Chapter Text
Billy made his way through the maze of cubicles and Gotham Gazette employees far too early the next morning. He was exhausted, eyes itchy from lack of sleep and body aching from the after shocks of being magically controlled the night before. But he was a professional reporter and he was going to act like it—though he was kicking himself for agreeing to a Monday morning meeting. A Monday afternoon meeting would have been much more preferable. Maybe even a meeting over lunch.
But if Vicki Vale said Monday morning than he would be there bright and early.
For her part, Vicki was already two or three coffees deep and pouring over an article when Billy arrived at her office. Despite her attitude towards him, he could appreciate her work ethic.
“Good morning Ms. Vale,” he greeted from the doorway. From the way she startled at his voice he figured she’d all but forgotten their meeting.
“Good morning Billy,” she replied. “So what have you got for me?”
She turned to look at him expectantly. Billy took that as an invitation to sit down across from her. He held out a folder containing a physical copy of the article he’d managed to write sometime between the gala and the auction. Joane had helped type it up and fix his spelling that morning while the rest of the family slept off the horrors of the night before, so he was confident it was at least mostly presentable.
Vicki arched an eyebrow as she plucked the folder from his hand and took a look inside.
“It’s about the attack on the Wayne Foundation Gala on Saturday,” he supplied as she read the opening lines. “I figured it would be a decent companion piece to what you wrote on the attack with additional interviews of eyewitnesses and my own personal experience.”
Vicki nodded along, sharp eyes darting across the page quickly. She paused, surprise flitting across her face for a moment. “You interviewed Bruce Wayne?”
Billy grinned. “And his son Damian. They had been talking to me and my parents at the time of the attack and called to check up on us afterwards. I figured I could get a statement from him if you hadn’t already. I mean it was his event—I figured someone should talk to him about it. Though I don’t think he’s the most important interview I conducted concerning the event.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
“Well I was able to get in contact with someone who helped Two-Face coordinate the attack. He was willing to give me a few details so long as I kept his name out of it.”
Vicki smirked. Billy figured she must have worked out who his contact might have been. “Sounds like some pretty solid journalism kid.”
“Thank you ma’am.”
“What did I say about calling me ma’am?”
“Not to do it?”
“Exactly. Now email me a copy of this and we’ll run it by the editors. We should be able to run it in tomorrow’s paper.”
“That sounds great to me,” Billy said, relieved that his work was up to her standards, and hopefully the Gazette’s as well. He’d never had an article published before, what with all his journalism being recorded live on the radio. He’d have to pick up a copy when it came out, even if it was in the back next to the classifieds. This would hopefully be the first of many articles to come, though his heart would always be in radio. “But you know, there was one other thing I wanted to run by you.”
“Yeah?” she said distractedly, still reading through his article. He knew he should wait for her to finish, it was his work after all, but he wanted to do this before he lost his nerve.
“Well you see there was another incident that I wanted to write about and I’d love to continue to collaborate with the Gazette on the story if I could.”
Vicki glanced up, intrigued. “What sort of incident?”
“Last night, a villain by the name of Felix Faust hosted an auction of smuggled and stolen goods out of an abandoned building intent on luring in buyers as human sacrifices to power the magical amulet he’d stolen from Captain Marvel last week. Eyewitness testimony says that it was quite the sight when the Marvels and the Bats teamed up to put a stop to it.”
Vicki’s eyes lit up like a kid at Christmastime at the news. “Now that is one hell of a scoop,” she exclaimed. “Tell me everything. How did you get intel on the auction? Who was there? What witnesses did you interview? Why isn’t there an official GCPD statement about the incident yet?”
When she paused in her questions long enough to take a breath, Billy laughed and chimed in. “I’d be happy to answer all of your questions, on one condition.”
“Anything,” she said, and then paused. “Within reason of course.”
“Come on my radio show sometime.”
“Your…radio show?”
“This is a collaboration Ms. Vale,” Billy said. “My primary medium for the news is radio broadcasting, so if you’d consent to coming on my show—or even just calling in—then I think we’d be even.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”
Billy and Vicki shook hands, sealing their partnership on much more equal terms than they’d started it on.
The trip out of Gotham and back to the private airfield where the Bromfield’s private jet was waiting felt shorter than the drive in. Maybe it was the exhaustion from a long week, maybe it was the satisfaction of a job well done, or maybe it was the sweet anticipation of finally going home, but whatever it was, Billy had never been so happy to leave Gotham in the rear view mirror.
Already he could feel the thick, sickly magic of Gotham’s cursed soil slipping away. He’d gotten so used to the feeling of being weighed down by the curse’s effects that Billy felt like he was floating as his magic began to cleanse itself the moment it was free of the city’s influence. He was sure that he’d be fully reinvigorated the moment he stepped foot in Fawcett City again.
The whole family was quiet, just as eager to escape back to their hometown as he was, maybe even more so. Nora especially couldn’t wait to sleep off the effects of the Amulet of Hecate in her own home where her husband and children could hover to their heart’s content. Billy was still worried about her. She was weaker and more exhausted than he had ever seen her, clutching tightly to Nick’s arm for support whenever she walked, though he wasn’t sure how much of that was a physical need and how much was an emotional one. He could only hope that the energy the amulet had drained from her would return in time. Until then they would all be keeping a close eye on her to make sure she was recovering.
