Chapter Text
Amity Park doesn’t exist. That was the official line.
The unconscious teenager in the Batcave’s Medbay, the one who collapsed to his knees when Batman had found him near the Batmobile, the one who had begged him to save his best friend told a very different tale.
Amity Park doesn’t exist.
And yet the search he’d done on the Batcomputer had brought up obscure mentions of a town by that name in Illinois. Of school records, YouTube videos, blogs that had dead links to deleted Twitter posts, town resources and a school website. He’d seen this before; he’d done this before. Erased videos, websites, and mentions of people, of heroes, to protect identities and keep things out of the public eye.
Someone had done it to an entire town.
He started to dig deeper, running more searches, widening parameters here, narrowing them there. He thought of the child sleeping in the Medbay, of the scars and wounds that scattered across what little Bruce could see of his body. Of the desperation in his eyes. How, despite the fact that the kid was exhausted, half starved and obviously hurting, he had been far more worried about his friend.
Amity Park doesn’t exist.
There’s a child who ran halfway across the country to get help. There’s another child, out there somewhere, who’s still in danger. There may be an entire town that’s in trouble, that can’t get help. That’s been cut off from the world and is suffering unknown consequences.
This isn’t something that can be done without major resources. To take an entire town off the map, off the census, to erase all mention across the internet, to keep people from talking. It’s an undertaking that has to be done with religious dedication, one slip and there is no putting the lid back on it. It puts him on edge, knowing the effort, the time, the money it would take for this. There’s a reason, he’s sure, that it’s been done. He narrows his eyes at the screen, hundreds of texts, emails, phone calls that were never received scrolling past.
Some are to 911, others to various relatives and news reporters. Some are to heroes. Many of them, most of them, are to the Justice League’s tip and emergency lines. The subject lines get more and more desperate. He grits his teeth, pushing back from the Batcomputer, cape snapping with his sharp movements. He meets Alfred’s eyes and Alfred merely shakes his head. The kid is still asleep, so he switches his route and pulls out his phone, a message to the League already half composed in his head. It’s just about sent when he hears footsteps coming down from the Manor entrance. There’s a faint roar of a motorcycle echoing from one of the side entrances to the cave, and the Zeta tube hums to life. Bruce finds himself back at the Batcomputer, staring at the seemingly endless scroll of unheard pleas for help.
There’s rage building in his chest. This is why the League exists, this is why heroes exist. So that people have an option for help, so that this doesn’t happen. So that people don’t get erased, ignored, forgotten when they need a hero. They can’t save everyone, can’t help everyone, but this is beyond that. This is an entire town that someone deemed easier to vanish than to help. It will not be ignored any longer.
By the time Batman’s done, Amity Park will exist.
In a matter of moments, Bruce is surrounded by his children. Tim and Damian are in their pajamas, having been off the patrol route for tonight. Jason is in his full gear and he’s scowling but he’s here, despite the rough night and the tension still between them. Dick is leaning against Jason, stretching out a sore knee. Jason, tellingly, doesn’t shove his brother off him. Bruce makes a note to make sure Dick gets his knee looked at and possibly braced. Cass and Steph have bits of their gear off and Cass is detangling Steph’s hair from where it’s tangled in her hair tie. Duke makes his way downstairs last, walking over and leaning on Tim. Bruce hadn’t been sure whether to wake him or not, but his children had reacted badly in the past to being left out the loop for serious matters in the past. He was trying not to make the same mistakes.
“Alright, B, spill.” Jason drawls and it really has been a bit of a rough night, hasn’t it? Jason’s voice is rougher than it should be and his gear looks rough, like he’s taken a few hits tonight. Bruce nods and gestures to the Batcomputer.
“Tonight on patrol I was approached by a young man who was waiting for me by the Batmobile. He was obviously hurt and nearly incomprehensible.” Bruce lets out a small breath, curtailing the rage. “He said that they had tried contacting the League and when they didn’t get an answer they tried to handle it. From what he said, things were okay for a bit, but the, and I quote “assholes in white” took it too far. He begged me to save his best friend and said that Amity Park was in danger.”
“Didn’t get an answer from the League?” Dick asked, looking skeptical. The League didn’t just ignore calls for help, they always tried to check in. A lot of their time was spent investigating tips and requests for assistance. Bruce noticed that Tim and Damian had slipped masks on and Damian had pulled the hood of the hoodie he had obviously stolen from Jon up. All his kids had clocked onto the fact that the Medbay was in use. He nodded at the boys and then pressed a key and the screen of the Batcomputer lit up with the scroll of blocked messages from Amity. They numbered in the hundreds and his programs were finding more.
