Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Peter was dying. Tony watched the boy he’d gone out of his way to invent time travel to bring back to life. The rest of the universe had piggybacked on the fact that Tony Stark loved Peter Parker. 

Now he was dying again. 

His boy lay in the dirt of Wakanda. His arm was charred from where he’d stolen the stones. He’d realized he could use his Starktech with the glove’s Starktech. Then snapped. Tony had always been proud of him. Now he was—

Peter’s expression fading in and out. He was trying to say something. Tony read ‘May’. Peter wanted his real mother. 

“—-save him?” Tony begged before he realized he said the words. Strange and other sorcerers approached him. They looked at Peter with sorrow. “Please, save him.”

“We send him to a different universe.” Strange said. “Separated from us. Completely. It won’t be an alternate reality. He’ll die if we send him to an alternate one of ours.” Tony would lose his kid either way. 

“What will we tell his aunt?” Tony asked. His kid kept mouthing May—he wanted May. God Tony couldn’t even give him that. 

“He saved the universe. She should be proud.” Wong said. “His legacy is all of ours, the universe. We will make sure his name is known.” Tony felt the tears fall down his face.

“How will they accept him?” He didn’t want to send his kid to a hell where he was alone.

“We make them think he’s from a future that never will be.” Strange said. A group of sorcerers gathered near him. A spell was beginning to be cast. Tony didn’t care. He grabbed his good hand and felt the fingers grip him weakly.

“We will need to send him to a universe where a variant of one of his parents exists.” A one handed sorcerer said. Peter was losing the ability to stay awake. Tony stirred.

“May…” Peter said weakly. “M..ark.” God his kid was going to go.

“That will be enough to anchor him.” Strange agreed.

“Found one. He will grow small when we send him there. It will convince them more.” Another said. Tony spoke. 

“Karen, change any information in your database to match the story.” He knew she was registering the order even if she couldn’t reply. His tech was good. It would survive enough. Peter’s eyes focused a bit more. He looked at Tony. Tony knew that wasn’t a good thing. People tended to focuses more near death. “Hold on, kid. Just another few seconds.” Tony said. He was crying.

“I’m sorry, Peter, but you have to forget enough for this to work. Remember the threat of Thanos, what happened here will never come to be there when you grow again. The rest will work itself out in your mind. I promise. It will be half lies you won’t even know.” Strange said. His eyes were teary. “Thank you for saving us.”

“May..What..” He got out. 

“I’ll take care of her kid. I swear. I love you, bambino.” Tony said and that was all he could say as the spell finished. Tony saw him shrink into a smaller person, still hurt, but no longer dying. Then the yellow-orange rings that had formed around him converged on him. 

Then he was gone.

Peter felt warm and safe for a moment. He wasn’t hurting as much anymore. He wanted May. Peter’s focus sharpened. He saw Mr. Stark and sorcerers.What was going on? Had Thanos done something?—Peter suddenly was blinded the magic. He closed his eyes. 

The ground he’d been lying on was gone. Peter opened his eyes. He closed them quickly as he’d been surprised by the bright blue sky of Earth. Peter opened them. 

The earth was very far below. Peter didn’t have any where to grip. There was no buildings around him. There was nothing he could go to.

Then he was falling.

Peter screamed. 

The Wayne family was enjoying a cook out with the Kents. 

Gotham was having nice weather for once. The sun shined down over the manor ground and the wind kept them cool. It was honestly almost too good for Gotham. 

Bruce was thankful good weather usually reduced crime as criminals wanted to enjoy the days as well before the casual gloom returned. 

Dick and Jason were swimming in the outdoor pool they rarely used. 

Tim was under a parasol and chatting with Conner, who sat in the sun outside of it’s reach.

Jon and Damian were…somewhere. Bruce should probably find them before something broke or was hidden. 

Cass and Stephanie were sunning. 

Duke was with Alfred and learning how to grill. So far Jason was the only one allowed to help. Duke was slowly proving another approved helper for Alfred. 

Clark and him were enjoying drinks. Selina and Lois were in the city shopping or stealing or committing some kind of espionage for a story. If Bruce didn’t ask he wasn’t obligated to stop it as far as he was concerned when it came to Selina. 

It was a good day. 

It was too good a day. 

Honestly Bruce shouldn’t have been surprised terrified piercing scream cut through the air. The family jerked to attention and started looking for it. Jon and Damian appeared, covered in leaves and dirt. 

“What is going on?” Jason demanded. 

“It’s a child.” Conner said as he looked too. 

It took Clark less time to locate it as he vanished in a flash, not bother to announce his discovery. 

Bruce saw the blur flying into the air. He saw the figure that was screaming. A body, small and hysterical from the scream, something shot toward Clark from one arm. Clark startled before seeming to work with it. Ropes? Bruce wasn’t sure what it was. 

It helped slow the descent and reduced the risk of whiplash. Clark drew the person in and held him. He approached the family slowly. This move might have cost Clark his identity but saving a child was more important. 

The family is gathered around. Alfred had sent Duke to get a medical kit. Clark finally landed. The small figure in his arms was crying, sniffling and covered in metal armor. The left arm was badly burned. The armor there was charred.

Bruce approached first. He and Dick were good with kids. Jason was the best honestly but his son was currently looking like a drowned rat. It didn’t exude comfort per se.

“Hello, I’m Bruce Wayne. I can get you help. Can you tell us what happened?” The small figure shrunk a bit. 

“Mr. Stark and Doctor Strange said I had to go away or else I’d die.” The figure said. The voice was painfully young. The armor spoke of a child soldier. Bruce was not one to recognize his own hypocrisy but Dick had been determined to fight. There would be no stopping him, just aiding him in staying alive. “They said the future wouldn’t be like that anymore.” 

Fuck time travel. It sounded like a collapsed time line. This kid was likely a paradox that wouldn’t exist now with the flow of time. It’d been why he’d been sent back so he had a chance of living. 

“Okay, thank you.” Bruce said. “We can take you to a doctor. Can you tell us your name?”

“It’s a secret.” The child said. “My secret identity.” He sounded tired now.

“What can we call you then?”

“‘M Spider-Man, with a hyphen.” 

“Hi, Spider-Man. I’m Batman, no hyphen. Can you take off your armor? I promise we’ll keep what you look like a secret. The man who saved you is a hero too.”

“I’m Superman.” Clark said. 

“Okay.” The armor retracted. Bruce took in a breath. He looked like Dick. He was a smaller boy and paler but that was almost what Bruce remembered of his oldest when he came home. “I’m tired.”

“We’ll keep you safe.” Dick said near him. “I promise.” Spider-Man turned to Dick. It took a lot of effort. 

“Tati?” Spider-Man went unconscious. Dick stiffened. 

“Did he just—?”

“We can test him while we care for him. Duke, Alfred let’s clean him up. Someone call Leslie. He needs care for these burns.” 

They took Spider-Man (Bruce really needed his name soon but that could wait) to the cave. Clark and Conner investigated the sky from where Spider-Man had fallen. They needed to see if they could find something. 

