Chapter Text
Jason Todd stares at the empty valley and then back at his sister. “I mean. It's a pretty scene but not exactly what I expected.” He says, trying not to tell his little sister that it was a plain old valley. He really hoped she wasn’t lying about showing them the place she’s been, and explaining everything. After last night, with that display of power… Well Jason wasn’t ready to let things slide anymore. Not when lives were at stake.
Tim Drake snaps his head around to stare at him in shock, opening his mouth to talk but their eldest brother beats him to it, “Maybe it’s underground Little Wing.” Dick Grayson said, ever the peace maker.
“Wha- Grayson don’t be foolish.” Damian Wayne Al Ghul snaps, “It’s right there.” He gestures vaguely to the whole valley. Jason frowns, examining the valley once again. Nothing.
Steph Brown exhales out of her mouth. “Oh good I’m not the only one who sees it.” The blond jokes, “Was worried for a second.”
“I see it too.” Tim mutters, “Is that a dragon?” Jason's head snaps to where he was pointing only to see a doberman sitting harmlessly under a tree. His eyes travel up to a weird bright yellow coat hanging up on the branches, like some kids jacket got snapped while climbing. It looked like it was new, not covered in the thin dusting of snow that fell last night, but looking around there was no owner in sight.
“Timbert.” Dick says softly, “Are you feeling ok?”
“That’s a dog,” Duke says at the same time, eyes tracking between the two nervously. Jason was nervous too. He didn’t like how many things were shifting right now. He looked over at his sister, who was standing by Bruce.
Marley Wayne watched her family in amusement that she wasn’t even bothered to hide, adjusting her jean jacket tighter around her arms. Bruce Wayne, her dad and also Batman, nudged her, “I told you to wear something more winter appropriate.” He scolds quietly, “You're shivering.”
“I’m fine.” She says back quietly. Jason couldn’t tell how she could be. Practically everyone commented on the practicality of her outfit, since the January chill wasn’t exactly the ideal weather for ripped jeans, even with fishnet tights on under, which didn’t even make sense, beyond the fact that she thought they looked cute. That he could let slide, the thin red tanktop she was wearing with a thin denim jacket was absolutely unacceptable. He was there when she bought those, he was the one checking them out, the fabric was not at all thick enough to hold up in this weather. Crazy sister.
Cass Cain frowns and her eyes rake over the dog, then the valley, her hands rapidly moving as the narrows on the pine tree behind the dog, or the yellow towel hanging from one of its lower branches. ‘Magic. Concealed.’ She signs, staring at Marley.
Marley nods a smile on her lips, “Bingo!” She winks before explaining, “The whole camp is concealed by a magical border, the tree marks it. Yes, that's a dragon, his name is Pelus, don’t get too close, he won’t recognize you as friends yet.” She smiles wider and walks slowly towards the dog, “Hey there baby.” She coos, rubbing his head.
Tim's jaw drops, and he takes half a step back, “Baby? That thing could eat you in a bite!” He yelps, hand drifting to his concealed batarang. Jason frowns, confused, but he trusted Tim enough for his hand to drift to rest on his gun too.
“I mean yeah. If he saw me as a threat.” Marley says easily, “But you don’t see me as a threat do you Pelus. Who's a good boy? You are thats right.” She says in a baby voice before speaking normally again, “Don’t bother with the weapons they won’t work on him.” She warns without looking up, still scratching the dog under his chin.
“Coolest thing I’ve seen today.” Steph says, eyes wide in excitement.
“You say that now.” Marley warns with a grin on her face.
“Marley, I demand that you allow me to pet him.” Damian says firmly, eyes transfixed on the dog.
“Absolutly not.” Bruce says quickly, “How come those three can see him but we see a hound.”
“Doberman.” Jason corrects staring at B in confusion. Has the man finally gone senile?
“That’s a husky.” Dick says hesitantly, “Um.”
“I see a Great Dane, what do you see Cass?” Duke asks, staring hard at the dog.
Cass frowns, ‘Big.’ She finally signs slowly, her eyes still on it in confusion.
Marley laughs shortly, “Like I said earlier, blood is everything. Lou is meeting us here to help you out with that.”
“How is she going to help?” Steph asks, head tilted at Marley as she makes her way back over to them.
“Every ha– operative is different, but most have some sort of enhancement you could say. Percy is the best hydrokinetic out there, better than any Alantean. Annabeth is a genius with near photographic memory, and a tactical expert. Travis beats most people in a foot race. Connor’s got the stickiest fingers. Katie has a way with plants. Leo could burn Metropolis down to ashes in an hour. Will is the best field doc we’ve got. Hazel could crash the economy in a day. Everyone's got something, no matter how small. Some are a lot more noticeable than others obviously, and Lou's got a more obvious one. She controls the Mist. She’s going to get rid of its influence on you.”
“What’s the Mist?” Bruce asks carefully, “And how exactly is she going to do that?”
“Magic.” A girl says in a low voice, coming up the hill and stepping up to Marley. “Heya stranger.” She says, bumping her hip into Marley's. “Hey I’m Lou Ellen.” She says sticking a hand out that Dick hesitantly shook. “Don’t bother introducing yourselves, I know who you are, saw you at the show.” She says briskly when Dick opens his mouth.
