Thomas stood in the master bedroom of Wayne Manor, his fathers room so many years ago. He sighed as he looked in the mirror and saw the tuxedo behind him, still hung up and neatly pressed. The party would be starting any minute now and he could already hear the workers welcoming the party goers. He hated this part of being the CEO of Wayne Enterprises but the man had to keep up appearances. A light knock came on his door as one of his aids poked their head in. "Mister Wayne, they're expecting you downstairs.

Thomas sighed once more and nodded silently as the aid closed the door. He turned away from the mirror and began getting dressed. It would only take him a matter of moments before he was out of his room and headed down to the main hall. The moment he entered the room he put on his game face and began greeting business men and women, politicians and others. Tonight, he wasn't Batman... Tonight he was Thomas Wayne and, oddly enough, he was fine with that...

Thomas was having a party and as a member of both Wayne Industries, more accurately the R&D department, but he was also a member of the extended Wayne family so he had to go. That was fine, JJ had been dealing with big parties like this since he was a child and had gotten into acting. Only difference was now the coke wasn't out in the open. He knew it was there and didn't care. After the beating he took at the hands of some Bat Woman and someone else he was looking forward to spending some time with the family. He'd called @madrox to be his date but she never got back to him. He loved her but her tendency to disappear could get annoying at times. So instead he decided to bring his daughter Barby with as his date. She was usually his date she she'd put on her finest black and blue dress to match her dad's tux with a dark blue pocket square and accented bow tie.

He was going around the party, have taken a few hits of his medicinal cannibus before hand. It helped town down his enhanced senses and helped him not be on edge. Oddly enough he'd tried everything so far to deal with it and so far nothing. The two of them were going around making small talk. A few politicians wanted his backing before running but he rarely did it. He spoke to a few doctors before seeing Thomas come around and made his way to him with Barby at his side.

"Thomas, great party. I think I saw Miss Argentina with that Senator from Star City. Half tempted to call TMZ."

"Daddy, we both know if you call TMZ it'll be about you."

"Well I do need the publicity."

He wasn't proud and has been known to tip off paparazzi when he's shooting something new. It was fine, he'd made up something to get people talking, then soon enough people were going to see his movies. But his last few had been less than stellar, but he wanted to keep working.

A party at Thomas Wayne's house, and here was Chari with time to kill. After all her great work with Adam she was given a small vacation. She left her girls with some guards and she had no doubt the guards would be dead eventually. The guards wouldn't look after them, since they didn't need baby sitting, they were there to keep them busy. She actually did her hair and makeup, something she hasn't done for years and actually bought a dress and heels with a pocket book. She also had mixed up her own special perfume mixture. The Lilac perfume and grease that Thomas had always remarked was indistinguishable. It was why she'd put it on her victims.

She knew with all the doctors she could fit in and getting an invitation was simple enough. She just killed some up and coming doctor and changed her face to match it. Once inside she changed to her usual form and proceeded to walk around. She made small talk but the whole time she was looking for Thomas. Then she saw him talking to a guy she was fairly certain was JJ, Blue Robin when they were kids. But who was the girl? Was she Thomas' daughter? No, the facial features didn't match. She was likely JJ's daughter but looked more like the mom. She strolled towards him smiling before grabbing a glass of champagne. She moved behind him, ensuring her scent was picked up by him.

"Come and get me Tommy...."

She whispered to him before heading back to the crowd. She looked over her shoulder and let a familiar shade of green come over her briefly before replacing it and going back to her usual skin tone. She laughed and then slipped into a crowd of people.

Honestly, Dinah had forgotten about the party completely. She was waist deep in another recording deal, trying to figure out all the logistics for her new album. She'd hired a new producer and he had some funny ideas about recording places. They were supposed to go record in an abandoned church next week and trying to get all the gear there was turning out to be a bigger challenge than necessary. So when her assistant burst into her office, tossed a dress at her then ordered her hair and makeup team to attack, Dinah was too confused to ask questions.

