"I like that idea, especially if I can be permitted to skin alive those bastards, a Black always steps forward for his family, and Cissy and Andi are my cousins, I'll do it, but with one condition" Sirius said smirking.
"Whatever you want Sirius" Jason said.
"I want to see my godson first" –Sirius said.
"Sure, just change your clothes" Dr. Fate said.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" –Sirius said. "I'm just joking, if you could tell me where the bathroom is and a shower I'll really appreciate it." Sirius added with a grin.
"Here Sirius" Giovanni said as he gave Sirius a change of clothes, the man looked at the clothes with distrust.
"Is something wrong?" Giovanni asked.
"No, it's just the clothes" Sirius said
"What about it?" Giovanni asked
"Well, it's just that they're too muggle, don't you think?" Sirius said looking at the weird blue pants in front of him.
"That's the reason of that clothes, it's denim, muggles use it all the time, you won't stand out, you'll be a regular man visiting his godson" Giovanni said.
"Very well, let me go change" Sirius said as he took the clothes and went to the bathroom. He thought to himself that he would be fulfilling the promise he made to his friends when he found out they were going to be parents, he would protect Harry at all costs.
---
Five months earlier…
The time for dinner came sooner than what Bruce hoped, he, Dick and baby Harry went to the grocery store to buy the baby some diapers as well as a change of clothes, because apparently being the Avatar of a God doesn't give you the wisdom to include a clean change for the baby you just left in someone else's care.
The trip was as usual he drove his Rolls Royce Cullinan, since it was the best kind of vehicle for when you had a big family, Dick was holding little Harry on his arms and making funny faces to the baby.
Once inside the store Bruce put Harry on the baby seat of the shopping cart and he began the walk through the many aisles of the grocery store, he send his seventeen year old son to grab food while he checked the baby section. Many customers on the store were impressed that billionaire Bruce Wayne was doing a menial task and more were impressed of seeing him with a baby. He could see from his peripheral vision that some of the other customers were taking pictures of him, he definitely would need an explanation for the kid.
Although some good things came from the shopping, one being that his newly adopted son would have enough clothes and diapers, and second was that he managed to get some excuses for Bruce Wayne's life, if people assumes he has a baby in the house then he would easily escape from meetings or events when he needed to assume his Batman responsibilities.
Bruce and Dick were installing the new baby chair on the back sit of the Rolls when he saw through the reflection of the window two people coming towards him, they were a treat, but a necessary treat.
"Summer Gleason, WGOB, Mr. Wayne, can you tell us the story of the baby?" The red head reporter asked, obviously they were live given that the News van wasn't that far and the cameraman was taping everything.
"Good day miss Gleason, nice to see you" Bruce said making his signature smile, on the back of the Rolls Dick was finishing with putting the rest of the groceries.
"Mr. Wayne, can you please answer my question? Are you a father after all these years of adopting children, or is the baby from your eldest son Richard Grayson?" Miss Gleason said and added to her initial question.
"Of course it's my son Miss Gleason, Dick is too young to make me a grandfather" He laughed which made Dick roll his eyes "I wish to show you my son but he is too small and I'd like to not make an announcement about him" Bruce said, it would be easier to present Harry as his and not as an adopted son.
"Can you at least tell us the name of the mother? Because we don't see her anywhere" The reporter inquired
"I wish I knew, he was left on the entrance of the manor with a note saying that he was mine" Bruce said making his most sadden face.
"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that Mr. Wayne, can you tell us the name of the baby?" The reporter said with sympathy on her voice.
"His name is Harry, and we need to go home, good day to you" Bruce said entering his car and driving away, on the spot of the parking lot Summer Gleason looked directly at the camera.
"Well there you people of Gotham, Bruce Wayne, most eligible bachelor, has a new heir on his kingdom, Harry Wayne will without a doubt become a name we will all hear about in the following years" The reporter closed her investigation.
--
"Well there you people of Gotham, Bruce Wayne, most eligible bachelor, has a new heir on his kingdom, Harry Wayne will without a doubt become a name we all hear about in the following years" The reporter closed her investigation. As the reporter on the television said that a television set was shut off.
"Most eligible bachelor my ass, well Brucy boy, perhaps I should meet your new heir" The mysterious voice said
--
As the Wayne drove to the Manor, Bruce's cellphone was swarmed with messages, even some calls, all of those he ignored until Dick's own cellphone began ringing and the seventeen teenager rolled his eyes and answer the most recent call.
