe their ears.
Jason and Kate shared a look, then burst out with near-cackling laughter. Batman just hummed, heading towards the next exit.
"Yes," he said eventually, breaking the heroes from their shock.
They followed him into a giant hallway lined with paintings and large, ancient pots, all of which likely cost a small fortune.
"And I thought I was rich," Green Arrow muttered, looking around.
Before anyone else could speak, a few moderately loud booms echoed from around a corner, like someone was jumping across the floor.
Seconds later, a blonde girl, who looked around sixteen, raced down the hall, pencils and a drawing pad in hand. "You'll never catch me alive!"
She disappeared past the heroes, jumping out of a window, causing Batman to let out a deep sigh. "That was my sort-of daughter, Stephanie."
"YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER?!" The heroes shouted once again.
Batman narrowed his eyes at his team. "Are you going to do this each time?"
"EACH TIME?!"
"Father!" A voice called, followed by the pitter-pattering of tiny, fast footsteps. "I demand that you return Brown to the garbage storage facility you found her in!"
A small child, perhaps eleven or twelve at most, came barreling towards the group. He held a blood-stained sword in one hand and had a trail of pets nipping at his feet.
"Damian," Bruce replied warningly, staring down at his mini-me.
"She stole my artistic materials! That plebeian scoundrel has gone too far this time!" Damian shouting, a light whine audible in his voice.
The billionaire sighed softly. "That's what you said last week when Jason fed Alfred the Cat 'sub-par' cat food."
"He deserves the finest of foods! Todd, the wrench, cannot comprehend such important matters," Damian huffed. "Now, point me in the direction of Brown."
Batman gestures towards the window, which Damian quickly threw himself out of, chasing after Stephanie, who was trying to climb over a rather tall fence.
"That child was delightful," Diana announced, getting off looks from the others and a sigh from Bruce.
They travelled down a few more hallways, then passed a room with yet another black-haired boy in it. Only, this time the boy clearly wasn't one of Batman's kids.
"…Conner?" Clark said, staring at his technical-son.
Superboy looked up, waving lightly. "Hey."
Clark opened his mouth, closed it, then repeated this process for a long minute. "What are you… why are you here?"
"Oh, I'm dating Tim," Conner replied, grinning. "I'm allowed to come over, as long as his bedroom door stays open."
"Tim?" Aquaman asked, narrowing his eyes at Batman.
Bruce frowned lightly, then sighed. "My son."
"You have another son?" Hal asked. "That's four kids!"
"Yes," Bruce replied, sending a glare towards Kon, who mouthed the word 'four' with a frown.
That's when Tim slid into the room, looking sleep-deprived and dead on his feet. In his hand was a large blender cup, which easily held ten plus cups of black coffee.
"What up, hoes?" Tim grumbled, slumping into the chair beside his boyfriend.
"Timothy," Batman growled, eyes narrowing on his son. "How much sleep did you get last night?"
Tim shrugged, sipping at his blender. "I had a case to finish. Then Kon got here."
"That did not answer my question, but at this point, I'm too afraid to ask," Bruce sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, one to find his cowl in the way. "Have you seen the others?"
"Duke's in the kitchen with Alfred and Babs," Tim replied,
"Thank you," Batman said, then hurried away from the doorway with a dramatic swish of his cape.
The heroes swept through doorways and halls, then into the large, beautifully decorated entrance hall. Batman remained silent as he led them towards the kitchen, which had an opening rather than a door, and was larger than a commercial kitchen.
A teenage boy, a bit younger than the blonde girl but older than the sword-wielding child, was sitting on the bench. A pretty red-haired woman sat in her wheelchair at the kitchen table a few feet away, typing away at her computer. A grey-haired man dressed in a suit stood by the oven, replacing a container of cooked muffins with uncooked ones, looking rather amused.
None of them seemed to notice the heroes' presence in the kitchen, or they, just like the others, didn't care.
"How do you put up with them?" The boy asked, looking tired and defeated. "I mean, I can understand Babs, since she's as insane as the rest of them, but you, Alfred?"
