Chapter Text
As far as patrol nights in Gotham went, tonight is shaping up to be a relatively uneventful one.
Not that Barbara is complaining. Sure, lower levels of criminal activity are always a little suspicious. But there were several logical explanations for it. The annual Wayne Foundation gala provided newly acquired funds for the asylum last week. Signal was reinstated as Gotham’s daylight protector this month. And she’d helped update GCPD’s databases this weekend (You’re welcome, dad). Besides, any night that ended with fewer bruises and wounds was always a good thing.
A black-gloved hand on her shoulder causes Barbara to lose her train of thought. Its owner leans into her screens to analyze her readings.
“Seems like it’ll be a quiet night tonight.”
“We never do get enough of those, Bruce.” Barbara rolls her eyes and turns to face him. “Should we get ready?”
The two turn around to take a look at their crew tonight. With an easier load, it’s a perfect time to try out new routes to travel the city more efficiently. And with them, new partners to make every confrontation a little more unpredictable.
Jason finishes loading the last of his rounds into his pistol. Non-lethal. One of Batman’s conditions to come back to work with them. It took a long time for them to come to an agreement. There are still some things he’s convinced he and Bruce will never agree on. But for his family, he’s willing to give it a shot.
He looks up towards the ceiling. “Better watch out, Cassandra. Tonight could be the night I beat your record.”
The girl gives a small smile from her perch, sitting on the wings of one of the Batplanes. She always prefers resting in the heights of the cave, meditating before coming down for patrol. A way to quiet herself for the battles to come. Despite her proficiency in combat, violence was still something she struggled with internally.
“Not tonight,” Cass says softly and drifts off again.
Meanwhile, Damian is busy sharpening his katana and doing a mental checklist of his utility belt. Out of everyone, he takes to patrol the most seriously. The whole “blood son”, “true heir” nonsense has died down when talking to family, but when facing criminals he tries to live up to his lineage. Bruce and Talia had raised no weakling, after all.
“Try not to slow us down tonight, Brown,” Damian scowls, with enough humor in his voice to make it not sound like a total insult. “I’d hate to lose ground to Todd of all people.”
Stephanie stops spinning her sansetsukon enough for her to let out a laugh. A younger girl might have taken offense, shot back with an insult, or maybe even fight a bit harder that night. But she’s put in the hours, sacrificed herself time and time again. Stephanie Brown has nothing left to prove to anyone anymore.
“It’s not a competition, Damian,” she smiles. “And if you want to convey your love and appreciation, you can just say that.”
“Tt.”
Tim Drake stands off to the side, fiddling with his uniform. He’s made some big changes recently. Got a boyfriend, reunited with Young Justice, and even started looking at college courses to take part-time. The only constant has been the “R” on his chest. And with all these shifts in his life, he’s wondering whether it’s time to take on a new mantle for himself.
With a light pat on the head, Dick Grayson seeks to console him. The original Boy Wonder himself, his light-hearted attitude can cause some to forget just how much he’s seen. From a boy sidekick in Gotham to leading his own team of superheroes to becoming Nightwing, he believes it’s his heart and optimism that got him through it all. And he knows Tim can get through it too.
“You can’t pave your future in one night. Try to have fun on patrol tonight! It’ll be just like old times.”
That gets a begrudging smile out of the former. “Ever the smooth talker, Grayson. Alright, let’s do this.”
As Bruce looks on, he can’t help but feel a sense of pride. When he lost his family in that alley all those years ago, he knew his life would take a turn. He dedicated all his effort to justice, and he knew the sacrifices he’d have to make for this quest. But he never expected he’d find a new family with it.
“Okay, everyone. Let’s bring it in. It might not be an Arkham breakout, but we have a job to do tonight. There are always people counting on us.”
Before Bruce can continue, a creaking door interrupts him. The head of Duke Thomas pops out, still dressed in his yellow uniform. The newest member of the crime-fighting family, and the only metahuman. With a sharp wit and determination, though, no one questions his place here. The ability to shoot shadow blasts is just a plus.
