“I heard what happened to you earlier.” Tim commented as he lowered himself front of the bat-computer. Dick left hours earlier, returning to his duties as Nightwing for Bludhaven.
“More the reason why he should be taken out for patrol duty.” Terry reasoned as he plopped down in the main seat. Since Tim’s arm was out of commission, he would help him with the keyboard. “At least you can rest easy without having the threat of him lingering over you.”
“I’m surprise that you haven’t even gotten a scratch on you.” Tim said as he typed in the pass code with one hand.
“Unlike you, I wasn’t fighting him or even trying to talk to him.” Terry retorted. “Would you mind if I catch up on the news first?”
“News? Why?” He asked.
“I’m more comfortable with knowing about the events occurring around me.” Terry said as he pulled multiple news reports from the past few months.
“Let me guess, it was something they made you do while you were in Cadmus.” Tim watched Terry while the other read. The boy showed no facial change as his eyes sped through the lines. “Conner spoke about you a lot when he first joined the titans. Mentioned about how you’re always surrounded by computers showing news and piles of documents from who knows what assignments.”
“And?” Terry responded not tearing his eyes from the screen.
It was harder than he originally thought trying to get Terry to speak with him. It reminded him of talking to Batman. “You’re not curious to why he was depressed? From what you said earlier, you’ve never seen him depressed.”
“Considering he used to run crying to me for breaking a door, I can’t say I’m surprised.” He commented.
“… Wait, he went crying to you?” Tim found himself grinning at this tidbit.
“Is there a problem with that?” Terry asked as switched to the next article.
“No.” Tim said in amusement. “But you’re not curious at all?”
“If you want to tell me so badly, just tell me.” He said dryly, not bothering to look at him.
“He was brainwashed.” He said carefully.
“XIII was trained to resist against—”
“It was a set of verbal commands implanted into his mind early during his production.” Tim interrupted before the younger boy paused.
“Who planted it?” Terry asked calmly.
“Lex Luthor.” Tim answered.
“I see…” Terry murmured and resumed reading. “No doubt, the man used XIII against your Teen Titans and the Justice League? I recall him saying he broke your arm, not the one Damian just broke, is it?”
“It’s not.” Tim said, finding it almost irritating that Terry could change the topic so casually and with such ease. He was attempting to pry for information about Cadmus again when the Justice League called.
“Batman, we have a situation.” Green Lantern’s came through.
“What is it?” Terry responded before Tim could tell him Batman wasn’t there. The man turned off his com-link in order to deal with Damian.
“Are you okay? You sound… Never mind.” Tim raised a brow, Terry sounded nothing like Batman. “We attempted to have Dr. Fate use Flash as a connection to find Grodd.”
“And?” He said before quickly pulling out his little hard drive and plugging it into the bat computer. Within seconds, he pulled up files of Flash and later Grodd from his rogues’ gallery. Tim gapped in surprise that the boy had such information at his disposal.
“Er… Somehow, Flash and Lex Luthor’s mind swapped in the process. He’s holding a technician hostage demanding to be sent back to earth.”
“Then let him kill the technician.” He replied bluntly. “Just make sure you catch him after he does.”
“… WHAT?” The man said in disbelief.
“We don’t kill!” Tim hissed.
“It’s too dangerous to have Luthor loose on earth with Flash’s body. Let him kill the technician.” His comment brought outrage from both sides.
“Are you out of your mind?” Green Lantern shouted at him.
Amongst the furious shouts, a familiar laughter brought silence to them all. “You Leaguers are fools to not have noticed that’s not Batman you’re talking to. Batman would never condone to killing. I would think you would know your own people well enough.” He recognized the voice as the man that saved him from pneumonia months earlier in Central, but with the tone and style he spoke in, he recognized it as President Lex Luthor.
“… That’s right, he would never kill anyone, no matter how terrible they are.” Green Lantern agreed.
Terry’s eyes narrowed as he spoke clearly. “I never claimed to be Batman. They called for assistance and I merely offered my advice to them. Whether or not they take it, it’s their choice. Though, I am curious to why Mr. President would be associating with criminals such as Grodd.”
