Lauriver Chronicles

Chapter 19

Back in Gotham, Bruce had decided to show Oliver the thing every person who learned his secret wanted to see as soon as they found out. The batcave. And he was also going to introduce Oliver to his team, to help reinforce the idea that Oliver should not try to go in alone. He'd tried that at first and he'd nearly lost himself in Batman, despite Alfred's best efforts to help him stay in touch with Bruce Wayne, but that had changed after he'd met Selina, first as Batman and Catwoman and then as Bruce Wayne Selina Kyle. And eventually that had led to him reconnecting to his humanity and expanding his team to include several others.

"So, why exactly did you invite me over to your house, since you know I have a presidential suite at the Gotham Four Seasons right?" Oliver asked and Bruce chuckled.

"I know. I asked you here so you can see the thing I know you've been wanting to see since you found out my secret. I'm gonna show you the Batcave." Bruce said as he led Oliver into the parlor and opened up the grandfather clock and to Oliver's surprise, Bruce moved the hands on it to say the time was 10:48, causing a secret panel to slide away to reveal a hidden entrance.

"Talk about a cliche, but why did you choose that time for the entrance?" Oliver asked Bruce as they got in the elevator right before the panel closed.

"It's the time my parents were murdered at, since just like how your yacht going down was your defining moment, watching my parents get killed by a mugger was mine." Bruce said and Oliver nodded as the elevator opened to reveal the Batcave.

"Okay, I am officially jealous of your lair and I haven't even seen mine yet." Oliver said as he looked around to see the batmobile on a round rotating platform in the center of the cave, along with the huge T-Rex skeleton overlooking the computers and next to the computers were several display cases, each one holding a different suit and the center one contained Bruce's batsuit.

"Well, considering the images I've seen of your base, I think you'll be very happy with how it turned out." Bruce said with a smile.

"Did you ever get the guy who killed your parents?" Oliver now asked.

"I did. Back when I first started, one of my primary focuses was on finding the man who killed my parents until finally not only did I do that, but I also tracked down my mother's pearl necklace, which is what my parents were killed over." Bruce said.

"Did you kill the person who did it?" Oliver asked.

"No, but I almost did. That's the first time I ever tapped into that kind of darkness and I swore that I'd never do it again. Not even when I fight the Joker." Bruce said.

"Look, I respect your code, truly I do and most of your rogues, I can understand you not killing, but the Joker, I feel like he's the one guy worth making an exception for, since you two have been playing a game for years that's nearly left Gotham in ruins more than once based on the reports I've read about you. When is enough going to be enough?" Oliver asked.

"You sound like Selina. And Dick and Kate and Helena and even Alfred." Bruce said.

"Who's Dick and Kate?" Oliver asked, since while he knew who Selina and Helena were, he had no idea who the other two were.

"I may have started out alone on this mission, aside from Alfred of course, but it's grown beyond that. I have a team now and they not only help me protect Gotham, but more importantly, they help me keep balance between Bruce Wayne. My team is made up of people who've become family in one way or another. My wife Selina is Catwoman obviously and my daughter Helena is Huntress, but it's not only them. You do know who Batman's sidekick has always been right?" Bruce asked.

"Robin?" Oliver asked and Bruce nodded.

"Well, I've actually had several Robins. The first one was my adoptive son Dick Grayson, who after he grew up, decided he was done being a sidekick and adopted a new costume and persona of Nightwing and while he does work with me from time to time, he prefers to stick to his work in Bludhaven. The second Robin was my next foster son, Jason Todd, who I lost in the line of duty, since Jason had too much anger in him, he was rash and reckless and made the mistake of going after the Joker alone and it got him killed. I've probably felt closer to killing in that moment than I ever have in my life. The current Robin's name is Tim Drake. He actually deduced who I was himself and after seeing how close to the edge I got after losing Jason, Tim convinced me to make him the new Robin, since even with all the others I have, it became clear that Batman needs a Robin and Tim's proven to be the perfect choice, since he's better prepared for the role than Dick or Jason ever were, even after he lost his own parents." Bruce said.

"You're really going through Robins. Don't you feel guilty about roping them into this world, this life?" Oliver asked.

"Everyday, but in the end, it was always their choice. And they're not the only ones who've made that choice. My cousin Kate Kane is also on my team, going by the moniker Batwoman. When she was around the same age I was when my parents died, her mother and sister were killed in an accident caused by the Joker. Kate blamed the Bat for years before she found out who I was. Kate's stepsister Mary serves as my team's medic, since she's almost done with medical school and considering all the risks my people take, it was agreed that we needed someone to patch us up when we needed to. My company's CTO Lucius Fox is also in the know since he's our resident genius, he built my suit and pretty much all the other tech you see down here and his son is just as much of a genius and figured it out himself. I was originally gonna have Luke work with his father down here as mission control, but I think that his skills would be better served with you in Star City. The final member of my team is actually Tim's girlfriend, Stephanie Brown, aka Spoiler, daughter of minor Gotham villain, Cluemaster. She helped me take down Cluemaster five years ago and I brought her into the fold to help protect her from her father's retribution if she found out. The reason I'm telling you all this is because I want you to understand that this mission is a heavy burden to bear and while you may think that you're doing the right thing, pushing people away, in the end, you'll just end up running yourself into the ground if you try to shoulder it alone. Surround yourself with people you trust and don't go into battle alone. After all, you're a soldier, isn't rule number one to never enter a battle alone?" Bruce asked and Oliver nodded.

"Yeah, it is. But I don't want to risk anyone getting hurt because of me." Oliver said.

"Oliver, I get that, but trust me, it's better to have people you trust in your corner, since you're not Superman, you can't do everything alone and I still think that Superman going solo is a dumb idea. But anyways, you probably won't have a choice. When I became Batman, it inspired both villains like the Joker and Mr. Fries, but it also inspired people to take up masks to help protect the city. And I have the feeling that the Green Arrow will have the same impact on Star City. So you'll need to be there to help those people learn to fight for their city on your terms, not their's." Bruce said and Oliver nodded.

"There is one person that I know I can trust to have my back, the only problem is that he's one of those people who views the world as black and white. He can't see the grey." Oliver said.

"Let me guess, John Diggle. I did my research on you and I agree with you that he's a viable candidate, as long as you can get him to understand your reasons like you got Laurel to understand, since I do approve of you telling her the truth, since before I met Selina, my secret ruined a lot of relationships. It's better to have it out in the open in romance. Especially in the event she wants to join you in the field." Bruce said.

"Yeah no. Laurel has no interest in that, especially since at least one of us should be around to take care of our daughter." Oliver said.

"I get it. I have a son around Jasmine's age, Damien and while it isn't easy for Selina and I to both be in the field, we both know that we're doing it to make Gotham a safer place for Damien grow up in the hopes that he won't end up joining the family business." Bruce said.

"Still, Laurel made it clear when I first told her that while she'll support me, she wants nothing to do with what I'm doing herself. But she does want to bring in a friend of her's to serve as a medic, but I'm not sure if I can trust them, since while Laurel trusts this person, trust is not that easy for me. The only reason I'm accepting this Luke guy is because if Batman trusts him, he must be trustworthy, since you're probably the only person who's more skeptical of people than I am." Oliver said.

"Fair enough. But I think that if Laurel trusts this person, than you should give them the benefit of the doubt." Bruce said and Oliver nodded.