“Hello, Duke. Did you need something?”
“Yeah, I was just gonna say good night before heading to bed, but my powers…” The boy trails off nervously. “I think something is coming.”
Right on cue, a door made of bright yellow light manifests itself in the middle of the cave. A young man emerges from it, dressed in a black and red padded costume. His eyes are frantic, and he breathes like he’s run a full marathon. After a panicked look around the room, his eyes train onto Batman.
“Batman! Thank God I found you.”
He runs forward and grips Bruce’s shoulders tightly. This earns him the focus of a pistol and sword, courtesy of Red Hood and Robin. While the others similarly tense up, Bruce forces himself to stay calm. Anyone so relieved at the sight of him was most likely not a criminal. And if they were, then something more dangerous was behind them.
“Calm down, son. Can you tell me what’s going on? How did you find your way into the cave?”
“You-you don’t recognize me?” The man’s relief gives way to more nervousness. “How-why does no one remember?”
“We’ve met before?”
“YES! We-we-” The man forces himself to take a breath before talking again. “My name is Axel Asher, code name Access. I’ve worked with you and several members of the Justice League before.”
Batman spares a glance behind him. “Oracle?”
“I’m not getting anything, Batman,” The redhead says, fingers typing wildly. “From your database or the League’s.”
Jason clicks the safety off his gun. “Wanna try again, wise guy?”
Axel falls to the ground, shuffling backward away from him. “No, please, you have to believe me-”
“He’s not lying.”
Cass has landed on the ground again, quiet enough to go unnoticed. Her affirmation matters enough that everyone proceeds to relax, and Jason even lowers his firearm.
The newcomer breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Thank you. Please, if you give me a few minutes, I can explain everything.”
Nightwing strolls forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Just start from the top. We’re here to help, I promise.”
With a whole colony of bats looking on, Axel steels his nerves. Another deep breath, a clench of his fists, and he opens his mouth.
“As I said before, my name is Axel Asher, also known as Access. When I was a teenager, I began experiencing visions of two brothers, constantly conflicting in my head. This pair of siblings were actually representations of this universe and another. My job is to keep them apart, at any cost. They gifted me the power to travel between the universes to do just that.”
“We’re familiar with the multiverse. The League has allies with the ability to traverse it themselves,” Batman says. “Which Earth are you from? I can bring you to the Watchtower to make contact as soon as possible.”
Axel shakes his head. “You don’t understand. This isn’t a parallel universe. There are no alternate versions of yourselves, there isn’t even a Justice League. They have completely different heroes and villains. It’s a universe all of its own.”
That stuns the heroes into silence. The existence of the multiverse was a recent discovery in itself. To find out another universe lay outside their perception, and the potential danger it held, left them uneasy.
Of everyone, it was Tim who broke the silence. “So…if we all don't remember, I guess you’ve been doing a pretty good job?”
“The two have come into conflict before. You were there, too. You, uh, actually had a girlfriend from the other universe. She could shoot fireworks from her hands?”
Stephanie lets out a loud laugh. “Another old flame? Just wait ‘til I tell Bernard about this.”
“I should’ve never let you two meet,” Tim mutters. “Anyway, if we did fight before, what happened?”
“At the height of the conflict two powerful beings, one from each universe, combined the universes into one to cease the war altogether. An amalgamation. It took the combined efforts of Batman and another hero to help put an end to the battling brothers before their conflict consumed all we knew. Occasionally a villain from one universe would cross into another, but there was never a crisis like that again.”
Oracle has turned away from her computers, fully invested in the conversation. “So, peace was restored. It seems you had a handle on your responsibilities. What changed?”
“Somehow, I forgot about everything. About the two universes, all of it. Just like everyone else, I suppose. I was able to stay in the other universe for years, create a life there. It all just came flooding back to me this afternoon, and my powers have returned stronger than ever.”
