The Marvelous Adventures of the Superbat Family

Workplace Changes

The Justice League’s next meeting was held two days after their dinner with Billy.  Batman was grateful as that meant he could implement a few new changes he had been working on since first seeing Captain Marvel's place.  Billy had reluctantly sent a few pictures of the subway he was now crashing at and, while it wasn’t an entirely horrible place to stay, Batman wouldn’t be satisfied until Billy was sleeping in a real bed.  Clark obviously agreed with him as Bruce had caught him looking at a furniture catalog for kids.  Bruce couldn’t say anything since Alfred had already prepared Billy a room next to Dick’s and even bought him some clothes.

“Now that everything else is done with I have a few more items to discuss and then we’ll be done for the day.”  Batman ignored the groans (namely Green Arrow, Flash and Green Lantern) and kept speaking.  “It has come to my attention that some of you,” he looked pointedly at Flash and Green Lantern who slunk down in their seats, “have pretty much moved into the Watchtower.  So, I’d like to announce that some of the extra rooms have been converted into living quarters.  Every member of the Justice League will have one and they are lead-lined so you’ll have complete privacy.  You can decorate them however you want and they are soundproof.”

“Awesome,” Green Lantern grinned.  “I can finally stop paying rent on the apartment I rarely use.”

“Same here,” Flash agreed.

Captain Marvel didn’t say anything but he shot Batman a dirty look which the older man chose to ignore.  He wasn’t doing this strictly for Billy (although it was a contributing factor).  “I’m also giving the food an overhaul and providing more healthy foods like fruits and vegetables since I’m getting tired of eating nothing but junk food.”  (If part of the reason was because Billy needed to eat more healthy foods he would just keep that to himself.)  “Any questions?” when there weren’t any he nodded in approval and said, “In that case this meeting is adjourned.”

The other heroes quickly filed out leaving Batman and Captain Marvel facing each other.  “I don’t want your pity,” the younger hero said, his arms cross and his expression right.

Having anticipated this Batman had an answer ready.  “It’s not pity, Billy, its concern.  I’m allowed to be concerned about my friend and teammate that lives in a less than ideal place.  Besides, I’m getting tired of seeing Flash and Green Lantern sleeping on the couches in their underwear.”

Captain Marvel still didn’t look convinced but he nodded and worried at his bottom lip then asked, “Could you guys come to supper tonight?  I’ve got something important to ask.”

“Sure,” Bruce was startled but didn’t let it show.  Instead he smiled as he asked “Is six still good?”

“Yep,” Captain Marvel grinned then left.

Billy was already waiting for them in a booth when they arrived.  He waved at them hesitantly and they returned the gesture as they sat down.

“Hey, Billy,” Clark grinned.

“Thanks for inviting us,” Bruce smiled gently.  “Is everything alright?”

Billy hesitated then let out a heavy sigh.  “I have a parent-teacher conference tomorrow,” he explained.  “And I was wondering if uh, if uh,”

“I’d be happy to go with you,” Bruce assured him.   “What time is it?”

“Three thirty,” Billy said.  “Thanks by the way, I appreciate it.”

“Not a problem,” Bruce winked.

“Have you given any thought about staying with us for a weekend?” Clark asked once the waitress had left.

Billy hunched his shoulders and reluctantly nodded.  “I guess a weekend couldn’t hurt,” he mumbled.  “But no funny business or I’ll stab you.”

“Somehow I don’t doubt it,” Clark sighed.  “Well since Bruce is going to your school tomorrow how about you come to my place after school this Friday?” he suggested.  “I can pick you up after school lets out.”

“I can just fly there,” Billy pointed out.  “It’d probably be a lot faster.”

Clark shot the boy a look.  “It’s the quality of the time we spend together, not the quantity.”

“Huh?” Billy blinked.  “I didn’t understand a word of that.”

“It’s Clark speak for ‘I’ll pick you up after school,’” Bruce explained.

Billy shrugged.  “It that’s what you want.”

“And maybe next weekend you can stay with me.  Robin’s always complaining about not having anyone his age to hang out with and Alfred’s getting tired of having to read comics and play video games just to keep him occupied.”

“I don’t know much either,” Billy admitted, “but I’ll come over if this weekend goes well.”

Clark and Bruce exchanged triumphant glances then turned their attention back to Billy who was steadily devouring his chicken tenders.  A phone call to the owner had confirmed that Billy was indeed eating the meals Clark had provided for him.  A long talk with his mother had convinced Clark that chicken alfredo was a reasonably tasty yet healthy meal.  What she really wanted thought was to meet Billy but Clark didn’t think he was ready for that just yet.  Until he learned to trust Bruce and Clark as father figures and not just as fellow superheroes it was best not to overwhelm him if at all possible.  As Bruce had pointed out on the way over Billy was prone to panicking and panic attacks weren’t fun to deal with especially with a wary, suspicious kid like Billy.

“So what’s your favorite subject?” Bruce asked.  He needed to be prepared for the meeting tomorrow.  “’And don’t say recess,” he joked.

“I like history,” Billy decided after a moment.  “There was a bunch of history books in the attic with my parents stuff so I kinda feel closer to them which is probably pretty stupid.”  His face was red as he started at his empty plate.

“It’s not stupid,” Bruce said firmly.  “I still have a bottle of my dad’s cologne and I wear it on really bad days.”

“And I have a hologram of my biological father,” Clark added.  “It’s kind of creepy though so I don’t use it very often.”

“It really is,” Bruce agreed.  “It keeps trying to give Clark tips on how to woo me for some odd reason.”

“Oh,” Billy tilted his head to one side.  “So you guys aren’t dating?  Everyone here thinks you are.”

The two men started at Billy for a long moment then Clark said, “I’m sorry – what?”