Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gotham was yet again the zest pool of crime. Aside from the usual robberies and alleyway holdaping, and the odd addition of a street magician- who claims he has real magic- causing trouble and actually succeeding in both crimes, a case where numbers of families started disappearing for the past three weeks stood out. Clothes of the parents would be left scattered on the floor, but no traces of their body, or any traces of their children would be found. Often times as well, there would be little to no traces of foul play in the scene, in which police and investigators found odd, making them assume that the family had just flee. Officer Gordon thought otherwise, so immediately the city’s knight has been informed.

Now Batman had this alarming case in his hands while trying to keep up with their usual patrols and his responsibilities outside of vigilantism- such as Wayne Enterprises. In addition, he had just found himself joining the manor’s new practice of once a week family-bonding.

It all started with a simple movie night among Dick, Damian and Tim. It was all Richard’s ploy to get his two youngest brothers to get along, and surprisingly it had worked rather well. It turned out that both boys liked the same genres, and even shared opinions and critics of whichever film they watched. What started with them agreeing that the horror movie they were watching at the time was pathetic, ended up flourishing into a means of connection.

It wasn’t long until Jason was roped into it by Tim and Dick, soon Stephanie and Cassandra, and lastly it was Bruce and Alfred. Sometimes Barbara would come by as well. Bruce felt a sense of warmth when he found out that both Jason and Damian shared interest in the classics, when he saw Dick and Stephanie trying to ‘educate’ Cassandra in the genre of romantic-comedies, and when he watched Tim play a trick on his brothers and sisters when they were watching a horror movie.

It wasn’t always movies though, sometimes they played board or card games - you can just imagine how a game of Uno is with them - and sometimes it was extracurricular activities; one time it was sparring - when it was Cassandra and Damian fighting, things sometimes got too intense, but they seemed to enjoy it, despite the family’s concern- and the other time it was hide-and-seek - in which turns interesting when played by a family of detectives and highly skilled and trained heroes. Either way, whatever they decided on doing, it was affecting them greatly.

The family would still have their -at times offensive- banter, but you could see and feel that they were getting along better with this whole new tradition. Damian and Tim fought less, Jason came by more and has reduced killing -Bruce was still not happy about it, but both Dick and Alfred had talked to him about giving it time- and the girls were more involved with them now more than ever.

This ongoing case of family disappearances though started to strain their hard work. Bruce was almost always out. Every time they were supposed to have that once a week bonding time, Gordon calls and asks for assistance. The only thing the oldest Wayne could do was apologize to his sons and daughters before leaving. He tries to keep the disappointed looks on his children’s faces at the back of his mind, and just took a mental note to make it up to them next week.

That mental note was made a week ago, and now it was family-bonding time once again. All his sons were in their respective places on the couch; Jason on the far left, leaning on Dick while having a bowl of popcorn on his lap, Dick had Damian’s head on his, and the youngest was stretched on the sofa, his legs on Tim’s lap, who didn’t seem to mind. The classic ‘Titanic’ was paused and ready to be played whenever they were ready, but then the Bat signal once again lit up the sky.

Dick openly groaned.

“Again? Really? I think Gordon is doing this on purpose.” He grumbled loudly. Everyone else just watched Bruce slump on his solo sofa before getting up.

“He’s not doing this on purpose, Dick,” he argued, but disappointment too was evident in his voice. “This case has been going on for too long, and the police are just at their wit’s end.” Bruce tries to explain.

“You’ve been helping everyday for the past three weeks though,” Tim pointed out rather sharply, “This case is taking too slow to crack.”

“It just shows how incompetent the officers are.” Damian then added, crossing his arms and huffing.

“Remind me again why they’re getting paid and we - the people who actually get shit done - are not?” Jason then proceeded to ask loudly.

The eldest Wayne could only let his shoulders drop as he massaged the bridge of his nose. His sons were being a bit more difficult than he wanted them to be. Of course, he really couldn’t blame them completely. Aside from Bruce’s absences for the past bonding times, this time around, Cassandra and Stephanie were not present either. They had uttered an apology before leaving for the neighboring city after discovering a lead in their current case. Alfred was not there too for he had an army reunion to attend to back at Great Britain - everyone agreed that he deserved that break.The brothers were understanding and were forgiving of those two cases, but with Bruce, he was just pushing it by being absent for three meetings straight.

By now he felt a bubbling shame for always bailing on his family, but he had a responsibility to the city, so he answered them. “We don’t accept payment because, one, we do this for justice and not wealth, two, we aren’t really in need of any more money.”

Jason just scoffs and started to eat popcorn; Bruce noticed the louder crunch. Dick still had a frown on his face. “Are you actually leaving, B? Can’t you take the night off?”

“You know I have to go, Dick.” He regretted to say, “You boys could watch without me.” After all, they had done it before. They really didn’t need him to have an enjoyable night.

But Bruce was missing the point. Sure, it was bearable when one was absent, but now almost half of them were already away. And God knows these boys needed the time together with their father.

“We actually chose to see Titanic because we wondered if you were going to cry when Jack dies,” Jay shrugged.

“Watching it without you now would defeat the purpose.” Damian’s voice was a matter-of-factly, but smaller than usual, and that change in tone made Bruce’s heart sink a bit.

“Maybe we should cancel this week's movie night?” The suggestion had escaped Tim’s mouth.

The atmosphere instantly got heavier. Bruce’s heart was hammering, because this may be just one cancelled night, but it could be the start of another fallout, and he didn’t want that. They were all doing so well.

But little did he know, Tim’s suggestion wasn’t finished yet. “Maybe we should all go out and patrol instead? Who knows. Maybe we’d get this case solved faster and the police won’t be disturbing us anytime soon.”

His three other brothers perked up at the idea, but Bruce’s expression grimmed.

“There’s a reason why I didn’t let the four of you help in the first place.” He reminded them with a low hum, as if trying not to growl. Alfred had told him about practicing the way he speaks. He was told that there was a thin line between his angry voice and concerned voice.

“He targets families, so what? It’s not like whoever this criminal is know we’re related.” Jason argued, the same argument he threw the first time Bruce hadn’t allowed them.

“Jay is right, B. Plus, the only reason we agreed not to meddle before was because you said it wouldn’t take too long. Look at it now.” Dick added, pointing an accusing finger.

“Boys, the fact that it took this long means it’s more serious than we thought it was. If I didn’t allow you to get involved then, why would I allow you to get involved now?” Their father’s voice was slowly raising. It didn’t seem to faze his sons though.

“Wouldn’t that prove that backup is more necessary now?” Damian threw. “Also, I do not trust those officers watching your back. They aren’t nearly skilled enough.”

Bruce’s face just scrunched up, “But the four of you already did your rounds for the night.”

“We finished early for this movie night, seeing as it’s going to be cancelled, we might as well do more rounds.” Tim shrugged as if it was an obvious answer.

Bruce massaged the bridge of his nose once again. He knew he was either going to lose time arguing with them, or lose this argument, and he knew Gordon has already been waiting long enough. He looked at his sons and they already had these triumphant and expectant smiles. He just sighed.

“Okay, fine. On one condition: you follow my lead. No acting out, no acting alone. Follow my instructions, and keep close.” His voice demanded, worry laced in every command. “Suit up. We leave in ten minutes.”

----------------------------------------

“Thank you for coming, Batman. I almost thought you wouldn’t be showing up.” Gordon said after the vigilante dropped on the rooftop.

“I apologize for arriving a little late.” He answered with his usual Batman voice. Gordon dismissed him and told him it was no big deal, but his eyes flew towards the other four vigilantes behind him who were looking rather impatient.

“I see you brought your whole army.” The officer commented, rather careful but at the same time amused.

Batman tried to stop himself from groaning. “They have offered their assistance, seeing as the situation has yet to be dealt with. They believe we need all the help we can get.”

Gordon hummed, unsure if he agreed or disagreed. “I’m assuming the four of them have been debriefed?”

Batman nodded. Despite not involving themselves with the case initially, his sons kept up-to-date with its development. He was oddly impressed and concerned at the same time.

The officer had nodded back. Afterwards his face went grim instantly. “We had another disappearance.”

Impatient looks turned serious. The atmosphere suddenly shifted. All attention was on Gordon now.

“Same old thing, no traces of anything; no witnesses, no foul play, no blood, no body. Just clothes left behind.” The officer said in one straight go, his voice heavy, serious, and really tired. Despite what the boys had said, the officers -or at least Gordon- has been working themselves to the bone for this case.

“We will look over the crime scene again. I’ll have Red Robin check the nearby security camera footage, and Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin will be inspecting the nearby areas.” The boys nodded and dispersed. Batman and Red Robin came along with the officer and started.

The security footage of nearby street cameras weren’t much of a help seeing as the crime scene was rather remote, still Red Robin continued to look.

Batman and Gordon went over the scene again. Like mentioned before, not much was new, except for one small detail.

“These are three pairs of clothing. And one of them is a child’s.” Batman had pointed out. Gordon looked at him and silently asked what that meant to the investigation. “It’s always the parents’ clothing left, right? This time around he left a child’s clothes as well. It’s the first time this happened.”

“That is true.” The officer hummed, “But how will this piece of information help us?” Oh, how Batman wished he had the answer to that.

The whole case was almost becoming stagnant. It’s just the same old thing over and over again, and no additional clues were being found. The culprit was good at hiding his tracks- or they were just missing something big.

It was almost an hour of scoping and collecting clues. The evidences were packed and sent to the office. Nightwing and Red Hood arrived to a scene of Batman and Gordon talking about their findings, and Red Robin was still looking for anything in the cameras. They decided to approach their younger brother instead.

“Nothing and noone weird at out part. Any news on your side, replacement?” Red Hood asked leaning on the other’s chair.

“They found nothing out of the usual. They looked for fingertips and other DNA markings, but it’s a bust. The only thing they could find were clothes and, well, cat fur.” He updated them as he typed away, hacking any other known camera he could think of.

“Huh, the cat fur is new, isn’t it?” Nightwing wondered out loud.

“On the contrary, it isn’t. It’s just not highlighted in the previous reports but it’s always there. Robin is the first one to always point it out.” Red Robin corrected.

Red Hood and Nightwing ended up smiling teasingly. Hood leans closer and snickers. “Oh so you’re paying attention to the Baby brat now?”

Nightwing does as well, “The big brother is rubbing off on you, RR.”

Red Robin felt his cheeks heat up. He turned to his older brothers and snapped,”I-I was not paying attention to him. I was paying attention to the case!”

The two older vigilantes just chuckled. “Sure, sure, Red Robin.”

“It’s true! The culprit is following a pattern. He always targets a family of three; usually in the form of a mother, father, and a child. And they have at least one pet cat.” Red Robin huffed then turned back to the computer, trying to ignore his ridiculous brothers and focus on the task at hand.

Red Hood’s boredly leaned on the chair again, “Those are weird preferences. Do they mean anything? Do the bosses know?”

“Nothing at the moment, but I think they do know about the pattern. At least Batman knows.” He assumed, “Weird thing about tonight’s case though is that he broke the pattern. The family that disappeared tonight was a family of four.”

“Does that really change anything?” Hood asked, and Red Robin could only sigh. “At the moment, no.”

Nightwing interrupted their discussion when he noticed that someone was missing. “Hey guys. Robin hasn’t arrived yet?”

Everyone’s head, even Batman’s, turned to him. After a few seconds of realizing that their youngest was in fact missing, everyone acted upon it.

“What routes did he say he would take?” Red Robin asked, ready to search for him instead.

“He said he’d go west.” Red Hood immediately supplied.

“Robin, come over, Robin.” Nightwing immediately called through the comms.

Batman stood there waiting for the results, his heart hammering in his chest. He knew Robin -Damian- was more than capable of handling himself, but he still worries. Especially now with all the unexplained disappearances. He couldn’t imagine having his youngest- or any of his children for that matter- disappear on his watch.

Relief flooded the room when at the same time Nightwing had received an answer, and Red Robin found him at an alleyway beside a bank a few blocks away.

