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There is a large hole where a section of the wall used to be.
A very large hole.
As in, Indiana-Jones-boulder large. A boulder may as well have crashed through, from the stone chunks scattered around the floor and the shape of the hole, except for the fact that it is not a boulder in the Batcave, and instead, it is a bronze, mechanical dragon that clicks and whirrs, shaking itself as it stands up and reveals a boy beneath its claws.
The boy, maybe sixteen, only grins brightly at the dragon. "I told you, didn't I?"
The dragon clicks and snorts derisively, nudging the boy and growling. Sparks escapes his mouth, with sharp metal teeth (of which several are missing, broken, or bent) and beady red eyes. The boy sighs, blowing a strand of curly brown hair from his face and reaching into his - fanny pack? Toolbelt? - and retrieves a plier as well as several nuts and bolts, a few screwdrivers and for some reason, mints. He pops a few of the latter into his mouth, then the dragon opens its mouth and Dick is almost afraid that the boy is about the get eaten, but instead all that happens is black oil pours onto the boy.
"Come on, Festus!" he complains. It's not like his previous state was much better, black smudges of motor on his cheeks and singed clothes, but now he's dripping in sludge, unsuccessfully shaking the sticky substance off. The dragon tilts its head up, chitters a laugh. The boy sighs, motioning for its head to come closer, and it obliges. He gets to work quickly, hand dipping in and out of his toolbelt as he works, putting some objects back and taking some new ones. When he's finished, the teeth look shiny new, and sparks no longer escape its mouth.
Then the dragon shoots fire all over the boy.
As of now, all the occupants of the cave - which consists of Bruce, Damian, Tim and Dick in full vigilante gear, Jason with his helmet off, Cass, Steph, Duke, and Alfred tending to the injuries of those who were on patrol - are still frozen in place. They've been frozen since the first crash, far away deep in the caves, until the bronze bowling ball - dragon - crashed through the cave.
The boy lights on fire and he doesn't even move. When the flames die down he's somehow still intact, even if his clothes are slightly more singed than his previous state. "Thank you." Then he grabs a rag from his toolbelt - how is there so much stuff in there - but he doesn't use it for the grime underneath his nails and on his face. No, he starts polishing the dragon.
He only does it for a while before turning and noticing the rest of the family.
Should it be a concern that it takes them so long to react?
Probably.
But there's also a dragon in the cave and a person who can light himself on fire without losing his skin, so their shock is fine. He also hasn't made a move to attack them, which is...good? Maybe? Honestly, right now, at least fighting is something Dick can do.
His face perks up, eyes full of mischief. "Hi! I'm Leo, who're you? Wow, is that a giant penny? Holy shit, that's a really big computer, wow. Is everything here bat-themed? Even the car, dude? Wait, hold on - ohhhhh, you're Batman. I heard about you from my siblings, a lot of them think you're fake. Didn't know you existed. Makes sense. But a bat, really man? Like...of all the animals, and you chose the furry, small, mammal. Why not a dragon? Dragons are cool."
He talks a mile a minute, bounding everywhere before anyone can open their mouths to answer. Dick barely has time to process that this kid got into the Batcave without even knowing about Batman, and the fact that at least they're in full costume so some of them won't be recognised, but at least four of them have their very recognisable faces out, and he could tell that the kid, Leo, liked dragons.
Then there's a sigh, and a familiar tongue clicking sound from Damian. He pulls his shirt down over his latest injury - a shallow cut to the side, nothing too serious - and leaps off the table. "Greek, I assume?"
"Yup!" Leo confirms. "Hold on, I know you - you were that one kid that punched Sherman, hold on what was your name again? I know you were one of the magicians - "
Damian's eyes narrow, before smoothening out. "Leo Valdez. One of the Seven."
"Unfortunately," at this the boy pauses to roll his eyes, "and you?"
The temperature drops suddenly. And not in a 'the-tension-is-thick-and-we-just-had-a-revelation' kind of way. As in, it literally gets colder by a good four degrees. The shadows seem to elongate around the cave even more than usual, covering the lights.
Damian rolls his eyes. "Gods, you Big Three children. Always so dramatic."