“Wait… I know this tone…” The man growled. “You’re the Voice!”
A blast and conflict came through the speakers. “Damn it! He’s loose on the Watch Tower!”
“The Voice! What did you do to Batman?” Green Lantern demanded.
“You should be more worried about what’s happening in your Watch Tower. From what I’m hearing, Luthor can cause massive damage to the Watch Tower and the Justice League, considering he has Flash’s body. I suggest you to get rid of any food source. With Flash’s fast metabolism, the moment he uses up his energy, he’ll need to refuel. And it sounds like you’ve blown up the teleporter he was trying to use. I would keep a close guard on whatever remaining transports you have on the Watch Tower.”
There was a short pause, signaling that the man was thinking on the other side. “… Fine, I’ll take your advice for now.”
“If you still have trouble detaining him, I suggest turning off your gravity regulating system. Flash requires gravity for his powers to work best. However, knowing Luthor, he’s resourceful. It’s likely he’ll find a way to adapt and still use Flash’s powers somehow. In that case, resume the gravity field. At the speed he’ll be attempting, it’s likely he’ll knock himself out. If not, he’ll be winded enough for you to detain him.”
Tim wanted to intervene when Green Lantern seemed like he was going to blow a gasket. Instead, he decided to watch how Terry managed the situation. Since the boy was unwilling to tell him anything about himself, the next best thing would be watching him work. With how absorbed Terry was it was likely he was working on trained impulses. His orders were clear and direct; his hands were quick, moving from one file to another. There were twenty different files open on the screen, all information on the Flash and blue prints of the Watch Tower.
There was no video feed of the events occurring on the Watch Tower, but they could hear the conflict and chaos reigning. Luthor was an intelligent man, planting traps and using the advantage of Flash’s speed to travel from one place to another, exploiting the speed force to blow away his obstacles.
“He latched onto something whenever we throw off the gravity regulation system.” The man now identified as Mr. Terrific said. Luthor expected his suggestion of using the gravity against him.
“Hmph.” Luthor snorted. “Pathetic, the league degraded to taking advice from one of my cast-offs.”
“This coming from a man with unhealthy obsession over Superman?” Terry retorted.
“I do not have an obsession over Superman!” Luthor snapped back.
“For the past decade and a half, Lex Corp has been developing weapons mainly to deal against Superman. In addition, countless millions were spent during those years obtaining any kryptonite available on earth. In doing so, you’ve developed cancer from over exposure to kryptonite radiation. On those circumstances and some others, you needed Superman to save you.”
“Shut up!” Luthor snapped.
“More recently, you’ve spent over seventy-five million on your presidential campaign in order to infuriate the man. And while you were president, you had access to Cadmus. You’ve funded for a restart of the Superman cloning projects that was discontinued for over a year. You’ve donated your own DNA sample in order to create a hybrid clone of Superman. I believe your obsession is quite serious, Mr. President.” Terry said almost condescendingly.
“Nonsense!” Luthor snarled. “I would like nothing more then to destroy the man! This obsession you speak of is utter nonsense!”
“And yet, you technically have created what some would consider to be a son with the man. I don’t think this is nonsense as you call it Mr. President. I believe you are unhealthily infatuated with Superman. If you’re looking to start a relationship with the man of steel, I’m afraid you have competition with Ms. Lane.” Terry concluded before a deafening silence came over them. Fortunately, someone on the Watch Tower end used the distraction as a chance to knock out Luthor.
“We got him.” Lantern’s voice came through a moment later. “Dr. Fate will reverse the procedure and we should be able to get Flash back.”
“Then my assistance is no longer required. I suggest that you warn Superman of Mr. Luthor’s unhealthy interest in him. Good day.” Terry said before turning off the connection.
Tim burst into laughter not a moment later. He hugged his sides with his good arm and shook with laughter. The cave echoed with his mirth. He was laughing so hard that he had trouble staying in his seat. Terry had done everything in short of calling Luthor a fan boy.
“Oh my god.” Tim continued to laugh. “You’ve got to tell me you recorded that.”