“I heard something, before the scream came.” Jon said softly to him. “It was like a ffff sound.” Jon said. “I didn’t know what it meant but then he came.”

That wasn’t very useful but if they heard it again perhaps they could connect it. Right now Bruce had to see if this child was his future grandson, one who was meant to never exist.

Chapter Text

Dick watched the little boy in the hospital bed. His left arm was heavily bandage. They’d had to move him to one of the League hospitals. The burns on his arm were too severe for the cave. The public hospitals would report his mysterious wounds and the Waynes’ involvement.

Bruce had run a DNA test as soon as they’d gotten the boy in the cave. Leslie had taken one look at him and had him hauled to a hospital. Dick had gotten the results on his phone while they prepped his son for surgery. His arm needed to have debris removed and potentially amputate some of his severally burned hand. Dick had signed off on the forms as the next of kin.

His first foray into fatherhood and it was his son’s surgical form.

The family had had a talk about accommodations. The manor had been altered to accommodate Bab’s wheelchair. Those served the family well when one of them broke a leg or had limited mobility. They decided to wait to see what happened.

Miraculously his son hadn’t suffered any amputations as Leslie and the other doctors who’d examined him had predicted. There was talk of grafting in the background. Dick had drowned it out once he knew it wasn’t going to happen immediately.

This was his son.

One never should have existed because the timeline that conceived him had collapsed.

Bruce was going to talk to Flash about it. Dick hadn’t cared at the moment. He was more worried about his new son.

Dick was watched him breath. He looked so small in the big bed. He needed a haircut. Dick found that observation rather absurd.

There were a pair of tiny shoes, socks, pants and a smart watch in a bag next to Dick. They were the only things his son had from the life that had would never be. The smart watch held the armor he’d worn. It didn’t turn on. They assumed the boy would be able to activate it.

There was another bag with a bloodied and ruined shirt. It had a pair of test tubes on it with a little science pun. It would have been cute on him. The doctors had cut it off before the surgery.

The test didn’t show a match to a mother yet. Dick wondered if his son had been born out of love. If it had been an accident like Damian had been. Had he been loved?

His son had been surprised to see his Tati. Was Dick gone? Had he died or left him? Why hadn’t he recognized Bruce?

So many questions and no one would get anything until his son woke up. He was sleeping off the surgery and starting his healing process. It would take months. The bruised and cracked ribs, the arm, the hairline fractures on his legs, the bruises on his face and body were all testament to a hard battle.

This boy was around seven or eight. The doctors weren’t sure. Dick started fighting when he was eight. He hadn’t been fitted in a high tech suit. Bruce had given him armor and training but it had been Dick’s choice to fight. Had his son been given the choice? He worried he hadn’t. They’d know when he woke up.

Dick simply waited. He knew his siblings were running an investigation with what they had. Alfred was setting up a room in the manor. Bruce had taken down some of Dick’s old clothes from the attic. Dick hadn’t even known those were up there.

A knock to the door had him looking up. Jason stood by the doorway with Tim. Dick suddenly felt very tired.

“Hey, Big Bird, can we come in?”

“Yeah,” Dick motioned to the other empty seats.

“Did you find anything?”

“Nothing, yet. They’re still looking at it. Flash will be investigating once he gets off work.” Tim said. Dick nodded.

“How’s Bruce?” Dick asked.

“Having a mild freak out now that he realized he’s a grandfather. He called Selina to get her support so we might see her around.” Jason said.

“Is she gonna be grandma?” Tim asked.

“I don’t know.” Dick looked at the sleeping boy. “He didn’t recognize Bruce.”

“I didn’t think of that.” Tim said. “Why wouldn’t he recognize Bruce but you? Did something happen that you cut off B again?”

“Or he’s dead.” Jason said grimly. “I mean eight year old, even if it’s Dick’s kid, fighting in high tech armor isn’t a good sign.”

“He did say a Mr. Stark and Doctor Strange sent him back too. Why wasn’t someone from the League with him?” Tim said.

“Strange? Like Hugo Strange. Fuck. The world really was fucked if he was fighting to save the world and send a kid back as some kind of good act.”

“Unless he’s not a good thing.” Tim said. He looked at the sleeping boy. “What if he’s meant to bring about something bad—“

“Tim—“ Dick did not like that implication.

“A kid from our family would be the best tool to use.”

“Look, let’s wait until he wakes up. Maybe it’s another guy named Strange. We can’t assume anything.” Jason tried to reason.

“I’m not going to ostracize my son before he has a chance to wake up.” Dick snapped. “He just had major surgery.”

“But Dick it could be a thing—“

“It isn’t.” Dick snapped. “He didn’t try fighting us nor did he do anything evil. He’s just a hurt kid.” Dick said. “He’s not meant to exist but someone thought he deserved to exist. Hugo Strange would save himself before he sent back my son or anyone.” Tim grimaced. He had a point. Dick knew it.

“I wonder what age you had him.” Jason said changing the subject. “Like it can’t have been recently.”

“We’re going to make up a story of a teenage pregnancy aren’t we?” Dick asked rhetorically. “Mom who kept him away from me like Talia did with Damian to Bruce.”

“I mean at least he’s likely not an assassin? Just a little hero.” Tim tried to brighten up the situation. “I’ll be his favorite uncle.”

“No, I will be. I’m the original brother.”

“He’ll get to choose.” Dick said. “I wonder what his name is. I like Jake. Always thought maybe naming a kid after my dad and calling him Jake.”

“Isn’t Jack the nickname for John?” Tim asked.

“I don’t like Jack.” Dick said.

“Maybe his mom named him we can’t start calling him Jake and his name is like Belial.” Jason added.

“That’s a terrible name.” Tim said.

“It’s just an example.” Dick snorted. Whatever the case may be for his new son Dick would love him.

“I’m gonna sit with him until he wakes up.”

Their phones buzzed. Dick looked down at it. Bruce had sent an update. His son’s dna had undergone a more thorough examination while he’d been in surgery. Part of it was trying to find his mother or a relative and to see if he had any genetic problems they should be concerned about.

It still hadn’t yielded any results for his mother. It did find something peculiar. There was foreign DNA. Spider DNA mixed in with his son’s DNA. Initial results speculated it belonged to some sort of hybrid spider.

Spider-Man. His son had said his name was Spider-Man. The superhero name made sense now. His son was part spider.

Great.

Dick didn’t think he could get any more surprising news. Unless his mother was some sort of sort of spider-woman of course that would have shown a cleaner mix rather than look like an addition.

It didn’t matter to Dick. He loved his son already. Spider or not, Dick would raise hm and love him and the rest of the family would welcome him

“How is this not the weirdest thing our family has seen?” Jason asked.

“How did he become mixed up into this though?” Dick muttered.

“We’re gonna have to wait for him to wake up.” Tim said. Yeah, that was true.

They sat together for a while. There was no sign but the machines keeping track of his health. His brothers thankfully didn’t ask any questions about the upcoming care his son would need that could wait.

Dick saw his son’s eyes moving underneath his lids. He was dreaming. Hopefully this meant he was closer to being awake. Anesthesia always had risks.

