[Stark Tower]
The lab at Stark Tower was bathed in the dim glow of holographic monitors, the hum of machinery a constant background noise. The interdimensional gate pulsed faintly, its energy waning now that the transmission had ended.
Bruce stood in front of it, hands resting on the console, his body rigid. His jaw clenched so tightly it ached, and his fingers curled into fists at his sides. His chest rose and fell in deep, controlled breaths, but inside... inside, he was breaking.
Ten years.
Ten years he had been gone.
His children were ten years old.
A decade of their lives had passed, and he had missed it all.
The first words. The first steps. The first scraped knees and bedtime stories. The first days of school. Their first victories. Their first failures. Their first everything.
And he hadn't been there.
His family—his parents, Talia, Diana, Pamela, and the League—they had all moved forward, and raised his children without him. Damian and Elissa had grown up without knowing their father. They were strong, they were brilliant... they were everything he could have ever hoped for, and yet...
They had done it without him.
Bruce felt something crack inside him, deeper than he could explain. A pain beyond anything he had felt before... beyond broken bones, beyond lost battles, beyond any war he had ever waged.
This was time itself betraying him once again.
A bitter exhale left his lips as he squeezed his eyes shut. He tried... he really tried to suppress it. The raw grief clawing its way up his throat. He was Batman. He was Ironman. He didn't break. He didn't falter.
But this… this wasn't a battle he knew how to fight.
He barely registered the sound of footsteps approaching behind him until a gentle, familiar hand rested on his shoulder.
Sue.
She didn't say anything, didn't try to force words into the moment. She just stood there, offering warmth, offering comfort. Offering understanding.
And that was what broke him.
Bruce turned, exhaling a shaky breath as his composure finally cracked. His head dropped slightly, shoulders slumping in a way they never had before.
Sue didn't hesitate.
She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him in a firm, steadying embrace.
It had been years since Bruce had allowed himself to be held like this. To let someone see the pain beneath the surface. He had buried so much... too much. But right now, it was impossible to pretend.
He didn't hug her back at first. He just stood there, rigid, as though afraid that if he let go of control for even a second, he might never regain it.
But Sue… Sue knew him.
She just held on.
And then, slowly... so painfully slowly, Bruce exhaled. His hands trembled as he finally allowed himself to hold onto her, his arms wrapping around her tightly, desperately.
His breathing was uneven, the weight of time pressing down on him like an anvil.
"I missed everything," he finally whispered, his voice hoarse. "First with Morgan and now..."
Sue's grip tightened. "No, you didn't," she murmured. "You still have time, Bruce. You're still their father."
He shook his head, his chin resting against her shoulder. "I should have been there. Every day. Every moment. I should have..."
"You didn't choose this," she reminded him, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes. "Life wasn't fair to you. You sacrificed so much... Again and again, yet... But, you found a way. You always found a way."
Bruce swallowed hard. His throat felt raw. "They grew up without me, Sue."
She brushed her fingers through his hair gently, in the way only an old friend would. "And now they'll get to know you."
He let out a slow, shaky breath, his grip on her loosening slightly. "I don't even know where to start," he admitted. "What do I even say to them? 'Hey, sorry I missed your childhood. I got lost in another universe'?"
Sue gave a soft chuckle, shaking her head. "Honestly? That sounds like the most Bruce Wayne... no, Tony Stark thing ever."
A small, reluctant smirk tugged at his lips. It faded quickly, but it was there.
"You'll figure it out," she said softly. "You always do."
Bruce inhaled deeply, grounding himself. He wasn't alone in this. He still had people who cared. People who had waited for him.
He pulled away slightly, but Sue kept her hands on his arms, as if making sure he was steady.
"You okay?" she asked.
Bruce nodded once. "Not even close."
She smiled a little. "Yeah. That sounds about right."
A brief silence hung between them before Sue's expression shifted, more serious.
"You know they're going to do it, right?" she said.
Bruce met her gaze. He already knew what she was talking about.
"Elissa and Damian," she continued. "They're going to build that gate. They're going to find a way to bring you home."
Bruce's throat tightened again. His children, the ones he had never met, had never held, had never seen beyond a flickering hologram—were fighting to bring him back.
And this time, he wouldn't be the one leaving them behind.
He straightened slightly, his posture regaining some of its usual steel. The storm inside him hadn't passed but it had settled.
"They'll do it," he murmured, a flicker of confidence returning to his voice.
Sue arched a brow. "That sure of them already?"
Bruce's lips quirked into the faintest of smirks. "They're my kids."
Sue rolled her eyes but squeezed his arm one last time before stepping back. "Well, you better be ready. Because when they open that portal?" She grinned. "You won't have time to prepare a speech."
