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Chapter Text

Hello. I would like to introduce a little about this fanfiction before you start your reading:

This story was made about three years ago, when I first watch The Batman (2022). I was completely excited about the character and suddenly became about the other characters that surrounded him, and I decided to put all this energy into writing this piece. This story went through a lot of changes and rewritings as I didn’t want anything to be misunderstood or confusing. I just wanted to make it clear that this is fanfiction, it has not had with the original media and there are probably some mischaracterizations, but I tried my best to correct it during all the chapters going. If you don’t like it, just don’t read it. But if you like, I would love to share this story with you all.

Have a good reading :)

Chapter Text

The small town of Smallville, one more sunny and pleasant day had started. Inside of a friendly little house, somebody had woken up realizing that their day had come. It was their sixteenth birthday!

Nothing had ever been eagerly awaited by the youngest Wayne heir, Terrence Wayne Kent, than his Sweet Sixteen. Excited, he jumped out of his bed, and his dog, Ace - probably the third in the line of the Ace dogs - was barely impacted by their joy.

“Damn decor!"

Terry was interrupted when they heard morning grumbles coming from his grumpy old father. Curious to know if the old men had something planned for him, he left the room and crept downstairs, finding their parents in the living room, preparing something that was supposed to be a surprise. His pa, Clark, was trying his best to hide a gift package in some corner of the house while his dad, Bruce, was tangled up in bandages and nearly destroying them with his bad temper.

“Brucie. Honey, will your bad mood be really your first thing in the morning?" Clark laughed at the tantrum his husband did just to roll up some tracks. He hugged him from behind, seeing him with his arms folded “Can you smile, at least, at our son’s birthday?"

“Those damn papers don't be the way I want them be!" The old man grumbled, throwing the papers up “I’m too old for all this, Kal."

“Oh, and did you realize this just now?" Clark laughed “It wasn't in our contract that I was going to marry a grumpy old man, Bruce."

“Then you had better review your rights, dear" Bruce smiled, turning give a kiss on his husband. From afar, Terry smirk. Their old dads were really adorable.

“Dads? " The kid came out of their hiding place, making his parents realize that they had taken too long with that surprise “‘Morning, dads."

“G-Good morning, dear…" Clark tried his best to hide the package behind him. Bruce snorted and shook his head "You woke up early today, baby."

“With you destroying half the house and my sensitive hearing... Dads, you are not discreet."

“I said we'd better make you a breakfast in bed, but your pa never listens to me" Bruce grumbled once more and went to his kid, giving them a warm old dad hug and a kiss on the cheek “Happy birthday, sunshine."

“Don't be grumpy, Brucie. A surprise would also be nice…" Clark scratched the back of his head, soon joining the hug, showering Terry with as many kisses as he could “Happy birthday, baby. We love you so so so much!"

“Come on, dads… I'm not a baby anymore…"

“You will always be for us, kiddo" Bruce said, ending the hug before his husband and child crushed him with their super strength “Are you ready for your birthday?"

“Well… Kinda."

“What do you mean kinda?" Clark seemed confused “You've been talking about this for days, Terry."

“I know. It's just…" Terry looked down, annoyed at remembering that subject “I wish grandpa were here… " He sighed, saddened. It had been a year since Alfred had passed and all family still suffered from the loss of their most beloved member, but there were still those who suffered most, and Terry was one of them. He was always very attached to their “grandfather” and it was to him that he talked about their feelings as a non-binary person for the first time. It pained him to know he couldn't be at such an important moment as their sixteenth birthday.

“Terry…" Bruce approached his son, touching their face and wiping their tears. He also suffered greatly from the loss of his father of heart, but he was used to death, unlike his son “Sunshine, I know you miss your grandfather. I think about him every day too..."

“You know I wanted him to dance with me at the party..."

“We know that, honey, but the best thing we can do now is to move on and honor Alfred’s memory…" Clark comforted Terry, wiping their tears and giving them a kiss on the forehead “It's your special day, baby, and he would want you happy!"

“I think you're right, pa…"

“Great. Now, since you found out about our surprise, I think you can open your birthday present" The super-dad handed a package to his kid, making them smile “I hope you like it. Your father and I chose it with a bunch of love."

“And with a lot of discussion, too. Your pa has terrible taste in fashion."

“What's wrong with my fashion sense, Brucie?"

“Kal, love, you only wear chess."

“You never complained about my clothes when we were dating."

“That's because I used to see you without any kind of cloth-"

“Dads! I loved it!" The couple had their argument interrupted when their child finally saw their gift. A pearl collar, just like the one his grandmother once had “Thank you, dads! I-I’m going to show it to the girls! Oh, and talking about them…"

“Lord, here it comes you and your friends..." Bruce sat down, without any patience to deal with teenagers, especially with Terry and their friends.

“Don't worry, dad. The girls and I spent the whole night planning on how today would all be! I wanted you to see our suggestions before we go to Neo-Gotham and-"

“Before it, honey, your father and I need to warn you about something..." Clark interrupted with a nervous laugh, which already scared his kid.

“Oh no" Terry sat on the couch, noticing that something would come to disturb their special day “Pa, the last time you two wanted to tell me something, was when you said that I had an forty-two-year-old brother who didn’t even know I existed. What did you do this time!?"

“Well, it has to do with your brother, Dick..." Clark looked at Bruce, who was pretending to sleep on the couch so he wouldn't have to deal with his own mess “He, your father and I talked a few days ago, and seeing how the family is still very sad by the loss of Alfred and how good it would be if we all got together, we decided that you will have your party at Wayne Manor. You and your cousin, Ruby."

“WHAT?!"

Far away from Smallvile, in Blüdhaven, the other birthday kid of the day expected to wake up with kisses, hugs and breakfast in bed on her special day, and not with the news that she would have to share her Sweet Sixteen party with her auncle-cousin.

Ruby Grayson was transfixed, sitting on her bed with her breakfast tray on her knees and being stared at by her parents, her sisters and her uncle, Jason, who had stolen her mustard cupcake. Everything went perfectly in the first few minutes of the day. She had been woken up by cheers from her parents, plus a special breakfast made by her Khanorf'ca and a special visit from her uncle, who had come along with her older sister, Athena, but her happiness crashed when she learned that she would have to share the sixteenth birthday party.

“Ruby? " Kory waved her hand in front of her daughter, wanting her to wake up “Bungorf, please say something!"

“Here it goes her good mood…" Sakura, the youngest sister, warned, lying on her uncle Jason's legs.

“That's why I came here!" Jason celebrated the fuzz and noticed his niece was waking up from the shock “Here we go!"

“S-Sh-Share?" The girl repeated, looking between her parents, hoping they were playing a prank on her “Y-You guys want me to share my birthday?"

“It's not really “sharing”, sweetie..." Dick tried to soften the situation, even though he knew it would be impossible “You and your cousin will only have the same party, on the same day, at the same time..."

“That's sharing, dad!"

“Okay, you're going to share the party! But what's so bad about it?"

“Everything!" Ruby whimpered, throwing herself on the bed and hiding on her pillow “It's my Sweet Sixteen! And it would be my party and my moment!"

'Look, girl, I spent sixteen years of my life sharing everything with you''  Athena replied, taking the little juice box that should have belonged to her sister. She was mute since birth, but that didn't mean she had to tolerate her sister drama for all those years. Ruby was the one who got mostly of Dick’s genes “You can share a freaking three-hour party with Terry. That is, if they didn't wear red and all eyes will go to him''

“Oh no!" Ruby got up in a single movement, scaring Jason, who almost fell from the bed “They are not wearing red at my party!"

“Enough! It's all decided and we can’t come back at our decisions!" Kory exclaimed, quieting everyone. She looked at her daughter, who was still upset “Honey, I know you wanted this moment to be yours, but your father and I thought it would be nice to get the whole family together after your great-grandfather died. Believe me, it will be good for everyone..."

“I miss great-grandpa Al too..." Sakura said, saddened because she had less time with her great-grandfather than the others.

“We all do, but that shouldn't be an excuse 'to mess with other people's plans!" Ruby grunted, still annoyed, leaving the room to try to de-stress.

“She'll calm down, Kor…" Dick tried to comfort his wife, trying to keep everyone's sanity “When we go to Gotham, she'll get better."

“Gotham makes everything worse, Grayson. Did you never get it? “ Jason warned, earning a bad look from his brother “Sorry."

Dick snorted, wanting to deny it but knowing Jason was right. Gotham always made things worse, and he felt that this time would be no different.

Hours after a merely boring birthday, at the Neo-Gotham train station, the birthday girl could drown all her sorrows in her luggage. While waiting for her grandfather and his family, Ruby tried her best to not be upset, but she could not. She knew that the family was still sad by the loss of Alfred and bringing the whole ‘Wayne-Grayson-Todd-Drake-Brown-Thomas-Kyle-Kent-Pennyworth’ family together could even be a good solution to soften the mood, but she still wanted to party just for her.

"C’mon, nerd​” But she had her teenage moment interrupted when her older sister pulled her to lift her head. With that leather jacket and that monotonous face, Athena looked more and more like Uncle Jason “Don’t be like that. It's your birthday! Don't let mom and dad ruin everything."

“Something hard when they mess with a plan that was made a long time ago..." She snorted, but soon she and the others noticed that the train from Smallvile had arrived.

As in an old Western movie, Ruby rose to her feet with clenched fists, and with her worst face, she waited for her rival to emerge from behind the train's smoke. With an improvised soundtrack by her little sister, she spotted her enemy. With the angry face that was inherited from The Dark Knight himself, Terry spotted the girl who had stolen their birthday party. The two walked through the station, until they were face to face with each other. Like in a birthday duel.

“Ruby."

“Terry."

“How does it feel stealing other person’s birthday and dreams, huh?"

“Stealing?! I'm three hours older than you!" She retorted, pointing her finger at her cousin’s face “You arrived without an invitation, birthday stealer!"

“Did I arrive without an invitation?" He laughed ironically “I'm your Auncle, girl! You own me some respect!"

“You're a spoiled yucky petty kid, you know it?! You bat brat!"

“Well, and you are an envious and even more yucky girl! You bird brat!"

“ENOUGH!" The kids were interrupted when Jason’s strong arms embrace and crushed them, wanting a little moment of silence “Look, I love a good fight, but it's a good fight! And not this teen drama of the two of you. Now apologize and give each other a hug."

“B-But-"

“Now."

“Sorry" The two-murmur, forcing themselves to give a hug so they don't get caught by Jason's angriness.

“Bat brat."

“Bird brat."

“Thank you, Jason" From a distance, Bruce thanked his son, holding his husband's shoulder because all those emotions would still make his blood pressure drop.

“It must be nice parenting a teenager at your sixties, dad" Dick joked, approaching his father and Clark “It's good to see you again."

“It’s good to see you too, Dickie. I mean, in a less uncomfortable situation than this…" Clark laughed nervously “Good thing the birthday is just one day, right? Soon their tantrum will pass."

“I hope so, or I’ll be forced to end this at the old way" Bruce raised his cane as a threat “Let's go to the Manor before I give up in all this!"

Led by the patriarch, the family walked to the old Wayne Manor, where the double dance for Bruce Wayne's youngest child and granddaughter would be held. Even with all the emotions and family reunited, something was wrong. Bruce felt it. Living for sixteen years in Smallvile made him a little low-guarded, but he would never forget the chill of stepping into Gotham City and feeling like something was wrong. When they arrived at The Manor, the old man Wayne shook hands with his husband, with his tired eyes lost, knowing he wasn't wrong.

