The Marvelous Adventures of the Superbat Family

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Since it was the weekend Alfred did let the boys sleep in a bit before waking them up.  Dick was difficult to wake (as always) but to his surprise Billy was already up and dressed, wearing one fo the red blazers had Alfred had bought him.

“Breakfast is ready,” Alfred informed him.  “You look quite dashing this morning.”

“Thanks,” Billy grinned sheepishly.

“I hope you like pancakes and sausage.  Best to hurry before Master Dick gets up of you might not get anything,” Alfred joked.

Billy’s eyes widened and he took off running down the stairs.

“I probably shouldn’t make jokes like that,” Alfred sighed then followed albeit at a much slower pace.  By the time he reached the kitchen Billy had already piled his plate full and was scarfing it down at an alarming rate.  “I was just joke, Master Billy.  I won’t let you starve – I promise.”

Billy still looked rather doubtful but he did slow down and actually chew his food.  Bruce and Dick came down shortly after the four enjoy a semi-leisurely breakfast.

After breakfast they loaded into the limo.  Dick spent the ride explaining the functions of all the buttons to Billy who quickly got over his shyness and eagerly began bouncing up and down, earning smiles from Alfred and Bruce.  They were pleased to see the boy acting his age and had every intention of encouraging him.

Once they reached the mall Billy was awestruck and probably wouldn’t have moved if Alfred hadn’t taken charge and escorted him to the nearest department store, sensing that Billy would portably freak out if he saw the price tags at the stores Master Bruce usually bought from.  As it was Billy still tried to protest but Alfred ignored them and instead asked for his opinion on different clothing items.  Dick took pity on Billy after the third suit fitting and picked him out some t-shirts and not-so-stuffy dress clothes.

After the clothing store Dick eagerly dragged Billy to the toy store.  When Alfred and Bruce caught up with them Dick was checking out the video games while Billy stared in wonder at the Legos and superhero toys.  Bruce grinned when Billy’s hand twitched at the sight of a Batman and Superman set of action figures.

“You can have them if you want,” Bruce plucked them off the shelf and handed it to Billy.

“Wow, really?” Billy had an incredulous look on his face, the same look he’d had when Clark and Bruce had expressed interest in him.  He was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for them to announce that they were just toying with him.  Not for the first time Bruce cursed whoever had hurt Billy in the past.  They deserved to suffer the way Billy had suffered.

“You can get those and whatever else you want,” Bruce promised, picking up a Batman themed Lego set Billy had been eyeing.  “I promise, Billy, you are allowed to ask for anything you want.  You won’t get punished for asking.  I may have overheard your conversation last night,” he admitted hastily when Billy shot a betrayed look at Dick.

“Master Bruce!” Alfred was scandalized.

“It was an accident,” Bruce protested.

“Sure it was,” Dick rolled his eyes.

Billy didn’t seem that upset by Bruce’s eavesdropping (he was used to it now though – he worked with the man almost every day) and instead asked, “Can I get that one too?”

Dick grinned when he realized Billy was point at a Robin action figure.  “Come on, Bruce, you gotta let him get that.”

Bruce chuckled and picked it up as well.  After a brief hesitation he got a Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy set too.  “You know Harley's a very good psychiatrist not that she’s reformed and Pamela works very well with her.”

“Subtle, Master Bruce, very subtle.”

“Fine,” Billy sighed.  “I’ll talk to her.”

Bruce beamed.  “I’ll talk to Clark and we’ll set up a time next week.”

“Joy,” Billy didn’t look very excited but Bruce chose to ignore that and focus on the positive.  Once Billy had a positive diagnosis they could see about moving him to a different school, preferably one that didn’t employ horrible teachers.  Billy had quite a few gaps in his education and Bruce hoped that more personalized teaching would help fill in those gaps and they would have to limit his off-world missions when school was in session.

“Come on,” Dick grabbed Billy’s hand and tugged him to the video games.  “Pick out some that you like.”

“Okay?” Billy looked a little confused but followed him anyways.

“Nothing scary or inappropriate,” Alfred cautioned.  “’There’s no need to give him nightmares.”

Dick rolled his eyes but did steer Billy towards the family friendly section.  While the boys picked out games Bruce took the opportunity to text Clark about going to see Harley.  He kept an eye on Billy who was now staring at the Pokémon stuff and made a mental note to buy him the anime.

He was brought out of his musings when small arms wrapped around him.  “Thanks for everything, Mr. Bruce.”

“Not a problem, Billy,” Bruce returned the hug.  “Not a problem at all.”