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Bruce didn’t know it at the time, but taking in Dick was probably one of the best days of his life. For the first time in years, Wayne Manor felt alive, and its occupants relished in the feeling. The halls were filled with joyous laughter as Dick cartwheeled down them. Any room Dick bounded into instantly grew warmer. Long-settled shadows receded, bringing new light into the Manor.
Alfred smiled more.
For the first time since the night his parents had died, Bruce felt like he was living again. He had spent so long just surviving, he had almost forgotten the feeling.
The years they spent fighting crime as the Dynamic Duo were memories Bruce would always cherish. Despite it ending on not-so-great terms, Bruce still loved Dick. So when his boy went off on his own, he supported him however he could.
He was glad when Dick formed a new team of heroes. He always felt bad about not introducing Dick to the Justice League, but he still could not bring himself to do it. Watching the absolute devastation a brainwashed Superman could bring in a matter of seconds only made Bruce more resolute. The Justice League would never know who he was, and they would never know that which he loved most. It was the only way to protect those he loved (and maybe himself too).
Dick didn’t have the same convictions as him, and revealed his identity to his friends. Bruce was surprised, however, by their loyalty. They never shared Dick’s—and in turn, his—identity to their mentors. He never heard a peep about Dick from the other League members except for “the leader of the Titans” and “Nightwing” when Dick finally moved on from Robin. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so surprised, considering it was Dick.
As time went on, Bruce took new children in. He loved. He lost. He regained what he lost. It wasn’t easy, but Bruce wouldn’t trade what he had for the world. Bruce thought his life—and his family—couldn’t get better.
And then his granddaughter was born.
Dick had talked about the Tamaranian girl a lot when she first joined the Titans. Bruce had thought it would just be a passing fling, but as the years went by, Bruce realized just how serious it was. The day Dick announced that Starfire was pregnant really hammered it home, but Bruce couldn’t have been happier. He would have been perfectly fine waiting a few more years so that he wouldn’t be a grandfather before 40, but he couldn’t deny the way his heart soared when he heard the news.
Little Mar’i Grayson was spoiled to her heart’s desire, of course. And not just by Bruce. She had a group of aunts and uncles who would tear the world apart for her, not to mention the honorary aunts and uncles from the Titans.
He still never shared his family with the Justice League. They had fought in countless battles over the years, but every time Bruce felt like maybe it was time to finally take his trust to the next step, something would happen that would remind him of the destruction the League could bring down on his family. It irked his children to no end that they could not meet their heroes, but they understood.
They would do anything to protect the family.
Batman resisted the urge to check the time. Superman had called a meeting while Dick and Mar’i were visiting in Gotham, and it was eating into the time he could be spending with his granddaughter. He was supposed to be watching her while Dick was out with some of his siblings, but he had to call Tim to cover for him. He was not happy about it.
The rest of the League could sense his sour mood, but no one was willing to confront him on it. He overheard Flash and Green Lantern whispering about potential theories, but he ignored them. He just wanted to get through this meeting as fast as possible so he could go show Mar’i his mother’s garden as he had promised.
“Onto my final point—” Superman started, and Batman barely had time to think ‘finally’ before the intruder alarm suddenly went off.
The heroes stood and quickly made their way to the zeta room. Superman and Flash were the first to arrive but stopped at the strange sight before them.
A little girl, no older than four years old, was staring around at the transporter room in wonder. She had black hair and vibrantly green eyes and was wearing a Superman t-shirt, shorts, and little light-up Wonder Woman shoes with velcro straps. She was also holding a teddy bear dressed up as Batman. She froze as she made eye contact with the two heroes.
“Um, hello there,” Superman said, crouching down. “Who might you be?”
The girl scowled and backed up several steps. “Not s'pose to talk to st’angers.”
“Yeah, I bet,” Flash replied, also crouching down and holding out his hands in front of him. “But, you know, we’re not just any strangers. We’re heroes. Do you recognize this symbol?” He pointed to the lightning bolt on his chest.
The little girl nodded, and Flash was just about to ask where she came from and how she got on the Watchtower when the rest of the League ran into the room. The girl’s eyes widened as she noticed Batman, and Barry was just about to reassure her that Batman was a hero too and wasn’t as scary as he seemed when the little girl beamed and shouted “G’ampa!” before floating off the ground and flying into Batman’s arms.
