#dbos

“I did not mean any hostility, I’m just simply curious about who they were. Well… I’m Nightwing! [Name]’s little brother.” You could tell the three spiders near you were tense, but you reluctantly stepped aside, forcing them to introduce themselves to your brother. 

“Spider-man 2099, [Name]’s husband.” Dick’s gaze burned as he stared at the two of you, but you ignored him and nudged the other two to introduce themselves as well. 

“Spider-man India!”

“Spider-man.”

“Very… creative names,” Tim commented under his breath. 

“Well, this’ll get confusing real fast. Do you guys have civilian names that we can call you?” The three looked to you for approval, and you shook your head. 

“They won’t be revealing their civilian names unless you guys also reveal yours.” You stated. If the spiders were to reveal their civilian identities, then it was only fair for your family to reveal theirs. You knew you could trust your family, but could they trust you? That you didn’t know. 

You could clearly see your family’s hesitation, weighing the cons against the pros of such a decision. You felt kind of satisfied–now they know what it’s like to be kept such a big secret from your family–but you pushed that thought down. Just as you were sure they wouldn’t reveal such a secret, Cass stepped forward. 

“If [Name] trusts you, then I might as well. I’m Cassandra Cain, also known as Black Bat.” She held her hand out, and Miles shook it hesitantly. 

“I guess knowing will make working together much easier. I’m Tim Drake, alias: Red Robin.” 

“Damian Wayne. Robin.” 

The last to introduce himself was Dick, who had been staring off into space during everyone’s introductions. 

“Oh. I’m Dick Grayson, currently known as Nightwing. Pleased to meet you.” He nodded, and Miguel returned the gesture. Now that your family had introduced themselves, you gave the spiders the okay sign to reveal themselves. The three reintroduced themselves with their civilian identities. 

“Great! Now that everyone knows each other, could we head back to the cave? I’d like to fix this gizmo as soon as possible, and preferably go back to our HQ before anything can go wrong.” The others nodded, and you quickly led the way back to the cave, still ignoring the scrutinising gazes of your family–specifically, from one specific person. 

Once back, more old faces greeted you, and someone else whom you had never seen before. 

“Hello. I’m Duke, you must be the [Name] they talk so much about.” 

“Only good things, I hope.” You strongly doubted that the comment was true–in fact, you doubted they even had much to talk about you–but you still joked. “But yes, I’m [Name], also known as Bruce’s eldest child to the public. I assume you're a new sibling of mine?” You knew your father’s habit of randomly adopting orphans, you wouldn’t be surprised if he had found another one in the time you were away. 

“Ah, no,” he shook his head. “Well, I guess he used to be my foster dad, but I’m more just his close ally and protege.” 

“I see. Well, it’s still nice to meet you.” You held out your hand, and he gladly shook it. You turned ot Jason and Steph, both of whom were awkwardly standing to the side, looking unsure of what to do. “Jason, Steph. How have you two been?” The two finally looked up at you, changing their postures to stand tall. 

“Good.” Steph’s answer was curt, just as she was those years ago. 

“As well as I can be with this family.” You chuckled at Jason’s side, and you could hear some of your family’s scoffs. 

“Glad to hear that. I assume you guys have been filled in on our situation?”  The three of them nodded. “Great, let’s get to work on these gizmos then. The sooner we finish, the better.” The other spiders expressed their agreement, following you eagerly while your family hesitated before also making their way to the Batcave. 

Jason was at a loss.

He knew you were alive, he had heard the news just a few hours ago, but to see you in person after all these years–years that he had spent slowly losing hope in ever seeking your Face again–it was just so… disorientating. He wanted so badly to run up and hug you, to undo all the mistakes he had only realised after you had disappeared, but his feet felt like they were stuck in place. He couldn’t even gather the courage to look at your face until you acknowledged his presence. 

Seeing you with your new group–the way you smiled so easily with them, how you weren’t afraid to touch them, the way you seemed so relaxed around them–it reminded him of the past, the way you two were before he died. After that, it was never the same; he had changed too much, but now, it was you who had changed, and it was he being left behind in the past, and the distance between you two grew ever larger. 

Dick was confused. 

You and he had never talked a lot. You seemed to harbour some sort of negative feelings towards him, but he never knew what could’ve caused them, nor did he ever choose to comment on them. Perhaps he should’ve, maybe you two could’ve talked it out all these years ago and bonded over the responsibilities of being the eldest Wayne children, but that opportunity had long since passed. Now you had seemingly moved on from this family, having your own chosen one, not bound by blood or legality. 