Midway through the hair styling, she remembered; Thomas was throwing some kind of party. It explained the rather conservative choice of dress that had been picked out. She hardly recognized herself once she got in front of a mirror. Red velvet wouldn't have been her first choice, but tonight was not a night for her normal attire of something flashy and possibly leather. No, she had to be classy.

She reminded herself that her assistant needed a raise.

She got a few double takes as she walked in, people realizing that yes it was her and no she wasn't in anything shocking. Which, she supposed, was shocking in and of itself. She spotted her brother right away, but he was easy to pick out of a crowd, at least for her. She always has a sense of where he was. Then she spotted Thomas. She hadn't seen him in a while but it seemed like things hadn't changed much. He still knew how to work a crowd.

She was horrible at it, having too many opinions which she didn't feel the need to keep to herself. But she made valiant attempts to bite her tongue as she made her way through the crowd, getting drawn into several conversations with acquaintances. By the time she extricated herself and made her way over, she heard JJ mention calling TMZ.

“Hey, T. Swell party. I'll make sure those paparazzi vultures don't have much to report on.” Dinah smiled at Thomas then turned to glare at JJ. There was enough press outside, they didn't need scum posing as journalists out there too. “Contrary to popular belief, not all press is good press.”

She turned back to give Thomas a proper hug just to see someone disappear into the crowd. She blinked, not really believing her eyes. She looked familiar, but so did lots of people. The flash of green could have been a trick of the light. Either way, her good mood was tanking and now all her instincts were kicking in .

“There are days when I wish I could still drink. C’mon pint size, let's go get some sparkling cider.” She held her hand out to Barby and started to head for the bar.

Thomas sighed as he waded through the throngs of people that had been invited to the party but when he spotted a familiar face he couldn't help but breathe a bit easier. As JJ walked up to him he grasped his hand firmly. "Ah, JJ, glad you could make it..." He would then turn and look at Barby, placing a hand on her head. "And it's always an honor to have you here with us as well Ms. Barby." He smirked slightly before finally returning his attention to his Nephew. Hearing the comment about the senator and such made him chuckle and shake his head. "If that's the only Senator she ends up with while she's here... I'll be quite disappointed in her... As for the media, you and I both know that they've left me alone for the past few months now... I've apparently started to bore them with my lack of scandals... So your daughter is quite right, they'd only be here for you... Though we both know they'd never make it past the gate." That last bit couldn't help but make him chuckle again, then another familiar face decided to join them.

Dinah had managed to make her way over to them and he once again felt a breath of fresh air enter him. "T? Really? You know just once I wouldn't mind if one of the two of you managed to call me Uncle... At least once in my life... But thank you Dinah, I try to keep up the Wayne legacy of proper parties. I would hate to be known as the dullest of the Waynes." He would then laugh at the comment about the press and look back at JJ. "See, what did I tell you, not even going to make it past the front gate." Then, as Dinah went in for a hug, finally, Thomas caught a whiff of something he hadn't smelled in ages. His eyes went wide for a split second and in the middle of the hug he could sense the shift in Dinah as well. When they pulled away from one another he gave his niece a knowing glance and nodded when the latter took Barby to go grab some cider. "There's a non-alcoholic table towards the back by the food, though it's slightly packed so take your time..."

'Take your time'... That was Thomas code, and she'd know it. He would then turn to JJ, the look on his face shifting to one he would know all to well. "Well dear Nephew... It seems we have a party crasher... I recognized the voice and a specific scent... I don't know how she's here... Considering I thought she was dead... But if it is her, she's got a lot to answer for..." He would turn around and look into the crowd before taking a breath and cracking his neck slightly. "Time to go to work..."

It was easier to enter the party than Owen had previously thought. He just used Jason's standing invite and they let him right in. He thought there would have been more fuss, but apparently, the old man kept him on the roles as his 'son' even after all that had transpired. That alone was unnerving. He'd seen the invitation on Dinah's counter one night while he was there and decided to attend on a whim.