Peter dreamt. A cacophony of memories passed through his mind as it replayed his life. Slowly it seemed to restitch itself.

His tati smiled at him with his mother. They were going off somewhere. He’d bring Peter something back from there or the airport. He wrinkles around his face and the small grays in his hair vanished, replaced by the image of the man he’d seen at the pool. His mother’s features also soften, then grey mixed with her hair color vanishing.

Uncle Ben grasped his arm to keep him from running after his parents. They waved them off from the window. Peter turned around. His older uncle’s hair was graying at the temples. He’d seen that face at the pool too but the white was in the center of his head. The image shifted to be younger.

‘Did you forget to dye your hair?’ Peter asked this new version of his Uncle Ben.

‘You always remind me to dye my hair.’ Ben said and tugged at the white.

‘’Cause you didn’t like the white.’ Peter said with a smile.

‘I’m not that old yet!’ His uncle said as the scene shifted to him at the bathroom mirror. He was applying the dye to the sides of his hair and through it.

‘Honestly, Ben, no one cares if you don’t dye it.’ May said.

‘I do! They look at you and wonder why you’re with an old man!’ Uncle Ben said with a laugh. May rolled her eyes. His uncle looked younger than his tati.

The scene shifted again. A funeral. Tati and mommy were gone. Peter and Ben were the last Parkers. May kissed his forehead good night. Ben came in later at his cries.

‘Come on, let’s remember good times.’ Ben said.

Peter was brought to the living room. There was a photo album out. Ben was looking at photos of Tati when they were younger. A lot of the images were blurry to him. It was a long time ago.

“This is your grandparents. My dad and daï,” Ben showed him the picture. The image was blurry. “There names are —-Bruce—- and —-Selina——-. They would have loved you.” Peter’s eyes drooped as he felt sleep come to him with every picture. The slender man was replaced by a bigger one but it was faded from memory just like —J-Bruce—--Parker had been by the time Peter grew up.

Time seemed to go missing. Peter couldn’t make sense of that in his sleep. The months shifted. Tati had died when he was six. The spider bite seven ye—-months—- later.

Ben had died a few months after that. Mr. Stark came months later. The Vulture was his friend’s dad. Helped him and May. The the ships came almost a year later.

His mind shifted things into obscurity. Peter sighed in his sleep. He wondered why he’d worried.

He didn’t even wonder why being eight, almost nine, was so peculiar. Peter *been* eight. It made sense he was still it.

Maybe because he was meant to be —-13—-. He’d died on Titan after all. That was scary but tati was here now. Mr. Stark said Thanos would never be again. He was from that. He was safe.

Dick was dozing when the whine woke him up. He saw Jason and Tim jump up. His son was waking up.

Dick got up. He motioned for Tim to get the doctors. The whine was high and distressed.

“Shh, you’re safe.” Dick reassured. He was sure his son was brave but he was injured and healing. Even Dick had been disoriented as Robin when he was healing some days. Bruce and Alfred had been by his side then.

“Tati?” The voice slurred.

“Yes, it’s me, chavi.”

“Mmm it’s hurts.”

“You’re injured.” Jason said softly. His son’s unfocused eyes settled on Jason.

“Un’le Ben ya forgot ta dye your hair again.”

“Yeah?” Jason played along.

“May doesn’t care if you look old. Tati looked older than you.” He slurred out. Looked? Fuck. Dick knew he was dead in the future.

“Oh and what does she tell you?”

“‘Peter, don’t be vain.’.” *Peter* said. His eyes were closing again.

“Hey, chavi, stay with me a bit longer. Where is your mom?” Dick asked quickly.

“Dunno. Plane went..down…’t sea.” Peter slurred. Tim’s arrival without a doctor caused his eyes to flutter opened a bit wider as if it had given him a bit more energy. “Unc’ Ben sad. Coffin empty. Ben’s buried nex-ta it. May got real sad. I wanna be buried n’x Ben.” The rest trailed off as he fell back unconscious.

“What happened?” Tim asked.

“He came to for a moment. Where’s the doctors?”

“I couldn’t find one. One of the nurses is calling them.” Tim said.

“You’re dead? Both of you? Who’s May?” Tim asked.

“I don’t now. Ben’s wife I guess.” Dick said. He looked at Jason. “You’re Ben?”

“I guess so. What does he mean you looked older than me?”

“Is he saying I was younger than you?” Dick was confused. Tim frowned.

“What?” Dick asked.

“What if he doesn’t know who we really are? Like something happened that maybe caused us—well you two to go hiding. The rest of us are probably dead. Jason changed his name to something more common and you switched who was older. If you were hiding from someone it’d make sense to change the birth order if you wanted to stay in touch.”

“Except we’re both dead.”

“Dick could be hiding.” Tim tried.

“Not if I was sad.” Jason said gruffly. “We couldn’t recover a body. Dick wouldn’t leave his son.”

“No.” Dick agreed. “I’d’ve taken him with me.”

“Damn it.” Jason hissed. Dick glared at him.

“Language, my son might wake up any minute.” Dick said. Jason glared.

“He thinks he’s dying. He said he wanted to be buried next to me.”

“Oh, shit. He’s right.” Tim said.

“So what do we do?” Dick said in distress. “If he thinks he’s dead or dying he might give up and—“

“He knew he came back in time when he got here; we’ll get him up to date, back to date, when he wakes up I think he was just groggy and confused.”

“If you two were hiding then I still don’t get why he still didn’t recognize B.”

“I don’t know.” Dick said. “It’s just guessing right now. We have to wait for him to wake up but he’ll know Bruce and Alfred this time round.”

Dick sat back down on a chair. A doctor came at that moment and checked up on his son. His vitals were good. He’d likely wake up for good next time.

Tim texted the family of what they’d heard.

They waited.

Bruce appeared a few hours later with Cass.

“You boys should go eat. Dick I’d ask you the same but I don’t think you’ll move.” Dick shook his head. He wasn’t leaving. He barely wanted to go to the bathroom.

“Okay, B.” Jason said. He looked exhausted. “Come on, Tim.”

“Yeah, I’ll go. I need to take my antibiotics.” He said. They left.

“How are you doing, chum?”

“I apparently die in a plane crash with his mother. We don’t know how Jason dies again. We guess you’re also all dead.” Dick said. “We go from eight Waynes to one. Jason changed his name so I’m guessing we don’t even go by Wayne anymore.”

Bruce looked grim.

“Whatever happened isn’t going to happen again. Barry looked over the area near home. He was able to see the notes of a collapsed timeline. Nothing going backwards was changed just forward. He can’t trace it very far. That would track with him being your son. He can only be from so far in the future if he recognizes you two.” Bruce said. “Whatever happened released a lot of energy too. What Barry observed was just the echo of a small part of it but he said it was akin to two nukes.

“How far from the future was he?”

“Twenty years from now.” Bruce said and sat down. Cass had said nothing until then looked at Dick.

“It’s a long time.” Cass said. “Enough for us to all die.”

“Why wouldn’t we talk about you?” He said.

“If you had to hide the best way to do it is to not tell him anything. Maybe when he was older you’d planned to say something.”