Something was wrong.

“Brucie?" Clark was surprised when he felt a grip coming from his husband and saw him stare scarily at him “Babe, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

“Something is wrong, Kal…" The old man could only mutter, while the others barely noticed him “I-I feel it. There is something going on."

“It’s okay, Brucie. I’m here, honey..." Clark held his husband's face, giving him a kissing forehead and hearing accelerated heartbeats “Maybe it was a memory, dear. The last time we came here it was for Alfred’s funeral and you must have remembered that."

“Maybe so, love" Bruce relented, even though he knew it wasn't that. It was not Alfred who disturbed him “I really hope so…"

Bruce grabbed Clark's hand, hoping his husband's positivity was right. Dick was the one who guided everyone to the front door, where he hoped to meet his sister, Cassandra, who lived in the Manor with her family. But when the door was opened, Bruce almost fell over backwards to see that his superstition wasn't wrong.

With a droopy and interrupted decor in the middle of the Manor's main hall, Esmeralda, Cassandra’s wife, was sitting in one of the armchairs with her makeup smudged from crying and with a scarf in hand, the one her wife always wore. Beside her was Damian, with casual clothes and with a gauze full of blood in his hands. He looked directly at his baba, showing that this would not be the best place for parties.

“Esmé…" Kory was the first to speak, pushing her youngest daughter to her father's legs and running to the woman “X'hal, what happened!?"

“Oh, my…" Esmé murmured, unable to stop her cry “It was horrible. S-So horrible..."

“Baba" Damian started, gaining everyone's attention “Cassandra's been missing for twenty-four hours, and the only thing left for us was her scarf and Brown’s almost dead body."

Damian lowered his gaze, refraining from showing concern for his sisters. Bruce felt his blood pressure slowly drop when he learned that something had happened to his precious daughter. With the Batman. The old man fell fainting into his husband's arms, with everyone running to him, not knowing if they were more concerned about him, Cassandra's disappearance, Stephanie dying downstairs, or about Ruby’s and Terry's Sweet Sixteen, that had already finished.

Or, it had just begun.

Chapter Text

2025 - Sixteen Years Ago

Feeling eupHoria of finally getting rid of college, the students at The University of Gotham City cheered loudly, celebrating their graduation. A little away from them, Kate Kane and Maggie Sawyer jumped out of their chairs and ran toward their son, Duke Thomas, who was just a few steps from inheriting the family business. With Bruce's retirement, a discussion about who would take over his company took over the media, but his heart was relieved when his nephew and son, Tim, showed interest in taking over the family business. Tim was still in college, so Duke would have the responsibility of arriving first at the company as Bruce Wayne's heir; something he didn't like much, but that “heir” thing kept enemies away, and his uncle's company had a lot of enemies.

Managing The Wayne-Powers – now also Powers – would be a big challenge. Since his uncle’s retirement, part of his company had been sold to The Powers Family. Thomas Wayne had big business with Annie Powers, the then owner of The Powers Companies, and although she was a good person, her son, the current boss, was not. Derek Powers was a complete stingy and Duke knew he would must be patience to put up with that man in the next few years. 

“Oh, honey! We are so proud of you!” Duke couldn't think much when Kate came to cover him with kisses, embarrassed him “Now our companies will be safe with you. Your uncle Bruce really wanted to come, baby, but he couldn’t make it… Having a baby at home isn't easy at his age.”

“It’s okay, mom, I guess it's not easy raising a child at fifty-two...” Duke joked, hugging his other mom “But we'll have a lot of time together when we finally got to work in the same place…”

“Duke Thomas, right?” The joy of the little family was interrupted when Derek Powers approached them, with two kids by his side, a boy and a girl “I'm Derek Powers. You already know me, but I wanted to get to know better the man I'm going to do business within the next few years.”

“Hello, Mr. Powers” Duke forced a smile on the man, shaking his hand. His mothers, on the other hand, did not hide a grimace “I confess that I’m anxious to work with you...”

“Me too, young man. But let’s get things clear between us, that each of us will take care of their business. We don't want to mess among the families.”

“That's what we least want, Mr. Powers” Duke laughed nervously, but was saved when his classmates called for him “If you'll excuse me, Mr. Powers, I must go...”

“It’s okay, kid. Go have fun while you can” The man smiled, and as soon as Duke went out with his friends, Kate and Maggie stared at him mortally “Any problems, ladies?”

“If you try anything with my son, Powers, I'm going to end you!” Kate exclaimed, pointing her finger at the man's face, who grunted back.

“I'm not that kind of guy. Besides, it's not my family that has backlogs... Come on, kids, let’s get out of here” Derek left with the kids before he got in more trouble. He wasn't happy to know that part of the company would still be led by a Wayne, but soon that wouldn't be his problem anymore.

Hours before the fainting of Bruce Wayne, the CEO of The Wayne-Powers, Mr. Duke Thomas, could no longer stand his ears exploding in calls. His cousin, Tim, was on the other side of the line helping him draw some sort of plan, because the situation was also affecting the company's headquarters in South Korea, which Tim was taking over. A corruption fraud leak would always be a scandal.

“Mr. Thomas?” Duke lifted his gaze when he noticed someone entering his office, and a young woman in a suit appeared with a smile “I bring you good news! We managed to contain the press, and the journalists agreed to make an appointment for clarification.”

“Oh, thank heavens…” He celebrated, relaxing in his chair “What would I do without your help, Hunter?”

“I think you would sink into the mess of my uncle and my cousin, sir.”

In all those years of “partnership”, The Powers had destroyed the company, and ironically, The Waynes were getting help from one of them. Hunter Powers, Derek Powers' twenty-three-old niece, was loved by her uncle more than his own son, and was chosen to take care of his business in the company. Now, Hunter was helping The Waynes to control the mess her own family did. 

“Did that cousin of yours manage to contain things in Korea?” She asked, watching her boss still stuck on the phone.

“No. Things are tenser there. Tim hung up, he went to have a talk with his husband... They're not very good with each other...”

“Oh, couple dramas. Which reminds me, Mr. Thomas, you have that party to go to, don't you?”

“Oh, I knew I was forgetting something! I'm lucky to have you as an external memory, Hunter” He laughed, getting up to go to The Wayne Manor “I'm going out to pick up my mom and go to the party. Good luck with the press.”

“Don't worry, Mr. Thomas. Luck is my middle name” Hunter said goodbye to her boss, snorting, knowing she would have to deal with a crowd of angry reporters. He was the boss, but the work was all hers.

Hurried, Duke left his office, but he stopped when his cell phone started ring like crazy, full of Kate's lost calls. Before he could see them, his eyes focused on something he was sure it was what his mother would tell him.

“Neo-Gotham’s Bat has been missing for almost twenty-four hours."

Seoul - South Korea

Minutes before Neo-Gotham went into chaos for not having a Batman, Tim Drake was at his home, but he wished that he was in peace. He answered calls in three different languages all the time and his coffee addiction screamed to return with all that stress, but he couldn't give in, even if things at home were not good.

He and his husband, Conner Kent, had been living a fairytale romance since their adolescence, but now things were weird between them, and neither of them knew why. With the company's problems, Tim was so stressed that he barely paid attention to his husband. He didn't want to get away from Conner, he loved him, but there were too many things going on and he couldn't handle all them at the same time.

“Honey?” Tim noticed that Conner had just arrived from work. He entered the room without giving him a kiss “Hey, Timbo.”

“Hey” Tim told Duke that he had to hang up because there were personal things to take care of. He turned to Conner, wanting some of his attention “How was work?”

“The same as always, hon. No big deal” Conner lay in bed, tired. He didn't want to walk away from his husband either, but his convenience spoke louder “I heard about the company. I've never liked that Powers guy.”

“Yeah. He makes a mess, and we must clean up...” Tim forced a laugh, but he took nothing from Conner “I-I'm going to take a shower. You want to come with me?”

“No, thanks. I'm tired, babe.”

“Of course you are...” He muttered, leaving the room and closing the door, giving Conner the silence he wanted.

Tim walked to the bathroom while overthinking about reasons why his relationship was like that. He had always been an anxious person, especially after “The Joker Junior event”, but for all that, Conner was his salvation. They were together for so many years, and he wondered if his husband had just become sick of him. A divorce became increasingly predictable and was what Tim feared most. Feeling his heart palpitate faster, Tim looked at himself in the mirror. A man in his forties, in a bad hair day, and skinny? 

God, he was thinner than last week. He forget his hormones once more.

He despaired at realizing it and opened the bathroom cabinet, feeling relieved to see that his hormones were still there. With so many things going on, there were moments when he forgot to take his hormones and only noticed when things like that happened. He lost weight or his pants were stained with blood. He felt horrible for forgetting something so important, but his head was always full of other things.

“Timbo?” Tim could barely take his hormones when Conner broke into the bathroom, looking apprehensive “Your Aunt Kate is on the phone. Something happened to Cassandra.”

Once more, Tim put his hormones aside to run out to his room and listen to Kate's call. Another problem fell under his back, so as another reason for his marriage to be unstable.

Bruce drove hurried through the streets that weren’t magnetic in a car that didn't fly. He was working when a call from Alfred pulled him out in seconds. Few things got him out from his work so fast, and one of those things were his children. 

He was new to that dad thing. Two years ago, he was unlucky to meet one of his ex-girlfriends, Vicki Vale, at a circus event and it ended with them adopting the little Dickie Grayson. Sharing custody of the boy with Vicki was no longer easy when he decided to bring another kid into his life. The boy who broke into his home, Jason Todd, was welcomed by him and his current girlfriend, Selina Kyle, and recently, he had just welcomed another child, and she was the one who was taking him off work at the time.

He finally arrived at his Manor. Parking the car and entering his house, strange the silence of the living room full of toys and without any children. One of them caught his eye. A little stuffed dragon from "Mulan", his only daughter's favorite movie. He snored, taking the plush in his hands and going to the kitchen, where Alfred hit his foot, distressed. 

“She's in the garden, sir.”

Bruce took a deep breath and went out towards the garden, finding his boys kneeling in front of one of the stools in the backyard. Jason had a teddy bear in hands and Dickie tried to convince whoever was under the seat to come out. He smiled. His sons were great boys.

“Boys” He called his sons, faced by their pairs of curious little eyes “Thanks for the help, but I deal with her now.”

He waited for his sons to return home and walked to the bench, ducking down and finding a little girl, in a beautiful yellow dress, with her eyes full of fear and mistrust. It would be his first time as a girl dad, and it would be Cassandra's first time having a family that treated her like a normal child, and not a live gun. It was something new for both, and they had not gotten used to it yet.

“Cassie” Knowing the kid lived all her five years of life with murderers and guns, Bruce could imagine that simple things in Alfred's garden could scare her “What are you doing there?”

He waited two long minutes for an answer. His daughter had not been taught to speak or write, only to kill. She was adapting to sign language and speak few words with her brothers, but silence would always be her first choice, at least with most. With her dad, she pointed to a rose bush, and Bruce stared at it, noticing a small cut on his little girl's precious finger.

“Did you get a boo-boo?” He asked and the girl confirmed “Come here. Let me see it.”