"Yes Kori I just found out about the baby as well, no it's not Barbara's and mine, and Bruce isn't covering for me, sorry I have another call, call you later" Dick said as he clicked on the cellphone to answer the next gossiping call. "Hello Babs, no I just found out of the baby as well, no it's not Kori's and mine, it's the truth, Bruce isn't covering for me, I'm honest, wait there's another call, yes I'll call you later" Dick was sending death glares at Bruce who was far too amused with the situation, baby Harry in the meantime was completely awestruck at the stuffed bear he currently had on his tiny hands.
"Hello? Hi commissioner Gordon, no Bruce is driving, yes it's a new baby, no it's no Barb's and mine, seriously, yes I tell him, bye" Dick hanged his phone and turned to Bruce "Jim Gordon says that you mustn't forget to attend the Police ball this Saturday" Dick said.
"Yes I remember, I need you to be on patrol that night if there's a crime on sight" Bruce said.
"I know, Jason and I will be on the spot" Dick said then he thought to speak again "So are you really going to adopt him?" Dick asked "I just want to be sure you know what you'll be dealing with"
"I do, I want to protect this baby and I'll raise him as a Wayne" Bruce said with seriousness in his voice.
"Alright, your funeral, I mean your choice" Dick said joking.
The rest of the ride was almost silently with Dick receiving calls from his friends Victor Stone, Roy Harper, Donna Troy and Wally West all of them asking him if he had gotten pregnant Kori or Babs without nobody knowing.
Finally they got to the Manor and Dick took most of the groceries out with Bruce taking baby Harry on his left arm and the diaper bags with his right hand
"Welcome home Master Bruce, Master Dick and Master Harry" Alfred said as he opened the door for the trio "I hope your trip to the groceries was well"
"By this point you must know the paparazzi saw us and began an interview" Bruce said to which the butler just nodded as the newly arrived took the groceries to the kitchen.
"And tell me Master Wayne, are the bat adoption papers finally ready?" Alfred teased sarcastically.
"No, I'll pose him as my son, it would be more believable, besides I already gave my cover story to the news" Bruce said as he prepared a bottle of milk for Harry.
"Well I'll wish you the best of luck Master Wayne, but I won't change diapers, I already went through that during your early years, and I won't do it again" Alfred warned making Dick chuckle.
Bruce gave the pair a "bat-glare" and took Harry alongside the bottle to feed him in the library.
--
It was 5 o'clock and Bruce had fallen asleep with baby Harry on his arms, he rarely took a nap in the afternoon but the baby made him tired. Once he fully opened his eyes he was aware that he wasn't alone in the library, instead his other children were smiling broadly at the sight in front of them.
The fifteen year old Jason Todd who looked rather contempt, 9 year old Tim Drake who was filming the scene with his Wayne Tech cellphone and laughing alongside his partner in crime Stephanie Brown of 8 and Cassandra Caine of 13 who had a smug smile on her face. Apparently during his slumber baby Harry had threw up on Bruce's expensive clothes.
"Are you done?" Bruce asked his children
"Oh man this is going to twitter right now" Tim said.
"I'd suggest not" Jason interfered
"Why not? It will obviously help the status of the story he gave" Stephanie said
"Besides with a picture like that and a tag line that says "Bruce Wayne defeated by a baby" I would strongly suggest that you're taking your work as a father very seriously" Cassandra said
"So are you telling me I'm not making a good job raising all of you?" Bruce asked them as he adjusted himself without awakening Harry.
"Not saying that, only that we were older when you took us under your wing, a baby is WAY more different" Tim said.
"Is dinner ready?" Bruce asked ignoring Tim's teasing.
"Yes, Alfred sent Steph but we all wanted to meet our new brother" Cassandra said.
"Let's go" Bruce said taking Harry with him. The group arrived at dinner and went to eat Alfred's delicious food
They all began to retell their days. Then Tim said.
"Look, I got a notification, the photo went viral" The kid said smiling as he showed his cellphone to everyone
"Well I hope that can placate Kori and Babs enough, I just spent an hour talking with each about how it wasn't mine" Dick said annoyed
"I don't know Dick, the kid looks like you" Jason teased his older brother making the other siblings laugh.
"I'll get you for that Todd" Dick spat the last word but not with hate but with a joking tone.
--
The first night Bruce and Dick went on patrol with baby Harry on the manor was the most difficult, since Bruce had to interrupt his Batman duties to return to the manor when Harry woke up in the middle of the night.
