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When the Justice League forms, most heroes have been around for a few years already. Superman has been flying over the skies of Metropolis for four years, the Flash has been zooming around Central for three and the Green Lantern got his assignment a year and a half ago. While Wonder Woman, J’onn J’onzz and Cyborg are more recent additions.
The only exception to this rule is Batman, who has already been doing this for around fifteen years already, though no one knows for sure when he started. And he has never been very forthcoming with the information either.
Now it’s two years later and the Justice League is looking to expand. The hero community has grown since their start and they want to pad their numbers and increase their reach, so that they can make more of a difference.
One of the new members they recruit, is Nightwing.
Nightwing does not seem like the most interesting new recruit, since he is a human surrounded by people that can absorb nukes or kings of the seas. However, Nightwing piqued their interest, because rumors of him go way back.
Upon meeting the man, they realize this kid has been in the business for a long time, first popping onto the scene about eight years ago. Bar Batman, he’s been doing this the longest.
“Man, how come I never heard of you until recently?” Flash exclaims. He and Nightwing have hit it off right away. “You’ve been doing this for so long, rumors must have started to seep out at some point.”
“Nah, I wasn’t really considered a hero until like a year or so ago,” Nightwing shrugs easily, leaning back in the other monitor chair. “For the first two years, I was a rumor made up by criminals, then I was a good for nothing, punk vigilante that was on the wanted list for the next three years. By then you guys got onto the scene and heroes truly became a topic in a positive way, so they became a little more open to my meddling. Though they still don’t trust me entirely. Now we’re here.”
“Wait, they still don’t trust you?” Flash asks.
“No, course not, it’s Blüd,” Nightwing laughs as if that’s funny. “You can’t trust anyone there. It’s a shithole of a shithole. I’m not a hero, Flash, I’m a vigilante. Huge difference.”
“Ugh, you sound like Batman,” Flash complains. “Wait, aren’t Blüdhaven and Gotham like super close to each other?”
“Yeah, why do you think it’s such a shithole?” Nightwing jokes, though everyone has already learned the hard way that he’s the only one, who can joke about his city like that. They’re pretty sure Aquaman still feels the bruise. For a human, he sure can pack a punch.
“Did you two work together? Before the League? Or, like, even before heroes?” Flash asks, rapid speed as his excitement grows.
“Our cases overlapped sometimes,” Dick says, deciding it’s not technically a lie, because Nightwing didn’t want Batman nosing around in his city until recently and Robin doesn’t really count. “We knew of each other, shared information sometimes.”
“Wow, I can’t imagine what baby Batman must have been like,” Flash says, a little awed.
“Probably a lot stupider than we think,” Dick snorts, still remembering when Bruce took him in only two years after he himself had started running around in kevlar.
Right now, he’s kind of sad that he made Bruce promise to let him be in the League on his own, because otherwise he could share some embarrassing stories with Flash – or Wally, the man’s secret identity wasn’t too hard to figure out – but he can’t do that without revealing Robin and that can’t happen.
Robin is still an unconfirmed rumor. There are a lot of reports about him, but the switches in Robins that have been going on made them all so widely different that no one trusts them. And no pictures have been leaked. Babs is very good at what she does.
Out of the Gotham’s vigilante population, Robin is the only known one in the streets and under the rogues in Arkham. All the other birds and bats – save Signal, the stubborn day shift – are pretty unknown and Batman likes to keep it that way.
He and Cass, Jason too technically, are the only ones, who are proper adults now and the world has changed drastically from when they were kids.
Dick might frown on B’s paranoia most of the time, but it’s no longer just the creeps in Arkham they have to worry about. It’s the anti-hero mentality that is popping up alongside the support, the people with grudges on a larger scale that are trying to find weak spots to get back at heroes that stopped them or couldn’t save them, magic that could control their allies and turn them against them, along with all the ones they love.
The world isn’t safe and anonymity makes his baby siblings a little better protected.
Of course, he’s not going to sit there and say the world was safe when he ran around in short shorts and bright colors. The fact that he was out there in the first place spoke to that. However, it seems like the world was at least smaller then, the harms more manageable. Vigilantes less known, with smaller targets on their backs.