The other heroes stood, shocked, as the girl sat in Batman’s arms as if she belonged there and babbled at the Bat.
“G’ampa! G’ampa! Where are we? Can we see G’amma’s garden now? What was da funny light? It was tickly!” The little girl giggled and cuddled up to Batman.
And to the League’s further shock, Batman smiled (it was just a quirk of the lips but it was so much more than they had ever really seen) and hefted the girl onto his hip. “Mar’i, where’s your uncle?”
“Unca Timmy had to go potty.”
“And he left you alone?” Bruce knew Tim was working on upgrading the zeta tube in the Cave while watching Mar’i. His granddaughter was allowed in the Cave as long as someone had eyes on her. He didn’t think Tim would disregard that rule, but Mar’i was up here somehow.
“Nuh uh!” Mar’i replied, shaking her head. “We went upstairs, but I left Batbear in da Cave! I gots him, but I saw da pretty light an’ I was here!” She pouted up at Batman. “Can we see G’amma’s garden now? You promised.”
“We’ll go see it soon,” Batman soothed before looking up. Any warmth that had been on his face melted away as he glared at Superman. “As you can see, I have something to take care of. Send me the information for whatever you haven’t gone over yet.” Batman moved towards the zeta tube but was stopped by Green Lantern.
“Whoa, hold on a second,” Hal flew in front of Batman with his hands out. “Do you really think you can just leave without explaining anything? I’m pretty sure I heard that girl call you ‘Grandpa’ before flying into your arms. What the he…ck, man?”
“I would also like an explanation,” Wonder Woman said. Her eyes were warm as she watched the child in Batman’s arms. “Who is this child?”
Batman eyed the League, weighing his options. He seemed to make a decision and focused on Wonder Woman. “This is my granddaughter, Mar’i.”
While the rest of the League looked shocked, Flash couldn’t help blurt out, “How old are you?!”
Batman leveled him with an unimpressed stare. “I’m 39.”
“WHAT!”
Wonder Woman ignored Flash and strode closer. “So how old is the little warrior?”
“She’ll be four next month.”
“So she can fly?” Superman asked, floating towards the trio to get a closer look at the girl.
Batman resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes. She’s half-Tamaranian.”
“Tamaranian?” Superman blinked in surprise. “But—”
“So you aren’t human!” Hal exclaimed triumphantly. He crossed his arms, smug.
Batman looked unamused. “I’m not Tamaranean, and if you actually used your resources to learn about other alien species, you would know that.”
Mar’i giggled and beamed up at her grandfather. “He’s stupid.”
Batman hummed. While Hal spluttered in the background, Superman glanced curiously between Batman and the girl.
“There is only one Tamaranean I know that is currently on Earth,” Clark began cautiously but was quickly interrupted by Flash.
“You mean Starfire, right? Wally has talked about her before, but I’ve never met her. Isn’t she with that Nightwing guy?”
Wonder Woman looked curious. “I have heard of this Nightwing. Donna has mentioned him before. He is a formidable warrior and leader according to her.”
“Garth has said so as well,” Aquaman cut in. “He once told me he trusts no other more than he trusts Nightwing.”
“So if she’s the only Tamaranean on Earth, and she’s with this Nightwing…” Superman trailed off. Everyone stared at Batman, who stared back, unimpressed.
“I’m sure you can use your critical thinking skills,” Batman deadpanned.
It was quiet until Martian Manhunter spoke. “Then Nightwing must be your son.”
Before Batman could reply, the Zeta lit up again. A young man, probably no older than a teenager, materialized. He wore a black and red costume with a bird symbol on his chest. A domino mask covered his clearly panicked eyes, which only grew wider when he took note of all the heroes in the room. His eyes landed on Mar’i in Batman’s arms, and he deflated.
“Ah fuck.”
“Bad! Bad Unca Timmy!” The righteous look on the girl’s face as she scolded her uncle melted the other heroes’ hearts. ‘Unca Timmy’ deflated further.
“Sorry, Mar’i. And B. I swear I was only in the bathroom for a minute! I don’t even know how she got back downstairs.”
“That is a good question. Mar’i?” The girl in question looked up at Batman. “How did you get back into the Cave?”
