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“Are you sure it will be all right?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Dick wasn’t quite pushing them physically out of the door, but he was prepared to do so if need be. Which would be utterly pointless because there was no way he could make Clark so much as budge, but it was the principle of the thing. “We’ve got the patrol routes figured out, with full contingencies for any injuries or Arkham breakouts, planned by Tim himself. Gotham won’t even notice you’re away.”
“It’s not Gotham I’m worried about.” Which was a lie, he was always worried about Gotham, but for once it was not his main concern. Probably not, at least. “I trust you with Gotham. Justice League is another matter.”
“We’ll handle that, too.” Dick resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Although I still think you should just let them know you’re going to be off for a couple of weeks.”
“And I already told you —”
“Yeah, yeah, can’t have both Superman and Batman disappear at the same time. I know, you don’t trust Aunt Diana to wrangle all the foolish heroes on her own.”
“That is not what I said.” It definitely was what he had meant, though. “I just didn’t foresee the matter of the Watchtower renovations and everything that comes with that.”
“Yeah, well, not even you could possibly predict a random meteor strike in advance.” Now, Dick did roll his eyes. “We’ll handle it just fine. It’s not like people will expect you to help with the interior decorating or anything.”
“Even so. Maybe we should —”
“Should what? Reschedule? There’s never going to be a perfect time, there’s always going to be something that might need your attention. And if you think we’re going to let you skip out on your honeymoon, you’ve clearly taken one too many hits to the head.” Dick looked past Bruce at Clark, who was watching them with a small smile. “I’d tell you to run, but I think it’s officially too late.”
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere.” Clark chuckled. “Come on, Bruce. The kids have it handled.”
“I guess.” Bruce sighed, then gave Dick a sharp gaze. “If anything comes up —”
“If anything unexpected happens, we can handle it,” Dick cut him off. “We have enough people in this family to handle anything short of a world-end scenario, and probably a few of those.”
“And what if there’s a world-end scenario that you can’t handle?”
“Then we’ll just shout for Clark.” Dick shook his head. “Go. Go catch up on sleep and sex and everything else you never have time for. Your husband deserves that.”
Apparently that was the argument that finally convinced Bruce, though it was still with a grudging sigh. “Just. Promise me you’ll handle Batman.”
“Promise.” Dick nodded and smiled as Clark all but dragged Bruce out of the door. Oh, they’d handle it all right.
“And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
This was going to be brilliant.
***
Of course Barry was going to recognize Dick Grayson.
Sure, he wasn’t the speedster closest to the kid, obviously, but thanks to Wally, Barry had known Dick since he was an actual child. He’d known Dick as Robin and Dick as Nightwing, questionable fashion choices and all, and there was no way he wasn’t going to recognize Dick as Batman.
To be fair, Dick was doing a pretty good job. The costume camouflaged the differences in their builds well, and the kid had Batman’s mannerisms down to an art. Every grunt, every glare was perfect. He did consult his ever-present computer a bit more than the Bat himself might have, no doubt wanting to avoid messing up any big decisions as they discussed the overhaul of a space station of all things, but even that could be brushed aside as Batman being more fastidious than usual due to the scope of the project. Really, aside from the slightly different lines of his jaw the only thing that truly set him apart from the real deal were his hands, not quite fumbling on the keys but clearly used to finer, more flexible gloves.
Glancing around, Barry found everyone else looked much the same as usual, from Captain Marvel’s brightly attentive look to Green Lantern’s badly disguised boredom. Clearly they hadn’t noticed anything amiss. His eyes met those of Wonder Woman, seated to one side of Batman to balance out the conspicuously empty seat where Superman was supposed to sit, and she gave him a minute nod. Great. If she knew what was going on, it was obviously fine.
“Flash?” Barry started at the sound of his own name, looking up to find Dick-Batman looking at him, a grave expression on his face. “Don’t run off after the meeting. I need to talk to you.”
Barry gave a small nod, ignoring the not-quite-snickers from some of the other Leaguers who no doubt believed he was in trouble. Barry knew he hadn’t done anything recently that could possibly have earned him Batman’s ire, and even less Dick’s.