Joane beat them to the airfield, intent on having her own goodbyes before they arrived. She was sitting in the check in area with a man Billy now knew as her brother, Jerry, the two of them talking in hushed voices. Jerry looked seconds away from making a run for it.
When she saw them, Joane jumped to her feet looking just a touch nervous. “There you are. Was the drive okay?”
“Gotham traffic is a nightmare on even the best days,” Nick replied. “But we made it through just fine.”
“Is everything alright Joane?” Billy asked. “You seem a bit pale.”
“Oh it’s nothing,” she said, though the tremor of her voice said otherwise. “You just have some unexpected visitors here to see you off is all. It’s making Jerry a bit anxious.”
“Visitors?” Nora asked. She leaned heavily on Nick’s arm and brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face. Billy could practically see her wishing she’d taken the time to do her make up.
“I hope it’s alright,” called the now familiar voice of Bruce Wayne. Billy didn’t see where he came from, it was almost as if he’d just emerged from the shadows, but that was probably the sleep deprivation talking. Beside him was Damian Wayne who Billy figured he needed to have a serious conversation with at some point soon, though preferably not in front of his father. “I wanted to see you all before you headed back to Fawcett City.”
“Mr. Wayne!” Billy called out at the same time Nick said “Bruce!”
“What are you doing here Mr. Wayne?” Mary asked, also eyeing Damian carefully.
Bruce flashed them a wide, apologetic smile. “Well I wanted to personally apologize for what happened at my gala the other night. I feel just dreadful you got caught up in all of that. And to be honest I wanted to check in on you again.” He paused briefly, taking in the four of them with a worried frown. “I heard rumors that last night was perhaps even more eventful for you all than the gala was.”
“That’s very kind of you Bruce,” Nick said, pulling Nora closer to him. “We’ve certainly had a rough time during this visit. A little bit of kindness goes a long way after all of that.”
“If there is anything else I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Nora laughed lightly, laying her head on Nick's shoulder. “We have everything we need right here,” she said, her gaze drifting over their little family before turning back to the Waynes, a familiar glint in her eyes that told Billy she really was on the mend. “But if you’d like to send us an invite to an event that doesn’t end in life or death scenarios that require superhero intervention, I wouldn't be opposed.”
Bruce opened his mouth to respond only for Damian to clear his throat loudly and take a step forward. “I think we can all agree that that’s the least we can do. I know I for one would be interested in getting to know you all better.” Damian leveled Billy and Mary with a very intense look, as if he wanted to convey a lot of information with just his eyes, though Billy wasn’t entirely sure what that information was supposed to be. “I also wished to give you this.”
With a sharp flourish, he produced two small business cards from the front pocket of his jacket and held them out. Amused Billy accepted the offer, passing one card to Mary as he did so. They were black with Damian's initials printed in a shiny green ink. Below it was a phone number and email, all delightfully formal and almost impersonal. “What’s this?”
“My card,” Damian said simply. “I wish to keep in touch. I believe we have much to discuss when the opportunity arises.”
“We sure do.” Namely magic. Billy had a feeling that Damian was the type of person who liked to know everything. He’d be willing to indulge the youngest Wayne if Damian was willing to keep it a secret. The fact that he most likely hadn’t said anything to anyone yet was proof that they could trust him with at least some of their secrets. Besides, it was always kind of fun getting to show off his skills and knowledge while in kid form.
“You couldn’t just give us your number?” Billy asked.
“I believe I just did.”
Billy and Mary shared a look, both trying and failing to hide their amused grins. “Right,” Billy said. “Then I guess I’ll have to call you when we land.”
“I would appreciate it,” Damian said. He glanced briefly at his father and Billy wondered what, if anything, the man knew. “I have quite a few questions I’d like answers to.”
“I hope the first one is ‘how was your flight?’” Mary teased. “If you’re nice we might even answer the ones that come after it.”
Damian’s lips quirked upwards in a half smile. “That’s an easy enough request to fill. I look forward to our conversations.”
"Likewise," the twins chorused.
“We best be off,” Nick said, his eyes shining with delight. “Our pilot’s ready for us and we don’t want to keep him waiting.”
“Of course,” Bruce said. “Have a safe flight. I hope you’ll give Gotham another chance one of these days.”
“Maybe we will someday,” Nick said. “But for now I think Fawcett City is calling our names.”
Billy couldn’t agree more. He had never wanted to go home so badly. “Hey Damian,” he said. “If you and your family ever find yourselves in our neck of the woods we’d love to see you. Maybe we could hang out without all the guns and violence.”
“That would be amenable,” Damian said with a stiff nod, though there was excitement in his eyes. Billy could practically see his mind brimming with plans that probably involved Billy and Mary showcasing their magic in a hopefully non life-threatening scenario. The thought was enough to make him grin.
He tucked Damian’s card into his pocket and joined his family in bidding the Waynes goodbye.
He had a feeling they’d be seeing each other again very soon. And who knew? Maybe their next adventure together would be even better.