Chapter 10: Trust.

Advance chapters and New Fics on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.

A/N: I kinda messed up the line spacing and I got no clue how to fix it. Sorry.

Also, got a new Multiverse hopping fic you should check on my P@treon. It's free.

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(General P.O.V)

The red car rolled to a stop before a massive black gate bearing the sign, "Wayne Manor."

"Remember, I'll pick you up at 7." Lois reminded her son.

"8."

Jon countered, hopeful. Seeing his mom's skeptical look, he quickly added,

"Please?"

Unleashing his best puppy-dog eyes.

Lois sighed, rolling her eyes in resignation.

"Fine. But don't keep me waiting."

Jon grinned,

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Have fun!"

Lois called as the car pulled away. Jon waved before turning to face the gate, his gaze drawn to the buzzer just waiting to be pressed.

"Hello... it's Jon, here for the birthday."

He announced.

The black gate swung open almost immediately.

"Wow."

Jon whispered, taking in the sight of the large manor as he walked up the path.

The yard was impeccably kept, with a long flower bed lining the way to the front door. He noticed a few cars parked in the driveway, likely belonging to the other guests.

Just as Jon was about to knock on the ebony-colored door, it swung open, revealing an elderly man in a butler's suit, his balding hair and mustache giving him a dignified look.

"Good afternoon, sir. You must be Jonathan."

The butler greeted in a posh British accent.

"I am Alfred, the Wayne family butler. It's a pleasure to have you."

"Ah, hi... Alfred. Just Jon is fine."

Jon responded with a tight smile. No one called him by his full name except his mom when she was upset.

"I'll take it from here, Alfred."

A deep, warm voice interjected, coming from a tall, dark-haired man who stepped up behind the butler.

Jon instantly recognized him.

"Bruce Wayne."

He blurted out before the man could introduce himself. Jon then realized his mistake and winced.

Alfred's eyes twinkled with amusement as he excused himself, "Then I shall leave you to it, Master Wayne. Enjoy the party, Sir Jon."

Jon wanted to crawl into a hole and die in embarrassment.

"Hi, Jon. Welcome to our home." Bruce said, extending a hand with a smile.

"Thanks. It's a pleasure to be here Sir."

Jon replied respectfully,shaking the offered hand and noting its roughness. Unusual for a billionaire... but not for Batman, Bruce Wayne's alter ego.

"Come on, I'll take you to the others."

Bruce offered.

---

The inside of the manor was even more impressive than the exterior, with the same meticulous layout. Art pieces adorned the walls, and grand chandeliers hung from the high ceilings.

Jon's steps were silent on the plush carpet that covered the marble floor. He couldn't help but stare around in awe as he followed Bruce.

"Jon Kent, your father is Clark Kent, right?"

Bruce asked, slowing his pace so they walked side by side.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

Jon asked, curious.

"Your dad didn't mention it? I thought that's why you recognized me."

Bruce said with a slight frown.

Jon's heart skipped a beat. Did Bruce think his dad had told him about his secret identity? But that made no sense. Jon scrambled for a response.

"Oh, yeah, he did say you're the reason I got into Gotham Academy. Thanks for that, by the way."

Jon answered with a nervous chuckle. That was close.

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"There's that, but I was referring to the fact that he and I are friends."

he explained, stopping before a door that led outside,

"We have been, ever since he ran an article on my company. He's a good man. An even better reporter."

Before Jon could respond, the door swung open, and light party music drifted in, along with Dick, who stood in the doorway wearing swimming trunks.

Dick blinked, surprised to see Jon,

"Kent, you finally made it. I was beginning to think you bailed."

"Sorry, we took a little detour, but I'm here now."

Jon replied, still processing his encounter with Bruce, who had seemingly just...disappeared. Mmh...how strange. Even his enhanced senses didn't pick up on his leaving.

"Please tell me you don't always have your sunglasses on."

Jon teased, gesturing at Dick's shades.

"That's Grayson for you!"

Vic shouted from the pool.

Dick rolled his eyes under the glasses, then thumbed toward the pool.

"How about it, Kent? It's a pool party—want to join us?"

Jon looked down at his clothes. He wasn't exactly dressed for swimming.

"Don't worry about your clothes. I've got a spare you can borrow." Dick said, grabbing Jon's hand and pulling him through the door.

"Come on, I've got a few people you've got to meet later. Kids like us."

Jon followed, curiosity piqued.

---

(Jon's P.O.V)

This was the first birthday party I'd been invited to in this world, and it was actually pretty nice.

The whole group was there.

Danny and Vic were in the pool, trying to drown Robin, while Bette, Barbara, and I sat on the seats around it.

It was just the six of us, which left me a little confused. I knew Dick had 'other' friends. Were they not invited?

In any case, I was enjoying myself. There were plenty of snacks, good music, and the girls were a feast for the eyes.

Bette wore a sleek black swimsuit that hinted at how stunning she would become, and Barbara was even cuter in her red bikini that matched her hair. But that wasn't the reason I was sitting next to her. Nope. Not at all.

"Cannonball!"

Vic shouted, leaping into the pool and sending water splashing everywhere.

I instinctively stood in front of Barbara, shielding her from the spray.

Barbara looked up from the book she was reading,

"Why did you do that?"

"Because I'm nice."

I replied with a playful smirk.

She scoffed,

"My hero."