“I tried searching for the great mystics of the world. The Tower of Fate, the Sanctum Sanctorum, anywhere. But with both universes having forgotten my existence, magical wards were…tricky to bypass. Almost lost my head. And the places I could get into, no one was there. I decided if I couldn’t find the greatest sorcerers, I could use the help of the greatest detective I know.”
He turns to Batman, fear replaced with a fierce determination. “Please. I know I have no proof. But if the universes are colliding again, there’s no telling what could happen.”
Damian also glances at Bruce, his sword in its scabbard but not fully sheathed. “Father?”
Bruce pauses for a minute, then exhales. “We have other heroes in Gotham. The city is in capable hands. For now, this takes extreme precedence. Oracle, try to get in contact with the Watchtower immediately. We’ll need all hands on deck.”
Access sits down for the first time since his arrival, hands shaking. Duke takes the initiative to sit beside him.
“Everything was going so well. I finally got a steady job, I found a new apartment. Then everything hit me all at once. I’ve never had a headache that bad before. I didn’t even realize I had my powers again until I was falling.” A tear streaks down Axel’s cheek. “ I was on a date with my girlfriend, Ming. I was going to propose. God, I hope she’s alright.”
“It might not be the same, but getting my powers was…disorienting, at first. We’re gonna do whatever it takes, I promise. You’ll get your chance to pop the question.”
Axel smiles warmly at him, and although Duke initially reciprocates, his expression soon turns to one of fear.
“What? What’s wro-”
The same yellow glow of his portal doors surrounds Axel, and the rest of the family can do nothing but watch as he’s swallowed by his own energy, and disappears.
“What just happened?!” Stephanie screams. “How did he-”
“Did I do that?” Signal looks down at his hands. “My metagenes, I forgot-”
“Calm down, everyone!” Bruce tries to wrestle control amid the panic. “Duke, he said it himself. He was gifted his powers from cosmic entities; there was no metagene to interact with. We can find him again, but our mission remains the same.”
A knock on the doorframe shifts the attention to Alfred, who is staring confused at the group. “Master Bruce? I was under the assumption that you had left for patrol already.”
“Our responsibilities have changed, Alfred. Unfortunately, things have gotten a lot more complicated. Barbara, I need you to-”
The golden light of Access’s powers manifests itself again. Batman can hear the frantic shouts of his family as they look on in horror, but he steels himself for what’s to come. He scarcely had time to draw a few Batarangs in his hand and take a stance before the Dark Knight also vanished from the cave.
“Father!” Damian draws his katana and rushes forward before he, too, is swallowed up in the light.
“The other universe,” Duke says slowly. “It’s his power. We’re teleporting over!”
Stephanie speaks up as she watches the Signal fade away. “We don’t have any idea where we’ll end up. What do we do?”
Cass pulls her cowl over her head, a grim line stitched across her face. “Be prepared.”
Steph nods at her and pulls out her triple staff. “Alright, then. Batgirls out.”
The two women fade into the brightness at the same time. The five remaining people in the room glance at each other helplessly,
“Easy enough to say it,” Tim growls, extending his bo staff. “We could port into a volcano, for all we know. How do you fight that?”
“I knew I should not have come back here,” Jason rolls his eyes. “I don’t run into shit like this on my own. Just saying.”
“We’ll find each other,” Dick looks at them, then at Barbara. The hope in his eyes never vanishes. “We always will.”
The three sons all vanish, and all that Barbara and Alfred can do is look at each other.
“Miss Gordon,” Alfred begins, but Barb puts out a hand to stop him. As hard as he tried, the tremble in his voice still escaped his mouth. Watching his children, the ones he fed and cared for with all his heart, fade away, and being helpless to stop it, she knows his heart is breaking. If he kept on going, she’d start crying. But she has a job to do.
