Chapter Text
Noise followed as everyone finished getting ready, filling the cave with laughs and an unusual feeling of joy. It wasn’t uncommon to hear some playful teasing now and then, mostly coming from Dick or Steph, quickly shut down by Damian or Jason. However, Bruce could see how everyone was playing along, whispering into each other's ears, trying to hold a smile threatening to take over the usual concentration they show before patrol.
Whatever their boys were planning couldn’t be that bad if it at least brought a little bit of joy to the family.
As always, he did a quick count of heads, which wasn’t as easy, having them all spread around the cave instead of forming next to the exit.
Cass and Damian were hiding in a dark corner, passionately speaking about something, changing between whispers, sign language, and an occasionally theatrical representation of an indescribable situation.
Tim was running after Steph, screaming at her that it was her duty as her best friend to tell him who she was working for. Steph, escaping and hiding behind Duke, told Tim that she had sworn silence and would take the information to her grave.
Duke, who had been speaking on the phone with someone, asking about their whereabouts, hung up as Steph used him as a shield from a bo staff. The three of them started a little mouse-and-cat game, Duke chasing Tim, who was chasing Steph, who was running for her life.
Dick, who had been talking with Barb through his comms, slowly approached him, hands behind his back and a big smile. As he reached his side, his eyes went into full Puppy mode, ready to ask for something Bruce wouldn’t be able to refuse.
“No.” He said before Dick had the opportunity to even start speaking.
“Hey! You don’t even know what I was gonna say.”
“Does it involve your brothers?”
“I mean, yes, but…”
“Hence the NO. I won’t be dragged into your game, I have learned my lesson the first three times.”
“Listen, I PROMISE you this is worth it.”
Dick was met with a simple and unimpressed look.
“It’s about Jaybird.”
Bruce’s glare shifted, unable to hide the interest peeking behind his eyes as the new information was presented. If this was about Jason, it may be worth taking the risk, he thought. However, his interest quickly died as his brain started to do the math. Turning his attention from Dick, he counted the kids again, finding six where there were supposed to be seven.
“Where is Jason?” he asked to the room.
As soon as the name left his lips, a door slammed open from the top of the stairs, showing Jason’s silhouette, making everyone stop in their tracks and look at him. Even though the shadows were hiding his face, his body language was screaming his annoyance.
“I’m here, old man. Now, which of you motherfuckers stole my helmet?”
“You needed to make a dramatic entrance, didn’t you? How long have you been waiting till you heard your name?” Tim asked.
“If I have to go out like this, the least I deserve is a full dramatic entrance, so suck it up, Timbo.”
Scratch what I said before, whatever my boys had planned was bad enough, Bruce thought as the cave light started to show Jason’s face.
“I won’t ask again, where is my helmet?”
Silence filled the space, only to be abruptly replaced by a wave of manic laughs.
“There is something different about you but I can’t put my finger on it,” Tim started.
“You know, I think it’s the suit. Did you change it?” Steph continued.
“Nonsense, don’t you see it’s the absence of the helmet covering his idiotic face?”
“Guys, come on,” Dick said. “I really like the new look, Little Wing, it is… ummm… unique.”
“Save it, Dickface. You know how hard it is to put on a wig?”
“OMG! Is that a wig? Why didn’t you just dye it?”
“I can’t dye my white strands, and believe me I tried, so I had to buy a stupid wig and color it.”
“Would someone like to explain why Jason's hair is red, green, and yellow?” Bruce asked.
“As you may know, Father, we are currently in the second rumor battle. Todd has encountered a Twitter post with a modified photo of his hair color, therefore the ridiculous look.”
“That’s it, I’m killing you, demon.”
“If you do so, you will automatically be eliminated. You can’t kill anyone until the game finishes. I added the rule after your first death threat,” Damian said, proudly smiling at Jason.
