All For One, One For All [Bruce/Batman,Dick/NW,Tim/Robin]

[Deleted]

[Following "Team Bonding"]


Behind the young man sitting within partial shadow at the center console stood a veritable history, the story of his life.  A series of armor, of costumes if you will, stood encased each depicting a specific time, a place, a person.  A rotating chamber, the first recognizing - remembering and honoring - one version of the Batman, beside it a series of Robin's remained vigilant, waiting.  Of the four featured presently only the third slot in the row, Jason Todd's, had just one variation in it's mechanical queue.

Wearing the lower half of his present armor and a clean t-shirt, Bruce's fingers tapped lightly, quickly against the key's.  The digital displays flashed by above him, each of them leading and foraging through details that the untrained mind may not consider to be related.  Batman knew otherwise.  He leaned back in his chair, the black leather a consistent match for any of his armors, regardless.  Had he been suited up, the place itself may have done it's job of shrouding him.  If not for the illumination of electronics, Bruce could have been made of shadow itself lest the sound of his breath leaving his body, the tapping of the keys.

He'd sent an invite to both his boys, though Grayson was hardly that any longer.  He had done some home improvements over the past months in preparation for the day.  It would be an understatement to suggest that he wasn't looking forward to this.  Right about now, he presumed that Tim would be finishing his homework, or perhaps pretending to have finished and engaged in some other activity.  Knowing Tim's prowess with computers the national archives were being hacked so he could play a gen one war game.

Grayson was a bit less easy to track but not impossible.  If he'd planned the notifications correctly, the two would hit the study at the same moment in time, each reaching to press certain keys on the piano.  It was as close to a joke as he'd get.  The idea of the two standing before the opening bookcase and trying to decide with descent to choose.  Thankfully for them both< Bruce had not rigged the machines with tulle and taffeta, respectively.  No, he had other plans for the afternoon, and perhaps the evening if all went well.

He'd taken the liberty of revealing part of his surprise for them both, one they'd discover upon descent.  He'd made some tweaks to their armor, all to better arm them all.  He'd tested the armed gauntlets, the impact resistance of the chest plates and the weight of their handheld weapons in his own hands.  They weren't exactly going to be dressed to take on Mister Freeze today, but there was a reoccurring theme in mind.  Now that the Outsiders were getting established and would be better equipped, he wanted to reconnect with Grayson, make sure he understood the risk of having Hol involved and he wanted to give Tim an opportunity to learn from the best.

The one hundred and fifty foot mechanized "rock" wall was only going to be the beginning.  Waiting, Bruce silently prayed that the two of them had chosen the correct launch as he heard them drop down the chutes.  If not, Grayson was going to be hating life - talk about a wedgy from hell.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Ok, this was a bit out of Bruce's way it seemed. Dick had earlier that day gotten a message from Bruce regarding to join him at the manor. And it was more along the lines to report to the batcave.

Dick wasn't exactly sure what this was all about. Though he had a few ideas as such regarding the Outsiders. That's usually the business they covered when they got in contact with each other.

Roy had told him of Batman's drop by at the bunker and briefed over the encounter. Didn't sound like Batman had been all that pleased with what Supergirl had done at first. Then again, he had a hard time trusting anyone.

Hence the ongoing nickname of Gargoyle going around as Supergirl's idea. She respect him in ways, but did not fully understand his ways. No one really did. But those that were closest to him understood far better. Though there was always that wall.

Being the first of the "Wayne sons", Dick understood best of all of them. Even to him and Alfred, some questions were better left unanswered.

Dick had taken his motorcycle all the way back to Gotham for that evening. Back at the gates of Wayne Manor. The stony, cold appearance of the Manor almost resembled that of a lone castle of the hills of Scotland. A sight Dick had seen in his travels after he left the mentorship of the Batman as Robin.

He had done a lot of thinking in that time.

Alfred welcomed him in as usual. It was always good to see Alfred. He was like a grandfather figure to the boys.