He smiled when Cassie trusted him and crawled off the stool. In sign language, he asked for permission to take her in his lap to see her bruise better. He took his daughter in his arms, seeing her simple cut, which he healed with a kiss.

“Now it won't hurt anymore” He assured her, who still looked scared “I know it's hard, Cassie, but I'm here, and nothing's going to hurt you while I'm here, okay?”

Bruce smiled as the little girl gave him a smile. He gave her a hug, a long and tight hug, wanting her to understand that he would always be there to protect her, even when she no longer fit in his arms.

Bruce muttered when he realized he was just dreaming. For a second, he thought he was in his early twenties, black hair, and all his children still fit in his arms, but that was just a memory of a good time.

He opened his eyes slowly, realizing he was in his room at Wayne Manor. Even not seeing and hearing very well, the old man noticed his husband still by his side, with his arms folded and worried. On his legs, Damian seated and talked to Clark about something. 

“Baba?” Bruce’s living presence had been noticed by Damian, who stood up in front of his face, pulling his eyelids to see if his pupils were moving and his brain had not stopped. His boy always acting like a doctor “Kent, he's awake.”

“Brucie!” Bruce turned to the worried and sweet voice of his husband, who approached him and held his hand, stroking his head. Like a good sly old man, he rested his head on his partner's chest “You scared me, honey. Are you feeling something? D-Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

“I'm fine, Kal. Just a little confused...” He turned to face Damian, knowing his son would give him the answers he wanted “Why am I here, Damian?"

“You fainted, baba. Kent wanted to take you to the hospital, but I told him to wait here because I knew you would wake up soon.”

“And why did I faint?”

“You fainted when you heard about Cassandra's disappearance, baba.”

“Gosh. Cassie's gone. How could I forget about it!?” Bruce seemed angry with himself and rummaged in his bed, wanting to get out and go find his daughter “Damian, we need to find her! Call your brothers and-"

“Bruce, please” Clark held his husband's shoulders, lading him back in bed before he fell again “Bruce, you can't go out so fast. You just fainted!”

“I don't care about me, Clark! My daughter is missing and I need to find her!” Bruce refuted indignantly, trying to get up again, this time being stopped by Damian.

“Your husband's right, father. You need to get some rest. If you want me and my brothers to work hard to find Cassandra, we won't be able to if we had to look at you all the time” Damian was straight and cold, making his father settle down in bed. Bruce felt that a part of Alfred had stayed in each of his children, and Damian had stayed with the short fuse “Grayson, Kyle and I will be downstairs taking care of Brown. Your husband will stay here with you and bring you any news.”

“Selina is here?”

“Yes. She came with Helena and me. In her own words, she wouldn't leave any of her kittens behind” Damian gave a brief smile, holding his father's hand and giving him some of his strength “We'll find her, baba. None of us will be left behind.”

“None of the bats stay behind” He completed, seeing his son come out of his room. Clark sat next to him, and alone with his husband, Bruce allowed himself to be scared “I'm so scared, Kal. I know my daughter and I know her potential, and I know that it's not anyone who can make her fall into a trap… If anything happens to Cassandra-"

“I know it's a very hard situation, honey, but I need you to have hope, Brucie. Have hope that soon we will find Cass and we will be celebrating with her” Clark hugged his husband, kissing the top of his head, wanting him to believe in his super-hope “Have hope, my love...”

Few feet below Bruce's despair, Damian went downstairs to The Cave, that now belonged to his sister. She had kept everything as it was, as she had always had a lot of love and respect for Bruce, and maybe that had led him to make her his first choice as his bat-successor. Damian remembered perfectly, he and his sister hearing from Bruce that they were chosen as Batman's successors since he retired due to "The Batman of The Future Project" emergency. Cassandra was one of the few people who had Damian's respect, but he would not deny that he would have liked to have been his father's first choice.

He reached to the ground floor of The Bat-Cave, where he could see Dick and Selina watching Stephanie's vitals. He still could see him finding his sister’s almost dead body in front of the Manor, and with Alfred no longer around, Damian was grateful that Selina was there to help with this case.

“How is she?” He asked, having the attention of his ex-stepmother and brother, who did not have smiles on their faces.

“Vital signs are normal, but she's in a kind of coma” Dick said, scratching his beard “I'm considering a brain hemorrhage. Selina told me that you found her badly wounded.”

“If we hadn't found her, she would surely be dead by now…” Selina huffed, sitting next to Stephanie and holding her hand, caressing it. She knew those kids since they were little kittens and all they went through. At the end, they were all her children too “What about your father, Damian? Did he wake up?”

“Yes. Baba is already conscious and stubborn; he would already be down here if Kent hadn't held him.”

“That old man doesn't change…” Dick laughed, sighing loudly and running his hand through his hair “Damn. Why do these things always happen to our family?”

“It's like a curse, kitten, and that's an old thing...” Selina lamented, but her green eyes widened when she felt a touch on her hand. She looked at Stephanie and noticed that she was waking up “She's waking up! Boys, she's waking up!”

“Steph…” Dick approached her, seeing her start to mumble “She doesn’t move.”

“Her consciousness is returning, but not her body” Damian said, also looking at her.

“To me… T-To me... T-To me…” Stephanie murmured, without showing any effort to wake up “To me.”

“To me? To her what?” Dick repeated, confused “Oh, for God’s sake!”

Dick shouted, seeing the situation had gotten worse. With Cass gone and their only lead to finding her losing her own sanity, none of them knew how to make this thing work. But far way, it was already working very well for someone.

Chapter Text

Hours bEfore dawn, a little rest sounded pleasant for those who had breakfast at three and fifty in the morning. Even an apprehensive life was his favorite lifestyle, Damian Wayne had missed having a normal breakfast at a normal kitchen table. He was at Selina’s apartment and was feeling nice about it. Like his father had a father from heart, he had a mother from heart. 

“Your sister is taking too long” He noticed Selina lying in front of the window, with a cup of coffee in her hands “I’m starting to get worried…”

“Calm down, Kyle. The streets of Gotham are still dangerous, as far as I can remember...” Damian tried to calm her, smiling as he gained a smile from the woman.

“You're right, kitty” Selina sat in front of her him, holding his hand “This house is very quiet with Harley and Pamela out, and a mother's heart always gets worried. Otherwise, in a few hours we must go to the Manor for Terry’s and Ruby's birthday, and I don't want to lose your father in a suit and waltz.”

“It will be something comical, I would say” Damian smiled “Against his taste, it is worth remembering. Terrence would dance the waltz with Alfred, but-"

“But things don't go as we planned most of the time...” Selina interrupted, knowing that the loss of the butler still hurt in all his “grandchildren” “But let's see on the good side. Terry has two dads; he can switch between them during the party.”

“You're always cheering us up, no?” He laughed, turning when he noticed someone entering the apartment. He saw his sister, Helena, with Lara Kent and Lucy Quinzel entering with her.

“Oh, you’re finally here!” Selina got up, approaching her daughter and giving her a kiss on the cheek “You got me worried, kitty.”

“We're fine, mom, don’t worry…” Helena yawned, wanting to join Lara and Lucy who were dumped on the couch, but not before giving her brother a kiss. It was rare for Damian Wayne to visit mere mortals “Dami! I'm happy you really made it!”

“Selina convinced me to see our father waltzing in person, sister” He held his sister's hand, giving it a kiss “I just hope he's dancing better than he was at your sixteenth birthday party.”

“Oh my. Until the party, he left Yelena without toes for a week” Selina joked, delivering two cups of tea to the two girls on the couch “What about you two? Strong enough to have some tea?”

“I am” Lara stretched out her arm-of-steel, grabbing her cup of tea, while Lucy was still dead on her legs “And while we're here, Jonno is enjoying the beautiful Japanese Islands with his husband…”

“I'm still surprised that someone actually married Jonathan” Damian joked.

“Well, his husband has pink hair, so I would say that they were made for each other” Lara laugh, noting Lucy waking up from her temporary demise “‘Morning, sunshine.”

“Good morning… Oh, good. We're at home.”

“God, girls...” Selina laughed a little “What have you been up against to get here like this?”

“There was chemical gas leak near where we are, near to Lena's father's company, and we ended up inhaling some of it.”

“This is strange” Damian grunted “Baba would never allow the use of these substances in companies.”

“I don’t know who allowed it, all I know is that that gas can knock down even a dinosaur” Lucy turned to the phone, which began to ring, and she got it in “Aunt Selina, I think it's for you.”

“Oh my...” Selina grumbled, picking up the phone and watching through her window the dawn in the city, showing that another long day was beginning “Hello?”

Selina remembered her shimming legs when she heard that Cassandra was gone. She couldn’t tell the fear she felt in her heart when she heard that, but she could describe what she was feeling now. Hope. That's what she felt when she saw Stephanie had come back to consciousness. She was sitting next to her, holding her hand that could only move fingers, while Damian and Dick took a turn between seeing her vital signs and finding out what had happened to her, and why she repeated the sentence "to me" non-stop. 

“Selina” She looked up when she heard Dick call her. She was there when Bruce adopted him, and now he already had a beard and white hair “Go get some rest or eat something. You’ve been sitting there for hours and Steph hasn't given a signal yet.”

“And I'm going to be here when she gives another, kitty. I'll also be here when they find any leads on Cassandra.”

“I'm glad you're sitting down, because both things will take time to happen...” Damian warned, with papers in hand, in search of something he did not have and did not even know how to find “Hell! There's nothing! Nothing that can tell us why Brown is like this or what the hell happened to Cassandra!”

“Esmé doesn't know anything?” Dick asked, noting his brother trying to calm down and Selina denying it with her head.

“She wasn't here when the girls went on patrol. She had gone to the airport to leave the twins with her sister, who would take them to spend a few weeks with her family in Colombia… I can hardly think of her pain.”

“I think none of us can…” Dick touched Selina’s shoulder, wanting to comfort her and even himself.

Above The Cave, Esmeralda was still in tears. One of her sisters-in-law, Helena and her famous pink suit, was by her side, trying to calm her down knowing it would be in vain. She was married to Cassandra for years and even knowing the risks of being in a relationship with The Bat of Neo-Gotham, a thing like that never happened before. Her wife was extremely intelligent in combat and what terrified her was knowing that it wasn't anyone who would make her disappear. She prayed for the worst not to happen and did not destroy her boys' hearts when they came back home.

“Why don't you go get some sleep, Esmé?” Helena touched her shoulder, noting her worn-out features of crying “If we find any clues, you'll be the first to know.”

“Thank you, but I can’t…” She said, without taking her eyes off her wife's scarf “I will not sleep until they find my wife. I need to know if she's okay, or alive.”

“Cass is alive and we know that. You don’t have to worry. Now, go get some rest, please.”

“Fine, but just because my eyes can't stand to be open anymore…” She gave in, clinging to Cassandra's scarf, still against her wish to stay there and wait for her wife to come back.

Waiting for Esmé to go upstairs, Helena decided to walk to the entrance hall of The Manor, where were Dick’s daughters and Terry, who could die of their own boredom. That whole tension was bad enough, but she knew that the kids were suffering more, especially the birthday ones. All of Bruce Wayne's daughters had a Sweet Sixteen party, and the last one was Helena's. It was a magical moment, still controversial because they were all still living within Bruce’s secrets.