“The first what?” Bruce asked in the suddenly quiet room. “Well, if nobody has seen Jason’s helmet, I’m going to proceed with tonight’s pairings. Damian, you are with Dick, Steph, and Cass together; Jason and Tim; and Duke, you are with me. The first one to complain is benched from patrol,” he said as an abrupt blast of protests started behind him.
Bruce, deciding to ignore his kids’ screams, went to the Batmobile, just to find Dick on the passenger door.
“Sooo, about my proposal…”
“Out, now.”
……….
Tim could feel the cold night surrounding his every move, waiting for a slip on his next jump to attack behind his back. Rumours, already flying through the wind, were keeping him on high alert, not loud enough to distract him from patrol, but omnipresent in each step. Being aware that his reputation could be being torn apart on the other side of the city without him knowing or being able to do anything about it, was driving him crazy.
So far, it has been a pretty quiet watch.
Don’t say the Q word, he heard Dick shout in his head.
That was one of the first lessons Nightwing taught to each Robin, the power that the jinx word carried, and how the simple action of thinking about it was more than risky.
Yet, game aside, they had been out for two hours and nothing major had happened, so it’s not his fault if the word slipped into his mind.
The worst thing about a boring patrol was the fact that Tim was trapped with his own overthinking brain, which was already mapping a million contingency plans in case the rumours got out of control.
He was confident in his abilities to shield his reputation while not losing the game, and was sure his brothers could never survive what he had prepared for them. However, he could feel an unsettling smile following him since the night started, belonging to his overly happy and friendly patrol partner, Jason.
He had been portraying this vibe of a sinister care bear since they left the cave, after the nonstop wave of curses and complaints about his new hair color ended with a headless grappling dummy in the training room. Since then, the big smile appeared and never left.
Tim had sent Steph a photo he took of Jason without him noticing, next to one of the Grumpy Bear, saying, “Please tell me I’m not the only one that sees this…”. Steph's response came immediately, pointing out that he should be the red one, just to keep it on theme.
As he thought of a reply, Jason landed next to him on the edge of the building he had been sitting on, turning to see him with excited eyes. He could recognize that glare even behind the white lenses of the mask. A look that promises to bring chaos disguised as fun to the clueless city lying in front of them.
“Please, stop,” Tim said, pulling his phone away.
“What are you talking about?”
“I know you kind of forgot how to smile, since you are the emotionally constipated one, after B. But you have to work on your creepy smile or it’s gonna start giving me nightmares.”
“I’m just happy to be out with you, aren’t you thrilled that we got paired together? It’s like destiny.”
“Apparently destiny hates me enough to make me stuck with you all night.”
“It’s not my problem you are uncomfortable with my happiness, you should work on your empathy there.”
“My problem is that 99% of the time, your happiness involves someone, usually me, getting pranked. And I know you are trying to get in my head with this little act, so for your information, it’s not working.”
“Are you sure about that, Red Robin?”
Tim jumped over Jason, the rules were clear about killing but there were no specifications about leaving someone in critical condition, so he was safe to break a bone or two. He rolled over him, making him fall with his back to the building roof, when a quiet scream interrupted his fist’s direction, making them sit up, Tim’s legs still wrapped around Jason’s hips. From their position, they both locked down, quickly finding the source of the scream.
“Bomb. Bomb. Bomb,” a man kept repeating. His voice lacked fear, sounding more like a train’s driver announcing a delay on a Monday afternoon.
Tim immediately stood up and reached a hand to help Jason get up, before running to the edge and jumping down. The man didn’t even flicker as the vigilante landed next to him, instead he just stood still, pointing at the bomb strapped to a car.
“I had a pretty shitty day, could you please…?”
No matter how many years he has done this job, Tim will always love it when he encounters a born and raised Gothamite. The indifference in front of what would create a full-on panic attack in a Metropolis citizen was what made this city's people so special and unique.
“I just want to go home, man.”
“Sure, you will be on your way in just a minute,” Tim said to the man, before turning to see over his shoulder, expecting to find Hood, and being met with an empty space instead. “Hood, where are you? We have a bomb here and it’s kind of your area of expertise,” he said through the comms.