“Then we died.” Dick’s lips thinned. “What if they’d found us too? Whoever we were hiding from? He wouldn’t know who we were hiding from.”

“He was sent here now. If we know to be alert for something we’ll probably have a butterfly effect and stop whatever killed our family off and caused you to hide.” Bruce mused.

“Death by a thousand cuts.” Cass said to the death of the danger that would never be.

“So we’re likely safe?” Dick said in a relief.

“As safe as we ever are.” Which meant they were in danger but not world ending danger typically. That was Gotham after all.

His father and sister went quiet and watched his son.

Another hour passed. Dick was about to doze against Bruce when a groan from the bed got his attention. Cass signed. Peter was more aware now.

“May?” Peter called. His eyes fluttered opened. They landed on Cass first. His eyes widened. “You’re not May!” He tried to sit up but his arm was immobilized. A quick look of panic faded into confusion as he looked at Bruce and Dick. “I remember you…you’re Batman.”

“And you’re Spider-Man with a hyphen.” Peter’s cheeks reddened.

“‘S important.” He said.

“I’m sure it is, chum. I said I’d help you. We did. You were really hurt. You’re at the hospital.”

“I thought—Tati, is that really you?”

“Yeah, chavi. We did a DNA test to be sure but I’m your tati before you were born.” Peter frowned.

“Oh. I was dying. Got the stones away from Thanos. Mr. Stark and Doctor Strange sent me back to one of my parents. They didn’t know which or when.” Dick frowned it had been a Hail Mary pass then. Dick guessed. “I was falling?”

“You appeared in the air, chum. If Superman hadn’t been there you’d have fallen.”

“Oh they were dumb.” Peter looked at Cass. “Who’re you?”

“Cass. Black Bat.”

“Why do you know superheroes, ta-daddy?” The change in word had Dick frowning.

“I’m a superhero too, chavi, Nightwing.”

“I don’t know those heroes.” Peter said.

“We’re from Gotham.” Bruce said.

“I don’t know a Gotham. I’m from New York. My favorite hero was Mr. Stark. Iron Man. He helped stopped an alien invasion.”

“What about the other heroes? The Justice League.” Peter looked very confused.

“There weren’t any other heroes before Mr. Stark.” He said. “‘Cept old ones but they were gone.” The declaration had them go quiet. There was no Justice League? Dick shivered. Something had wiped the majority, if not all, heroes out.

That would explain why he and Jason had hidden. Dick could imagine them trying to regroup and work to get them back. Then he’d likely had a child unexpectedly. then it was more important to stay safe. Keep him safe because they had nothing else.

“Do you know why there weren’t any other heroes?” Bruce pressed. Peter shook his head.

“No, history isn’t my favorite. I like math and science like ta-daddy.”

“You can call me tati, chavi. Bruce and Cass know I’m Romani.” Peter’s expression darkened.

“Mommy and you said to be careful because people would hurt me for it.”

“Do you know what your tati meant by people could hurt you for it?” Bruce pressed.

“Bad people want to hurt people like us.” Peter said grimly. Cass nodded at them. Whatever Peter had been saying was true as far as he knew. “Had to hide mommy being Jewish too. Helped our last name was Parker. Mommy said to say I’m Irish or English if someone asked and I had a bad feeling.”

“Do you know who I am, chum? Do you recognize me?” Peter shook his head.

“No, just met you.”

“Did I tell you anything about my family?” Dick asked. He looked at Cass. She was signing. He was saying all he knew.

“Just that they were gone. You had Uncle Ben and that’s it. I think Ben said your parents were uh Bruce and Cecilia. No… I don’t remember your mommy’s name right. It’s something like that.”

“Selina?” Cass asked. Peter smiled.

“Yes!” Dick felt himself pale. They had been fully under a fake life. Bruce and Selina as his parents.  He likely tried to keep parts of his family history, adopted or not, alive with his son. “My arm is itchy. Can I take this off?” He pointed to his cast.

“You’re really hurt, Peter.” Dick said.

“How’d’you know my name?” Peter asked suspiciously.

“You told us when you woke up before. You might not remember that.” Peter shook his head. “It’s okay. I know it’s scary but it happens with anesthesia.”

“Oh. I’m fine though. It hurt a lot before now it’s itchy. My skin’s growing back like after Vulture. May took care of me.”

Bruce sighed. “Let’s get a doctor, chum, okay? Burns take a while to heal.”

“I heal fast.” Peter said seriously. “But you gotta keep that a secret. Mr. Stark said people would wanna use me if I wasn’t careful. May too.” May was his aunt, Ben’s wife or something. Jason had found a partner in the future.

“I promise you’ll stay safe, chavi. The doctors here care for people with powers and who are heroes.”

“I didn’t know there were heroes before. I should’ve paid attention in history.” Peter said. The rest could wait. Peter would need to get a check up. Then after a few more questions they could set-up his identity and Dick could raise his son, hopefully without him dying in a plane crash.

“Chum, I meant to ask, for the doctor, how old are you?”

“Um eight but I’m supposed to be 13.”

“What do you mean?” Cass asked confused. That was a confusingly true statement then.

“Oh I died. For five years. Half the universe did. It hurt a lot. More than my arm.” Peter said like he just hadn’t shoved a knife in their hearts with anger and dread.

Half the universe.

What the heck had happened? Dick doubted his son would be able to provide much information besides what he’d experienced.

Okay maybe the rest of the questions couldn’t wait —except Cass had said death by a thousand cuts. Whatever they had failed to prevent likely would be prevented by them all. The League would be on alert for danger that would wipe them and half the universe out. Any build up would be cut down piece by piece with their simple investigations.

The doctors were rung. The smartwatch next to Dick came to life. They startled but Peter brightened.

“Karen!” Peter called. “Are you okay?”

“I am functional, Peter. We are currently in New Jersey.” A mechanical feminine voice said.

“New Jersey?” Peter said in disgust. “Ew.” The childish statement had Bruce rear back in surprise.

“Chum, Gotham is in New Jersey. That’s where we all live.”

“No…Tati, can we move to New York when I’m better?”

“Sorry, chavi, I live in New Jersey too, Bludhaven.”

“This is the darkest time line.” Peter said grimly as the doctors rushed in.

Chapter Text

Despite Peter’s unhappiness at being condemned to New Jersey (his word choice, not Dick’s), Peter was a bright child. He showed some unhappiness at not being able to go home - as there was nothing to go back to. He seemed interested in the fact that he had had more family and why Dick and Jason had lived under different names.

They might not know the why, ever, but they could piece things together from Peter’s name.

Peter Benjamin Parker - that was the name Dick had given his son.

It was a nod to Jason’s real middle name. His fake name was Peter’s middle name. A little too heavy handed though if it was just a nod to his only living family.

If Dick had been responsible for naming him alone that choice wouldn’t make sense to him. He’d have just used Peter to honor Jason. There was probably input from Peter’s mom that contributed to that name choice.

Dick liked the cadence of it. He’d add Grayson to the name soon. Maybe Wayne should be added too. Dick didn’t want their family history to vanish anymore.

Bruce had paled when he heard the last name Parker.