Bruce arrived as soon as possible to the Manor and entered his room where Harry's crib was placed, without having time to take the Batman suit completely, he found Alfred rocking the baby in his arms, but as soon as Harry saw the dark figure on the door he cried once again.
"Harry I'm sorry, it's me, it's me, it's ok" Bruce said as he took his cowl off and grabbed the baby in his arms again "Thank you Alfred, shhh, it's ok Harry" Bruce said as he rocked the baby to sleep
--
Every one of the Wayne family was ecstatic at the newly brother they had gained. Cassandra and Tim being the ones who were looking at the little baby with astonishment and fascination, the family soon were happy of the little bundle of joy.
Tim's twitter account blew up with thousands of followers as he always posted a picture of big and mighty Bruce Wayne changing diapers, getting peed on by the small boy or trying to feed the boy who didn't wanted to be fed.
News continued to try to cover Bruce Wayne's paternity skills, with paparazzi following everywhere and with many past lovers or even unknown women claiming to be Harry's mother, telling the papers and news how they met Bruce and why they had left Harry at his doorstep.
With each passing mothers wannabe the news began ignoring those request of attention from desperate socialites or random women from Gotham city.
Bruce's friends were more accepting the fact that they'll never know who Harry's mother is but they all agreed that the baby had the most beautiful green eyes they had ever seen.
Lucius Fox, senior member of the board of Wayne Enterprises and chief of Applied Sciences Department, was very enthusiastic of meeting young Harry, remembering when his own son Luke was a baby.
"So the new heir of the Wayne family" Lucius said
"Yes, but I came here for a different reason." Bruce said his friend
"I was wondering what would be this time" Lucius said amused.
"Well you see, there's something weird around Harry, like some sort of energy, it comes and goes and sometimes it interrupts the appliances in the house, nothing to worry about but I want to know more about it" Bruce said.
"Well I don't see anything weird about Harry, but I can make a small test" Lucius said giving Harry back to Bruce and then taking a small scan and checking on Harry's body from head to toe. The machine flickered a moment during the scan but then it worked fine. "Well it's interesting" Lucius said leaving the machine
"What, what does Harry have?" Bruce asked
"Well this device is a simple x-ray/metal detector we've been developing for airport security, it flickered a moment when I move it closer to Harry, but then it worked fine, so my hypothesis, and it's just that for the moment, it's that Harry just simply has too much energy that makes it like a portable EMP, but it's nothing to worry about, I would suggest you to talk to his mother, or anyone more expert in this case, and find more of this" Lucius commented
"Very well, thank you Lucius" Bruce said
"Not a problem Mr. Wayne" Lucius said waving father and son goodbye.
--
"So you're telling me that my son won't be able to live in the modern world because of his magic?" Bruce asked Jason Blood as they walked through the manor.
"I'm not saying that, all I'm saying is that when magic is around technology stutters, if Harry doesn't perform magic there won't be a problem" Jason said
"It's ridiculous, if Fate, Giovanni and you placed him here then there must be a way for technology and magic to coexist, sooner or later he'll grow up and if he begins training with magic he won't be able to live as a regular boy" Bruce said.
He knew that technology became more and more advanced and indispensable to the world, he didn't wanted to handicap his son's interaction with the world due to his magic.
"It's not going to be like that, we haven't been able to see how a magical boy develops and raises on the non-magical world, yes the appliances flicker from time to time but they keep working, maybe everything will be alright" Jason said calming his friend's worries.
"Alright, thanks for the visit" Bruce said before entering the manor.
--
One day the manor's door was knocked, Alfred opened to find the Kents standing outside.
"Good evening Alfred, how have you been?" The bulky man in front of the butler said, his thick glasses falling over his nose.
"Good evening Mr. Clark, Mrs. Lois and baby Jon, nice to see you here" Alfred said letting the family inside the manor.
"How are things going?" Lois asked
"Very well Mrs. Lois, Master Bruce has been giving his task of being a father rather well" Alfred said
"Yes, I've seen him doze off in some meetings" Clark chuckled.
"That does not surprise me, he dozes off in many of the Wayne meetings as well" Alfred said smugly.
"Alfred, that's not a nice comment" Bruce said while walking down the stairs with Harry in his arms who was pulling his father's hair making everyone smirk at seeing the Dark Knight and the CEO of Wayne Enterprises being manhandled by a toddler.