“First of all, you could work a little bit more on my bomb-related death jokes. Haven’t I taught you better? Second, I’m taking care of the civilians, so figure it out yourself.”
“What happened to the ‘destiny put us together for the night’?”
“Destiny can be a pain in the ass sometimes,” Jason said, before disconnecting his comms.
“Thanks for nothing, idiot,” he muttered to himself, turning to meet the, now sitting down on the pavement, back laid to the car and semi-closed eyes, man. “I’m gonna start working on the bomb, do you want to move or…?”
“Naa, I already sat down. Don’t mind me.”
Tim, deciding to ignore the tired man, climbed over the ceiling of the car, stopping close enough to inspect the bomb without touching it. The first thing he noticed was the absence of a timer, indicating it was probably made to be set off via a wireless control or sudden movements. He proceeded to study the cables coming out of it, carefully attached to different entry points, a professional work, he thought. All those years of training, plus the surprisingly accurate action movies Duke would make him watch, taught him how to deactivate almost every explosive in mere seconds. And the reality was that most of the time there was only one correct cable to cut: yellow for good, red for explosion, and green for making the timer, that is usually there, go faster.
Without thinking it twice, he reached for the knife on his tool belt, taking it out and snapping the yellow wire in half.
“Is it done?” the man asked, standing up from the floor.
That’s when the bomb exploded, filling the space with red confetti instead of destruction.
Joker, Tim thought as he quickly turned, expecting to find the maniac clown standing behind him. Instead he was met with fifty people, all holding guns, pointing at him. He tried to work out the situation, understand how it was possible that so many people were able to sneak behind him without him noticing, without Red Hood doing anything about it. As soon as he realized what was going on, the guns went off, covering him and the street with more red confetti.
A big sign appeared, hanging from one building to another, with the words “For my number 1 fan” written on it.
The people started to move, clearing the way for someone. For Jason.
Hood, smiling creepier than before, walking through the people as if he owned the city, approached him.
“Hi, Red Robin. It’s so funny to bump into you here.”
“What a coincidence,” Tim said, grinning his teeth.
“It must be destiny, but since we are both here…” Jason reached behind his back, taking something and offering it to him. “You know, I heard a rumour I’m your favorite from the batfam, and being the philanthropist that I am, I thought of giving my number one fan a gift.”
Tim took the “gift” from Jason’s hands, unwrapping it just to see a white T-shirt with a photo of Red Hood with the phrase “My favorite RED”.
He stood frozen, not expecting this turn of events as he slowly started inspecting the shirt as if it was a threat, looking back and forward between it and his brother.
“Are you going to put it on or not?” Jason asked.
“Put it on, put it on, put it on,” Spoiler started to chant.
Where the hell did Steph come from? Tim thought as he turned just to see her holding a phone, recording everything.
The people started to chant with her, shouts between how much they love Hood and what a nice thing to do for his fans.
Tim, now out of the shock, with a feeling of betrayal rising through him and knowing there was no way out of this, put the shirt on.
“Come on here, let’s take a picture so we can remember this forever, Spoiler?” Jason said, wrapping Tim with both arms and pulling him up.
As soon as the photo flash died, Tim fought out of the embrace and laid his hand toward Steph.
“Thanks. Now why don’t you give me that beautiful photo so I can cherish it?”
“Don’t worry, I will keep it safe and make sure you receive it too once I print a copy for each one of us,” Jason said, before getting closer to him and whispering in his ear. “I have Oracle on duty, so don’t even think of getting the shirt off.”
Tim was ready to jump over Jason and finish what he had started on the building roof some minutes ago, when a movement took his attention, and he immediately knew what was going to happen next. His look traveled back to Jason, who was now still, recognizing the devilish smile across Tim’s face.
“Thank you for visiting, but I think someone is having a friend over and you may want to say hi to them.”