“If you continue laugh like that, you’ll rip your stitches and reopen your wound.” Terry warned him. His unintended pun of gut busting humor drove the teen wonder into a heavier fit of laughter.
“Ow, haha!” Tim winced at the stab of pain in his side, but he couldn’t stop laughing.
Terry made a few quick strokes to close his files and unplugged his hard drive. He was going to get Alfred to help Tim, when another call came in. He recognized the area code for Kansas. It was likely his fellow project calling. “XIII.” He greeted.
“Hey Beyond! Tim didn’t call back so I…” Conner paused. “Is that Tim laughing in pain in the background?”
“I believe so.” Terry said dryly.
“What’d you do to him? He normally doesn’t laugh even around the Titans. You sure you’re genetics isn’t part Joker?” He asked.
Terry narrowed his eyes as he became silent. To be compared to the Joker was not something he tolerated. “Don’t… ever… joke about that.” He said coolly as he enunciated each word.
Conner squeaked, he was familiar with Terry’s tempers. While his fellow project does not visually show his displeasure, he could tell very well that he was furious when he pauses before drawing out each word. “N-no wait! I take it—!” Terry hung up before the other could defend himself. He hopped off his chair and went in search for the old butler. He could see blood seeping through the bandages under Tim’s robes.
“Master Terry?” Alfred asked when he spotted him walking out of the study.
“Tim’s wound opened up again. I couldn’t get him to stop laughing.”
Alfred was quick to follow him down to the cave. “My gracious! What on earth can be so hilarious that you would laugh until your wounds opened up again! Now I have to re-stitch your stitching!”
“S-sorry Alfred.” Tim attempted to stifle his laughter but failed. Alfred needed a small tranq-gun to settle him down. Slowly his laughter died down and he drifted off to sleep again. Alfred used the time to redo his stitches and bandage up his wounds.
“Now Master Terry, if he’s to fall into another fit of laughter like this, I give you permission to tranquilize him.” Alfred said before handing him the small tranq-gun. “Would you mind taking care of this mess while I bring Master Tim back to his own room?”
“It’s not a problem Alfred.” He said as the old butler grabbed a wheelchair and wheeled Tim back to his room.
With the two gone, Terry took it as his chance to explore the cave and add new equipment to his small arsenal of tools. Among the many things he found in the cave, he acquired bugs that he slipped into Tim’s utility belt. It was unlikely he would be able to leave Gotham anytime soon, but Tim on the other hand would return to the Titans when he recovered. It would be informative to see what goes on about XIII’s life as a Teen Titan. The remaining bugs, he planned to place on Damian when he returned.
He used his free time to hack into parts of the bat-computer and saving an organized share of it into his hard drive. He will compare the information between his and Batman’s for optimum accuracy. The small device held over three hundred terabytes of space, and a portion of it was used for security to protect said files. He would have liked to spend more time on the bat-computer, but the remaining time he had prior to Batman and his brother’s return was used to study the layout of the manor and the many levels of the cave.
o.o.o.o.o
“I’m only allowing you to come on patrol with me if you abide by my rules.” Batman said as they towered over Gotham’s skylights. He had wanted to give the boy the speech when he went after Talia, but Terry’s reasoning had kept him from doing so. “We don’t kill.”
“…” Damian remained quiet, listening to his every word as he followed.
“Our way is stronger, and more disciplined than the way of the assassins. It requires more skill. Do I have your word that you will not kill during any point of our patrol time?”
“Yeah…” Damian grunted, trying to hide his irritation that Terry had said something similar the night before. “…You said I’ll be staying with you longer, what happened to your meeting with mother?”
“… Nothing, just a conflict of interests. Would you have preferred to stay with your mother instead?” He asked.
“Hell no!” Damian grounded out. “I said I wanted to help you father! I’m not going back! I’ll prove to you that I can do it!”
His father gave him a pointed stare before a scream caught their attention. “AH! My purse! Somebody!” A woman screeched.
“Catch the thief. If you do it correctly, I’ll think about it.” He replied.
Damian rolled his eyes as if asking if the man was serious, but since it was Batman, he knew better. “I just can’t kill him right?”
