Fandom: Batman
Pairing: Bruce Wayne & Male OC, Damian Wayne & Male OC [Platonic]
Rating: Teen
Content: Amnesia, Loss of identity, Blood and gore, Graphic violence, Injuries, Animal abuse, Semi-verbal character
Date originally written: 12th January 2022
Summary: Omen and Bruce have a lot of new things to think about...

Meanwhile, a certain Somebody is up to something in Metropolis...

Author's notes: I’m really pleased that chapter 10 is the turning point of the fic where things are a bit different, where things are changing. I just love that I managed it (accidentally) on the 10th chapter...hehe!

It had been a strange situation he’d found himself in, one that he hadn’t been convinced would ever really occur, but Bruce had finally gotten some answers out of Omen.

He understood, now, that Omen (most likely) didn’t have bad intentions. It was likely that they were simply bored and lonely, without any friends of family to talk to or be around. It wasn’t the answer that he thought he would get at all, but it was an answer that he greatly preferred over the other possibilities he’d been worrying over.

Bruce peeled back the mask, walking directly towards the bathroom that was inside the cave once Nightwing had brought the Batmobile to a stop. He was completely drenched in blood from the blood bags that he had intentionally spilled all over himself, and he needed a shower badly. Everything else would simply have to wait.

He didn’t spend too long in the shower, and once he got out, Clark was there to greet him.

“I told you there was more to the situation than you were seeing.” He said with a slight smirk.

Bruce nodded in agreement, not even attempting to deny it. “I know.”

If Clark was at all surprised by the admission, he didn’t show it.

Bruce continued, “I hadn’t considered that Omen might have been completely and entirely alone. I thought maybe they were working for someone. Maybe they had goals of some kind, some type of intent I wasn’t seeing. But the reality is a lot different. It’s likely that their behaviour is driven by...”

He stopped for a moment, contemplating the rest of the sentence. It was strange, but he felt slightly emotional thinking about it the whole situation. Omen reminded him a bit too much of other people he cared about, both his own children who had experienced all sorts of horrible things prior to becoming his children, to old friends gone awry.

He composed himself, and continued.

“I believe it’s driven by the need for companionship. The need to have a goal, to have a purpose.”

“And you think Omen doesn’t have any of that?” Clark asked.

“It’s very likely. I know, more than most, what loneliness can evolve into if it remains unchecked.”

Dick, who had been doing some basic training within the cave since they’d all returned, decided to join the conversation.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

Bruce didn’t immediately respond. He wasn’t really sure yet what he should be doing about a lonely wolf-person roaming the streets of Gotham, doing what is essentially nothing, but he knew he couldn’t just...ignore them. Bruce can’t just do nothing about the situation. He had to do something , but he wasn’t sure what that something should actually be.

He thought about it for a bit longer before he finally replied.

“I’m...going to try and be...cordial with them. Maybe. If they’re agreeable to it.”

“Cordial? Bruce, you can just admit that you wanna be friends with the cool shadow wolf guy.” Dick replied, standing on one hand on top of a high bar.

Clark huffed a laugh at that while Bruce glared at his son who wasn’t even paying attention, though it was clear his glare wasn’t particularly serious.

Truthfully, Bruce still wasn’t sure how he felt about being “friends” with Omen. He was alright with the idea of getting to know Omen, or attempting to understand Omen in some capacity, but it was clear that Omen had some difficulty communicating, and Bruce wasn’t sure he’d learn much from them just by speaking to them.

On the other hand, though...Omen’s loneliness almost made them more dangerous, in a way. Bored individuals who were lonely and had no friends or family to care for them tended to do stupid things for attention, for affection...for any amount of love, no matter how toxic or twisted it was. Bruce knew that if he didn’t intervene and give something for Omen to do or look forward to, Omen would eventually go insane with their own loneliness and boredom. Who knew what Omen would do, then?

Despite Bruce’s wariness, despite still being unsure, despite still having many questions about Omen’s existence and origins, he decided that an intervention was necessary.