One of Bruce’s contingencies for the family involved various aliases to vanish under. There was one very fleshed out identity under the name Parker. All they would have to do was input first names and a program would fill in their names in the various legal databases.

At least they had some idea of how Jason and Dick had ended up with the new names. The rest was still a mystery but they’d lost their wealth. Peter had lived in small apartments with his parents and Ben and May working long hours.

“I’m allergic to peanuts.” Peter said as he stared at the peanut butter and jelly sandwich the nurse had brought in. Dick grimaced. Allergies and a mild asthma his powers were working on eliminating were part of learning his son’s medical history. It was going to be a scary learning curve. Dick guessed that was true of any new parent. Peter gave Dick an unhappy look. “I also gotta eat more.”

The single sandwich and apple might have filled a normal child but Dick wouldn’t have been satiated by it at eight. He had gymnastics then vigilantism that worked up an appetite for him. His son was also a meta. It would make sense he had a bigger appetite.

Peter had been fed by Alfred cooked meals carried over by some sibling or Bruce the past few days. Today was an exception. He was getting discharged after one final look over.

Peter healed amazingly fast. His minor wounds had healed over the course of a week at the hospital. His arm still had a long way to go but it was unlikely he’d need a skin graft.

“I’m sorry, chavi. I’ll get something else. I’m going to take you home today—“ Dick ignored the grimly muttered ‘New Jersey’—“so we aren’t getting more than a snack here for you. Alfie will feed you right up.” Dick picked up the tray and peered into the hallway. The family had to attend to Gotham business.

So Dick had called to his friends for backup. Dick saw Wally in the hallway. His friend looked up. “Wally, can you get Peter a different snack? He’s allergic to peanuts.” Wally nodded and took the rejected food. He’d eat it. Meta appetite and all.

“Yeah, no problem. He still doing good?”

“Yeah, just his arm. We’re waiting for the doctor.” Wally vanished. Dick went back into the room.

“Why are your friends here?”

“It’s better to have two people here to help keep you safe.”

“You said this was a hero hospital.”

“It is but I don’t want to leave you alone.” Dick said. He’d spent the last week in the room with Peter. He’d been cleaning up in the bathroom and ate with his son. Dick was not leaving his paradox son alone.

However this meant Dick also got shit sleep and wasn’t safe to drive. Wally would take them back to the manor. He was grateful for his friends.

“You’ll understand when you become a parent.” Dick said. He really did because Bruce hated leaving his children injured or sick. Having more than one meant Bruce couldn’t camp out with his younger siblings like he used to with Dick.

“You barely met me, tati.” Dick heard the insecurity.

“And when parents first see their babies they fall in love with them right away. Once I knew you were mine I fell in love with you, chavi. I’m not going anywhere right now.” Peter seemed to relax.

“I love you, Tati. I missed you and Ben.” Dick bent over and kissed his son’s forehead. “I’m not going to get mommy or May back am I?”

“I don’t know, chavi. We can tell your mom you came from the future. It’s not that unbelievable with what we have experienced in the world. We don’t know May though. She didn’t know we were Waynes. It’s not a lifestyle people want to join.”

“Can you make sure they’re safe? I don’t know if May got killed too.” Peter sounded sad.

“Yeah, we’ll look for them and make sure they’re safe at least.”

Wally came back for food and that killed anymore of the talk as Peter ate. His little man was starving. Dick knew it had to do with his body devoting more energy to healing.

Like Wally, his son’s powers had come from a science accident - a radioactive spider bite on a field trip. Bruce found the fledging Oscorp and started investigating it. They speculated the company would grow and develop when Wayne Enterprises fell with their deaths.

Bruce was determined to buyout the company. It’d prevent any accidental kid metas in fifteen years when another group of school children went along. Dick had a trippy realization his son would be an adult now when he had linearly gotten his powers. Better for the mild time oddity than his son not existing.

They’d need to get more information about the alternate future in the future. Right now Dick wanted to get his son out of the hospital and home. Dick wanted a shower and to sleep in his own bed again.

Tony watched the gathered crowd with trepidation.

This was the first conference since Peter’s sacrifice and the world had settled down a little. People wanted to know what had happened. Despite the crowd Tony felt hallow. He kept staring forward. He didn’t dare look back.

Dressed in black, May Parker was sitting in the front row with Pepper and other Avengers. Her expression was blank. Her eyes were glassy and nose blown red.

Tony didn’t want to remember her scream when they told her Peter’s fate. That scream would haunt him forever. She’d raised Peter since he was six. She’d known him since the day he was born.

Tony’s grief hadn’t overwhelmed him in the aftermath of the fight because he had to stay strong until he could tell May the news. Duty had held him up until the scream. Then Tony had fallen like a puppet with its strings cut.

They had done what they could to save Peter but May still lost her child. She didn’t even have anyone to bury. Peter’s empty coffin lay next to his parents empty ones.

Tony thinks there might be a poetic connection there but his brain was on survival mode. He couldn’t see it if it existed. His bambino was gone. The Avengers were now working on making sure May Parker didn’t join her husband from overwhelming despair.

The crowd quieted as they neared the press conference start.

Tony took a breath and spoke about aliens and madmen from the stars. He spoke of impossible odds and the boy who motivated him to bring them back. He stumbled when he could not express the weight of Peter’s sacrifice.

“I met a boy who had been through so much tragedy but still wanted the best of people. I-I-“ he struggled. May got up. Her expression was blank. Tony let her push him back. Whatever she had to say she should say.

“There was a fifteen year old boy named Peter Parker. To you he was-was S-Spider-Man— he—All he ever wanted to do was help people. My husband-my husband used to tell him that with great power came great responsibility.

“It’s from Voltaire. Ben liked to read. We just wanted him to raise him right. Then Ben died. When Peter got his powers he started helping what he called the little guy. People like us.

“He had great power so he used it to help people. He made us his responsibility. He had power and he helped save half universe. He got his hands on the power that killed us and used it to save us for good.

“His name was Peter and he liked Star Wars, movies and science. He made bad puns. He liked sneaking cookies. He couldn’t dance. He was -He was a hero but-He was my baby-all I had left.“ Whatever composure May had crumbled. She started to cry.

“Remember him and do good like he did.” She pulled back and sobbed into her hands. The crowd was shocked by her impromptu speech.

Tony escorted her away from the shocked crowd before the lull broke. His own tears joined her. He let the others take care of the rest.

“I miss him so much.” May said.

“I know, May. He’s going to grow up elsewhere. We have to remember that. He was sent somewhere safe.” May simply kept crying. “We got to be strong for him.”

May nodded. “Was there no other way?”

“They didn’t see one. We didn’t have time.” Tony said. She nodded. Peter was going to grow up with out them but he was alive.

That was the only comfort they had. Peter was alive. He’d grow up without them but he’d grow up.

Bruce was helping Alfred organize the pantry. After Peter’s allergy announcement the family had to go through and reorganize to help minimize cross contamination. Their entire dishware had been recleaned. Some things had been thrown out that were in unlabeled containers. Meta friendly epipens were procured. (Duke was very excited to not be the only meta in the family.)