“No severe maiming either.” The dark knight added before the boy sighed and jumped down below with a secure grappling line.
Damian took down the thief with ease, but ended up breaking the man’s hand to retrieve the purse. He cursed under his breath irritably as his father came down. “I didn’t kill him!” He snapped.
His father gave him another look, showing him he was displeased by his performance. “Go return the bag to the woman.” He ordered.
Grudgingly he took the bag, while his father tied up the crook. But he didn’t hand the bag back to the woman. He chucked it at her head and knocked the woman to the ground. Another glare from his father, he gave an annoyed sigh before apologizing to the woman.
“Again.” The dark knight said when they moved to another location and spotted common criminals attempting to break into a jewelry store.
Like before Damian performed spectacularly, if not for his tendency to maim the criminals. Batman could see that the boy was trying his best, but his training from the League of Assassins was prominent in his attacks. He was trained to kill, he wasn’t meant for this line of work. At least he hadn’t killed anyone yet.
“DAMN IT!” Damian cursed again when he broke the crook’s arm.
It was going to be a long night, and Batman could only endure it patiently as his son adapted to a no killing style. They continued for hours before returning to the cave. It wasn’t time for the sun to rise, but it was still early morning when they returned. Terry waited patiently for them when they stepped out of the bat-mobile.
“How was your patrol?” Terry greeted when they approached.
“Where’s Tim and why are you still awake?” His father ignored his greeting all together.
“Tim reopened his wounds earlier, Alfred is treating him. I offered to stay awake to assist you when you return.” Terry replied.
“Reopened his wounds? What was he doing?” He narrowed his eyes with a frown.
“Laughing. Personally, I don’t find it all too funny with what he was laughing about.” He replied before glancing at his brother. “How was patrolling the city?”
“Hmph.” Damian smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Obviously pleased that he was allowed to patrol with their father as Robin, while Terry stayed behind.
“Not really.” Terry responded nonchalantly. “I believe its common courtesy to ask.” Damian lost his smirk as he glared holes into his brother’s head.
Batman interrupted before it could escalate into a fight. “Enough, both of you should be in bed.”
“What about your equipment?” Terry asked.
“What did Alfred tell you?” He asked.
“Take your costume to his workstation if it has any rip or tears and put away whatever equipment that wasn’t damaged. I said I’d do it for him so he could get some rest. He’s probably been up longer then any of us.”
“Fine. Damian, leave your equipment and go to bed. I’ll come up and check on you later.” Their father ordered.
“Yes father.” Damian muttered darkly before heading up the steps.
The rest hadn’t taken long. Terry done what he promised while Bruce went over to the medic bay to retrieve medical supplies to treat the minor injuries on his person. Terry used it as a chance to slip another bug into the inner ear of the cowl. It would serve to inform him when his father returns from his nightly patrols in the future. He made sure it wouldn’t be noticeable or discovered by Alfred or Batman, even if they were to manhandle the cowl.
“Are you done?” Bruce asked as he returned to the equipment storage buttoning up a shirt as he came.
“All completed.” Terry replied looking up at the man.
“Now go to bed.” He said as he ruffled his hair, ushering him to leave the cave with him. That motion would have normally annoyed him, but it felt warm and comforting when his father did so.
Of course, he wasn’t distracted from what he planned. He planted a bug at Damian’s door and his window. If his homicidal brother tried getting out of his room either way, he would be alerted. There was still the matter of bugging Damian personally. He needed to know the location of his brother at all times, at least until he familiarize himself with the whole manor, but for now, he’ll settle with the location bugs. He managed three hours of sleep before the bugs alerted him of Damian’s departure from his room at exactly 0800 hours. He was up and about, readied when Damian entered his room.
“Good morning.” Terry greeted from the shadows when Damian slipped towards the bed with his sword, surprisingly still in his sheath.
“How did you know I was coming?” Damian’s eyes narrowed at the shadows where Terry was hiding in earlier.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Terry gave a light-hearted reply with a generic smile, repeating what the older Wayne said earlier in the cave.
“Enough!” Damian snarled before swinging his sheathed blade at his brother. It was not as deadly with the sheath on, but the momentum and skill Damian possessed would leave a painful bruise or a concussion had it landed.