He was at odds with himself–it felt wrong to be so distant with his family, but even clearly, you weren’t desiring to create a relationship with him, even before you had disappeared. All he could do was support you in this moment as much as he could and try not to cross any boundaries that you had set in place. 

Tim was conflicted. 

This whole situation was just so ironic. You had been the one who tried to persuade him from the life of vigilantism when he had first joined, and yet, here you were, clearly a vigilante, leading your own team. What could have caused this change? He knew your displeasure with the vigilante life came as a result of Jason’s death, which occurred not long after you found out about their double life, but why did your ideals change? In fact, they had changed so much to the point that you had become the very thing you were so against. He knew it was illogical to do so, but he felt sort of insecure–did you just not trust Tim enough to be able to sustain this lifestyle?

Damian was regretful. 

Sure, when he first met you, you certainly didn’t meet his expectations, and he had treated you quite harshly, but he’s grown now–physically and mentally. He wasn’t the same 10-year-old kid who had lashed out at you, claiming you were bound to be a weakness for the family. In fact, before you had returned, he envied you in some cases–to be able to live a normal life while your family protected the city you lived in. Many times, he had almost put down the mask, wanting to step away from the vigilante life, just like you had suggested many of the family to do so, but he ended up keeping it, continuing to do so, not for the name, but to protect the weak of Gotham. Unlike how he couldn’t do so for you. 

Your return was a relief for him. It gave him solace, gave him the chance to make amends with you, to apologise for his mistreatment of you all those years ago. He had already messed that up in the previous talk, but he was in a state of shock–he wouldn’t make that same mistake again. 

Barbara was bewildered. 

You two had been friends before, not close, but you two would talk to each other, especially if you two were forced to attend the same gala. But then Joker shot her, and she was left to find herself again. It took her a year to become Oracle, to be the one behind the scenes, and during that year, Jason’s death. She knows she should’ve comforted you, but to her, it was just another problem on top of another problem. Too much was happening all at once, and keeping her relations with a mostly-normal civilian was the lowest of her priorities, especially one that disapproved of her vigilante life, and so the distance between you two grew.

Now you’re back–a vigilante yourself, someone who also apparently worked behind the scenes, even if only at times. Perhaps you two could rekindle that friendship you once had, now that both of you have much more to talk about than the galas or your distaste for vigilantes. 

Stephanie was unsure how to feel. 

You two were never close, never spoke much to each other. Back when you first met, Steph was on a mission to prove herself, so you two didn’t have many chances to talk to each other. In the manor, you two would nod when you walked by each other, but nothing more. 

Duke was much the same. 

This was his first time meeting you in person. He knew you as Bruce’s eldest child, but he never knew you personally, with your disappearance occurring before he had come to the mansion. 

The two of them felt sort of out of place. Neither had an especially complicated past with you, nor had they ever wronged you. But they could feel the awkwardness lingering in the air between you and the rest of your family. 

Cassandra was melancholic. 

You two had a budding friendship before you disappeared. In the years you were gone, she spent many moments fantasising about what it could’ve been. Would you end up as someone she could rely on? Would she end up changing your views on her double life? She thought she would never get the answers until she heard of your reappearance. Then you quickly shattered her dream once again, saying you would leave them once again. 

She knew this wasn’t because of her; she knew you had a life away from her, from your family–but she couldn’t help but think, if she had done things differently, if she got the rest of your family to understand you and you them, would you choose to stay? But that wasn’t her job to do, and all she could and should do was support your decision. 

The group had spread out around the Batcave. 

Many of them inspected the gizmos, the spiders taking them off their wrists for a quick inspection before putting them back on to prevent the glitches. In the end, they had Miguel create a replica, in hopes it might work–of course, it didn’t. But now, at least, they had a gizmo they could study without risking a spider glitching out–which your family were still befuddled about. They had gone to other universes themselves and had never witnessed such a thing until now. 

Many hours had passed by, and it was night again. It was then that Tim jumped up, a lightbulb seemingly lighting up in his head. 

“What if it’s because we’re currently in a different group of universes from yours?” The others looked at him, eyebrows raised, waiting for him to elaborate. “Think about it. We’ve gone to other universes before, and we’ve seen other versions of us, but never any other spiders. [Name], in other universes, have you ever seen another version of us?” You shook your head in reply, although this struck you as odd when you first realised it a few years ago, you were honestly more relieved. “Great! Well, maybe not, but it supports my theory.” 

