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Barry was late.
Again.
The speedster bolted into the Watchtower’s meeting room in a red and gold blur, skidding to a stop just short of his chair. He dusted himself off as if that would somehow make him seem less late.
No one looked surprised.
By now, the League had collectively accepted that, ironically, the fastest man alive had a terrible sense of time. Not even the wonders of the Speed Force could guarantee punctuality.
Barry gave them all a sheepish grin as he plopped down into his seat. “Hey, in my defense, I tried to be on time, but-”
A familiar, soul-piercing glare cut him off.
Batman.
Sitting at the head of the table, shrouded in shadows that definitely shouldn’t exist in this brightly lit room, Gotham’s Dark Knight was already staring him down like he was personally offended by Barry’s existence.
Barry shrank a little under the intensity of the bat-glare. “Right. Not important. Moving on.”
Superman, standing at the front of the room, took that as his cue to begin. “Now that we’re all here, we can start the meeting.”
Barry barely had time to breathe before the meeting, supposedly about world security, somehow spiraled into what could only be described as an aggressively detailed complaint session about Lex Luthor.
Courtesy of Clark.
At first, Barry found it hilarious. Watching Superman go off about Metropolis’s resident bald menace was always entertaining, especially when Clark got that rare frustrated journalist tone in his voice. Barry would have enjoyed it more if it hadn’t been going on for a full thirty minutes.
Thirty. Minutes.
Barry fidgeted in his chair, resisting the urge to groan. He tried to focus, but the words started to blur together. Lex Luthor this, LuthorCorp that, Kryptonite, something something, evil business practices, blah blah.
He felt his eyelids droop.
“Oh my God, I’m going to die of boredom. This is it. This is how I go.” He thought.
Maybe, if he was lucky, an alien invasion would interrupt this meeting. Or a surprise doomsday scenario. He didn’t want the world to be in danger, obviously, but if a conveniently timed crisis happened to make Superman shut up… well. He wouldn’t complain.
As if the universe had heard his silent plea, Clark suddenly stopped mid-rant.
His head tilted slightly, brows knitting together. “What’s that sound?”
Barry blinked out of his daze. “What sound?”
“I swear I heard something… like metal,” Superman said, his brows furrowing slightly as he tilted his head, listening intently.
The League exchanged glances, most of them looking equally confused.
All except Batman.
The Dark Knight remained as he always did,expression unreadable, arms crossed, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.
Hal raised an eyebrow. “You sure, Supes? I mean, I’m not saying I doubt your super-hearing, but let’s think about this for a second.” He gestured vaguely around the room. “We’re in space. What could possibly be making a metallic noise here, loud enough for you to hear it, but quiet enough that only you can?”
Superman didn’t answer immediately. He glanced around the room, his shoulders tense, scanning for anything out of place. He trusted his hearing more than anything, it had saved them countless times before. And yet…
“…Maybe you’re right,” he finally said, though he sounded more confused than convinced. “We should just continue the-”
CLANG.
A loud, unmistakable metallic thud echoed through the room.
The air vent.
For a fraction of a second, no one moved.
Then, like a switch had been flipped, every single League member jumped into action. Diana reached for her lasso. Hal’s ring flared to life, already forming a construct shield. J’onn’s eyes glowed faintly as he scanned for threats. Barry tensed, ready to move at lightning speed.
And then there was Batman.
Unlike the rest, Gotham’s protector didn’t even flinch. He remained seated, one hand lifting to pinch the bridge of his nose, exhaling slowly.
The reaction didn’t go unnoticed.
Hal spared him a side glance. “You look way too done with this, Bats.”
Batman didn’t respond.
Superman, still on high alert, turned toward him. “You know what this is, don’t you?”
Batman sighed.“…Unfortunately.”
And as if Batman had uttered some kind of magic spell, the ceiling vent suddenly gave way.
With a loud CRASH, an entire section of the panel collapsed, sending dust and debris raining down. Two masked figures tumbled out mid-fight, arms locked as they struggled against each other. They barely had time to register their sudden fall before they hit the floor with an ungraceful thud.
For a brief second, the entire room froze.
The League stared. The boys turned their heads, blinking in sync at the row of heroes gawking at them.
Then, as if absolutely nothing had happened, they went right back to fighting.
Punches were thrown. Kicks barely missed. Grunts and insults were exchanged as they wrestled on the floor, utterly ignoring the high-powered individuals standing just a few feet away.
The younger of the two wore a bright, almost theatrical costume, red and green, with a black cape lined in yellow. A green domino mask covered his scowling face, his dark hair messy from the scuffle. The older one, meanwhile, was dressed in a sleek red and black suit with a yellow X emblazoned across his chest, his own black domino mask slightly askew.
“Get off me, Robin!” the older one growled, pushing against his opponent.
“You wish, Red,” the younger spat back, voice laced with venom.