Terry pulled out his RSS flashlight to redirect the blow before slipping out of his room once again. His door pushed out rather in, giving Damian no chance to slamming it shut. With more space to move about, Terry made an effort to have Damian chase him rather than face him in direct combat as he done in his room.
“You do know having your blade sheathed isn’t going to kill me.” Terry taunted as he rounded the corner.
“I don’t need to kill you, I just need to beat you close to death!” He snarled.
Damian recognized it as a similar tactic he used earlier the previous day and rebounded off the wall for the incoming batarang.
Instead of a batarang coming at him, it was a dart. He raised his blade to block, knocking the dart onto the ground. Glancing at the floor, he noticed it was a tranquilizer dart. He spared no more time has he hurried after his brother.
“The servant is not in the kitchen if you’re heading there! He won’t be able to call for help!” Damian shouted.
Terry didn’t respond as he jumped over the banister of the upper level and landed on the living room couch. Rebounding off the couch, he tossed black orbs about. The orbs exploded with smoke and lights; they were smoke and gas bombs. The bombs didn’t faze Damian in the least, but that wasn’t what Terry was using them for. He used them for the noise it created. Unfortunately, before they could continue, the doorbell halted their fight.
“Who on earth visits father this early in the morning?” Damian glares at the sound.
Noticing the older boy was distracted; Terry tossed another smoke bomb before taking off down another hall. If there were guests, they must hide. It would be pointless to reason with the older boy. This way, he’ll get them both out of sight before their father comes down and see the mess they made out of the manor. Unfortunately, they hadn’t gotten far when they were pulled off their feet by the collars of their clothing. Glaring at them was one highly irritated and sleep deprived Bruce Wayne.
“Good morning.” Terry greeted.
“Do I want to know why the two of you are already up and wreaking my manor?” The man said darkly.
“I was helping Damian with his training.” Terry lied brightly. “He’s not supposed to kill right?”
“… Training.” Bruce droned, obviously not believing his lie. Damian gave him a similar look as if asking if he was that much of a dunce that their father would believe such a poorly thought out lie.
“He hasn’t killed me yet, has he?” He said almost cheerfully.
“…” That answer took Bruce off guard, never before was there a child in his care that would lie so outrageously. He was about to hand out the punishments justly when his guests interrupted him.
“Sir, Miss Diana and Miss Shyera are here to see you.” Alfred informed him as he brought the two women in.
“… Planning on redecorating?” Shyera drawled as she glanced about the chaotic mess of the living room.
“Did we catch you on a bad time Bruce?” Diana asked hesitantly.
“No, it’s fine.” Bruce reassured them.
“Right… with you still in your sleepwear. I’m quite sure everything is fine.” Shyera said sardonically.
“… Terry can you escort our guests to the kitchen… if you and Damian haven’t destroyed it yet.” Bruce lowered the boy the ground.
“Of course.” Terry said before turning to the women with a disarming grin. “This way please.” He gave a courteous flourish of a hand and led them to the kitchen.
“Alfred, take Damian to his room.” He gave a pointed glare to the boy as he lowered him to the ground as well. “I’ll talk with you later.”
“Certainly sir.” Alfred said before placing a hand on Damian’s shoulder and ushering the boy towards the stairs.
While Bruce rushed back to his room to change out of his silk pajamas, Terry was catering to his two guests. Both he recognized as Wonder Woman and Hawk Girl respectively. The two were bewildered by his and Damian’s presence.
“Would either of you like a drink while you wait? I would offer breakfast, but I can’t really cook.” He leaned heavily on his childish façade as he spoke.
“No thanks, but thanks for offer.” Diana said as she studied him curiously.
“Are you Wonder Woman and Hawk Girl?” His fake innocence startled the two.
“… Why do you ask?” Diana responded.
“I saw pictures of the both of you on TV!” He said in excitement. “You two are from the Justice League! You’re heroes!”
“But keep it to yourself kid.” Shyera said with a wry grin at his energy.
“So why are you here? Hmm… wait! I know! You’re looking for Batman! Since you’re in Gotham!” He kept his words childish.