The shadows rush to a single point and converge. They layer on top of each other, so thickly that Dick can't see anything, until a pale, bony hand reaches out of the shadows, followed by two bodies. The owner of the hand is short, looking Tim's shade of sickly-pale when he doesn't get enough daylight and the shadows highlighting his sunken in cheek bones and the dark bags under his eyes. His hair is shaggy, a black shirt with a skull on the front and obsidian for eyes. A brown jacket looks out of place in terms with his outfit, looking more like it belongs to the other boy, but suits him perfectly.
The second body is taller, tanner and a messy mop of blonde hair. Freckles dot around his warm, blue eyes, well-toned from time in the sun and workouts, carrying a bag over his shoulder and dressed in a neon orange shirt and cargo shorts. He's wearing flip flops.
Both of them have leather necklaces - like Leo - with different numbers of beads on them, and the blonde has a skull ring threaded onto his as well.
Opposites attract, indeed.
"Wayne," the shorter of the two greets, drawls, really, an unimpressed look on his face. The whole of the family tenses up, at the person so clearly addressing Damian with his civilian name. The room grows colder again.
"di Angelo," the other greets, neutral except for the hint of sneer on his lips. "I see you're still alive. How disappointing."
The shorter scoffs, shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "Trust me, death doesn't want me."
"That is clear," Damian jabs back, jerking his head to the other boy, who simply shrugs and smiles doe-eyed to di Angelo. He bristles, but before he gets to respond, Damian continues, "Why are you here? I thought our...patrons...agreed that we would not be required to meet outside."
"You can stop pretending you don't like each other, you know," the blonde pipes up, his voice deep and warm, but also light and friendly. It breaks through the tense atmosphere, animosity dissipating.
Damian scoffs, dismissing him with a wave of his hand. "I will take no instructions from the son of life."
"Like you're so good at following the rules of death," di Angelo deadpans, still with that mocking tone, but more friendly than hostile. Dick can tell because he has a glint in his eyes.
"Need I bring up your sisters?" Damian quirks an eyebrow, clear challenge in his eyes. di Angelo shoots him a withering look but doesn't retaliate. "I thought you were still in the Pit."
Dick is so confused right now. He's pretty sure Jason's jaw is dropped. How does Damian of all of them know these people?
There's a shudder that goes through the blonde's body, nearly imperceptible, and the temperature dips back low. Leo grimaces. "We got out," di Angelo replies, terse. "With some help. We're here on a favour for Nemesis."
"Nemesis," Damian repeats. "And what does the goddess of revenge want from me?"
Goddess of revenge.
What the shit is happening right now.
"Not you." di Angelo rolls his eyes. "Leo?"
"Right, right - oh, you're the death kid that Nico complains to much about, that's why you're so familiar - " Leo scrambles to dig something out of his seemingly endless toolbelt - there has to be an end - triumphantly pulling out a device with many wires sticking out of it, and Dick place the pale kid as Nico di Angelo in his mind.
The device starts to beep in his hand, and Leo stumbles, as if he's being pulled along. He walks-stumbles forward, closer to the family. Dick takes an unconscious step back as the device gets too close for comfort, moving for the first time in ten minutes. The device bypasses him though, moving straight to -
Jason?
The beeping turns into a steady line of trills at the close capacity, and for confirmation Leo holds it to Jason's arm before he can twist away. What results is a piercing, high-pitched note that borderlines scream. Leo turns a dial and it cuts off. "Found him."
Damian looks between Nico and Jason, understanding on his face. "Ah. He's..."
"Yup," blonde one confirms, though what Dick doesn't know. Jason looks even more confused than him.
Damian sighs, removes his domino simply to rub his brow. "Robin," Batman says carefully, confusion masked by the deep, gravelly tone. "Explain."
"Whoa, there's no way your voice is that deep naturally," Leo rambles, and Dick can recognise the signs of ADHD easily.
"I believe that this conversation is better held upstairs," he says primly. "And I would like to know how you're going to fix that, Valdez."
For the first time, Leo looks back to see the hole in the wall and deflates. "Aw, man!"