“Hey” She approached the kids, having their attention “I guess all of it is very unschway for you, isn't it?”

“I thought that waking up knowing I'd have to share my party was bad, but losing Aunt Cass is undoubtedly way worse” Ruby lamented, dumped on her older sister's shoulder.

“We didn't lose her” Terry corrected her “She's missing, and knowing Cass as I do, I don't doubt about her showing up at that door like nothing happened.”

“That's what we want, Baby Bat. Unfortunately, this time, the situation is not in our favor…” Helena sighed “What about your mom, girls? Where is she?”

“She went to the train station to leave Sakura with our grandmother; she doesn't want her here with all this going on... Besides, this Gotham pollution was making her sneeze like crazy." Athena replied, still morbid by the whole situation.

“Pollution? No, that's not possible… My dad invested millions in a program in The Wayne Enterprises to use natural energies in production and reduce the city's pollution, and it worked. He was even honored, and I know that because Damian and I were with him that day.”

“Well, but there's still something about this town that makes my sister sneeze."

“But it can't be pollution...” Helena whispered to herself, tapping her foot “I was solving a case before I came here. Some homeless people who lived behind one of my dad's companies had to leave their houses because of a chemical gas leak.”

“Where does Aunt Cass come in?” Ruby asked.

“I don’t know. But this leak occurred while Cass disappeared, and the weird thing is that my father banned all companies from using toxic substances. So-"

“Someone overcame his order” Terry concluded, interrupting his sister “And who besides our dad has power in the company?”

Knock! Knock!

The young Waynes had their thoughts interrupted when they heard someone knock on the door. Terry ran to open it, hopefully, but disappointed to see that it was just Kate, Duke, and a young woman with a computer in her hands. 

“Any news!?” Kate was already in search of news, disappointed with the sad features of the younger ones.

“Nothing yet, but we're almost all here. Jay left to pick up Tim and Conner at the airport” Helena answered, strange that unknown person with her cousin “Who is this with you, Duke?”

“Oh, this is Hunter, my assistant...” Duke answered while his assistant was still shy “She's helping me control everything since the corruption scheme came out. She must be with me and update me from the company every moment.”

“Well, then it's a pleasure to meet you, Hunter.” Helena went to greet the young man, receptive as The Wayne’s late butler “I'm Helena Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s daughter.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Wayne” Hunter greeted her “I’m Hunter Powers, Mr. Thomas' assistant.”

“Wait. Did you say Powers?”

“I'm not going to stay in that bed anymore, Clark!”

The old Bruce Wayne's screams were heard all over the house. People downstairs turned to the staircase, seeing Bruce and his cane slowly coming down the stairs, with their striped pajamas and a terrible grumpy frown on his face. Behind him was Clark, who denied with his head worried about that stubborn man who was his husband. 

“Katie” Bruce paused his tantrum when he spotted his cousin, going to hug her. Without Alfred over there, Kate was the person who knew him the most.

“Oh, Brucie. I'm sorry this is happening...” Kate walked away from her cousin, touching his face that just wasn't older than hers, even though she had aged better “Especially in a day like this…”

“Selina used to say that we were cursed, and I think she's right...” Bruce muttered, noting his nephew behind his cousin, reminding him that they still had to deal with the company's problems “Duke. How's the company situation? I heard from Tim that the press is surrounding you like crazy.”

“Yeah, Uncle Bruce. Things are not easy, but a few hours ago I learned that an arrest request was made under Paxton and Derek Powers...” Duke said, taking a smile from his uncle.

“That's great! I want those bastards in jail!”

“We all want...” Duke muttered, touching his assistant's shoulder. He knew that even though Derek was corrupt, his niece still had a lot of regard for him.

“You guys haven't found out about Cassandra's disappearance yet?” Clark asked, snorting when everyone denied it with their heads.

“You haven’t because I hadn't gotten into this case yet, but that changes now!” Bruce exclaimed, taking his cane, and going – in a turtle pass – to The Cave, but was interrupted by Kate, who held his shoulder “Kate, please. I don't have enough of Clark wanting me to lie down the whole day.”

“Clark and I care about you, Brucie. We're not going to stop you from following the search for your daughter, but we want you to do just that. You've had a heart attack once because of this stress and no one here wants it to happen again.”

“Have you had a heart attack, dad?” Helena asked, surprised “W-Why didn't we ever know about this?”

“You were only ten when this happened, Helena. We didn’t want you to be scared about it…” Clark started, with his arms folded, remembering the scare he went through with his husband that day “Your father, even against our warnings, acted one last time as Batman and had a heart attack.”

“We got it, Clark, but remembering my failures won't bring my daughter back” Bruce interrupted them, angry at his weaknesses “I'm going down to The Cave and helping Richard and Damian with the investigations, and no one's going to stop me!”

“Don't worry, I'm going after him” Kate winked, waiting for Bruce to disappear from her sight to go after him. With the grumpy old man away, his super-husband breathed a long sigh, going to sit on the couch. People could notice the excessive worry coming from him, and it was not just about Cass's disappearance. Clark has been much more concerned about Bruce as he didn't get older like him and seeing his beloved husband getting old every day was painful, especially a stubborn old man like Bruce.

“Pa?” Terry sat next to their father, holding his hand “You don’t need to be worried, pa. You know nothing knocks dad down that easy.”

“You’re right, baby, but if you had seen your father when he had a heart attack, you wouldn't think this…” Clark took off his glasses, running his hand across his face.

“Do you mind telling us what happened, Uncle Clark?” Helena asked, approaching the man “If it is okay for you, obviously.”

“It’s okay, kiddo. It's just this memory stirs me...” He took a deep breath, remembering one of the most scares of his life.

The sound of the hospital clock wasn't loud, but it was about to kill Superman in any minute. Clark walked around the waiting room, still horrified by that scene which would never leave his head. He was at The Wayne Manor, on a quiet afternoon, when a tiny whisper from his partner reached his ears. When he arrived at the warehouse where Bruce was, the only thing he could see was his boyfriend dropped to the ground without any heartbeat. He had warned him of the danger of fighting at that age, but Bruce was stubborn as a rock and never listened to him, now, proving in his own skin the result of his stubbornness.

“Mr. Kent?” Clark came out of his whining when Doctor Leslie Thompkins left the room where Bruce was. He ran up to her, waiting for good news “You can calm down now. We were able to resuscitate Bruce in time and he's fine.”

“Oh, thank Rao! Thank you so much for saving him!” Clark thanked her, giving her a hug “Can I see him?”

“Of course but take it easy. Bruce is still recovering.”

Knowing his boyfriend, Clark knew that he would probably be pulling out the wires to leave the hospital as soon as possible. He walked into the room where Bruce was, shocked that his suspicion was wrong. He was lying down, quietly, with a downcast feature that would cut off his boyfriend's big-big heart. He walked to him, feeling a little better listening to his heartbeat. Bruce was getting older, and things would have to change, whether he wanted it or not.

“Kal...” Clark heard a whisper coming from his boyfriend and looked at him, noting his half-open eyes and his hand opening and closing for him. He ran up to him, holding his hand hard and hugging him “My sun, you heard... You heard me…”

“Of course I heard you, Brucie. I’ve always got your back, my love”

“Did you tell anyone else about this? What about our baby?”

“I told Alfred and Selina, but I'm going to send them news soon. The kids don't know anything and our baby's fine, Brucie. I had just put him in the crib to sleep, with that Batman pajama he loves...” Clark smiled as he took a laugh from his boyfriend, soon turning that smile into a serious expression “Bruce... Honey, you can't do that anymore. You can't be Batman.”

“Clark, I-“

“No, Bruce. There's no way to have any more discussions about it. You need to stop!” He interrupted him “You almost died, Bruce! And don't tell me you've been through this before, because things are different now! It wasn't a fight that almost took you away from me, Brucie, it was your heart! Your own body can't take it anymore!”

“Kal, I can’t stop…” Bruce tried to argue, even knowing that Clark was right “If I stop, Gotham will be without a hero.”

“And our son without a father, your children without a father, Alfred without a son, and me... Without you! Is that what you want, Bruce? You want to go on a mission and not come home anymore? You want to just give up your life for a mission and make me tell Alfred that his son is dead? Or tell your kids that their father is not coming back? Or making our son grow up without even knowing who you are!? Tell me, Bruce! Is that what you want!?”

“You're being too much, Clark. This was just an event. I'm not going to die in combat.”

“Not this time, but what about the next ones? You've aged, Bruce. Your body is old, and it won't hold you upright if you choose to continue being Batman” Clark wiped away his tears, seeing Bruce’s face remained the same “Why did you spent years training your kids for? Some of them can take your place.”

“That's not how it works, Clark, and you know it. Batman's mantle is not just a thing and many times it was like a curse on me, and I can't just throw it on the back of any of my kids.”

“You're right, Bruce. This mantle is really a curse, but it's not just falling under you” Clark gave up arguing and decided to leave his boyfriend alone with his weaves but was stopped when Bruce grabbed his hand.

“Clark… Please stay. You, you're right, my love... I'm old and I can't do that kind of thing anymore… I have a life outside of that. I want to be there for my kids, watch our baby boy grow up and be with you.”

“So, are you going to retire?”

“I wouldn't say that, but I promise I'll take it easy” Bruce gave his share of the deal, holding his boyfriend's hand and giving it a kiss. He knew it wasn't what Clark wanted, but it was what he could offer now.

“I will give you this vow of confidence, my love, because I know the value of your word” Clark gave in, approaching to kiss his partner. Bruce was becoming a grumpy old man and Clark was realizing that he had to start taking some reins of his boyfriend's life “I-I'm going to get a coffee, but I’ll coming to be with you.”

Clark gave his boyfriend another kiss before leaving the room, going to cool his head. He loved Bruce, but his stubbornness was too much. He was feeling in his own body the consequences of prolonging his stay as Batman, and yet he preferred to pretend he wasn't getting old. Bruce seemed to lose his sense, and Clark knew he had to take care of his boyfriend.

Going in search of a coffee machine, he ended up finding something much better. In a basket of dirty clothes, he could see the social clothes Bruce had worn to take him to the hospital. Alone in the hallway, he caught them, knowing that inside that suit was Batman’s uniform hidden. Rummaging, Clark saw that bat symbol that drove his boyfriend's head crazy for the last thirty years.

That damn bat symbol. That damn Batman.

He made his way to the coffee machine, ignoring the red that would soon disappear from his eyes or the smell of burning that was coming out of that basket of dirty clothes. He'd have to explain to Alfred why Bruce's social shirts were burned, but that would be a lot easier than explaining to Bruce why he burned his uniform, but he had decided it was time for Gotham's Bat to retire, whether he wanted to or not.

Chapter Text

2028 –Thirteen Years Ago

In a futuristic time, nothing could be happieR as an elementary school. Little kids hanging out with virtual reality glasses so giant for their small minds, the smiles of the future could be weird. On Mother's Day, all those kids took off their giant glasses to gift their mothers with heart holograms or a card that recorded audio. Even with such happiness, there were still those children who had no mothers, and Hunter Powers was one of them.

She didn’t live a single second away from her mother, Deena Powers, until one day, when she heard that she her mother had cancer. She could not understand at first, but when she realized that her mother was getting weaker and stuck to bed, she realized that this cancer was not a good friend, especially when it took Mommy away from her.  

“Hunter!”