"Hey Tim! You coming," Dick called out as he entered the manor, dropping his backpack off to the side as soon as he entered. He knew he'd probably find it later set some where Alfred preferred belonging to be placed when entering the manor.

Dick went on ahead, soon to hear the sound of Tim's footsteps quickly approaching. He walked over to the piano. He knew the old ways of the manor, somethings never changed. He pressed the keys on the piano for one of the hidden lines to the cave to open up from behind a book case.

It was all still fresh in his mind. But for now, he found himself with Tim by his side. And he no longer wanted to be what he once was. He was much happier as Nightwing. And Bruce seemed to finally be accepting the idea of this vigilante interfering with some of the bat-family's work.

As Tim would then join, Dick went on. Being sent down into the bat cave, and finding himself suited in his Nightwing suit. There was a different feel to it. The chest plate seemed a bit heavier than his usual. Batman must have made a few adjustments to their suits. Must be part of the reasons he wanted them there.

Dick raised a gloved hand out and looked over the gauntlet, then to raise the other slightly to look it over.

"Have some help from Alfred on this at all," Dick asked as he walked toward the main computer system.

That was always where Bruce sat when he called them in.

As he walked over he reached for his escrima sticks. Pulling them out from their holding, he weighted the difference in them. He noticed. He should since he handled them every day in fights.

When he stopped short of where Bruce sat, he flipped both of them up in the air and caught them with ease. Notice their perfect balance in them.

"Nice. Any new tricks I should know about? Not surprised you disarmed the electric shock system they are meant to send out if tampered with by others," Dick replied as he stood with in yards of the main computer system.

[Deleted]

"Have some help from Alfred on this at all."

"A little." Bruce answered as he turned the chair to face the boys. He smiled, but it was different than the smile that Bruce Wayne usually wore in public. It was genuine, for two of the people that he trusted most. He'd liked to have included Jason in on this, but he was still unsure of how to handle that situation. There was too much pain there, still. He didn't want to make another bad choice. He didn't want to do more damage than he already had. He was grateful to know that Jason was alive, though this was hardly the boy he'd once known.

"Needed to be sure that you hadn't been eating too many tacos from that stand on 23rd and Mason." Okay, so admittedly Bruce's parenting techniques bordered on the obsessive. He just wanted to be sure that Grayson was not only safe, but protected. He knew as much as any of them did how one minute a person could feel protected and not be safe. He glanced toward the smaller boy and the Robin uniform that offered still more protection than the previous. Grayson's could withstand more force, more damage. The fabric used to create them was something new he'd been working on through Wayne R & D. It was lighter in weight offering more flexibility and yet able to deflect blades more readily. Something he hoped wouldn't be an issue during today's test run. Bruce stood and crossed the room toward them, placing a light hand on Tim's shoulder, "Looks good, Robin."

Bruce turned toward the rest of his own armor and finished suiting up. Once the cap and cowl were in place, the hands gloved, he turned back to his sons and in a voice with a completely different inflection, said, "The defense systems in your escrima were overridden temporarily. As soon as you picked them up, they went back online." Sue him for wanting to play a little first. "As for what you can do now. You've been looking for some new tech, haven't you?" He smiled, but it was flatlined, only the edges of Batman's lips upturned, "Why don't we put these new uniforms to a test? You've got the standard issue, plus a few new features you may enjoy."

Batman crossed to the terminal and punched in a few commands. A section of the cave began to shift, a wall opening up to reveal a series of staggered bars, and of course the more than ten story tall "rock" climbing wall. Within the wall itself and the surrounding section of cave were hidden mechanized compartments containing Gatlin guns loaded with censer marked blanks and mechanical arms containing spinning blades and throwing darts. Wind machines to simulation gusts were present as well, as was the appropriate ledge or two stationed on opposing walls to offer leaping opportunities and relative safe zones. All of it was voice activated and capable of being commanded through both each of their gauntlets. Some of the hidden operations were timed, set to a specific pattern, others were motion activated. A safety net would automatically launch if any of them fell below a certain point within the vertical maze.