"I'm too old for me to care about what you'll do to me if I make a few quips Master Wayne, now I'll go to the kitchen if you need me" Alfred said leaving shortly after
"Nice to see you Clark, Lois, baby Jon" He said greeting his guests.
"So tell me Mr. Wayne who the baby mama is?" Lois asked in her reporter tone.
"I won't answer to that Lois" Bruce said.
"Worth the shot, but off the record?" She asked
"Not a chance" Bruce replied.
The evening went on with Lois constantly asking Bruce about the mother and with Dick showing Clarks his acrobatic moves, the teenager always wanting to impress the Man of Steel. What made the evening remarkable was that the babies Harry and Jon played along rather well with a little red ball, tossing it from side to side while giggling.
--
Bruce awoke from a nightmare, he felt sweaty and tired, he jumped out of bed and saw baby Harry sleeping in his crib, he checked the window and he thought he saw a figure looming on the woods beyond the Manor's fence, his imagination was playing tricks on him, or was it?
--
Meanwhile in the Tower of Fate…
Almost an hour later and Sirius Black had finally come out from the bathroom, his long and messy beard was shaved leaving only a very distinguishable mustache, the crazy locks he had for hair were now trimmed down and looking like a proper gentleman, he still looked a little famished but Dr. Fate quickly gave him a revitalizing potion mixed with some mana that made his exhaustion gone in a matter of seconds.
"You truly have no idea what it means to me that you're doing all of this to help me" Sirius said in almost tears.
"My friend, it's our job to rectify injustices" Dr. Fate said
"Yes, but if it weren't for you I would be in prison and the man who betrayed my friends would be long gone and my godson would be on some hideous place." Sirius said
"You don't have to worry about a future that will never happen, focus on the present that still can be mended" Dr. Fate calmed the man.
"Thank you, really" Sirius said "So, how are we going to arrive to this Wayne Manor" He added.
"We'll take my car, it will be better if the see us arrive the regular way" Jason said to the other.
"Very well, but isn't he going to be too remarkable for a regular visit?" Sirius asked.
"For that there's no problem" Dr. Fate said as he placed his hands on the side of his helmet a blinding light shined in the room. And from it the imposing God-like being wearing a golden armor turned to a seventy year old man walking with a cane.
"Dr. Fate, what happened to you?" Sirius asked the former doctor
"I just took the helmet off, it gets tedious from time to time to wear it at all times" The elderly man said.
"So how should I call you?" Sirius asked
"Just call me Kent, that's my name Kent Nelson" Kent said to Sirius
"Now we just have to deal with the paparazzi" Kent said.
"Papa what?" Sirius asked
"Paparazzi, photographers, reporters always looking for their next scoop" Kent said
"Ah yeah, I've dealt with a bug like that" Sirius said to which Kent nodded. "Let's go"
The four of them were transported into the road leading to Wayne manor with a four door Imperial in black color parked in front of them.
"This is your car?" Sirius asked
"Nice isn't it?" Jason said smugly
"You have no idea" Sirius said as they all entered the car and Jason drove the road to the Manor, they immediately saw the multitude of people gather around the fence to even try to see Wayne's baby, Jason honked at the paparazzi who began flashing their cameras at the group and all of them ignored them. Jason pressed the button on the door.
"Who is it?" A voice came from the strange apparatus that Sirius had never seen
"It's me Jason Blood, I have someone here who wants to meet Harry" Jason said to the voice.
"Very well, I'll let you in, but before I must tell all the reporters and paparazzi that if anyone tries to enter the manor following your car you'll be arrested for trespassing, need I remind you of what happened to Mr. Jones?" The voice said and all the reporters stood aside and the vehicle entered without being followed.
"Good morning Mr. Nelson, Mr. Blood, Mr. Zatara, you must be Mr. Black, I'm Alfred Pennyworth, butler and gatekeeper of this magnificent house." The grey haired man greeted everyone as he led them to the main hall
"So this is where my nephew has been lived this past months?" Sirius asked as looked in awe at the enormous manor, he even let a wolf whistle as he passed from the outside to the inside of the Manor, it looked like to when the Black Manor was in its heyday.
"The mansion is big enough and the fence is electrified as well as counting with motion detectors in the perimeter 42,500 square feet, we have 11 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, a library and a pool, I must assure you Mr. Black that your godson is very safe in this house." Alfred said
Sirius whistled impressed "Very safe indeed" He commented.
"I'll bring everyone a cup of tea, I won't be late" Alfred said before leaving the main hall.