Still in shock, they troop upstairs, and Damian manages to somehow push them towards the showers in their various rooms. Dick feels the water run over his hair, still numbly staring at a spot on the wall. Nothing makes much sense, how Damian knows these people. What was it Leo called him - 'death kid'? He has died before, but it seems like they're not referencing that. Nico di Angelo - Italian, and...meta? Mutant? He had shadow powers, and Leo could withstand flames. Only the blonde, who still had no name, seemed to not have any powers. But then, son of life? Did that mean that Damian was a son of death? And Nico? A goddess of revenge?
He changes, steps out into one of the cosier rooms. The whole family is gathered there, and Damian grumbles in fresh clothes as the blonde dabs on his side, bag open and displaying an array of gloves, medical tape, braces, needles, thread, gauze and so on. The blonde wraps some gauze around it then stands, moving towards Tim. Damian tugs him down as he starts to stand, trying to escape the blonde.
From nowhere, literally, Damian reaches into the air and pulls out a vial of...something...and takes a sip, then reaches up again and it disappears.
Dick shakes his head. He must be hallucinating. A fever dream. Maybe he accidentally drank some Gotham water.
Cass is curled up on a beanbag with Steph, the both of them attentively looking at the rest scattered around. Leo is on the floor, surrounded by a ton of intricate gears and wires, a large suitcase beside him, and Nico is leaning against the wall shrouded in the shadows. Bruce is sitting on the couch, Jason leaning against the arm and Tim on his other side, with Damian on the armchair.
"Stay still," the blonde says, stitching up a gash expertly on Tim's leg. He finishes up, snips the thread, and Dick has no idea why nobody is protesting. Probably the shock. He takes in Tim's concerned eyes and Bruce's utter confusion. Definitely shock. The blonde frowns. "Do you even get any sun? You're as bad as Nico, I swear." Tim splutters. "You're not eating enough," the blonde informs him matter-of-factly. "I expect you get at least three meals a day, and if you don't, Damian will make sure you do."
"Who even are you?" Tim demands, roughly pulling down his pant leg.
The blonde puts his hands on his hips. "Will Solace. Son of Apollo. Any more injuries?"
Apollo. That one, he can place a name to the face - or well, myth. Greek mythology.
"I know this must be a shock," Damian says. "Greek and Egyptian worlds don't mix well."
"Eqyptian?" Duke splutters. "What are you talking about?"
Damian frowns. "Me, of course. Egyptian Magicians. I thought Father would have told you."
"For once, Damian, I have no idea what you're talking about," Bruce says, head tilted. Damian's mouth opens a tiny bit, looking side to side at all his siblings. From the shadows, Nico snorts.
"Can't believe you didn't tell them, Wayne."
"They knew," Damian protests. "You know! Mother, I thought she explained. Our blood, it's of pharaohs. We train in the League, one of the...disowned Nomes, that's why I wanted to go to Brooklyn - "
"That's why you wanted to go to Brooklyn?" Bruce says faintly. "Because that's where..."
"Our magic is strongest," Damian agrees. "She did not tell you?"
"Ohmygod," Tim mutters.
Damian shrugs, looking supremely unconcerned. "I thought that you knew that I knew that you knew and we were simply not acknowledging it. Now you know."
"And Greek..."
"Demigods," Will says, flashing a bright smile. The light in the room pulses before dying back down. "Half mortal, half god. Apollo, god of the sun, healing, music, poetry, prophecy, et cetera, et cetera. Nico's the son of Hades, god the Underworld. Leo's the son of Hephaestus, god of the fire and forge."
"Hence the...fire," Damian supplies. "Though that is a rare ability."
Leo punctuates this by melding two pieces of metal together with a white-hot flame on his index finger.
"I am a Magician of the House of Life, following the path of Osiris, god of death." He reaches up again, withdrawing a curved sword and a long piece of wood that he twirls around. "A khopesh." He demonstrates by swinging the sword around. "My staff."
"Wait, you're an actual...magician. Like, abra kedabra." Tim waves his hand around, holding his imaginary wand.
Damian scowls, and Nico smiles, a quirk of his lips that isn't a smirk. "No."
"Yes," Nico corrects. "You have a wand."
"We do not say abra kedabra - "
"Like what you actually say is better?"