“Huh, so you’re suggesting we’re in a different multiverse? Although this explains a lot of things, it doesn’t really help with finding out how and why we got here, nor how to go back.” Miguel states. Although he didn’t mean for it to sound passive-aggressive, he had been running on just a few hours of sleep for the past day or so, surrounded by people he had just met. 

“That would also make my situation even stranger–how could I have been transported to another universe, let alone another multiverse, 5 years ago? I didn’t even have a gizmo back then, so travelling universes should’ve been an impossible feat.” You added on to Miguel’s statement. 

“Well, it’s not like the gizmos were the ones that transported you through multiverses, though. Didn’t you guys say a rogue portal was the reason you guys were here, including you two by the way.” Jason pointed to Pav and Miles. Your eyes widened at his words–he was right. You had almost forgotten about those portals. 

“So our best bet to get back to our own multiverse is to find one of those rogue portals?”  Miles asked, and the others looked in ponder. 

“Theoretically. Although we’re not quite exactly sure if it will lead back, it’s our best bet.”  Tim stated, and you had to agree. These gizmos most likely weren’t going to be fixed any time soon, and if Miles’ and Pav’s appearance were anything to go by, then there was a chance this portal could come back again. 

“Then it’d be best if we split the group into two–one to work on the gizmos and one to find the portals,” Miguel suggested. The group then decided on who would go on what task–you volunteered yourself to find the portals; you were most likely better off in the search team rather than the technical one. The group split into two: Miles, Tim, Babs, Duke and Steph staying with Miguel to fix the gizmos, while Pav, Cass, Damian, Dick and Jason went with you to try and find the portals. 

Just as the two groups had been decided, the sounds of a zeta-tube were heard throughout the cave. You all turned to see who it was, and when you did, you were face-to-face once again with the very man you called your father. 

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Whoop whoop, double chapter update!

We're finally past the original point!! Anything past this is a surprise now (for both you guys and me lmao)

This chapter's title is from an english translation of Multo by Cup of Joe, one of my fav bands <3

I know I said POV changes won't happen in chapters but uhhh let's ignore that

I'm gonna be honest, the next update will take a while as well. I personally am not into DC as much anymore, but I myself hate discontinued stories, so I will not be doing you guys dirty, trust.

As always, mistakes are free to point out

The living room was still big, the couch still soft, but nothing ever provided you comfort. The anomaly stayed near you two, with nowhere safe to place him. You could’ve placed him in a cell in the Batcave, but you doubt you’d be allowed in there yet. Miguel sat next to you, silently surveying his surroundings, mask off after you had convinced him. Alfred offered both of you tea, which you had gladly taken up, while your husband cautiously accepted. The silence that Alfred left behind was something you were thankful for. It gave you time to collect your thoughts, to think about what you wanted and what you should say. 

Your jump into the rabbit hole of your thoughts was interrupted when three familiar figures barged into the room, and from their frazzled looks, you could tell they ran. It was your siblings–at least some of them. A cacophony made of their questions and statements filled the room. You were thankful when Alred silenced them, pointing out how overwhelmed you had looked. They all looked towards you, waiting for you to say something. 

“I’ll answer your questions later. I just want to know, where’s everyone else, especially Bruce?”

“They’re coming, just handing some of their own fights. B is on a mission with the JL right now.” You weren’t surprised that Cass was the one to reply, nor by her answer. 

“Alright. Ok. That’s fine.” It really wasn’t, but you kept your disappointment stored deep inside; you should’ve known better. After all, you had arrived here out of nowhere–even if you guys separated on better terms, dropping everything and coming back to the manor on such short notice was an almost impossible task, especially since they were vigilantes. Miguel clasped his hand around yours, a small gesture of comfort. Though this action raised eyebrows and suspicions. 

“Who is this man with you? Oracle and I have scoured everywhere, but there are no records.” You sighed, of course you would be under interrogation by Tim already. 

“He’s my husband.” You stated plainly. 

“And why are there no records of this conjugation?” 

“Because it didn’t happen in this universe.” 

The silence was loud. Just those few words had explained everything. Your family was no stranger to multiverse problems, so it was almost astounding how this realisation had ever been made until now, when you were the one who was saying it to them. 

“So why return now? It seems like you’ve already made for yourself in this other universe, so why throw it away to come back here?” Damian finally spoke up; you could hear a bit of bitterness in his voice. “Just like what you did to us.” That part was muttered, and you were sure it was for no one’s ears to hear, but you did anyway, and no doubt did Miguel. 