Peter thankfully did not keep kosher. That would have required the opening of a second kitchen for them to keep proper kosher. Alfred had been the first to bring that up after they learned he was Jewish on his mother’s side.

Just because Bruce was also halachically Jewish and didn’t keep kosher didn’t mean Peter did the same. Bruce felt a bit like a bad son for forgetting to bring that up after they’d learned a bit of his grandchild. Alfred had sent food that had just followed the no-pork rule like Kate. It was a nice balance until they learned more.

As he through out another potentially contaminated jar of sunflower butter—His children opened too many jars. Why were there six? Did they each have one in some weird prevention of sibling rivalry?—, Bruce looked at his own father.

“Did we do this much when Dick came?”

“Yes, it was simply quicker as there was there was only the two of us.” Alfred said. “You’re preparing for your own grandchild’s homecoming.” Alfred smiled. “I’m glad to see it.” Bruce felt a flash of panic at the reminder he was a grandfather. Alfred chuckled at it. “Now you know how I felt, Master Bruce.”

“You never said anything!” Bruce said.

“Would you have appreciated my protestation that I am not old enough to be a grandfather?” Well no. Bruce would have stubbornly kept to the idea of raising Dick. “Exactly. You and Master Dick bonded with each other well. Master Peter might be Master Dick’s biological son but he’s as old as Dick was when you brought him home. He will look to you for advice.”

Bruce felt comforted at that. He might not know how to be a grandfather but he did know how to be a father. He’d learn to be a good grandfather as he advised his son. He looked at Alfred.

“How’d you raise me so well?” He asked as Bruce had no real close family. Alfred was never particularly close to his either.

“This pantry served for a good spot for moments of panic.” Alfred said.

“Wait. Is that why you were so concerned about going over my dinner plans?!” Bruce realized. Alfred simply hummed. “You’re a good dad, Al. I’m glad you raised me.”

“I’m glad to have you as a son, Bruce, for the circumstances we were given.” Bruce nodded. He would always miss his parents but Alfred was his parent too. Bruce hoped their family helped Peter feel loved with the loss of his aunt. Peter may have had a mother but he had had a second in his aunt.

She’d been his Alfred.

Peter’s arm was in a sling. He looked around the manor with a look of awe. Dick followed him with a smile on his face.

“This is where we’re going to stay?”

“For the moment, chavi. I grew up here.”

“You never said we were rich?!” Dick laughed.

“Bruce is rich. I’m…well off.” Dick said.

“Really, Dick? You have a stupid trust fund! You lived in the penthouse.” Jason broke through from the top of the stairs. Peter’s expression turned one into joy.

“Uncle Ben!” He said excitedly. He *jumped* up several stairs. His balance was a bit off but Peter seemed determine to get to him. “Uncle Ben, I missed you.” Peter started to sob.

Dick sighed. Yeah learning Jason was murdered for $2.57 when Peter had ‘run away’ had been a stab to the gut. Jason hadn’t been murdered for that. They knew that now. They’d been found by whoever they’d been hiding from. Peter was probably left alone since he’d never been brought into the family business.

“Hey, champ. I’m Jason, remember. That’s my real name.”

“Oh yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Just want to get you used to it.” Jason said and carried Peter back down. “B and Alfie are in the kitchen doing the last touches to it. They’ve thrown out anything with the word nut in it.”

“Peanuts are legumes.” Peter said cheerfully as he was put down. He skipped to Dick. Dick ran his hand through his hair. “I can have tree nuts.”

“We might need to clean out the pantry again.” Jason corrected himself. Dick laughed. Bruce would have known that normally. He really must be off his game at home with the new grandchild.

“What? We just cleaned it out.” Bruce called as he and Alfred entered.

“Your grandson has helpfully informed us peanuts are legumes. He can have tree nuts.”

“I get itchy with chickpeas.” Alfred sighed.

“Master Jason please donate whatever you can in the pantry. I will be reordering everything.”

“Will do, Alfie.” Peter looked at Alfred.

“Hi, I’m Peter.” He waved his good hand.

“Hello, Master Peter, I am Alfred Pennyworth. I have served the Waynes since Master Bruce was a child.”

“Oh I’m just Peter.”

“Don’t try to argue with Alfie, tati.” Dick said. “That’s just Alfred’s fancy way of saying he raised Bruce and is our grandfather.”

“And Bruce is your dad?” Peter repeated. “Why don’t you call him dad?”

“We do sometimes but we got used to calling him B and Bruce. Most of us were his foster kids first, that’s why.” Peter nodded. He looked at Bruce.

“Tati said you were Jewish?” Bruce nodded.

“Yes, my mother was Jewish.” Peter nodded. He looked very serious for a moment before he said.

“I never really had a zeyde. Mommy’s dad passed away when she was a teen. I just had a bube but she died when I was four. She said I had a lot of chutzpah.” Bruce’s eyes widened. Dick had to admit he was surprised that Peter was using the Yiddish title. He assumed B would be grandpa.

“Since Mr. Alfred is your daddy I can’t call you grandpa. That’d be too confusing. You’re my zeyde and Mr. Alfred my grandpa.” Peter said with the seriousness of a child who had never fought for the survival of half the universe.

“It’d be an honor to be called grandpa by you, Master Peter.” Alfred said and looked teary.

“Thank you, chum. I’m honored to be your zeyde.” Peter nodded. Then he smiled.

“Tati said we’d have food. I had to eat some chips and crackers and grapes. They were stale.” He made a face. “Aunt May cooked better.”

Alfred’s need to mother them all kicked in and he went to the kitchen to cook something safe.

“Do I have a room here? How do I not get lost?” Dick smiled and let Bruce take them to their room. Jason leaned over to him.

“Dick you need to shower. You reek. Little dude probably needs to clean up too but you really need one.” Dick elbowed his brother.

“Quiet, ‘Ben’.”

“You were too lazy to change your name. You just stopped being a dick.” Jason teased back. Dick rolled his eyes. Yes future him was unimaginative.

Things were going to be okay. He knew it.

Damian was excited to meet his new nephew. He was unsettled to know he had died in the next eight years. His nephew had been born in a bleak future. That would no longer occur.

It did not matter to Damian that his nephew should never have been born. He was there now and be raised by Richard. Damian was determined to be the favorite uncle. They were almost the same age. Damian a hardy eleven and two months to his nephews 8 and three quarters. Damian had years of experience ahead of him too. His nephew had only been a vigilante for less than two years.

Richard had forbidden Damian from encouraging Peter to become a Robin. Peter needed to become acquainted with the ‘past’ and current level of technology. Damian would help him. It helped Pennyworth had placed Peter’s room next to his.

Todd had the advantage of raising him for a year after Richard’s death at sea but that Todd was not their current Todd. This Todd had planted a Whoopi cushion in his backpack that had gone off when Damian had gone to school. Todd had sounded like some wise adult as he had not had the luxury of being careless with the new life and nephew.

Damian had no such issues.

He peaked into the room as Peter was having his bandages changed. The burns were severe, having been a charred appearance when he’d first appeared. His arm still looked grotesque but far less burnt than before.