A couple of the more curious colleagues tried to linger once the meeting came to a close, but an excellent Bat-glare sent them fleeing. Barry stood by his seat, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, impatient and hoping for some answers.
The moment they were alone, Batman’s entire demeanor changed. The actual changes were small, just a shift of his shoulders and a slight relaxation of his face, but the effect was startling. “So. I’m guessing you noticed?”
“To be fair I did have an unfair advantage,” Barry admitted. “I’m pretty sure I took you trick-or-treating dressed as Batman once.” Wally had been utterly horrified to find out Dick had never been, growing up first on the road and then in Gotham, where Halloween was more often than not a time for villainy. Of course, that meant they’d had to bring Dick along so Wally could teach his bestie all about the tradition.
“God, I totally forgot about that.” Dick chuckled. “Anyway, just to catch you up to speed, B’s fine. We just forced him to take a break, but with Supes away he insisted he couldn’t possibly leave the League with just one of the big three. So, I’m filling in.”
“I’d argue that if the big bat is actually taking time off, something is probably wrong, but I’ll take your word for it.” Barry grinned. “Let me guess, I shouldn’t draw attention to it?”
“Please don’t. I already swore Aunt Diana to secrecy. If we have you in our corner too, we can mess with the rest of the League even more.”
“I’m always up for some harmless mischief.” Barry’s grin broadened. “On that note, though… who exactly is we?”
Somehow, Dick’s eyes flashed with mirth even behind the lenses. “Everyone.”
***
For once, Hal was kind of happy to have caught Batman outside of a meeting.
Sure, he liked to think he was wearing on the guy, he was at least 0.4% less broody these days, but Batman still wasn’t his choice companion for some leisure time. However, there were situations where there was no better ally, and Hal happened to be in one of those.
“Hey, Bats. You got a moment?”
“Depends.” It was impossible to tell under the cowl, but Hal got the distinct impression Batman was lifting his eyebrows. “What for?”
“Just — I came across some alien tech recently. Nothing world-ending, before you worry,” he hurried to add as Batman gave him a very unimpressed look, “but it might have some clues into an interplanetary smuggling case I’ve been working on. My ring managed to extract some files and convert them into an Earth-compatible form, but there’s still a bunch of encryptions and such. I could send it off to the Lantern HQ for analysis, but…”
“But that would take time, and also you’d rather not turn to Oa if you can handle things on your own. For a given value of your own.” Batman nodded as though he hadn’t just seen right through Hal. “Send the files to my tablet, and I’ll take a look.”
“Right! I’ll do that.” Hal nodded vigorously. “Thanks, seriously.”
“Hm. Hopefully it’ll at least be a challenge.” Batman stepped past him. Somehow he seemed shorter today, though then, Hal was never too good at estimating people’s heights given his propensity for floating about.
Well. He might as well send the file right away before Batman changed his mind.
The meeting went more or less as expected, most of their time spent going through the plans for the new living quarters. Batman was constantly checking things on his tablet, only speaking up to correct someone. Very typical Batman, really.
The meeting had nearly wrapped up when Batman looked up at Hal. Hal started; he wasn’t sure what he’d done to draw the big bat’s attention. Rather than scold him for something, though, Batman simply nodded towards him.
“I sent the files back to you, Lantern,” he said, not even bothering to pretend he wasn’t interrupting a terribly boring conversation about the optimal layout for individual rooms. “I also included the encryption key in case you come across any more from the same source.”
“You mean you cracked it?” Hal blinked. That was… way too fast, even with his rather high expectations. “But — you’ve been following the meeting!” Certainly closely enough to interrupt whenever he thought someone’s opinion needed correction.
“Some of us are capable of multitasking.” Batman crossed his arms over his chest. “It was actually decently challenging, or I would have been done much sooner.”
Somehow, even when Batman was being helpful, he managed to annoy the hell out of Hal.
***
“Oh, come the fuck on!” Oliver waved an arm at the head of the table. “He’s black!”
“Really, now, Green Arrow. I believed better of you.” Wonder Woman sniffed. “That hardly has anything to do with his abilities as a hero.”