“That doesn’t make sense.” Tim said, stepping closer. Duke merely shifted so his balance wasn’t affected, still using Tim as a prop. “That amount of messages should have triggered a red alert. It shouldn’t be possible to block that many messages.” Tim looked personally offended at this, and as he had helped update and streamline the League’s systems, including the emergency and help lines, Bruce supposed he had reason to be. It made Bruce feel better calling him in from Titan’s Tower, as Tim’s mild annoyance at being disturbed had quickly turned into offense at his system getting bypassed.
“What I wanna know is why Amity Park doesn’t come up on Google.” Steph said, surfing on her phone. “Like, even Smallville comes on Google. You can’t tell me a town having some sort of crisis doesn’t show up.”
“This sounds like one hell of a coverup,” Jason said, eyes locked on the screen. “Any idea who the “assholes in white” are?”
“Not sure yet.” Bruce admitted. “The kid is still asleep. Along with some injuries that look like they were made with an energy weapon, he’s dehydrated, hasn’t had a decent meal in a few days at least, and probably hasn’t slept either.”
“So we have a town that doesn’t exist, a group of people that apparently attacks children, at least one missing teenager and possibly a major breach in League communications.” Dick summarized, exchanging a look with Jason. “We’ve also got an unconscious kid in the Batcave. Which, based on history, means we get a new sibling.”
Damian scoffed as the others snorted out laughs. “I think we have plenty of those.”
“And,” Bruce stressed. “We don’t know his family situation. He most likely has parents in Amity that are worried for him.”
“What’s the plan?” Duke asked, still slumped against Tim, but his voice was clear and his eyes steady. “‘Cause the kid’s gonna wake up soon.”
“Amity Park needs help.” Bruce said, adjusting his cowl. “We don’t know the reason for the coverup, but people are in danger. If there is something that needs to remain hidden from the world at large, then the League will find a way to do it without kidnapping teenagers or cutting the town off from the rest of the country. Those of us who patrolled tonight will get injuries checked out and get some sleep. Signal, it’s up to you if you want to go back to bed for morning patrol or stay up. Red Robin, Oracle is looking into the breach, along with how the town’s been cut off. Robin, you and I will start looking through the messages and correlating the information within.”
“Thought you said anyone patrolling tonight was ‘supposed to get some shut eye.” Jason drawled, his voice modulator crackling a bit. Besides him, Dick lifted an eyebrow and Cass was nodding empathetically from where she was leaning on Steph.
“Father, I am more than capable of looking through these messages on my own.” Damian announced, his arms crossed. His nose was slightly scrunched and Bruce was overcome with emotion for a moment. It was a wonderful thing, despite the circumstances, to have all of his kids here. For them to be in the same place without shouted words or pained silences, for them to be united in bullying him into bed. For him to know that he could trust them to work this case and not kill each other in the process.
Bruce smiled slightly. “None of you will sleep if I stay up, will you?” Jason snorted immediately and Steph grinned.
“Nope!” She said, bouncing a bit on her toes. Cass matched the grin and signed SLEEP with an exaggerated emphasis. And Bruce could argue, could force the kids to sleep with hardlined orders and Batman’s steeled stubbornness. Exhaustion is an old friend at this point, he knows how far he can go before he hits the limit. He’s not close to that right now, but he has a feeling this case may take him to it. Something about this entire situation has him on edge, like they’re missing something far more than can be gathered by the usual means.
He sighs and his kids crow in victory.
“I’ll stay up long enough to talk to our guest and then I’ll head for bed.” Bruce said and studiously ignored the bets changing hands. His kids rarely bet in just money and he was sure someone would be doing something embarrassing before the week was out. “Robin, I’ve messaged the League and informed them of the situation. They’re looking through the messages as well. Talk to Oracle and get a line established to the Watchtower, you can trade pertinent information and split the load. Be polite, please.”
“Yes, Father.” Damian’s tone lacked its usual petulance, indicating he was happy with the show of trust.
“One last thing,” Bruce said before his kids could scatter. “Something about this entire situation seems…”
“Sketchy as fuck?” Jason said dryly.
“Like we’re about to step into something much bigger than we bargained for?” Dick said with mild amusement.