“What is it, Nightwing?”

“Robin, where are you?” Batman took over the comms. His voice started to get loud, “You weren’t supposed to go out that far. What are you doing in that street?”

“Figures all of you would have known where I was. Anyway, when I was heading back to the crime scene, I caught the sight of police cars and opted to follow them. I figured I had nothing to report, so might as well do something useful instead. It lead me to a bank robbery, orchestrated by that stupid magician.”

Batman was frowning deeply. He was getting mad. How could he not? He had one rule, and that was to not go out of line. And here his youngest - the oh so rebellious - going against it. He growled. “Stay where you are, Robin. Wait for backup.”

“I will move when I see it is the right time to move, Father. I will have this situation handled and be back to you in a few minutes.”

“Robin-” before Batman could shout, the comm was already off. He just clicked his tongue. He turned to the other three and opened his mouth. But again he was cut off before he could say anything.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll get the brat.” Red Hood said, “Come on, Wing.” Both the older brothers jumped out the window.

Red Robin just sighed and started erasing files on the computer he used and copied some to his flash drive. “I think we should all go there instead, seeing as there isn’t much to get from here, is there?” He suggested to both the grown men. Everyone silently agreed.

------------------------

When Gordon, Batman, and Red Robin arrived at the scene, there were shrapnels of metal and pieces of cement everywhere, a few patches of ashes were on the ground, and workers of the bank were already being escorted out. The three of them approached the officer leading the operation.

“What happened here?” Gordon demanded.

The officer answered. “A man claiming to be a real magician pulled out a bomb from inside his hat, tried to rob the bank, and took these people hostage. Luckily, Robin came swooping in. He fought the man, stole the bomb from him and threw it outside just when it was about to blow.”

Batman was felt himself tensing at the story. His son had held a bomb that was on the verge of exploding. He knew these weren’t the first times any of his children has done anything remotely dangerous, but it doesn’t make it any less worrying.

“Where are they?” Red Robin pushed him to continue.

“Well, after that, two more guys arrived, the Red Hood and Nightwing, and the magician just ran away. Robin and the other two are tailing him.”

Red Robin and Batman nodded. The Dark Knight turned to Gordon. “We’ll get the criminal. You handle the rest here.” And with that they left without a word.

“Nightwing, Hood, Robin. Do you copy?” Red Robin tried to get in contact with them as they ran through the alleyway.

“Hey Replacement.” Hood’s voice filled their ears. In the background. You could hear the sound of fists against something,jumps and fast footsteps. They were engaged with a fight.

“Where’s your location, Red Hood?” Batman wasted no time asking.

“Hi to you too, B.” His reply was cut short by something, and for a moment it was just a grunt and another sound of jumping. “Yeah we’re at the alleyway intersection not too far from the bank. But you really don’t have to get here- because this ‘magician’ is just being a little shit. We have it handled- HEY! Demon Brat! What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you had a perfect aim?”

“Shut up, Hood! I’d like to see you try and hit someone disappearing in his cape.” Robin in the background seemed angry and frustrated. A growl followed by a battle cry was heard through the comms.

“Robin! Don’t!” It was Nightwing’s voice this time.

“What is going on there, Red Hood?” Batman’s voice was growing more concerned.

“Shit. Okay, Dick is a little tied up and the brat is kind of stuck in a box and is about to be sawn in half.”

“WHAT?!” Batman and Red Robin couldn’t help but shout.

“He’ll be fine. But on second thought, haul your asses here faster because I am so done dealing with his cheap tricks. I never liked magic anyway.”

The comm died there. It didn’t matter because it didn’t take long until Batman and Red Robin arrived at the intersections. What they saw was confusing. On the sidelines, Nightwing was tied up with what seems to be handkerchiefs tied together. And as Red Hood has reported, Robin was trapped in a box, and on top stood the magician.

“Oh you have tested my patience, asshat!” Hood was getting impatient, finally pulling out his gun and firing without warning.

“Hood, stop!” Batman was about to scold him, but it was unnecessary. No bullets came out. A zap came from the magician’s wand and hit the gun, a bouquet of flowers popped out.

“What the fuck?!”

“Like that trick?” The magician turned to the youngest who was trapped in the box, smiling, “You’ll definitely want to see more.”

Robin growled, “I already told you, your tricks do not impress me. I have seen real magic, and compared to that, this is nothing but child’s play.”

The magician pouted, “But you are a child! Children always like this type of magic.” He made pigeons appear from out of his hat and sent it flying towards Nightwing to peck him. Not really anything lethal but the oldest sibling found it annoying.

“Call me a child and force animals into doing your evil bidding one more time, and I will make sure you won’t have hands to use to pull things out of that stupid hat of yours.” He hissed as he tried to struggle in his constraints.

“Magician, let him go!” Batman shouted, throwing a batarangs at him, but the Magician evaded them by catching them with a large handkerchief, and out came confettis.

“I guess you’re not a fan of making things appear act, huh? Any suggestions, kid?” He asked, completely ignoring everyone else.

“How about you get me out of here and I’ll show you a trick or two.” Robin barked but the Magician only laughed.

“Silly. This is my show, not yours. But if you want so badly to perform then maybe we should continue with the sawing in half bit?” A malicious grin appeared on his face.

“Not on my watch.” Batman charged at the criminal, and with batarang in hand, he attempted close combat with the magician.

Clumsily he fell off the box, and landed on his cape.

“Give up, Magician.” The Dark Knight growled and pounced on him. The criminal cowered and hid under his cape, and when Batman came in contact, he just fell flat on the ground, with the cape containing nothing.

“Oh no, you’re not getting away, bastard!” A roar came from Red Hood who spotted the magician reappear from inside a trash can. The vigilante came to him fists that intended to hurt, and the criminal just dodged sloppily.

“Hey, Hood! Let’s give this guy a taste of his own medicine!” The voice came from above the two, and down came a long line of tied up handkerchiefs, followed by the eldest of the brothers.

Red Hood caught the other end and used it to strangle to magician who was caught off guard. As soon as Nightwing landed, he hit the criminal right on the face. “That’s for sending pigeon to attack me-” and he hit him again, “- and that’s for trying to saw my brother in half.”

The magician’s expression changed. “Brother?”

“Hey Wing, save some fun for me, huh?” Red Hood chipped, still holding on tightly on the handkerchiefs.

“You’ll get your turn to avenge your little brother, little wing. Just be patient.”

Hood fake gagged, “Ew no! I just want to beat him up! He made me shoot out flowers. That really damages my aesthetic.”

In the distance, Red Robin just finished picking the lock for the box, and both him and Batman assisted Robin out.

“Are you alright, Robin?” The knight asked.

The youngest bird just clicked his tongue. “It is nothing, Father. He barely touched me, and he would not have been able too if it weren’t for his dirty tricks.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you just waited for back-up.” Red Robin pointed out, making the youngest snarl.

“No one asked for your opinion, Red Robin!” He barked back.

“Boys. Focus.” Batman demanded.

The Magician watched this exchange and he couldn’t help but smile. “This- This is perfect!”

It made all the vigilantes stop and look at him.

“Uh, what?” Hood was first to speak.

The magician snapped, and then suddenly the handkerchiefs poofed into small flowers, catching both the nearby vigilantes of guard.

“What the fuck?!” Red Hood couldn’t help but stare at his hands in disbelief. This just angered him more. “Why you little-!” When he attempted to punch the back of the magician’s head, but he ducked, and it was going straight for Nightwing.

Luckily the eldest bird’s reflexes were quick and he was able to dodge, but in a blink of an eye, both him and the Red Hood are now tied together in handkerchief.

“Aw man! I just got out of this!” Nightwing whined as he squirmed.

“Stop moving, you dumbass!” Red Hood growled, but the warning was too late because they ended up toppling to the ground.

“They are pathetic,” Robin scoffed and unsheathed his sword once again, charging.towards the magician.

“I remember someone being trapped in a box just a few seconds ago.” Red Robin reminded, doing the same but with his bo staff.

Batman growled lowly, “Fight the criminal, not each other.”

All three came at the magician all at once, and he did the same trick earlier- disappearing in his cape.

But Robin was quicker. He swiftly turned around and hit the trash can, and out came the magician looking shocked.

“Impressive, kid.”

“Only a fool will be caught off guard by that twice.” Robin growled and pointed the tip of his sword at him, “And do not call me kid!”

The magician rolled away, but he was backed up in a corner once again. “Come on, can we not talk about this?”

“No, we can’t.” Batman said, glaring. “You’ve caused enough trouble tonight magician. Give it up.”

“You got me,” The magician slowly stood up, his hands in the air. Batman, Red Robin and Robin were still cautious. In the background, Red Hood and Nightwing just managed to get themselves untangled once more.

“Finally out of tricks, huh, asshat?” Red Hood hissed, harshly shoving the handkerchiefs away.

“I might have one more.” The magician shrugged, “Hey, Robin. I noticed you like animals.”

Robin carefully answered, “What of it?”

The criminal grinned, “Then you’re going to like this one.” With a wave of his magic wand, flashing light came, and it was followed by smoke surrounding them.

The youngest bird coughed as he recovered from the light, and he looked around looking for the criminal who has still where he left him. “What did you do?” He demanded. The magician only smiled.

“Why don’t you find out yourself?” His opened both his hands as if to present something and it was only then did Robin notice his surroundings.

All was left were clothes, the costumes of his family.

The young boy’s eyes widened and for a moment the only thing he could hear was the sound of his hammering heart.

“Your family’s gone, Robin. What will you do now?” The magician taunted.

But it was a mistake on his part. Robin came at him with pure anger, swinging his sword with pure intent of pain. “What did you do?!”

“Holy shit!” The magician waved his wand, and he levitated in the air, barely escaping the swing. “What kind of kid are you? You don’t like magic and you don’t cry when something happens to your family.”

“Come down and face me, you coward! Bring them back!” He shouted with burning spite.

“Or rather, I think I should just-” Before the criminal could finish his sentence, he started falling, only to levitate again after hitting himself with his wand. “On second thought, I think I’ll have a raincheck.”

“You aren’t going anywhere!” Robin started climbing the ladder on the side of the building only to get stopped by a mewl.

“Believe me, Robin. I think you have other things to worry about than catching me. But we will see each other again very soon.” The magician waved his hand and once again disappeared in his cape, this time around, he didn’t show up in any trash cans.
Robin quickly went down and searched for the source of the sound.

More mewls came, followed by rustling under the costume of his family. Slowly, the youngest approached it, his head shaking in the process.

He has an idea, but he refused to believe it.

Throwing off the black cowl and cape, under it was a big black cat with a white snout. The cat stared up at the youngest and slowly the youngest picked him up.

All the while, three more cats emerged from the pile of clothes. From Red Hood’s, another black cat, but with a white stripe on his head. From Nightwing’s, a black cat with white socks. From Red Robin’s, a black kitten with a white belly.

This couldn’t be happening.

Robin looked at the cat he was holding and gulped hard. “Father?”

The cat meowed back.

It was happening.

Chapter Text

Damian was trained for all sorts of situations since birth; in case he was attacked, in case he was kidnapped, in case he was challenged. But not for this, never for this.

His family was turned into cats. His father and his elder brothers were small furry little creatures. His mind was having a hard time accepting it. Yes, he was an in vitro child, yes, his grandfather keeps resurrecting himself using the Lazarus pit, yes, his mother killed him, and yes, he was resurrected in an alien planet. But how was he to handle his family getting turned into animals? Did it hurt for them? Are they injured? Is it permanent?

Meanwhile, Damian was not the only one having a hard time processing all of this. The whole situation aas catching up to the older members of the family.

“I am a CAT!” Jason was sounding hysterical as he pressed his paws - PAWS, not hands- to his head. “Fucking magician turned me into a cat! I can’t fucking believe this!”