As much as Bruce held onto hope, he knew that by the time they finished building the interdimensional gate, more time would have passed on their side. Ten years? Twenty years? He had no way of knowing.
But it didn't matter.
He knew his kids. He knew his family.
And he knew that when they opened that portal, he wouldn't let that chance go and create a permanent doorway between DC and Marvel. In the end, time was just another battle. And Bruce had never lost a fight.
...
[Later that evening]
Bruce sat at the console, fingers hovering over the communication interface.
He had barely processed what had happened, but one thing was clear—he needed to tell them.
Selina.
Harley.
They had been by his side through everything, trapped in this universe just as he was. He had meant to call them the moment the gate activated, but everything had moved too fast. Now, he had a recording of his children and they needed to see it.
Bruce exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders before tapping a few commands into the system. The first call went to Stark Industries.
[Stark Industries – Selina's Office]
Selina was the new CEO of Stark Industries.
She leaned back in her chair, spinning a small diamond between her fingers as she half-listened to one of her financial advisors drone on about quarterly projections. She wasn't really paying attention. Numbers were numbers. She had people for this.
Then, her private communicator lit up.
Bruce.
Instantly, she sat up, cutting the meeting short with a wave of her hand.
"Out. Now."
The advisor blinked. "M-Ms. Kyle, we were just—"
"Now."
They didn't argue. Within seconds, the office was empty. She tapped the screen, crossing her arms as Bruce's face appeared on the holo-display.
"Well, well," she purred. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Handsome? Miss me already?"
Bruce's expression was unreadable, but Selina knew him too well. There was something different in his eyes and she knew that look.
"This isn't a social call, Selina," he said quietly.
She tilted her head, studying him.
"Alright, you've got my attention. What's wrong?"
Bruce didn't waste time. He tapped another command, and the recorded footage flickered to life behind him. The moment the portal opened. The sight of the Wayne Manor. The faces of everyone gathered. The instant his children stepped forward.
And then—Elissa and Damian.
Selina's playful smirk vanished.
Her breath caught as she leaned forward, eyes locked on the screen.
Selina Kyle wasn't the type to freeze. She had spent her entire life adapting, slipping through tight spaces, and landing on her feet no matter how hard she fell. But as the recording played, as the faces of her family and the two kids filled the screen, she felt the breath leave her lungs.
Damian.
Elissa.
Bruce's voice echoed over the footage, shaky but full of restrained emotion.
"Look at you two, all grown up. My God, you're so big!"
Selina's lips parted slightly, but she didn't speak. She couldn't.
She had known, of course, she had known that there was a chance Bruce had children waiting for him back in their universe. But knowing was one thing. Seeing was another.
Selina barely registered the moment the transmission cut out. Her gaze lingered on the flickering blue holo-light, her fingers twitching slightly against the polished surface of her desk.
"Selina," Bruce's voice was softer now. Almost hesitant.
She exhaled sharply, forcing her expression back into something controlled. But there was no teasing smile, no playful sarcasm.
"How long?" she finally asked, her voice quieter than usual.
Bruce didn't pretend to misunderstand. "Ten years," he admitted.
Ten years.
The words hung in the air between them.
Selina didn't know what to say. Ten years was... she couldn't wrap her mind around it. She could only imagine how Bruce was feeling, watching his children grow up without him.
But it wasn't just about him.
It was about her as well.
She had lost ten years with Damian and Elissa too.
It was a strange thing to grieve something she never even knew existed. It wasn't like they had died. They were still out there somewhere, waiting for them.
But that didn't stop the pain.
Selina stared down at her desk, jaw clenched tightly, her expression unreadable.
"You alright?" She asked, clearing her throat slightly.
"No," Bruce responded quietly. "You?"
She hesitated. "Not even close."
A heavy silence followed before Selina leaned back in her chair again, drumming her nails against the desk. She tilted her head, arching a brow at the screen. "You should call Harley. She deserves to know."
Bruce nodded once. "I will. I just... needed to tell you first."
"Yeah." Her voice was hoarse. "Yeah, I get it."
Silence settled between them again as she looked away. Her gaze shifted across the room, resting on the framed picture she kept on her desk.
"Just call me if you need anything," she finally said, looking back at the screen.
"I will." Bruce gave a small nod. "And... I'm sorry, Selina."
She swallowed hard. "Don't be. Just... find a way to... You know."
"I will, I promise," he answered firmly. "I'll do everything I can from this side."
A small smirk tugged at her lips, and for a moment, she was almost her old self again. "You better, handsome." He could tell that she was forcing that smile.
Bruce let out a huff of amusement, some of the tension lifting from his shoulders.
"Well, I will call Harley... See ya later, Kitty."
Selina's smirk turned into a genuine grin. "Goodbye, Batsy."
And with that, the communication cut out. Selina was left alone in the office.
---
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