Owen wasn't even sure why he was there. The last time he'd seen Thomas and JJ had been before he'd put on a costume. Neither of them was happy about his presence in Dinah's life and the teenage Owen had been more than happy to shoot his mouth off in retort and earn himself a swift and violent ejection from the party. And yet, here he was 9 years later, standing in Wayne Manor, a place he hadn't thought he'd go back to. Using his own name of all things, to interact with people who probably wouldn't want to see him.

He'd spotted Thomas and JJ as well as Dinah and a small girl. Knowing what he knew, he wondered if the girl was the one from the rooftop that night. Owen would make a point to ask at some point. He grabbed a pair of sparkling ciders and moved away from the crowd at the non-alcoholic table, putting himself on an intercept course for Dinah and Barby. He was very careful not to spill the drinks on his white tuxedo as he moved towards them.

"You two look like you could use a drink. It's a long walk from one side of the ballroom here to the other. Can't have you two getting parched." Owen smiled at Dinah and Barby, offering the glasses up. "Hello, little lady. I'm a very old friend of your Aunt Dinah's. You can call me Owen. Who might you be?"

He regretted not having any of his gear with him, but he knew that would be the best way to show up to this. The way Wayne and Grayson were working the room, it was a pretty sure thing that he was going to be discovered and tossed out on his ass soon enough. Dinah always joked about being the black sheep of the clan. He was pretty sure that as far as they were concerned, he was the black mark on the family that no one ever spoke of. He'd have to try diplomacy. Barring that, well... He couldn't take both of them.

"I never thought that I'd miss these sort of functions, you know?"

He wasn't alone with Thomas for long before Dinah showed up. He had expected her to show up just didn't know when. He knew she was busy with something of a new album and some other work with her label. He knew Barby was interested in singing, as she'd always looked up to her aunt. Then again Barby already had an IMDB page for some of her extra work in his movies as well as Dinah's music videos. Barby smiled at THomas as he greeted her and curtsied.

"Well there was a time when I might try my hand. But I guess you'll need to go on without me Thomas. Show her how Gotham does."

"Daddy, you're disgusting."

"Yeah well your mother likes it."

"Save me Aunt Di."

JJ liked seeing Barby get to be herself. She was far smarter than she should be for a 9 year old but it tended to make some uncomfortable. JJ had contemplated enrolling her in Jean Grey's but also wanted to run it by Rayne first.

"Of course Dee can say that. She coughs into a microphone and they hurl grammies at her. I act my...butt off and maybe get a nomination for People's Choice or Teen Choice. Say what you will about me but I don't do this to lose 'Dreamiest Evil Smile' every year."

'Feel better?'

He mumbled something unintelligible as he watched a woman flash green and walk away. Yes he picked up on the smell, something he hadn't smelled in close to 10 years. Barby meanwhile knew when she was being shooed away.

'Yeah yeah. Barby go somewhere safe. Strongest person in this room....'

She mumbled as she took Dinah's hand and headed for the table. As they got there they were approached by someone else. He seemed to know Dinah but whoever he was Barby didn't know him.

'Barbara Olivia Grayson, Dinah's niece....but you already knew that...somehow.'

She said holding her hand out to him with a polite smile. She was skeptical and wasn't entirely sure if he was more of a friend of Dinah or Nightwing. Meanwhile JJ had taken off on the trail of the mystery woman with Thomas. He was taking this pretty well considering they were chasing after his dead ex-girlfriend.

"I'll say she has things to answer for. I gave a moving, eloquent oscar worthy speech at her statue dedication, and if she's alive...."

Her plan had worked perfectly. Honestly she liked seeing she still had that effect on him. She'd always prided herself on being able to get under his exterior. However she had expected him to be frozen a bit. Although maybe that was just hopeful arrogance, hoping she meant more than she did to him. She knew he'd moved on from her, it had been 9 years now. She'd seen some of the pictures and so forth, him out dating. It took a lot to ensure they didn't end up dead. Although some bad luck did happen, she was only human, well, close enough.

As she walked she handed her glass of champagne to someone else and kept moving. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed JJ was walking with him. That boy may have been a bumbling fool but his senses were impressive. As she walked she noticed Dinah ahead of her along with what she assumed was JJ's daughter and some...other guy. He wasn't that interesting to her but she was trapped. If she wanted to keep this cat and mouse game going she needed to think.

