25 Family Members

Green Lantern suddenly scooped up both Batmen, not to hijack them at high altitude, but because the bay in Gotham’s East End was embroiled in a fierce battle.

Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head of the League of Assassins, had long craved the destruction of Gotham—a city of sin—to restore balance to the world. Vandal Savage’s robotic army invasion had provided him with the perfect opportunity, leading him to dispatch his daughter, Talia, to lead an elite legion of assassins in an attack from Gotham Bay.

Though Talia had accepted the mission, she was not arrogant enough to believe this hasty assault could wipe out Gotham in one fell swoop. However, she reasoned that Batman must be overwhelmed by the robot army, and the League of Assassins should be able to fish in troubled waters. Little did they dream that Batman, who had always viewed Gotham as his sole responsibility, would actually allow superheroes from other cities to intervene, drastically reducing the pressure he faced.

"Kid Flash and a guy covered in green who calls himself Martian Manhunter are guarding the main city thoroughfare; the robots there have been mostly cleared out," Green Lantern explained while struggling to ignore the look Batman was giving him—a look that clearly said, "Aren't you the guy covered in green?"

"A beautiful heroine is helping to hold down the riot at Arkham, so you don't need to worry about that side. It’s Gotham Bay that..."

"I know," Bruce interrupted. "Nightwing is at Gotham Bay now, and Robin is on his way."

He didn't say much more, though a sense of unease gnawed at him. Just moments ago, Nightwing had reported the situation over the comms. He had stumbled straight into the League of Assassins upon arriving in Gotham and was forced to face several elite assassins alone. While he hadn't suffered any serious injuries yet, he was beginning to struggle against the sheer numbers. Robin, who had originally been in the Batcave with Oracle, had departed for the bay immediately upon receiving the distress signal and remained in constant contact.

In his usual night patrols, Bruce would never have been this anxious about his family members. Although they were merely actors, they were highly skilled professionals. Batman had only spent the first night nervously shadowing these teenagers before realizing they were already mature superheroes. Since then, aside from managing the general direction of the script, he had been happy to let his "little birds" operate on their own.

At first, the others were quite unaccustomed to this. The "Batman" they usually worked with was typically dedicated to exerting his paranoia and control over them. Encountering Bruce—this "out-of-character" parent who was so hands-off it was staggering—they found it... absolutely wonderful. Thus, they had all tacitly agreed never to mention his OOC behavior to him.

After all, it was a rare thing to find a "Bat-parent" who actually knew how to give a child space!

In short, Bruce had never thought it necessary to keep every single detail of his family members' lives under his own thumb. But this time, he truly regretted not planting a few more trackers and bugs on them. He had been careless, failing to account for external villains who would act outside his script in such dangerous ways. If Nightwing were injured during the League’s raid, he would feel immense guilt.

Bruce’s repressed emotions were almost palpable. For once, Green Lantern wisely kept his mouth shut, pretending to be nothing more than a mode of transportation. Batman glanced at him, his voice raspy and tinged with faint disapproval.

"You should have kept Robin in the Batcave, rather than letting him face the League of Assassins alone."

Bruce paused, finding the remark strange, much like the overbearing guardians who wanted to lock their children away to protect them forever. While he worried about his family and might even consider extreme measures to protect them, he had never thought of achieving that by restricting their freedom. Moreover, he hadn't expected Batman to do so either. He looked as if he were having a PTSD flashback; had something terrible happened in the past?

Deep in thought, Bruce still replied, "Robin isn't that fragile."

"Besides, Nightwing is our comrade. If Robin had to hide in the Batcave instead of helping until I arrived, he would feel that his work in this line of duty was completely meaningless."

Bruce’s forthright attitude left Batman speechless. He hadn't yet met this world’s Robin, so he found himself hesitant, unsure whether to ask if the current Robin was Tim or... Jason. His soldier, his child, his mistake. If the Jason of this world also... he believed any Batman would find it hard to let go, unable to allow his little birds to fly through the darkness with such natural ease again.

A familiar bitterness and rage spread through his heart, and Batman fell silent. Green Lantern had to miserably endure the double dose of "Bat-aura," wishing he could drop them both immediately.

Just then, the Bat-family communication channel lit up. Nightwing’s breathless voice crackled through the earpiece: "B! Be careful when you arrive. Something’s wrong with the situation here!"

Bruce’s head snapped up. The background noise on the other end had changed; the sounds of combat were gone. A blurred, synthetic mechanical voice was droning on and on—unclear through the interference, and maddening to listen to.

"Robin is still on his way, and Little Red Hood happened to be nearby, so he came to help me, but then suddenly a—" *Static.*

The connection cut off. Bruce’s expression tightened. Green Lantern, having heard everything, immediately understood. He didn't drop them in the exposed open space of Gotham Bay, but instead, as quickly and inconspicuously as possible, placed the two Batmen behind a stack of shipping containers.

From this angle, they could see the three people confronting each other without being easily spotted. Nightwing was crouched on top of a pile of steel pipes, his uniform slightly damaged, but he appeared uninjured compared to the assassins lying on the ground around him. Beside him, Red Hood stood guard, covering the other flank with a defensive posture.

The enemy they were braced against was a figure entirely encased in armor. He held a high-caliber weapon leveled directly at Nightwing, though his eyes remained fixed on Red Hood. After a few seconds of tense standoff, he finally spoke, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Jason Todd, what’s the deal with that disgusting bat on your chest?"

Bruce keenly felt the Batman crouching beside him gasp as he heard the name.