Jason's gaze quickly went to where Tim had been looking.
“Speedy?”
“I would hurry up before it’s too late,” Tim said, as Jason pushed him on the shoulder and gripped before Roy.
……….
Jason had approximately three to five minutes of true happiness appreciating Tim's reaction to his prank. Only three minutes of joy, just to be all taken away with his little brother's disruptive smile and the idiot redhead invading his own city.
He followed Roy to the other side of the city, jumping between buildings and cars, always keeping an ear out in case a civilian was in trouble, yet with his main focus on the chase.
Roy stopped on the roof of a tall building and walked to the edge, where he crouched to his knees and pulled his binoculars out. Jason, deciding to find out what was going on first hand, dropped behind his friend, trying to peek over his shoulder and see what he was looking at.
“You know, I’ll tell you what I’m doing here if you just ask,” Roy said, without taking his eyes from the binoculars.
“But, would you?”
“Naaa, made a promise, but you could still try.”
Jason walked next to him, sitting with his legs hanging from the edge, arms resting on his knees and head slightly tilted to his left.
“Speedy, what are you doing in my city?”
Roy, putting his binoculars down, looked eyes with Jason, just to change his gaze a little up and burst into laughter.
“OMG! What the fuck happened to your hair?”
“Hazards of the work, nothing of your incumbency.”
“If you say so. But just so you know, I prefer the white strands.”
"Don't despise my new look. Now, what are you doing in my city?”
“Last time I checked it was Batman's city.”
“We share custody. Still not an answer.”
“Of course you do.”
Jason’s eyebrows went up, asking a question he had already asked, as Roy opened his mouth to answer, when something caught his attention. A dark figure appeared, landing on the building next to them, clueless of their presence.
Nightwing was standing on the other roof, phone in hand and pacing from corner to corner.
“Sorry sweetheart, but I'm not here for you tonight.” Roy winked at him, before jumping next to Dick.
Jason stood frozen in place, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Roy had been called to Gotham to participate in the game, to be part of a rumour that wasn’t about Red Hood. He took some time to assimilate the situation as he saw Speedy running towards a distracted Nightwing and stopping next to him. Dick looked stunned, knowing he had let his guard down enough time for someone to attack or at least get close.
Jason wasn’t close enough to understand what they were saying, yet he noticed Roy wrapping an arm over Dick’s shoulders, slowly reaching for his own phone from his pocket, taking it out and putting it in front of them. He then took a quick flashy photo, not before putting his lips on the other one’s cheek. Jason's eyes widened as he grabbed his grapple gun and swung to the other building.
“What the fuck, man?” he asked, landing next to the other two vigilantes.
"Don't get jealous on me, I'm just doing my job.”
“I… I… What just happened?” Dick said, only to be answered with the ring of his own phone.
Dick looked at him, changing his look to Roy before landing it again on him and leaving it there while answering the call.
“Hi, Wally.”
“Hi, Babe. Did we have a talk about going public and I just forgot about it, or is it news to you too? Just checking in case I had a concussion and wasn’t aware of that.”
“No, I just found out about the news and was trying to figure it out before calling you. It must have leaked from…..”
He saw the exact moment when Dick understood this was his first rumour of the night in action and not just a random gossip article.
“Bonding time,” he said, pinching his nose.
“I don’t think it's time for that.”
“No. Bonding time as in each of my brothers creates a crashing reputation rumour of the others and we have to survive it.”
“Well, sorry for being the one to bear bad news, but I think you had a wrong description of the word BONDING.”
“Can I call you later?”
Dick didn’t give him time to answer before hanging up, putting his phone away and walking closer to him. He felt his big brother's finger on his chest, pointing at him with a discriminating look.
“I’m gonna stop you there, Dickface, this wasn’t me.”
“Sure, and what is he doing here then?” Dick changed his pointing finger from him to Roy. “Do I have to believe he is not part of this and was just taking a walk through Gotham?”
