Has it ever occurred to anyone just how strangely hours d'oeuvres is spelled? Why could it not just be orderves or something?
Anyway... this chapter is dedicated to Pantone_518 and Asmaabushneba for their requests for a part 2. Enjoy
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"Um guys," Clark said, trying to get the attention of the rest of the league. "Guys!" He ended up yelling.
The other leaguers jumped, looking over to Superman with looks ranging from glares to slight confusion.
"Batman just left," Clark said, gesturing to the now empty seat that Bruce had occupied only moments before.
"Where'd he go?" Barry asked, racing over to Bruce's seat and checking out the news feed that was still playing on the small holo screen. "Looks like Gotham news," he muttered.
"Batman isn't exactly the kind to run out on a meeting though, even if his city is in some sort of danger. He would at least tell us," Diana said.
"If he really saw something on the news bad enough to make him run off like that then it should still be on right?" Clark asked.
"Nah, the news was just saying something about some attempted shooting. Nobody was hurt, and some kid stopped the shooter, so I don't think he'd have to rush off to fix that," Barry reasoned.
"Maybe he just has explosive diarrhea," Guy suggested.
"Lantern... Please, just don't," Clark groaned.
"Maybe we should just call him and see if he needs help," Diana said after a moment.
"He hates people trying to help him though," Clark muttered. "He doesn't trust anyone, let alone us."
"Maybe we should wait like an hour to see if he'll call us for help, and if he doesn't then we'll call him," Barry reasoned.
Clark sighed and nodded, gesturing for everyone to sit back down so they could continue their meeting.
—
Bruce settled into his chair in the Batcave, opting simply to stay at the cave and watch over his eldest rather than go out and patrol. He'd just started to relax himself, feeling the tug of sleep on his eyelids when his computer alerted him to an incoming call.
The call was from the Justice League, and Bruce inwardly groaned. They must've noticed him rushing out and assumed something cataclysmic had happened.
Bruce pulled up his cowl and routed the audio to his cowl comm system before answering.
Video feed from the league popped up on Bruce's large computer screen. "What?" He answered gruffly, hoping the league members would take a hint and leave him alone.
"What happened? Why did you leave? Are you ok? Are you trapped? Dying?" Barry asked in something nearer to super speed than Bruce would've liked.
Bruce looked over his shoulder, making sure Dick was still asleep. "I had some personal business," he said quietly.
"So nothing bad has happened?" Clark asked suspiciously.
"Nothing you should be concerned with," Bruce whispered, quieting his voice even more when he noticed Dick begin to stir. "You'll have to call back tomorrow if you'd like to interrogate me. I'm rather busy right now," Bruce said, ending the call.
Bruce plopped back down in his seats, letting out a huge sigh. He didn't even bother pulling off his cowl this time before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
—
"Something was definitely off," Barry said, pacing rapidly.
"He was acting rather strange... whispering, looking over his shoulder..." Diana said.
"We should probably go check on him..." Clark said.
"Oh goody," Barry said, nearly bouncing up and down. "We finally get to see the Batcave!"
"Ya, but how are we supposed to get in? Batman has everyone's access blocked except his own," Diana said.
"Weeeeell," Barry mumbled. "I might be able to hack it to give us access, but I'm honestly a horrible hacker so I'll probably only be able to do it for a few of us."
"Wonder Woman; you, Flash, and I will go," Clark said, feeling like the best option to not get murdered or drop kicked into the next dimension by the Batman was to stick with the original league members.
"Right," Barry said, moving to the zeta tubes and starting to type on the attached computer.
Even with super speed it took Barry nearly 30 minutes to hack the access for himself, Wonder Woman, and Superman.
"All together?" Diana asked.
Clark nodded, and all three stepped through the zeta tube together.
—
A robotic voice called out the zeta tags for Superman, Flash, and Wonder Woman, causing Bruce to snap awake and jump out of his chair. None of those people were supposed to have zeta access to the cave...
The three heroes stepped out into the cave, Clark holding onto Barry's shoulder so the speedster wouldn't immediately go speeding around the cave.
"Why are you here?" Bruce growled.
"There's something going on with you Bruce, and we don't want you to hide it from us anymore," Diana said, nudging Clark when she noticed the spaced out look on his face.
"There's a fifth heartbeat," Clark mumbled, looking around in confusion.
Bruce panicked. He'd kept his children secret from the league for so long, and he certainly didn't want them to find out about them now. "My butler," he grumbled.
"They're sleeping," Clark said, completely ignoring Bruce's attempted cover up. He listened to the person's deep even breaths, his brow furrowing when he heard the slight hitch in the breathing when it was slightly too deep. "They're injured too," he concluded.
Bruce was silent, but inwardly he was swearing like a sailor. Why did his colleagues have to be so freaking nosy sometimes?
Clark floated up off the ground, following the sounds of the heartbeat to the Batcave's medical ward.
Diana and Barry followed Clark, with Bruce trailing behind them, trying to think of some quick mind wiping technique.
Clark gasped when he saw Dick laying on the gurney, a look of confusion blanketing his features. "You have a kid?" He asked, voice filled with total disbelief.