“Can you quiet down, Jason?! You’re not the only one who got turned okay?” Tim was scratching his ears -his pointy ears- because his annoying brother was being too noisy, and they apparently have enhanced cat hearing now. “And at least you’re somewhat a full grown cat. I don’t understand why I am a kitten! God, I am so small!”

“I can’t believe this. How is this possible?” Dick was checking himself over. He had a tail. A tail! “I thought he could only do party tricks!”

Bruce was frowning, and if you asked his cat sons, he looked quite adorable. But his words sounded grim, “We underestimated him. And now look where it got us.”

“Why didn’t the brat get turned?” Jason asked bitterly, turning to their youngest who was still out of it. All the fur on his back stood up as he hissed, “Lucky bastard!”

“Shouldn’t you be happy at least one of us is normal?!” Tim spat, “At least one of us could be of help.” He then turned to Damian, “Hey demon spawn, have any ideas how to fix this? Maybe your grandfather told you a spell or something.”

Tim didn’t get an answer. Damian stayed silent, and the expression on his face was kind of worrying. It was the first time the brothers and even the father saw that expression on their youngest’s face. It was… fear?

“I don’t think he can understand us.” Tim said, standing up and approaching Damian carefully.

Dick worriedly walked closer to him as well and patted the boy’s knees. “Dami. Hey, Dami? Are you okay? Talk to us buddy.”

But Damian could comprehend none of that. He could only hear their cat noises. The youngest watched the cats move around him, approaching him and meowing at him, as if they were asking him to do something, to move. It snapped him out of his trance. Quickly he acted. He gently dropped his father and got up to his feet, making Dick stumble back.

“Hey! Careful! What’s his problem?” Jason hissed.

He got no answer. The youngest just quickly grabbed the handkerchief line and started scooping the suits and weapons. He tied them all together neatly, making it into a makeshift backpack. Only then did the older ones realize what he was doing.

Retreating. Of course, they couldn’t stay there longer. What if the magician comes back? Or what if officers come to check on them? Robin couldn’t possibly explain the empty costumes and four cats. So he was going to take his family and flee- as much as he hates doing that -to somewhere safe.

When he tested to see if the tied up costumes were sturdy and nothing would fall off, Robin approached his family. “I can’t carry you all in my arms.” He knelt picked Tim up first, the kitten yelping when he was grabbed by the nape.

“Hey, careful!” He hissed. But before he knew it, he was already placed comfortably inside the Robin costume hood.

“Oh no. OH NO! I am NOT going to be manhandled like a cat! I can run by myself thank you very much!” Jason let out his claws and threatened to scratch the hand that was reaching out for him.

“What the hell, Hood?!” Robin hissed back.

“Jay! Don’t be difficult for once in your life and let Damian pick you up!” Dick shouted at him, already comfortable at the youngest’s right shoulder.

“My pride has been damaged enough tonight, thank you very much.” The second eldest brother was being too difficult.

But to his surprise, Bruce was strong enough to carry him. He bit Jason by the nape and he started dragging him towards Damian. He struggled, of course.

“Let go of me, old man!” His claws were swinging all over the place. Bruce was just shaking his head, both to make him top and disappointment.

When he was close enough, Robin picked him up and placed him on his other shoulder. “Don’t you dare scratch me, Hood.” He warned, “You can throw a tantrum later when we’re back at the cave.” Where we’re safe. The last part was left unsaid.

Jason huffed, but made sure to grab onto Damian, maybe a little too harshly because he yelped when he felt the claws on his shoulder. “You little shit,” the youngest growled lowly. Jason hissed back, ”It takes one to know one.”

“Jason, please behave.” Bruce hasn’t stopped shaking his head. “Your brother is trying to help us.”

“He wouldn’t have to if he hadn’t ran away on his own!” The second eldest brother bit back.

“Jay, don’t say that.” Dick frowned, his ears falling. He was partly happy his little brother couldn’t understand them. He wouldn’t know how Damian would act after hearing that statement. “Dami didn’t know this was going to happen.”

“God damn excuses.” Jason just huffed, and snapped his head away from his big brother and father. He then went from disturbing them to disturbing Tim who was surprisingly silent in the youngest’s hood. “Look at Replacement, already so comfortable in the brat’s hoodie.”

“Mind your own fucking business, Hood!”

Bruce couldn’t help but frown deeply. They were too uneasy. Their tempers weren’t in their control because of this whole situation. They needed to go back quick. Maybe a familiar setting would let off some steam.

It was only when he finished his thoughts did he notice his youngest son’s hand hovering on his sides. He looked up to come face to face with Damian, and his face is that of hesitation and doubt. “Father, may I pick you up?”

“Of course, he only asks Bruce for permission.” Jason was exasperated.

“Jason, please stay quiet, you are not helping at all.” This time it was Dick’s turn to shake his head.

Bruce ignored his second eldest son’s remark and just walked into his youngest’s arms. Damian tensed for a moment, before he nodded and got up. “Hold on, all of you.” He ran towards the ladder and climbed, taking to the roofs to get to where they parked the Batmobile quicker. He moved just in time too because the officers got to the scene as soon as Robin was out of sight.

It was hard to grab on to a boy who was hopping from roof to roof, especially without a grip. Sure, Tim and Bruce were somewhat secured, but Dick and Jason really had to use their claws, and Damian flinched every time he felt them sink a bit deeper than it should.

“Dami, I’m so sorry!” Dick wailed guiltily, but his youngest couldn’t understand him. Damian took this more as a warning, that his big brothers were falling off, so he slowed himself.

Eventually they got to the Batmobile, and quickly he opened it and placed his father inside. He first took Dick and helped him in, and when he was about to help Jason, he was met with claws. “Ugh, Hood!” The youngest groaned, “What is your problem?”

Jason jumped in himself, “I can get in myself, thank you very much.” Then he turned away smugly.

Damian growled, but he didn’t try to argue. He just helped Tim in and secured the door for them. He then went to the driver’s seat and buckled in.

“Look on the bright side, at least Baby Brat gets what he wants. He gets to drive.” The second eldest brother wasn’t finished with his remarks.

Little did they know, their youngest was not enjoying this at all. On the contrary, it was the opposite. His mind and heart was racing. Get them safe, make sure they’re okay, figure out how to undo everything. He stepped on the gas pump, and zooming they go, which caught all the cats off guard, most falling to the vehicle floor except for Jason and Bruce who got their claws out on time.

“What the hell is his problem?!” Jason snarled again, trying to pull himself up.

“Jason, please! He’s trying!” Dick said as soon as he recovered from the fall. He turned to Tim who he noticed was trying to jump back on the seats, but he hasn’t gotten used to using his claws just yet. “Hey Timbo, want me to help?”

“I got this, Dick. Ugh.” Tim answered, all the while trying to pull out his claws that were in too deep.

“How about you, Bruce?” The eldest brother then asked their father. Bruce dismissed him and easily got himself up.

While the four in the back seat tried to get used to their new forms - all the while making a commotion out of it -Damian focused on the road, listening to his family’s chorus of sounds.

Little did the older members know, the hands on the steering wheel were trembling.

---------------------------------------------

As soon as Damian opened the door for them once they were in the Batcave, Jason jumped out and started running around.

“Finally! Out of that stupid car!” He shouted. And then went to attacking the dummy that was just standing there. “Oh if I get a hold of that Magician, I will claw his eyes out with these bad boys.”

Dick, Tim and Bruce exited as well and just stood in the middle of the cave. They didn’t really know what to do now. After a mission or patrol, they usually had a routine; get out of suit, get treated, get cleaned, case update, and they go their merry way if they still had time.

Now though, they weren’t in suit. They wondered if any of them had the right skill set to see if an animal was healthy or not. They didn’t know if it was efficient to let a cat update the case files either, after all, they weren’t really used to their forms yet. So all three thought simultaneously. It was all on Damian.

Their eyes land on the youngest, and he was already working. He put away all the body suits, and kept the weapons in their weapon’s vault. He removed his domino masks and cape, but after that he started focusing on other things that weren’t himself. “I’ll be right back.” He muttered lowly before leaving the cave.

The three of them watched him leave. It was only then did Jason finish releasing some steam.

“That feels a lot better. I finally feel like I’m in my own body again.” He said, testing out his slashes again.

“I hope your tantrums are done.” Tim sighed, “You were being so annoying. I didn’t know that’s how you acted when you’re hysterical.”

“I wasn’t hysterical, Replacement. I was pissed! Still Am. Aren’t you?” Jason spat back, “You guys seems so relaxed about getting turned into cats.”

“Of course we’re pissed! We aren’t just blowing a fuse, unlike someone.” The second youngest barked back, his fur standing up on his back.

“Boys. Do not start a fight. Our situation is already difficult as it is.” Bruce stood in between them. “We are not going to solve anything by shouting at each other.”

“B’s right.” Dick sat beside Jason and bumped him slightly, “Come on, Little Wing. Look on the bright side.”

The second oldest brother raised an eyebrow, “There’s a bright side?”

“Yep.” He chirped and leaned on his first little brother. All the other three cats waited for his answer, because they really wanted to know what good could have came out from all of this.

Dick just smiled all toothy, his canines shining. “We’re cute and cuddly.”

A moment of silence. And the needle drops in the form of an angry Jason kitty tackling Dick cat. The two of them roll around the floor of the cave. And from afar it may look a bit adorable, like two cats just messing around with each other, but Jason was very much pissed.

“Your horrible sense of humor is not appreciated right now.” He hits Dick, but without his claws out, so it barely hurt, and Dick was just mostly shocked by the outburst.

“Oh come on! We all needed to lighten up.” Dick whined, trying to push Jason off of him, “B, Tim! Help me!”

Bruce and Tim just watched boredly, thinking the eldest brother deserved it one hundred percent. Leave it to Dick to make anything out of this situation a joking matter.

“What? You’re just going to let him hit me with his cute paws?” And look, he was adding insult to injury.

Jason’s back fur started to stand. “I’ll show you cute!” And that was when he brought out his claws. Bruce and Time reacted too late, the claws were already going down.

But before it could come in contact with anything, Damian came and snatched Jason up by the nape. “What do you think are you doing, Todd?!” He glared.

“I can’t believe you were actually going to scratch my cute face!” Dick never sounded so offended before.

“Dick, stop it.” Bruce scolded, “But he’s right, Jason. Scratching your brother over childish insults?”

“I mean Jason isn’t really above that,” Tim shrugged, “He’s shot us for less.”

Bruce glared at his boys for the newly learned information. They didn’t seem affected by it.

They needed to talk about that, but he knew in himself that he wasn’t good at talking about these kinds of things too. He just really started to get used to this whole father-thing after all.

“Put me down, Demon Spawn! I swear this is the last time you get to hold me like this!” Jason complained loudly, actively scratching the air.

Of course, Damian got none of that. He just here angry cat noises, and it wasn’t really helping either. He put Jason down on the medical table, as well as the tray of what looks like four bowls of water and - cat treats?

“I always knew you were feral, Todd. But I never would have thought it would be proven this way.” He then brought out the medical kit to bring out the stethoscope, and he then started checking Jason over.

“What do you think are you doing?” But his older brother pulled away, hissing at him in the process.

Damian stared at him, anger obviously bubbling up, but he took a deep breath and letting his shoulders drop. “Do not make this difficult, Todd. I’m checking for injuries and whether or not your body was compromised by this… transformation.”

Jason looked at him with disbelief. “Since when were you a vet?” Inevitably, he got no answer. All he got was an expression that was serious, but if you squint you could see a hint of pleading. Damian’s hand was held out and he waited for any sign of willingness from the cat in front of him.

Jason turned to the others. “Do you think it’s safe?”

Tim shook his head. “Checked up by the Demon Spawn? In our vulnerable form? Sounds like my nightmares.”

“Hey, that’s not true!” Dick defended, “Dami loves animals. So if he’s going to be gentle, it’s now.”

The second eldest brother rolled his eyes. “Just because I’m a cat now doesn’t mean he’ll start loving me.”

Bruce stayed quiet, because he did trust his youngest son, but he still had alarms ringing in his head. Because despite loving animals, it takes a certain set of skills to actually check one over.