“It wasn’t our choice. If we could, we would’ve gone back already. It’s detrimental for us to even stay here for too long–well, not for me, but for Miguel and the anomaly.” You chose not to respond to Damian’s little remark, not wanting to talk about that topic just yet. 

“Anomaly?” They all asked in sync.

“A being that doesn’t belong in this universe.” Miguel had answered the question for you. You let him continue his explanation of different universes and the anomalies, with him being more versed in the topic than you were. You could tell the others were taking as much information in as they could, especially Tim. When Miguel finally finished his little talk after many questions and answers, they turned quiet. 

“Ok… Now that that’s finished, how have you been [Name]? I know you said it was bad for them to stay here, but are you also going to leave us again?” You were honestly taken aback with Cass’ words–you weren’t sure why, but you didn’t really expect someone in your family to actually question your well-being.  

“I’ve been doing great; the other spiders have been treating me amazingly.” You could tell that raised some questions, but you cut them off before they could ask anything. “As for the second question, that’s actually the reason we’re here. We need your help fixing our gizmos so we can get back to our universe. We tried earlier, but no results came out of it, so we’re hoping you guys could help us.” You saw Cass’ face drop, but you chose not to mention it. 

“And what do we get out of this? It seems like the only thing we’re going to get is just losing  you again right after seeing you for the first time in 5 years.” Tim questioned, the others nodding alongside him. 

“More knowledge of the universe and gadgets that could help you travel it, if you wanted to.” They all had contemplative looks on their faces. You hesitated before saying your next words. “...And maybe I’ll visit you guys every once in a while, if we can get the gizmos to do that.” 

“I believe we should help master [Name],” Alfred spoke up. If your last part of the deal didn’t solidify their decisions, then you were sure that Alred’s approval did. The three of them nodded. You thought you saw some hesitation from the three of them, but you chalked it up to your imagination. You stood up from the couch, and so did Miguel. 

“Great. Let’s get started then. Oh, and by the way, Miguel already knows your identities, so can we take this down to the cave so we can put the anomaly somewhere safe?” 

The HQ was never quiet, but neither did it usually have this much chatter. Various topics were the centre of these conversations, but there was a prominent theme–the sudden disappearance of you and Miguel. Miles and Pavitr were no exception to having one such conversation. Lyla had shown the camera footage to those who were close to you and Miguel, including the previously mentioned pair. Many peculiarities were present in the video–ones that did not go unnoticed by your companions. 

Presently, Jess had been temporarily placed as the head of the HQ, with the assistance of Lyla and Peter B, and because of them, the HQ had been able to run as smoothly as it could without its usual leaders. With the older spiders either gone or busy with their temporary jobs, the rest of the group had taken it upon themselves to solve the mystery of your disappearance. They had split themselves into groups, thus leading to the current situation.

“We should go to Miguel’s office! Maybe there’ll be some clues that the others missed.” Pavitr suggested. Miles was full of doubt–it was hard to believe that the others could have missed anything, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. 

He nodded, and the two made a beeline to Miguel’s office. When they arrived, it was unsurprisingly empty, unattended by any life. No remnants remained of anything, strange portal included. Miles was about to admit defeat when both his and Pavitr’s spider senses had gone haywire. Their bodies swung around at the familiar sound of a portal opening, but what greeted them was a portal unlike any they had seen. That is, except for one–the one in the video, the one that caused yours and Miguel’s disappearance. 

The two rushed for the exit of the room, attempting with every being of their body to not be captured in the portal’s hold. Though it was in vain, as the force of the portal pulled them ever closer to it. The silence of it left behind as it engulfed the two spiders was deafening, but no ears were left to hear it.

With your family's hesitant approval finally secured and the anomaly placed in a secure cell, you and Miguel began the much-needed work on the gizmos. Now, you had some of the best tools and the smartest brains in this universe at arm’s reach. As much as you dreaded the inevitable awkward meeting with the rest of your family, you knew it was worth it. Again, you let Miguel do most of the talking, explaining the works of the gizmos much better than you could have. 

You had been watching the others try to develop solutions when your spider senses had gone off. The change in your demeanour did not go unnoticed by the others. You elected to ignore their questioning looks and looked around for any immediate danger, Miguel joining you as soon as he recognised the familiar action. 

Nothing. 