The little girl came out of her thoughts when she heard someone call her. She smiled cheerfully as she found a tall figure with green eyes, just like mommy’s, waving at her. She ran to that person, straying from those stupid kids and their bland cards and jumping into that person's lap.

“Uncle Derek!” She exclaimed, stuck in her uncle's shoulder “Get me out of here!”

Derek laughed at his niece's sincerity, knowing how much the poor thing was suffering. He and his younger sister, Deena, have always been close since childhood. Deena had been diagnosed with cancer as a toddler and it truly had been a miracle that she had lived that long, especially given birth to a child without any health problems. Derek always knew that one day he would lose his little sister, but he promised her he would be there for her daughter when she left her.

“Okay. I’m going to take you to a much cooler place than this school…”

In her uncle's lap, Hunter was happy to walk away from those stupid children and curious to know where he was taking her. They arrived where he spent most of his time, in "his" company. She looked at that huge building, noticing that what Uncle Derek was really looking at was the logo that was in front of the company. Wayne-Powers.

“Look, Hunter. I work here, and it will be from here that I will begin to build my success. My empire.”

“Who's Wayne, Uncle Derek?” The little girl pointed to the logo in front of the company, taking a grunt from her uncle.

“They’re a family, Hunter… You'll learn about them at school when you're older. The Waynes are Gotham's most powerful family. Thomas Wayne founded this company fifty-eight years ago, in 1970. In the 90s, his son, Bruce Wayne, became the boss and stayed there for years. That's until 2022, after we went through global chaos and became totally dependent on technology, but electronics became so expensive that you could count on your fingers who could live in the next three years. Bruce Wayne was old and was so focused on helping those who wouldn't survive the future that your uncle offered him a partnership. I offered my help running the company, and then it became Wayne-Powers.”

“And what happened to Bruce Wayne?”

“Bruce left Gotham, honey, and no one knows exactly why. He left one of his sons and a nephew in control of the company, but everyone knows it wouldn't be standing without our help.”

“Our?”

“Yes, honey. Our” Derek took his niece in his arms, lifting her up and getting her in front of him “You know what? Someday you'll be in there in charge with your uncle, helping me run the company and turn it into our empire.”

“I'm not going to have to work with Pax, am I?” She asked, as if that was something crucial “He's a meanie!”

“I can leave him grounded for a long period, if it is to your liking” Derek joked, taking a laugh from his niece and putting her on under his neck “One day, this empire will be ours, Hunter.”

“What about the Waynes?"

“We'll take care of them…” Derek moved away from the building a little, covering in his field of view the name "Wayne" of the company logo “The Waynes are in the past, dear. They're in Gotham, but now we're in Neo-Gotham, and Neo-Gotham is ours!”

“Ours!”

Hunter became excited by her uncle's speech, even though she didn't understand exactly what he was talking about, but she understood that one day, they would be inside that company, which would be called just "Powers”. One day, she and her uncle would show the Waynes whose Neo-Gotham belongs to.

Miss Powers’ eyes were heavy and full of dark circles as she had barely slept properly. Until The Waynes found Mr. Thomas' cousin, she would have to be glued to him inside The Wayne Manor all time, and it was impossible to sleep in that house since everyone in that family was with energy at million by night, like a family of bats.

“Miss Powers. Your belongings, please.”

Hunter stopped her whining when the guard in front of her reached out to her. She handled most of her stuff, and with the gate opening, the security guard stood by her side and followed her down the aisle full of hands that moved up and down, with pots of food beating through the bars. She focused her gaze on the front, because she knew Uncle Derek wouldn't be in economy class.

It had been weeks since Derek and Paxton had been arrested on charges of being behind the money laundering scheme revealed within The Wayne-Powers. Hunter didn't know if they were behind it all, but her idiot cousin wanted to drive away when the police knocked on his house and made him and his father guilty. With both out of business, she had to take over the reins of the company, and as a bonus, make visits to the prison.

Soon, she realized that they were "rising in class" at the prison. The pots of the starving were left behind as smooth white walls appeared in front of her, and the master suite seemed to get closer.

“Mr. Powers” The guard opened knocked the door before opening it “You have a visitor.”

Hunter looked at that "cell" with a well-made bed, a minibar and even a small bathroom inside of it, but her eyes found and jumped toward her Uncle Derek, the same way she did as a kid. It was her first time seeing her uncle since his arrest, and he looked terrible. His green eyes were morbid, his hair was very white with stress and he was all skinny. Even so, he struggled to give his best smile to his beloved niece.

“Honey, I'm so glad you came…” Derek muttered, touching her niece's face “I can't stand being in this place anymore.”

“You arrived here yesterday, Uncle Derek, and you're doing a lot better than the people down there…” Hunter held her uncle's hand, taking it out of her face “How about Pax?”

“He's downstairs with the others. He made a brief show when we were the cops caught us and now, he’s “grounded” downstairs” Derek huffed, spinning for his private prison “We are here because that boss of yours thinks everything that goes wrong in that company is our fault! He's just like his uncle! Things go wrong and they, instead of messing up Wayne's names, mess up ours!”

“Mr. Thomas does not sound like these kinds of people, Uncle Derek” Hunter tried to argue, noting her uncle stopping walking around. 

“You didn't seem so naïve to me, Hunter” He stared at her, looking disappointing “Hunter, I spent years training you to take my place in the company, and what was the thing I taught you the most?”

“About how petty and egocentric The Waynes are.”

“Yes! Exactly! So please, dear, don't come back against your own family because Mr. Thomas seems like a nice guy. Got it?”

“Fine…” She nodded, remembering a little detail “This is going to be hard since I am being his shadow full-time now...”

“In full-time? What kind of strategy is this?”

“It's not a strategy, Uncle Derek! It was a family scandal bigger than that of corruption! Mr. Thomas's cousin is missing, and they decided to get the whole family together at The Wayne Manor, and I had to go along since I'm Mr. Thomas' external memory...”

“Hunter, that's perfect!” Derek exclaimed “That's what we needed to get me out of here! With all The Waynes gathered at the same place and focused on something else, it’s your chance to get a proof!”

“Proof!?”

“Yes! A proof that we didn't do this scam, and that it might even be their thing!” Derek ran to hold his niece's shoulders “Hunter, promise you're going to do this!”

“Fine, Uncle Derek. I promise...” The girl gave in, not wanting to disappoint her uncle. Derek hugged her, hopeful of getting a chance to leave the prison.

“That's my girl!”

Hunter grunted. confused. She liked Mr. Thomas, he was a good boss and a good man, and she didn't want to betray his confidence on her. However, she also loved Uncle Derek and had no courage to leave him unaided at that place. It was a cruel doubt, but she already knew what her decision would be.

After all, Neo-Gotham still had to be of The Powers Family.

Neo-Gotham Airport

At the airport full of thin and tech-filled planes, Jason was smoking a small pack of cigarettes, quite different from the electronics ones the kids used out there. He knew he was going against it with some of the environmental rules of the future, but he was too stressed, besides, he had to give Tim a nice smile when he arrived, knowing he'd need it a lot. He knew that Tim would be stressed with Cassandra's situation, and he wanted to make a point of being there for his little brother, especially knowing that he and his husband were going through a crisis at the wedding.

“Jason!”

Jason even dropped his cigarette pack on the floor when he noticed his brother had come. Even from a distance, he could see that Tim wasn't well. 

“Timbo!” Jason went to his brother, giving him a tight hug, at least taking a smile from the youngest “I missed you, Baby Bird!”

“Ugh, Jay. You stink...” Tim grumbled, scoffing his brother's kindness “Fine, man. I love you too, but that’s enough”

“Fine, Timothy. You spend a whole year away and still treat me with disrespect. When I die again you will miss me, nerd” He cried, dropping his brother and following with him out of the airport “Hey. Where’s your super-husband?”

“Well...” Tim sighed “He literally flew to Lois’ as soon as we landed. He said he wanted to spend time with her before you went to The Manor.”

“Oh…” Jason mumbled “You two are not all right at all, are you?”

“No, and it will only get worse with Cass’s disappearance. I can even see it… I'm going to be stuck in The Cave all the time and he's going to end up mad at me and maybe we're going back to Korea with a divorce petition in hand...” Tim stopped walking, running his hand across his face “I don't want to divorce with my husband, Jay.”

“Timmy, you must stop being so pessimistic” Jason approached his brother, holding his hands and forcing him to face him “You and Conner have been in love with each other since you were teenagers!”

“Yeah, but that was in the past! Now we barely spoke. Sometimes I wonder what led us to be like this and... Jason, w-what if he got sick of me? What if he doesn't want to be with me anymore?”

“Timothy, don't ever say that again!” Jason exclaimed, shaking hands with his brother so he could stare at him. He was still scared by the way Tim got out of control so quickly “That's not true, Tim. Conner has always been there for you, and he was the one who supported you most in all this time! I know he loves you the way you are, Timbo.”

“You're right. It was idiot of me to think of such an atrocity. I am so afraid of losing him that I'm not thinking straight ...” Tim denied it with his head, trying to calm down.

“And that's exactly why I'll be here, to prevent you to get crazy by now…” Jason hugged him aside, messing with his little brother's hair “Let's go to The Manor because we need your nerd skills in Cassie's case. Things are not good…”

Tim mumbled, seeing that he would have many things to do at his time in Gotham, and many more reasons to be stressed.

Nova-Metropolis

In Nova-Metropolis, the warm sun and biologically friendly buildings showed that the city of joy was still smiling. Passing over the Superman billboards, Conner Kent smiled and felt free as he flew through the skies of his city after so many years. Feeling the warm breeze and waving to the happy citizens reminded him of his teenage days, when he did it every day and howled like a wolf in search of freedom. Those were great times that he would like to return, where he was a happy young man and he and Tim were completely in love with each other. Conner didn't know exactly what was going on with his marriage. Tim was too worried about working at the company and barely had time for him, and now the situation would get a lot worse with his sister's disappearance. He knew how sick his husband's focus could be when things were going wrong, and he feared it would lead to a divorce. 

However, running away from his problems, he finally got where he wanted. He finished his flight, getting down to the balcony of one of the biologically friendly apartments that Superman had probably helped build. He rested his feet under the floor, smiling while finding a friendly face, not focused on him. 

“Mom?” He murmured, just so getting Miss Lois Lane out of her focus on news “Hey, Mom.”

“Kon! What a surprise!” Lois jumped her son's lap, filling his face with kisses. Even though Conner wasn't her biological or adopted son, she considered him as one of her children, and he considered her as a mother “I missed you, honey.”

“Me too, mom. Sometimes I hate to live so far away from you...” He muttered, putting his mother under the floor and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“Come on, have a seat! I was reading about Cassandra's case, and I guess that's why you’re here. But I thought you and Tim would go directly to The Wayne Manor...” She said, getting two cups of coffee in her hand, sitting next to her son.

“He went to the Manor, but I preferred to stop here before...” The man sighed, saddened, grabbing one of the cups and having a sip of coffee “Tim and I are not good, Mom.”

“Oh, dear...” Lois stretched out her hand, holding her son's hand. She knew things between him and Tim were complicated, but things looked worse than she thought “And how are you doing with it?”

“Terrible. Tim and I barely spoke and now everything will be worse with this situation with his sister…” He snoozed “I don't know why we're like this, but I-I don't want to divorce him. I love him.”