“You should start brewing some tea, Alfred. Earl grey. With Bruce’s heartbeat gone, Clark will fly in any second now.” She couldn’t stop the trembling either.
He doesn’t leave her. She didn’t expect him to.
As quickly as she can, Barbara patches into the comms of every superhero she can. Gotham’s vigilantes, the Justice League, the Outsiders, the Titans, Young Justice, anyone. The absence of their family would be felt in many places, and with Access on the loose, the rest of the world’s heroes would need to pick up the job.
“This is Oracle. Tonight, a metahuman by the name of Axel Asher visited us. He claims to be the link between this universe and another, one we’ve previously encountered but forgotten all about. We have reason to believe these claims are true. Be on the lookout for a man in black and red, with a yellow energy signature. His teleportation powers are on the fritz, so locating him can be difficult through normal means. Magic or telepathy may be more useful forms of reconnaissance.”
Alfred looks hopefully at her, but she shakes her head. It hasn’t consumed her yet, but she’s not naive. She knows it’s coming.
“Unfortunately, Asher’s powers have spread to the rest of us as well. Batman, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Robin, the Batgirls, Signal, and I. All of us will have been translocated to the other universe when you receive this message. Until we can find a way back, or you can find your way to us, the Bats will be unavailable for Gotham, and the world. This is an Emergency Code: Barren Belfry. I repeat, this is an Emergency Code: Barren Bel-”
Batman emerges in the shadows of an empty room. The rush of the ocean can be heard all around him, and a chill in the air causes him to shiver. He hears voices from a nearby room and slinks away to a dark corner before the group enters this one.
Six costumed men and women enter, and although Asher stated the other universe had no Justice League it was hard not to see the resemblance. At the head of the group was a man decked in red, white, and blue, and giant red wings. The shield he was carrying also boasted the same patriotic theme, though Batman’s visors seem incapable of recognizing the metal it’s made of. He was conversing with a man with pointed ears holding a trident. Reminiscent of Arthur, but not nearly as much modesty with his costume.
Further analysis is interrupted when a figure in red and gold armor speaks up. “I’m picking up something on our security feed, guys. Someone’s in here.”
With his cover blown, Batman decides the best course of action is to step out of the shadows, hands in the air. The group all turn towards him, shocked. One figure takes to the air, a blond woman with a gold star on her chest. Her hands begin to glow with energy, not too unlike Koriand’r. Are there really no variants in this universe?
“I apologize for the intrusion. Allow me to explain-”
A woman in a green dress tilts her hand, and Batman widens his eyes as his cloak turns into a sentient swarm of vines. The tendrils snare his hands and feet and draw him towards the others. Is this magic? Zatanna usually needs to open her mouth to do something like this.
“Not too much, Sersi,” the armored man speaks up. “Let’s hear him out.”
“Sorry.” She looks toward him again and his cape is back brand new. “I got a tad bit nervous.”
“Someone who can bypass our defenses that easily makes me nervous too,” This comes from a green-skinned woman, easily towering over the group by a foot or two. She must be the muscle. “This base is in the middle of the Arctic. How could you possibly sneak in?”
“I was teleported in from another universe by another metahuman.” Batman can see the incredulity on the other’s faces. “It’s a far-fetched story, and I lack sufficient proof right now. But the rest of my family has been transported here as well. If you all are heroes like we are, I could use your help finding them.”
The Atlantean looks over at the star-spangled man. “I'll leave it to you, Captain.”
“If it’s true, it’s worth looking into. We’re gonna need to hear more before we let you out of our supervision. But the Avengers are here to help however we can.”
Robin wasn’t sure what he expected to see after the teleportation, but he certainly didn’t expect to land straight onto a pile of pizza boxes. The noise of his crash drew the attention of the room’s occupants, and the conversation soon grew quiet.