The little girl beamed. “I putted the clock here and here!” Mar’i gestured her arms out to indicate what everyone assumed were the hands on a clock.
“You remembered how we open up the door to the Batcave?” Batman asked, impressed. ‘Timmy’ was furiously typing into a phone.
“Uh huh!” Mar’i nodded eagerly. She suddenly frowned and looked up at Batman with wide eyes that Wonder Woman nearly melted at. “Was I bad?”
“No, of course not.” Batman’s voice was warm again. “We just don’t want you going down there alone. It can be very dangerous if you’re not careful.”
Mar’i nodded solemnly. “‘M sorry, G’ampa.”
“Wait, time out,” Flash said, making a ‘T’ with his hands. “Who is this? How did he get on the Watchtower? How did either of them get on the Watchtower?”
‘Timmy’ was the one to answer. “We have clearance.”
“And why do they have clearance?” That one was Superman, looking at Batman.
“A backup plan.” ‘Timmy’ replied again. He could sense Batman’s annoyance with all the questions—not to mention the worry he could practically feel emanating from the man, though the others probably didn’t notice it. All the precautions. All the secrets Bruce kept to protect his family. They were all falling apart in this moment. It was only a matter of time before the Justice League learned of everyone else. Tim couldn’t help but feel a spike of guilt, knowing it was his fault for not keeping a clear eye on Mar’i. “It’s a last resort, of course, but if we were ever under attack, we could escape to the Watchtower without the bad guys following behind us.”
“The Watchtower is no place for a child.” Aquaman stated, judgment clear in his tone. “That she can get up here so easily—”
Batman cut him off, affronted at even the idea that he would be so careless with his granddaughter. “She cannot. The only reason she got up here today was because Red Robin was updating the zeta tube. There was likely a malfunction when she approached the tube.”
“No!” Everyone glanced down in surprise to see Mar’i glaring vehemently at Aquaman. “Meanie! Don’ be mean to G’ampa!”
Wonder Woman couldn’t hide her laugh at the bewildered expression on Aquaman’s face. The Atlantean seemed unsure how to respond to the little girl. Thankfully, Red Robin saved him.
“We really do need to be getting back. Nightwing and the others will probably be getting home soon,” the young man said, reaching for the girl. To everyone’s surprise, Batman tightened his arms around his granddaughter.
“The meeting was just about over anyway.” Batman sent a glare towards Superman. “Send me the notes, and we can pick up at the next meeting. One that is planned in advance.”
With that, Batman stalked to the zeta tube, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned and found Wonder Woman smiling gently at him. “Please bring her by again. I would love to get to know the little warrior more.”
Batman grunted. “That’s up to her parents.”
Wonder Woman was unphased. “Who we would love to meet as well.”
Despite his eyes being covered, Diana could feel them searching her face—for what, she wasn’t sure. Batman must have found what he was looking for because he gave her a slight nod before turning away and heading into the zeta tube. She beamed after him and called out, “Perhaps at the next meeting?”
His answering “hn” told her that he would think about it, which was enough for Diana. She shot a quick smile at the young man, Red Robin, who sheepishly smiled back before following after his…father? Wonder Woman drew up short at the revelation. Before she could voice it, Green Lantern had his own realization.
“Wait! We never even asked who the guy was!”
Martian Manhunter was the one to answer. “Considering that the child called him ‘Uncle,’ would it not be indicated that he was another child of Batman?”
There was a beat of silence before the Flash threw his hands up in the air in defeat. “No. Nope! This is too much for me. It was shocking enough to find out Batman somehow had one kid with someone, but more than one? Nuh uh!”
Green Lantern shuddered. “Never put the thought of Spooky having sex with someone in my head again. Not even alcohol can help with broaching that subject.”
Wonder Woman smiled and followed the others as they filed out of the room and towards the cafeteria. Unlike Flash and Green Lantern, she was happy at the idea that Batman was not as alone as they had assumed—that he had others watching over him when they could not. She wouldn’t mention it to the others just yet, as they didn’t seem ready, but Wonder Woman had heard Red Robin say “Nightwing and others” and wondered if perhaps Batman had more family beyond his two sons and granddaughter.
She looked forward to meeting them one day.