As she walked flirtatiously traced a finger under a man's chin and led him out to the dance floor. As they proceeded to dance she looked over at Thomas and winked before blowing a kiss to him. She then spun away from her dance partner. But she'd been too focused on Thomas and didn't realize in their dancing she was right by the drink table.

"Dinah, been too long. We really need to catch up. You two make a cute couple, toodles."

She said before turning to disappear back into the crowd.

'Take your time'. Great. There would be no relaxing tonight. She hadn't been seeing things. She had given the room a cursory glance when she came in, but she knew where the exits were and all the best hiding places from years of practice. She quite frequently found herself in those little corners. So her eyes swept those first and found nothing. Tonight was going to be a long one.

She swept the room again as she and Barby made their way and she stopped, spotting Owen with two ciders and smile for her. She wondered, briefly, if this was the party crasher. Well he was one of them, obviously, but she figured it was not the one Thomas had told her to be on the look out for. She gave Owen a half a smile and took the cider, downing it before doing another subtle sweep, looking for anything else that was unusual or out of place.

"Yeah, very long walk in these heels." She would be lying if she had said having Owen there wasn't a comfort. She knew he was good in a pinch if need be and would help keep Barby safe if needed. And he'd even taken care of his introductions. That solved the problem of what to call him nice and easily.

"Yes, well Owen is a snoop, Barby. Don't believe a word he says about me. Unless it's a compliment." She smiled at her niece, trying to relax her posture just a little. He was playing nice with her and it was kind of adorable, making her half smile turn into a full one.

She went to tell him about the other party crasher when she dropped in and announced herself. Dinah was speechless for a moment, definitely thinking that she was out of place in all this. "What the f-f-freaky deaky dutch?" she censored herself at the last moment, remembering there were little ears nearby. Little ears that needed to not be anywhere near the ballroom at that moment. But Dinah knew her niece, and knew that wouldn't be an option.

Dinah turned and crouched down to Barby's level and looked at her seriously. "Barbara, I need you to listen to me very carefully. We've got a party crasher. And you know how we hate party crashers. You are to observe. Not engage. Understand? A) you have not passed the test. B) she is insanely smart and I would rather your dad not kill me for putting you in any danger. But an extra pair of eyes is never a bad thing." She leaned forward and gave Barby a kiss on her crown. "I trust you kiddo. Use your head and stay safe."

Standing up, she turned to look at Owen. "Hope you brought your proton pack, because tonight there's a ghost running around."

As he handed off the ciders, Owen flashed Dinah a quick smile. "I am always impressed by your ability to move in those things." He gave another look around the room, careful to keep an eye on the positions of JJ and Thomas as they moved through the room. Then he flashed a sadder smile to her and answered the two unasked questions. "I'm not working tonight. I just didn't want to be alone and I remembered that invitation you left on the counter." Today was the one day of the year when Owen hated to be alone, so he'd decided to reach out for once. "Besides, it seems someone never removed me from the family guest rolls. I guess he was hoping that I'd come around eventually."

Owen took the smaller girl's hand in his own and made an exaggerated bow, before kissing the back of said hand. "Well, Miss Barbara. I'm Owen Merlowe. Would you prefer I call you something different? I know your aunt calls you Barby, but I wouldn't dare without asking permission first." He rolled his eyes at the snoop comment. "I've never snooped a day in my life. That thing with your diary and underwear drawer was a set up. And happened a thousand years ago."

"Your Aunt Dinah and I have known each other since high school. We were... good friends. I'm an old family friend on your Uncle Jason's side. Well, I suppose friend, depends on who you ask." Owen's train of thought derailed as a woman danced past and addressed Dinah. He thought it was the usual joke people made about them being a couple that threw her, but then noticed her body language changed.

Owen gave Dinah a smile and gestured to Barby. "She's probably better equipped for this thing than we are." He gave Barby an appraising look and then said something from his training days. "If you do get engaged, use Pattern Theta Six to evade, until help comes along. That was always a favorite of mine."