As he stood up, katana half-drawn, he took the time to analyze the five people before him. They appeared to all be around his age, with their wardrobe suggesting they, too, partook in vigilantism. A boy with a red spiked helmet is frozen mid-pizza bite. One figure with a black and red webbed suit had leaped onto the ceiling and stuck there. Another in red and black armor levitated in the air, an arm aimed toward him. The heart on the helmet slightly diminished his nervousness.
Someone else may have dismissed the group due to their age. But Damian knows how effective he is at what he does. If this group had the same drive, he saw no reason to count them out.
“I apologize for the disruption. You may call me Robin. I was transported here outside my own will by a metahuman named Access. He claimed to oversee the separation of my universe and yours. Unfortunately, his powers overwhelmed me and the rest of my family, bringing us here. I assume we have been sent to various parts of your Earth. If you would help aid me in locating them, you would have my eternal gratitude.”
After what feels like hours of silence, an android teenage girl speaks up, brushing aside a green lock of hair. “His body language does not suggest he is lying.”
The group all turns toward a masked girl in the center of the table, a lightning bolt down her dress. This must be their leader. He’d keep that in mind.
“If a kid like us is in need? We can’t turn him down. No matter what universe he’s from.” The girl plants her hands on the table and stands up. “Champions, gear up. We move out in 15.”
The rest of the teenagers disperse, and the girl turns towards Damian, extending a hand. As in, her arm stretches across the room to present itself in front of him. “Kamala Khan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Signal’s harsh landing is soothed by a soft patch of grass. Everything about this place is soothing. The weather, the greenery, and even the air he breathed felt so perfect. It felt like a true Garden of Eden. But he’s faced Poison Ivy before. He knows how deceptive perfection can be.
The sound of conversation draws his attention. He can see a woman decked in disco glitter talking to a group dressed all in black.
“All I’m saying is I would appreciate the extra security at my concert. X-Force could, uh- who are you?”
The security force turns around, and upon seeing Signal they all draw their weapons. Which, in one short man’s case, meant letting loose steel claws from his arms. What the hell? In any case, a fight is the last thing he wants. He focuses on teleporting away, and he can feel himself melting into the darkness.
The disco queen smiles and puts a hand in the air. “Oh, there are no shadows when I’m here, man.”
A bright light consumes his vision, almost like a second sun appeared right in front of him. He’s forced out of the shade, and pink energy surrounds him—gripping tight—can’t breathe—
The clawed man looks toward a boy with a pink mohawk. “Ease up, kid. He’s not trying to fight.”
“I didn’t mean to do that.” Signal is quickly released, gasping for air as he falls again. Was everyone here a meta? “My powers - they’re acting haywire. It’s like I’m standing next to Hope.”
A woman in red sunglasses looks at him. “No X-gene. But he isn’t human. This mutation…I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.”
Another woman, pale with a dark circle around each of her eyes, helps Duke up. “Well, as long as you’re not a human assassin we can work things out. Don’t worry, kid. We’ll figure out how you got here.”
“And, where is here, exactly?” Duke winces.
The woman seems surprised. “You don’t know?”
“This is Krakoa. The sovereign mutant nation.”
“Okay, as far as names go, don’t you think this one is a little unoriginal?”
Stephanie probably shouldn’t be snarking at her captors, but so far they don’t seem malicious. The girl with the circle staff, the one who tied her up with just one word, rolls her eyes and sighs.
“We don’t call ourselves the Runaways. That’s dumb. But when the adults just see a bunch of teenagers on the run, it’s an easy name to stick.”
A girl with short purple hair gives a snarky grin. “You’re talking a lot of smack for someone who’s our prisoner right now. Old Lace is pretty hungry, you know.”
The velociraptor in question (a real dinosaur, how cool is that?) gives a short little growl, but the way it’s hanging back means Steph doesn’t think that’s happening.
“Look, we’re not saying we don’t believe you,” one of the boys speaks up. The cyborg, if she remembered correctly. “I mean, we’ve definitely seen crazier things.”