“We didn’t see you.” Tim counters, crossing his arms.
Steph cuts in, "Yeah we only saw you on the stage, never up close."
“I didn’t want you too.” She says casually, her eyes betraying her and glinting with mischief. Jason examines her closer. She was taller than Marley by about two inches, her wine red hair was tamed into french braids, though it looked to be barely shoulder length when out of the braids. Her green eyes were sharp and never stayed in one place too long, constantly moving between them all. She was in a skin tight long sleeve purple top, and black jeans with combat boots, a long pendant necklace that looked like torches crossed together, and she was shuffling cards in her hands. The cards themselves were odd, black with green accents, a single green flame on the center. He didn’t see what was on the other side, but they definitely weren’t playing cards. She also had a cross body satchel on that looked like it had a ton of apples in it from the odd bulge. “JK about the magic. Except not really I guess.” She hums contemplatively, “So raise of hands, how many can see the dragon to my right?”
Damian, Tim, Steph, and surprisingly Cass raised their hands. Marley jokingly raised her hand and Lou Ellen wordlessly grabbed her wrist and pushed it back down. “Ok. How about as soon as you saw it? Did you need to glance twice?” Cass dropped her hand. Lou Ellen nodded. “Great. You three stand over there. Final test you three.” She paused glancing at Marley who just nodded, “K.” She takes seven steps backwards. “Walk towards me.” She commands.
“Why?” Damian demands.
“Don’t question her Damian, it’ll go faster.” Marley says tiredly. Damian nodded stiffly and Steph skipped forward when neither boy made a move.
“Scaredy bats.” She says in a sing-song voice, skipping to stand by the red head, who simply raised her eyebrows at the other two, who walked forward slowly.
“Ok great.” She claps, “The rest of you, I need you to listen exactly ok?” We nod and she smiles, “Great, first I need your eyes on me. Okay nice. Now, I’m going to pull my pendant off and hold it in one hand, ignore it right now. Focus on my eyes.” She does exactly that and then nods, “Ok now I’m going to snap, and it might just hurt your head for a moment, or your vision will go black.” She tilts her head, “Or both. Focus on my empty hand once I raise it in between my eyes please.” She raises the hand slowly and snaps, the sound echoing unreasonably loud through the valley. Jason puts a hand to his temple and winces as his vision goes painfully dark.
“That hurts.” Duke mutters, “Wow. That hurts.” Jason agrees with a grunt as it tripled in pain, before going away completely. After his vision cleared from the black spots he looked at the valley with a whole new perspective. Gone were the boring fields and plain grassy hills. In their place was an entire new view. A large blue house with an old wood porch with a swing on it sat on a smaller hill seeming to overlook the rest of the land. An odd array of cabins sat in a L shape, with an opening facing the blue house, sitting on the right-hand side but more so behind the blue house. There were strawberry fields to the left of the house and directly to the right of the house was what looked to be an amphitheater and in front of that by about five hundred feet was a giant doorway that led nowhere.
It was breathtaking.
“Wow.” Dick muttered, helping Duke off the ground. He must have fell during the voodoo crap the girl pulled. “It’s gorgeous. Is this where you’ve been all this time, Marls?” He asks, still staring at the view. Jason scanned the rest of the land, the woods with trees so tall and thick in their foliage that he had a hard time believing that they hadn’t been there since the beginning of time. Who knew they might have been.
Their younger sister nods, staring at her old home with a fond expression. “Yeah.” She responds, “It’s great.” Her voice was so soft, just barely above a whisper, before she turned to them. “At the risk of repeating myself.” She starts firmly, her eyes turning back to stare at the valley. “Camps methods may not be the best thing ever, we understand that, but the kids who live here, a lot of them have no where else to go. Wills mom is touring, he’s safer here. You know how bad Amara’s dad is. Hazel and Nico have been legally dead for quite some time. Frank and Leo are wards of Canada and Texas respectively. Travis and Connor haven’t seen their mother in years and they don’t want to. James' mom is dead. Even without all of this, we leave camp and we are hunted.” She was speaking slowly, letting the words sink in. “Camp is a safe haven.” She whispers, “It’s a place where kids like us can escape the people we want to run from.” She finally met their eyes, “You try and shut down camp and you’ll have a literal army after you. An army made up of children.” She waited patiently.
“We understand.” Damian nods, talking clearly. “We won’t mess with your home, it’s clear how much you care for it.” Jason ignores the pang at hearing this camp called her home not the Manor.
She smiles, “Good.” She says contently, “Anyways, it’ll be some of yours home soon too.”
“Heck yeah it will!” Lou Ellen says confidently, “Now let's get this tour on the road!”
Marley grins but nods, “I Marlene Wayne, give permission to Bruce Wayne, Richard Grayson, Duke Thomas, Cassandra Cain, and Jason Todd-Wayne to enter camp.”
Lou Ellen waves her hand at them and grabs Marley's arm, dragging her into a skip behind her as she leads the way down the hill. “So, I don’t figure the orientation film will cut it in this situation–”
“It doesn’t cut it in any situation.” Marley says with a roll of her eyes. “ “We need to replace it but nooooo it’s insulting to its director.”