The next phase of his plan formulated in his mind very quickly. His next steps weren’t particularly large ones, but ones that would be necessary in helping Omen becoming less lonely. Any time Batman saw Omen in Gotham, he would say hi. If Omen allowed it, he would then gently approach them and simply talk to them, regardless of whether Omen responded or not. As long as his presence and voice was welcome, he would speak to them and spend time with them.

Having Omen on Batman’s side, even if it seemed risky and dangerous, was the better alternative than having Omen being scared of him. Too much fear could make a person lash out, and that’s not what Bruce wanted. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was accidentally make an enemy out of Omen because he didn’t know how to be friendly with them.

Omen wandered around the streets of Gotham, aimlessly, like he’d always done. Always walking, always observing, always changing directions and doing everything at a whim.

This time, though, had new things to think about.

The Scary One...had been injured. He’d been bleeding out- had so much blood covering him- and he’d asked Omen for help, to keep him safe until backup could arrive.

Omen never believed in his life (no matter how recently his life had started) that The Scary One would ever ask him for help, especially after having being chased across the rooftops of Gotham by him.

Omen had been so scared in the past few months- both irrationally and rightfully- of an altercation between himself and The Scary One occurring, of something terrible happening to him. This fear had consumed him to the point that he hadn’t even considered that perhaps the situation was more complex than simple prejudice or fear on The Scary One’s part. That, maybe, The Scary One was just trying to protect his little ones from an unknown stranger who, admittedly, had kind of been stalking them (though it hadn’t been on purpose).

It had never occurred to Omen that his behaviour would be considered stalking, but now that he looked at the whole situation with a different perspective, it became very apparent that his behaviours was quite suspicious, especially to those that knew nothing about him.

As he had told The Scary One, he had simply been lonely. He’d wanted to reach out somehow, but had been too scared to do so. He’d been bored and needed something to do, so he simply watched the people of Gotham, including the vigilantes, hoping that something exciting would occur that could entertain him. He’d never meant to scare anyone or make anyone believe he had ill intent.

But it had happened anyway.

Omen was simply glad that he had been able to clear the air in some way before things had gotten worse, even if all he’d done was speak one single word.

Which...was something else he was thinking about a lot, now that he was in a safer situation and could actually entertain those thoughts.

It made no sense to him why he’d struggled so much to speak. He knew English. He could clearly understand all of the words that he had heard spoken by other people, whether they were directly at him or were simply conversations he had overheard or eavesdropped in on. It was also clear that he thought in English, too. So why was it so hard to actually speak out loud? Was it because of his body? Was he too wolfish, making it close to impossible for him to perform human speech? Was it a mental thing? Or was it just really hard at first since he’d never tried to speak before, and he just needed practice to get better at it?

He didn’t know the answer. All he knew was that speech was possible, if extremely difficult. He would try to practise his speech any chance he got, to hopefully get better at it...if it was possible, of course. He had no way of knowing until he tried it, though.

Omen had a goal, now, despite how temporary it might end up being, and despite how simple of a goal it was. He would think of different words to say and then try to say them, and hopefully...one day...he might be able to speak in full sentences.

Two weeks had gone since Bruce had spoken to Omen, lying on the ground of an alleyway covered in blood and fur while a protective wolf wrapped their whole essence around him.

Omen sightings had become regular again, and while Bruce had been keeping an eye on where they’d been sighted, he hadn’t actually had any time to approach Omen or speak to them. Right now, he was too busy focusing on another, much more important investigation.

At one of the most recent Justice League meetings, Superman had reported an up-tick in Lex Luthor’s shady business dealings and activities in Metropolis, and had asked for the others in the League to keep an eye out in case they came across anything suspicious relating to Luthor.

Although Superman hadn’t directly asked anyone to look into it, Batman decided to look into it anyway, knowing that Clark would appreciate him helping out in a way only he could. Bruce was always good at picking apart the details, of being able to bring together different pieces of evidence to prove that something truly was happening.

For now, no kryptonite had showed up, but Bruce knew that it was only a matter of time before it did.

He kept tabs on the situation, but for now...things were clearly in the beginning stages. Luthor hadn’t made any big moves just yet, and Bruce would simply have to keep monitoring the situation for any changes.

He didn’t like it, though. Not one bit.

End notes: I have introduced a completely new plotline which was not something I expected to do? lmao oops anyways...