“Indeed.” Aquaman frowned. “Why, would you claim Aqualad is incapable of heroism for such a reason?”
“You know that’s not what I meant! Just — Batman isn’t black!”
“I see no reason why Batman can’t be black,” Flash said with a shrug. “He is the Dark Knight, after all.”
Oliver glared at the man — young man, there was no way this person was out of his teens no matter how much bulk the cape added — sitting at the end of the table in Batman’s usual spot. At his gaze, the absolutely not Batman looked up from the documents he had been perusing with a frown, white lenses locking on Oliver’s. He opened his mouth, and Oliver had a sinking realisation that he knew exactly what would come out before he heard it.
“I am Batman.”
Fuck this, he was retiring.
***
Today’s Batman was tiny. Also a woman. Still, she had introduced herself as Batman, mostly in the face of the increasingly disbelieving statements from most of the League, and said it with such grave conviction that Billy wouldn’t have questioned her even if it hadn’t been impolite to do so. That had just made everyone even louder, while she remained silent after that. Even after Wonder Woman wrangled the meeting back into order she said only a few words here and there, only when she absolutely had to. Every time she did, though, it was with all the gravitas of Batman. Honestly, Billy wasn’t even surprised.
He was probably imagining it, but he could have sworn she kept looking back at him. Surely that wasn’t the case, though. He was pretty sure he hadn’t done anything to deserve Batman’s attention.
When the meeting ended, Billy tried not to be too obvious about his rush to leave. He exchanged a couple of pleasantries, smiled and nodded, then slipped away from the meeting room. He figured he might as well sit down at one of the leisure rooms for a while to minimize his chances of running into Batman on his way to the zetas.
Of course, his plan was rather ruined by the fact that the moment he was alone, she stepped out of the shadows.
“Ah. Batman.” Billy swallowed. “Can I do something for you?”
“Answers.” So he hadn’t been imagining her watching him throughout the meeting, then. “About you.”
“Um. Sure.” He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping he didn’t come across as too suspicious. No doubt he failed miserably, but at least he was trying. “What do you want to know?”
“You are young.” She clearly had no doubts about the truth of this. “How old?”
What was he even supposed to say to that? Captain Marvel had no age, not one Billy could offer, anyway. However, it was clear that was not what she was asking, just as it was clear he could not just avoid answering. Being the focus of her gaze made him feel like a butterfly pinned to a wall. Any resistance would amount to little more than useless fluttering.
With a slow exhale, he looked aside. “Twelve.”
“Family?”
He flinched, and apparently that was answer enough, as she tilted her head to the side, looking at him like a curious bird. Then, she stepped forward, reaching to take one of his hands in hers.
“We’re family, now.” Somehow her voice left absolutely no room for arguments. “Big sister.” She pointed at herself with her free hand, then at him. “Little brother.”
“Um.” Billy blinked. “I’m not sure it’s that easy.”
She gave him what was clearly an unimpressed gaze even through the cowl. “I am Batman,” she stated, with the tone one might have said the Arctic could be a bit chilly, as though that was explanation enough. Perhaps it was. “You are family.”
She tugged at his hand, and there was no amount of magic or godly power that could have allowed him to resist. Instead he let himself get led along like a toddler, following her without protest through the Watchtower and towards the Zeta tubes. Somehow he got the feeling any protests would have been useless anyway.
Batman didn’t let go of his hand, tapping a destination into the zeta with her free hand, along with what seemed like some override codes. Then he was all but shoved into the tube, her surprising strength caring nothing for his bulk.
The space at the other end was a cave. An actual cave, dark and damp with dripstones in the ceiling. He’d always thought the few older Leaguers who actually knew something about Batman had been joking, but apparently not.
“Oh, you’re back!” a voice called out, and Billy did his best not to panic as he heard quick footsteps approaching. The next moment a young man — teenager, really — came into sight from behind a tall shelf filled with all kinds of strange gadgets. “…Captain Marvel?”