“What we’re saying is taking the risk of believing you could just lead us into more danger.” That’s the blonde with goggles. “We’ve been lead astray by people claiming to be heroes before.”
Stephanie slumps forward against the chair she’s tied to. “Come on! I have no reason to lie. My family is somewhere out there right now.”
The glowing rainbow girl circles above her near the ceiling. “Sheesh. Family may have been the wrong thing to mention with this group.”
The last member, the youngest with a pink-eared hat, lets out a giggle. “It’s inevitable when all your parents are supervillains.”
With that, Stephanie lets out a gasp and stands up, the ropes falling loosely around her shoulders. She’d undone the knot a couple of minutes ago.
“Well, why didn’t you just say that?”
“Jesus, someone tie her up again-”
“We’re gonna get along great.”
Cassandra pops out in a back alley, somewhere on the East Coast. She can tell by the architecture. That puts her a little at ease. She can work with familiar territory.
A scream close by grabs her attention. She leaps a nearby fence and runs to find a woman surrounded by three muggers, clutching onto her bag. Upon seeing her, the woman shouts again with renewed vigor.
“Please, help me! They’re trying to take my purse-”
“God, shut up, lady!” One of the men turns around to see Cass settle into a fighting stance. “Jeez, everyone’s trying to be a hero nowadays. Are they giving out costumes in Happy Meals-”
A quick jab to the face shuts him up. The woman, now forgotten, is given the chance to run as the rest of the muggers seek to bring their new opponent down.
Fighting criminals. There are some constants in every universe. These opponents aren’t strong enough to give her a challenge, so Cass can focus on her surroundings.
She knows she’s currently in Hell’s Kitchen, an area in Manhattan, New York City.
She knows there are enough differences from her memory that she really is in another universe.
And she knows five blocks away, on the top of a skyscraper, two red devils are watching her every move.
If Tim has to keep blocking arrows like this, he’s considering letting the next one go through his head.
He emerged in an apartment in Los Angeles, a pretty nice one at that. Unfortunately, he’d interrupted the nap of a woman in purple who didn’t appreciate his arrival. She was a damn good archer. She could give Roy or Oliver a run for their money, honestly. And as impressive as that was, it wasn’t fun trying to counter every strike with his bo staff.
“Look,” he manages to pant out. “I’m sorry about ending up in your place. It really was an accident. I promise, if you give me a chance to explain, we can work this out.”
The girl reluctantly nods, also giving in to exhaustion. “Alright. I’ve run out of arrows anyway. You’ve got five minutes, dude.”
Before he can open his mouth, a portal opens in the room that makes them both jump. Instead of yellow light, however, this one is cosmic blue. From it emerges a whole group of young costumed people. A giant blonde girl, a boy with green eyes and gold horns, a - bulky Brainiac-5? Another boy with a red cloak emerges and runs to Kate, giving her a warm hug.
“I got your emergency signal. What’s happening?”
Tim turns to her, slightly peeved, and to her credit, she at least looks apologetic. “Sorry. I pressed it when I heard you crash in the kitchen. Hope you don’t mind a group lecture?”
The group turns toward him, and Tim really doesn’t like his odds of convincing one person, let alone around ten of them. He prepares himself to give the best explanation he can when another member of the bunch steps forward. A girl with a striped denim jacket, and Tim swears he can see stars in her eyes.
“No need to explain, bud. You’re in the wrong universe, aren’t you?”
Jason’s arms were getting a little tired from holding these guns up. That was the downside of standoffs.
Right now, he has one arm pointed at some brute with a skull on his shirt. The other is pointed at a redhead with a shotgun. What a beautiful woman. Reminds him a little of Artemis, to be honest.
“This is nonsense,” one of the crew speaks up. A bald man with green robes. “Just put the guns down, and we can find a more peaceful resolution. Together.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you weirdos,” Jason laughs. “Especially with some Klansmen in your ranks.”