Lou Ellen scoffs, “Listen I don’t want to be turned into a cow because we don’t think the film isn’t very great.”
“A cow?” Duke asks, looking over at Lou Ellen. She just grins sharply and refuses to deign him with an answer. Duke turns away but Jason kept watching her. As soon as Duke wasn't looking at her, the grin dropped, revealing a suspicious look as she studied him, something odd flickering across her face.
“We’ll hit up the amphitheater and swing back around and visit the Big House before swinging through the stables and fields and all that pizazz before seeing the cabins last.” She explains as she veers left on the road and leads them away from where the heavy bit of commotion was. Not that the left side was peaceful, not by far. It was loud, with screams and laughter coming from in front of them. They were approaching a stone semicircle of stairs with a giant fire pit in front of it.
Marley gestures with her hand at the place, “This is the amphitheater, campers meet here after dinner for s’mores and sing-alongs that Cabin seven leads.”
“We also use it for entertainment such as fights to the death!” Lou Ellen said cheerfully. Bruce stumbles slightly in his step, staring at her wide eyed.
Marley rubs her temple, “We haven’t had a duel to the death in a thousand years.” she corrects, “Lou, you promised you wouldn’t be like this if I let you go on the tour with us.”
The girl in question shrugs with a smirk on her face. “Just trying to give them some history of the place Marls, we are full of it after all.”
His sister sighs, "Unfortunately we are. Anyways, what is actually still held here is our annual talent show that year long campers participate in.”
“Year long?” Steph asks, confused.
Marley grins thinly, “Camp isn’t exactly a front. I mean it is a summer camp. Campers come for the summer and then go home. But, like I said before, some don’t have a solid place to stay, or aren’t ready to go back home, or it’s too dangerous for them to go back. They stay here year long. Hence the name.” She explains.
“But it isn’t a requirement to stay all year?” Bruce asks.
Marley shakes her head and continues walking. She gave him a glance but it was her friend who responded. “No on the contrary. It’s encouraged to go home if you can.” Lou Ellen saw Bruce open her mouth and cut him off. “Marley was told by her mom to stay longer. She had no say in when she was leaving or staying.”
“Your parents can do that?” Tim asks, his voice strained with concern, “Force you to stay?”
Marley wrinkles her nose, “Yes and no. Most don’t. My mother is one of the few who do, she’s also crazy though. And we aren’t necessarily encouraged to do one or the other, it depends heavily on power and how safe the directors think you will be.” She shrugs. “Here is the climbing wall, huh weird. No one is climbing today.”
“We saw that in the video.” Tim says staring up at it, “It’s more impressive in person though.”
Lou Ellen cackles, “Oh you haven’t seen the half of it Waynes.” She says gleefully.
Marley grins at her friend then turns to us with a more genuine smile, “Here watch this,” She commands, “Lou why don’t you fire her up?”
Lou Ellen giggles, “I see what you did there.” She says slyly but moves to the back of the wall and then reappears. “Ta da!” She yells, pointing up. Jason looks as– was that lava, started pouring from the wall. Then the walls started shaking, occasionally smashing into each other, and rocks would fall down.
“Is that lava?” Duke asks nervously.
Marley nods slowly at their shock. “Adds an extra challenge for us. Y’all can try it out later.” She smiles as she shuts it down and leads them on the path. "I might even join you, it's been a while since I've climbed to the top."
“Has anyone gotten hurt on that?” Bruce demands, catching up with her.
She shrugs, “Probably? No one's gotten killed on it so it’s fine.” She showed them the canoe lake (“Don’t look into the lake at the girls, and absolutely don’t encourage them, they are terrible flirts.”) and was approaching the arts and crafts pavilion, when a little girl, who looked six, screamed and plowed towards them, her light blond curls bouncing as she flung herself onto Marley.
“You’re back!” She screams, clutching Marley tight.
Marley laughed and ruffled her curls fondly, “Hey Amara. I told you I’d be back before you knew it.” She says so softly. So this was Amara. She was so small for an eight year old. Jason didn’t want to say he was already attached, but well, she was pretty cute.
Amara huffs, “Yeah well I missed you. Come see what Harley and I have been doing. Oh! And Evie has been helping us too! She’s so much fun to hang out with. Andrew is too, but he doesn’t seem to care for us as much, I think he thinks he is too old to hang out with us, cause he just hovers and watches Evie, like how you used to do with me.” She grins and then turns ever so slightly towards them, hesitance written on her face. “Who are they?” She asks quietly, gripping Marley’s pant legs tightly.
Marley smiles as she crouches down, “These crazies are my family. I talked about them on the phone with you.”
The young girl stares at them and nods slowly, “Ok then. Nice to meet you Marley’s family who I don’t trust as far as I could throw you.” She glares heavily at them, “Funny how you’re all about Marley now. Where were you when she was mourning, when she was bleeding out and dying in the streets–”
“Amara.” Marley cuts her off, voice firm, “Can we not right now sweetheart?” Lou Ellen was watching their sister with concern openly expressed on her face. “Come show me what you are cooking up in here, why don’t you?” She stands up placing a hand on the small of Amara's back. Amara grins up at her and excitedly starts skipping towards the pavilion.