“Yes… we are,” Diana said gently. “Terry, is it?”
“Uh huh!” He nodded his head.
“I haven’t seen you here before. Are you a relative of Alfred’s?” She asked.
“Hmm…” He shrugged. “OH! Do you like Batman Miss Diana?”
The woman flushed at his question. “W-what?”
“Do—you—like—Batman?” He repeated.
“I-I…” The woman looked away blushing.
“I’ll take that as a yes. You should definitely go after him!” He suggested.
“… Aren’t you a little young to be giving romantic advice?” Shyera frowned.
“Maybe I am a little young.” He dropped his cheer, his eyes iced over as he spoke seriously. “But I don’t believe there is an age requirement to extract proper vengeance if she is to hurt Batman in any manner.”
“Pardon?” Diana stared at him in disbelief.
“But I trust you won’t be hurting him anytime soon.” Terry chirped, putting up the façade again. “Are you certain you don’t want refreshments?”
“Terry.” Bruce said as he walks into the kitchen, now out of his sleepwear. “Go help Alfred with the mess you made.”
“Of course Mr. Wayne.” He replied before leaving the room.
“Strange kid you got there.” Shyera commented as she crossed her arms. “I think he’s protective of you.”
“Is there a reason for your visit?” He ignored her quip about his newest charge.
“We were just coming to check if you were all right. John said that the Voice was using your systems when he called last night.” Diana answered.
Bruce’s eyes narrowed. “He what?”
“He would have come himself, but there was an incident on the Watch Tower.” Diana continued.
“Excuse me for a moment Diana.” He said before turning his heel towards the door. “Terry!”
The two women watched curiously as the odd boy returned to the room with a broom in his hand. “Is there something wrong?” He gave an innocent look at he walked in.
“You were on my computer last night?” He glared.
“Tim was with me, I had his permission.” Terry defended himself.
“And you impersonated me?” The older man growled.
“I never said I was you, they just assumed I was.” He argued. “It’s not my problem that they can’t tell between a child and Batman. I don’t even have a voice changer this time!”
“Bruce.” Diana placed a hand on his shoulder. “He didn’t do anything wrong.” The man glanced at her, his eyes demanding an explanation. “While we were gone yesterday, Dr. Fate attempted to use Flash to find a connection to Grodd, but accidentally swapped Flash’s mind with Luthor’s. He actually helped a great deal by advising John and the others what to do, while he distracted Luthor long enough for them to swap back.”
Bruce glanced at the small boy for a moment, he showed no regret or remorse.“… Go back to help Alfred. We will talk about it later.”
“Yes, Mr. Wayne.” He said before dragging himself back out to help Alfred.
“That boy is the Voice?” Shyera asked in disbelief once Beyond was out of sight. “Hard to believe Cadmus trusted a child with guarding the Justice League.”
“And how did John mistake him for me? The boy did say he was not using a voice changer of any sort.”
“We weren’t there, so we’re not too sure ourselves. John was the one there, talking with him.” Diana added. “But he did say the boy sounded a lot like you in mannerisms. It reminded him of what happened when we were de-aged, a few years ago.”
“There is still the question, why he’s living with you… Is there something you want to tell us?” Shyera asked as she crossed her arms.
“Remember Clark’s boy?” He asked. The two women nodded. “He broke him out and Cadmus is after his blood for deserting and betraying them.”
“…So you took him into your care.” Diana concluded.
o.o.o.o.o
Terry returned to the living room while Bruce entertained his guests. Alfred glanced up with a smile when he spotted the boy returning.
“Are you having trouble Master Terry?” The old butler asked as he approached.
“I can handle cleaning.” He murmured as he cleaned. Interestingly enough, despite of the threat the butler posed to him, he found himself at ease with the man.
“That wasn’t what I was asking, young master.” He said drawing a curious glance from the boy. “You’ve never had to deal with people on a regular basis have you? When you had, you normally lie and put up a childish front.”
“…” Terry was silent. It was the truth and he didn’t know how to respond to it.