“Um. Hi?” Billy winced. This boy was probably a hero, if he was in Batman’s cave, but he was in no way prepared for heroics. There was no mask, no uniform, just worn jeans and a hoodie that was far too big for him. “I swear I’m not up to anything! I just —”
He was saved by the sound of the Zeta whirring to life once again. The boy looked over his shoulder — well, more around him, given his size in this form — and blinked. “Cass?”
Billy winced. He’d seen one face and heard another name. That was more than most people knew about Batman, or indeed his associates. This couldn’t be good.
“Tim! I’m home.” Batman stepped past Billy, and she was already taking off her cowl. “Found little brother.”
“Little brother?” The young man — Tim, apparently — looked at Batman-Cass, then at Billy. “You mean… Captain Marvel? Because, no offense, he doesn’t look little.”
“Little inside.” Cass walked past them both, unhooking the cape from her shoulders. “No family. Ours now.”
“So… you’re younger than you look?” Tim looked at Billy, who could be nothing but nod. At this, Tim turned to look at Cass again. “And you just, what? Brought him home?”
Cass grinned, a white flash of her teeth. “I am Batman,” she announced, without a hint of hesitation. “I do Batman things.” With that, she wandered out of sight, probably to get out of the suit.
Tim looked after her for a moment, then sighed. “And I’m going to be the one to handle the legal paperwork, no doubt,” he muttered, then gave Billy a small smile. “Ah. Welcome to the family, then?”
And honestly, that might as well happen.
***
“Thank you all for your patience.” Then, right before Dinah could truly relax, Diana added, “Before we end the meeting, Batman has some things to address.”
“Right.” Batman nodded briefly at Diana, then stood up to address the League. “I have two proposals for additions to the League membership rules. I have already forwarded more detailed plans to all of you for your perusal, so you can consider the matters thoroughly before we put things to vote at a later date.”
“Well, I’m curious.” Ollie crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his seat. “What are you so concerned about all of a sudden?”
“First and foremost, I think we are long overdue for proper guidelines regarding underage heroes.” Which was pretty rich coming from Batman, but then he would be very familiar with the subject. “First, I have gone through our current rules and noticed we do not actually have any limitations on membership age. I don’t believe it would be too much to expect any future members to be adults before they can be added to the roster.”
“Yeah, that’s fair.” Flash nodded, in agreement. “That’s just for full members, though. What about those of us with younger partners or mentees?”
“I’m glad you asked.” Batman smirked before his expression turned to stone again. “I propose we set certain requirements that members should meet before they can take on mentees. The details are documented in the files I have sent to you all, but to summarize, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect some parenting classes, basics of education and coaching, and an exam to assess these skills. Those with current underage partners might waive some of the requirements if they can show sufficient experience and information, but that would be on a case by case basis.” He paused. “Also, all underage heroes should be assigned an unrelated League member they can turn to if they need to discuss matters regarding their mentor, to minimize the possibility of abuse or mistreatment.”
“I can’t imagine anyone would protest to such requirements, given that they would clearly be for the safety and wellbeing of the young heroes.” Diana frowned. “However, what about young heroes who form their own teams? Your own birds have done such things more than once, after all.”
“Oh, I’m very aware.” Batman grimaced. “Now, for truly independent child heroes, our ability to interfere is somewhat limited, particularly if they do not have a responsible parent figure. However, we can encourage them to seek out support. We can offer training, resources, and backup for young heroes who agree to take on a League-approved mentor. If they could choose a mentor who they get along with rather than being assigned a supervisor, I believe many super teens would be more willing to agree to that kind of an arrangement.”
“That does sound quite acceptable.” Aquaman nodded slowly. “I’ll have to familiarize myself with the details, but from what you have told us here, I am in favor of these changes.” There were a few nods and sounds of agreement from several people around the table, Dinah among them.
“And the second issue?” As everyone turned to look at Lantern, he lifted his hands in a somewhat defensive gesture. “What? He said there were two things he wanted to submit for consideration!”
“Indeed. Nice to see you still remember.” Batman’s grin took on a slightly predatory feel. “For my second suggestion… therapy. Mandatory therapy, with League-vetted therapists who can address both civilian and hero issues.”
“Therapy?” Diana blinked. “For the young heroes?”
