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It's been all over the news all day; someone put two bullets into Richard Grayson's chest. The mention of the family butler goes almost unnoticed, but the fact that the heir to Wayne Enterprises has been killed is on every station. They were driving home from school Friday afternoon, and the entire thing was taped by a passerby.

Each station replays the tape in all its grainy glory: the Rolls-Royce is parked in front of Gotham Academy. The butler opens the back door, Richard turns to wave at someone off-screen, and two bullets to the chest tip him backwards into the car. Three thud into the butler's torso, and he slumps down beside the car.

There isn't any sound.

M'gann winces every time she sees the tape, and thanks every star she's ever seen that Artemis stays after school on Wednesdays. On the one hand, it's a horrible tragedy, seeing a young, bright life cut short, but on the other hand, it iis/i Gotham.

Artemis is still in a bit of shock, though. She's sitting at the table, Wally on one side, Kaldur on her other, clinging to their hands. No one says anything, because no one's quite sure what to say.

"I knew him," Artemis finally says. "I liked him. He was nice."

"It will be okay," Kaldur says, steady as a rock and just as firm in his belief.

"Hey, look at it like this," Wally says faux-cheerfully. "At least you'll get the day off school?"

His joke falls flat, and even he winces. But she appreciates the effort. "I've just...I know this is a dangerous job we do, and that Gotham is, well, Gotham, but, but I knew him. He smiled at me in the halls. I can't..."

Because, after all, they are still children. It's hard to face your own mortality. Wally's lost people before; he knows the toll this can take. But he's the only one on the team who's faced this. Well, and Robin, but no one really expects Robin to show up for the next few days.

Batman doesn't take kindly to killers in Gotham.

Which is why it's such a surprise when Red Tornado calls them all together for a mission briefing.

They shuffle down the hall, M'gann moving up to hold Artemis' hand. The other girl doesn't acknowledge her, but she does give Megan's hand a quick squeeze.

What's even more surprising is that Superman is waiting for them beside Black Canary.

"I'm sure you've heard the news," Superman says, and shifts his weight. He's not comfortable with them, or with what he's saying, and it shows. "Bruce Wayne is in a bad situation right now. We're putting you on guard detail."

Everyone waits for someone else to say something, before Wally finally says, "Er, not to be rude, but why?"

Superman twitches, and Black Canary steps in. "The League is not cheap to maintain, and a great deal of our technological advances come from large companies. The two foremost research and developing corporations in the world are Wayne Enterprises and LexCorp. I'm sure you can see why we'd rather back the former.

"Also, we like to keep this quiet, but Mr. Wayne himself makes substantial donations. He's had trouble with criminals in the past, as I'm sure you're aware, and has a...vested interest in seeing superheros well-outfitted."

Superboy frowns, starts to raise his hand, looks fleetingly at Superman, and tucks his hand back under the table.

M'gann takes pity on him. "Bruce Wayne's parents were killed by a mugger when he was young. It makes sense that he'd fund crimefighting on the side."

Superman steps back in. "But if people knew about his donations, he'd be a target, an easy way to get the League's attention."

"You think someone's figured it out?" Wally asks.

"We don't know," Superman says, and he starts pacing. "But someone shot his butler, who was pretty much his father, and his young ward. His son. We don't know who and we don't know why. So while we figure it out, you're going to guard him. From everyone."

It's Artemis who figures out where he's going with this. Artemis, who knows the Wayne story, like all Gothamites do. Who's a little bit stained by life, like all Gothamites are. "Including himself," she states.

Superman nods, and it slowly dawns on the others what exactly their mission is.

"That's why you're using us. Kids," Artemis spits. "We're on suicide watch? You think we'll draw his attention, or at least he wouldn't want to put us through that."

Superboy breaks chunks out of the table where his hands had been. Wally is paler than normal, and Kaldur has a pinched look about him. Artemis shakes her head, and M'gann looks down.

It's a good plan, for all it's so coldblooded. But they all know needs must when the devil drives, and so none of them dare speak against it.