Damian would be lying if he wasn’t surprised the arm hadn’t been amputated. He’d seen such damage in fires in Gotham. Peter was crying as ointment was being applied and bandages reapplied.

A figure bumped into him from behind. Damian looked behind to see Thomas. Thomas gave him a sheepish look. A pitiful sob caught both their attention. They peered in.

“I’m sorry, puisor. I know it hurts.” Richard said as he placed Peter’s arm in a sling.

“It’s not your fault.” Peter said. “Aunt May had to clean my back after Vulture. It hurt.”

“Who is Vulture?” Damian couldn’t help but ask. Peter turned to them.

“Duke, Damian.” Richard hissed. The look on his face spoke of recriminations later. “This is private.”

“It’s okay. They’re my other uncles too right?”

“Yes. These are my youngest brothers, Damian and Duke.” Thomas looked at the bloody bandages quickly before turning his attention to Peter who had his arm back in a sling.

“Hey, I’m Duke. I’m a meta too.”

“I got bit by a spider. I wasn’t born with powers.”

“That’s okay. We still gotta stick together.” Peter nodded.

“When I’m better we can see each others powers. Right now I’m a bit unbalanced by my arm. I don’t wanna move it a lot. It hurts.”

“That’s fine, buddy.” Thomas said.

“I’m Damian. You will be attending Gotham Academy with me. I will show you how to deal with the social maladjusted individuals there.”

“You can’t just call them a bunch of rich pricks.” Thomas added. Peter giggled.

“I attended a STEM school. I had an internship with Mr. Stark.” He said proudly.

“At your age?” Damian couldn’t help but be a bit skeptical.

“Uh huh! I went to Mr. Stark. He was taking care of me afterschool.” Richard’s face turned hard.

“Your aunt worked late?” Peter nodded.

“Yeah, Mr. Stark tried giving Aunt May money but she refused. So he took care of me with the internship. We built robots! I made a missile and bombs! And one time we made a volcano! Ms. Potts got really mad and made Mr. Stark clean it up.”

“When you say bomb, like a real one?” Thomas asked.

“Yeah! It could ‘level a city block’.” Peter made one a quoting sign with his good hand. His grin was manic. “Mr. Stark had the best weapons! He used to make them. Then he just made them for his suit and friends.”

“Tony Stark was known as the Merchant of Death.” A female voice added.

“Yeah! He made really big weapons.” Peter said excitedly. Damian hoped his nephew had not been the apprentice to a semi villain. “Then he became a hero and then he became an Avenger. And stopped aliens and gave me a suit.”

“What was that?” Thomas asked as he pointed to the female voice.

“That’s Karen. She’s my AI.”

“Karen? As in SpongeBob?” Damian had seen some episodes as a child. His mother had put them on the television when they had travelled. It helped him gain some cultural knowledge. He had liked a few of the things about its absurdity.

Peter beamed. “Yes! Mr. Stark didn’t get it nor did May.”

“I’m surprised it’s still a thing in the future.” Thomas said.

“It’s old but we didn’t have cable. I saw it at Ned’s place. His mom had cable.” He gave a guilty look. “I’d see some online too on YouTube instead of studying.”

YouTube? Damian wasn’t sure what that was.

“Yeah, I also made videos and put it on there when I became Spider-Man! Ned recorded it and we put it up. It’s how Mr. Stark found me.”

“You will not be doing that this time.” Richard said sternly. “You got lucky but here in Gotham it’s very dangerous.”

“Gotham, New Jersey no longer exists in the future.” ‘Karen’ said.

“Well it exists now!” Richard snapped at the machine. “And Peter is here for good.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not mad at you, Peter. I just don’t want you to put yourself in any danger.”

“Don’t worry, Peter. We have a lot of heroes you can train with and show them your abilities.”

“Can I join the Titans? Please Tati?”

“When you’re older, chavi.” Richard said. “Why don’t you two show Peter the den.I have to clean up.” It was an order despite the question. Thomas and him nodded.

“You never answered who Vulture was? Will be?” Thomas asked.

“Oh. He stole alien technology and sold it to bad people. He cut a ferry in half. I tried to keep it together but I couldn’t. Then he dropped a building on me. It hurt.”

Damian almost stumbled. What terrible future was there that a building falling on his nephew was something he did not panic about? Damian was glad his nephew had been brought to the past. They’d keep him safe.

“Well that won’t happen again and if it does you’ll be a grown up and ready.”

“Oh yeah.” Peter sounded brighter. “It’ll be less scary when he points a gun at me!” Thomas stumbled this time. The look Thomas gave him told Damian and he shared the same sentiment.

Yes, this was less a dystopia than the future.

Bruce looked over the assembled League. So far only Clark and Barry were the only ones aware of what had transpired.

Peter had had a long talk with his zeyde. Karen the AI had provided some information. Her technological abilities had been limited from the damage Peter had acquired in his last fight. It had been enough to paint a picture of the far future.

“Almost a month ago my family and Superman’s family were together.” He did not elaborate not every hero knew each other’s identity. “Our families were enjoying some good weather in Gotham when a scream interrupted our outing. Superman located the origin of the scream in the middle of the air and saved him.

“To cut things short, a child appeared midair. He was from the future. A collapsed future timeline.” Barry ran to be next to him.

“I investigated the anomaly. I determined the boy had come from approximately twenty years in the future. There was enough energy to account for the kid’s account that the future he lived in wouldn’t come to pass.” He sat back down in a flash.

“That child was my grandchild - Nightwing’s son. The information he’s given us is only partial as Nightwing and Red Hood had been living under an assumed identity. P, my grandchild, had very little knowledge of the Justice League. this was because the entire superhero population, as far as he knew, no longer existed.

“We’d been destroyed. From technology he had we found a lot of major cities no longer existed - Gotham, Metropolis, Star City… they are gone from the map.” A murmur from the heroes in the room spread from the alarm.

Bruce still couldn’t quite believe everyone of his children had been killed in the future. They knew how Dick and Jason had died (again) but the rest? Bruce feared they wouldn’t stop it despite knowing it likely wouldn’t happen.

He pushed through.

“He didn’t know what wiped us out. We believe Nightwing and Red Hood kept the information from him to keep him safe.” His lips thinned as he explained how Nightwing had been lost at sea in a plane crash and Red Hood shot for change (the group read between the lines, his sons had been found).

“Another league of heroes rose in our absence but it was not enough to stop a different threat.” He started the presentation.

Bruce thought about the list of heroes he had amassed from Peter and Karen’s information. He had several under their pseudonyms but many simply didn’t have one.

“This is Iron Man. He lead the Avengers, a team of highly skilled people who came together for an alien invasion.” The sketch was based on Karen’s schematic. A suit of red metal armor with repulsors. “He took up the mentor role for my grandchild when he begun superheroing.” There was a raised hand. “I will address any questions at the end.”

Tony Stark was an up and coming weapons designer and worked for the military. He was moderately wealthy and brilliant. He was also going to be kidnapped in a few years. As a result apparently secretly build a suit of armor that came out to help save people then used when aliens invaded. He also created some renewable energy sources. Bruce was going to approach him to appeal to the latter.