“Hope you don’t mind a detour Waynes, this might be a bit.” Lou Ellen says with a grin her teeth flashing in the sun. “Marley loves Amara way too much to just come and glance than leave.”
They stayed at the pavilion for about twenty extra minutes, not that Jason was complaining. Damian was looking around with an eager glint in his eyes. He watched with the rest of them as Amara showed Marley her invention that Harley built and they were currently covering in glitter glue.
“I was inspired by spike traps that the cops use to catch people in car chases.” Amara explains, “My thought process is that there is a ridiculous amount of speedsters, almost as many as there are Bats now! They just keep coming!”
Marley snorts, “Oh yeah, they are like Rats. They multiply quickly.” Bruce gave her a half hearted glare. Jason laughs under his breath as she sticks her tongue out at them and Damian aims to kick her shin.
“Rats are vermin, these are vigilantes. Wrong v word silly.” Amara corrects, “But anyways, there's also a ton of evil speedsters, like Reverse-Flash, and if I’m to take over the world I need to eliminate all threats to power. Like bad guys.” She pauses tilting her head, “Or the Justice League I guess, but if all goes to plan they’ll be–”
“Wrapped around our fingers like the superpowered shmucks they are!” A boy a year or so older than Amara says giddily. Another girl was trailing behind him looking amused. Jason recognized her. The girl that Marley saved from Blüdhaven when they were tailing them.
“Prepositerous.” She says firmly, “You can’t have them wrapped around your finger without knowing the identities of them. And you are still missing some crucial identities ‘Mara.” She says with a smirk.
Amara huffs, “I will find out the Bats identities. Don’t let your Gotham Pride over these vigilantes get in the way of seeing my incredible brilliance.”
“I’m from Blüdhaven actually. We only claim Nightwing, and Signal on Tuesdays, Robin Sundays and Black Bat and Spoiler Fridays.”
“What?” Steph asks curiously.
The girl shrugs, “I don’t make the rules, just follow them. Nightwing is ours, Gotham threw him out. He picked himself up in Blüd. And the others visit him, not vice versa like the others. So we claim them on selected days. It’s just how it works.” She glances at Marley, “Hi again Marley.” Marley grins and ruffles her hair.
“Huh.” Steph says dumbly, seeming to be at a loss like the rest of them. Jason blushes slightly, but ignores the guilt. He visits Dick, same as Tim, they just don’t go out in their masked personas when they do. So what if they don’t visit as often as the others, they are busy! Being a Crime Lord is a full time job, but a Crime Lord/vigilante, that’s a lot for one man to do!
“Anyways,” Marley butts in, “We have to get going now, bye Amara,” She gives her a brief hug, “Bye sis.” She says gripping her into a tight hug. “We’ll talk more later ok?” Marley had a sister? And one so little?
Evie nods slowly, “Ok, bye Sis.” She says softly, walking back to where she had been sculpting a vase before.
“Sister?” Cass asks softly once they walk away.
Marley grins softly, “Yeah, almost everyone's got siblings around here. You heard my mom talk about Noah and Levi, they were older brothers of mine. And then Livvie is my sister, and so is Evie.”
“Livvie is your actual sister?” Bruce asks, his voice laced with disbelief.
Marley snorted but before she answered Damian spoke up, “Your brothers, are they both truly dead?”
“Yes.” She says quietly, “Nate died when I was fourteen, and Levi when I was fifteen, almost sixteen.” She was looking over her shoulder, seeing something they couldn’t see. That was a lot of people to lose. “And yeah, Liv’s my older sister. She doesn’t stay at camp that much anymore, just occasionally on weekends. She’s at NYU majoring in Literature.” Marley grins softly, “I was so mad that she wouldn’t transfer to NRU so I could visit more often.”
“NRU?” Tim questions curiously.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” Marley says, “Ok so there’s a city called New Rome that’s for us to live in safely, it’s in California, so there's this camp on this side of the country. We have a means to go between the two, similar to the zeta. In that city is a University for all to attend.”
“You said transfer, but why wouldn’t she just go there from the start if it’s safer?” Duke asks.
Marley winces, “Long story. Essentially, we only found out about the city like two and a half years ago, originally our leaders kept us apart since there has always been tension between the two groups. There still is, just you know, not enough to start a war.” She stopped to gesture at the volleyball courts before moving on.
Lou Ellen grumbles practically incoherently, and it was only due to Jason's enhanced hearing that he heard her, “I don’t know sometimes I’d love to show some more Romans exactly what I can do to them.” She says, touching her bag, almost like it held a threat. Jason had a feeling that the girl was a lot more dangerous than she was letting on. All these kids gave him that feeling. It was unnerving, being in a place with a hundred powerhouses and not knowing what to do about it. He also wanted to know what she meant by Romans.
“Huh, that’s cool.” Steph says casually. They were quickly approaching the Large blue farmhouse.
“This is the Big House, where the camp directors stay and the private infirmaries are.” Lou Ellen says, taking the steps up the porch two at a time.
Marley takes over from there, “In order for you to be allowed to enter camp I went ahead and agreed for a meeting between the camp directors and y’all.” She turns around and levels them with a star on par with Alfred's 'no nonsense’ look, “Be respectful, I do not want to bargain for your life today.”