"I will show you exactly what I say - "
"Nope!" Will interjects brightly, pushing the staff away from Nico's face. Damian glowers at him, though there's no heat behind it. "We're not doing that."
"How did you get those?" Steph asks, peering at the weapons and making a grab for the blade. Damian swiftly takes it out of her range of motion.
"The Duat. Magicians can access different layers of reality. We store our supplies there."
"Is that how you never run out of weapons?" Duke asks.
Leo lets out a nervous laugh. "Nope, tried hugging him once. He has way too many weapons on him."
"I have as many weapons in the Duat as I have on my person," Damian snaps, and the weapons disappear again. "Now, you were talking about Todd being a son of Nemsis."
"The Greek goddess of revenge," Jason remembers. He's been distant the whole conversation. "You're saying - what. I'm a demigod?" He scoffs, but it doesn't sound that disbelieving.
"Unfortunately," Nico agrees, grumbling as he moves closer to Will by the other's insistence. "I don't know how you managed to escape monsters' notice, but it's probably...all...this."
"I'm surprised you can't feel what I feel," Damian snipes, more comfortable now that the attention is away from him, which Dick never thought the day would come.
Nico's eyes narrow. Jason shivers. Shivers. And then Nico raises his hand.
Jason's hand raises.
"You're dead," he states, astonishment in his voice. "You're dead."
Jason, meanwhile, is looking at his hand with a sort of terrified realisation.
Damian scoffs. "Ghost King," he says, mocks, really.
"That might throw a wrench in things," Will muses. "But anyways. You're a son of Nemesis. Gotham probably hid you, monsters almost never come in here because the gods avoid it, so that's how you're...well, I was going to say alive, but that doesn't seem to be true."
Nico withdraws his hand. Jason's hand falls limply to his side. "Right," he agrees.
Dick interrupts, "Look, I'm sorry, can you explain this fully? All of it?"
Leo and Nico exchange looks, Will already nodding. "You're going to explain him as well," Nico adds, jutting a thumb towards Jason.
The explanations take a very long time.
No one gets much sleep.
***
"There's a gathering, next weekend," Leo explains as they prepare to leave the next morning. Dick's head still hurts. "Egyptians, Norse, Romans, Greeks, and I think we've invited the Mayans. Caldecott tunnel. Damian should know where it is. He's obligated to come, of course, and so should Jason - he's got a brother there."
"Right," Dick repeats as he watches Nico shrug on his jacket and Will chastise him for something. They don't look like the type to save the world. But then again, who does? "Damian mentioned none of this. I thought he was going to go to Brooklyn?"
Nico shrugs. "Secrets aren't uncommon in both our worlds. And he was probably going to portal from Brooklyn straight to Camp Jupiter with the rest of his magician friends."
"Jealous that I have friends?" Damian cuts in, smirking as he crosses his arms. "di Angelo."
"Wayne," Nico greets coolly. "Horrible to see you, as always."
"I hope you stay above ground this time."
"They're getting closer to the friends part," Will sighs.
Damian shrugs, hint of a grin on his lips. "Friendships are based on a semblance of respect and liking. I have none."
Nico rolls his eyes.
"Anways," Leo stresses. "Mortal families are allowed to come. At least, the most trusted ones. Percy's mom is coming and you cannot miss her food. It's amazing."
"What he's trying to say is that you're invited," Will clarifies. "Usually, we'd wait awhile, let things settle down, but you all are more than capable of defending yourselves, and you have an Egyptian and a Greek in your family, so it'll mix anyways. Where we're meeting is mainly Roman, but it won't really make a difference. We're closer than ever after Hazel got promoted to praetor, though they might get a little testy."
"Meet the family," Leo jokes. "Welcome to the never-ending world of Greek tragedies!"
"I'll bring them," Damian sighs, annoyed. He waves a hand at them. "Todd deserves to have a semblance of a normal life."
Dick's pretty sure that they are the closest thing to normal here.
Nico gives him one last glare, Will a smile, and Leo salutes them with his second and third fingers, suitcase at his feet. The shadows wrap around them, the temperature drops, and then there's nothing there.
Dick really hopes he wakes up soon.