“That happens to all couples, Kon. It's normal for things to get cold from time to time... With this Cassandra situation, and the Wayne's leaked corruption scheme, I guess Tim's very stressed.”

“He didn’t stopped work since we leave Korea. I swear I wanted to be there for my husband, mom, but I-I can't... Not right now.”

“Give the two of you a break, Kon. Stay here for a few days with me and leave Tim with his family. A time away from each other do good to you two” The woman advised her son, but they were interrupted by the bell that rang. Lois got up, going to answer the door, and coming up with an unexpected visit “Vicky?”

“Hello” The woman with short – almost white – red hair smiled at her friend. Vicky Vale, Lois' longtime friend and long known as Gotham City's greatest journalist.

“Hi, Aunt Lois!” Lois was also drawn attention to the smiling blue-eyed black girl, who was between Vicky's legs.

“Hello, Sakura” She laughed to the kid “Are you hanging out with your grandma?”

“I wish I was” The girl grumbled “My Khanorf’ca kicked me out of Grandpa Bruce's Manor after Aunt Cass disappeared, so I had to stay with Grandma...”

“She talks as if it was a punishment, but she loves to be with grandma” Vicky said convinced, entering her friend's house with her granddaughter and noticing Conner's sad figure there “Conner. You seem sad to me than the last time I saw you, about seven years ago”

“Adulthood is not easy, Miss Vale” Conner murmured, getting up “Mom, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to rest for a while.”

“Sure, dear” Lois smiled, waving at her son, sighing when he left the scene “He's kind of sad, you know? Relationship problems...”

“That's why I gave up relationships after I met your grandfather” Vicky advised her granddaughter, who distanced herself from her grandmother when she spotted the dog Krypto appearing in the room. With the kid distracted, she found herself more comfortable talking to her friend “I guess you already know about Cassandra’s disappearance, don't you?”

“Who doesn’t?” Lois completed, going to have sit “This is weird, isn't it? I've known Cassandra since she was a kid and that girl hears a leaf fall a mile away. I'm impressed that she disappeared like that.”

"Disappeared"? Lois, don't make me laugh” Vicky laughed, sitting in front of her friend, having her attention “The Waynes doesn’t disappear. They go into traps!”

“Traps against what? Batman? Since when are any Batmans out there being captured?” Lois asked, confused, watching Vicky take a small briefcase out of her purse.

“Lois, c’mon. We're journalists, put your head on to work!” Vicky exclaimed, putting above the table impressions of stories reporting corruption in The Wayne-Powers and about the disappearance of The Batman “A gigantic corruption scheme leaked in The Wayne-Powers, and at the same time, Bruce's daughter disappeared, in the day everyone knew he would be in Gotham to celebrate Ruby's and his son’s birthday. Please, don't tell me this is a coincidence.”

“You're right” Lois held some of the prints, analyzing them “It's a lot about The Wayne Family taking place on the same day at the same time, a-and you think all this is-“

“I do not, I know! I don't know how or when, or who did it, but that this is all intertwined and I know it is, and we'll find out better about this!”

“We?”

“Yes, we! Come on, Lois! This mystery fell on a platter into the hands of the two greatest investigative journalists in this country! We need to undo it!”

“Is it a good time to remember that we're already two old women, Vicky? We are already entering the seventies! There's no way to go around unraveling mysteries like The Scooby-Doo gang!”

“Don't say that, Lane. Look at Bruce! He married your ex-husband at the age of sixty-seven. He's making good use of old age!”

“Getting somebody’s longtime husband and putting up with a teenager in his 70s? What a great example.”

“Fine. Wayne's not the best example I've got, but you get it!” Vicky exclaimed, holding her friend’s shoulders and wanting to convince her “Come on, Lo! Let's go back to the roots and unravel this mystery together!”

“Fine! You've won!” Lois gave in, getting a smile from her friend “I'm also intrigued with these stories. Besides, it will be good for me to entertain myself with something.”

“Yes! Let's start investigating now!” Excited, Vicky dragged her friend so to analyze papers with her. Even if they were already two old women, Lois and Vicky were still the best investigators in their cities and didn't let that "Wayne mystery" go blank. In their hands, no information would be left.

Wayne Manor

Bruce had just woken up from a quick nap to remake his mood, and even though the warm spoon cuddle that he and his husband formed was very comfortable, he knew he had to work and not stay asleep while his daughter was missing. Walking down The Cave stairs with his striped pajamas and his cane, Bruce could notice Tim sitting in front of the computer analyzing some samples he had taken from Stephanie's exposed blood, who had not yet awoken. Besides the blondie's stretcher was Selina, resting in the chair with her hands clinging to her.

“Dad?” Bruce turned around to hear Tim call him “Good morning, dad.”

“Good morning, Timbo” Bruce muttered, walking quietly to his son, trying to read the samples he collected, which were on the computer. Something hard, since he hasn't seen well in a long time “Did you get anything, son? Any answers on Stephanie’s coma?”

“I always get it” Tim smiled convinced, handing his father Clark’s glasses so he could read his tests “I analyzed a sample of the blood that was on Steph's face and... There’s nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Yes, but that's great! That’s means she was not intoxicated by any substance, which makes us take some villains off the list of possible suspects. But...”

“There are always a “but” Bruce grumbled “But what, Timothy?”

“But that means that what left her like this was pure brute force” Tim looked at Steph, after seeing how scared Bruce became.

“God…” Bruce hid his face with his hands, trying to hide his concern. He took his hands off his face, looking at Stephanie, daring to think what they would be doing to Cassandra “Tell me one good thing, Timmy. Please, for your old father.”

“Knowing Steph is not intoxicated, I've prepared an I.V. to wake her up. She should wake up soon, but I don't know if she'll be shocked or if she'll remember anything about the attack...” Tim tried to cheer up his father by touching his shoulder, both staring at Selina, lying down hours ago next to Stephanie “Stay with her until Steph wakes up, Bruce. She's been there for hours and she’ll like your company.”

Clinging to his beloved cane, Bruce walked to where Stephanie and Selina were, pulling a chair to sit next to his ex-wife. Selina had aged beautifully, but the tired dark circles on her worried face shook her beauty. She was always so concerned about all her six little kittens, who entered into the vigilantism too early. Their marriage though enduring, has always been covered with secrets. They married shortly after Bruce adopted Jason, Cassandra and Tim, but Selina knew she was being betrayed by her husband. She lived through that marriage the much she could because of the kids, who were already full of trauma and still so young, they would not be able to stay away from the person who always protected them. Although a troubled relationship, The Bat and The Cat were currently friends, but both knew that wound in The Cat's heart wouldn't heal with a simple apology.

“Already wake up, Bat?” She said, looking at her old ex-husband while still holding Stephanie’s hand.

“This is pure concern, but I’m also running away from the snoring of my alien kid and husband" Bruce laughed, looking at the blonde lying on the stretcher in front of him, snapping a laugh at Selina.

“So that the bad mood of yours is pure lack of sleep...” She joked, containing her laughs and looking with a smile at her daughter. She reached out to Bruce, placing the old man's hand under hers and Stephanie's “Do you remember when we brought her home?”

“Of course... Her father had been arrested, her mother admitted to a rehabilitation clinic, begging you take her home, and you did… You brought her to our home.”

“She refused in many different ways, but I’ll never forget the smile she gave when she met the boys, but her joy was greater when she met Cass and saw that she would have a best friend for the rest of her life…” Selina laughed at the memory, soon grieved again as she remembered the situation they were in “I just want our girls to be okay, Bruce. Is it too much to ask for?”

“I don't know, Selina, but our girls are strong and I know they'll recover from all of this. They are as strong as you are...” Bruce stretched out to wipe a few tears that flowed from his ex-wife's face. Selina never looked pretty when she was crying and he always used to tell her that.

“Thanks for being here, Bruce” The woman smiled, touching her ex-partner's hand. As in a magical moment, Bruce and Selina felt something move between their intertwined hands and turned at the same time to Stephanie, who seemed to wake up gradually.

They fixed the looks on her, who slowly opened her eyes. Selina did not excited and embraced her with all the care and concern of the world, feeling her arm put under her. She cried with happiness when she noticed that her kitty was conscious. Tim ran to them, where after Selina's hug, the three of them could see Stephanie's bruised and lost features. Even conscious, she didn't look good.

“Oh my God, kitty... I-I'm so glad you woke up!” Selina did not contain the tears, but she did not know if it was happiness or of concern.

“Hey, Seli. Bruchester. Timbo. It’s good to see you...” Stephanie muttered, coming back gradually. She felt Bruce approach her, holding her hand and passing his hand through her hair.

“We were so worried about you...” The old man muttered, still in shock “You're so strong, purplerina. You held on so well.”

“Your sweetness at old age scares me, Bruce” She joked, forcing a laugh, containing it when she felt her whole body hurt. She looked at herself, noting the situation she was in “Tim, you nerd, were you the one who put those threads in me?”

“Thanks for saving my life, my dear and beloved friend” Tim grumbled, approaching her to remove the intravenous from her body “And these threads were to wake you from the coma and take a break in your delusions.”

“Was I delusional?”

“Yes, sweetie” Selina approached her again, holding her hand “Since yesterday you kept repeating “To me" non-stop.”

“To me? No, it wasn't “to me” Stephanie muttered, still having difficulty talking “It was Tommy. That's what they were repeating to us.”

"Tommy?” Bruce repeated “Who is Tommy, Stephanie?”

“I-I, I don’t know...” She forced herself to sit on the bed while she looked around with no stop “Where's Cass? You didn't find her?”

“Steph, pay attention” Selina touched her shoulders and looking into her eyes “Kitty, I know this is being a tassel for you, but we need you to tell us everything that happened to you that day, and especially who Tommy is…”

Stephanie calmed down, being forced to try to remember what had happened on that fateful day. It wasn't the best way to wake up from a coma, but she wanted Cassandra back and mostly, to know who Tommy was.

Chapter Text

Two Days Ago

At thE old Wayne Manor, in the dining room, so big for now the only five people who lived there, Miss Wayne was eating her breakfast with the most complete sound of silence.

Cassandra still found it strange. The silence. Living for years with her siblings, a father, her father’s wife, a butler, her father’s lover, two dogs, a cat, a cow and a turkey made the silence strange to her ears. With her kids traveling, everything was very calm, but it still gave her something she couldn't have every day. A time with her wife.

“Good morning, cariño” Cass smiled into her cup of coffee when she felt her wife give her a kiss on the top of her head. She sat next to her, so she could kiss her a good morning kiss.

“Good morning” She greeted her, focused on the digital newspaper she was reading. Esmé snorted. Cassandra was becoming just like her father.

“Cass, spare me of this newspaper on the table. You're becoming just like your father!” Esmeralda turned off the newspaper her wife was reading, holding her hand, smiling when she looked at her “The house will be ours for days, cariño. Don't act like your whole family is here watching us.”

“Well, Steph still lives here, but you're right…” She held her wife's hand “And we'd better enjoy it soon, because tomorrow is Ruby's and Terry’s birthday and we must tidy up the house for their dance.”

“Gosh, I had forgotten about this...” Esmé whimpered, taking a laugh of her wife “Tidy up this house, clean those giant windows… I'm already feeling the tiredness in my legs!”

“I thought I tired your legs” She teased her wife and stole a kiss from her before they heard more footsteps approaching the dining room.