“I’m sorry what?” Bruce asks, but she ignores him in favor of opening the door and holding it open for them.
“Come on in.” Lou Ellen says in a purposefully creepy voice, hiding in the shadows of the house as they all enter. Once they enter they split. Marley beckoned them one way, and Lou Ellen went a different way, her braid swinging as she walked, humming a tune to herself. Jason felt a growing unease as Marley led them through the house, and into a room. Dick and Bruce entered first, Jason and Tim next.
Tim exhales sharply as he looks through the room, eyes wide. Jason looks through it as well, taking in the ping pong table and the spray cheese and crackers. It wasn’t a concerning sight per say, but Tim was always seeing more to the picture. He nudged him softly, “What’s up Timbers?”
Tim shakes his head, “I don’t even know myself right now.” He says, and Jason nods, giving a thoughtful hum. He was all too used to Tim and Bruce both not sharing a theory until there was concrete evidence to back it up.
“Well let me know if you figure it out ya? Something about this place feels off, like the whole place is pulsing.”
“That would be the magic in the air your feeling Mr. Todd-Wayne. Please sit with all of you.” A middle aged man rolls into the room, Lou Ellen trailing behind him, parking his wheelchair at the head of the ping pong table, Lou Ellen standing at his right like some sort of guard dog. Marley plops into the seat next to Lou Ellen, looking slightly bored already, pulling out a knife, and starts messing with it. The rest of them settle into seats around the edges, Bruce sitting on the other end and Dick, Duke, Cass and Steph on his right, with Jason, Tim, and Damian, on his left, with Marley on Damian's other side, a chair in between them, and three between Steph and the man.
“Magic in the air?” Jason intones his voice flat with disbelief. “Uh huh.” He looks at the man unimpressed. He was middle aged, and dressed like your classic literature professor at your local college. His tweed jacket was frayed at the edges, his smile soft, and his eyes way to knowing. “Last I checked we aren’t in a Disney film.”
“It’s true Mr. Todd-Wayne, though how you can sense it is a mystery.”
Marley barely looked up as she spoke, “He took a dip in the Lazarus Pit.” She says, using the knife to clean out under her nails, looking like she just came out of some gritty tv show.
A look of understanding crosses his face, "I'm sorry for that child. An unfortunate creation those pits. To have something so incredibly great, but at an even greater drawback.”
Lou Ellen wrinkles her nose, “Balance is required Chiron. To bring someone back from nearly dead shifts the balance greatly on earth. Those who use it are almost always condemned.”
Damian looks down, and Jason presses his lips together, trying to shove back the green that was whispering to him.
You aren’t enough.
Condemned.
As you should be for your actions.
Bruce thinks so too.
He replaced you.
He doesn’t want you.
You’re unwanted.
The others looked ready to fight her on that, but surprisingly someone else beat them to it. “That isn’t true Lulu.” Marley huffs, laying her knife onto the table, “Condemned are those who use it for evil, to purposefully avoid Death forever. If you can prove you didn’t intend to use it for that it’s fine. I already proved it for y’all, so relax.”
"Which is why I said, almost always Marley." Lou Ellen says, emphasizing the word almost. "Pay attention."
“Yes well I fear we have strayed off subject.” The man, Chiron, if Lou Ellen is to be believed, says placatingly. “The Lazarus Pits are a subject for a latter day. I believe theres been a discussion of sending a group to go destroy them, so we can revisit that idea later, after we figure out our present issue.”
“Were we ever on a subject?” Bruce counters, staring him down. “Are you the one who runs this camp?”
“I’m the activities director, the head director is running behind.”
“More like getting drunk somewhere pretending he doesn’t care.” Lou Ellen mutters and Marley snorts quietly.
Chiron continues like they didn’t say anything. “And yes, Mr. Wayne, we were on a subject. Why you are here.” Jason's nerves were grating. This man was purposefully ignoring those girls, like they didn’t exist, then as if reading Jason's mind, he adressed them, "Miss Blackstone, need I remind you that Mr. D is under a strict no drinking policy that is being very enforced." Lou Ellen rolls her eyes but doesn't answer.
Dick crosses his arms, leaning forward in his chair, “Activities director.” He repeats, “So you're the one teaching these innocent kids to fight?”
Chiron tilts his head, “Yes I suppose I am.” He says, an amused tilt in his voice, “Though we prefer the term training for survival.”
Jason scoffs, “Survival for what?”
“For the reality of the world that you can’t see Mr. Todd-Wayne.” Chiron says evenly. There was a long pause before he continued. “Tell me, what do you know of Western civilization?”
“The western culture, it is the movement of the traditions, values, and other things that moved where the ‘heart’ of the West is. It originated in ancient Greece and Rome." Tim recites, then frowns, “Why though?”
Chiron smiles, “Correct child.” He says. What you call Western Civilization... is a living force, collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years.” He starts, “This force is driven by… something.”
“Something?” Steph repeats, “Jeez man can you be anymore vague?”
Chiron turns to Marley, “What all have you said?”
She shrugs, “We get attacked and targeted because of who we are, but not uh, who we are.”
