Bruce was expecting many things when he woke up to an unknown presence in his bedroom. Assassins, one of the boys, one of Damian's pets; he hadn't been expecting a bedraggled looking teenager, holding a sleeping baby.
The teen appeared...distraught. Eyes rimmed with red, shoulders drawn tight, barely contained rage written in his clenched teeth.
But his hands were gentle where they held the child. Even though it was raining, the baby was completely dry, while the teen was soaking wet.
The windows had not been opened. The door had not been utilized. No alarms had been set off.
A young, pissed off meta.
"Adopt him," the teen ordered, staring Bruce down.
Bruce raised his hands, showing that he wasn't a threat, and used that same movement to trigger a silent alarm.
"I know my reputation precedes me, but I don't actually take in every kid I-"
"-Shut up. Take him in, you're the only real option I've got. I have to hurry, I need to lay down a false trail or...just. Take the kid."
Unspoken words. The boy was hiding from someone, trying to hide the baby from someone. He himself had no intention to stay. He felt the danger was bad enough that a "false trail" would be required.
Shadows moved under the door.
Whoever was nearby to answer the alarm was ready and waiting.
"Okay. Okay, let's say I do this. Does he have a name? Is there someone specifically I need to watch out for?" Bruce asked, buying time. He needed more information; this boy had potentially brought a threat to his doorstep.
He needed to be prepared.
He needed more information on the boy himself, to investigate what the hell was going on.
"No name. Watch out for Vlad Masters, can't imagine he's happy about me taking my kid away from him, and he's got a weird mind control thing he does, so never enter a room alone with him."
No, he was not leaving a teenager to face their rapist alone, especially one with literal mind control as a power. He needed to know if this teen had proof of his claim of said power, if he knew if Masters had used his powers on any others, if he knew how long the mind control lasted-
"...What if I take you both in?" He asked instead.
The teen's eyes narrowed, lips parting in a small snarl.
"Not good enough. Vlad can't know he's here, so I have to-"
"-How do we defend against him, then? You broke away once, is that just something you can do or is there a way to fight back?"
The teen snorted, bouncing the baby as it started to wake up and fuss.
"Well you can either be dead or you can have anti-ghost tech, and you don't look too dead to me."
Looks were deceiving, and Bruce refrained from saying so. He also filed away that bit about Masters dealing with the occult.
"I can easily procure anti-ghost technology."
"'Easily', pff, yeah, sure. What, do you know Batman or something?"
Bruce's door quietly creaked open, and Nightwing, in full kit, poked his head in and smiled reassuringly at the bristling teenager.
"Or something." Bruce repeated, nodding at his eldest.
He was going to take both of them in, for as long as they needed.
He was also going to ask JLD for anti-possession charms so he could punch Masters in the face. Repeatedly.