“I’m totally part of this, just not working with this one. Red Robin asked me to get some graphic material for his rumour,” Roy said, taking his eyes from his phone and moving closer to the edge of the building. “I hope you still have the same Instagram account name or it would be a weird night for a random guy. And, Hood, promise to come visit just you next time I'm here,” he screamed as he jumped off the building.
“You have to find better friends.”
“Apparently you have to find better little brothers since this was Red’s work, so don’t blame me.”
Dick didn’t look impressed with the conversation, however his attention was quickly shifted to his non-stop ringing phone, where a million comments were mentioning his Nightwing account over a publication on Speedy's own feed. The post was simply the photo Roy had taken some minutes ago with the description: “Heard Nightwing is dating a redhead hero, wondering who it might be.”
Jason's eyes flashed green as Dick’s went black. Neither of them liked this rumour going around and each had their own reasons for it, yet seeing the reaction the photo was having on his brother, Jason decided to take advantage of this.
“You deny it, you lose.”
“I know, I know, just let me think.”
“The comments are asking for an answer.”
That's when a text from Wally appeared on Dick’s phone: “Destroy them ; )”.
A grin spread on Dick’s face as he opened Instagram again and pressed repost, sharing the same photo as Speedy and adding: “Heard that a redhead vigilante came all the way to Gotham for just one kiss.” This unleashed a wave of new comments, asking for all the details on their relationship, demanding a timeline and more cute photos of the couple.
“I have to admit, didn’t think you had it in you,” Jason said.
“Be careful or I won’t invite you to the wedding.”
“You be careful, or there’s not gonna be a groom for the wedding.”
Dick’s phone rang again, with another text from someone Jason didn’t reach to read, but whatever it was brought an even bigger smile to his brother's face.
“I offer a truce with a spectacle, leading our little Robin and his all-grown-up reputation crumbling,” Dick said, already grabbing his grapple gun.
“Lead the way.”
……….
The cold wind had been biting on his skin all night, keeping him on high alert for any unusual things developing on the street or social media. Patrol had started almost three hours ago and the lack of rumours about himself was unsettling his peace, distracting him from his job as Robin, and he couldn’t accept that.
The night had had a promising start, with the rumour he had prepared for Jason having its immediate consequence. Regardless of the fact his brother accomplished the task by wearing a wig, Todd would still have to spend some time with his colors.
Later he had found out Tim had encountered a rumour in the shape of a confetti bomb and a stupid T-shirt, courtesy of Red Hood and Spoiler.
What takes him to this exact moment, where he is standing on a building roof, waiting for Dick, his patrol partner, to come back. He had left a few minutes ago, after receiving a link to an article that he didn’t reach to read but guessed was part of the game, probably Drake's job, he thought.
Damian knew Bruce wouldn’t approve of the game taking place during patrol. However, it had been a quiet night and the rush traveling through him every time his phone rang with a notification made his father's future lecture worth it. So he stood there, looking down at the bright lights painting the dark city, waiting for his partner to come back or a rumour to crash by. That's when he heard it, a whoosh of wind slightly pushing him from the back, accompanied by a soft set of footsteps getting closer.
“You do not have permission to be in Gotham tonight,” Damian said, turning to meet his friend standing frozen halfway to him. “And you are not wearing your suit, Jon.”
“Sorry, but I got this text and I was just going to bed, so I already had my PJ on, but then the text came and I had to come and see if it's true. I HAD to try it.”
“Try what exactly?” Damian said, crossing his arms.
“Promise me you won’t get mad.”
“I can’t promise to not feel betrayed over your actions involving a suspicious text.”
“Seeeeeeeeeee? Now I really need to try because you look super suspicious about it.”
“Explain the message to me and I will clarify the situation for you.”
“That’s the problem, the text says I can’t tell you or it won't work. And I really want it to work.”