Lou Ellen gives an amused laugh, “Wow, that’s actually hilarious.”
“Alright.” Chiron sighs, “You know of Wonder Woman, yes?”
Bruce’s face stayed neutral, “I’ve heard of her, yes.”
“Her creator was Zeus, the god.” Chiron goes on.
Jason rolls his eyes, “That’s common knowledge. The gods used to exist, at one point Zeus made D- Wonder Woman. They weren’t apparently gods, because one day, poof, all the gods died out, no harm no foul. They weren’t strong or powerful enough to live forever.” For some reason whatever he said had all three of them looking up at the ceiling nervously.
A second man chose that moment to enter the room. Jason stiffened as the man, who looked like every other no good abuser in crime alley, had such a stifling aura, a feeling of power that buzzed, and even made the green skittish. His pudgy face was twisted into a look of cold indifference, and his curly hair so black it looked purple. He was in purple running shoes, and a leopard print shirt.
“I would recommend not throwing around terms like ‘not powerful enough’ when speaking of the gods.” He says coldly, his dark purple eyes narrowed at Jason, “I would hate for one of them to have to show you just how powerful they can be and drive you to madness boy, it would no doubt mess greatly with the madness you’ve already pushed away.”
“Mr. D, meet my family,” Marley cuts in, “That's my dad Bruce, and brothers and sisters, Dick, Duke, Cass, Steph, Damian, Tim, and Jason.” She introduces them.
“I do not have time for this Meredith. Explain why they are here, do you need a reminder of the rules? Those who bring outsiders into camp without permission are not tried lightly young lady. Do you want to spend your remaining days in the bottom of the seas roaming as a dolphin?”
“Do not threaten Marley.” Bruce says, glaring at the man with the Bat glare™.
Marley on the other hand tilts her head, “Not the worst offer I’ve gotten.” She says as if debating it. Mr. D stares back unbothered at Bruce and Jason clenches his fists. Before anyone could say anything Marley spoke up again, “You were with your Father and I got permission from Chiron, so technically no broken rules.”
He stares at her for a long second, before sighing and dropping into an armchair in the corner, waving his hand and a Diet coke and Wine Weekly magazine appeared in his hand. “Fine, continue Margret.”
“You're a magic user?” Tim says incredulously.
Mr. D looks up slowly, “I am a lot more than that, and would appreciate some respect.” He says in a deadly cold voice.
“Mr. D,” Chiron chides, “Lets not resort to too many threats today,” The man huffs but goes back to his magazine. “Now to say this bluntly-”
“The gods are still around.” Damian says matter of factly. “At least the Roman ones are. You spoke of gods, Marley mentioned that kids are here due to heritage, and she mentioned our legacy, your city is New Rome, and Marley's brand says SPQR which in English is the Senate and People of Rome, you train for survival as if something is after the gods, and Mr. D said I would hate for one to show Jason how powerful he was, implying you were one, you re wearing a leopard print shirt, and someone mentioned you drinking. You’re Dionysus, god of wine. Which means the Greek exist as well. And you’re Chiron, the trainer of heroes from the stories. Are you truly a centaur?”
“Yes, it’s a magic wheelchair meant to conceal my bottom half to not startle new comers.”
Lou Ellen whistles lowly, “Hades he’s good.” She turns to Marley, “You sure he’s Roman? Cause a brain like that belongs in Cabin six.”
Marley shrugs, “Look, all I’m saying is I am 100% sure of who his mother is. If you want to talk proof go talk to Reyna, she’s already alerted Talia we are here.”
“This is ridiculous!” Tim exclaims, and Duke and Steph nod along, “The gods died a long time ago! The only semi godly people out there are the Amazons!”
Lou Ellen snorts, “The Amazons of the old, the Amazons of vengeance, or the Amazons of new?”
Dick frowns, “Is there a difference?” He asks.
Marley gives a wry grin, “Sure. Some are some stuck up brats who try and live the way of old, refusing to join our world, because ew men-”
“Mood.” Lou Ellen mutters.
“Then there’s The Amazons of Bana-Mehdell who are barbaric conquerors, and use men only for breeding.”
“Not Mood.”
Marley rolls her eyes. “The others are some modern version, basically feminists who will get married, but believe women don’t need men, men need women, and are currently trying to take over the world. They probably will too. Damian's aunt is their current leader.”
“You mean your friend Reyna?” Dick asks, frowning.
“Her sister, Hylla, actually. Marley corrects. “Hylla and Reyna are full sisters, Talia is their half sister. From a goddess. Because gods are real, and in America.” This was way too much.
Mr. D stands up, “I do not want to sit through another explanation, where childish mortals try and argue every little point. If you excuse me, I’m going to go play pinochle with the Council of Cloven Elders.” He left, giving them all one last withering stare. "If you're family behaves Mary they can stay. If not its your neck on the line."
"Aye Aye Captain." She says with a salute. "See you later Mr. D!"
Chiron finally spoke up again. “The West is essentially a living force, view it like a fire. The gods are part of it, the fire that started in Greece. The heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods, under new names, even differing personalities because the Romans had different values, but they were there. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They are now in your United States. America is now the heart of the fire, it is the great power of the west. And so Mount Olympus, along with the gods, is here.”