“There were various members on the team. There are two former spies who broke their mission to join the fight. We only know the code names they used as heroes - Black Widow and Hawkeye. Hawkeye used a bow and arrow but was confirmed to be a sniper by the tech. Black Widow used hand to hand combat and guns.” Queen made a comment about being copied. Bruce ignored it.

They couldn’t find trace of two spies Peter mentioned who’d stepped out and into the public eye to help fight aliens. Most spies could not fight aliens no matter how good their skills. They’d likely stay AWOL to them because Peter didn’t know their real identities. “Hawkeye” and “Black Widow” were likely still undergoing intense training or missions. They would have been stupid to give out their real names.

“We have a little knowledge of an old World War 2 soldier who fought. He was likely a very early meta as he had super strength despite his age. I doubt he is looking to rejoin the fight. We are not looking to recruit him again.” The decided to leave ‘Captain Rogers’ alone and retired.

“They had a meta whose codename was ‘The Hulk’. This is Bruce Banner, soon to be Doctor Bruce Banner, he is pursing a doctoral thesis into gamma radiation. He experiences a lab accident which gave him abilities. Given the circumstances we will try to dissuade the future Doctor Banner from pursuing these experiments. We speculate the lack of oversight bodies resulted in unsafe laboratory testing.”

“Next is someone we want to make contact with. Zatanna you will take point on this.” Zatanna frowned but nodded. The picture of Stephen Strange came on screen. “This is Stephen Strange. He is currently in his residency. He will gain the gift of magic later in life. This was likely out of necessity due to another incursion event. Strange played a key part in a future battle and it was his magic that sent back my grandson.”

A hand rose. “Questions will be taken at the end.”

“There are various other fighters P saw but had no knowledge about as they were aliens.” He let out a stressed breath. “My grandson was involved in a fight that the Earth was unaware of until it was too late. He joined the fight of the invading aliens.

“We don’t know much about the threat aside that his name was Thanos.”

“Like death in Greek?”

“Yes. His goal was to end half the life in the universe. An alien artifact he needed ended up on Earth.” Bruce provided an image of a great hulking alien. “His goal was to end half the life in the universe.” He repeated. The murmur of outrage and concern was loud. Bruce waited for it to pass.

“Did he succeed?” Came the question from Queen’s boy, Roy.

“He did. He got the artifact and killed half the universe, including my grandson.” Silence. “Iron Man managed to get back those killed off by Thanos after five years. Thanos did not take that lightly and my grandson came back to the fight that killed him. P managed to get his hands on the artifact and he used it to, in his words, get rid of Thanos.” Barry reappeared.

“We think P got rid of Thanos from the time line completely.”

“That’d cause a paradox.” Wally said. “If the thing that killed half the universe no longer exists then the future that was stopped won’t exist anymore.”

“Yes.” Barry looked at Bruce. He nodded at him. “We don’t know the entire details but as the time line was collapsing Strange and Iron Man decided to save P, a thanks for saving the universe. The amount of energy that produces is unimaginable. Given the fact that Peter appeared at this point in time we think P unknowingly removed him at this point.”

“Everything is stable going forward. However Strange sent P back it was done well but with the resources they had on hand. We don’t know what killed us or what the events leading to the elimination of our cities were.” He looked back at Bruce. Bruce nodded again.

“P is eight.” A murmur of concern and almost understanding that of course a Bat would start that early. “He wasn’t trained to be a vigilante. He wasn’t taught to retain special history by Nigthwing or Red Hood.

“He provided us what he could. The tech with him was built to keep him safe. It doesn’t have an archive of history for us to perus. We have to be prepared for anything large and dangerous. We have to be ready for it to come from Earth. Back to you, Bats.” He sat down.

“I will now take questions.”

“Why was your grandson sent back? Why not wait until he was just born?” A younger recruit asked. Bruce didn’t get mad. They hadn’t been exposed to as much yet.

“Because he will never be born now. Nightwing only met his mother under a false civilian identity. He saved half the universe without realizing that he’d saved more than that. I think he deserves to live like Strange did.” There was no pushback good. Bruce would’ve broken his face with his fist if he did.

“Do we have any guess when this might occur? How they got rid of us?”

“No, we think it might be in four years but we don’t know if we have changed the timeline by knowing about it. So I suggest if you see any thing you do not understand or are concerned about you let the League know. We will hit hard and fast. We will give it a death of a thousand cuts.” An murmur of agreement came.

Bruce stepped down and let Clark take over logistical planning for potential threat types. Oliver approached him.

“Your grandkid old enough for play dates with mine?”

“Yes, they’re about the same age.” Lian was seven.

“I know we aren’t the most chummy, Bats, but our kids are. Let’s make sure our grandkids get the chance.” Bruce nodded. Yes their children and grandchildren had no reason to suffer their own personal grievances.

After another hour Bruce went home.

He found Cass and Peter playing chess. Peter wasn’t familiar with it too well but he would get good at it. His arm was in the sling again. The doctors thought he’d take another month to heal fully. Bruce was thankful his grandson had advanced healing, the trauma of a missing arm would have been devastating on top of the trauma of being displaced. Peter hid it well but Bruce knew each member of his family had it. Peter must have heard him because he looked up.

“Zeyde!” Peter had stuck to his titles. Bruce’s grandparents hadn’t spoken Yiddish but he felt a happy knowing Dick had stayed connected to certain aspects of their family heritage. Kate had been pleased Peter was Jewish too. She wasn’t having kids.

They could pass certain family traditions to Peter. Bruce’s children were open to them but they hadn’t been raised with them. Peter expected Christmas and Hanukkah there was no need to explain the entire story behind it.

“Hey, chum. You doing well?” Peter nodded. “Where’s your Tati?”

“In the city with Uncle Dami. How was your superhero meeting?”

“It was good. We’ll be ready for the threats that took us out. We’ll be here for you.”

“Hey, B.” Tim called as he entered the room. “Alfred wants to see you.”

“I’ll be back chum.”

“Okay, see you, zeyde. Hey, Uncle Tim. Are you done with Karen?”

“Yes, here you go. I’ve added a tracker to her so we can find you if you get taken.”

“I never really got kidnapped before.” Peter said as Bruce walked away.

“It’s an unfortunate thing we experience as Waynes.” Tim said with a tired voice.

Bruce lost track of the conversation as he headed to his own father.

There was so much to still set up.

Peter’s legal identity was almost ready.

Dick wanted to approach his mother to see if she wanted to be part of his life.

Bruce had her cursory information - Mary Fitzpatrick. 26, pursuing a PhD in Genetics.

Bruce couldn’t imagine his son meeting someone like that and falling in love with her, much less having a child.

His aunt was also another point of concern. Maybelle Reilly was in nursing school. She had more of a chance of meeting Jason with their line of work.

Bruce didn’t think they’d find romance but at the least they could keep their promise to Peter that they’d make sure they were safe.

There’d be time to go over it.

The future looked brighter for them all.

At least if Peter stopped insulting his new home state every opportunity he got.