The white hooded figure in question tilts his head. “I am no white nationalist. I serve Khonshu, the god of the moon. I protect the travelers of the night-”
“No one asked for your speech. Seriously, just leave me alone and I’ll never have to see you assholes again.”
The flaming skull head (okay, he had to admit that was a little awesome) revs up his motorbike. “Fine by me. We have a mission of our own.”
A man with dark shades and a trenchcoat grips tightly onto his sword as he turns around. “Strange?” Were those fangs in his mouth?
Their leader floats down, a red cloak billowing around him. God, what a pompous mustache. Jason already didn’t like this guy. The man’s necklace begins to glow, and the bronze eye in the center blinks. Who the hell are these people?
“I’m afraid he’ll be coming with us,” the man says. “If he has anything to do with our investigation, the Midnight Sons may have use for him yet.”
Nightwing’s fallen out of the sky before. It’s not like he’s never missed a grappling hook in his life. But falling into the crowded streets of New York City? In broad daylight? He’d prefer not to make an embarrassment of himself. He reaches for his escrima sticks, there’s gotta be a ledge to hook onto-
Before he can move, a sticky web latches onto his back, and he’s pulled into the arms of a red and blue webbed figure, soaring through the concrete jungle just as efficiently as he does. Despite having the relatively same build, he’s carrying Dick like a pillow. Some kind of super strength, no doubt. They look down at him, the striking white eyes of their uniform lifted in surprise.
“Sorry to crimp your style. I thought I’d give you a lift.”
Dick smiles. “No problem. You saved me a line. Thanks for that.”
The man keeps swinging through the skyscrapers. “So, are you a new crimefighter? Can’t say I mind the help, we could always use more good guys out here.”
“Would you believe me if I told you I was teleported here from an alternate universe, and the world as you know it is at risk of combining with mine?”
“We had something like that happen a few years ago. Kind of a mess, but it all worked out,” he laughs, and Dick can’t help but feel at ease despite his situation. “Trust me, I’ve seen it all.”
Nightwing breathes a sigh of relief, then frowns. “My family are all out there, somewhere. I could use some help with finding them. Or solving this whole thing, really.”
“Well, I can’t say I have a lot of experience with all this cosmic stuff. But I’m having lunch with some friends who do. Why don’t you join us for a bite?”
Dick looks up and sees they’ve arrived at their destination. The tallest building in the vicinity, with a giant 4 at the top.
Barbara is typing as fast as she can. Teleporting into some secret agent base wasn’t ideal, and knocking out two of them with a well-placed Batarang likely wouldn’t earn her any favors. But she’s determined to learn as much about this world as she can. Information was her specialty, after all.
Their cybersecurity is good. Probably one of the better ones she’s ever seen. But to Oracle, it’s only a matter of time before she got past their walls.
Pounding on the door makes her hands fly faster. They’d break through any minute now. Another Batarang to the control panel had locked the door in place. She liked to think that while the rest of the family had their own preferred weapon, she was still the best Batarang thrower.
Finally, she was in. This database had everything she needed. The Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, this world was chockful of superheroes. She also noticed some diligent countermeasures for every metahuman in their base, which made her purse her lips. A grim reminder of Ra’s Tower of Babel, which nearly left the Justice League dead. Whoever was collecting this information was surely prepared for everything.
The door crashes down, and a whole squad of soldiers swarms her. “Don’t move! Hands in the air!”
As Barbara complies, a bald man with an eyepatch stalks forward and meets her gaze.
“You’ll have to forgive our show of force here,” the man drawls. He’s not actually sorry, of course. “Our last incursion didn’t go so hot.”
Barbara forces her voice to remain neutral. “We mean no harm to this world, I assure you.”
“S.H.I.E.L.D. will be the judge of that,” he counters and moves to grab Barb’s chair.
“I can move on my own,” she spits out and bites back a sigh as she follows the men down whatever corridor they take her.
So much for uneventful.