“That makes no sense.” Tim argues, “How would no one notice the gods? And Olympus is a mountain! You can’t just pick up a mountain and move it!”
“Ah yes, to answer your second question, while the mountain itself is in Greece still, the home of the gods, is on the sixth hundredth floor of the Empire state building. The entrance to the Underworld is in DOA recording studios in LA, the labyrinth was everywhere underneath us, the Lotus island has become a hotel in Vegas, Quebec is Boreas’ kingdom, Mount Orthirus home of the Titans on Mount Tam, and more,” He pauses, letting that absolute insane knowledge sink in. Duke stares at Jason and mouths ‘600th?’. “As for your first answer, well the Mist works very well when you don’t want to accept what you are seeing, though I will admit it has been failing us more and more as the Justice League keeps introducing more insane things to the eyes of Mortals.”
“The Mist? Lou Ellen mentioned that earlier, but never explained what it was.” Steph says eagerly. She seemed to be handling it a lot better.
“The Mist,” Lou Ellen smiles, “It’s the supernatural semi sentient veil that obscures the divine reality from the fragile mortal perception.” she says.
“Can you dumb that down for us?” Duke asks, “Because I understood none of that.”
She laughs and nods, “Yeah. Think of it like a magic shield. It takes for instance, a boy being attacked by a Chimera in the Arch, and turns it into something that mortals can understand, a boy blowtorching a national monument.”
“More often than not, the Mist works for and against us. On one hand, it hides what is really happening, on the other, it takes a victim and makes them the issue.” Marley explains, “The amount of times I’ve run from law enforcement because they didn’t see what really happened.” She mutters the last part but everyone still heard, and Steph let out a laugh.
“But certain Demigods can control the Mist.” Lou Ellen goes on, “We can bend it around, make Mortals see our version of events. So a sword wielding monster attacking me could turn into me killing some sweet old lady, but I can shift it into a man trying to attack me, and I swung back, and he ran off.” She explains. “And even if you can’t control it, and it makes you the bad guy, the Mist also makes your features hard to remember, and blurs cameras, which is why you never found a photo of Marley, the Mist knew you were looking, so it blurred her in them all.”
“Demigods?”
“The children here. Half gods, half mortals, who are relentlessly hunted by monsters who want a taste of their godly blood. We train them to defend themselves, and any mortals who get in the crossfires. The Olympian Council rules over the Western World. Twelve major gods, each with dominion over vital aspects of nature and civilization. Their power is immense, but their relationships… volatile. Minor gods, nature spirits, ancient entities—each has their own grievances and ambitions. When tensions rise, those conflicts manifest here, in the mortal realm. And it is the demigods—”
“—the kids,” Dick cut in, his voice tight.
“—the demigods,” Chiron continued, unruffled, “who must act to keep the balance.”
Bruce’s jaw tightened. “So you admit you’re training children for combat.”
Chiron’s calm expression didn’t falter. “We prepare demigods to survive in a world that will hunt them regardless of preparation. So yes, combat.”
“By throwing them into battle?” Dick’s voice was sharp, his fists clenched on the table. “They’re kids.”
“Some have fought since they were able to read,” Chiron said matter-of-factly.
Jason felt his stomach turn. His mind flashed to the eight-year-olds he’d seen in the pavilion, carrying swords and creating failsafes against heroes meant to protect them, like it was normal. “That’s—” He cut himself off before the word criminal slipped out.
“—the only option,” Chiron finished for him. "The monsters do not wait for a child to grow. They attack without mercy. We give our campers the tools to survive."
"Survive?" Jason barked out a humorless laugh. "How many do?"
Bruce stepped forward, that whole quiet, looming Bat-thing he does. "If the League of Assassins had tried to give me this justification, I’d have burned their headquarters to the ground."
"A flawed comparison," Chiron said mildly.
"No," Dick cut in, eyes flashing. "It’s the same freaking thing—kids trained to fight before they’re old enough to drive. I’ve been there. I know what it does to you."
"And yet," Chiron said, his voice calm, almost frustratingly gentle, "you both stand here because someone, at some point, trained you. Would you rather these children face monsters unarmed?"
Bruce took a step toward Chiron, broad shoulders squared like he was about to start something. Dick mirrored him, jaw tight. “You’re exploiting them,” Bruce said, voice low. “You’re using children as a shield in a war they didn’t start.”
Chiron didn’t flinch. “The alternative is to let them die untrained.”
His calm was infuriating — like they were the unreasonable ones for not accepting this nightmare logic.
Jason could feel the tension spike, see Bruce and Dick both ready to push harder, to make this centaur see reason. But Chiron’s expression didn’t change, even when Bruce was close enough to loom over him.
“Believe me, Mr. Wayne,” Chiron said quietly, “if there were another way, I would take it. But this is the world we live in. A cruel world that eats the unprepared.”
“Yeah, sounds familiar,” Jason muttered, scowling. “The only difference is, in Gotham, we try to keep kids out of it.”