Before anyone could react, another figure dropped gracefully from the vent above, landing on his feet with ease. He was older than the other two, more like a young man than a boy. His suit was sleek
black, interrupted only by a sharp blue emblem stretching across his chest and down his arms. He dusted himself off before fixing the two brawlers with a look of exasperation.
“Seriously?” he sighed. “We’re in the Watchtower. Surrounded by the Justice League. And you two still can’t go five minutes without trying to kill each other?”
Before he could intervene, another voice chimed in, from above.
“I got twenty bucks on the Demon Brat,” someone said lazily.
Heads snapped up.
A fourth figure was still halfway inside the vent, only his helmeted head visible as he leaned down to observe the fight. The sleek red helmet gleamed under the Watchtower’s lights, and the amusement in his tone was unmistakable.
“Hood, do not encourage them,” the blue-clad young man scolded.
“Oh, come on, Wing, don’t be so boring,” the helmeted one, Hood, shot back. “We all know the kid’s got a mean right hook.”
The Justice League remained frozen in place, completely speechless.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of chaos, Batman stood up.
"Enough."
The single word, spoken in his signature growl, cut through the commotion like a blade.
Instantly, the room fell silent. The two brawling boys froze mid-struggle, the older one still gripping the younger’s cape, while the younger had a fist half-raised, ready to swing. Even Hood, who had just dropped down from the vent, tilted his head in mild curiosity.
All eyes were now locked onto Batman.
The older boy, the one with the yellow X, was the first to speak. Without hesitation, he pointed at the younger.
"He started it."
"WHAT!?" the younger one snapped, looking utterly offended. "I didn’t start anything! You were the one who said-"
"Enough, I said" Batman repeated, sharper this time. His glare alone was enough to silence them. "I don’t care who started it. I’m finishing it."
The tension in the room thickened. The League was still completely lost. None of them had any idea who these people were or why they had just dropped from the ceiling like a dysfunctional circus act.
Red Hood, seemingly unfazed by it all, groaned dramatically.
"Oh, come on, B! It was just getting interesting."
Batman shot him a look, but before he could say anything, Hal cleared his throat, eyes narrowing.
"Okay, hold up," he said, gesturing vaguely at the newcomers. "Who the hell are these guys?"
Superman crossed his arms. "And why were they in the vents?"
Silence.
Batman exhaled slowly, as if this exact situation had played out a hundred times before."...It's complicated."
“Wait a minute,” said the blue-clad young man, Wing, if the League was hearing things correctly; shaking his head slowly in disbelief. “B, you haven’t told them about us?”
The four intruders looked suddenly ultra offended.
“Because you are…” Oliver began, trying to make sense of the situation. He wasn’t usually one to be left in the dark, but this was something else entirely.
“We are his kids,” Wing interrupted, his tone almost too casual for the bombshell he had just dropped.
The room went deathly silent.
The Justice League exchanged glances, their expressions ranging from confusion to utter shock. Clark was the first to break the silence, though his voice was barely a whisper. “What?”
“Unfortunately,” Red Hood chimed in, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he clapped Wing on the back.
Batman rolled his eyes in sheer exasperation, as if this was just another typical Tuesday for him.
“I’m his kid, the real one,” Robin, apparently the youngest of the group, corrected, shooting a smug glance toward Red Hood and Wing. "You three are just parasites who eat his food, live in his house, and use his money.”
"The adoption papers say fuck you," Red mocked, a grin playing on his lips as he shrugged nonchalantly.
Batman, who had been pinching the bridge of his nose for the last minute, muttered under his breath, “Language.” But the noise of the room was so overwhelming, no one seemed to hear it, or care.
Robin’s eyes narrowed. “Do you want me to stab you again?”
"I mean, the replacement’s right,” Hood smirked, giving Robin a mocking salute. "He’s got a point, kid."
The entire room seemed to explode in a symphony of disbelief.
“He has kids???”
“No freaking way.”
Barry’s eyes were wide. "This, this is insane. What do you mean, kids? Like, actual kids?”
"Yeah, apparently," Oliver said, looking around at the others. "I mean, I thought I was the only one who had a complicated family life, but this? This takes the cake."
Even Diana was frozen, her usual calm composure completely shaken. “How…” she began, her voice trailing off as if she couldn’t even fathom the logistics.
Batman, feeling the weight of the dozens of questioning eyes on him, sighed deeply.“I told you, it’s complicated.”
“And I’m done explaining,” Robin added, crossing his arms, looking thoroughly unamused by the sudden turn of events.
Red Hood snorted. “Trust me, the details are probably worse than you think. But if you’re all done staring, you can get back to your meeting now.”
The League, still in shock, couldn’t quite bring themselves to focus on their original task.
“Wait, wait,” Hal said, raising a hand. “I’m sorry, I need to clarify something. You’re telling me Batman, The Batman, has... kids? Plural?”
Robin’s smirk was the most infuriating thing the League had ever seen. “Yeah. Just a few of us.”
The room fell into stunned silence once more. Only Batman’s heavy sigh filled the space as he stared at the ceiling, as if wishing the whole conversation would just vanish.