“Good morning!” The couple was interrupted when a blonde figure in purple pajamas appeared at the kitchen “Oh, look, I disturbed the ladies' moment. I thought that without the twins around, I could sleep more.”

“No more sleep because you will help us get the house ready for the party” Esmé reminded Stephanie, who sat at the table to eat her breakfast.

“Oh, I remember my Sweet Sixteen like it was today… I’m not Bruce’s kid but he insisted on having one for me… He gets emotional and throws a big party! Mine was all purple!”

“What a surprise, huh?” Esmeralda laughed “And yours, Cass? Was it memorable too?”

“Kinda…” She took a sip of her coffee, avoiding the subject “I don't like parties. Mine was pretty simple, just because my dad insisted to me to make one. Unlike Terry, who has been asking for one of these since they were ten.”

“That kid will end Bruce from the heart someday” Stephanie laughed, but her joy was interrupted when the Manor's alarm started to ring and illuminate the house “Oh, no. I just woke up!”

“You'll have to start tidying up the house yourself, dear. But don't worry, the others will arrive soon” Cass stood up, looking at her wife's disappointed face and giving her a kiss on the forehead “I love you.”

“I love you too, cariño” Esmé gave her wife a smile, holding her hand before letting her go on another mission “Come back soon.”

“I will, babe.”

Cass smiled at her wife before following Stephanie to The Cave, going to the computer full of upgrades Tim had made on his last visit to Gotham. They find the call they'd been given, coming from a location not far from The Manor.

“I think we should investigate this request before we grant it” Stephanie suggested, fiddling with the computer, but Cassandra was already squeezing under the small gem around her neck, activating her Batman bio-suit on her body “Cass.”

“There's no time for that” Batman turned around, hoping that Batwoman was also ready. Stephanie grunted. Cass was just like the man who raised them “It could be a person being chased. If we stay here investigating, they could get hurt, or worse.”

“Now I got why Bruce chose you as his successor. You are just like him.”

“And as good he was.”

Batman and Batwoman left in the middle of the morning to answer that call. Unlike the old Batman, they were always willing to act at any time. The two bats arrived at an abandoned undergrowth not far from The Wayne Manor, which they soon recognized. That used to be a playground open to all the children in the city, but with the rise of technology over the years and with total dependence on it after the old-world crises, the children of the future stopped going to the parks and rarely left their homes. They used to love that park as children, but it had been abandoned for years. It would be a perfect place for a crime to be committed.

“The GPS is still beeping. The call is not far from here...” Batman looked at the locator in her suit, trying to come up with a plan “Let's split up. You go to the side closest to the Manor, and I go to the back of the undergrowth.”

“Alright” Batwoman agreed, watching Batman go around without fear of anything “Be careful, Batman.”

“I will” Batman gave her partner a smile before disappearing through the tall grass in the thicket.

Stephanie followed her trail, hating Cassandra for being so much like Bruce. She didn't measure dangers, she went into places without even knowing what she was facing just thinking about the good of the citizens. That had been enough of a quarrel between them, even Cass’s wife, but Stephanie knew she wouldn't change. The Batmans are always so alike.

However, Batwoman had her search stopped when she heard a noise coming from the bushes. She activated her suit's sensitive hearing and followed the noise to an area with no more weeds, calming her heart to see that it was just a rat prowling around the place, but she heard a warning in her suit, noticing an increase in that rat's heartbeat, as if it was running from something scarier than Batwoman. Stephanie approached it, taking it in her hands, noticing something stuck in it. A note.

“What the…” She whispered, taking the note from the mouse and dropping it. The note was in an envelope, written, “To The Batman". It was a birthday card, written “Sixteen Moons are very important in the life of a kid. Can I make you see all these sixteen moons?”

Before Stephanie could think, she felt something hit her head. She felt her vision darken and felt she would soon pass out. She looked up, squinting at a figure as green as the undergrowth and barely showing expression, but that hit her with one more blow to the face, and another fourteen to the rest of her body, while repeating a name non-stop.

“Tommy, Tommy, Tommy...”

That last memory was still very clear in her mind. The dry smell of the undergrowth, the noises of the mouse, the noise of beatings and the smell of blood; all those senses were heightened in Cassandra's body, who still had no idea where she was.

She didn't know exactly where she was, but she knew about the other things. She'd been there for two days, having been hit in the head and having all the gadgets on her uniform removed, making it impossible for her to call for help. Her arms, in a small and smelly place, were tied her but she knew she was alone. Stephanie hadn't been caught because she'd smelled her blood before she was taken. Whoever was behind it, it only had Batman issues.

That crime was too directed. A mid-morning call to the park where she and her siblings went as kids, at the same day the whole Wayne Family would be gathered in the same place. She knew there was something wrong with that "kidnap", but without the uniform, she couldn't warn her family, and she knew they would all be gathered at The Manor to look for her. With the rats eating crumbs under her foot, Batman could only hope that everyone was on the same line of reasoning as her.

“Good morning!”

Cassandra lifted her face when she heard that voice that had haunted her for the past two days. A megaphone was in the place where she was, and every day that voice came to say good morning, good afternoon, or good night. An old, greasy voice that was already making her stomach churn.

“We've been here together for a long time, haven't we? But I know how strong you are and how you will last a few more days here, but I think you deserve something in return for all that effort.”

Cass closed her eyes as the door opened. With light invading her orbs after so long in the dark, the woman forced herself to look at the figure that entered the room. Small, in a black and white outfit that covered their toenails to their last hair, a figure walked up to her, tray in hand, where there was something she knew all too well. Huangjiu, the famous Chinese yellow wine, a drink she always had on special dates. With a straw offered just for her, Cass turned away, refusing it. Huangjiu was an alcoholic drink, and the last thing she needed was to get drunk in that place.

“You're afraid, aren't you?” The voice resumed speaking “Don't worry, I had an no alcohol version made for you. I can even prove it to you.”

Cass turned to face the small figure in front of her, who took a sip of her drink as if they were drinking a glass of water. She refused to believe that the figure and the voice were the same person. The voice was of someone so old that could die at any moment, while the figure looked like they had come out of preschool. It made her realize that there was a lot more than one involved in that story.

“Here” The figure insisted that Cass took the drink, and without eating for two days, she ended up giving in.

“With the thirst given up, I think we can satisfy the hunger. Don't worry, it will be quick.”

As soon as Cass finished her drink, the figure left the room with the tray, and when they returned, they had a cage. She grunted as she felt the figure put the cage under her head. The back wall was open so her head could fit there, and the little door was open. Cassandra didn't understand, but she felt her heart almost go out of her mouth when she saw the figure bend down and return with the two mice in hand, and soon she could smell the terrible smell of cheese that was in that cage.

“I'm sorry it had to be that way” The figure lamented, placing the two mice inside the cage, but before closing it, they approached Cassandra and pulled a lock of her hair “See you tomorrow, Batman.”

Batman tried to make as little noise as possible to not to scare the animals away, but the feeling of having them hanging around in her was already giving her enough chills. She had no idea what was happening there, or what the brilliant idea of that genius villain would be, but she just thought of a way to get out of that ambush by herself, because she knew that kidnap was too specific to be something just for her.

Wayne Manor

At Wayne Manor, Hunter Powers had just arrived after visiting her uncle. She loved Derek, he was the only family she had, and even though he told her that he and Paxton weren't involved in The Wayne-Powers corruption scheme, Hunter was always aware that her uncle wasn't the most correct person in the world, especially when it came to his business.

“Leaving early, I guess.”

Hunter came out of her daydreams when she noticed that someone was "spying" on her. She turned around, noticing Mr. Wayne's youngest daughter, Helena, leaning against the wall, staring at her unfriendly. She'd already noticed that Miss Wayne didn’t like the idea of having her stepping on the same floor as her.

“Y-Yes…” Hunter said, with a nervous smile “I went to visit my uncle...”

“You can call me Helena, dear.”

“Of course, Helena.”

“You went to visit your uncle, huh? And how is Derek doing?”

“Good, as far as possible. In fact, much better than the other prisoners…” Hunter looked away, remembering what she had promised her uncle “He says he's innocent. Says that he and Paxton were arrested without enough evidence and that intrigues him.”

“And you believe him?”

“I don't know... Uncle Derek has his business background, but he's a good man. I know he is.”

“Well, so it looks like you already have a side to fight for, don't you?” Helena crossed her arms, giving an ironic laugh.

“I didn't say that, Helena” Hunter defended herself, getting irritated with that schism of Wayne's daughter over her “Okay. What my uncle did or did not, is not right and I know it. But he is still my uncle and my only family!”

“We do everything for the family, don't we? Look at mine here, all gathered to find my sister” She stretched out her arms “I guess that you, Hunter, will also do everything for your family!”

“Enough you two!”

Hunter and Helena turned, noticing Duke behind them, already dressed because, unlike his family, he acted in the mornings.

“You two chose a horrible time to fight. Everyone just woke up in a bad mood, and we don't need more intrigue” He said, getting between the two “May I know what the reason for the intrigue is?”

“It's no big deal, Duke” Helena looked at Hunter “I was just asking your assistant why she went to visit Derek Powers.”

“I was never denied in doing that!”

“Hunter is right. Even though he's our “suspect”, Derek is still her uncle and family, and she has the right to visit him” Duke took a deep breath. He massaged his temples and stared at his assistant “Hunter, some papers have arrived and I want you to see it. They're in my room; can you go check it out?”

“O-Of course, Mr. Thomas” Hunter agreed, getting out of there before Helena Wayne attacked her.

“I think you're protecting this girl too much, Duke” Helena turned to her cousin “She's a Powers, and leaving her here inside our home with our family fragile is not a good ide-“

“I know my decisions, Helena, and I know the people who work with me” Duke interrupted her, already understanding what was happening there “Look, Helena, I know it's normal for you to suspect Hunter's last name, but she's been working with me for a long time and I know she's a good person, different from Derek and Paxton. But Derek still is the uncle who raised her after she lost her mother, and I can't forbid her from visiting her family.”

“I was just trying to help…"

“I know, but these are my business and I take care of them. I think your help will be much more welcome in the investigations” Duke finished, leaving to solve his business, but Helena still hadn't calmed down with that, and it wouldn't be a scolding from her cousin that would make her stop.

Meanwhile, in one of the rooms of the Manor, with her husband going to help in the search for his sister's disappearance, Kory decided to wake up her daughters. With Sakura safely at her Dick’s mother’s house, she entered the room of the two older ones, finding only one of her daughters there: the new sixteen-year-old girl in town. She huffed, walking over to Ruby's bed and sitting beside her, stroking her daughter's hair. She felt that this would all have to happen on her bungorf’s birthday.

“Khanorf'ca?” Kory left her fears away when she saw Ruby stretch out, spacious, just like Dick “Good morning, mom.”

“Good morning, my teenager bungorf” Kory joked, pulling her daughter's nose “How's my sixteen-year-old doing, huh?”

“Starting in the wrong way, I guess. It would have been a lot better if I'd had a shared party instead…” She said, hugging her knees “No news from Aunt Cass yet?”

“No, but your Uncle Tim managed to wake up Aunt Steph. Your father and Uncle Damian were listening to her report now…” Kory huffed, worried about it all “I'm sorry this happened on your birthday, dear. I know how much you were looking forward to this party. you and your Auncle.”