It's a good plan.

None of the children will meet Superman's eyes, and he's quietly thankful for small favors. Black Canary swallows, and there's the bitter taste of bile creeping up the back of her throat.

But it's a good plan.

"Move out," Superman says.

They put Kaldur and Superboy in coats and ties, and the two boys flank Mr. Wayne whenever he must be in public, and they patrol the interior of the building when he's not. M'gann goes invisible, and she follows him around the house silently, giving him the illusion of privacy. Artemis and Wally take exterior patrols, and none of them ask about Robin.

Mr. Wayne is in the library, brooding over a cup of tea. He's staring into it, and M'gann pities the poor, blameless tea.

She taps into the mental link, and they do a sound-off. "How's everybody?" she asks.

Kaldur's voice says, "First floor secure."

"Second floor clear. Heading for the third," Superboy says. No one's gotten much out of him since the briefing, not that they've really tried.

"Clear north," Artemis reports. She's got the main entrance and the driveway, and she's their primary line of defense.

"East is green and clear, south is forest-y and clear, and west is boring and clear," Wally drawls, then adds, "I...don't like this place."

"Me neither," Artemis seconds.

"I don't like this mission," Kaldur says. "I don't like being used. I don't like invading on Mr. Wayne's grief. But—"

"—it's a good plan," they all chorus.

"If I hear that phrase one more time—" Wally starts.

"Won't you sit down?"

Everyone freezes. M'gann snaps back to her own mind, and they watch through her eyes as Mr. Wayne looks right at the invisible floating girl.

"Surely it must be awkward, having to pretend you're not there?"

She lets herself fade back into the visible spectrum, edging sideways into reality. It's a trick she's picked up in order to not scare people. She touches down on the floor, and just kind of stands there.

"Here," says Mr. Wayne. "Have a cup of tea."

"Oh," Megan says, a little flustered. They'd been so preoccupied with their own worries that they'd ended up ignoring the man they were supposed to protect.

"Talk to him!" Artemis hisses. "Say something!"

So she says, "Thank you," and accepts the cup and saucer he's holding out. She perches on the chair across from him, and stares dubiously at the cup.

"Do you not like tea?" Mr. Wayne asks. "I'm sorry, I didn't think. I can get you something else." He starts to rise.

"Oh! No, no thank you! Tea is good! Tea is fine! I mean...Well, I've never actually had tea before," she admits, feeling the heat rise to her face.

He settles back into his chair, and takes a deep breath. His eyes are red, she notes. Red and puffy. She decides he needs distracting. "Can you tell me about the tea?" she asks.

He look considerably startled. "Where are you from that doesn't have tea?"

"Mars," she answers, smiling weakly.

Mr. Wayne stares at her for a second, then lets out a short bark of laughter. "Of course," he says, taking a sip of his own tea. "Forgive me."

"Not at all," she answers, and cautiously takes her own sip. It's not bad, per se, but it's bitter.

"Some people like sugar or honey in their tea," Mr. Wayne says, and dips his head. The shadows are back, and she's pretty sure he's remembering how Richard or Alfred took their tea. He pauses, swallows, and continues. "Some people like to add cream, and some few use lemon."

She can't help making a face at the idea of the bitter being tart, too. He smiles, fleeting, but real. "Let me tell you about the history of tea," he suggests, and she nods.

His voice is comforting, and he ends up digressing into a rambling monologue. She doesn't mind; the stories he tells are interesting. She adds a little sugar to her cup and discovers she does like tea, after all.

He trails off at some point, peering into his empty cup. "May I get you more water?" she asks, and he sighs and puts the cup down.

"No thanks," he says. "I think it's a bit past my bedtime."

He rises, and she stands with him. He absentmindedly leaves the tray on the table, and heads down the hall. M'gann follows on foot, and pauses when they reach him bedroom. "I'll just stay out here," she says, stuttering a little.

He smiles and thanks her, and then disappears into the room. She stares at the closed door for a minute before renewing the link with her friends.