All the while, Damian waited. He lets his family have their conversation in front of him. They knew he couldn’t understand them. He knew that painfully well. But he could read expressions, even with animals- especially after having companions of his own. Those were expressions of doubt. Under the table, his fists were balled.

Todd, Drake, and as well as his father had every right to doubt him. But he wondered if Grayson was doubting him too. He wished he new what they were saying.

A mewl and a bark brought him out of his thoughts, and his head turned to the entrance of the cave. There stood two of his pets, Titus, their Great Dane, and Alfred the Cat. He had forgot to deal with them with this whole situation. He was worried about how they’ll react towards his brothers and father.

The bat cats were actually worried too. Not in an alarming way really, but in a more ‘how to not be rude to your pets’ way.

Alfred jumped on Damian’s lap and stared at Jason. “Our human brought home more strays again.”

“Excuse me, strays?” Jason scoffed, sounding offended.

“Again?” Bruce heard something else.

Damian patted Alfred thoughtfully. “Be civil, Alfred.” He did the same with Titus who also went closer. “You too, Titus.”

“You should let our human help you.” Titus supplied, “He is skilled at treating our kind, and he is very caring.”

“Don’t you recognize us, boy?” Dick spoke up. “It’s us. I’m Dick, that old looking cat right there is Bruce, the small kitten is Tim, and that smug looking one is Jay!”

The pets was inevitably shocked with this development. “Masters?” Titus couldn’t help but say, leaning closer to Dick and smelling him. “You smell differently.”

“But it is us!” Dick said, “A magician turned us into cats. So we probably smell like Alfred.”

Meanwhile Tim just stared at the exchange in disbelief, “Whoa, we are actually talking to our pets. This is insane.”

“You absolutely do not smell like me.” Alfred huffed and turned to Titus, “But if these are our Masters, then it makes sense why our human is in distress.”

“Your human is in distress? Is Dami okay?” Dick immediately asked, worry etching his voice.

“He worries.” Alfred answered, “Maybe letting him check on you would ease him.”

“Has he done a check-up on an animal before?” Jason asked.

“Yes,” both answered. “On me, Alfred, Batcow, Goliath, and all the strays he saved.” Titus tilted his head. “I am surprised you are unaware of this.”

The other three couldn’t answer. Dick just stuck his tongue out at them, his means of saying ‘I told you so.’

Damian was somewhat amused. His companions were having a conversation with his family. That somehow put him at ease. He wondered what they were talking about still, but his worries about the topic being negative somehow lessened because if Damian trusted anyone, it was his pets. And they wouldn’t say anything bad about him.

To his surprise, Alfred jumped off of Damian’s lap and moved to Jason’s side, nudging him closer. Despite looking hesitant, his elder brother allowed this. A few more meows came from his cat, and Jason meowed angrily back, but the house cat was not fazed. It made the elder brother huff and lay down on his side.

Damian blinked at the sudden willingness, but he decides not to waste the opportunity. He heard Jason meow lowly. He imagined it as a small threat.

He did the basics. Checked their vitals, checked their blood, check their reflexes.  The same were done to his two other brothers and father. He was happy to discover that they did not sustain any injury and that they were all very healthy cats. Damian felt a portion of the weight on his shoulders disappear.

A low meow snapped the youngest out of his thoughts. He saw his family sitting on the medical table, waiting for the results of the check-up.

“You’re all healthy.” Damian said, fixing the first aid kit. “The biggest damage maybe is it’ll be hard for you to adjust to feline anatomy.”

Bruce just nodded. They had no other choice but to accept this situation for now.

Bowls of water and cat treats were placed in front of them. Dick happily sips on the water. Bruce stares. And Jason and Tim suspiciously smelled the contents, then they eyed Damian with a raised brow.

“He is actually treating us like a cat.” Tim uttered, “I feel somewhat offended right now.”

“This is the worst day of my second life.” Jason groaned. “There’s no way I am eating this.”

Damian raised a brow back, and sighed realizing his family’s problem. “It’s not commercial cat food, if that’s what you’re thinking. I would never feed Alfred such low grade food. Pennyworth and I made that. We may call it cat treats, but I give them to Titus sometimes too, and Pennyworth and I taste them.”

This new information was new to them. They didn’t know that Damian spent time with the butler out of the usual, much more that they cooked together.

Somehow the suspicion faded away and the cats started eating.

“I am hungry too, human.” The family heard Alfred say.

“As well as I.” Titus then followed.

Both pets nudged the youngest and immediately he understood. He  picked up his cat then turned to his family. “I am going to feed them too. I will be back immediately.” He then turned to his dog. “Come on, Titus.”

Then the three of them left the cave.

--------------

When Damian came back, the four were finished eating.

They had to admit that the cat treats were very delicious. And with their current situation, good food was very helpful.

“Are any of you still hungry?” The youngest asked, and when he got a chorus of head shakes, he nodded, approaching his family. “Would you like to retire to your quarters?”

“As long as you’re not carrying me.” Jason said, jumping off the table and gracefully landing on the floor.

“A bath would really help me relax from… all this.” Tim said, attempting to follow Jason, but with his small stature, the jump seemed high. Usually he would be okay with jumping from heights, but he hasn’t really tried out this form yet, unlike Jason.

“Wait, we’re cats!” The devil meowed in realization. “Does that mean baths mean licking ourselves?”

Tim’s eyes widened. He ha never looked more horrified. “Nuh-uh! I am not licking myself! God, that's gross, and I do not want to experience coughing up a hair ball!”

“You don’t have to, Timmy. Don’t listen to, Jay. He’s just trying to make fun of someone else so he’ll forget his own suffering.” Dick assured.

“You’re cramping my style, Dickie bird.”

Bruce moved his tail solemnly. “I think I’ll stay here in the cave.”

“And do what, B?” Tim asked. “We really can’t do much. Let Damian do the work.”

Damian watched them converse again. He tried to really comprehend what they were saying. Even just a bit of it, but he really couldn’t. He couldn’t understand them. He wouldn’t be able to know what they wanted.

So he just had to assume what they needed, and it was upon him to do it for them. “I’ll handle all the work for tonight. I’ll update the files and try to locate the magician. You all can retire.”

Bruce frowned. He didn’t want his son to be all the work alone. But Tim nudged him. “Come on, let’s go. We won’t be useful for Damian anyway. It’ll be better if he knew we were back safe in our room.”

His father wanted to argue, but he knew it was true. So he just nodded, a sign to his youngest that they understood. “Shall I carry you? It’ll be faster.”

“Nope!” Jason said, the 'p' in the end popping.

“But Jay, Dami just wants to help.” Dick frowned.

“I’m fine with walking. Geez. You should all be too. You need to get used to being cats for a while, remember? How are you going to do that if you let the brat spoil you?” He argued. “What happens to Damian when we need to protect ourselves and we couldn’t?”

And for once he made sense. None of them could argue. It may be more convenient to have Damian help now, but in the long run, if danger does come about, they would be too dependent, and they’d hold their youngest done.

“That’s really smart… and caring.” Tim said in awe. “Are you okay, Jay?”

“Shut it, Replacement.” Jason huffed then jumped off the table.

“And he’s back.” Tim just rolled his eyes and followed, landing clumsily.

Dick frowned deeply but followed as well, but not before turning to Damian and saying, “Sorry, Dami. But for once, Jason is right.”

Damian was confused. His brothers did not want his help. Not even Grayson.

And his father. The cat stopped in front him. His tail wagging solemnly. A few meows escaped him, then he jumped off, following his three older sons.

Bruce was reassuring him. ‘That they appreciated the help. But they needed to learn how to take care of themselves.’

Damian didn’t get that. He didn’t understand.

All he got was rejection.

----------------

Despite everything, he accompanied each of them back to their rooms. Fortunately too because they forgot cats can’t open door knobs. Damian did each of them a favor by leaving their bathroom doors, closets, and drawers open.

Tim and Jason thought Damian would be more prying and judgemental of their living quarters, but no word came from their youngest which is unnerving.

He had asked  all them the same question of whether or not they wanted their room door closed. Of course, none of them wanted to. If they needed to escape, they’d be trapped in the room.

So Damian left it open for them. He understood that too, even without his family having to explain it.

Now the youngest was alone in the Batcave, typing away whatever happened tonight. He had two cases to update. The family disappearances, and that stupid magician.

That stupid magician that he went against his father’s orders just to pursue. That stupid magician that shouldn’t have been able to run, had he not been distracted by the bomb too long. That stupid magician that trapped him in a box, so his family ended up fighting battles for him. That stupid magician he should have taken down the moment his sword was at his neck. That stupid magician that he let escape and turn his family into animals.

He stopped typing for a moment. His hands trembled. Whether it was of anger, of disappointment, or of fear, he didn’t know.

All he was aware of was him curling in on himself. He hugged his knees, balled his fists and bit his lip.

He had made so many mistakes.

A single tear and a sob escaped him, and he could only think of one thing: Pathetic.

He wasn’t turned into a cat. He had no idea what his family was going through. Yet he was crying, and afraid.

Him feeling this way was unvalidated. He shouldn’t be this weak.

Everything that happened tonight was his fault. So he was going to fix it, no matter what happens.

The scratches left when Todd and Grayson were hanging on to him still stung.

Damian believed he deserved that pain.

Chapter Text

The alarm echoed inside Bruce’s room, and the cat just turned to its side, trying to reach for it. When his paws landed on the soft mattress, his eyes slowly opened.

The memories of last night flooded back to his mind and he just couldn’t help but groan.

Bruce - or Bruce cat - was in the middle of his bed, his now gigantic bed compared to his form. The sound of his alarm was always irritating, but it seemed more so now that he had enhanced hearing. And it has always, always been a hassle to turn the damn thing off, even if it just meant turning around and slamming a button. Now though, he had to actually get up and walk towards the contraption. Tiredly, he made his way to the noisy thing and tapped it off.

Bruce stretched his limbs. It was about time he prepared to go to Wayne Enterprises and do his job, except-

He can’t do his job. He can’t go to Wayne Enterprises. Not with his current situation.

His thoughts went to his sons. He tried to imagine how this transformation obstructed their daily lives. Tim for sure will find this problematic. He worked at WE too. Now both bosses of the company would be absent. Dick probably had errands, or maybe he planned a day with Damian. Their youngest is currently helping his favorite big brother look for a job so he would settle in Gotham instead of Bludhaven. Nothing has peaked Grayson’s interest yet, or rather Damian hasn’t found a place worthy of his big brother. Bruce didn’t mind. They had enough money to have all of his children, and maybe even grandchildren, live their life in bliss. As for Jason, he didn’t have much of a day life, being supposedly dead and all. That’s why Alfred asked him to do most of the housework- how the butler convinced him to say yes, it was beyond him. Alfred had always had a way with their family. The problem is, Jason was a cat too. It means he can’t do the housework either. He was supposed to be cooking them breakfast as well, but it seems like that’s not happening anytime soon.

Then a knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. He turned and saw his youngest standing just by the frame. The boy wore his usual black turtleneck and black leggings. Over it were shorts and the oversized hoodie that once belonged to Dick. Damian had already prepared himself for his day, Bruce deducted. He was surprised. His son usually wasn’t up that early.

“Come in, Damian.” Bruce said, but he forgot that he couldn’t be understood.

“Oh. I see you’re awake, Father.” The youngest seemed just a bit surprised, but he hid it very well. “I came to inform you about breakfast. It is almost ready. I will meet you at the kitchen. I will just go fetch my brothers.” He then left before Bruce could say anything. More surprises - he didn’t think his son would prepare breakfast. He wondered what they were having. Could Damian even cook? He doubted. Maybe they were having milk and cereal. He guessed cats could eat those.

Despite being a cat, Bruce still freshened up before going downstairs. Now he did understand why felines didn’t like getting wet much. It was a hassle to dry off, so it took him a while, luckily the dryer was plugged in and all he had to do was press a button.