“Young, old, everyone. We all deal with very difficult things on a nearly daily basis. It’s honestly a miracle we don’t have people snapping more often.” Batman grunted. “Frankly I don’t think this should even be up for discussion, it’s obviously a long time coming, but apparently I’m not allowed to unilaterally add rules and conditions that would apply to all League members.”
“Oh, yes, so very unreasonable.” Cyborg snorted.
“It is hardly my fault that I know how things should be run.” Batman let his gaze sweep over them all, each in turn. “Make sure to familiarize yourself with the files and consider your stance on both issues. If you have any objections, be prepared to defend your view. I’ve put a lot of effort into these proposals, I expect properly constructed arguments from anyone looking to oppose them.”
“Of course you do,” Ollie groaned. “Assigning homework and all.”
“If you’d rather not go to the trouble, clearly you don’t feel strongly enough about the subject matter to weigh in.” Batman paused. “Though coming from you, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised.” With that clear attack delivered, he turned around and walked out of the meeting room.
Well. Trust Batman to keep things interesting. Or whoever Batman was today.
***
J’Onn wasn’t sure what sort of game the young bats were playing, but it was an amusing one.
He couldn’t imagine the actual Batman had approved of these particular shenanigans, yet clearly he had left his children in charge of his name, with Diana’s approval. And Clark’s, given the circumstances, though obviously most of the League wouldn’t know about such details. As such, J’Onn saw no reason to speak up, not with the couple of substitutes that actually managed to deceive the less observant members and certainly not the ones who clearly stood apart from their father’s precedent. He had no desire to meddle, not when he could sense no malice from them.
However, even J’Onn took another look as Batman walked in this time. Today’s Batman was not even half the size of the actual one, yet somehow he managed to radiate the closest approximation of Batman’s actual attitude. Even the glare was an exact match, simply delivered from a much lower vantage point. And yet the Batman was not even nearly the most shocking sight, here.
There was another figure trailing after Batman, this one clearly an adult man, no doubt one of the Batmen from previous meetings. Rather than the black cowl and cape, however, he was dressed in a red and black bodysuit with green gloves and boots, a yellow-lined cape on his shoulders. He was also grinning brightly, a clear contrast to Batman’s scowl.
Batman climbed into his usual seat, barely seeing over the table. The force of his glare made sure nobody dared to point this out, though. His companion did an effortless backflip, ending up seated on the back of Batman’s chair, apparently perfectly comfortable.
“Ah.” Even Diana seemed surprised, though not as much as some of the other members, many of whom were staring in open shock. “Who is your companion, Batman?”
“This is Robin.” The little Batman’s voice was perfectly level. “There should be no cause for such interest, given that this is hardly the first time he has visited the Watchtower.”
“To be fair, I’ve grown a lot since then.” Robin flashed another beaming grin, looking at some of the oldest members. “Can’t really hide under the table when things get boring again, can I?”
“You know what? Fine. Just — do whatever it is you’re doing.” Green Arrow sighed, leaning back in his seat with a frustrated expression. “Nothing good ever came out of meddling in Bat business, anyway.”
“Indeed. I only wish you had come to that conclusion a while ago.” Little Batman folded his hands on the table. “Now, let’s proceed. I have no desire to linger around any more than I absolutely have to.”
Well. He certainly had Batman’s attitude down perfectly. Robin seemed to find the whole thing amusing, his affection for this young Batman radiating from him so clearly J’Onn picked up on it despite actively avoiding looking into the minds of his colleagues. Affection and, above all, pride.
Curious. J’Onn had first assumed he had accompanied Batman to guide the clearly young substitute, yet now it seemed more like he simply wanted to admire Batman’s performance, with full faith in his abilities. It was, he decided, a good sign.
Strangely, he couldn’t help but feel the proud look would have been more at home on the actual Batman.
***
Bruce knew something was up before anyone even spoke up.
To be fair, one didn’t have to be the world’s greatest detective to realize something was going on when he returned to a family bigger than he’d left, the latest addition looking rather shy but smiling anyway from where Dick was hugging him close to his side. Another boy with black hair and blue eyes, he noticed. Not blue enough to be one of Clark’s, which just raised more questions.
