Masks

Part Three

Tbh...I struggled with how to start this chapter. I literally stared at the blank page for five minutes before I was like 'screw it' and just started typing so if this is crap I apologize.

The brothers' first meeting with their father at the airport was...uneventful, at best. Cold, even. More like a business transaction than meeting a long lost family member. It was almost as if Bruce Wayne could see right through the brothers, see all that they had done, the horrors they had committed.

But there was no way he could possibly know, right? After all, he was just a billionaire man-whore who did nothing more with his time and money than spend it all on women and parties, according to Jason.

This, alas, was proven wrong once the family had made it to the car and was safely inside, doors locked, and having driven a few miles from the airport. Bruce turned to his newly acquired sons with a calculated look, eyeing them all before nodding decisively once. The brothers' all shifted into subtle defensive positions, unsure of what was about to happen when Bruce opened his mouth to speak.

"I know who you really are. And what you are capable of. Talia made sure of that."

"Then what is stopping us from slitting your throat right now and returning to mother?" Jason narrowed his eyes at his father.

Bruce smirked ever so slightly. "The respect you all have for your mother and her orders. She gave you strict orders to stay away from the League until the threat is taken care of. You will obey her."

"How do you know all of this?" Tim asked, eyeing his father with the same calculated look that had recently been directed towards him.

"I have my resources." The car ride was silent for a beat before Bruce spoke again. "I want all of you to listen and listen carefully. Gotham is...Gotham is not your average city. It is dangerous, crime ridden, and deadly. Gotham is-"

"We know, we did our research as well." Damian snapped, glaring at Bruce.

Bruce paused, leveling a blank stare at his youngest. "That being said, and given your past and childhoods, I will not tolerate violence of any kind. It will not only jeopardize your identities but also my public image, and I cannot have either of those happening, understood?"

"Of course." Tim and Dick answered right away.

Bruce looked over at Damian and Jason, who both had their arms crossed and were glaring out the windows at the passing scenery. "I said, understood?"

"Yes, father." They both spat with venom in their voices.

Bruce nodded, content with their answers. "Very well, now that we are clear on that issue, let us discuss the topic of education."

"Mother made sure we had the world's best tutors on every subject." Dick supplied an answer. "You needn't worry."

"Never the less, Bruce Wayne's newly 'adopted' sons cannot simply not be enrolled in school. So, all of you will take the entrance exams for Gotham Academy tomorrow afternoon. You will all get in, of course, this is just a formality that everyone must go through." Bruce explained, watching as looks of horror, disgust, and curiosity crossed the faces of his sons.

"You...you are sending us to a public school?" Damian's lip was curled in revolt. "Can you not simply hire tutors?"

"I can, but then you would not be integrated into society. Think of this as another mission, one that requires extensive research and preparation." Bruce tried to console the sons he barely knew. "Plus, every generation of Wayne has gone to Gotham Academy."

"We are not Waynes. We are al Ghuls." Jason hissed, eyes practically slits.

"While you are living under my roof, to the public you are Waynes."

The car fell into silence after that for the remainder of the ride, everyone staring out the windows, or in Bruce's case, typing out emails on their phone. Luckily it wasn't long before the car pulled through the gates of the esteemed Wayne Manor, driving up the winding driveway and pulling to a stop outside the front doors.

Bruce's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, opened the doors for the family. He went around to the trunk and began to unload the luggage as Bruce led his sons up the stairs in silence, opening the doors for them and leading them inside. He cleared his throat, turning to look them over.

"Welcome to Wayne Manor. I will have Alfred give you the tour as I have some business to attend to. I expect to see you all in the dining room for dinner. That is all." Bruce turned on his heels and left the four brothers standing there in the foyer of their new home.

Alfred walked in a moment later, carrying the few belongings the brothers brought with them. He say the brothers standing there without Bruce and sighed. "Please excuse Master Bruce. Despite being practically raised by me, his manners are not quite where they should be, I'm afraid."

Dick grinned at the older butler. "Don't worry about it, Alfred. Here, let me help you with our belongings."

Alfred pulled the bags away from Dick's hands. "Oh, no. I insist. It is my job, after all."

"And I insist. We are not helpless, you know." Dick gently took his bag from Alfred, handing his brothers their own bags as well. "Now, how about you show us to our rooms so we can drop these off before giving us a tour, hmm?"

"Very well, Master Richard."

"Please, call me Dick. Everyone does."

Alfred smiled at the boys, gesturing for them to follow him up the stairs. He led them to their rooms, allowing them to place their meager belongings on their bare beds before continuing on with the tour of the manor.

They finished the tour with just enough time for Alfred to excuse himself to go prepare dinner, leaving the brothers to stand in silence in the library where the tour had finished. They huddled close together, whispering in conspiring tones.

"So, do we trust this Bruce Wayne?" Damian asked, looking around the tight circle of his brothers.

"I, for one, do not."

"He is definitely hiding something." Dick nodded his head in agreement to Tim and Jason's words. "As for what it is, I'm not entirely sure yet."

"Do we believe that Alfred Pennyworth is in on it?"

"Oh, most definitely." The three other brothers answered at the same time.

"So, how do we proceed?"

It was quiet for a beat before Tim spoke up. "We proceed with caution. We do not let Bruce in on the fact that we do not trust him. In the mean time, we do digging. We try to find out as much information as we can on both Bruce and Alfred and all known associates. Dick and I will handle the research part while you and Jason search the manor grounds and ask around our new school. Nobody will find it suspicious that the newly 'adopted' children of Bruce Wayne want to know more information on him."

"What happens if Bruce catches on to our snooping?" Jason asked, eyeing over his shoulder in case the man himself would appear.

"We tell him we are doing as he said, treating the situation as we would any other mission. Simple as that." Dick supplied an answer. "Any questions?"

"None."

"Good, then let us make mother and grandfather proud. We will abide by father's rules for now as a means for survival and as to not anger mother, to keep peace, if you will. But we will find out why father is so suspicious, one way or another. We will get to the bottom of this."

The four boys all put their hands in the middle, over lapping in a pile. "For mother."