When he got down, everyone was already there. Tim was still very much sleepy, Jason was reading the paper on the table, and Dick was happily drinking water from a bowl. Their youngest was preparing their breakfast, and Bruce took a mental note of his son in Alfred’s bright yellow apron that was obviously too long for him were it not for the pins holding up the folded part. He wished he could take a picture, he was sure the butler would have appreciated seeing his grandson in it.

“Good Morning, boys.” He greeted, and Jason just scoffs.

“Not really one of the best mornings.” The boy commented. After so much hardships trying to flip the page, he finally did it.

“We still had worse mornings.” Dick reminded with a chirp, and none could really argue- well, maybe except for Tim.

“Coffee.” the younger groaned, before bumping his head on the table- rather loudly too. “I want my coffee!”

“Why don’t you just ask Damian to get you some?” Bruce asked, taking his usual seat on the table, but now it had stacks of books and a pillow on it, something he’s sure his youngest prepared for them. He looked around and saw that each of his brothers had this set-up too.  A smile graced his lips. That was very considerate of their boy.

“I did!” His second youngest’s outburst broke him out of his thoughts. “It’s the first thing I go to every morning, Bruce. You know that! But he picked me up and put me here! Spewing things about how cats aren’t allowed to drink coffee! But I need it, Bruce! I can’t function without coffee!”

“He’s having withdrawal syndromes,” Dick told their dad. Tim shouts, “Heck yeah, I am! How am I going to do anything without coffee?”

“You need to understand, Tim. I’m sure Damian’s just trying to take care of you. He’s not purposely keeping you away from your coffee.” Bruce supplied an explanation.

“Yeah, Replacement.” Jason agrees, “Plus I don’t think you really need the fuel. We won’t be doing much today.”

Tim grumbled and stayed silent. He would have argued more if he had the energy.

Eventually, Damian served them their breakfast, placing two bowls in front of each them; a bowl of milk and a bowl of the same cat food from yesterday with a bonus of scrambled eggs. Everyone just stared.

Damian saw their hesitation. A bit of insecurity poked at his spine, so he cleared his throat and  spoke up. “I apologize if you have to repeat a meal. I cannot cook like Pennyworth or Todd, and Pennyworth has only gotten around to teaching me how to cook scrambled eggs.”

Their youngest misinterpreted. The older ones weren’t complaining about repeating a meal, nor were they disappointed with just being served eggs. They were silently impressed. They hadn’t known their youngest could cook. First animal check up, now this. How much more will they learn about him?

Dick was the first to taste the eggs, and his eyes just lit up. “These are delicious! Good job, Dami!” Then he munched down so fast, like it’s the best thing he has ever tasted.

Jason doubted, until he took a bite himself. “Huh, look at that. Baby brat is more than just an ex-assassin. If anyone can teach anyone to cook, it’s Alfred.” But in his mind, he also thought that maybe he could teach his younger brother a thing or two.

Tim was still in a foul mood, but the fact that he wasn’t complaining anymore and still just eating meant that he appreciated Damian’s cooking as well.

Bruce allowed himself to smile even more as he enjoyed the first scrambled eggs his son ever cooked for him. And it was delicious, and not even being turned into a cat would stop him from making this moment special.

Damian felt relieved seeing his family eating- he even allowed himself to believe that they were enjoying it. The insecurity he felt earlier just washed away. His eyes scanned the table and when it landed on Timothy, their eyes met. He saw his older cat brother glare at him. Damian couldn’t help but frown and turn away. Well, at least most of them were enjoying it. It was no surprise that Drake of all people would ridicule his work.

Suddenly, Titus and Alfred came running in, just in time for breakfast. Both uttered a mewl and a bark to greet their cat masters before turning to their human who in which they greeted in their own way; Titus licked Damian’s hand which he used to pat him, and Alfred rubbed and purred on his leg.

“Good morning, both of you.” He greeted them softly, “Your breakfast will be ready shortly.”

“Sure, he greets his pets, and I get a ‘breakfast is ready, get up.’ I see where I stand.” Jason stopped eating just to roll his eyes.

“He greeted me,” Dick smiled and bragged, milk was dripping from his face.

“Dick, wipe your face.” Bruce ordered, and their eldest did so using the napkin beside him. You can only imagine how ridiculous a cat looks trying to wipe his face with a napkin on the table.

Titus caught all their attention when he trudged towards them, and sat at a fair distance on the ground. “I hope you slept well, Masters.”

Dick happily answered, “Yes we did. Thank you for asking, boy.”

“You and Alfred slept good?” Jason asked back, figuring that a conversation with their pets is more worthwhile than a conversation with his insane family.

“Could have been better,” Alfred answered nonchalantly, stalking his way over, but through the drawers. “I prefer our human’s bedroom rather than the cave. It’s warmer.”

“Why did you sleep in the cave?” Tim inquired. “Doesn’t Damian allow you to sleep in his room?”

“He does,” their dog answered next.  “But he didn’t retire to his room. We decided to keep him company in the cave instead.”

“Damian slept in the cave?” Bruce frowned. He felt guilty having to work his son so much like that.

Both pets looked at them oddly. It was Titus who answered. “Our human did not sleep. He does that sometimes. You do too, do you not?”

All four cats were shocked to hear that. Before they could ask more questions, Damian cut their conversation by calling his pets. “Titus, Alfred. Your food is ready.” Both pets approached their bowls, which Damian placed in the side of the room. The two were now too busy to talk to, seeing as they cherished every bite of the food their human gave to them.

Damian then washed his hand and removed his apron.

“Are you all done eating?” The youngest asked, surprised to see his family had stopped eating and were all staring at him. They did not answer him, and the silence made him uncomfortable. “What? Is there a problem?”

Dick meowed. Damian’s face just scrunched up. “I don’t speak cat, Grayson.”

He saw Tim roll his eyes before turning to the rest of the family, meowing something at them as well. He sounded mad and annoyed. To top it off, his family seems to be convinced with whatever it is Drake was telling them. After the second youngest was done speaking, all of them slowly went back to eating.

Damian couldn’t help but frown deeply, his hands balling into fists on his sides. Had he done something wrong? Where did he screw up this time? He had no way of knowing.

“Well,” Damian started but took a deep breath in between, because there was weakness in his voice, he felt it, and he’d be damned if he let his family hear that from him. “When you are done, you can just leave the dishes there. I will come back for it after I’m done with the chores.” He then left.

The animals watched him go.

Dick couldn’t help but frown. “We shouldn’t have let him leave like that.”

“What’s the point of voicing out concerns when he can’t understand us?” Tim reminded him. Earlier, Dick had asked if Damian was doing okay, and they really didn’t get an answer. “We should just let Damian do what he needs to do and figure out things one at a time, starting with this language barrier.”

“I don’t want to say it, but Replacement is right. We’d probably end up playing charades if we come at this mindlessly. And charades on its own is ridiculous, but imagine doing it without hands.” Jason said.

Bruce sighed and ended up slouching. He was so ignorant. How could he forget to check on their youngest? Damian had done and was currently doing the things that needed to be done to help them. Bruce feared that his son might overwork himself- physically and emotionally. He didn’t even know if their youngest has had breakfast before them, nor can he remember if he had eaten last night too. The fact that he has let that slip from his mind left a grim taste in his mouth. “Okay, we’ll need to find a way to communicate with Damian as soon as possible. We’ll try typing, or maybe flashcards- we’ll figure it out.” He spoke up. “Are you all done eating?”

The other three cats on the table nodded.

“Okay, Jason, Tim, do you wanna get a start on finding a way to communicate?” Bruce asked.

“I mean, yeah. Timbo and I can, but what are you and Dick gonna do?” Jason inquired back, watching Bruce jump off his chair.

“We’re going to check on Damian.” He answered, “Other than not sleeping, I don’t think he has eaten since last night either.”

That realization just hit all three brothers. A sense of worry and protectiveness were suddenly present.

“Damn brat doesn’t know how to take care of himself.” Tim growled. But it wasn’t towards Damian. At least, not entirely.

“He got this habit from you, Replacement. You should be responsible. You’re really not being a good role model for him.” Jason pointed out.

“Oh wow, like you are?”

Dick jumped off his chair too and went over to Bruce. “Maybe we should bring a snack bar for him or something?”

“You’re bringing our human food?” Dick’s and Bruce’s head turn to the two other animals in the room. Both Alfred and Titus were looking at them, their bowls clean as a silver plate. They ate fast. They must really love the food Damian serves them.

“He always enjoys the apples that are grown in the garden.” Titus happily supplied, his tail waggin all the while. “We can help you collect them and bring them to him.”

“That’s perfect! Good thinking, boy.” The eldest brother complimented.

Bruce just smiled. “Thank you, Titus.” He then turned to his remaining sons on the table. “We’ll leave you two to it?”

Jason waved him off, “We got this, B. Go get the brat some grub.”

And so Bruce, Dick, Alfred and Titus left the kitchen and went to the backyard through the doggie door.

Jason jumped on the table and strode over his little brother. “Okay, Timbo. Get your ass moving. The sooner we find an easy way to communicate, the better.”

“We need to get one more thing before we start,” Tim said, his eyes focused on one thing. Jason followed his gaze only to see it was on the coffee maker.

The older brother was in disbelief. “Seriously? You’re still on about your stupid cup of coffee?”

“I can’t work without coffee, Jason.” The other spat back, “Do you really want to work with me without coffee?”

Jason was about to answer, but then he had a flashback of a time when that did happen, and he grimaced. “Ah shit, yeah, you’re right. No. Not happening. God, I am never going through that again. But I had a hard time turning the page of a newspaper, and now we’re gonna brew coffee?”

“Come on! It’s plugged in, the coffee tin is right there. We can figure it out. Swear. We’ll work a lot faster when I have my fuel.”

The older brother groaned but gave in. “Fine. But if we can’t do it in five minutes, we’re giving up on it.”

Tim just brightened up and smiled. “That’s more than enough time.”

--------------------

Dick and Bruce watched as the pets showed them how to get the apples. Alfred was the one who climbed up the tree and dropped them, Titus was the one to catch it. They put it in a basket that was readily available outside, most likely one of the basket Alfred uses when he harvests the fruits.

“Anyway we can help?” Dick asked.

From a low branch, Alfred looked at him. “You can try climbing up here?”

Both masters looked at each other. They didn’t think they were that used to their bodies yet.

“I could try,” The eldest brother said despite it though. He walked over to the tree and did a.bit of test jumps and claw retractions. “I mean, my cat body seems a bit more nimble.”

Bruce’s face scrunched up, “Richard are you trying to say that I’m old?”

Dick chuckled. “Your words, not mine.”

He then went at it, latching his claws to the bark and starting to climb. Bruce still had that scowl in his face, but he approached the tree and climbed up as well.

“Bruce, you might pull a hip!” Dick joked.

“You were trying to say I was old.” His father sounded offended.

Both didn’t stop until they were at the branch where Alfred was. Dick and Bruce were panting a bit when they got there. They had to admit, it was pretty difficult to climb up a tree in their form. They had to give it to Alfred the cat. He made it seem like a piece of cake.

“Good job, Masters.” Their pet commended them. “You collect the apples here, I will get the ones at the higher branches.” Then the cat jumped away.

When they gathered around ten apples, they decided that that was more than enough for that day and for the days after. Dick and Bruce were very proud of their work.

“Now we just have to find our human.” Alfred said as he slowly went back down the tree. Dick followed, but he miscalculated. It was wrong to believe that going down was as easy as going up. He had slipped, and the only reason he hasn’t fallen to his doom was because he was able to latch on to the bark with his nails just in time. He looked back down and just realize how high up they were. Alfred made it seem so easy, but to put thing into perspective, it was like jumping off a four story building.

“Dick, are you okay?” Bruce called from above.

“Y-yeah!” His son quickly answered. He attempted to get his claws unlatched and tried to move down, but gravity worked against him and he stumbled again, latching both his claws on the bark once more. “I-I don’t think I can get down. I just gotta get back up there.”