“Smells like a conspiracy to me,” Steph said with a wide wink at Tim. Tim rolled his eyes and headed for the Batcomputer’s chair.
“Yeah, yeah.” Tim grumbled. “I think we can all agree this is going to be a wild one.”
Bruce sighed again. “Just be careful.”
Various noises of agreement sounded from his children. They broke apart, Jason and Dick heading to the Medbay to look at Dick’s knee and hopefully Jason’s ribs. Bruce couldn’t quite tell with the bulk of the Red Hood suit, but he thought Jason was favoring his left side a bit. Duke followed Damian over the Batcomputer where Tim was already talking to Barbara and establishing the link to the Watchtower. Steph and Cass headed for the showers, Cass signing rapidly and Steph nodding along.
Bruce followed his two eldest into the Medbay where Alfred was waiting. In a matter of seconds, both of his boys were on medical cots and Jason was gingerly taking off his heavy jacket while Alfred was looking at Dick’s knee. Bruce stepped around the privacy panels and took in the teenager sleeping on the last cot.
He was roughly seventeen, with sunken cheeks and bags under his eyes. His hair was braided but many of the braids looked rough, like something bladed had skimmed by his head, leaving some of the braids cut open and frizzy. He was on the thin side and his dark brown skin lacked a healthy undertone, leaving him washed out. His clothing was rough, ripped and burned, revealing scars and wounds that left a crisscross of pale marks on his skin. Whatever he’d been through, it was clear it had been happening for a while. Some of his scars were darker than others and despite the weight he’d obviously lost, there were muscles on his lanky frame that spoke of running and jumping rather than weight lifting.
He’d had a backpack, which was propped by the cot, and a quick look inside it had revealed strange bits of technology, notebooks scribbled in code, energy bar wrappers and a couple empty water bottles.
Bruce heard a few steps, heavier than they normally were and slightly out of sync. Dick stepped around the privacy panels and glanced at the teenager. Dick’s face twisted with sympathy.
“Oh, man, he’s been through the ringer.” Dick said softly. He ran a hand through his wild hair and sighed. “A’s got Hood patched up, we’re hitting the showers and heading up. You’ve got twenty minutes to do the same.”
Bruce nodded. “I’ll be up. Keep off that leg.”
“Nag, nag, nag.” Dick said as he walked out, limping only slightly. He could hear Jason’s voice as the boys argued about something. Bruce looked back at the kid and was unsurprised to see that his eyes were open and watching. There was a wariness there, a tension in his body. Bruce eased himself down on a stool, putting some distance between him and the cot.
“Hello again.” Batman said, keeping his voice steady. The kid sat up a bit and reached for the water bottle that was nearby. He checked the seal before opening it.
He took a couple swallows and then spoke, “You’re really Batman.”
“I am.” Batman said. “You asked for help.” The kid laughed, it was bitter and mildly wild.
“Man, we’ve been asking for help for years.”
Batman closed his eyes for a brief moment. “I know that now. We’re looking into what caused Amity Park to go unnoticed for so long.” He paused, gauging the reaction. “I’m sorry.”
The kid slumped backwards, rubbing his face with his hands. “Guess even the League can’t know everything.”
“We can’t.” Batman agreed. “But this is not a small thing.You have help now. Can you tell me your name? And the name of your missing friend?”
“I’m Tucker, Tucker Foley.” He said and the desperation was back. However angry or disappointed he was about the situation with the League, obviously his friend was much more important. “My friend is Danny Fenton. Please, they’re gonna kill him. Or tear him apart. The GIW doesn’t think he’s a person or-or sentient. They raided his house, took ‘em right from his parents and I don’t know if they’re okay either.” Tucker was breathing deeply, working himself into a panic attack.
“Tucker, we’re going to help him.” Batman said. “The League is looking into how to get into Amity and we will help your friend. I need you to tell me what you can, okay?”
Tucker swallowed hard, hands pressed together tightly.
“Okay, I can do that.” Tucker said, taking steadying breaths. “But you gotta believe me okay? Please, it’s going to sound crazy, but I’m telling the truth.”
Batman looked over the teen before him, there was panic in his voice and it was obvious he didn’t expect anyone to believe him. Batman had seen aliens, magic, gods, demons, other dimensions and different timelines. There was almost nothing Tucker could tell him that he hadn’t seen. “I don’t believe you’re lying to me, Tucker.”
“Okay,” Tucker seemed to brace himself. “What do you know about ghosts?”
Well, Bruce thought to himself. That was a new one.