"Read me in, Songbird." A dark smirk crossed Owen's features. "I ain't afraid of no ghost."

Thomas and JJ had been moving through the crowds, with Thomas doing his best to avoid stopping for to long. Luckily there was always the excuse of him wanting to be a good host. However, it seemed the more they moved, the colder the trail got. He paused for a moment in a corner and pulled JJ close. "If I'm being insane please let me know... But I know what I heard and smelled... We need to figure this out and fast. Either I've been wrong for a LONG time or someone's here and trying to royally piss me off..." 

With that Thomas was on the move again, this time his sense of smell picking up the trail and moving them towards the drinks. As he spotted Dinah he couldn't help but notice the look on her face. He didn't like it, though as he got close he heard and saw something he liked much less. In a blink he was on Owen, close enough to grab his arm without it being seen. "Now you and I both know you're not going to cause a scene here. If you were, you wouldn't have come like this. However, you should also know better than to show up at all... I will deal with you later, and don't worry about being read in... Because you're out."

As he released his hold on Owen he turned his attention to Dinah, allowing JJ to keep tabs on the party crasher. "I don't like that look Dinah... Please tell me it's not who I think it is... It can't be, it's not possible..." He looked the woman in the eyes and hoped that her response would calm his nerves. His ears were open in hopes of catching  a voice in the crowd and his nose was keeping a tab on that perfume he had once loved so much. Beyond that, if it wasn't one thing it was another... Now, not only was a dead lover possibly back from the grave, he had the protege' of his dead beat brother in a place he wasn't welcome. He could feel his left eye twitch slightly as he prayed Dinah had good news for him...

JJ was able to avoid most of the crowd and keep hunting Missy, or whoever this was. It helped being an arrogant actor known for being a party animal and occasional flake. No doubt there'd be stories about JJ Grayson being back on drugs again. He didn't actually care, primarily because it got people talking about him. Yes it was negative press, but it would also potentially help him get more work. But when Thomas stopped him and asked him something JJ didn't even bother to stifle a laugh.

"Tom, this whole family is insane. But deaths in our line of work are usually...well..."

He didn't need to go into specifics, especially with all these people around. But dressing up and fighting crime, then pretending like you're not wasn't the sanest past time. Also the family obsession with birds and bats was a whole other thing. Not to mention each of them seemed to fall for villains, or at least less than savory people. Not to mention as he referenced that people they knew who died usually came back. WHile it was somewhat rare, it wasn't unheard of. JJ continued to follow after this mystery woman while Thomas went after Owen, owen found himself already busy with Barby.

Barby looked up at Owen and smiled her sweet smile. She put on her best little girl look before motioning for him to lean down. But he wouldn't need to as she was about to help him. Grabbing him by the shirt she pulled him down to be closer to her mouth, a small dose of her actual strength.

'Listen here. You seem to make my aunt happy, so I got no issues with you. But make sure she stays that way...or else. And remember, I'm adorable enough to get away with it.'

She said before releasing him just as Thomas came up. With Thomas there she whistled calmly and slowly walked away holding some punch, or ginger ale or....really she just grabbed a glass and wandered off. She assumed Thomas wouldn't like her threatening people, especially since her dad REALLY didn't. She'd been punished quite a few times for threatening members of the Justice League. JJ tried not to laugh when he over heard Barby's threat to Owen. Better than the right he gave Owen last time they were here together.

"Tom, not the time. Besides everyone deserves a second chance.....even this guy."

Seeing them get distracted by...whoever that was was actually useful for her. She watched as the young girl threatened the guy, impressive. She'd likely get along with her daughters pretty well. That was good considering they were...cousins or something. She could never figure out the whole family break down or how it all worked out. Either way, there was some sort of relation here, likely second cousin or some nonsense. But either way this whole distraction allowed her to slip away from Dinah and the rest of the group and heading towards the rest of the party. She wasn't surprised the rest of the group recognized her. Yes her appearance had slightly changed some since her time as Miss Gamma. But honestly she hadn't changed it that much. The only real difference was she was no longer green and had added a more Asian look. She'd always claimed her mother was Korean so all she'd done since leaving was up the heritage. Honestly she'd always sort of liked this look. Hot, but not overly and still enough to disappear into a crowd and not stand out if need be.