Chiron’s jaw tightened, but his tone stayed maddeningly patient. “If I recall, all the Robins were underage when they started. One died before he could drive is the rumor, that I am sure could be confirmed by anyone with even limited Underworld access, such as Lou Ellen here.” Bruce flinched. “It is a necessity, not a choice. Our enemies do not wait until they turn 18. If these young demigods do not learn to defend themselves—”
“They die. Yeah, I got that part,” Jason said darkly. “Still sounds like you’re running a junior league army.” Marley flinched and was looking anywhere but them, and Lou Ellen frowns glaring at them.
That got Bruce’s attention. His glare locked onto Chiron like he was already planning an exit strategy and a lawsuit. “This is unacceptable. Children should not be forced into this kind of—”
“—service,” Dick finished, stepping forward like he might actually swing at the old horse-man. “You can’t honestly expect us to stand here and be fine with this.”
Chiron didn’t flinch. Didn’t bristle. Didn’t do anything except meet their eyes with infuriating calm. “It is not about what you find acceptable. It is about survival. These children are targets the moment they are born.”
Bruce’s jaw flexed. “Then maybe the ones responsible for that should take responsibility.”
Chiron didn’t blink. “I have been making that argument for over three thousand years.” His voice was infused with regret, and for the first time Jason thought of what it’d be like, to train children just to see them die over and over again. But in the end, it was Chiron sending them out. Jason almost laughed—not because it was funny, but because the mental image of Bruce trying to win an argument against the gods, the gods that weren’t supposed to exist, was so ridiculous it looped back around to grim. “The gods are… complicated. They are the embodiment of fundamental forces of the world. They cannot simply step into mortal affairs without—”
“They do all the time,” Marley cut in. “Usually to mess things up.”
“Or knock someone up.” Lou adds, her voice full of mirth.
“They must exercise restraint,” Chiron continued as though they hadn’t spoken. “The Olympians have existed for millennia. There are certain rules in place they must follow, if you don’t want a civil war breaking out. Do you know what that would look like? World War three, shaping out like the Trojan war, nature against nature, the sky against sea, people mere bugs and Demigods warriors in a fight between immortals?”
Bruce’s eyes narrowed. “You’re telling me divine grudges get mortals, children, dragged into wars they had no say in?”
“That’s one way to put it,” Marley said cheerfully.
“Marley,” Chiron said, voice calm but carrying a subtle warning.
“I know I know I’m not helping, sorry.” She mutters, looking up, “You guys, it really isn’t that bad. And if it is, well it’s the only option.” She shrugs. Jason looked away, the green hesitantly coming up now that Dionysus was far enough away.
Tim raised a hand like they were in class. “So… you’re saying the gods can’t, or won’t, fix this because of… politics?”
That was all Chiron needed to launch into another explanation. “The Olympian Council operates by majority rule. However, allegiances between the gods shift constantly. Old grudges, ancient promises, and—”
“—family drama,” Marley interjected again.
Lou Ellen leaned forward, looking way too entertained. “Picture Thanksgiving dinner, but everyone has weapons and the ability to smite you. And they all think they’re right.” Jason felt his stomach twist again. These two were treating it like a joke, but the weapons both of them carried, the sword at an eight year olds hip, the training schedules mentioned, and the way Chiron said targets the moment they are born told him this was dead serious.
“Tell me,” Bruce said, “how many children have died under your training?”
Lou Ellen shifted uncomfortably, but Marley just stared at Chiron like she was waiting to see how he’d spin it. Chiron’s expression didn’t change. “Too many. And without this camp, the number would be higher.”
“That’s not good enough,” Bruce leaned forward, elbows on the table, his voice low and dangerous. “You’re just fine with this arrangement?”
“I work within the system to protect as many as I can,” Chiron replied evenly.
“That’s not an answer,” Dick said, rising halfway out of his chair.
“It is the truth,” Chiron said, still calm.
Jason could see it; the more they pushed, the calmer Chiron became, like he’d weathered centuries of this same outrage and it rolled right off him. It made Bruce’s jaw tick in frustration. Jason’s fingers tightened against the table’s edge. Every calm, reasonable word Chiron spoke just made him angrier. Because beneath the academic tone, Jason could hear the truth—this wasn’t an accident or a tragedy. It was a system. A system that trained children to fight wars they didn’t start, and had no choice but to finish.
Two young adults enter the room, knocking on the doorframe. “Chrion?” The blond asked, “You asked to see us?”
“Yes, Annabeth, Percy come in.”
They both enter and grin at Marley, “What’s up with you trouble?” The boy teases.
She grins back, “Careful Jackson, I would hate for cabin three to be covered in red glitter again.”
He gasps, “You wouldn’t dare!” He yelps, “At least make it blue!” He whines.
The girl rolls her eyes, “Shut up and sit down Seaweed Brain.” She huffs and drags him to Steph’s side, and they sit down, evening out the table by leaving one chair in between her and Steph.
The blond girl, Annabeth, was staring weirdly at them all, before her gaze narrowed onto Dick, “Hm, interesting.” She mutters under her breath, before leaning over and whispering to Percy, whose eyes lock on Dick with curiosity.
Chiron sighs, ignoring the two as if used to this, “The biggest issue right now is not if you approve of camp, but rather that Marley believes, and I am inclined to agree with her intuition, that three of your children besides her have divine roots.”