So, he just laughs at the young Batman hypotheticals Wally comes up with as they continue to shoot the shit and watch over earth from high above. Almost like a rooftop, but on a much larger scale. B definitely came up with that one.
And so the Justice League evolves with the new heroes in it, while Nightwing and Batman masquerade as strangers to protect their family.
However, before Dick was Nightwing, he was Robin and it is hard to hide years of working alongside each other with only the other one as backup. Even Barbara came later. At the start, it was just them and that’s hard to forget.
Bruce tries to hide it, putting Dick on different teams, knowing he is capable of leading them, and scheduling different training days for them, as well as trying to stay out of his way as Dick establishes himself among their allies.
But avoiding each other entirely is suspicious too. Besides, it’s unavoidable sometimes. They have skill sets that compliment each other well, it’s natural that they get assigned together, especially when it’s a stealth mission.
Still, they maintain a professional distance. They’re coworkers, whose styles mesh well, but who aren’t particularly close.
And so time passes and the world changes more.
Cass is making a name for herself in Hong Kong, Jason is running around with his Outlaws, while Tim has joined the Teen Titans (under the guise that his name is merely an homage to the Robin rumors from his hometown, where he doesn’t operate) and Steph is striking out with the Birds of Prey.
Only Damian and Duke, the babies of the family, are safe in Gotham – for as far Gotham is safe. And even then, it’s really only Damian, whose existence is still rumor. Signal runs around in broad daylight, the first confirmed connection to the Bat.
A connection, they observed, that has protected him thus far. Not harmed.
Sure, they all know the risks of being a vigilante, but there is no more anonymity keeping them safe. Robin is starting to be believed in more and more , vague images floating around with increased cameras on the streets and all the others have been spotted out side of the context of Gotham. Maybe it is time.
Maybe, telling the world that these people fall under the protection of Gotham’s Legend. Of the first hero – though he doesn’t use the term himself – that ever graced the world. Of the man that is still here, no matter what life throws at him.
Maybe that will be safer than having them be lone vigilantes out in the wind, ready to be taken out by any wannabe villain trying to make their mark.
Red Hood has always worn a bat on his chest, but most considered it a mockery (as it was intended at the time). However, when more and more start to appear, people take it more seriously.
Like, Orphan, who patrols the street in her Black Bat get up that she usually dons in Gotham, Red Robin, who introduces Robin to the Teen Titans – thus also the world – confirming his existence and tying them both to the Bat, while Steph finally takes on the mask of Batgirl full time.
It’s a perfect plan that goes off without a hitch.
Sure, there is a small explosion online as people learn how many vigilantes patrol Gotham and Gothamites start to share old tweets that were conspiracy theories at the time or their own experiences with the newly revealed vigilantes.
Within the hero community people are surprised to see just how many vigilantes Batman trained, though only Dick hears about that, since Bruce avoids the Watchtower like the plague afterwards.
Naturally, Dick reports gleefully about all the wild shit he’s heard in the halls of the Watchtower to his siblings with grandeur.
Like that first time back on the Watchtower after the reveal. Wally zooms up to him in the middle of the cafeteria area, saying: “Did you see about all the Batman children popping up everywhere?”
“Of course,” Dick snorts, because why the hell would he not have?
“Did Batman, like birth them all? What do you think?” Wally asks breathlessly, obviously it’s been eating at his mind.
Before Dick can reply, Diana interrupts: “I did not know Batman was a sculptor, gifted by the G ods.”
“What?” both Dick and Wally reply, confused.
“His children,” Diana says, her tone giving away that she thinks they should understand that. When it becomes clear they don’t, she expands: “My mother brought a lump of clay before the Gods. She shaped me and breathed life into me. I assumed Batman had done the same, is that not so?”
It’s quiet for a moment as they process what the Amazonian princess just said. Then it takes every ounce of Dick’s training to say straight faced as he explains that humans don’t reproduce that way, while Wally just fails and breaks down in laughter.
By the time Diana understands, Hal has joined them, having wandered over to find out what they hell was happening over there.
He asks: “Spooky really had a bunch of kids? Somehow I can’t imagine him with a baby, like did he have batdiapers made?”
Amused Dick thinks about the last time he saw B hold a baby. Definitely better with kids older than four. So, he shakes his head and says: “Nah, he adopted.”
“That makes sense,” Wally agrees.