Once she was away she slipped out a patio door and onto a balcony. There she sat, perched on the railing with her legs crossed and waiting. She knew she couldn't get away from Thomas, and honestly she didn't want to. Well not yet. She loved the idea of playing hard to get. She set her pocket book down beside her and pulled out her bowie knife. Yes it was a rather large pocket book, as far as pocket books went. But she also wanted to ensure she was armed. She'd be more surprised if there wasn't a fight yet today. She began to use the knife to pick her nails and watch the door. An older couple stepped out and the man went to light up a cigar.

"I'd leave if I were you Old Man Moneybags. Namely since you're kind of interrupting something. Besides, her dress is totally clashing with my skin."

She said before shifting into her old green skinned form as she sat there. She'd reached a dead end after all. Well, not much of a dead end, since she could escape if she truly wanted to. She was concerned about Dinah and JJ though. THomas she could handle but those two were always so...unpredictable.

Dinah clutched a hand over her mouth, mostly to keep herself from laughing. She had no doubt her niece meant every word and that she could back up what she was saying. Still, her eyes were alight with amusement at the whole situation. She was really rather touched by the gesture, as Barby had not dug into anything about Owen or his nefarious activities. She had just expressed concern about how Owen treated her. She gave him a rather amused smile that instantly disappeared the moment Thomas put hands on.

"Thomas, hands off my date. You're the one making a scene." She stepped closer to her uncle, smiling to keep up appearances and also seamlessly placed herself in between Owen and Thomas. She made a show of brushing off his lapels while looking around, trying to find their not so mystery woman.

"Unfortunately, Thomas, it's her. I don't know exactly how it's her, but it most definitely was. Now, we don't have time to throw anyone out of the party, we have much bigger problems. At least think of it this way. She knows how we operate. She definitely knows you. But what she doesn't know...is him. So, just this once, have a little faith." She smiled up at him, adjusting his tie before stepping back, scanning the crowd for any sign of Miss Gamma. While she didn't spot her, she did see two an older couple scurry back into the room. Dinah looked back toward her brother, to see if he had headed that way.

Owen found himself being motioned to by the adorable little girl. He leaned in as she was going to tell him a secret. Then he found himself being grabbed and threatened. The girl had some sort of enhanced strength. Suddenly, that one time he'd tried to rescue her in an alley seemed rather dumb and shoddily planned. This family was all sorts of messed up. Owen offered Barby a smile.

"I think there's a line for that sort of thing. You might have to get a ticket or have someone reserve you a spot."

He felt Thomas' presence before he noticed it. Then the Scion of the Wayne family had him by the arm and was also threatening him. Owen was feeling conflicted. He'd just come to have a good time with Dinah. He hadn't been expecting a warm welcome, but this was downright frigid. He also felt the urge to swing at Thomas. He clamped that urge down. It wouldn't do to cause a scene. Besides, something was going on and Dinah had enlisted his help, the rest didn't matter. Though he did raise an eyebrow at JJ's speaking up for him. Last time they'd been here, JJ had broken his jaw and he'd broken the Grayson man's nose.

"Now, now. Dear Uncle Tommy. I didn't come here to cause a scene. I came here because I was invited by Dinah. Also, my name's still on the family guest list. You should probably fix that." The archcriminal shrugged. "The same Dinah who just asked me for help. So, I don't give a rat's ass what you think. You want to deal with me, then we can go downstairs after the party and you can beat on me in your fancy little set up down there."

As Dinah slipped between them and told Wayne to keep his hands off her dated, Owen pulled free of Thomas' grip. He looked around. "We have innocent people to protect here. This place is too crowded for us to screw around." His eyes scanned the crowd for Barby. He'd told her to go and be their scout and now he was concerned for her well being. He felt naked here without his gear or guns, but he knew that Dinah would back him up. Besides, he had the two meatshields nearby too.

"Songbird, how much of a threat are we talking here?"