“You were lying again earlier and a poor one at that. I know you are aware of Master Bruce’s intelligence, this makes me believe you’re having trouble adjusting… or more likely, trusting us.” Alfred concluded. “You’re falling back on your training to lie and deceive in order to protect yourself.”
“Mr. Wayne said I need to help you clean.” He changed the subject as he continued to sweep up the mess.
“If you are disturbed by Master Damian, you could inform us. You needn’t fend for yourself. It won’t affect the status of your stay here. Master Bruce will not back from his offer of sanctuary to you.” Alfred said.
“… I know. He’s a man of his word.” Terry said.
“I’m glad you are aware of that Master Terry. I do hope you will be able to trust us in the future. After all, you are family.” Alfred said before he resumed his work. “You should really get use to calling him father.”
“… I’ll try…” Terry murmured. He truly wanted to call the man his father, since he obviously was, but he felt uncomfortable with it.
It took Terry and Alfred two hours to clean up the mess. During that time, Diana and Shyera left claiming they had duties to attend to back at the Watch Tower. He wasn’t worried that the women found out he was the Voice. Neither of them have a civilian identity, they spend most of their time either on the Watch Tower or out on missions. They wouldn’t have time to blab about his identity.
“Why did you decide to help them?” Bruce asked later that day in the cave, he canceled his meetings in Wayne Tech due to their morning fiasco.
“I did offer you my services in exchange for sanctuary.” Terry murmured in his seat.
“And I said you didn’t need to.” Bruce said evenly.
“… I’m not trying to infiltrate your Justice League if that’s what you’re accusing me of. ”
“I’m not accusing you of anything.” The man continued. “I know you have some trouble adjusting.”
“You spoke with Alfred.” Terry concluded.
“Yes, I have.” He replied. “And I spoke with Tim about what you did yesterday.”
“What punishment will it be?” He asked, not wanting to drag it out any longer than necessary. From his experience in Cadmus, if a mistake is made or protocols were broken, punishment was to be expected.
“I will not punish you for doing a good deed.” The man interrupted. “But I would prefer that you tell me that you’re doing these things rather than keeping me in the dark. You know well enough from your experiences how crucial information is.”
“…” No punishment. That was not what he expected. “…But, I broke your protocols…”
“I can’t say I know entirely how Cadmus works, but I think I can say that I work differently compared to them. You don’t have to fear punishment from me, unless you have truly done something to deserve it.” He said carefully as he watched the small boy. “I know you still have trouble trusting us, but we will help you however we can.”
Terry stared at the older man for a moment before quietly murmuring, “… I kept a recording of the call if you want to listen to it.”
The corner of Bruce’s lips twitched up before he decided to pull out his hard drive and pull out the file for him. He was curious to the piece of hardware Terry was carrying around with him, but he’ll have to refrain from asking about it, at least until the boy was more comfortable with him.
“Batman, we have a situation.” Green Lantern’s voice echoed the cave again as the two listened to the conversation.
Throughout the recording, the two studied one another, watching for the slightest movements. Terry hadn’t twitched a muscle on for the duration, but Bruce on the other hand started from calm features to a frown, and then later narrowed his eyes at Terry for suggesting them to let the technician die. As the recording continued, he slowly relaxed listening to the orders Terry directed to the leaguers. When they reached the conversation with Luthor, the man’s lips twitched up in wry smile.
“And yet, you technically have created what some would consider to be a son with the man. I don’t think this is nonsense as you call it Mr. President. I believe you are unhealthily infatuated with Superman.”
Bruce chuckled. His rich laughter echoed into the cave, giving it a more lively sound than usual. Seeing his father laughing started to worry him, what was so funny? Would he laugh like Tim, until he hurts himself?
Fortunately, unlike Tim his father settled down almost as immediate as he started. Even so, the man kept the smile on his face as it ended. It was strange, to see the shifting emotions in a person. He was taught that showing emotions was something that betrayed your motives to the enemies. It was something you couldn’t risk, something you needed to hide from the world. But the man before him, the man he respected the most, was showing his emotions, while not freely, he was open enough to share it with him.
Maybe… it’s okay? He thought as a hesitant smile graced his lips and he shared a smile with his father.
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