Chapter 5
『I'm Being Haunted By My Own Feelings』
Disparities Between Our Souls Summary: Introductions are made, reflections are done, progress continues, and an old face haunts you Disclaimer(s): N/A
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The two groups stared at each other, neither choosing to back down.
“Nightwing. This is my fam- friends. There’s no need for hostility.” You spoke up, attempting to break the tension.
“I did not mean any hostility, I’m just simply curious about who they were. Well… I’m Nightwing! [Name]’s little brother.” You could tell the three spiders near you were tense, but you reluctantly stepped aside, forcing them to introduce themselves to your brother.
“Spider-man 2099, [Name]’s husband.” Dick’s gaze burned as he stared at the two of you, but you ignored him and nudged the other two to introduce themselves as well.
“Spider-man India!”
“Spider-man.”
“Very… creative names,” Tim commented under his breath.
“Well, this’ll get confusing real fast. Do you guys have civilian names that we can call you?” The three looked to you for approval, and you shook your head.
“They won’t be revealing their civilian names unless you guys also reveal yours.” You stated. If the spiders were to reveal their civilian identities, then it was only fair for your family to reveal theirs. You knew you could trust your family, but could they trust you? That you didn’t know.
You could clearly see your family’s hesitation, weighing the cons against the pros of such a decision. You felt kind of satisfied–now they know what it’s like to be kept such a big secret from your family–but you pushed that thought down. Just as you were sure they wouldn’t reveal such a secret, Cass stepped forward.
“If [Name] trusts you, then I might as well. I’m Cassandra Cain, also known as Black Bat.” She held her hand out, and Miles shook it hesitantly.
“I guess knowing will make working together much easier. I’m Tim Drake, alias: Red Robin.”
“Damian Wayne. Robin.”
The last to introduce himself was Dick, who had been staring off into space during everyone’s introductions.
“Oh. I’m Dick Grayson, currently known as Nightwing. Pleased to meet you.” He nodded, and Miguel returned the gesture. Now that your family had introduced themselves, you gave the spiders the okay sign to reveal themselves. The three reintroduced themselves with their civilian identities.
“Great! Now that everyone knows each other, could we head back to the cave? I’d like to fix this gizmo as soon as possible, and preferably go back to our HQ before anything can go wrong.” The others nodded, and you quickly led the way back to the cave, still ignoring the scrutinising gazes of your family–specifically, from one specific person.
Once back, more old faces greeted you, and someone else whom you had never seen before.
“Hello. I’m Duke, you must be the [Name] they talk so much about.”
“Only good things, I hope.” You strongly doubted that the comment was true–in fact, you doubted they even had much to talk about you–but you still joked. “But yes, I’m [Name], also known as Bruce’s eldest child to the public. I assume you're a new sibling of mine?” You knew your father’s habit of randomly adopting orphans, you wouldn’t be surprised if he had found another one in the time you were away.
“Ah, no,” he shook his head. “Well, I guess he used to be my foster dad, but I’m more just his close ally and protege.”
“I see. Well, it’s still nice to meet you.” You held out your hand, and he gladly shook it. You turned ot Jason and Steph, both of whom were awkwardly standing to the side, looking unsure of what to do. “Jason, Steph. How have you two been?” The two finally looked up at you, changing their postures to stand tall.
“Good.” Steph’s answer was curt, just as she was those years ago.
“As well as I can be with this family.” You chuckled at Jason’s side, and you could hear some of your family’s scoffs.
“Glad to hear that. I assume you guys have been filled in on our situation?” The three of them nodded. “Great, let’s get to work on these gizmos then. The sooner we finish, the better.” The other spiders expressed their agreement, following you eagerly while your family hesitated before also making their way to the Batcave.
Jason was at a loss.
He knew you were alive, he had heard the news just a few hours ago, but to see you in person after all these years–years that he had spent slowly losing hope in ever seeking your Face again–it was just so… disorientating. He wanted so badly to run up and hug you, to undo all the mistakes he had only realised after you had disappeared, but his feet felt like they were stuck in place. He couldn’t even gather the courage to look at your face until you acknowledged his presence.
Seeing you with your new group–the way you smiled so easily with them, how you weren’t afraid to touch them, the way you seemed so relaxed around them–it reminded him of the past, the way you two were before he died. After that, it was never the same; he had changed too much, but now, it was you who had changed, and it was he being left behind in the past, and the distance between you two grew ever larger.
Dick was confused.
You and he had never talked a lot. You seemed to harbour some sort of negative feelings towards him, but he never knew what could’ve caused them, nor did he ever choose to comment on them. Perhaps he should’ve, maybe you two could’ve talked it out all these years ago and bonded over the responsibilities of being the eldest Wayne children, but that opportunity had long since passed. Now you had seemingly moved on from this family, having your own chosen one, not bound by blood or legality.
He was at odds with himself–it felt wrong to be so distant with his family, but even clearly, you weren’t desiring to create a relationship with him, even before you had disappeared. All he could do was support you in this moment as much as he could and try not to cross any boundaries that you had set in place.
Tim was conflicted.
This whole situation was just so ironic. You had been the one who tried to persuade him from the life of vigilantism when he had first joined, and yet, here you were, clearly a vigilante, leading your own team. What could have caused this change? He knew your displeasure with the vigilante life came as a result of Jason’s death, which occurred not long after you found out about their double life, but why did your ideals change? In fact, they had changed so much to the point that you had become the very thing you were so against. He knew it was illogical to do so, but he felt sort of insecure–did you just not trust Tim enough to be able to sustain this lifestyle?
Damian was regretful.