"I like him," she admits, floating to sit cross-legged in the air. "He's nice."

"Sure knows his stuff," Wally says.

"He did not strike me as suicidal," Kaldur admits. "Grieving, yes. Repressing, yes."

"I hate this," Artemis moans.

"We've just got to last until Batman and the League can find the threat," M'gann reminds her.

"Orders are orders," Superboy asks, more than states. It's worse on him, because it's Superman who gave them this mission in the first place.

"Right," Kaldur sighs. "All right, team. M'gann, Artemis, Superboy, get some sleep. Wally and I will keep on patrol, and wake you in a few hours."

Over the next few days, they continue to guard Mr. Wayne. He's told them multiple times they can call him Bruce, but it never takes. M'gann calls him Mr. Bruce instead, and it's as reasonable compromise as can be reached. He's polite, if a bit withdrawn. He makes it a point to talk to everyone at least once, as they rotate through duties.

He's quiet the rest of the time, which bothers them a bit. M'gann has seen Mr. Bruce on the news, and Artemis knows all the stories. Bruce Wayne is a playboy and a party animal, not a ghost haunting his own house.

He spends a lot of time in his office doing paperwork when Kaldur's with him. When Superboy's turn comes around, Mr. Bruce makes his way to the gym. He wanders out to the garden, and Artemis relishes in the feel of the sun. He settles in to watch TV in the evening, when Wally's on shift. He flips past all the news, and settles on a documentary about electricity.

It's funny how he seems to know them so well. But it's okay, because, one by one, they start to count him as a friend.

He has this odd habit of talking to himself while working. It's not like he's narrating what he's doing, but just thinking out loud. Maybe it's just that he has a captive audience, but no one really minds.

"Need to keep the onions moving," he'll say while making lunch. "Sautéing is fairly easy if you pay attention, because onions, oh, you have to get them just perfect, and I have this habit of burning them. Medium heat, a bit of butter, and constant motion. Golden brown, right? Right."

Or, while going through his files, he'll go on about the responsibilities of a CEO. "It always comes down to the bottom line, doesn't it? You find your goal, make a plan to get there, and be ready to improvise when it all goes to hell. See, this takeover, right here, Fox-Techa Industries started trying to buy them out right before we signed the contract, but if you know what the other guy's goal is, you can usually beat them to it, right? Right."

He rambles in the gym. "I don't like reps, but gotta keep up the physique, right? But the trick is, I learned this from a trainer I had, you've got to rest a while between sets, let your body adjust, and then go it again. Don't wanna strain something and be housebound, not with a company to oversee, right? Right."

In the garden, he narrates the history of the manor. "It's an old house, and it has ages of history behind it. The forests, for example, were planted in the 1800's to shade the back lawn, but this location was chosen to be easily defensible, I think. Dunno much about warfare. There's this tunnel that runs from the basement to the graveyard, though, for escapes. Had to put in a gate so people wouldn't try to sneak in. Pretty cool, right? Right."

He'll get some snacks from the kitchen, and just dwell on the foods. "I don't drink half as much as people think I do, you know. Ginger ale looks a lot like champagne, and is healthy, and not quite so hard on the liver. But this way, I get away with more by pretending to be drunk than actually being in that state. People tend to be more forgiving. Of course, that could just be the money, but in the end, it's all appearances, right? Right."

They listen and nod, and after a while it just becomes second nature to let his voice soak into their heads. He pulls out all sorts of interesting facts and tells rambling stories, and talking seems to help him deal.

They end up staying the whole week at Wayne Manor. Wally and Artemis continue attending school, returning to take the evening shifts. By the end of the week, M'gann is helping around the kitchen, Superboy joins in the daily workout, Kaldur's helping file the papers, Artemis has learned more than she thought possible about architecture, Wally has a favorite chair, and they each have a bedroom.

It's Saturday when it finally happens.

This story has two endings. Chapter 2 is the sadder ending, and Chapter 3 contains the happier ending. Please enjoy~