Damian's eyes slightly closed, trying to decipher what his friend was referring to, when he spotted two shadows landing on the building in front of him. Nightwing and Red Hood were now sitting on the edge of another roof, both waving at him once they realized they had been noticed. He saw how Wing pulled his phone, probably starting to record the scene, as Hood grabbed a hidden sour candy bag from his jacket and offered some to his brother.
So this is my first battle to endure, he thought, redirecting his gaze to Jon.
“I will allow you to proceed,” Damian said, opening his arms.
“Really?”
Damian only had time to nod once before being tackled by an over-excited Jon, who was now pinning him to the floor with his tights pressing on his hips. As soon as he dropped to the floor, his friend’s two hands flew to his armpits, starting to tickle him all over his upper body. Damian's mind, still in shock, moved slower than his own mouth, which let a loud and noisy laugh fill the whole space, only encouraging Jon to keep tickling. He quickly realized his own body had betrayed him, letting him succumb into a childish and annoying reaction, unable to stop the waves of laughter.
“Jon, stop,” he tried to keep his voice steady, failing in the attempt.
“But you are having fun, the rumour was right.”
“Jon, please! I can’t breathe.”
“Ohh, I forgot that,” he said, immediately stopping.
Damian lay there, slowly recomposing, letting the air fill his lungs again as Jon sat next to him. He turned his head to his friend, who was simply smiling at the fact he had made him laugh so hard tears were running down his cheeks.
“That was… yes, I don’t think I have words for that,” Dick said, walking closer to the kids.
“When did you arrive?” Damian asked.
“Wow, the brat is out of himself if he didn’t hear us coming.”
“Give him a minute, don’t you see he is trying to wrap his head around the fact he knows how to laugh?” Tim, who had joined the show last minute, said.
“I will kill you all.”
“At least you didn’t lose on your first rumour,” Dick offered.
“I don’t have the proper evidence, but I will prove it was your work, Nightwing.”
“Don’t need that, it was totally me. Just wanted to see you have some fun.”
“I don’t find this enjoyable.”
“The video on my phone says otherwise,” Dick said, before kneeling next to Jon and offering a fist bump. “Hey, thanks for the help. Now I think you should go back before your dad finds out you sneaked out.”
“How do you know I sneaked out?”
Four sets of identical eyes set on Jon, saying without words everything that needed to be said.
“Ooookay, I'm going. See you later, Robin,” he said, standing up and flying away.
Dick reached a hand to Damian, helping him get up on his feet and stealing a quick side hug in the process. As he was going to start complaining to his big brother about the whole situation, all their comms came to life.
“Where the hell are you all?” Bruce half asked, half demanded.
“Robin was compromised, we took care of the situation and were now debriefing on our next moves for the night,” Tim was quick to answer, however it wasn’t enough for B.
“Now that you mention it, I received an alarm of a powerful individual crossing the city limits. Should I order Oracle to take him down from the sky?”
“NO!!” the four shouted.
“Then go back to work. Or do I have to remind you that we are still on patrol and people are counting on us?”
“We will return to our position, Father. However, I think it’s important to remark that the night had been exceptionally quiet, so we shouldn’t be worrying about major danger for the moment.”
Silence expanded in the space, as everything froze in time.
“What the fuck did you just say?” Jason asked.
“I’m just informing Father that it has been a quiet…”
“OMG, STOP!!!! Robin, you can’t say that,” Dick stopped him with a hand on his mouth.
“Excuse me?” Damian mumbled.
“The Q word, do you want to jinx us or what?” Tim, still in shock, protested.
“That is not possible, there is not enough evidence to back up that theory. Tell them that they are being irrational, Father.”
“................”
“Father, do you copy?”
“I… Just… Why?”
“Wait, Do you believe in this childish thing? It’s not proper of you.”
“I like to be cautious about things we don’t understand. And the curse surrounding the Q word is out of our knshoulderowledge.”
“Stop acting like I unleashed an earth-ending crisis on…”
Damian was cut mid-sentence when a big explosion was heard on the other side of the city.
“I swear, If that is Arkham…”