nefarious. [hiatus]

III

The cold night air was crisp and sweet: Axel could forget that they were in Gotham. The silhouettes of towering skyscrapers defined against the soothing night sky, Axel couldn't help to feel slightly at peace as they looked towards the ocean- the boat that their mother was on sailing into the distance.

"I apologize if this is an inconvenience for you, Father- I will try my best to stay out of your way," Axel sighed as they looked towards their father- before looking at the famous Batmobile,
"Don't worry too much about it- so far, you're doing a lot better than Damian did," Batman sighed as he got into the car earning a chuckle from Axel as they got into the passengers' side, "Speaking of Damian, there's no telling where he is right now. I told him to stay home, but the kid never listens," He continued as he began to drive back to the Manor- which only made Axel crack a smirk,
"He's been like that his whole life- I'm sure he's trying his best to break out of old habits," Axel stated as they stared out of the window.

Batman pressed a few buttons on the screen in the middle of the car's dashboard before an unfamiliar voice spoke,
"Master Bruce?" The British accent spoke,
"Alfred. We've got more company," Batman spoke back, "Oh, and tell Damian we've got a surprise for him," He added before looking at Axel, then back at the road,
"Oh? Well, it couldn't be as bad as the last one, I suppose," Alfred muttered before the call ended.

There were a few minutes of comfortable silence- Talia was right, Axel did get along with their father. Though Axel couldn't calm their nerves when they thought of how Damian would react to seeing them again: would he be angry that they left him? Would he be happy to see them? Would he be upset that his life was better without them in it? Did he even know they were alive?

"First time in Gotham?" Batman asked- breaking the silence the two were sitting in,
"Yeah, unfortunately, I haven't travelled much," Axel responded, averting their gaze from the window to the dashboard in front of them.

─── ・ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Woah, this place is a lot bigger than I imagined," Axel mumbled as they climbed out of the car while looking around- examing the Batcave,
"Yeah, a lot of people say that," Batman just chuckled as he turned towards Alfred- who conveniently was awaiting their arrival.
"Alfred," Batman began as he gestured towards the awe-struck teen, "This is Axel. They are my child. They are Damian's older sibling," He finished, bracing for Alfred's reaction- fortunately, Alfred only sighed,
"So another one? Honestly, I'm not very surprised, Master Bruce," Alfred smiled at Bruce and Axel,
"Where's Damian?" Batman asked while taking off his cowl, which caught the attention of Axel,
"In his room, you might want to talk to him, though: he doesn't seem too happy about the 'surprise'," Alfred sighed slightly, looking at Axel- who was now standing next to their father.

Bruce nodded,
"I'll go change, Alfred, please, get Axel a change of clothes and make sure Damian doesn't see them- I'll go talk to him," Bruce patted Axel's back before he walks away.
"Well, I might as well introduce myself; I'm Alfred Pennyworth- It's nice to meet you," Alfred smiled at Axel,
"I'm Axel- It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope my brother wasn't too much of a hassle- I'll make sure he's in check from this point forward," Axel bowed in front of Alfred- once again catching him off guard,
"Oh my- there's no need to be so formal. I would never imagine you were related to Master Damian," Alfred chuckled as Axel stood up straight again, "I will go get you some fresh clothes- just wait here- Master Bruce will probably be back soon."

"Thank you, Mr Pennyworth."