Okay, I just had to add this. Time to get the New 52 Ronins some support.
It was odd sometimes just what it would take to push someone over the edge. One would have thought that the trauma of losing his youngest son would have been the tipping point to bring Bruce Wayne, the Batman, fully back to himself since Keitaro had long since tried and failed to restore his memories of the original timeline. In essence, that was correct. It was not, however something that came as he held Damian's corpse and cried defiantly to the heavens, no matter what parallels could be drawn to a similar act in losing Jason years before. It was not in some epic conflict with Talia over the death of their son. No, it was something as mundane, as familiar, as looking over crime reports in the Batcave.
Bruce had been sitting at the Cray System, reviewing reports about Mr Freeze's recent escape, when his analytical mind started to pick up clues here and there. It wasn't the evidence left behind in the escape itself, it was more the lack of certain bits of evidence that should have been there that made him think.
It almost looks like one of us helped him. But who would do that? Especially without notifying the others? Dick and Babara certainly wouldn't. Tim might if he was in need of a cryogenics expert on case and thought he couldn't trust the others. Lord knows he and Damian had their problems, Bruce brooded with a look back at the uniform vault, as if expecting his two youngest sons to emerge from it arguing with each other. I suppose Kanako could be involved, too. She's always been a bit more of a loose canon. Especially if it would help Keitaro or Tim in some way...
And it was just that simple, a ripple of thought that should not have been but was. Had Bruce bothered to look in a mirror at that precise moment, he would have seen a aura of red similar to the one that Keitaro projected when "awakening" someone ghost across his eyes before seeming to shatter as reality reasserted itself. Keitaro... Kanako... Cassandra... no Damian. No. That's not right. It's wrong. It's all wrong, Bruce thought as he stood up. It all came back with alarming clarity, the conversation several weeks ago with Tim that seemed to be about a topic Bruce could not recall at the time. A conversation that had been set up in public at Gotham Central Square during lunch time and in civilian clothes to no doubt hide Keitaro hitting him with some kind of aura projection. He recalled clearly now what had only been a flutter before as he realized the difference between the two realities, possibly two different timelines. Then the haze of the "new" reality had reasserted itself and Bruce had forgotten Tim's queries and Keitaro's presence, for he had never known Keitaro in this reality.
With a grim determination, Bruce sat back down and began to access some of Wayne Industries-manufactured spy satellites to check over what should be an uninhabited island near Pararakelse Island. He was somewhat surprised to see not only signs of habitation, but a completed home there. It was not the one Bruce had commissioned to be built on the island in the previous timeline, rather it was more reminiscent of the home Wally dear God how had he forgotten about West like that? had built for himself and his wife. And as Bruce zoomed in with the imaging software it became clear why the home resembled Wally's house. There he was, out of uniform, talking and laughing with Donna Troy and Cassandra Cain as Keitaro, Kara, and Greta were playfully arguing about something.
Looks like you've been busy gathering allies in the face of whatever has happened, Ronin. Good work, Bruce praised in his head as he scanned the house with thermal imaging. Sure enough, there was a dark spot that could only come from an extreme cold room, most likely where Robin-Tim rather, was housing Victor Fries. If they had done to Victor what was done to him Mr Freeze certainly would ally himself with the young heroes to have his wife restored to him. In fact, he would be fanatically devoted to helping them.
That thought gave Bruce pause. He compared the two timelines in his head as he realized Damian had not been Robin in the original timeline. In fact, Talia had told him that she had lost their child together before he had been born. That could have been a lie, obviously, as Ra's had hidden Damian from him for most of his all too brief life. And the Talia he remembered from the first reality certainly would not have allowed her own child to be killed, or have tried to kill Bruce, for that matter. It was possible that if reality was restored Damian would be as well. Or he might cease to exist altogether.
It did beg the question, though, of if was worth it to try to restore the prime timeline? Was it worth it to return to a world where Darkseid was an established threat rather than a newly revealed one? Where the League had a long standing history together and a litany of deadly adversaries to show for it that could menace the Earth one more? Where Jason walked so much closer to the edge of darkness than he did now with Roy and Starfire beside him? Where Damian might have a chance to live?
Yes. It was worth it. If for no other reason than it was safer to have the charter members of the League regaining their full level of power and experience. Just because they had not encountered those threats did not mean that they did not exist. And the newly formed League, with heroes like Clark and Diana as little more than glorified rookies, was laughably vulnerable. That might even have been the point of whatever sparked this anomaly. Certainly villains like the Anti-Monitor, Monarch, or even Vandal Savage would jump at the chance to take advantage of a weakened League. Only the fact that Darkseid himself had not laid waste to them in their recent encounter discredited him as a possible culprit.
Of course, just deciding that the problem needed to be addressed did not explain how to do it. No doubt Robin and Ronin were working together with the others to answer that very question. He would have to arrange a meeting with them, and upgrade their equipment, to help in the search. He should probably also check on Keitaro's usual contacts in Japan. There was little doubt he would have tried whatever he used to restore Kara and the others on his sister and Motoko, at the very least. If they were aware of the original timeline it would benefit them both to have a full complement of equipment on hand before they grew too restless and rejoined Ronin.
I wonder if I should ask Keitaro to try to awaken Selina? Kanako would certainly enjoy working with her again and they make for an effective infiltration team. Oh well, something to consider for later, Bruce thought as he began making plans in regards to what Keitaro and the others would need.
As Bruce worked, he continuously compared and contrasted his memories of both timelines, looking for discrepancies that could be investigated to get to the source of the problem. As he recalled how Clark and Diana were acting toward each other in the current timeline his face broke into a scowl that Wally would have called a "Bat-Glare times 10." Maybe I should see if I can arrange for Clark and Lois to be assigned to more projects together while I'm at it? Let nature take it's course, he added mentally without bothering to explore his motivations behind the thought. Then again, it was a long habit of his to not investigate his motivations in regards to his opinions about Diana's romantic interests too closely. He never thought over how she had ended up a Star Sapphire for a time during his "death" at Darkseid's hand, for example. That way lay madness.
For now, he had to work out what Robin and Ronin would need in their search and concentrate on discovering the source of the change. Everything else could wait.
