Purpose

Gun-arm man

Damian's heart pounds harder and harder the closer they get to the manor. He's suddenly regretting this decision to go confront his father-with the Kents. What is he thinking? Tim said that Bruce has not been himself, but that doesn't mean he isn't himself. What if they're wrong, and Bruce bans Damian from helping the rest of them find Superman? Damian would rather perform self-immolation then let the supers find out he's been decommissioned.

Part of Damian is anxious for another reason, though. What if they're right? Damian doesn't know if he wants to find out what's really happened to his father if the man he's been interacting with this whole time isn't truly him. What do they do then? And what if Superman's disappearance is part of something entirely different? They could spend the whole day, maybe even longer, chasing useless leads. Damian thinks, for a moment, that he would rather just stay home, but then that thought is gone, because who is he to be left out?

They meet Alfred at the front door, where, Damian notices, there are no exchanging of pleasantries. Grayson must have called at some point between meeting the supers and deciding to come to the manor. Alfred ushers them all inside with a frown, and his eyes dart to the stairs and back. He leads them to the great room, where he politely asks the supers to remain in the hall while he shuts the rest of them inside. It's a room in which Damian has never seen the backside of the door.

Alfred presses his fingertips together while turning to regard the boys. Suited up for a mere visit with dad. He frowns again. "Master Bruce is in his office." 'Office' meaning the cave. "I think it best that we brief each other in here." Meaning this is a space without prying eyes. Meaning that, perhaps, Alfred has reason to be concerned about their arrival.

Damian wonders if the great room has always been this way, without cameras, a private space even though it seems so public. He files the information away for later speculation. Who knows if it's true or will remain that way? Damian has little reason to believe that Alfred is not himself, either. He could be a liar or an impostor. They all could be.

He shakes his head. He doesn't want to believe that, and it's too much energy to worry about the integrity of everyone around him all at once.

"Master Damian, you're looking well." It's a brief aside, but one that makes Damian's head snap to door, because the supers are out there and what do they make of that comment?

"I am well, Pennyworth." Damian doesn't know if it's a lie or not. He feels well enough, as well as one can be while investigating two missing heroes. Well, potentially missing. Damian isn't nearly as convinced as his brothers are that Batman had been acting out of character. He and his father have never seen eye to eye.

"That's good to hear." Pennyworth turns to the rest of the room. "Such is not the case here. I had thought Master Bruce was going through a transitional period, but I have concluded that the transition is over. He is not himself."

"Tell us about him," Grayson prompts.

There's a ripple of concern that flashes through the brothers as the old man moves to take his seat. Alfred looks wearied. It's natural for time to have made its marks on him. As long as the brothers have known him, those lines have been etched into his face, and the hair above his brow has thinned back to near extinction. Nonetheless, the butler has always been the picture of sophistication, as if his whole being was carved in marble; nothing has really changed about his appearance in the years he has been serving this family. But today, he rests himself back in the chair he's chosen, and finally resembles an old man. With shoulders stooped and a prominent frown, he speaks with a wheezy fatigue.

"He avoids me. When I'm able to locate him, it's because he's too engrossed in his files to notice my presence. As soon as he does, however, he will shut the whole operation down, and exit the cave. I've found it easy to spy on him. He seems particularly fixed on a case, but hasn't shared any of his opinions with me, and when he ventures out at night, I don't think he does much else besides observing the puddles."