“As long as they find Aunt Cass and that no one dies in the middle of it, I think it's okay” Ruby laughed “I wish I could help find her, mom.”

“Ruby, the best thing you and your sister can do is stay here. I've even sent Sakura to your grandma's house because I don't want her to see these things...” Kory said, but understanding her daughter's wishes “Look, I know that this “hero thing” sounds cool at your age, but the burden is too heavy, and you're so young, honey, and I don't want you to be traumatized by these things...”

“But Grandpa Bruce let all his kids be teenage heroes...”

“Your grandfather is crazy, Ruby. Why do you think your father is in therapy?” Kory arched an eyebrow, taking a laugh from her daughter “Your father and I swore to each other that we would not force you and your sisters to enter this life, unless you want to. Even so, you remember how hard it was for your father to let Athena go on in this life; even more letting her live with Uncle Jason.”

“I think it's cool… You have so many powers, why not use them?”

“Because having great powers brings great responsibilities, dear.”

“And since when are you a “Spider-Man” fan, Miss Grayson?”

“Since when your sister made me watch all the movies. Your grandma Vicky will have a lot of conversation with her” Kory laughed with her daughter, and looking around, she noticed a lack of presence “Where is your sister?”

“I don't know. When I came to bed, she was already sleeping, maybe she woke up earlier” The girl answered, not knowing where her older sister was.

Away from them, Athena was on one of Manor's many porches, taking a break from the craziness that was in that house. The disappearance of her aunt, the failure of her sister and Terry's birthday, the family more disturbed than it already was, and she couldn't even help. Even though she had been living with her uncle Jason for a year to train and become a vigilante – to her father's displeasure – she still didn't have a "license" to act, and didn't even know when she would have it. Jason wasn't the best influence in the world, but her only available option, even if she learned another kind of things from him.

She looked down, making sure she was alone, and pulled out something she'd taken from Uncle Jason's apartment before they went to surprise Ruby. A box of cigarettes, the old ones, not one of those electronics that were trending in the future. She caught one of them, using sparks of her starbolts to light it and smoke it. She knew that was not a good idea, but all that stress was too much and Uncle Jason always calmed down when he smoked.

“Hey kiddo. Your mama is looking for you and-“

Athena choked and spitted the cigarette down the balcony, turning around and facing the person she had stolen the cigarettes from. Jason was startled to see his niece with his cigarettes and walked over to her, snatching the box from her hands, tucking it into his pocket.

“Are you crazy, kid!? Did lost your fucking mind!?” He whispered, not wanting to attract the attention “If your parents catch you doing this, your mother will burn me alive!”

“Nobody was going to see it. They're investigating down there, and besides, it was only one” She tried to argue, dodging her uncle and leaning on the porch.

“Oh, amazing, isn't it? We all are worried about Cass and you take the opportunity to come and smoke in secret?”

“Why are you so angry? You are always smoking.”

“If I throw myself off a building, will you throw yourself too?”

“I can fly.”

“Then fly to hell! “Jason huffed angrily. He took a deep breath, trying to keep calm, and couldn't resist lighting one of the cigarettes. He leaned on his niece's side, watching the Manor's patio below them “Sorry. It's just that I worry about you, kid… Your father trusted me to take care of you, and I know he would never do it twice.”

“I took the cigarettes myself. You didn't give them to me”

“Yeah, and if your father finds out, who will he blame? His daughter or me?” Jason arched an eyebrow, making his niece lower her head “You're going to put me in danger, girl. I'm training you, damn.”

“I’m sorry, but it's just that all this is stressful, and it looks like you'll never finish training me, uncle Jason” She retaliated, annoyed “You don’t commit yourself with anything! My father is right in saying that you are a jerk!”

“Does your father say that? L-Look! It doesn't matter what Grayson says about me, okay?” Jason scratched his throat, looking at the pack of cigarettes in his hands, throwing it across the porch “You're right, kid. I don't take our training seriously because the last thing that goes on in my mind is that you need my help.”

“Why do you think I don't need it?”

“And you still question? Kid, you have fire vision, fire hand, you can fly! Tell me how can I your forty-year-old uncle, help you?”

"You trust me, I think that's enough" Athena smiled, looking at her uncle "Besides, you can teach me how to get a girl, Uncle Jason."

“Bitch. Don’t tell your mom I called you that” Jason said, chuckling and ruffling his niece's hair.

Away from the smell of cigarettes that would be hovering around The Manor, in the old Alfred’s room the vibration of the laptop had waked up Terry in the first rays of sunshine – in the vision of a Wayne, at eleven forty-five in the morning – by his friends and girlfriend who wanted to make a video call with him, as they still had to know if their friend was okay with it all that happening.

“Your family historic is wonderful, Wayne Kent. I remember your 10th birthday party where Uncle Clark wouldn't let us pop the piñata because it was "too cute to die". Now, this is happening.”

“You're horrible, Max. In fact, you all are horrible for having a sleepover without me!” Terry grumbled “Good to know how important I am to you!”

“Babe, enough. We just woke up and you know we wouldn't get another chance to have a party at Chelsea's” Dana tried to argue, while watching her partner throw a tantrum.

“Facts. My dad opening the doors of our house was already a miracle, and you know we wish you were here with us, Ter.”

“Yeah, I know…” They huffed “I'm just upset with all this. Not because I missed the party. I mean, a little bit, but about my sister... I know it's not just anything that would make her disappear.”

“Your sister Cass is the coolest person we've ever seen. She'll get out of this soon, babe, don't worry” Dana tried to encourage her boyfriend, drawing a laugh from him.

“If you say so, babe, I believe you.”

“Oh no, Chels. They’re being romantic.”

“Bleh.”

“You're just jealous because I have a boyfriend and you don't!”

“A partner that is rich and an heir, if we may emphasize it.”

“Such a SugarTeen.”

“Chelsea, I'm never going to introduce you to any of my brothers…” Terry chuckled with his friends and their teenage humor, that was the only thing able to cheer him up, but they got out of the focus of the video call when they saw someone enter the room “Hey. Hi, dad.”

“Good morning, dear” Old Bruce entered the room, approaching his kid and noticing the girls on the computer screen “Hello, girls.”

“Hi, Grandpa Bruce!”

“I need to remember where are the documents that prove you are my granddaughters” He joked, wanting some calm, even more in front of his youngest “Do you mind if I steal your friend for a few minutes?”

“You must ask Dana, Grandpa Bruce. She's the one who owes them.”

“Dana, I can get you partner a little?”

“Yes, Grandpa Bruce. Just give us back the whole thing, okay?”

“I'll try my best” Bruce laughed, seeing Terry say goodbye to their friends and close the computer “I should win some award for putting up with you and these three together for more than ten years.”

“You should get some award for being so grumpy, old man” Terry joked, seeing their dad sit down next to them and kiss them on the forehead. They leaned on his shoulder, and felt him lean against their head “No news from Cass?”

“No, honey. While you were sleeping, your brother, Tim, arrived and managed to wake up Stephanie. She told us a little about what happened the day Cass disappeared, but the only thing we know is that they went out on patrol, Steph got hit on the head and she didn't see anything else...” He said, huffing “How about your pa? Is he still sleeping?”

“Like the big fluffy old stone he is. He couldn't sleep after he told us about how you had a heart attack and went to bed only at dawn...” Terry answered, looking into his father's eyes “You gave him a big scare, old man.”

“In all family too, honey. It was in those days that I passed the Batman’s mantle to your sister…” Bruce hovered in his memories, looking at Terry. A part of him grateful for having raised them differently from his other children “Sometimes I think that if I had not passed the mantle on to her, none of this would be happening... We wouldn't have had to interrupt your birthday to worry about one of them mysteriously missing.”

“Would you leave the city without a Batman?”

“Back then, it was what I wanted least, dear. But if I could go back, I would have ended the bat-crusade and let your siblings go on with their normal lives... Alfred kept telling me I was going too far, but I never listened to him...”

“I could be Batman!” Terry suggested, drawing a laugh from their father “Hey, this is serious! I would be a good Batman!”

“Terry, when I passed my mantle to your sister, you were three months old. The most you could do was throw up on the uniform” Bruce chuckled at his son's grunt, hugging him and giving him a kiss on forehead “Besides, if I put a mantle on you, your father would kill me, and he’s right. It's a hard life, dear, and your father and I both know that you've been through a lot...”

“CADMUS traumatized you two, didn't it? Then it traumatized me and even sent me to juvenile detention.”

“I don’t want to support your crazy ideas, but you would make a good Batman...” Bruce smiled, having his child's attention “I already caught you fighting, kid, and you fight pretty damn well.”

“I'll remember to put it in my bat-resume, old man” The kid joked, getting a hug from his father, who was grateful that things had been different with his little bat.

“Dad?” Terry and Bruce turned to the door when Dick appeared, looking apprehensive “Sorry to disturb you two, but you need to see this, Bruce!”

Bruce got up with the help of his children, and the three of them made their way to The Cave. Selina and Jason were beside Stephanie, changing her bandages, and Duke and Kate seemed to comfort the poor Esmeralda, who was crying once more. Bruce looked at Tim, noticing his worried face looking at a card in his hands. He could see the phrase "For The Batman" on the envelope of the card. The old man forced himself to not to pass out again, feeling haunted by the old bat once more.

“Esmé went outside to get some air and found this in the old mailbox...” Tim approached his father, putting the envelope in his hands “I analyzed it and there are no records of substances or devices. None of us opened it because it it's for you.”

Bruce took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart. He opened the envelope, seeing a birthday card with the number 16 on it, exactly the age that Ruby and Terry were and that gathered the whole family in the same place at the same time.

“Sixteen moons are an important milestone in the life of any girl, and of those who are not girls. It's not your birthday, but you deserve a gift and not a reason to celebrate.”

Bruce finished reading and saw there was a pop-up of a drawing of a gift on the other tab of the card. He tugged on it, and if Dick hadn't caught him, he would have fallen back when he saw they'd sent a piece of Cass's hair. His little princess was not gone. She had been captured.

“Dad, calm down…” Dick sat his father in a chair and held his hand, watching Tim take the card from his hands.

“They got her, Dick. Your sister... They're with her!”

“That bunch of hair smells like alcohol...” Tim analyzed, going directly to the computer “I'll see if I can get a sample!”

“Please, I need you to calm down!” Kate exclaimed, gaining everyone's attention. Behind her, Duke consoled Esmeralda, who just managed to cry more with it all “I know it is desperate to know that someone has our girl, but we need calm! We need sanity so we can find Cassandra!”

“Kate is right! Sorrows won't bring my daughter back!” Bruce exclaimed, standing up. He was worried, but the anger he felt for having laid hands on his daughter was bigger “I know it's something desperate, but this person knows who we are. They knew we'd be here for Terry’s and Ruby's birthday and they were probably the one who made that call to Stephanie and Cassandra that day. This person knows who we are, but they and this whole city knows that we are The Bat Clan, and that none of us is left behind! And that Cassandra will not be left behind! And we won't rest until we find her, and I won't leave this town until I have my daughter back!”

Bruce gave his motivational speech, even though he was desperate. He knew that his daughter needed him, and he would go to great lengths to bring Cassandra back, neither him nor his family. Since that person wanted to talk to Batman, they were to be congratulated, because the entire clan was paying attention to what they would say onward.