"Mr. Black I presume!" A voice echoed from the distance. Everyone turned around to see a 6ft2 tall man with a very muscular appearance walking down the stairs holding a baby monitor in his left hand.
"Mr. Wayne, nice to finally meet you" Sirius said as he shook the other man's hand, the muggle was indeed strong given his handshake and he displayed an aura of intimidation, if it weren't for his magical powers he would be intimidated but he wasn't, instead he felt grateful to the man, he had been taking care of his godson for five months, five months in which he should've been there for Harry. "I must say your house is impressive"
"Thank you, it has been in my family for generations" Bruce explained.
"I don't want to seem rude but can you show me where my godson is, I really need to see him" Sirius implored
"Of course, Fate says that you're trustworthy and that you want the best for Harry so follow me" Bruce said to Sirius.
"We'll wait here, I believe that's something the two of you must do on your own" Nelson said as he sat on one of the couches and waited for Alfred to bring the tea.
The two men walked in uncomfortable silence, neither knowing what to talk to the other, while Sirius was impressed with the portraits, sculptures but most importantly with the illumination in the halls, it wasn't like in the Black manor were everything was lit by candle light, every room and place was very well lit and not at all menacing for a child.
Finally they arrived at one of the rooms. Bruce opened and it was a very large room with a crib placed at the side of the main bed. Sirius rushed to see baby Harry's side only to find him sleeping peacefully.
"He has grown so much" Sirius shed a tear.
"Yes, in five months he has been getting fed rather well, he plays a lot with my other children, he walks almost running behind them and although he doesn't have a full word vocabulary he does says things like dada, mon, wat and pafoo, that last one I really don't know what it means" Bruce said to Sirius who was already sobbing.
"Padfood" He said between sobs "It means padfood… it means me" Sirius said.
"I'll let you alone for a moment" Bruce said stepping outside of his room, while waiting on the hall he took his cellphone and watched the live feed of the camera in his room.
Sirius saw the man leave and he finally collapsed on his repressed feelings "I'm sorry I left you pup, I wasn't there" Sirius said cleaning his tears. "I really hope you can forgive me, I never wanted this to happen, I should have seen for the best for you instead of what was easier for me, I was blinded by rage that I never ensure if you were well, I'm sorry Harry, I failed everyone" Sirius said continue sobbing.
"I don't think you have failed" Bruce said beginning to enter the bedroom with two teacups, he gave one to the other man. "I didn't want to enter so soon but I think this will help"
"I feel like a failure" Sirius said.
"Why?" Bruce asked as he sat on a chair.
"Because when his parents were killed I went to search for the one who sold them out to the killer, I was enraged and I was arrested, apparently people already knew that I would do that and wanted to take the boy to a place where he would be treated badly, and I would remained in prison for the rest of my life" Sirius lamented his actions and the vision of the possible future Fate showed him.
"I'm gonna be honest with you Mr. Black" Bruce said. "I didn't trusted when Fate gave me Harry to my care, for one I was out of my field in expertise, the boy is pure magic and I'm a regular man, then I was told of the fate of his parents I knew immediately that I should protect him, you see I'm an orphan as well, when I was eight my parents were killed by a mugger in front of me" Sirius looked shocked as Mr. Wayne told him that, he wasn't fond of his parents and didn't cry when news arrived that his mother died but for a small boy to witness his parents being murdered must have been terrible.
"I believed that it was the end of the world, my parents were everything I ever loved, but then I began to heal in the way of meeting people who both knew my parents and wanted the best for me, people like Lucius Fox, James Gordon, Leslie Thompkins and Alfred always looked for the best interest of myself, I don't want to take away your power as godfather, you're the person who knows more about Harry's parents than I will ever know, but I do want to tell you that for Harry the best would be to here" –Sirius looked shocked but before he got angry Bruce calmed him down and proceed.
"I want to fully adopt Harry, the media already thinks I'm his biological father, when he is of an older age we can tell him the full story but in the meantime he can be Harry Wayne, and you can still be his godfather, that's not a lie, and if you need a place to live Alfred already told you that there's enough bedrooms to spare" Bruce said to the man in front of him. Sirius looked around the room and saw Harry for a few moments.
"I'd be happy to be Harry's godfather, but at the first show of magic I'll begin to train him to become a wizard" Sirius said with Bruce nodding in acceptance.
"I'll accept that" Bruce said as he offered his hand to shake
"Very well" Sirius shook it