“Maybe I should try to get down from here-” the older man thought out loud, but Dick shouted otherwise.

“No Bruce! It was really hard. Your cat body seems much heavier than mine. It’ll be harder for you!”

“Excuse me?!” Bruce can’t believe his eldest son just called him old and fat on the same day.

“I’m worried here, not insulting you.” Dick corrected as soon as he got back to the branch.

“We can’t stay up here, Dick.” Bruce interjected.

“Are the masters stuck in the tree?” Titus called out from below.

Dick sighed and peeked down at their two pets. “Yeah, uh, it’s pretty dangerous going down.”

Alfred shook his head. “I should have figured. It took me a while to be able to get down from there too. Even broke my leg a few times. Our human was not pleased.”

Both cats in the tree gulped. They did not want to break anything and most importantly they did not want to trouble Damian even more.

“Stay put there, Masters.” Titus said. Alfred jumped on his back too. “We will go get our human. He can assist you. We will not take long.” Then he ran off, back inside their manor through the doggy door.

Bruce just sat on the branch and sighed in disappointment. “This was not how I expected it to go.”

Dick sat beside him and offered a small cat smile, “Really? I thought it was too obvious. We were bound to get stuck on a tree some time. Next cat thing to try out is mice catching or whether or not we land on our feet.”

Bruce’s gaze went over the branch, taking a step closer to the edge. His son nudged him back. “Let’s test that out in a much… safer height, okay?”

His father just sighed again.

------

Tim and Jason successfully opened the lid of the coffee grounds, put it in the coffee maker, and turn the machine on. How they managed to do all those, they’d rather not say. It took too much effort than they’d like to admit.

Now they just waited for the pot of coffee to be ready. Tim’s mood was already getting better with just the aroma of it filling the room.

“Okay, your fuel is on its way. You better not disappoint, Replacement,” Jason spat. He expected a snide remark in return but instead he get a determined smile from his little brother.

“Of course not. We’ll be communicating with Damian faster than we opened the coffee grounds lid.”

Jason just blinked. Tim’s attitude turned a full hundred and eighty at least. Jason will never understand how coffee could do that to someone but he wasn’t complaining.

Suddenly their attentions were caught when two of their pets came inside the kitchen in a hurry.

“Have you seen our human?” Titus asked.

Tim and Jason just looked confused. “No, we haven’t seen him. Why?” It was Tim who asked.

“The two other masters are stuck in a tree.” Alfred informed.

Jason suddenly choked on a laugh, “D-dick and Bruce are stuck in a tree? Oh my fucking God, this is gold.”

“Yes,” their dog answered, not catching the insult, “And only our human can get them down. We must bring him to them.”

Amidst Jason’s laughter and Titus’ concern. Tim had a sudden realization that if they’re bringing Damian to the garden, that means he’d have to pass by the kitchen. He’ll smell the coffee and might keep it away from him.

Tim would never allow that to happen.

“Anyway masters, we must hurry and look elsewhere. Thank you for your answer.” Titus said, before nodding slightly, “We must leave you to your work.”

“No wait! Take Jason with you!” The younger brother shouted, making his older brother’s head snap towards him in confusion.

“Excuse me, why would I want to go look for the Demon Spawn?” He asked flabbergasted. Tim leaned in closer and whispered.

“You need to make sure that they don’t go through here. Once Damian gets a whiff of the coffee, it’s game over.”

Jason just blinked again. “Seriously? You’re making me go through all of this for your stupid coffee?”

His little brother moved in closer and brought out his claws. His face was scrunched up in annoyance as he hissed. In a day, Jason witnessed two different sides of Tim Drake. “Look, you’re going to make sure Damian doesn’t go by here, okay? I’ll get my coffee, and I won’t make your cat life a living hell.”

Jason will never admit that he was intimidated by his little brother that was currently a kitten, but he just groaned and gave in. “Fine, fine! Just so you know, fuck you.” He then walked over to their dog. “Hey Titus, looks like I’m going to help you look for the brat.”

“Thank you, master.” The dog said, “Please hop on. It’ll be much faster to find him.”

“Uh, no thanks. I think I want to try catching up to you.” The older brother jumped to the floor and did some quick stretches. “Ready when you are, boy.”

And with that, they left.

Jason was very proud to say that despite his cat form, he was still very quick and nimble. Keeping up with a great dane was very difficult, yes, but he wasn’t completely lagging behind. He took it as a sign that he was starting to get used to his new body, and he really didn’t know whether it was a good thing or  bad. He decided not to worry about it when they finally saw his youngest brother.

He didn’t even try to hide his snickers when he saw Damian. At the arrival of the three of them, the youngest looked shocked and slightly embarrassed when he distinguished the noise coming from his cat brother as laughter. “What are you three doing here, and why are you laughing, Todd?”

It was because Damian looked like a mess. Hair was going all over the place, he was slightly sweating, and he was covered in dust. He was carrying too much cleaning materials too. He was selling the look of a hardworking kid, but obviously he isn’t used to house cleaning- at least not as much as Jason. The older one has seen the other members of their family look the same too. No wonder Alfred- their butler -only trusted him to clean up the house. He was obviously the only one capable of properly doing so without going through so much hardships.

And that’s when he realized. They were at the east wing of the manor. Jason’s chore for the day was to clean the whole east wing. Damian was doing his chores.

Snickers turned to silence when Jason’s  mouth fell into a thin line. He also wouldn’t admit this, but he kind of regretted making fun of the kid.

“Master, your father and brother are stuck in a tree!” Titus informed, although all three animals were sure the human got none of it.

“What is it, Titus?” Damian dropped the cloth and the bucket that were in his hands.

The dog went behind him and started nudging him towards where they came. The human was confused. “What’s going on?”

No answer. He looked over to Alfred the cat and his older brother, they stared at him with something he knew quite clearly. Follow.

After a few more nudges, Titus barked. Alfred went on his back, then both dog and Jason started running. Luckily, Damian got the message and started following them.

“Hey uh, Titus. You think we could do a detour? Maybe let’s go through the front door instead of the kitchen door?” Jason suggested suddenly, remembering what Tim instructed of him.

“Front door?” Alfred sounded confused, “Isn’t that farther away?”

“Yeah, but Tim says the kitchen is off limits.” their master excused.

It was just a short moment of contemplation, but the dog trusted his masters too much to doubt his words. “If the master says we must go to a different path, then we shall.”

----

Damian was confused as to why his pets and his brother were leading him to the front door. He initially thought that there were unexpected visitors outside- it came along with a bit of annoyance because not only did he have to do chores, make sure his family was taken care of, and now he had to entertain people?

But the thought was immediately dismissed when he opened it and no one was there. There was only confusion again. His dog, and the two cats slipped through him and they continued to run, so Damian could only follow again.

They arrived at the tree where he usually picked apples with Pennyworth. He saw the filled basket under it. Slowly, realization dawned upon him but he refused to believe that was the case. Alfred the cat has recently gotten use to climbing trees. The cat found it amusing to copy his masters’ actions by helping with harvest sometimes. Alfred the cat most likely told his family about this activity, and it interested them. Connecting the dots, with four other cats who probably have nothing to do, the idea of getting apples from a tree was better than nothing.

Damian was brought out of his thoughts when Titus barked. The dog was leaning on the tree, his gaze switching constantly from Damian to the top of the tree. The youngest took a deep breath and finally looked up.

There he saw his Father and Grayson. His shoulders sagged. “Of course.”

“Yo, B! Dickie! How you holding up?!” Jason called, his voice falling somewhere between teasing and holding back laughter. He really wished he had a camera to take a picture of this moment, but he would just have to settle with his memory. One thing is for sure, he’s not going to live this down.

“What are you doing here?” Dick deflected. “Weren’t you supposed to be helping Tim?”

“Uh yeah, Replacement had a side project. Practically kicked me out until it was finished.” His little brother just shrugged.

Dick and Bruce looked at each other and wondered what was more important than trying to communicate with Damian, then they realized. Bruce just groaned and Dick smiled tiredly. “He’s making coffee, isn’t he?” Their father asked.

Jason chirped. “Ding, ding, ding! You got it right.”

“I mean, we should have known, shouldn’t we?” The eldest brother just sighed. “Anyway, Tim with coffee works the fastest so maybe we weren’t really sidetracked that much.” Bruce just stayed silent, but he decided not to argue.

While they were talking, Damian was already on his way up. Of course, climbing up a tree was a piece of cake, and he assumed going down with two cats wouldn’t be so hard. When he got to the branch, Dick and Bruce tilted their heads.

“Why are you covered in dust, son?” Bruce asked. He expected an answer from his youngest, but instead he heard one from Jason.

“He was cleaning the east wing when we found him.” His voice surprisingly warm, “Kid did a good job. The place looked spotless.”

Dick couldn’t help but smile proudly. “Of course, he did. It’s Dami we’re talking about.” Their father couldn’t help but mimic the gesture.

Damian extended his arm towards them. “You’ll have to hold on to my shoulders.” The two cats just nodded and followed. It was Dick who went first, and as soon as his paw came in contact with Damian’s shoulder, the boy flinched. It didn’t go unnoticed.

“Dami, are you injured?” The eldest asked, catching the attention of their father.

Damian only heard choruses of worried meows. He cursed himself for showing that sign of weakness. The scratches from yesterday wasn’t that deep, and it really hadn’t hurt that much. He was just caught off guard because quite honestly he forgot about it already and he hadn’t expected Grayson to step on it at all.

He ignored the meows and just called Bruce. “Please hurry, father.”

Despite the doubts and hesitation, Bruce did as he was told, settling in the other free shoulder of his son. This time, Damian was able to mask the minimal pain he felt. They were back on the ground fast and easy. Both cats jumped off as their youngest dusted off the leaves and twigs that caught on him.

“Welcome back to the ground, Dickie Bird, B.” Jason had this smug smile on his face that made both older men roll their eyes. “Going through the cat bucket list?”

“Oh, just drop it, Jay.” His older brother said. It didn’t wipe off the grin on his little brother’s face.

Both their pets happily greeted them the same way Jason did, and Dick and Bruce just didn’t have the heart to correct them. It took Damian clearing his throat to catch all of their attentions. His arms were crossed and his foot tapped impatiently. “Care to explain how this happened?”

His eldest brother’s and father’s ears dropped. Luckily, Titus and Alfred the cat acted immediately, or rather acted like the usual. The dog grabbed the basket, and both him and the cat trudged to their master, proudly presenting him the fruits. Damian just stared. “All this for apples? You could have told me if you wanted apples. I could have gotten them for you.”

Another chorus of meows, and honestly Damian’s patience was thinning. He had always thought that his family talked too much, said too much nonsense, but now he’d give anything to have it back.

He felt a nudge on his foot and he saw his eldest brother. Damian’s eyes widened. Titus brought an apple close, and his elder brother pushed him until it was touching their youngest. Damian looked at everyone else- his pets, his other brother, and his father. They shared the same expressions; worry yet expectant. It didn’t take a genius so realize what they’ve done.

Damian shook his head. His brother and father harvested apples for him, got stuck in a tree for him. He had worried his family when they should have been worrying about themselves. Where else could he fail? And yet, the concern felt warm. He picked up the apple and took a bite. “Thank you.” He softly said, and everyone just perked up at the sight.

The youngest decided it was time to go back inside. He would be cutting up a few apples for his family and then he’s continue with his work.

He was not going to allow them to worry for him any longer.

---

Tim was happily licking up coffee to his heart’s content. How he managed to pour it in the cup wasn’t really graceful- he almost broke the glass coffee pot. That was all behind him though. Nothing can stop him from enjoying his daily drink.

The mug that was once full, was now almost empty and he could already feel the energy coursing through his veins. It’s been a while since he experienced a rush like this. Last time he felt his heart beat this fast was when he had almost overdosed in caffeine.

And that was when he realized it. His heart was beating too fast.

He stopped drinking and tried to focus himself. Hew was confused, and quite honestly panicking. He had only drank his usual cup of coffee and yet he was palpitating.