"Somehow, I don't think you're as grateful as you should be. I was doing you a favor,"

I pointed out.

"Paper and water don't mix well."

As I approached the snack table, I could feel her eyes on me.

The table was laden with everything: candies, chocolate, fancy biscuits, cakes— stuff I hadn't even seen before. Stuff Mom would never buy me. The 'eat your vegetables' meme was my reality growing up.

While filling my glass with juice, something caught my attention.

I turned my gaze to the sky and saw a shooting star—or so I thought. Narrowing my eyes, I realized it was something else.

'A space station?' I wondered, watching the metal structure plummet toward Earth. There would definitely be casualties if it hit.

Just as I was considering using my newly acquired flight to intervene, a red blur shot up from Metropolis to meet it.

Dad.

A smile crept onto my face as I watched Superman slow the station's descent and begin pushing it back into orbit.

My smile faded a little as I remembered he might still be mad at me for the Daily Planet incident.

Suddenly, a pool ball bounced off the back of my head, knocking me out of my thoughts and causing me to spill juice on the borrowed trunks.

I turned around to see Barbara smirking at me.

"What's wrong, Kent? You want revenge? Come and get it."

she taunted.

"Oohhh."

came the others, watching from the pool.

I slowly removed my glasses and set them on the table, then kicked the ball into my hands with a flick of my foot.

"Oh, it's on."

I declared.

(General P.O.V)

Something had knocked the Watchtower off its orbit. Fortunately, Superman was quick enough to respond before it could crash onto the planet.

He pushed it back into position and, using his strength and heat vision, patched up the holes in the damaged hull.

"Superman to Watchtower, everyone alright?"

he asked, pressing the comms in his ear.

"We're fine. We were hit by some sort of space debris."

Green Arrow's voice came through. "Looks like you closed it up, but if you want to come in—"

"No time,"

Superman cut him off.

"A tsunami is about to hit Japan. Contact Batman. Let him know about the damage assessment. He's into that sort of thing."

The line went dead, and within the Watchtower console, Green Arrow sighed.

"Nobody wants to hang out."

A shuffling sound reached his ears from the back, setting his instincts on edge.

He was the only one supposed to be in the Watchtower... so what had made that sound?

(Jon's P.O.V)

A few hours later, everyone had left, and it was just me and Dick, sitting in the Wayne library playing chess.

The party had ended at 6—we had some cake, and Dick got his birthday gifts from the others. I was holding on to mine for now. It was kind of unique and not really something I wanted to share with the rest.

God, that sounds so sus. In any case, we were now alone. No time like the present, pun intended. I reached for the pendant around my neck but hesitated.

"When does your mother get here?" Dick asked out of nowhere, moving his queen up the board and taking one of my rooks. He was baiting me. After a few rounds where we tied, I knew his strategy.

"Around 8. Why?"

I responded, using my knight to block his queen's path. He immediately took the knight, replacing the square with the queen.

'Good, he fell for it.' In a few more moves...

"Checkmate," I declared, capturing his king with a grin.

"That makes it what? 6-5?"

"You got lucky, Kent."

Dick grumbled, his eyes narrowing at the chessboard.

"And you're a sore loser, Grayson." I retorted, unable to suppress a chuckle at the frustration etched on his face.

"Whatever. I'll beat you next time." he muttered, standing up with a determined look.

But then, his expression shifted to one of excitement.

"But now, there's something I need to show you. Trust me, you won't regret it. Follow me."

Curiosity piqued, I followed Dick as he led me to another section of the library. We stopped in front of a shelf filled with sci-fi titles.

With a knowing smirk, he reached for a brown book and pulled it. The sound of gears shifting filled the room, and the shelf slid aside, revealing a hidden elevator.

'No way... Could we actually be going where I think we are?'

Without giving away my growing excitement, I stepped into the elevator alongside Dick.

He pressed a button emblazoned with a bat symbol, and we began our descent.

Holy crap. This is really happening...

"That was you in Metropolis today, wasn't it?"

Dick suddenly asked, leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed.

The way he said it was more of an accusation than a question, and I instantly tensed, my guard up.

"Relax, Jon. I'm not going to tell anyone, but your reaction pretty much confirms it."

He observed, his tone sharp and inquisitive.

His eyes bored into mine, unyielding,

"I've had my suspicions, but you're connected to Superman somehow, aren't you?"

I felt a surge of heat behind my eyes, and for a moment, it was Dick's turn to tense, his hand hovering close to his side.

"How do you know that?"

I demanded, my voice low and controlled. The only person with that kind of information should've been Batman.

"I'm very good at my 'real' job—fighting crime. You could say it runs in the family."

He replied, his voice calm but with a hint of satisfaction.

"That still doesn't explain how you knew."

I growled, my frustration growing, the air between us tense, bordering on aggressive.

Ding.

The elevator reached its destination, and the doors slid open. Dick visibly relaxed, easing into a nonchalant stance.

"Because I read your file in the Batcomputer."

he said, gesturing for me to look down.

Only then did I realize I was floating a few inches above the ground. Embarrassed, I quickly landed, my feet touching down on the cold, polished floor.

On the other side of the elevator doors lay a massive, cavernous space carved out of rock— a place of legend, something I'd only ever dreamed of seeing. My excitement returned.

"Welcome to the Batcave, Superboy." Dick announced with a grin.