“So, he just found a bunch of highly competent kids?” Hal says, not buying it. “I mean, where would he even get them?”
Dick starts laughing immediately, because this has always been his favorite joke to make. However, his laughter prevents him from speaking, so for a second he looks insane, then he gleefully chokes out: “T- the- the circus !”
Wally punches his shoulder and says: “Don’t be a dick,” with an amused voice.
Naturally that only sends Dick into a further spiral and he can’t explain, both because he’s still laughing and because he doesn’t actually want to give their secret identities away. They’ve luckily changed topics by the time he’s gotten himself under control.
All in all, it is a win for once. No organization breaks out of the shadows to target them all and the hero community doesn’t suddenly turn against them. The only thing they forget, is that they never mentioned that Nightwing is also a Bat associate.
Dick has always tried to make Nigthwing outside of his association with the Batman, moving to a city and picking a theme and name far from Batman’s influence.
Bruce has learned over the course of many fights to respect that. And he values his relationship with his son enough that he does, especially when being protective – a thing all of them have at some point referred to as being overbearing.
So, when they’re talking about tying everyone to the Batman, they don’t think to make a plan for Nightwing too. Dick is a Bruce’s son and he’ll always help when Gotham needs it, but Nightwing is Blüdhaven’s vigilante, helping the Bat, but standing on his own.
Besides, he is a part of the Justice League like Batman is, they already know him. He doesn’t need to be revealed to them, he is them.
It’s a silly mistake. More an oversight than a mistake, really. And the good news, is that it doesn’t matter that much. The bad news, is that they don’t realize they’ve made the oversight until they’re in the Watchtower and it’s too late.
Bruce has finally decided everything died down enough that he can show his face again without being overrun. However, as an extra buffer, he has assigned himself monitor duty with Dick.
Sadly, Dick is a more social person than Bruce and he regularly shows up a little early so he can chat with whoever is there, before settling down at the monitors. So, if he wants to use Dick as a human shield – Bruce prefers social interaction lighting rod – then he’ll have to act now, use Dick as a distraction so he can sneak to the observation deck.
So, he travels with Dick to the Watchtower, the two of them appearing together as they discuss the latest drug smuggling case Dick has been working on. It’s been keeping him busy, so he hasn’t been on the Watchtower in a bit.
When they get to the cafeteria area where most heroes gather, Bruce stays half a step behind Dick, hoping one of his friends will spot him and he can make his escape. However, instead it seems like a few have stayed behind when they saw Batman was on duty just to talk to him.
“Batman,” Diana greets with a smile, coming his way as more people spot him. Curse you, Diana, for being earnest and nice enough that Bruce would feel bad disappearing on her.
“Wonder Woman,” he replies. Then he adds: “Flash,” because the man has come their way as well.
“Heya, Bats, Nightwing,” Wally greets. “Surprised to see you up here, finally decided that you couldn’t hide out in your cave forever? Or did the kids push you?”
Dick snorts at that and Bruce sends him a glare, not reacting. Clark is making his way over as well and he is not looking forward to that. No use in already embarrassing himself.
Clark reaches them, right as Diana smiles: “Yes, your children, Batman. I wanted to congratulate you on the fine warriors you’ve raised. Green Lantern showed me videos of their valor in battle, you must be very proud.”
“Hn,” Bruce grunts. Obviously he is proud of his kids, but he barely knows how to tell them that, he doesn’t know how to even begin this conversation.
“Come on, Batman,” Clark joins the conversation. “You can’t be quiet about them forever. We want to know about them, about you. They all popped up at the same time, it had to be coordinated, knowing you.”
“Yeah, man, brag a little,” Wally both teases and encourages.
Bruce only feels cornered now. He loves his kids and as Brucie he has no trouble bragging about them, knowing what to say and meaning every words of it.
He wants to tell them about Damian’s last art exhibit, how well Tim has been dealing with his vigilante life and the company, how well Steph has been doing in her classes and how much good Jason and Cass have been doing out on their own. He wants to tell them about how well Duke has been settling in at the Manor and in the family, how much Barbara has been helping the community from the library and how Dick has been making such a difference in Blüdhaven.
However, immediately, he shuts all those thoughts down. He made their connections known to protect them and every detail he gives away to these people, can only put them in danger again.