"Well, if crazy equals genius," The first batgirl replied, shrugging her shoulders, not looking away from her computer.
Alfred hummed lightly in amusement, passing Duke a cookie. "I think you overestimate my sanity, Master Duke."
Duke frowned deeply. "That is really quite concerning,"
"I should hope so," the butler replied, holding out a baked good. "Muffin?"
"Always," Signal replied joyously, taking the treat.
Martian Manhunter was staring at Alfred, eyes narrowed. He turned towards Batman, looking for answers. "I can hear the thoughts of those two, but your butler, Alfred, is a steel wall."
This seemed to catch the attention of Babs, Duke, and Alfred, the latter of which sent the Martian a very British grin. "It's all part of being a good butler, Master J'onn. I can't very well go around giving away my Master's secret, now can I?"
Bruce made a light hum of agreement. "This is my butler, Alfred, my son Duke, and my sort-of daughter, sort-of sister-in-law, Barbara."
The heroes stared at Batman, trying to decipher what exactly that could possibly mean. Some were more stuck on the 'in-law' part than others, but no one voiced this.
"Alfred," Bruce said, turning to his butler/father figure, "Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Shazam, Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow will be staying at the manor until further notice. A villain is threatening their families."
Alfred nodded, not looking all that surprised. "I shall prepare rooms at once."
"Thank you," Batman replied, turning to leave the room, flanked by the non-batfam heroes.
"Holy shit, are there any more kids here that we need to watch out for?" Hal asked, looking around nervously as they got back to the entrance hall.
"Hnn," Batman replied, pointing towards someone now standing right behind Green Lantern.
A light finger tapped on Hal's shoulder, making the hero jump with a high pitched shriek. Cass grinned maniacally, waving wordlessly at the heroes before prancing off.
"Who the hell was that?" Barry asked, somewhat concerned by how easy she'd disappeared into the shadows. Like a mini Batman.
"My daughter, Cassandra."
"You have a problem," Shazam said, deadpanned, getting nods of agreement from the others.
Diana frowned softly. "I understand the allure of infants, but stealing so many must be illegal."
"They're adopted, not stolen," Batman replied, looking rather taken aback. "And I didn't even adopt Stephanie. She turned up and has since refused to leave. I believe she plans to marry Cassandra so that we can't get rid of her."
"You do realise that that's worse, right?" Cyborg asked, getting a nod of agreement from Barry.
"Hnn," Batman replied, shrugging.
"Bruce? Love?" A soft, melodic voice called out from the large landing of the magnificent split staircase to their right. In any other moment, the heroes would have marvelled over the bifurcated staircase. However, in this case, the stairs weren't what caught their attention.
It was the man standing on it.
Even the completely straight heroes (not that there were many present) had to admit that this man was utterly gorgeous. He was in his early twenties - no older than twenty-three, but even that seemed to be pushing it. At least half the age of Batman, who was his lover if the heroes were correct.
"Dick, darling," Batman called, sending a smile towards his husband (an action that did not threaten to make every one of his teammates faint in shock). "I thought you were at a parent-teacher interview with Damian's principal?"
Dick laughed softly, waltzing down the staircase to join his lover. "I was, but he let me leave once I promised not to let Dami bring his katanas to school anymore. He threatened his math teacher this time. If I remember correctly, it was over the proper acronym for the order of operations."
Batman made a light tutting noise, frowning deeply. "I'll have to speak with him about that."
"Don't bother; I took him out for ice cream and explained what he did wrong. He won't do it again," the acrobat replied, looking around. "We have guests?"
If the age difference wasn't surprising enough, the stark contrast in personality was astounding.
From what little they could see of him, Dick was smiley and cheerful, the epitome of sunshine. He was soft and calm but held something a bit darker in his eyes - more vicious. He was like a mother bird, sweet and caring but heavily protective.
Batman, on the other hand, was far harsher. He came across as hardened and demanding - the type of parent who raised either perfectionists or a black sheep and no other.