But you knew better than to ignore your senses, and so you hesitantly spoke up. 

“Oracle. Is there anything unusual going on nearby?” Your question had left your family befuddled–no alarms had been set off in the manor nor the Batcave, and yet you had seemingly sensed unease out of nowhere. All of you waited expectantly as minutes passed by, with Babs furiously typing and scrolling through tabs. 

“By unusual, do you mean two more costumed individuals with a spider theme?” Your family looked back to you and Miguel, unsure of whether to be concerned or not. So far, you and Miguel had been seemingly peaceful–with the exception of the fight with the anomaly, but what if these two spider figures weren't affiliated with you, and it was a mere coincidence? 

“More detail on their costumes, please?” A sense of urgency surged through you. You hoped whoever these two spiders were was responsible enough not to interact with anyone in an unknown universe haphazardly. 

You listened carefully as Barbara described them–one in mostly black with red accents and a spider in a circle on his chest, while the other was in red and blue, wearing a dhoti and accessorised with bangles. You knew exactly who those two were, and you also knew you should most likely get to them before they could cause any chaos. 

“Ba–Oracle, where are they right now?”

“North side of Crime Alley.” Well shit. You really needed to find them. 

You hastily put your mask on and darted out of the cave, wrist pointed back in the direction of Gotham City. You didn’t need to check to know that Miguel was trailing behind you, most likely having similar thoughts running in his mind. You ignored your family’s shouts of surprise, prioritising preventing any havoc Miles and Pav would inevitably find themselves in without interference. 

You swung around Crime Alley. You knew they could handle themselves, being spiders and all, but you still couldn’t help but worry. You were responsible for those kids, especially when they were in their spider suits. If something were to happen to them while they were supposed to be under your watch, then you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself. Especially if it occurred in your home city. 

“Mi cielo, I can see them at your 3 o’clock.” With Miguel’s words, you breathed out a sigh of relief. His calmness always helped you snap out of your overthinking. 

Just like he said, in the distance to your right, you could see Miles and Pavitr standing awkwardly, seemingly taking in their surroundings. They saw you not long after you saw them, and the tension in their bodies released. Pavitr waved both his arms above his head, and you knew if his mask were off, you would’ve been able to see a bright smile on his face. 

You moved as fast as you could and rushed to hug them both as you landed on the building they were atop of, practically barreling into them. They quickly returned the gesture, arms wrapped tightly around you while Miguel stood to the side. He was never one for touch, so none of you had minded. 

You quickly pulled away and looked both of them up and down. Once you confirmed both of them had no injuries, you breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“[Name]! So this is where you and Miguel went to.” Pavitr looked around once more, greeted by the sight of run-down buildings. 

“Well, we didn’t exactly have a choice. We kind of got sucked in here by a portal, and now our gizmos aren’t working.” You reached for Miguel’s wrists and pressed some buttons to show them. 

“Did you check if yours were working?” Miguel asked the two, unbothered by your poking and probing of his gizmo.

“We did. It didn’t work as well.” You all sagged at Miles’ words. Still not escape from here, at least, not yet. 

“And the HQ?” Right. You two had been forced to leave it unattended for the past few hours.

“Everything’s fine as it can be. Spiderwoman’s currently taken your place as leader with the help of some other spiders. They’re handling themselves just fine.” You could hear Miguel’s very audible sigh, and you couldn’t blame him. You knew the rest of the spiders were completely capable of handling themselves and the HQ, but it was still nice to have some confirmation from people who were there just moments ago. “Do you guys seriously have that little faith in us?” You saw both Miles’ and Pavitr’s ‘hurt’ expression and softly punched both of their shoulders. 

“You little runts, you know that’s not what we–” The sound of a cough coming from behind interrupted you. You turned around, you and Miguel shielding Miles and Pavitr from the prying eyes of whoever so rudely interrupted you. 

Oh. 

It was your family, save for Alfred. Instead, he was now replaced by a new face–or rather, an old one. 

Your younger brother. Nightwing. Dick. 

He walked up to your small spider group, a smile on his face.

“So, who are they?” He asked, voice awfully cheerful. Fake or not, you might never know.

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What's this?? An upload from Astraeus?? After ~7 months??

But yeah I don't really have an excuse guys, I'm sorry. The only reason I had the motivation to write and upload this was lowkey because Rizz came back and I got a spark.

Anyways, with this, we're finally caught up to the original story! I've honestly dreaded this point cuz now we're delving into unknown territory and now I actually have to write 💔