Of course he is also proud of their vigilantism, but talking about that, might show weaknesses, things they had to grow in. And that is also dangerous. Having them be mysteries is how he has always protected them, he doesn’t know how to be proud without the possibility of hurting them hanging over his head.
Fortunately, Dick doesn’t leave him hanging and serves as the social interaction lighting rod, Bruce hoped he’d be.
After a beat, Dick smiles widely and slings and arm around Bruce. He pulls him closer as he easily says: “Don’t worry about his grumpy exterior. That was his proud grunt. You learn to understand him. Right, B?” then he tugs on the cowl ear, something he has always done.
Bruce lets a small smile slip at that, because unlike what some people think, he does try to be a person sometimes. Like, Dick. Dick knows, which is why he squeezes his shoulder for a moment, a quiet support.
The moment is broken by the three around them, loudly wondering different things: “B?” “Since when are you so buddy-buddy?” “I did not know you were so close.”
Both startle back at the sudden explosion of noise, then look confused at the three heroes, aware of the eyes of everyone suddenly on them, before looking back at each other.
“What do you mean, B is my-” Dick starts, before suddenly realizing something. He turns to Bruce with wide eyes as he says: “Oh my god, we totally forgot to mention that you’re my dad too.”
“Hn,” Bruce says again, hating when it is shown that he’s not infallible, but human. Very human compared to the supers they surround them with.
Around them, it seems like everyone has fallen silent for a second. Busy comprehending. Then there is a repeat of before, with everyone falling over themselves to ask questions. They do so loudly and overlapping with each other, years of press conferences has taught both to stay quiet until they’ve sorted themselves out.
As expected, everyone quiet down after a bit when there are no immediate answers forthcoming. A reporter at heart, Clark pounces in the silence: “We never found any ties between Nightwing and Batman, not even going years back. How did you hide that?”
Dick laughs a little sheepishly: “I was going through my rebellious phase when I first started out, I didn’t want any of B’s interference when setting out on my own.”
“Wait, but if you didn’t start out together, then how did you get good? Did you get a vigilante starter kit or something?” Hal asks, coming over and dropping any pretenses that he hadn’t been eavesdropping.
“No, course not,” Dick snorts. “I was the first Robin. Got all my training before I even started with Nigthwing. B here had already taught me everything he knew.”
“Hn,” Bruce interjects.
“Well, practically everything,” Dick amends. “But I also learned stuff from some other people that he doesn’t know. So, same difference in the end.”
“Haven’t you been Nightwing for the past eight years, dude?” Wally asks, confused.
“Yeah? So?” Dick replies, because he has. He doesn’t know what that has to do with the conversation.
“How freaking old are you then?” Wally exclaims.
“I’m twenty-six,” Dick says.
Clark looks between them, then asks Bruce: “May I know how old you are then? Should you still be doing this?”
Bruce glares at him and says: “I’m thirty-eight, Superman. Not ancient.”
“Wait, thirty-eight? That’s only twelve years apart,” Wally quickly calculates.
“That is way too young to have a kid, Bats,” Hal whistles, a bit disturbed.
“I didn’t become his father when I was twelve, Lantern,” Bruce grouches, already dreading the next two hours that he’s going to be stuck here.
“Oh, yeah, adoption,” Hal says apologetically, cringing slightly at himself.
“Is that too young?” Diana asks, innocently.
“Yes, way too young,” Bruce grits, before anyone else can answer her.
“Uh-huh,” Dick nods. Then he suddenly says: “Twelve years. I never thought of it like that. Are we really that little apart? You seem so old in my memories, but that’s even less than me and Little D.”
“Well, I imagine perception warps things,” Bruce says. “A twenty-one year old must seem like quite the adult when you’re nine.”
“I suppose.”
“Okay, so you were adopted when you were nine?” Wally says. “When did you start being Robin. I know the current one is like twelve or some shit, but nine is way too young to be running around fighting crime.”
Neither Dick nor Bruce respond to that, both giving each other a glance. Their lack of response tells everyone there enough.
“What the Hell, Batman – pardon my French,” Clark exclaims. “A lot of us have sidekicks, but to start training someone that young. And without precedence?”
“To send a child onto the battlefield is frowned upon,” Diana agrees, more echoing her disapproving look.
