To Be A Bat

The Incident Part Two

Bruce was unusually quiet as he looked around the massive cave they were now in. He looked up at Jason with a question in his eyes but too afraid to voice it. Jason smirked at him after taking his helmet off one handed.
"Welcome to the Batcave, shortcake."  Bruce tilted his head to the side in confusion but went with it. Alfred approached the two, a slight smile gracing his face.
"Master Bruce, how are you feeling?" The butler's British voice caused Bruce to practically jump into Alfred's arms.
"Alfred! Missed you." The last part was muffled into the suit. The Bats removed their masks and studied their father/mentor/friend for the first time. His face had bruises and cuts, his neck looked like someone had strangled him, and his wrist and ankle looked broken. Dick moved closer with one of the med kits they had laying around.
"Hi, Bruce. I'm Dick. You probably don't remember me or the others but we want to be your friends and help you. Would you let me fix up those cuts and look at your hand? It looks like it hurts really bad." Dick's gentle demeanor and Bruce's subconscious won the boy over. He nodded hesitantly. Alfred coughed slightly to get Bruce's attention.
"I'm terribly sorry, Master Bruce, but I must leave for a week to care for my brother and cannot cancel this plan. I promise you that these people will take excellent care of you." Alfred's eyes were filled with regret and love as he kissed the boy's head and placed him on the ground before taking the elevator back up to the Manor. Bruce Wayne looked like a kicked puppy as he awkwardly shuffled in the place he was set down.
"Would you like Jason to hold you as I patch you up?" Dick's suggestion was met with a quick nod. Jason plopped down on the ground and opened his arms as the boy silently sat in his lap. The others either settled around them, started to train in the center of the cave, or type up a report and investigate why Bruce was hurt. Selina offered her de-aged husband a smile which he returned with a smaller one.
"Okay, Bruce, I'm going to clean out those cuts but first you need to choose the bandaids you want." Dick smiled as he showed the kid the wide selection of colorful and awesome patterned bandaids. Bruce picked out the bat themed ones every time and the group laughed good naturally. Barbara was watching the scene from a short distance away when her father called her.
"Barbara, I'm outside the Manor right now. I'm concerned for Bruce. Could you let me in?" Gordon smiled as his daughter gasped.
"How'd you know that I'd be at the Manor?" Barbara almost slapped her forehead at the stupid question.
"You are engaged to Dick Grayson Wayne. It's not really that hard to figure out." He chuckled at her groan.
"I'll be a moment, just need to change." He sighed.
"Barbara, I already know the family secret. I've known it since the first time you put on the cape and cowl. Just let me in already." Barbara agreed, hung up, and briefly told the others as she went up the stairs.
"I knew it! Jason, you owe me $50!" Dick's exclamation made some of the others laugh. The computer dinged and Tim paled. He didn't draw attention to what he had found yet, letting Dick finish patching up Bruce's face.
"Okay, now we gotta take this suit off so that I can get a good look at your wrist. I promise no one's going to hurt you." Dick's reassurance and the assistance from Jason got the top of the Batsuit, that somehow shrunk with him, off the way too thin boy. No one allowed their shock or anger to show, something that the adult Bruce would have been proud of.