“Right.” He sighed as they walked into the entrance hall, Clark setting down their bags behind him. “What is going on?”
“New little brother.” Cass sounded proud, far too much so not to be the one responsible for this particular acquisition. “I was Batman. Batman adopts.”
“What do you mean, you were Batman?” Bruce turned his eyes from her to Dick. “You said you had it handled.”
“We did.” Which was not, in fact, what Bruce had meant, but clearly Dick had always planned to hide behind the ambiguous ‘you’. “Batman hasn’t missed a single meeting, or ever admitted to being anyone but Batman.”
“We could’ve kept going, too, if you wanted to stay away longer.” Tim shrugged as though he wasn’t speaking of unspeakable horrors. “I mean, Kon and Jon probably couldn’t pull off the scowl, but Steph and Babs are both Bat enough that they could’ve done it.” Barbara at least wasn’t here to comment, but Stephanie nodded enthusiastically, while Clark’s boys both gave him sheepish grins from where they were literally hovering behind the assorted bats and birds.
“…Meaning the rest of you all had a go.” The already rising dread settled into a lead weight at the bottom of his stomach as his kids all nodded. “Do I dare ask what you did?”
“Nothing you wouldn’t have done, I promise.” At his dubious glare, Dick put on a mock offended look. “I swear! I even did glares and growls, you know how I hate doing glares and growls.”
Tim nodded. “I watched a recording, it was awesome. Me, I hacked some alien tech and managed to annoy Green Lantern while I did it.”
Duke grinned. “I annoyed Green Arrow. All I even did was tell everyone I was Batman and he drove himself spare arguing about it.”
Cass gave him another beaming smile. “I adopted,” she repeated her earlier news, setting a hand on the new boy’s shoulder. “Billy. Small boy, but big hero.” Which only raised more questions, but that could wait until the most immediate mess had been dealt with.
“I drafted and delivered some new proposed guidelines, all official-like. Even got Aunt Diana to look them over, you know she wouldn’t have let even Batman half-ass it.” Jason’s grin was bordering on malicious. “You might both want to look over a summary before the next League meeting, by the way. Pretty sure they’ll be up to vote then, and it’d be pretty weird if Batman couldn’t talk about the thing he proposed.”
Bruce found his eyes sliding to Damian in a desperate hope that at least his oh so serious youngest would spare him — well, maybe youngest? Billy looked like he might actually be younger; he certainly was rather small. However, his hopes were dashed upon the cruel rocks of reality as Damian clicked his tongue. “I merely took Robin along to observe a League meeting. Nothing you haven’t done before.” And, to Bruce’s absolute horror, Dick nodded enthusiastically, waving his hand so as not to leave any doubts about who that Robin could have been.
“I — what —” It wasn’t often that Bruce was left speechless. However, if anyone could do it, it was his family. His family working together, certainly.
“Bruce, breathe.” Clark was by his side, now, a warm hand resting against his back, and that did calm him, if only a little. His world couldn’t entirely fall apart, not with Clark by his side. Clark wouldn’t allow that.
“I’m breathing.” Somewhat. Barely. Absolutely not working himself into any sort of a fit.
“Good. Now, please keep doing that.” He was pulled back against Clark’s chest now, his husband — his husband, now, they were married and that was the most unreal part of this all — drawing exaggerated breaths for Bruce to emulate. Once he was satisfied enough that Bruce wasn’t going to pass out, Clark turned his focus on the children, though he never let go of Bruce. “Dick. Why?”
“Because it was about time.” Suddenly there was no laughter in Dick’s voice, not even teasing, just seriousness and a depth of emotion that did not often enter their family. “He introduced me to the League, way back then, but he barely even admits our existence now.”
Not since Jason, when he had truly felt the pain of losing something even more precious than his parents. When he hadn’t been able to handle the thought of anyone looking at him and knowing what he had lost.
Clark had still known, of course. Had looked at him and seen his shattered heart and known exactly how to hold it together, until Tim could do the thankless work of starting to stitch together the broken pieces. Bruce was pretty sure that was when he had first fallen in love with Clark, except at the time Clark had still been with Lois and anything but friendship had been an impossibility.