The sound of a basket falling along with the apples in it echoed in the room and Tim’s head snapped towards the source. He saw his pets, he saw his fellow family turned into cats, but more importantly, he saw Damian’s face paler than he has ever seen.

“Drake…please tell me you didn’t drink coffee.” The youngest demanded, yet his voice wavered. He sounded scared. But scared of what? For who? For his least favorite brother? Tim wondered why.

He tried to answer. But his mewl sounded weak as shivers started to wrack his body. He was confused and scared. What was happening?

Then his new body failed him. His eyes rolled back his eyes, and every inch of him just convulsed. Tim Drake was having a seizure.

Chapter Text

Bruce, Dick, Jason, and the pets could only watch in horror as Tim Drake collapsed on the countertop, and started seizing aggressively. The tremors vibrated all over his body to the point that it really could not keep him in one place. Slowly, he was inching towards the edge.

No one could move. Everyone was stuck in their places- except for Damian who quickly jumped towards Drake, holling him into his arms before he could even start falling.

Unfortunately, a seizing cat is very dangerous. They have no control over their body, so Tim absentmindedly clawed and scratched rather violently,  with only his little brother to receive it all. Cuts and scratches form on his arms, face, and chest. Damian bled, of course, but he couldn’t care less about his now soiled favorite hoodie nor his injuries. His brother was in trouble.

His family and his pets were mewling and barking in panic behind him, his heart was pounding against his ribcage, and his mind was running a thousand miles a second. How could you let this happen?

Damian started to run. He ignored the sounds of the animals he left behind, he ignored the voices inside his head. He had to act, and he had to act fast.

“Where is he taking him?” Jason asked out loud as he chased after him, everyone else following suite.

Damian was relentless. He was moving quick, quicker than anyone had seen him do. They thought they would see their youngest act like that towards his favorite eldest brother, Dick Grayson, not to Tim Drake, not to his predecessor, his least favorite brother, or so he claims. The fact that Damian acted the way he did only showed how serious their situation was.

And everyone else hated that they were  useless.

Eventually, the chase led them to the cave, where Damian had ordered his pets to stay away from while he worked, then safely placed Tim on the medical table. He put up the cage to make sure there were no risks of falling anymore.

Afterwards, he hurriedly went away and started rummaging the nearby drawers looking for God knows what. All the while, the remaining family members jumped on the table, only to be frozen by the sight of their second youngest still seizing.

“Timmy- hey, bud-” Dick attempted to come closer, but Tim’s claws just made him back away. He was an inch close to actually getting cut.

“What’s happening to him?” Jason asked loudly -and he’d never admit that there was fear in his voice too.

“I think he got some kind of caffeine overdose or poisoning,” Bruce supplied despite his panic. He looked at his hurt son and he couldn’t help but feel heavy. Oh, if he could just take his place.

A shout of frustration caught their attention. All heads snap to Damian only to find that he was kneeling on the floor, contents of the drawers completely scattered around him.

“We don’t have the medicine.” he said to himself, but everyone in the cave heard it. Everyone felt the emotions that accompanied his words; hopelessness.

Damian growled and quickly stood up, kicking the litter all around him. He roared and started pacing. He was angry- angry at coffee, angry at Drake, but most importantly, he was angry at himself for not having a solution for this situation. He should have known this was going to happen, he should have prepared for it. This was his fault and he had to figure something out.

A mewl escaped Tim and that snapped Damian out of his thoughts. He turned to his family and stared at them. Everyone saw how their youngest’s expression changed; his eyes widening, his mouth slowly taking in breath, his brows raising- it was as if he realized something.

And because of that, once more, he sprang into action, running straight to the Batcomputer and dialing a number- a number that seemed quite familiar to Bruce, but he didn’t have enough time to actually look at it when Damian had instantly pressed call.

The back of their youngest seemed so tense and heavy. The way his foot tapped nervously, and how his hand gripped the side of the table were enough indicators that he was desperate. But nothing showed it more than his pleas. Damian Wayne, their arrogant youngest member of the family, was pleading. “Please, pick up. Please. Please. Please.”

The three realized that Damian was calling for help. Their youngest brother, who loathed the idea of it, was calling for help. He wondered if he was calling in a professional, an actual vet to help Tim out. They weren’t sure if they were comfortable with an outsider checking one of them out, but at this time, they had no room to be choosy.

Surprisingly, the call got through rather quickly. It didn’t even take three rings. It was a moment of silence as they waited for someone to speak from the other line.

“ Bruce? ”

Instantly, Bruce was hit by the realization as to why that number was familiar.

Selina Kyle’s voice echoed in the cave.

Damian wasted no time answering. “Selina, I- I need your help.” The urgency in his voice was unfazed, unlike everyone else who was now trying to figure out why Damian called her of all people. They were under the impression that he didn’t like her, not ever since his father considered marrying her. It was hard to get them in the same room without it being awkward. But now, he was asking her for help, and he even called her by her first name! Only Dick was able to manage that, and it still rarely happened.

“Damian?”  Selina’s voice was instantly laced with concern, “ What is it? What’s the problem?”

“Drake, h-he’s having a seizure. I don’t have the medicine to help him.” He said quickly.

“Damian. I don’t know why you’re calling me- I don’t have medicine for human seizures but here’s what you need to do-”

“No! Drake’s a cat! I know you have medicine for him. He drank coffee. I am quite positive he has caffeine poisoning, b-but the seizure is all I have to go by.” He tried to sound strong, but the panic in his voice was too obvious, “Is there not medicine to help him dispel the caffeine from his body?”

The rest were surprised to hear no trace of shock from Selina’s voice.“ I see. I understand. I’m coming over now. I’ll be there with the medicine in five minutes or less. For now, make sure to keep Drake safe. Make sure he isn’t prone to falling. If he stops seizing before I get there, check his heartbeat if it’s still too fast. If he wakes up, do another basic check-up and act upon what you think is needed.”

“Selina, I do not think you’ve trained me that far-” He wavered, but the woman cut him off.

“ Damian, now’s not the time to doubt yourself. We’ve already been through the basics, that’s all you need to keep Drake safe until I get there. Now I’m going to have to end this call so I can focus on driving. Be sure to do what I instructed? ”

Damian nodded slowly, recalling every order Selina gave, before answering with a surprisingly soft voice. “I will. Get here as quickly as you can, Selina. Please.”

“ I will. ” The tone of her voice was reassuring as the phone call died.

Silence took over the cave, and the air was still heavy, but not as before. Help was coming, and Tim was going to be okay- at least they didn’t allow themselves to believe otherwise. They allowed a sense of relief to fill the air. At least the older members had.

Damian - he suddenly fell to his knees and tried to get his nerve to calm down. He hated this. He hated this situation. He hated that he allowed this to happen in the first place.

He should have known his moronic older brother would go through so much lengths just to get coffee. He should have known something was up when they went through the front door and not the kitchen. All the signs pointed to it- he was too off guard to see it. He should have locked away the coffee machine before all of this could happen- or maybe he should have locked Drake up instead.

His brother would end up loathing him, but at least he was safe, and not in the verge of dying.

He took more deep breaths, he tightened his balled fists. Selina has given him instructions and he had to do it. So he stood up and went back to the medical table. His expression was blank. He assumed no emotions meant strength- at least, it looked stronger than what he was actually feeling at the moment.

The family has never seen Damian go through such an ordeal. From terrified, to frantic, to desperate, to vulnerable, and now- he masked this all with his straight face. It was quite frankly impressive but worrisome.

By then, Tim’s seizing was slowly dying down. It wasn’t long until he was just unconscious on the table, looking exhausted and uncomfortable.

Damian did what he had done the night before; he took out the first aid kit and started checking for the basics- heartbeat, irises, joints. This time around, he brought out a syringe and took a sample of his older brother’s blood.

Everyone else could only watch. They let their youngest do what needed to be done. Unlike last night’s check up, now the older members of the family fully trusted their youngest’s skills. They had no more doubts that they were in good hands.

But all the while, he worked in silence. There was barely any sound, and the silence was suffocating.

Damian tested the blood, and his composure broke then and there when he saw the results. The blankness of his face turned into a mix of anguish and anger. His older brother was absolutely poisoned, no doubt about it, and the caffeine level was high.

He opted not to panic, not to let his emotions get the best of him. So he just focused on the task at hand, blocking out everything and everyone around him other than Tim and the batcomputer.

It was when the check-up was done, Tim was finally somewhat stable, and Damian was recording his findings, was when the other members of the family finally noticed the soiled hoodie, patches of dried blood and scratch wounds on the body of their youngest.

Guilt was pooling in their stomachs. All three of them could only stare because how could they have ignored that? They had let panic shield them from another family member who also needed treatment.

What had them worried the most though, was the fact that Damian was completely ignoring his own injuries and continued to work. One would think that after helping someone and the situation was arguably cleared, he would take the time to treat himself. Surely those scratches sting, even a bit. Surely the cuts in the hoodie made an uncomfortable draft. And surely no one wanted to stay bloodied.

And yet there was their youngest, still typing - slaving away as if none of those mattered.

“Does the brat usually act like this?” Jason asked to no one in particular, “He just ignores his injuries? I didn’t peg him to be this irresponsible.” He wasn’t trying to insult Damian, but he was angry- because why can’t his little brother just take care of himself properly?

“He’s only like this to himself. League training and all, he tends to ignore ‘minor’ injuries.” It was Dick who answered. Jason wasn’t really expecting anyone to answer- mostly because he didn’t want anyone confirming it- but it was no surprise that the favorite older brother would know. “And it used to happen more times than what I’m comfortable with.”

Bruce knew of his sons’ time as the Dynamic Duo. Dick has told him the challenges of raising Damian. The two of them had worked hard to undo most of the League’s teachings, to let him learn about emotions and affections, to let him learn about what it means to be a hero, what it means to be in a family, and what it means to care and love oneself despite the failures and successes.

It was painful to see their youngest slip into old habits. And it was painful that they couldn’t do anything about it.

Dick didn’t believe that. He has been in this situation before, and he has learned how to deal with it in twenty different ways, and he’ll learn how to do it even as a cat.

So he was the first to act, jumping off the medical table and started rummaging underneath it.

Jason and Bruce were confused. “What are you doing?” the older one asked.

Dick didn’t answer until he was finished pulling the first aid kit out. “I’m gonna try to get Damian to treat himself. Wanna give me a hand opening this thing?”

The two gave Tim one more look-over, just to make sure he was okay, before jumping off the table and helping Dick out.

Jason would say getting it open was easier than brewing coffee, and Dick and Bruce would agreed but with less risks of getting stuck in a tree.

Each grabbed something; Jason dragged a bottle of disinfectant, Bruce grabbed a pack of cotton, and Dick picked up a roll of bandages. They all made their way to Damian who was now busy doing research about caffeine poisoning in cats.

The youngest was snapped out of concentration when he heard a mewl, and he turned around to find his father and two eldest brothers with things for basic treatment, looking at him very expectant.

Damian looked himself over once again, and it was only then did he realize that it looked worse than he assumed. It was no wonder his family was worried again.

Dick nudged at his leg and put the bandage down near him, Jason and Bruce doing the same.

Damian just sighed and picked up the things that were left for him.”Thank you,” he said, but had no plans of using them just yet. He set them aside, turned back to the computer, and started typing again.

He was surprised though when Dick jumped on the batcomputer and moved in front of him, sporting what Damian could only assume was a stern look, a look he knew all too well. It was one of those looks that his older gave him whenever he was being ‘stubborn’ or ‘dense’ or whatever his brother called it.

“What is it, Grayson?” The younger brother asked defensively. He only got a rather demanding meow as an answer. Damian just squinted, because no he still couldn’t understand cat.

Dick knew Damian was smart, but if anything he was dense. He probably already had some idea stuck in his head that stopped him from seeing that all his family wanted was for him to take care of himself as well.