"I actually have four," Bruce said, folding his arms. He inwardly smirked when three pairs of disbelieving eyes were turned on him.
"The heartless Batman has four children?" Barry asked, nearly falling into the seat next to Dick's bed.
A drunken sounding "Shhhhh," came from the gurney as Dick was awoken by talking that was much too loud for his liking.
Bruce glared at the three leaguers, knowing that Dick desperately needed the sleep he was now being robbed of.
"B?" Dick asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes in confusion when he saw the three other heroes at his bedside. "Who are..." he started, eyes widening in awe when he recognized Superman, Flash, and Wonder Woman.
A huge smile spread across Dick's face, and he sat up quickly, momentarily forgetting about his wound.
Dick cried out in pain and surprise, falling back to the bed with sweat beading his forehead. "Nnnngh," he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.
Bruce was at his side in an instant, adjusting the bed to be in more of a sitting position, and propping Dick up with a few pillows.
Dick let out a quiet whimper and grabbed onto Bruce's hand, squeezing it tightly.
Bruce ran a hand through Dick's hair, smoothing it off of his forehead.
"W-why are they here?" Dick asked, looking at the three leaguers.
"They're trying to be detectives I guess," Bruce said.
Dick chuckled softly. "They look too surprised for me to think they're good at that," he said.
Bruce laughed, making the league members stare at him in confusion.
"Where's everyone else?" Dick asked, smothering a small yawn.
"They're on patrol," Bruce replied, looking over at the league members.
"What?!" Barry shouted. "You have four vigilante children?"
Dick winced at how loud the leaguer's voice had been, still harboring a small headache.
Bruce glared at Flash. "Yes," he said.
"Oh my... oh my... he's been endangering children for who knows how long..." Barry said, voice filled with panic.
Dick rolled his eyes. "Calm down Flashy," he said. "I can handle myself. We can all handle ourselves."
"Well if that were really true you wouldn't be confined to a bed," Barry retorted.
Dick's features hardened into a glare which he leveled at the speedster. "I'll have you know that I received this as a civilian, and I'm not trying to expose my identity to the world," he said, scooting to the edge of the bed and standing, much to the protest of his body.
"Hey Bud," Bruce started, noticing the way Dick was swaying tiredly. "I think you should lay back down."
"Not until I show that ignorant speedster just how well I can handle myself," Dick said stubbornly.
"Woah, I'm not fighting an injured opponent," Barry said.
"What? Afraid you'll loose?" Dick taunted, gingerly doing a few stretches to test his limits. His wound burned excruciatingly, but he'd fought through worse pain before so he figured he'd be fine.
"Fine," Barry growled, turning to Bruce. "But if I beat your child... sidekick... whatever than you have to agree to stop this whole child soldier thing you have going with these kids."
Bruce nodded, deciding not to mention that two of his children were adults and the other two probably wouldn't listen to him even if he tried to tell them not to patrol.
"Hey B, toss me my escrima," Dick said. "It's only fair that if he gets to use his speed that I get to use my usual method of fighting."
Bruce smirked and tossed Dick his escrima sticks. Flash really didn't know what he was getting himself into.
The two heroes took their places on the sparring pad, Bruce briefly explaining how the rules worked. The winner being the one who knocked the other one down first.
Bruce nodded once they both seemed ready and gestured for them to begin.
Dick quickly decided to stand his ground and let Barry come to him, knowing that it would give the speedster the advantage if he came rushing at him.
As expected, Barry soon came rushing at Dick, expecting to knock him down on the first pass.
Though not nearly as fast as the Flash, Dick sidestepped the attack, leaving a foot out for the leaguer to trip over.
Barry tried to stop, but Dick brought his escrima sticks around, slamming one into the speedster's back and the other into the back of his head.
The sudden impact caused Barry to stumble forward, tripping over Dick's outstretched foot and falling to the floor.
"Flash fail," an automated voice called out.
"So, does this mean you have to hang up the cowl?" Dick asked jokingly.
Clark masked his snicker with a cough. "I think we'll actually be going now. We better save Flash from any more embarrassment," he said, steering the other two heroes toward the zeta tubes.
Once the two had gone Dick visibly sagged, stumbling as his escrima sticks slipped from his grasp.
Bruce was at his side immediately, and Dick leaned against his chest, fighting to keep his tired eyes open.
"I think I need more sleep," he mumbled, snuggling closer to Bruce. "Mmm, you're soft."
Bruce smiled, seriously doubting that seeing as he was still in his armored Batman suit. "Let's get you back to bed chum," he said, scooping the younger up and carrying him back to his temporary bed in the med bay.
"Wait!" Dick called, sudden panic filling his chest as Bruce started to leave. "Don't leave me!" He called, trying to sit up and reach for Bruce's arm.
Bruce was shocked, but he turned and took the seat next to Dick's bed. "I'll stay right here, that alright?" He asked.
Dick nodded, a slight embarrassed flush covering his cheeks.
Bruce's lips curled up in a small smile. "Goodnight Dickie."
"G'night," Dick replied, letting his eyes fall closed once again.