Again, Bruce feels cornered. He has never been comfortable with his kids putting themselves in danger. G-d, knows he isn’t, especially after Jason.
However, if he hadn’t equipped them and trained them, they would have been out there anyway and that would have been way more dangerous. But to explain that, feels like giving excuses, when he knows it isn’t a great thing to be doing.
Dick steps in again, diffusing by saying: “Hey, hey, lay off him for a bit. It’s not like he had much of a say in it. If I hadn’t become Robin, I would’ve committed murder at nine and spend the rest of my days in juvie.”
Record scratch. Pause.
Another silence.
Another explosion.
The loudest among them is Wally, who is arguably Nightwing’s best friend and thought he knew the guy pretty well before this, exclaiming: “What the hell, man.”
This time, it is Bruce, who steps in for Dick. He says: “We have all been in dark places and bad stuff has happened to all of us. Let’s not judge a kid, who just suffered a loss. It was a temporary anger, you’ve all seen the kind of hero he is, the type of man he has become.”
A beat of silence passes, before Dick jokes: “See, told you that was his proud grunt,” though Bruce can hear the layer of emotion he attempts to hide with it.
Luckily the others drop it too, letting the moment pass. Wally just says: “Damn, just when I think I’m getting to know you, you’re just another mystery.”
“I’m like an onion,” Dick smiles. “Layers.”
Wally groans as Hal says: “Really? Shrek?” which launches them into a discussion about the movie and its merits.
Meanwhile, Bruce is getting pinned by Diana and Clark, they gazes preventing him from walking away.
“You didn’t say anything about being related to Nightwing when he was voted in,” Clark comments.
“I voted for him,” Bruce replies.
“You know that is not the same, Batman,” Diana says kindly.
“Nightwing is his own vigilante,” Bruce says. “He has worked hard to come out from my shadow. I trust him to make it on his own. My vote was based on his work, just like it always will be. It’s not like I didn’t vote for anyone else.”
“Hm, maybe,” Clark agrees. “But you’re keeping secrets.”
“I always have,” Bruce shoots right back.
“About your identity, we can respect that, but Clark is right,” Diana says. “This isn’t just your private life, this also impacts us. Your other kids aren’t in the League, but Nightwing works with us. We would have liked to know. Can you imagine if we learned about it, because something happened to you out there? Or vise versa?”
Bruce doesn’t like to think about anything happening to Dick, but he can imagine the reverse wouldn’t have been very pretty. “Hn.”
Clark says: “You’re allowed to keep secrets, Batman, we won’t force you. But haven’t we proven ourselves to be your friends? You can let us in. Keep us in the loop.”
Precisely because they are his friends, they can become a danger. People close to him are the ones that will be used to target him, he can’t just risk his kids like that. However, he doesn’t think having that conversation will help, so he says nothing once more.
Diana sighs at that, a bit defeated, making a little bit of guilt churn in his gut (though not enough to risk giving anything away).
Clark asks: “At least tell us if you’re hiding another kid somewhere.”
“I will,” he says, because it is the least he can do. Though he mentally adds the caveat; if it is relevant for the job. He tries to ignore the stab in his heart when Clark and Diana give him a big grin in response.
Before he can give it further thought, the conversation is interrupted by Dick, who calls out: “Get a move on, B. We still have monitor duty.”
He is smiling, surrounded by his friends. Friends he made on his own. He looks happy. Confident. A good young man. One that stands on his own, yet knows he’s not by himself. Bruce can’t find it in him to feel guilty about giving Dick the space to become that person. Not when they both had to grow as people to get there.
They were the first two costumed vigilantes the world knew, even if they haunted the shadows for most of their time as a duo. The two of them are older than heroes. Older than the League. They have enough experience to asses the risks themselves.
Besides, Bruce can privately admit that everyone’s reactions have been kind of funny. He’s sure Dick and his other kids agree. If he knows them well enough, t hey’re probably watching on a feed Barbara pulled up, laughing at them and gathering more blackmail. Maybe he’ll do it all again, if he ever adopts another kid.
Though, he doesn’t let any of that show, just keeping his face neutral as he goes to join Dick for their monitor duty.
He hears Hal whisper: “Teach me how you got away with saying that,” and knows it’s going to be a long two hours.