Sure, when he first met you, you certainly didn’t meet his expectations, and he had treated you quite harshly, but he’s grown now–physically and mentally. He wasn’t the same 10-year-old kid who had lashed out at you, claiming you were bound to be a weakness for the family. In fact, before you had returned, he envied you in some cases–to be able to live a normal life while your family protected the city you lived in. Many times, he had almost put down the mask, wanting to step away from the vigilante life, just like you had suggested many of the family to do so, but he ended up keeping it, continuing to do so, not for the name, but to protect the weak of Gotham. Unlike how he couldn’t do so for you.
Your return was a relief for him. It gave him solace, gave him the chance to make amends with you, to apologise for his mistreatment of you all those years ago. He had already messed that up in the previous talk, but he was in a state of shock–he wouldn’t make that same mistake again.
Barbara was bewildered.
You two had been friends before, not close, but you two would talk to each other, especially if you two were forced to attend the same gala. But then Joker shot her, and she was left to find herself again. It took her a year to become Oracle, to be the one behind the scenes, and during that year, Jason’s death. She knows she should’ve comforted you, but to her, it was just another problem on top of another problem. Too much was happening all at once, and keeping her relations with a mostly-normal civilian was the lowest of her priorities, especially one that disapproved of her vigilante life, and so the distance between you two grew.
Now you’re back–a vigilante yourself, someone who also apparently worked behind the scenes, even if only at times. Perhaps you two could rekindle that friendship you once had, now that both of you have much more to talk about than the galas or your distaste for vigilantes.
Stephanie was unsure how to feel.
You two were never close, never spoke much to each other. Back when you first met, Steph was on a mission to prove herself, so you two didn’t have many chances to talk to each other. In the manor, you two would nod when you walked by each other, but nothing more.
Duke was much the same.
This was his first time meeting you in person. He knew you as Bruce’s eldest child, but he never knew you personally, with your disappearance occurring before he had come to the mansion.
The two of them felt sort of out of place. Neither had an especially complicated past with you, nor had they ever wronged you. But they could feel the awkwardness lingering in the air between you and the rest of your family.
Cassandra was melancholic.
You two had a budding friendship before you disappeared. In the years you were gone, she spent many moments fantasising about what it could’ve been. Would you end up as someone she could rely on? Would she end up changing your views on her double life? She thought she would never get the answers until she heard of your reappearance. Then you quickly shattered her dream once again, saying you would leave them once again.
She knew this wasn’t because of her; she knew you had a life away from her, from your family–but she couldn’t help but think, if she had done things differently, if she got the rest of your family to understand you and you them, would you choose to stay? But that wasn’t her job to do, and all she could and should do was support your decision.
The group had spread out around the Batcave.
Many of them inspected the gizmos, the spiders taking them off their wrists for a quick inspection before putting them back on to prevent the glitches. In the end, they had Miguel create a replica, in hopes it might work–of course, it didn’t. But now, at least, they had a gizmo they could study without risking a spider glitching out–which your family were still befuddled about. They had gone to other universes themselves and had never witnessed such a thing until now.
Many hours had passed by, and it was night again. It was then that Tim jumped up, a lightbulb seemingly lighting up in his head.
“What if it’s because we’re currently in a different group of universes from yours?” The others looked at him, eyebrows raised, waiting for him to elaborate. “Think about it. We’ve gone to other universes before, and we’ve seen other versions of us, but never any other spiders. [Name], in other universes, have you ever seen another version of us?” You shook your head in reply, although this struck you as odd when you first realised it a few years ago, you were honestly more relieved. “Great! Well, maybe not, but it supports my theory.”
“Huh, so you’re suggesting we’re in a different multiverse? Although this explains a lot of things, it doesn’t really help with finding out how and why we got here, nor how to go back.” Miguel states. Although he didn’t mean for it to sound passive-aggressive, he had been running on just a few hours of sleep for the past day or so, surrounded by people he had just met.
“That would also make my situation even stranger–how could I have been transported to another universe, let alone another multiverse, 5 years ago? I didn’t even have a gizmo back then, so travelling universes should’ve been an impossible feat.” You added on to Miguel’s statement.
“Well, it’s not like the gizmos were the ones that transported you through multiverses, though. Didn’t you guys say a rogue portal was the reason you guys were here, including you two by the way.” Jason pointed to Pav and Miles. Your eyes widened at his words–he was right. You had almost forgotten about those portals.
“So our best bet to get back to our own multiverse is to find one of those rogue portals?” Miles asked, and the others looked in ponder.
“Theoretically. Although we’re not quite exactly sure if it will lead back, it’s our best bet.” Tim stated, and you had to agree. These gizmos most likely weren’t going to be fixed any time soon, and if Miles’ and Pav’s appearance were anything to go by, then there was a chance this portal could come back again.
“Then it’d be best if we split the group into two–one to work on the gizmos and one to find the portals,” Miguel suggested. The group then decided on who would go on what task–you volunteered yourself to find the portals; you were most likely better off in the search team rather than the technical one. The group split into two: Miles, Tim, Babs, Duke and Steph staying with Miguel to fix the gizmos, while Pav, Cass, Damian, Dick and Jason went with you to try and find the portals.
Just as the two groups had been decided, the sounds of a zeta-tube were heard throughout the cave. You all turned to see who it was, and when you did, you were face-to-face once again with the very man you called your father.
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Whoop whoop, double chapter update!
We're finally past the original point!! Anything past this is a surprise now (for both you guys and me lmao)
This chapter's title is from an english translation of Multo by Cup of Joe, one of my fav bands <3
I know I said POV changes won't happen in chapters but uhhh let's ignore that
I'm gonna be honest, the next update will take a while as well. I personally am not into DC as much anymore, but I myself hate discontinued stories, so I will not be doing you guys dirty, trust.
As always, mistakes are free to point out
Have a great day/night everyone <3