That’s why Dick and everyone else was there- to remind him that. So Dick picked up the bandage again and placed it in front of him, sitting down too and making it obvious that he would not be moving away unless his brother treated his wounds.

Damian finally got the message and let his shoulders drop. “Grayson, you are in the way of my work. I will treat my wounds after.”

More meows came from behind him and he looked at his other older brother and father, looking at him the same way, and his composure started wavering.

“These are minor wounds. Please let me work.” Damian tried again, but they were solid as a brick wall.

He figured arguing was futile. So he sighed and gave in. “Fine.”

For a moment, Damian thought he saw his family smile. He scoffed. Why would they be so happy about that?

----

Damian bandaged up pretty quickly, even on his own. He’d say it was one of the practical things he learned from the League, but his family would disagree because of the fact that the League was neglectful towards him, so he had no other choice.

It was while he was treating his chest cuts did the alarm from their secret entrance started going off. Damian stood up quickly and pushed the button to open it.

Selina came zooming in her motorcycle, wearing goggles, and her all black attire of long sleeved shirt, pants, coat and high heels. She carried with her a duffel bag which they assumed contained the medicine for his cat brother.

Damian ran towards her, the other three cats following closely behind, reminding themselves that she wasn’t aware of the whole cat situation.

“Thank you for coming, Selina.” Their youngest greeted professionally, but obvious relief was present in his voice.

Selina greeted back tenderly, “You know I got your back when it comes to feline endeavours. But looks like the little thing did a number on you, huh?” Her hands softly found its place on Damian’s cheek, and the young boy didn’t move away- instead there was just a hint of red on his cheeks. This development was really surprising his older family members.

“Please.” Damian huffed, “It’s just a mere scratch. It’s nothing.”

“Whatever you say, kitten.” The woman just chuckled, causing the boy to blush even more.

“Selina! Don’t call me ‘kitten!’”

Her smile didn’t waver. “You told me I was allowed to call you that. Well, except when your dad and brothers are here, but I don’t see them anywhere, so you’re safe, little kit.”

Now the red on the younger boy’s cheeks were obvious for the world to see. Dick, Jason, and Bruce were staring at him, and he knew, he felt it, and he couldn’t look them in the eye.

The conversation was admittedly amusing, and it made the atmosphere a whole lot lighter. Plus, there was help now! Tim could be treated. But they couldn’t help but wonder when Damian become kitten to Selina, and most importantly, when did Damian allow it.

The woman’s eyes fall on the group of three cats and she gave them all smiles. Of course, this was Catwoman. She wouldn’t ignore her feline friends.

But instantly she was focused.“So, where’s Drake?” Selina asked and Damian led her to the medical table. Everyone else just followed, anxious to see Tim get treated.

While checking on the cat physically, she asked about the findings the young boy had discovered. Damian explained everything in detail.

Eventually she concluded that it was a classic case of caffeine poisoning in cats and it was in fact treatable with expelling the coffee from his system, an IV and a few pills.

While they were setting up the IV, the rest of the family waited patiently for more news. It was then did Tim Drake started coming to.

The young cat’s eyes were slowly fluttering open. His head stiffly looked around, and it was then did he realize that he felt like absolute shit.

“What happened?” He managed to say.

Jason was the first to answer, “Your coffee heist got you poisoned, you idiot.”

“Poisoned?” Tim tried to get up, “I’m poisoned?”

“Woah, Timbo. You don’t have to get up.” Dick said as he and Bruce kept him down.

“You need all the rest you can get. You’re still not cleared.” Their father followed up.

Tim was still very much out of it, but who could blame him. It was one thing to palpitate as a human, it was another to palpitate as a cat.

The smaller cat looked around to recognize his surroundings. So he was in the cave. Everything was so out of place; it was messy, the batcomputer was too bright, but nothing was more out of place than Selina and a shirtless, bandaged-up Damian preparing an IV drop.

“Why’s Selina here? And why’s Demon Brat banged up?” He asked.

“Selina’s here to help,” Dick answered, but he hesitated to answer the next question, looking over the two other cats.

Of course, Jason had no problem answering it. “And the kid’s banged up because he moved you while you were seizing, and you scratched him all over the place.”

Tim’s eyes shot open. “I-I did that?”

“No.” Bruce immediately countered, turning to glare at his second oldest son, before turning back to reassure his third, “You didn’t do it on purpose, Tim. It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, Timmers.” Dick joined in too, “And I’m sure Damian doesn’t blame you.”

That last comment though didn’t make him feel better, because by going with what his relationship with Damian was, surely his little brother was blaming him.

“Oh, looks like the kitten is up.” Everyone’s head turned to Selina, who already had the needle ready. “Damian, want to try putting the IV?”

Tim physically tensed at the idea. His eyes shifted to Damian, who was looking back at him too. Damian had his usual glare that just looks like he’s planning something- like he’s always thinking of something, and Tim finds that very dangerous because he can never tell what he was thinking about.

The doubt just emanated from his older brother, and honestly Damian shouldn’t be surprised by now, but he hoped after everything he has done, a little bit of trust was in order. He realized it wasn’t so easy. He sighed and turned away, “You do it, Selina. I’m not so confident with using needles on animals yet.”

Everybody except for Tim frowned at the obvious lie. Everybody already knew of how he took blood from his brother so easily and got results. But they assumed it was better, because Damian went back to the bench and started taking care of himself.

Selina sighed and turned to the groups of cat with a smile. “Okay little one, let’s get you treated so the big ‘ol kitten over there would stop worrying.” Everyone smiled slightly at the nickname and her attempt to make the atmosphere lighter. She attached the IV on Tim as quickly as she could, and he was happy that it didn’t hurt as a cat.

“Okay now, drink this.” She then handed him a bowl of water. Tim tried his best to sit up, but all he could manage was what most people would call a ‘loaf sit,’ slowly slurping on the water. It really tasted nice after what he went through.

“Feeling better, Replacement?” Jason asked, sitting near him.

Tim gave a tired smile, “Would do better if I wasn’t seeing your face, Jay.”

His older brother scoffed. “He’s fine. He’s got his stupid sass back.”

Bruce and Dick were relieved to hear. Their heads then turn to Selina and gave her their gratitude. Obviously, they knew she couldn’t understand them, but it was still worth a shot.

What they didn’t expect was for her to answer back. “You’re welcome, little ones.”

She had said it so casually, that it caught them off guard. They just watched as she left and walked over to Damian who was then finishing up treating his wounds. “Drake is gonna be fine. The medicine should kick in in a minute or two, and I’m going to warn you, it’s going to be messy.” She informed as she sat beside him.

Damian hummed appreciatively, “I am certain he won’t make a mess. He’s a smart cat. I think if we place a bucket near him, he’ll know where to vomit.”

Selina smiled at that. “That’s good to hear. We can look for a bucket then, but in the meanwhile, it’s time to check over another kitten.” She then cupped his face and pulled it closer. The boy was completely caught off guard.

Damian’s eyes widened and tried to pry her hands away- but obviously he wasn’t trying at all. Because he could have removed her hands if he wanted to, yet there they were. “This is unnecessary, Selina! I’m already done treating my wounds!”

“Just let me check them over.”

“No!”

All four cats were looking at them now and they were just flabbergasted. Sure, Damian and Selina in talking terms enough to be able to help each other was conceivable, but to see her this close to him, and he wasn’t trying to take her life was just unbelievable.

“D-did I miss anything? Because it looks like they’re getting along well, maybe even better than him and Dick,” Tim asked out loud. Dick looked offended. “Hey! Dami and I get along the best!”

Bruce sighed, “I think all of us missed something.” Not just with Selina, Damian has been full of surprises and it’s only been less than a day. It was either their youngest was secretive, or they weren’t pa attention enough. In his mind, it was both. Because they were a family of detectives, they needed to step it up when it comes to figuring out their family.

“Okay, you treated those wounds perfect.” Selina said, finally letting go of the boy, who just huffed, turned away, and crossed his arms. “Of course, nothing I do is subpar.”

“I believe that.” She chuckled then turned to look at the cats, who were oddly paying attention to them. “So you took in more strays. I’m surprised you didn’t bring them to my apartment first.”

The topic made everyone else tense. Was Damian going to tell her about the magician? Would it be a good idea?

Damian still hasn’t decided. Instead, he shrugged and looked away, “They are my responsibility. I didn’t see the need to involve anyone else.”

“Hey, it’s okay to share responsibility sometimes, you know?” She told him, leaning closer, “And I already volunteered when it comes to cat related ones, didn't I? And -only when you’re comfortable of course- I’d even help with family or even relationship ones.” Selina nudged his sides, a teasing grin on her lips.

The younger boy just sunk in himself, feeling more embarrassed with every word she said. “Selina, can you please stop before you blurt out all our secret arrangements.”

She snickered, “It’s not like anyone’s here to hear it. If there are camera footage, we could just delete them again later.”

Damian shook his head and held his temple. Oh, how wrong she was. Meanwhile, the rest of the family was shocked. Again? They’ve erased footage from the cave before? How did that get past all the checks and inspections they do?

“Are they a family too? They seem really close.” Selina asked, looking over at the cats, “Recently, the strays have been sticking together. It’s very odd behaviour.”

Damian thought so too, but he assumed that was not connected to his family’s situation. So he opted to just shrug and agree.

“So you named one of them Drake?” The woman suddenly asked that made the boy flinch. “Why? Because he’s a smart cat? My, I always knew you didn’t dislike Timothy like you claim you do, but naming a cat after him is something else.”

A blush started to appear on the boy’s cheeks. “I-I- that’s not the case of - of this!”

“Oh really?” Selina stood up and walked over the cats, who were also looking at her with wide eyes. She assumed that that’s how cats usually reacted to strangers, but no, the Batfamily were just caught off guard with everything she has said. She was so close to the truth, it was impressive, but they shouldn’t have expected less from the great perceptive Catwoman.

“I bet you named the rest after everyone else. You’re not above doing that.” She knelt in front of them and observed. She reached out to pat Jason, but out of instinct -and honestly pride- he jumped away.

Selina was surprised, but chuckled afterwards. “This one’s Todd, isn’t he? He has that white stripe on his head, plus he’s feisty.”

The cat’s eyes widened.

Selina turned to Dick and pats him, which Dick welcomed hesitantly, but welcomed nonetheless. The woman smiles warmly, “This one’s nice, and somewhat fluffier. I bet the cuddliest about all of them, and we both know you like your biggest brother’s hugs. I bet you called him Grayson, or Richard. You have been working on calling him by his first name.” Hearing that, the cat perked up and mewled happily. Selina just chuckled again, “This is definitely Richard.” Damian was already rubbing his face with his palms. His reputation was completely and utterly ruined.

And lastly, she picks up Bruce, but unlike the others, she cradled him in her arms. “This one’s a big one. He looks the oldest so I bet you named him Bruce. Or maybe Batcat because you do have a hard time addressing your dad sometimes.”

And honestly the oldest was way past getting mad because he was being called old. He accepts it, but to learn his son was having a hard time calling him something other than the very formal “father” had him a bit down.

He was brought out of his brooding when he came face to face with the woman. Their eyes met. She was staring straight into his, and he stared straight into hers.

“Oh, wow. He even has the same eyes as your father’s. That’s a huge coincidence.” Selina turned to Damian, only to find him staring at her with wide eyes. “What is it, Kitten?”

The young boy came to because of the nickname and he just sighed, turning away. “I told you, Selina. Stop calling me that nickname. It was supposed to be a secret. Now they already know.”

Selina’s eyes turn back to the cats; first to Bruce, then to Dick, then to Jason, and lastly, Tim, only to realize that they also had the same eyes as their human counterparts.

She gently put Bruce down and took in a deep breath, turning to Damian and crossing her arms. “Okay, kitten. I think you have a lot of explaining to do.”

The boy frowns. “You’re still calling me that nickname, even after-”

She cuts him off. “The damage is already done. I think the fact that your brothers and your father are turned into cats is more important. So, care to elaborate?”

Damian sighed and brought out the case files, explaining it to Selina from the very beginning.