As impossible as having Jason back, as having all these lovely children who had allowed him a place in their lives, as having his dear and impossible friend by his side for better or worse.
“It’s not like I’m keeping you hidden away,” he murmured, feeling a bit petulant at the unspoken accusation. “You have all worked with the League from time to time. I simply see no reason to introduce additional risks.”
“With certain members of the League, maybe. I’m not sure some of the newer members even know there are vigilantes in Gotham besides you.” Dick’s voice softened a bit, now. “We know you only want to keep us safe, B. We get that. But we’re all growing up and flying out of the nest, and you can’t keep us spread out and apart much longer. Our various teams already know about us, about our connections, and they’re also growing up and starting to join the League. You can’t keep us a secret forever, and I don’t think you really want to.”
“I wasn’t trying to.” Not forever. Just — just until he was ready, someday.
“Yeah, we figured. Which is why we didn’t push earlier. That, and because most of us aren’t actually in any hurry to join the League of Do-Gooders.” There was a muffled scuffle that was probably someone elbowing Jason and getting shoved back for their troubles. “Except then you got married — which you know we all approve of, by the way, well done on the Big Blue, stepdad accepted and all that — and you weren’t even going to tell the League that. How the hell were you planning on keeping that hidden?”
Bruce startled at that, then turned, looking at Clark for his reaction. His heart sank as he saw the weak little smile his husband was offering him.
“I told you I’m fine with it, Bruce. I wouldn’t lie to you. I know how much your privacy means to you,” Clark reassured him. “But they do have a point. It’s been a challenge keeping our relationship under wraps this long as it is. I’m not sure it’s entirely practical for much longer.”
“It’s not, and you know it, too. Just can’t bring yourself to admit it.” Dick sighed. “So, we decided to force your hand, to a degree. You don’t have to tell them that we’re family, or that the no metas rule doesn’t apply to people who you count as yours, or that Clark’s super secret mission was kissing you silly for a couple of weeks after you made an honest alien of him. But now the entire League knows for a fact that there’s more than one Bat, at least, and you’re going to have to address that one way or another.”
“…Right.” Dick was right, Bruce knew that. An increasing number of his children were not actually children anymore, and he could hardly keep them all trapped in the insulated bubble that was Gotham and its terrible but familiar dangers. Best get it out in a controlled fashion, even if that control had already been stolen from him by his mischievous children.
His mischievous, incorrigible, brilliant children, who didn’t deserve to be hidden away like some dirty secret. Not from the people he already trusted with his own life and the fate of the world.
Speaking of children, though, Bruce finally gathered himself enough to step away from Clark’s comforting embrace and towards the boy he had not, in fact, brought home himself. Crouching down, he gave the boy his best dealing with kids smile, the one that nobody outside Gotham could ever believe Batman was even capable of.
“So, we still haven’t been properly introduced, though I’m sure these rascals have told you all kind of tall tales about me. Who are you, besides an apparent kidnapping victim?”
“Um. I’m Billy. Billy Batson.” Then, before Bruce could react to either the name or Jason’s immediate cackle that he’d no doubt been holding in for a while now, the boy went on in a rushed tone, “Also I’m kind of actually Captain Marvel? I mean, I’m not Captain Marvel, but Captain Marvel is me, and — it’s magic?”
Suddenly, Bruce found himself wondering if he could manage another two weeks of vacation. This time, he’d go alone.
***
When the time for paperwork inevitably came, there were two signatures to be added to each relevant page. They had both handled this sort of thing before, of course, Clark with Kon and Bruce with his own kids and both of them planning for if and when any of their children might want to claim another father now that they were married. Even so, there was still something powerful about signing on to love and cherish another child together from the start, both their names and both their promise to hold onto this little boy who was already an irrefutable part of their family.
Bruce watched Billy smile, the kind of bright, beaming smile that he thought might actually power up the Kryptonians just a little, and decided there was no such thing as too many children. Not when he would always have enough love for one more.
Besides, the cowl would hide all the grey hairs just fine.