"Yes - we do," Bruce replied lovingly, then turned to his teammates, reverting to his deadpanned facade. "This is my husband, Richard Grayson-Wayne. I'm sure you have heard of him."
It was true - even Aquaman knew the name, and he spent 90% of his time underwater.
Sure, the kids had looked familiar - as had the butler and Batman's cousin - but Richard Grayson-Wayne was a whole other category of 'well-known'.
Dick had been Gotham's Darling for nearly half of his life and a somewhat celebrity since his birth (being a world-famous acrobat, and all). He was favoured amongst the Gothamites, not just for his kind heart and the hope he inspired in others, but because he held a special type of madness.
He was absolutely insane, but not like the villains who plagued the city. Instead, he was a good kind of insane - the perfect representation of the best aspects of Gotham.
As such, Dick appeared on talk shows constantly, was a celebrity model for some of the biggest clothing/tech/jewellery brands, and was practically splattered across magazines. Not just in Gotham, either. His face could be found on billboards almost anywhere.
And here he was, standing a mere few away from them, practically sparkling under the lights of Wayne Manor's entrance chandelier.
Only, none of the heroes had time to voice their disbelief and amazement. Richard beat them to it, finally registering the presence of his absolute hero.
"Oh my gosh, Superman! I'm your biggest fan," Dick announced, somewhat dazed by the Kryptonian. "You saved my Mami and Tati from a car crash once."
Clark looked taken aback, then shot the acrobat a sweet smile. While he'd saved a lot of people, far too many to remember each one, a swarm of flashbacks immediately came to his mind. "Oh yes - I remember that. They travelled with Haly's Circus, right?"
Dick's grin widened, and he nodded; his eyes twinkled with glee. Bruce, however, was less than impressed, letting out a light but intensely jealous growl.
Subconsciously, he placed a calming hand on his husband's arm, settling the Bat-themed hero. He sent his husband a knowing smile. Superman's fanbase indeed.
"I'm so glad to meet you all. B's lack of friends has always been a concern of Alfie and mine," Dick said after a few moments, sending each hero a smile.
"I have friends," Batman huffed, his voice edging on a pout.
"Puh-lease, you spend most of your free time making sure Jay doesn't kill anyone in his Red Hood getup. Not to mention your constant-vigilance based plan to keep Dami from bringing home more pets," Dick replied, rolling his eyes. "You don't have time for normal friends."
Batman frowned deeply. "They are both genuine concerns."
"Hold on," Cyborg said, looking between Batman and Dick. "Red Hood is your kid?!"
They'd heard whispers of Batman having a sidekick named Robin. However, the older hero had never once mentioned having a partner, so the League had chalked it up to hearsay. Now, however, Aquaman seemed to rethink that choice.
"Does that mean that Robin is…?" Aquaman trailed off.
"Me," Dick replied sweetly, turning his attention away from Clark. "Well, and our kids. Duke technically went as Robin for a bit - Cass is the only one that hasn't."
Flash gapped at Richard, looking between him and Batman. "How many heroes does Gotham have?!"
"Batman, Nightwing - who's me -, Red Hood, Batwoman, Blackbat, Red Robin, Spoiler, Robin, Oracle, and Signal," Dick replied. "Ten in total, if you include Jay, even though he's technically an Anti-hero, and Babsie, who does behind the scenes work."
Silence fell upon the group momentarily, cogs turnings in the League heroes' brains. With everything out in the open, there was really only one question left; who was Batman's other identity?
"Hold the phone, if that's Richard Grayson-Wayne, that means that you're…." Clark trailed off, each of the League members having a eureka moment.
"BRUCE WAYNE?!" The group of heroes shouted in sync, staring at Bruce in utter disbelief.
Well, all except for Flash, who seemed to have come to a completely different conclusion. "ELON MUSK?!"
There was a long moment of silence, followed by a loud burst of laughter from Dick and a deep sigh from Batman and Flash's team.
"BARRY!"